A World Worth Protecting

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1

Zhou Lu’s breath froze upon hearing Wang Baole’s words. She had expected Wang Baole’s denial, but she never would have thought that he would call her a fair lady.

The compliment did nothing for her temper. She snorted. This was not the time for revenge, however. She glared at Wang Baole and turned toward Chen Yutong, rising to her feet and saluting him.

“You must be Senior Brother Chen Yutong. If you may, please let me have the jade missive issued by Ethereal Dao College,” Zhou Lu requested; regardless of her military status, a greater degree of courtesy was required for someone like Chen Yutong.

There was his cultivation level to consider as well as his family background. For someone to become a candidate included in the running for the Dharmic Armament Pavilion’s Deputy Pavilion Head, his status outside the college would have to be extremely elevated.

Chen Yutong set aside his thoughts and feelings, stepped forward, and presented the jade missive. He was courteous and respectful despite Zhou Lu’s lower cultivation level. The positive feelings that Zhou Lu had for Chen Yutong increased substantially.

It helped that Chen Yutong had the appearance of a gentleman—well-mannered and polite. With such status and cultivation level, he was the object of adoration of many female and male disciples in Ethereal Dao College’s Upper Academy Island. Despite that, he remained alone and free of romantic entanglements.

The exchange between Zhou Lu and Chen Yutong proceeded smoothly; Ethereal Dao College’s missive was swiftly executed by the military. They were arranged to be stationed at a minor stronghold. Between Beast Tides, they would be charged with the task of repairing and restoring the Fire God Cannon in that stronghold.

After the mission was confirmed and they had received the safe travel jade slip issued by the military, Chen Yutong, alongside Wang Baole and the rest, walked out of the camp. Zhou Lu leveled an icy glare at Wang Baole’s retreating back and sneered silently.

<em>I, Zhou Lu, am not one who abuses public power to avenge a personal wrong. If I were the sort, getting him skinned alive would be a piece of cake! But I will get my revenge… eventually!</em>

She turned her eyes away from Wang Baole and continued with her work.

Outside, having left the tent and boarded the cruiser once more, in preparation of heading toward the mission’s designated minor stronghold, Chen Yutong, Zhou Penghai, and Sun Fang looked at Wang Baole. The latter two did not feel like it was their place to ask any questions, but Chen Yutong could not help his curiosity and finally spoke.

“Baole, you definitely know the female officer just now. Did you meet her in Spirit Breath Village as well? Can it be that she tried to strip you naked, too? That doesn’t seem right. She didn’t seem like she had been enrolled in the Upper Academy of the four Dao Colleges. If she had, she wouldn’t have been able to join the army at such a young age. This must have been some arrangement by some family clan…” Chen Yutong looked at Wang Baole with suspicion.

Wang Baole let out a cough. There was no one else here. He decided not to hide the truth any longer. Exasperated, he spoke.

“Her name is Zhou Lu. She didn’t try to strip me naked, but… I kicked her once on her butt. I remember her wearing something skin-tight then. The kick made one cheek bigger than the other… turned a peach into a gourd…”

Wang Baole’s description was extremely vivid. A very clear picture of what had happened appeared in the other three’s minds. Zhou Penghai and Sun Fang had no choice but to concede defeat then. They stared at Wang Baole and could not help but think that the fatty standing before them had reached a certain pinnacle when it came to flirting with women, one that left them trailing in the dust.

Chen Yutong smiled wryly before giving Wang Baole a pat on the shoulder. He spoke slowly and with great intent.

“Baole, women are troublesome creatures. My advice is to stay clear of them in the future. They are too much trouble. I’m speaking from experience, so just take it from me.”

Wang Baole thought there was something odd with what Chen Yutong just said. He barely had any chance to mull it over before the cruiser that they were on reached the designated minor stronghold.

The minor stronghold was built on a mountain peak. From afar, the stronghold looked pitch-black in its entirety and was shaped like an enormous, metallic half-moon. It towered hundreds of meters tall and spanned more than three thousand meters. The primordial jungle-facing side was curved like an arc; from it, hundreds of branches spread out and ended in a moon-shaped platform. The entire structure looked like a spoon.

Atop each round platform stood a huge Fire God Cannon that rose thirty-odd meters skyward. On each round platform, many warriors were stationed, numbering to the thousand.

Some of the warriors were responsible for the basic repair of the Fire God Cannon; others were tasked with exterminating monsters during Beast Tides and preventing the monsters from breaking through and damaging the Fire God Cannon.

The arrangement was decided because, on the one hand, the Fire God Cannon required guarding, and on the other hand, the collapse of the Fire God Cannon would result in an explosive self-destructive force, which meant that it could not be placed too near the stronghold.

Concurrently, on both sides of the stronghold, within the rise and fall of the mountain range, could be seen a translucent barrier. It flowed with the mountain range and expanded toward both ends. It was like a protective shield that not only served as a defense measure against the beasts surging from the wildlands but also as a link to two farther strongholds on either end.

If one were to stand perched on the highest peak and lower their gaze upon the scene before them, they would see that each and every one of the minor strongholds were like tiny spots that surrounded the focal seventh primary stronghold and sat within a vast and shimmering glow of a protective array formation.

Besides defending against the invasion of Beast Tides, the minor strongholds were also tasked with the mission of guarding against array formation attacks targeting the seventh primary stronghold. Regardless of where the Beast Tide sprung from, the spirit energy from the array formation attacks that they conjured would be dispersed across the various minor strongholds. Such a strategy strengthened the stability of the protective array formation.

As a result, every minor stronghold became a potential breach point in the eyes of the monsters. That was why each minor stronghold was equipped with its own Fire God Cannons. Though the numbers were not as great as that of the primary strongholds, they still numbered in the hundreds. In addition, there was also a teleportation formation, so backup could be sent or received in a moment’s notice.

These destructive minor strongholds under the seventh primary stronghold numbered in the hundreds. Together, they formed the Federation’s Seventh Imperial Gate. They were like an impenetrable wall that had stood the test of countless Beast Tides to this day, prevailing at the end of each battle.

The flying cruiser descended and landed in the stronghold. Wang Baole and his friends met the commander-in-charge, a strong bulky man with a huge beard, and eased themselves into the crowd.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

During these three days, Wang Baole barely had any time for cultivation. He followed Chen Yutong’s lead and inspected a portion of the Fire God Cannons.

Many disciples from the four Dao Colleges had also been assigned to this minor stronghold. Combat cultivators counted for the majority, but a number of Alchemy and Array Formation cultivators, as well as cultivators from other disciplines, were also present.

Everyone had their own task. Dharmic Armament cultivators tasked with the repair and restoration of Fire God Cannons, including Wang Baole’s group, numbered at a dozen or more. All of them spread out to repair the cannons; only thirty cannons fell under the care of Wang Baole’s group.

It was a low number; however, the Fire God Cannon was a machine of great complexity. During those three days, Wang Baole studied and inspected the machines ceaselessly; he had been blown away by the cannon’s structure right from the start.

Every Fire God Cannon had been constructed from more than a hundred Numinous Treasures. Each Numinous Treasure formed one part of the machine. When the Fire God Cannon was activated, its power was more than the sum of all the Numinous Treasures combined.

It was precisely because of such complexity that ordinary cultivators were unable to manage when things went wrong. The warriors were not qualified to repair Numinous Treasures. Even Wang Baole, Zhou Penghai, and Sun Fang could only serve as assistants; the primary duty of repair and restoration fell upon Chen Yutong.

Wang Baole was already capable of crafting Numinous Treasures, though. As such, during these three days’ study, his understanding of the composite Numinous Treasure grew at a rapid pace, astounding even Chen Yutong. The latter eventually grew confident enough to let Wang Baole go about the repair work independently. This lessened the team’s workload substantially.

Such busy work continued for a week. Only after they had inspected all Fire God Cannons, as well as repaired and replaced the necessary parts, did Wang Baole’s team have time to take a breather.

At this point, their mission was almost halfway to completion. What remained was to ensure the cannons’ smooth operations during the Beast Tides.

During the time leading up to the Beast Tides, Chen Yutong spent a large part of his making friends with other disciples from the other Dao Colleges. Zhou Penghai eagerly followed suit, while Sun Fang got friendly with the military officers.

Wang Baole was the only one who took a greater liking to the warriors instead of the army commanders. During the course of the week, on many occasions, he found that many of the warriors were at the Ancient Martial realm. They were obviously not his match, but when they looked at him, their eyes were filled with admiration as well as protectiveness.

Not seeking to be protected but to protect Wang Baole, or to be more precise, to protect cultivators like Wang Baole!

Wang Baole’s repeated encounters with such a protective streak left him greatly shaken.

Despite being a cultivator, these Ancient Martial realm warriors still thought of protecting him.

In their eyes, cultivators were few and rare; they symbolized hope; they were to be protected at all costs!

Cultivators who could create and restore Fire God Cannons all the more so!

As Wang Baole gradually came to this realization, a strange and indescribable feeling stirred within him. He saw many warriors his age, the battle scars many of them carried, and the marks left on their Dharmic Artifacts that spoke of countless damages and repair.

As he was cultivating in the Dao college, these people were engaging in life-or-death battles with monsters.

These were the warriors who gave their blood and life in exchange for time for cultivators to mature and strengthen and a more peaceful life for the common folk.

This was why as the work slowed down, Wang Baole chose to approach these warriors and, to the best of his ability, repaired and treated the flaws on Dharmic Artifact. His work and his character gradually led to his fostering a familiarity with the warriors.

After they got familiar with one another, on many occasions, Wang Baole forgot his position as a cultivator. He was different when he was in the company of the warriors.

“Come, who was it who said that I won’t be able to beat him at arm wrestling? Let’s put that to the test today. Loser washes the socks for everybody!” At the open square, outside barracks that housed a hundred odd warriors, laughter and cheering rang out loudly. Sat there was Wang Baole. He slammed the fist of a thick-muscled, grimacing man before him onto the table and shouted smugly.

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