A World Worth Protecting

1

Those who noticed this message were mostly Foundation Establishment realm cultivators. A few Core Formation realm cultivators also read it. However, almost all of them, after having realized who had issued the message, snorted.

“A gimmick to play to the gallery!”

“A mere lowly human from a lowly civilization who’s unable to earn battle credits himself and therefore has resorted to such means. What a joke!”

“We don’t even have such a Dharmic Artifacts that could allow a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator to enter the Sea of Fire. This lowly human dares to brag so loudly. Even if he does have a few tricks up his sleeve, there’s a high chance that this so-called holy boat will send a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator to death in the Sea of Fire!”

Similar comments accompanied by mocking laughter followed after Wang Baole’s announcement. Even Zhou Biao and the others grimaced. They didn’t believe that Wang Baole’s boats worked. They had been forced to leave Green Fire Island and come here. They wouldn’t have minded helping him if he had the support of the majority. They lowered their heads hastily when they heard the mocking laughter around them, casting aside any thoughts of promoting the rental of the boats.

As a result, no one came asking about Wang Baole’s announcement. Zhou Biao and gang dared not return to Green Fire Island. Resigned, they remained on the main island, thinking about how they would wait for a while and return when Wang Baole himself had given up on this idea.

Time passed steadily. Wang Baole began his cultivation as he waited, concentrating on the Lightning Immortal Transformation. Since his cultivation had stabilized at the early-stage Core Formation realm, he didn’t face any difficulty practicing the first level of the Lightning Immortal Transformation. Everything went smoothly.

After all, out of the three cores he had, one was a Lightning Core. He already possessed the immense power of lightning. His speed at mastering the Lightning Immortal Transformation was extremely quick as well. He soon approached perfecting the first level of the Lightning Immortal Transformation.

When he sat cross-legged in meditation, lightning bolts would travel all over his body. Within his body, tiny lightning bolts would weave amongst his organs. He appeared to be constantly bathed in electricity.

His Lightning Core nourished his physical form and developed the Spirit Qi in his body at the same time. Practicing the Lightning Immortal Transformation allowed Wang Baole to consolidate the cultivation inside his body. It was akin to gathering stray power into a tightly-knit core.

That was why even though his cultivation was at the early-stage Core Formation realm, his actual fighting abilities had surpassed that greatly. Wang Baole didn’t ignore his practice of the Dark Art. His practice of the Soul Guiding Hand progressed more slowly due to a change in his environment and a lack of targets for practice. However, his understanding of the Dark Art while in the Dark Dream meant that it was still moving at a significant pace.

Wang Baole grew stronger every day. His mood got better as he saw how he was steadily becoming stronger.

As for Liang Long, the crystal webs finally lost their effect, and he finally managed to free himself. Despite the resentment and frustration simmering inside him, he learned his lesson. He held back his desire of seeking revenge immediately. Wang Baole’s various methods made him realize he faced a formidable opponent. He needed to have a proper plan. He settled down in a cave abode on one of the secondary peaks. As he trained, he began plotting his vengeance.

Time passed. He had no direct competitors in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace cultivation climate. As a result, life went on rather peacefully. Conflict was limited to the tensions between Mie Liezi’s and Feng Qiuran’s factions. During this period, the Federation Seedlings began to familiarize themselves with the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Even though there were still many cultivators around them who looked down on the Federation, the Federation Seedlings, through their own means, managed to form friendships and alliances with cultivators of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Everyone began to acclimate to their environment.

Missions were a top concern for cultivators of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace as well. Countless missions were accepted and completed every day, and this was the same for the Federation Seedlings. After settling in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace, they began to focus on missions as well. With Li Yi leading the others, their chat group began to be infused with a competitive atmosphere. It became a place where one bragged about how many battle credits they had earned…

The Federation Seedlings had naturally taken notice of Wang Baole’s announcement. They had all hesitated. A Foundation Establishment realm cultivator who entered the Sea of Fire would undoubtedly be killed. If this boat of Wang Baole had any flaw whatsoever, and an accident was to occur while underwater, they wouldn’t be able to prevent the eventual disaster from taking place.

As a result, the good mood that Wang Baole had gained from his training didn’t last long. As the days went by, and he realized that no one came forward to rent his boat, he began to grow frantic.

However, there was no use fretting over this. Wang Baole did some investigation and found out that he hadn’t earned sufficient credibility. That was why no one had come asking for his boats. He was considering whether he should threaten Zhou Biao and gang with violence and coerce them into leading by example. That was when Zhuo Yifan approached him to rent his Spirit Boat.

Zhuo Yifan wasn’t alone. He, Kong Dao and Zhao Yameng seemed to have had a discussion. They accepted a mission at the same time and used what little battle credit they had to rent a Spirit Boat.

Wang Baole was extremely touched at their gesture. He didn’t take their battle credits and lent them all three Spirit Boats. The trio soon steered the boats, placing their complete faith in Wang Baole, and entered the Sea of Fire!

This was the first time in a very long time that a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator entered the Sea of Fire. No one went around spreading the news. However, it still caught some people’s attention. A Core Formation realm cultivator even followed them secretly and monitored their actions closely. To prevent any accidents from happening, Wang Baole ended his seclusion and entered the Sea of Fire to provide protection.

It was their first time entering the Sea of Fire, and they didn’t come back with much. However, they didn’t give up. They continued to use the Spirit Boat and enter the sea almost every day. Gradually, this caught the attention of more and more people. It even triggered a rousing discussion amongst the cultivators in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace.

Finally, under the trio’s joint efforts, they managed to capture an Inferno Rat. News of this shocked many in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. There was finally one Foundation Establishment realm cultivator from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace who was willing to try out the Spirit Boat.

He had been left with no choice. He needed to acquire a cultivation technique but lacked the battle credits. He decided to bite the bullet and rented Wang Baole’s Spirit Boat, entering the Sea of Fire.

With the first transaction going down without any accidents, a second customer and then a third soon appeared… Zhuo Yifan and the others gave up on entering the sea then. Their strategy for acquiring battle credits didn’t involve entering the sea. They had done what they had done to lend Wang Baole a helping hand.

They were, after all, cultivators from the Federation. They were outsiders here. They might still be able to guarantee their safety above the sea, but once they went into the sea, there was no guarantee of everything going smoothly for them. They wouldn’t be able to avoid conflict with others. Should that happen, with their level of cultivation and their status, they would be faced with great danger.

Besides, with their joint efforts, they had reaped considerable rewards. Each of them had earned thirty to fifty battle credits separately. This was a significant gain for a Federation Seedling.

Their withdrawal didn’t affect the rental business. With more cultivators from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace renting the Spirit Boats, the business’ reputation and credibility grew. Those who had been tempted finally acted on it. Zhou Biao and gang saw what was happening. After discussion, they gritted their teeth and began to promote the business more seriously.

Wang Baole found the fat cultivator. After promising him a sweet deal, the fat cultivator began promoting Wang Baole’s Spirit Boats as well. With multiple parties working together, demands gradually grew, and business boomed. Two weeks later, the number of people waiting for a Spirit Boat outside Wang Baole’s Green Fire Island grew. With only three Spirit Boats, supply couldn’t meet demand.

Every day, like clockwork, thirty-six battle credits entered his account. Foundation Establishment realm cultivators continued to enter the sea and earn loads of battle credits for completing their missions. The rental business boomed. Many even proposed buying his business. Wang Baole turned them all down after some thought. Because of his booming business, the fat cultivator—whom he had pawned Dharmic Armaments off to in the past—found Wang Baole and proposed investing two thousand battle credits in his business in exchange for two-tenths of all profits earned.

After some bargaining, he increased his investment to two thousand and five hundred battle credits in exchange for fifteen percent of the profit margin. They reached an agreement. More than two thousand battle credits were credited to Wang Baole’s account. Wang Baole excitedly invested what battle credits he had to refine Spirit Boats. He spent everything he had and expanded his fleet to ten Spirit Boats!

That finally allowed him to meet the demands of the market. His revenue increased by four times. He was earning nearly a hundred and twenty battle credits every day!

After giving the fat cultivator his fifteen percent, the remaining battle credits were still enough to make Wang Baole extremely happy. More than a hundred battle credits entered his account every day. He soon built a strong reputation for himself in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace.

Li Yi stopped talking in the chat group as well. She no longer bragged about her battle credits. Wang Baole’s rental business continued for two weeks. Then, one day… as Wang Baole was happily training, someone arrived outside his cave abode!

It was someone who sent Wang Baole reeling back in shock, who made his scalp prick and made him gasp in shock!

“You… why are you here? Are you a human, or a ghost?”