A World Worth Protecting

1

Wang Baole was standing on the cruiser, swishing through the skies, riding in the wind as he dashed directly to Upper Academy Island. He was extremely delighted—not only did Zhou Xiaoya gain admission to Upper Academy Island, she was also formally the disciple of the Alchemy Pavilion Elder. The entire matter could be considered to have concluded well.

Clearing his throat, Wang Baole thought, <em>In this whole incident, I played a significant role. Thanks to my courage and fearlessness toward the evil forces that allowed me to create chaos by using the opportunity to hit Gao Quan, victory was attained in the process. This allowed Bunny to have an unobstructed path to success.</em>

This irritating fatty would never admit that even if he did not appear this time round, the outcome would like have been the same for Bunny. Now, he was in high spirits as he took up a bag of snacks while on the cruiser, munching on them loudly while controlling the cruiser.

<em>The ability to fly the cruiser and eat snacks at the same time… This capability is not something that everyone has! </em>Wang Baole laughed heartily. Soon, the cruiser has passed through the clouds and arrived at Upper Academy Island.

<em>Du Min is in the Alchemy Pavilion as well. Even though I haven’t seen her much since coming to Upper Academy Island, it’s not surprising if she is doing well, since she has always excelled academically. There’s also Chen Ziheng, who is in the Combat Pavilion with Zhuo Yifan… I have to work hard and not let them surpass me.</em>

Thinking of this, Wang Baole inhaled deeply. He did not return to the cave abode. Instead, his gaze was on the middle peak, looking in the northern direction toward the mountains that housed the Dharmic Armament Pavilion.

Wang Baole had already read up on the details of the Armament Disciple assessment on the Spirit Intranet and understood that the assessment of Dharmic Armament Pavilion disciples took place on the Northern Mountain Range, where a Military Administrative Department oversaw the advancement assessment of disciples to Armament Disciples. However, if a disciple successfully refined a hundred perfect first-grade Dharmic Artifacts, they could also send the Dharmic Artifacts for assessment in order to receive their Armament Disciple status.

<em>I will advance to become an Armament Disciple, then choose a department to perform my duties! </em>Wang Baole’s eyes was fueled with passion as he controlled the cruiser straight toward the Northern Mountain Range. On his way, as he passed the middle peak, he noticed that on the parade square lay a huge military drum standing tall. It was dull red in color and was eye-catching because of its rustic look.

<em>That is probably the drum that people on the Spirit Intranet have mentioned, huh?</em>

Wang Baole was tempted as his eyes fell momentarily on the huge military drum. He had read entries introducing the drum on the Spirit Intranet. It was said that it was a military drum that could only be struck by an Armament Soldier, and it had only one purpose—invite an Elder!

Whatever difficult problems arose regarding Dharmic Armaments, so long as the Armament Soldier was capable, they could strike the military drum, using its sound to invite an Elder for advice on the solution.

However, even though the drum has been installed for many years, it had not been struck often. If there were no real challenging problems that were difficult to solve, no one would dare haphazardly strike it to disturb the Elders. On the other hand, there was no drumstick for the drum. Anyone who wished to strike it had to make use of the materials given by the military drum and refine a drumstick, which could only be used once, right there and then in front of the drum.

Only when an Armament Soldier held a drumstick that they had personally refined could they strike the military drum to invite an Elder.

Even though the method of refining the drumstick was stated right beside the military drum, it was an extremely difficult feat. To a certain extent, it was not considered a Numinous Treasure. Furthermore, every Armament Soldier only had one chance in their entire lifetime. If they failed, they lost their eligibility, and thus, no one dared to squander the opportunity willy-nilly.

Wang Baole had read on the Spirit Intranet that the student who had managed to strike the drum the greatest number of times had done it five times using the drumstick that he had refined. That far exceeded that of other people, and as a result, the Elder that he had invited to grant assistance on his problem was no ordinary Elder but the Grand Elder of the Dharmic Armament Pavilion!

<em>Every Grand Elder possesses incredibly high status within their respective pavilions. Only the Deputy Sect Lord and Sect Lord are ranked above the Grand Elder, with the Grand Supreme Elder being at the top of the hierarchy!</em>

Even though Wang Baole had spent most of his time in seclusion after entering Upper Academy Island, his understanding of the structure of Ethereal Dao College had grown significantly from the times when he was on the Lower Academy Island.

He already understood that the one with the highest authority in Ethereal Dao College was the mysterious Grand Supreme Elder. He was never seen in Ethereal Dao College, but his existence was akin to an anchor, the assurance of everyone in Ethereal Dao College and the status of the Federation!

The Grand Supreme Elder’s subordinates included Ethereal Dao College’s sect lord and the three deputy sect lords. Below them were ten pavilions and a college. The ten pavilions were referring to the island pavilions on Upper Academy Island, which included the Dharmic Armament Pavilion, and the college was referring to the Lower Academy Island!

Within every pavilion, the Pavilion Head was obviously the person-in-command. However, in reality, there were still numerous elders above the Pavilion Head as well as the one and only Grand Elder of each pavilion.

These people were not involved in the management of the pavilion. However, they formed the Group of Elders, which had the authority to determine the employment of the Deputy Pavilion Head and the Pavilion Head.

This systematic hierarchy was precisely the structure of power of the internal affairs of Ethereal Dao College. When Wang Baole gained a good understanding of all this, he realized that he needed time to assume the great responsibility, and at the same time, his desire to become an Armament Soldier grew even stronger.

As he shifted his gaze away from the drum, Wang Baole suppressed his thoughts as he controlled the cruiser directly toward the Northern Mountain Range. Soon, he arrived within the clouds above the Military Administrative Department. He began his descent to enter the compound.

There were only a few disciples within the Military Administrative Department. Those who were capable of becoming Armament Disciples were only of a small proportion of the large number of ordinary disciples. Therefore, after completing the administrative process, Wang Baole arrived at the specially demarcated assessment ground, a parade square where tens of gigantic stone stele stood. Apart from himself, there was a tall and thin youth who was sitting on a stone stele in preparation with his eyes closed and legs crossed. He looked serious and mysterious.

Sensing that someone had arrived, the youth raised his head and opened his eyes but remained silent as he took a look at Wang Baole. However, seeing that Wang Baole was about to begin his assessment without any preparation, he raised his eyebrows and laughed.

“A new disciple?”

Wang Baole heard his words and turned to look at him.

“The Armament Disciple assessment is the most important milestone for a disciple. Junior Brother, it’s fine that you did not even bother to clean yourself up, but your lack of preparation shows your disrespect toward the Armament Disciple advancement assessment. I advise you to attempt the assessment again after preparing yourself. Otherwise, you will definitely fail!” The youth spoke calmly, as if from experience.

“Is it really so difficult?” Wang Baole had originally been very laid-back. However, after hearing the youth’s words, with his gut feeling telling him that the youth was not lying to him, he inevitably grew concerned.

“Every year, there are only slightly more than ten people who successfully advance to become Armament Disciples in the Dharmic Armament Pavilion. In addition, many of the disciples have spent at least two years doing so after entering Upper Academy Island. So, don’t you think it’s hard?

“Refining a hundred perfect first-grade Dharmic Artifacts becomes simple in comparison, for it can be achieved with time. However, in the assessment mystic realm, ten random Dharmic Artifacts will be chosen. One has to present the refinement process again within the stipulated time without making any mistakes. Should one mistake be made, one fails! Isn’t that difficult?

“Of those who gained admission to Upper Academy Island, who doesn’t have talent? People like you, who think that it’s easy to pass the assessment, are plentiful. I have tried nine times and seen many, but I have not seen one that succeeded.” The youth did not know who Wang Baole was and was speaking in a conceited tone.

Wang Baole looked at the youth with a weird expression. He was thinking about how it made sense that the youth sounded so full of experience, for he had done the assessment so many times. Therefore, with both trust and suspicion, he became uneasy, as he mimicked the youth and began preparing by sitting down cross-legged.

Realizing that Wang Baole was an individual who would listen to advice, the youth laughed as he felt heartened. It was as if he saw a past shadow of his failure in Wang Baole. After a moment, when he had completed his preparation, he raised his right hand and retrieved a Dharmic Artifact, sending it into the stone stele.

Wang Baole noticed and immediately retrieved a Dharmic Artifact, sending it into the stone stele just like the youth.

“Cloud Frost Sword?” After noticing the Dharmic Artifact that Wang Baole retrieved, the youth was momentarily shocked as he threw several more glances at Wang Baole before retrieving yet another Dharmic Artifact and sending it into the stone stele. Wang Baole followed suit and retrieved another Dharmic Artifact.

“Spirit Fog Shield?” The youth stared with his eyes wide open. The Cloud Frost Sword was one of the most challenging items to refine of the first-grade Dharmic Artifacts. He had been surprised after seeing the first artifact but did not think much of it. However, now that Wang Baole retrieved yet another Dharmic Artifact that was extremely difficult to refine, he inevitable became bewildered. Despite that, he was indignant and sighed in his heart.

<em>Is he trying to show off? Is he planning to compete with me? Newbie, you’re still too inexperienced. Even though I have failed so many times, in reality, every failure can be considered a strong driving force and improvement for me. Without those failures, I wouldn’t be who I am today!</em>

The youth narrowed his eyes, and with a wave of arrogance, he flung his sleeves and retrieved the remaining ninety-eight Dharmic Artifacts. Of those, there were nine around the same difficulty as the Spirit Fog Shield. Delightedly, he looked askance at Wang Baole, but that was when his mind instantly buzzed with activity.

Wang Baole, who was beside him, followed the youth in retrieving his remaining ninety-eight Dharmic Artifacts, all of them of the same grade as the Spirit Fog Shield. Now, the glow from the Dharmic Artifact was extremely bright, and the glitz almost made the youth’s eyes fall out of their sockets. In his surprise, he began cursing angrily and indignantly in his heart.

<em>Did this fella come for the assessment or to show that he’s rich? Gosh, what’s the point of bringing so many difficult to refine Dharmic Artifacts for just an Armament Disciple assessment?</em>

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