A World Worth Protecting

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Wang Baole got excited at the possibility of hatching a wonderful holy condor from his egg. He couldn’t help but remember when he had still been at the Ancient Martial realm, he had seen a majestic winged monster on his way back home. The winged monster had been killed by someone in the end… but that didn’t stop Wang Baole from letting his imagination run wild.

In his mind, he saw his future self standing on the wide back of a huge holy condor. The condor’s sharp eyes gazed down on the world beneath it. He stood, with his hands behind his back, and stared down at the earth beneath his feet. It would make such an impressive sight.

<em>It’s already at the True Breath realm at birth. That’s amazing. Its potential is almost as great as mine. </em>Wang Baole was overcome with excitement. He waited happily beside the egg. Watching his own holy condor hatch and arrive into this world was so much more interesting than cultivation or completing his stronghold blueprints.

Wang Baole watched with great anticipation as the eggshell cracked. His excitement grew as the chirping grew louder.

<em>I’ve to give it a name. What would sound good… </em>Wang Baole brainstormed furiously. He thought very hard about the name to give the soon to be born holy condor, a name that was both unique and pleasing to the ear.

<em>Little Red? Little Black? Iron Egg? </em>Wang Baole scratched his head. He thought all those names too common. They didn’t fit the impressive image of his holy condor.

Wang Baole spent a great deal of effort trying to come up with a name. He thought for very long but still could not decide on one that he felt was best. As he was immersed in thought, the cracks lining the monster egg generally spread out across the entire shell. Then, there was a sudden crackle, and a piece of eggshell the size of a fingernail fell off.

Thoughts about names immediately fled Wang Baole’s mind, and his breath stilled for a moment. He looked over immediately, and a furry… leg stretched out from the hole in the egg.

<em>That’s the condor’s leg! </em>Wang Baole’s eyes brightened. He rose to his feet excitedly, but he soon started feeling doubtful. The leg… seemed a lot bigger than what he would expect on a condor.

<em>Something doesn’t seem right… </em>As Wang Baole grew more doubtful, another part of the egg cracked open. Another leg pushed out.

Wang Baole was stunned. He stared in shock at the two furry, outstretched legs kicking about as they dangled from the egg.

<em>Why do I have a feeling that these aren’t claws but… hooves? </em>Wang Baole sucked in a breath of cold air. He had a bad feeling about this and shivered suddenly. There was a cracking sound again. The eggshell started cracking in other places. The third, then fourth leg stuck themselves out from the egg.

Wang Baole was in a complete daze as he stared at the four legs dangling out from the egg.

<em>How can a holy condor have four legs… this must be some kind of a joke! </em>Wang Baole was slightly confused at this point. His thoughts were in a jumble. More parts of the eggshell started cracking and falling off. They crackled loudly. Finally…

A wet, furry head that was only slightly larger than its legs popped out from the egg and some sort of fluid started dripping from its head. The newly born animal was struggling to open its eyes and take a clear look at this new world.

Wang Baole stood before it, his breath quickening and his eyes wide, as he stared at the tiny monster’s head.

<em>Black all over, with two long ears, a long face, a long mouth… I can’t believe this is actually a…</em>

<em>“Son ¹</em>!” Amidst Wang Baole’s shock, the small beast finally opened its eyes. It took a close look around it, and when it saw Wang Baole, it seemed to take a liking towards him. It let out its first sound.

It might have been small, only the size of a palm, but it was still at the True Breath realm. Despite being newly hatched, its voice was bright and piercing, and it rang loudly in the chambers. Wang Baole smacked his forehead. The difference between reality and ideal was simply too great.

<em>The monster egg actually hatched into a donkey! And not just a donkey, but a male donkey! An ass! </em>Wang Baole was about to go mad. He couldn’t believe it. Most eggs would hatch into winged monsters, and he would have been fine with a snake, but it was a donkey. Wang Baole had always thought that donkeys were born and not hatched…

The little donkey didn’t seem to sense Wang Baole’s frustration and annoyance. After struggling out of its shell, it failed to stand firmly on its feet. Its feet crossed, and it fell to the floor. It slid around on the floor and tried its best to climb to its feet. After a long while, it finally managed to get its two front legs up. Every time it tried to put weight on its hind legs, it would fall with a thud to the floor.

After a few attempts, the donkey finally stopped. Its ears drooped, and it stared at Wang Baole with a lost look. Then, it looked at the eggshell next to it. With a sudden bite, it munched down a part of the eggshell.

The eggshell seemed to taste not bad. The donkey’s eyes brightened. It sprawled on the floor and started munching. As Wang Baole stared sullenly at it, it finished eating the entire eggshell. Even the fluids on the floor had been licked clean…

After it was done with those, it still seemed hungry. It stared at Wang Baole with its big eyes, blinked and bleated.

“Son!”

Wang Baole’s face darkened. He knew that that was how donkeys sounded. Regardless, he still felt there was something weird about that cry. The little donkey saw Wang Baole’s lack of reaction and seemed to panic. It cried out even more loudly.

“Son!”

Wang Baole’s head swelled as he stared at the donkey sprawled on the floor, kicking its legs and shouting at him. He grabbed hold of the donkey and pulled it in front of him. He stared at the donkey furiously.

“Stop saying that!”

“Son! Son!” The donkey didn’t stop. Its cries got even louder. Wang Baole sunk into a bad mood as he witnessed the scene before him. It was beyond what words could describe. He sighed. He had nothing suitable for the donkey to munch on, but its cries were simply too grating on the ears. Wang Baole pulled out the snacks that Li Yi had bought him, grabbed a handful of them and threw them out.

As soon as he let go of the snacks, the little donkey fell with a thud to the floor again. It saw the snacks and stopped braying, crawling towards the snacks with great difficulty. It soon got into close proximity. Without even tearing open the packaging, it swallowed the snacks whole, packaging and all…

It soon finished all the snacks that Wang Baole had flung at it. That was when it went back sprawling on the floor, satisfied, shut its eyes, and went to sleep.

Wang Baole stared at the snoring donkey and suddenly felt exhausted. After a long moment, he sighed. He ignored the donkey and sat down cross-legged, intending to use cultivation as a means of releasing his inner frustrations.

It didn’t take long… a day had barely passed before the meditating Wang Baole heard the cries of the donkey sounding next to his ear again.

“Son!”

Wang Baole twitched. He opened his eyes with resignation. When he looked at the donkey though, he let out a sound of surprise.

<em>It’s actually growing so fast? </em>Wang Baole was slightly shocked. The donkey had grown a few sizes larger than it had been a day ago. It had been the size of a mouse and could be held in his palm. Now, he would have to hold it with two palms instead, as it was about the same size as a rabbit.

After some thought, Wang Baole threw a few more bags of snacks at it. The little donkey perked up, braying as it munched happily.

Wang Baole sighed when he heard its braying. He hadn’t hatched a War Beast at all. He had hatched a beast that was going to climb all over his head…

Two weeks passed. During those two weeks, the donkey would bray whenever it got hungry, and after eating, it would sleep. It grew at a rate that even Wang Baole found incredulous. The donkey was no longer the size of a rabbit but had grown to become as large as a small pony.

It was black all over, and its large eyes and long ears gave it an adorable appearance—as long as it wasn’t braying. Its growth spurt also led to an increase in its strength. It could finally stand on all four legs, and it raced about in Wang Baole’s residence all day long.

Wang Baole could accept all of that. What he found unacceptable was… the donkey’s enormous appetite. It had strong teeth, and its stomach was like a black hole. It could bite through anything and digest anything.

In those two weeks, it depleted all the snacks Li Yi had bought for Wang Baole. It even started munching on his furniture. Within that period, whenever Wang Baole ended his meditation and opened his eyes, he would see his furniture missing a leg or his room missing a door…

Finally, his residence was emptied of all furniture…

Wang Baole was about to go mad. He realized he might not be able to afford the black donkey for long. He stared at the donkey as it swallowed his wardrobe door whole and shouted angrily.

“Fine, keep on eating! When the day comes when you grow larger, and I finally can’t afford to feed you anymore, I’ll grill you and turn you into a meal!”

The little donkey was munching on the wardrobe door. It seemed to sense something and raised its head in doubt, staring at Wang Baole innocently. It seemed to believe that Wang Baole was trying to fight him for his food, so it panicked and ate more quickly. With a few crunchy bites, it swallowed the entire wardrobe door. It seemed to have eaten too quickly though and almost choked…

<em>This donkey seems a bit stupid! </em>Wang Baole smiled wryly. He stared at his spacious residence and let out a long sigh.

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