A World Worth Protecting

1

At that moment, in the open-air square inside the Ethereal City Lord Residence, the guests who had arrived were all gathered in small groups of three to five, chatting and laughing. The topics of their conversations varied widely, jumping from cruisers to luxury goods, then from luxury goods to cultivation, and to the soon to be accessible Mystic Luna Realm.

All sorts of talk went on, and laughter rose frequently and rang through the air. Servants of the residence carrying drinks wove between groups, bringing wine to the esteemed guests.

As the host, Lin Tianhao was surrounded by numerous friends. As they chatted and laughed, his charming manner and attractive appearance caught the admiring eyes of many female cultivators from the other Dao Colleges.

Li Yi was one of them. She was holding a glass of wine and gazing at Lin Tianhao with a smile on her face. As he said something humorous, she pressed her lips into a demure smile. She couldn’t help but draw a comparison between Lin Tianhao and Wang Baole then. Compared to Lin Tianhao, she felt that Wang Baole was akin to a pile of dung…

Besides Lin Tianhao, Zhuo Yixian—with his status as the young master of and heir to the Zhuo family in the Five Generation Sky Clan—was also surrounded by many young men and women who desired his friendship. He engaged in a pleasant conversation with them.

The sons and daughters of senators were all brought up in a superior environment. That led to their desire to boast about their wealth. However, their family clan’s teachings also ingrained deep within them many good qualities. Be it the way they carried themselves or their cultivation; both were exemplary when compared to any typical person.

Many of them were unlike Lin Tianhao, who was a single child. They had elder brothers or elder sisters. Compared to the higher cultivation levels of their elder siblings, even though their cultivation didn’t reach the Foundation Establishment realm, they had obviously led rich and exciting lives.

An exemplary upbringing and self-restraint ensured that they dialed down their arrogance when they mingled with the prodigies from the four Dao Colleges. Both groups made friends with one another and started building their own connections.

It could be said that the people gathered there represented a portion of the upcoming generation of young heroes in the Federation. Even though over time, many would fall from the ranks of heroes, numerous great figures of the future would undoubtedly emerge from their midst.

Li Xiu, for example, was one of them. The “Xiu” in the name was not in reference to gender but meant excellence. Li Xiu, naturally, wasn’t a female cultivator, but a tall young man.

As the son of the Head Senator, even though he had an elder sister whose cultivation was approaching the Core Formation realm, he was the only son in his generation in the family clan. The focus and hopes placed on him were greater than the average person.

He was holding a glass of wine and sitting lazily in a corner, and surrounding him were many of the other senators’ children. It was clear that he was treated as the emperor of the group. Even Lin Tianhao, who didn’t follow him around like one of his followers, treated him with extreme cordiality.

“I heard the Ethereal Dao College found themselves a Wang Baole. Tianhao, you’re from the Ethereal Dao College too. You familiar with this Wang Baole?” Li Xiu threw a look over at Lin Tianhao, who was talking to Li Yi, and asked casually.

“Wang Baole…” Lin Tianhao could tell Li Xiu’s interest in Wang Baole. He deliberated for a while. If it had been in the past, he would have seized the opportunity to secretly incite conflict between Li Xiu and Wang Baole even before they had the chance to meet each other. However, after some thought, Lin Tianhao shook his head slightly.

“I’m not familiar. I don’t know much about him.”

“Oh?” Li Xiu’s eyes flashed when he heard Lin Tianhao’s reply. There was a flicker of a smile on his lips. He knew Lin Tianhao’s character and could discern something deeper hidden in the seemingly simple answer.

As Li Xiu pondered, Li Yi snorted in disdain. Despite both of them having the same family name “Li”, they weren’t from the same family clan. She said contemptuously.

“I’m quite familiar with this Wang Baole. He’s despicable, shameless and a pervert. His head is filled with evil and nasty thoughts. Sooner or later, he’ll be castrated and made into minced meat by someone!”

Li Yi’s words were heard by many around her, and they turned and looked at her. Li Xiu had a curious look on his face too. He was about to question her further when a sudden roar, like the rumbling of thunder, came crashing from the distant skies.

The sound was deafening, sending tremors across the air and whipping up fierce winds. The winds blasted the surrounding trees into a flurry and stirred up sand storms. Everyone in the square looked out in shock.

Lin Tianhao, Zhuo Yixian, Li Yi, Li Xiu, and the other young heroes did the same. They turned their faces towards the roaring. Instantly, everyone widened their eyes in shock. Some couldn’t help themselves and gasped out loud.

“What is that!”

In the distant heavens, amidst the boiling clouds and stormy winds, a black spot emerged. It was a small speck that grew in size within the blink of an eye. In the span of a few breaths, it transformed in everyone’s eyes into a giant figure that towered like a small, armored mountain.

The Diamond Ape had arrived!

The appearance of the Diamond Ape, its violence-streaked aura, the pitch black fur exposed outside the armor, its crimson eyes and its flapping wings that stirred violent winds, immediately sent everyone shuddering in awe and fear.

“A monster!”

“A Foundation Establishment realm… a Foundation Establishment realm monster!”

There were countless gasps of shock. It was not merely the young heroes who were stunned; many residents in the city had a changed expression on their faces when they caught a clear look of the Diamond Ape. They retreated amidst cries of terror.

Just imagine… the Diamond Ape’s hundred-meter-tall form, clad in majestic armor and transforming it into the likeness of a Beast God. Its Foundation Establishment realm cultivation alone made it invincible. The imposing and awesome aura it exuded sent all who laid their eyes on it quaking with fear.

Its immense physical form was equally awe-inspiring, amplifying its power.

As it approached, and as its aura radiated from its body, everyone on the open-air square in the Ethereal City Lord Residence sucked in a breath of cold air and shuffled back instinctively. Even the residence’s guards stood stiff with alarm and trepidation.

Fortunately, there were disciples from the Ethereal Dao College amongst the people, who obviously recognized the Diamond Ape. Others from the other Dao Colleges seemed to have heard of the Diamond Ape from the Ethereal Dao College. In their surprise, they started shouting.

“It’s the Diamond Ape from the Beast Taming Pavilion!”

“My god, why is it here?”

“That’s… the Diamond Ape of the Ethereal Dao College!”

The repeated shouts of surprise calmed the crowd down slightly. They were still fearful of the rapidly approaching Diamond Ape. However, as the Diamond Ape continued to approach and grew clearer in everyone’s eyes, the three figures sitting on its shoulders—including that of Wang Baole—were seen by someone.

“There’s someone! There’s someone on the monster’s shoulders!”

“How is that possible? The War Beast of the Ethereal Dao College… has turned into a mere mount!”

The crowd wasn’t given time to get a closer look. With a thundering roar, the charging Diamond Ape descended straight from the heavens. With a loud thunderous sound that sent the ground shaking, the small mountain of a Diamond Ape landed directly on the square in the Ethereal City Lord Residence.

It sent quakes through the ground as it landed. The Diamond Ape seemed pleased. It ignored what, to him, appeared to be tiny little humans, lifted its head skyward, let loose a fierce roar, and thudded its chest with both fists—a loud rumbling resounded in the air. As the crowd looked on with fear, it kneeled, allowing everyone in the crowd, whose scalps were numbed with terror, to see Wang Baole and company sat on its shoulder!

One after the other, the three leaped off the ape’s shoulder. Everyone’s eyes initially honed it on Zhao Yameng and Zhuo Yifan. Zhao Yameng, in her white robes, was like a fairy, unearthly and not of their world. She exuded both purity and grace, and her extraordinary beauty and calm gaze imbued her with a unique charm.

Beside her, Zhuo Yifan stood tall and poised, a charming figure with attractive features and clear eyes untainted by evil. He was like the sun. All who gazed upon him could feel a blinding brilliance emanating from his person.

The couple, one handsome and the other beautiful, was—regardless of height, form, or aura—the pinnacle of perfection on earth. Anyone who had the slightest hint of self-doubt would feel ashamed when standing before them, as well as be robbed of all attention and seem like pale imitations beside the pair.

It was between the two… that Wang Baole stood. His physical appearance was clearly not a match for the other two’s. In terms of his height or body shape, he was nowhere near perfect. However, he remained the glaring focus of attention.

He stood right there, giving off a strange and unexplainable feeling. It was as if… he was the leader in the group of three!

Upon a closer look, it was clear that both Zhuo Yifan and Zhao Yameng had unknowingly fallen half a step behind Wang Baole!

The others in the crowd didn’t know why that was so. Even Zhuo Yifan and Zhao Yameng hadn’t noticed the shift in their mentalities. The various scenes at the Coulomb Basin—such as that of Wang Baole standing before them, his back towering like a mountain—were that etched in their memories!

That battle had an immense impact on them. They might not have shown it most of the time, but deep in their hearts, they had already acknowledged Wang Baole’s position in their circle.

The change in their mentalities affected Zhuo Yifan and Zhao Yameng’s auras. On the other hand, Wang Baole had never known self-doubt; there was no such word in his dictionary. The culmination of the two was Wang Baole standing with his head high and chest out between Zhuo Yifan and Zhao Yameng, slapping his stomach—which had been sucked in when he had puffed his chest out—terrorizing the entire crowd.

“Excuse us for the late arrival.”

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