A World Worth Protecting

1

The Ethereal Dao College Sect Lord smiled a smile of consolation when he saw the expression on Wang Baole’s face. The Ethereal Dao College had had no choice but to participate in the fiasco. He didn’t wish for such an exemplary disciple, whom he approved of, whom he recognized to have a bright future, to lose hope and be disillusioned with the college.

The Grand Supreme Elder must have thought the same. That was why he had personally done the deed and exacted revenge for Wang Baole. He had left the old woman with her life not out of pity but to serve as punishment and a warning to the other political forces. It was also a message to the White Deer Dao College and the current Federation President to show their extreme displeasure!

The look on Wang Baole’s face made him feel that everything they had done was not in vain. In his comfort, he spoke a while longer with Wang Baole. Before leaving, he gave Wang Baole a pill bottle.

The bottle contained extremely rare pills for healing. There were three five-colored pills. Any single one of them would fetch an extraordinary price. This was because they were equivalent to having three chances to save one’s life from the brink of death.

After seeing the Sect Lord off, Wang Baole stood outside his residence. He lifted his head and stared at the sky. After a long while, he inhaled deeply. He could feel the release of tension from his body. He thought back to everything that had happened in the Mystic Luna Realm. They seemed a lifetime away.

After a long while, Wang Baole released a long sigh of satisfaction.

<em>It’s better this way. Death is too good for her… After all, dying is just a moment’s pain. But now, she’ll be suffering for years, maybe decades, without rest! </em>With that thought, Wang Baole finally let go of his hatred towards the old witch.

<em>As for the Galactic Dusk Sect… </em>Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He concealed the icy glint flickering in them.

<em>What’s left now is for us to return to Earth. </em>Wang Baole buried his thoughts and feelings deep in his heart. He turned and gazed at Earth, which was hanging amidst the stars in the sky. He studied the blue starry heavens. Longing unfurled in his heart—longing for his parents, for the people back in the college, for the things they used to do, and for every tree and leaf in the college.

It was as Wang Baole had predicted. Later that night, he received a notice from the college informing him to return to Earth the next day. It was clear that the matters pertaining to the Mystic Luna Realm affair had been settled. There was no need for their cooperation and help anymore, which was why they could leave.

Wang Baole packed his luggage and then settled down into a cross-legged sitting position. He allowed his emotions to settle and for himself to come to peace with everything that had happened. This carried on until late in the night… until an unexpected visitor arrived outside his residence!

The sounds of knocking on his door resounded in his room. Wang Baole, who had been meditating, was startled. He lifted his head. The doors to his room slid open soundlessly, revealing a towering figure standing outside his room.

He stood there, as tall as the heavens, exuding an indescribable, oppressive presence. There was also a blood-colored spirit energy rippling in the air. Despite having clearly been suppressed, a muted surge still leaked out and spread throughout the room.

Wang Baole was no stranger to the energy signature. It was the Divine Armament!

He was equally familiar with the person approaching. He was… the Federation President, Duan Muque!

Alarm bells rang in Wang Baole’s head, and he immediately became cautious. He rose to his feet hurriedly and cupped his fists in a bow towards Duan Muque.

“Greetings, President!”

Duan Muque didn’t speak immediately. He stood there and eyed Wang Baole. His shrewd mind and his years of experience told him that Wang Baole was clearly wary of him. He didn’t tone down the force of his presence but instead intensified it.

Wang Baole stared at Duan Muque’s smile, and his breathing quickened. His instincts told him to step back. This meeting with Duan Muque was completely different from their previous encounter at the Federation’s Hundred Seedling Award Ceremony.

Then, Wang Baole hadn’t known Duan Muque. Now, however, after all that he had gone through in the Mystic Luna Realm, he had come to his own conclusions. He knew Duan Muque’s cunning and the hidden depths of his thoughts.

If they had been on Earth, Wang Baole would definitely be more nervous than he was now. But they were on the moon now. Wang Baole remembered the Night Immortal King and the green lotus inside his body and gained a slight measure of confidence. He didn’t take a step back and, instead, raised his head and met Duan Muque’s eyes.

Their eyes met, and a flicker of surprise flashed across Duan Muque’s eyes. Surprise slowly transformed into approval, then into a smile on his lips.

“Wang Baole, come take a walk with me,” he said, then turned and walked away.

Wang Baole considered for a moment before following Duan Muque. They started strolling on the vast and expansive base grounds.

They didn’t leave the base. Instead, the two of them walked along a small path in the base, treading on the dim light cast from the overhead lamps. Half an hour passed, but Duan Muque didn’t speak; Wang Baole was silent as well.

They walked past a pagoda that was in the midst of being rebuilt. Duan Muque continued to look ahead as his voice rang out.

“Wang Baole, you asked me before when you were in the capital city about how one becomes the Federation President.”

Wang Baole raised his head and stared at Duan Muque’s back when he heard Duan Muque’s words. He remembered asking that, as that had been his dream.

“What I told you then was the way to become the Federation President. What happened in the Mystic Luna Realm…” Duan Muque paused in his steps as his words trailed off. He turned and leveled an unfathomable, meaningful stare at Wang Baole.

“… is the first lesson you need to learn on your path to becoming the Federation President!”

“So, what have you learned?” Duan Muque smiled lightly after he asked the question. With a wave of his right hand, he threw a black pill bottle towards Wang Baole.

“This is the antidote. The fruit was poisoned, and I also hexed it. You must have come across your own share of good fortune as I can’t feel the hex on you, and the poison likely didn’t work on you either. However, if you’re still worried, this is the antidote. You can take it and get rid of any hidden complications.

“As for the fruit… the most it can do for a human is strengthen his body. It can’t be used for any breakthroughs in cultivation. Only mutations, such as the giant tree, can devour and absorb it. The Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect practices wood element mystic techniques, and I have a feeling he’s no longer human anymore.”

Done speaking, Duan Muque shook his head and laughed. He turned and walked away, vanishing into the distance. He left Wang Baole standing alone before the pagoda, reeling in shock.

Wang Baole’s breathing was uneven. He held onto the antidote and stared into the distance where Duan Muque had disappeared. After a very long time, he took a deep breath in. Finally, he knew the truth to everything that had happened in the Mystic Luna Realm.

The giant tree mutation had plotted against the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect, as well as the Federation. Its objective had been to monopolize the fruit!

The Five Generation Sky Clan had gone along with the schemes of the Galactic Dusk Sect because of what the Galactic Dusk Sect had promised them. Wang Baole was unaware of the details, but he believed it must have been something the Five Generation Sky Clan had been dying to get their hands on.

The Galactic Dusk Sect had expended the most effort and resources for the entire affair. Their Sect Lord had even made a personal appearance, as his aim had been the same as the giant tree. They had both desired the fruit, and had wanted to use it to break through their cultivation and enter the Nascent Soul realm!

That was why the old witch had been so fearless. If her Sect Lord had indeed had a breakthrough and attained the Nascent Soul realm, the current political stalemate in the Federation would be broken. The loss of balance would herald a new set of rules!

It might be challenging to determine who had been the mantis preying upon the cicada in the group of the giant tree, the Five Generation Sky Clan, and the Galactic Dusk Sect, and who had been the cicada that had been preyed upon. However, one thing was clear; the oriole had been the Federation President, Duan Muque, right from the beginning!

It was because his goal had been grander. He had planned for the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect’s loss and the maximum weakening of their power, which in turn strengthened the political stability of the Federation. He had also used some unknown means to locate the fruit prior to the opening up of the mystic realm and had planted both a poison and a hex in the fruit. Regardless of who eventually absorbed the fruit, he would be poisoned and fall under Duan Muque’s control!

Be it the giant tree or the Five Generation Sky Clan and Galactic Dusk Sect, they had lost this round. The only one to emerge victoriously was… Duan Muque!

<em>So, this is the first lesson I learned in order to become the Federation President…</em>Wang Baole was silent for a long while. A glimmer began to shine in his eyes. He remembered something similar in the high officials’ autobiographies.

Wang Baole returned to his residence while deep in thought. He thought for a very long while. His experience in the Mystic Luna Realm and what he had learned was a turning point in his life. He had gone from mere realization to deep consideration, and he finally ended up with strong conviction.

<em>My dream is still… to become the Federation President! </em>Wang Baole met the next day with a raised head and a look of resolution in his eyes. He stepped out of his residence and onto the cruiser that would bring him back to Earth. He shelved the many thoughts, including that of murder, that had arisen from his encounters on the moon to the back of his mind.

When the cruiser rose, humming, into the air, and as it was about to speed off into space, Wang Baole stood on the deck and patted his sizable stomach. The darkness and violence in his eyes vanished. In their place was his usual smiling cheerfulness. He grabbed Zhuo Yifan, who was standing beside him, into a hug, and started bragging about his adventures. As he laughed, he turned his head and stared at the moon through the cruiser’s windows. It grew smaller as the distance between cruiser and moon widened.

<em>Farewell, moon.</em>

<em>Farewell, Night Immortal King.</em>

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