A World Worth Protecting

1

The mission to gather identity tokens awarded different battle credits for different types of tokens. This was clearly outlined in the mission details. For example, a hundred battle credits would be awarded for the submission of an identity token that belonged to an outer sect disciple!

This surprised Wang Baole. He wouldn’t have felt this way without a basis of comparison available. Compared to the majority of the earlier missions he had seen, which only awarded single- or double-digit battle credits, an outer sect disciple’s identity token would earn one hundred battle credits. It was clearly quite a good reward.

<em>What kind of disciple am I now? I wasn’t issued an identity token after arriving at the Vast Expanse Dao Palace… </em>Wang Baole lost himself in thought. He recalled what Little Missy had shared about the power and strength of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Then, he considered the current state of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. A thought began to form in his mind.

<em>Perhaps this isn’t the real Vast Expanse Dao Palace. The real Vast Expanse Dao Palace rests in the sword body that’s pierced through the sun… The identity tokens that the mission requires are the identity tokens belonging to the disciples of the former Vast Expanse Dao Palace!</em>

Wang Baole continued reading the mission details as he thought over the matter. He soon saw the reward for an inner sect disciple’s identity token. It was worth a thousand battle credits!

Wang Baole’s heart began to speed up at the sight of that. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw that there were other higher-tiered rewards.

<em>Twenty thousand credits for core disciples!</em>

<em>Twenty-five thousand credits… for an Elder’s token!</em>

<em>And… oh my god, a Grand Supreme Elder’s identity token is actually worth… five million credits! </em>Wang Baole might have been able to hold back his shock for the earlier rewards, but when he found out that the final reward for a Grand Supreme Elder’s identity token was five million credits, he couldn’t control his gasp of shock.

His gasp was heard by another Vast Expanse Dao Palace cultivator who had just received his own mission and was about to leave. The cultivator rolled his eyes and glanced at Wang Baole. He had been scornful at first, but then he noticed Wang Baole’s figure. The scorn on his face eased away. Even though he could tell that Wang Baole wasn’t a cultivator from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace, and despite having heard many rumors regarding the group of cultivators who had come from the Federation on Earth, Wang Baole’s figure still made him see Wang Baole in a different light. He smiled and said.

“If I can get my hands on the Grand Supreme Elder’s identity token, I’d be an idiot to give it away for five million credits. That thing… if you can get your hands on it, the rights it contains could probably allow you to command the entire sect!”

Wang Baole turned his head upon hearing those words. He blinked. The cultivator standing beside him had a child-like face that showed no hint of his age. His cultivation was like his own, at the early-stage Core Formation realm. As for his status—the disciples around them seemed polite to him when they saw him.

These were unimportant. What was most important… was his figure. What Wang Baole saw was a man who stood above the rest, exemplary and incredibly slim.

As Wang Baole eyed the fat cultivator’s figure, the other also glanced at Wang Baole’s tummy. Approval flashed across his eyes. He smiled and said.

“Fellow Daoist, you’ve got quite a nice figure.”

Wang Baole’s eyes flashed. He coughed and spoke.

“Since we both have such amazing figures, why not get to know each other better?” As he spoke, Wang Baole pulled out a bag of snacks that had already been opened from his storage bracelet and handed it over to the fat cultivator.

The fat cultivator had been about to say something before he saw the snacks and promptly forgot what he was going to say next. He took the bag and sniffed at it. Then, he pulled a piece out, popped it into his mouth, and tasted it. His eyes lit up.

“The taste is a bit funny, but it’s not bad at all.” As he spoke, he pulled out a few fruits from his storage bag and threw them at Wang Baole.

They appeared to make their acquaintances through this exchange of snacks. They didn’t engage in any deeper conversation, though they did exchange their contact details before leaving.

There were still no arrangements made for Wang Baole in the next two weeks. Besides training, Wang Baole also spent some time thinking about the fat cultivator called Yun Piaozi. He shared a portion of his dwindling supply of snacks with the cultivator. The equally slender and slim duo built a friendship on this exchange of snacks.

It might only be a budding friendship, still considerably weak and fragile, but this was still the first native cultivator that Wang Baole had come to know in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace.

Besides, he wasn’t of Feng Qiuran’s faction or Mie Liezi’s faction, but a disciple of You Ran. His stance towards the Federation was that of neutrality.

In addition, they seemed to share similar interests and hence could chat about many things. Wang Baole took the opportunity to find out why he hadn’t been assigned anything. Yun Piaozi seemed to have his ways as well. He soon found out why for Wang Baole.

Wang Baole had been waiting for an entire month without being assigned to an outer island like the other Federation Seedlings. This wasn’t because the Vast Expanse Dao Palace wanted to keep him on the main island. It was because he was the only Core Formation realm cultivator amongst the Federation Seedlings, as well as their leader. Feng Qiuran’s intentions were to place him on an island that was rich in Spirit Qi and of a tier only slightly lower than an island typically run by a Nascent Soul. He could then monopolize the island’s Spirit Qi and resources.

The island had already been identified. It was one of the top twenty treasure islands amongst the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s numerous islands. A spirit meridian rested within the island. In addition, the island also produced an herb called the Green Fire Grass. It wasn’t an expensive herb, but once planted on the island, it enjoyed a high survival rate and flourished across large parts of the island.

This was also why the Green Fire Island was highly valued, and why Wang Baole’s placement was strongly opposed by Mie Liezi’s faction. Mie Liezi himself had his own candidate for the island lord. The dispute between the two parties resulted in the delay in Wang Baole’s deployment.

“But Brother Baole, there’s no need to be so anxious. I’ve heard that the two Elders seem to have come to a compromise. You should be receiving your orders soon.”

Yun Piaozi found Wang Baole relatable and easy to talk to, but he had no intention of forming a deeper friendship. However, he knew how to deal with people and enjoyed investing in them. He quite liked Wang Baole as well. Be it his first initiation of communication or what he was sharing with Wang Baole now, he saw both as a kind of investment.

It would be great if he reaped any benefits from his investments in the future, but even if he didn’t, there was no loss on his part. After sharing what he had found out with Wang Baole, Yun Piaozi patted his tummy and left Wang Baole’s residence.

Wang Baole sent Yun Piaozi off before returning to his residence. He narrowed his eyes as he thought about what Yun Piaozi had said. He began to look forward to what the Vast Expanse Dao Palace had in mind for him.

After all, he didn’t wish to remain in this guest residence, to be greeted with cold gazes, condescending stares, or not be greeted at all and seen as invisible every day when he went outside.

Yun Piaozi’s information was indeed accurate. Within three days, Wang Baole received his deployment orders. He was to report at the Foreign Affairs Hall early the next morning. The Foreign Affairs Hall would bring him and Mie Liezi’s disciple, Liang Long, and head for the Green Fire Island. They would jointly manage the island and share its resources!

<em>Liang Long? </em>Upon receiving the orders, Wang Baole raised his eyebrows. An image of the young cultivator, who had annoyed him in the Heavenly Questions Hall that day, surfaced in his mind.

<em>Do they want us to fight it out? </em>Wang Baole laughed. There was a cold glint in his eyes. He sat down cross-legged and began a meditative rest. When morning arrived, Wang Baole opened his eyes. He rose to his feet and left his residence, heading straight for the Foreign Affairs Hall.

Wang Baole didn’t arrive too early. When he arrived, Liang Long was already there. Next to him was a late-stage Core Formation realm elderly man. The elderly man was dressed in a Daoist robe. He was near skeletal, and a sharp light shone in his eyes. He was the head of the Foreign Affairs Hall, the one who was going to be their guide.

He paid Wang Baole no attention at all, and hardly any attention to Liang Long as well. As a member of the neutral faction, he had no intention of getting involved in the factional dispute between the two Elders. After Wang Baole arrived, he only spoke briefly before flipping his sleeve and taking flight.

“The two of you, come with me!”

There was a cold light in Liang Long’s eyes. He stared at Wang Baole, then sneered. He immediately took flight and followed closely behind the Elder. Wang Baole’s expression remained unchanged. However, he could sense Liang Long’s cultivation. It seemed stronger than before. It was clear that he had a breakthrough recently. A deep, unfathomable light flashed in his eyes. He took flight as well and appeared on the other side of the Elder. The three of them transformed into three rainbow arcs, dashing out from the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island as they headed into the distance, the vast sea of molten lava and fire serving as their backdrop!