A World Worth Protecting

“What’s going on? Is that fatty… Wang Baole?”

“Is this what a legendary hero looks like? He must be it. There’s no other way to explain why he’s alone while others have a ten-thousand man setup!”

“And that donkey. I remember a legend that begins with a donkey…”

Every viewer in the Federation was shocked. The difference in resources in this trial was simply too striking. Compared to the bustling zones crowded with countless people, Wang Baole had only himself and a donkey. He immediately caught everyone’s attention. Commotion spread across every city.

Many from the four Dao Colleges were also following the live stream. They were all stunned when they saw the scene. Those from the White Deer Dao College immediately showed their disdain. A few even started to joke mockingly.

“Pandering to the masses! He doesn’t know his own limits!”

The reactions of those in the Ethereal Dao College were completely different from those in the White Deer Dao College. Liu Daobin and the others had been stunned when they saw the sight of Wang Baole and his donkey, but Liu Daobin had reacted swiftly. He eyed the silent crowd and immediately cheered.

“That’s what I call the greatest senior brother our Ethereal Dao College has ever seen! Did you guys see that? The fearless attitude. As if proclaiming that he alone can take on ten thousand others!” Liu Daobin tried his best to pull together some semblance of speech and spoke loudly. As soon as his words rang out, many in the crowd immediately responded positively. They looked at Liu Daobin with respect in their eyes. It was quite a feat he had achieved, stringing together such a pretty speech.

The Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College was watching the live streaming as well. He smacked his forehead. He was speechless. At the same time, his heart ached for Wang Baole, but he could only sigh.

Zhuo Yifan and Zhao Yameng were watching the live stream at different locations too. There was exasperation on their faces, but no hint of surprise or shock. They were already used to Wang Baole’s antics.

The residents of Earth and Mars were in an uproar. All the teachers and students in the Dao Mountain Mist Academy were tuning in. Jin Duozhi’s voice was the loudest, but compared to Liu Daobin, what he said sounded slightly less polished. He had focused on the heroic figure that Wang Baole was displaying.

Wang Baole had stolen the limelight and drawn all eyes to him, but he was oblivious to it all. He wasn’t even thinking about how the people watching the live stream might feel. He himself was simmering in frustration. He was extremely unhappy with the speed the donkey was eating the grass.

He observed the two zones sandwiching his. One belonged to Zhuo Yixian, another to a candidate from the Martian military. The latter was shameless. Each one of his servants was equipped with ten Baole Cannons. When the hundred thousand Baole Cannons lined up together, they created a majestic sight.

That wasn’t the end of it. Zhuo Yixian was even more infuriating. In a short span of time, his servants had gone to work like madmen and built a towering city wall…

The wall was made of metal and black in color. His ten thousand servants carried out numerous Fire God Cannons, as well as other large Dharma artifacts as the construction progressed. It was clear that his city model was going to possess considerable offensive and defensive capabilities.

This was only the basic framework. The other candidates had done something similar as well. The most impressive model was not from Zhuo Yixian or the candidate from the Martian military… but Li Yi!

Li Yi had gotten her ten thousand servants to set up an array formation. From afar, lines of light crisscrossed one another where she stood, forming a gigantic disk that gave off an immense, powerful Spirit Qi. Its glowing seemed to resonate with that of the seal over the Divine Armament Catacombs.

That was truly an incredible feat!

<em>Luckily, I was prepared before I came here…</em> Wang Baole cheered for and consoled himself. He tried to ignore the elaborate construction taking place in the nine zones around him, but he couldn’t help sneaking a few glances at them. He saw how the basic structure of their city models steadily formed under the help of their respective ten thousand helpers and couldn’t control his emotions.

His eyes felt watery, and his heart ached with bitterness at the sight. He turned and saw the donkey slacking. Furious at its unrepentant attitude, he kicked it.

“Quick, get to work!”

The donkey turned and gave Wang Baole a sad look, as if it had been abused without cause. It continued to nibble listlessly at the grass…

Time passed steadily. An hour went by. The entire Federation watched in real-time as Li Yi and the other eight candidates continued their work in their respective zones. Their work had shown some results, and it was clear that what they had built was capable of holding up against the Beast Tide. They had numbers on their side. Everyone knew there was no time to waste and spared no time as they worked frantically.

Sounds of explosions and clashing rang in the air as the zones bustled with activity. The city structures in the zones looked sturdy and impressive. In Wang Baole’s zone, there remained him alone and a donkey.

The donkey kept trying to steal breaks to the point of staging a revolt in the end. Despite multiple kicks from Wang Baole, it stopped working. Instead, it sprawled on the ground and snorted. It wouldn’t get back up to its feet and instead started rolling around in the grass…

The residents of the Federation watched with strange looks on their faces. Wang Baole sighed. He stared at the vast expanse of his zone and its barren land. Then, he walked over to a spot he had found earlier. The ground there was slightly softer.

The patch of land had been covered in weeds. The donkey might be lazy, but it had started its weed extermination on that patch of land. That was why it was relatively clean of grass.

After taking a few steps, Wang Baole sighed again. He patted his storage bracelet and, under the stunned gazes of the viewers watching from outside the Divine Armament Zone, pulled out a small chair…

He placed the chair on the ground and sat on it. Then, as if bored, he pulled out a bag of chicken wings from his storage bracelet and started eating…

A distance away, the donkey’s eyes started sparkling. It dashed over and crouched before Wang Baole. It stared unblinkingly at the wings and began to drool. It started fawning, and its tail began to wag furiously.

“Are you a dog or a donkey? Where did you learn such a stupid habit? Wagging your tail! You’re an embarrassment…” Wang Baole glared. Then, sparing a thought for the donkey’s feelings, he reluctantly flung the chicken bones of the wings he had left over.

The donkey didn’t seem to mind at all. With a loud crunch, it bit into the bones and swallowed them. Then, it continued to wag its tail…

The entire thing was caught on the live stream by everyone in the Federation. They had been paying attention to Wang Baole. They didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when they saw him sitting down and snacking.

“What sort of courage must one have… to even be able to eat at this critical time? No wonder he’s so fat!”

“This Wang Baole is a bit too much. The donkey is so adorable and even helped him with his work, but he only threw bones at it? The fatty even checked if there was any meat left before giving the bones to the donkey!”

“My heart weeps for the donkey!”

Countless gasps of shocked resounded in the homes across the Federation. The Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College placed his palm over his forehead, utterly speechless. Liu Daobin was stunned as well. He racked his brains, then smacked his thigh suddenly.

“This is the face of a man fearless before death and danger! Everyone else is nervous and afraid, but our great senior Wang Baole remains composed. You may think he’s eating, but in truth, he is showing the world that he’s calm and untroubled by the challenges he is faced with. He has been gifted with wisdom. He has a plan!”

The students heard what Liu Daobin had said, and their admiration and respect grew. Not for Wang Baole, but for Liu Daobin…

Liu Daobin felt he had reacted quite quickly as well and felt pleased with himself. Then, while no one else was looking, he quickly turned on his voice transmission ring and whispered into it.

“Say no more, I owe Wang Baole a great debt. Even if the odds on Li Yi are three to one and his are a thousand to one, I’m still going to bet ten Spirit Stones on Wang Baole! Help me place a thousand Spirit Stones on Li Yi too!”

Due to the scale of the New Mars Region trial and the attention it was generating, many important figures who rarely made public appearances in the Federation had emerged and set up temporary gambling dens for the event. News of this had spread throughout the Federation. Both commonfolk and cultivators were allowed to participate.

The odds for Wang Baole was a thousand to one while Li Yi’s was three to one. As the trial progressed, more and more bets were placed. Compared to Wang Baole, the most popular betting choice was Li Yi!

Time passed steadily. Wang Baole and his donkey had eaten ten bags of chicken wings. It was then that a deafening thunder erupted from within the sealed Divine Armament Catacombs that sat in the middle of the ten candidates’ respective zones.

It was deafening like thunder. As it resonated in the air, a somber expression appeared on the faces of Li Yi and the other candidates. They barked out orders, and a portion of their people separated from the rest and prepared for battle.

They all knew that the real trial had just begun!

Wang Baole lifted his head and glanced over as well. At that precise moment, the seal over the Divine Armament Catacombs… thinned considerably. Openings appeared in the seal…

Instantly… the howlings and roars of beasts erupted from the catacombs. Gruesome-looking beasts, seemingly in the state of partial decomposition, crawled out of the catacombs through the openings. Madness and violence colored their eyes. They surged out swiftly like violent waves!

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