A World Worth Protecting

1

Wang Baole might be quite the actor, but he was still too young. While Mie Liezi wavered, he still managed to spot something amiss when he studied Wang Baole.

There was no need for that anyway. As usual, he was simply making use of this matter to fight it out with Feng Qiuran. Even though the Vast Expanse Dao Palace was indeed vast, with Mie Liezi’s cultivation, it shouldn’t be a challenge to locate a Core Formation realm cultivator as long as the latter was still alive. He merely had to put in a bit more effort.

Mie Liezi decided to ignore everything that Wang Baole had said. He said coolly, “Lead the way!”

Mie Liezi’s disciple was involved in this matter. Feng Qiuran was silent for a while before she stared at Wang Baole. She decided to believe whatever Wang Baole had said. However, she also knew that the Federation Seedlings hadn’t been treated well since they had arrived. This had something to do with the doubts that had arisen in her own faction. She sighed secretly, then said to Wang Baole slowly.

“Wang Baole, bring us to where you and Liang Long got into a dispute. If you were indeed framed by Liang Long, I will give you justice!”

Wang Baole hastily nodded his head openly while shaking his head privately. He finally realized that the current disadvantaged situation that Feng Qiuran’s faction was in had a direct relation to Feng Qiuran’s personality.

Based on what Wang Baole had gathered during his stay at the Vast Expanse Dao Palace, he felt that while Feng Qiuran’s level of cultivation was high, her character was too gentle. She didn’t have many means of controlling and managing her people. Mie Liezi, on the other hand, was extremely forceful. As time passed, this resulted in Feng Qiuran losing control over the cultivators in her own faction.

<em>If Little Duanmu were here… we don’t even need him. Any Rank Two Noble from the Federation who has sufficient cultivation wouldn’t need much time and means to have everyone wrapped around his little finger. </em>Wang Baole sighed secretly as he continued to appear aggrieved. He bowed towards Feng Qiuran, walked out of the great hall, and flew towards the island on which he had fought with Liang Long.

Wang Baole wasn’t slow, but his speed couldn’t be compared with the Elders. As soon as he began flight, Feng Qiuran raised her right hand and waved. A gentle glow surrounded Wang Baole. Her calm voice rang out next to his ear.

“Lead the way. A general direction will do!”

Wang Baole blinked. He pretended to think. He soon pointed towards a general direction. As soon as he spoke, Mie Liezi took a step forward and vanished. Feng Qiuran swept her sleeve aside and led Wang Baole away as well in a single step.

Wang Baole could hear a sudden deafening thunder exploding next to his ear. His vision went blurry, and it felt as if he were diving through water. When his vision became clear again, Wang Baole was shocked to see that he had left the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island and appeared… at the location he had shared earlier.

There was still some distance to the island that Liang Long was at. However, he believed that as soon as he gave the next coordinates, they would arrive at that spot in the next instant.

<em>So this is the Soul Conduit realm… </em>Wang Baole’s breathing quickened. Mie Liezi, impatient, snorted.

“Quickly!”

Wang Baole took a deep breath in. He tried to show how hard he was attempting to recall his memories on his pale face. He even unleashed his cultivation so that he could ascertain the exact location.

All the while, he was secretly calling out to his rope. Fortunately, he seemed to be able to sense his rope here. He immediately issued an order. Wang Baole then intended to slow them down. He knew he couldn’t do that for long though. That was why he hurriedly indicated a location.

With a wave of Feng Qiuran’s hand, the three of them vanished the next moment. When they reappeared, it was at the location that Wang Baole had given. Before Mie Liezi could speak, Wang Baole said hastily, “Please don’t be anxious, Elder. It’s been a long while since the incident. Please give me some more time.”

“There’s no need for that!” Mie Liezi glanced at Wang Baole. The expression on his face shifted suddenly. He took a step forward after he spoke, then vanished instantly. Feng Qiuran seemed to have sensed something as well. She turned and looked at Wang Baole.

“We’ve located Liang Long’s presence.” Having said that, she grabbed Wang Baole and rushed forward without waiting for a reaction from Wang Baole. They disappeared and reappeared on a deserted island.

This was where Wang Baole and Liang Long had fought. Mie Liezi, who had arrived slightly earlier, had a dark look on his face as he hovered in mid-air. He was staring at someone who was lying on the island!

The person was all skin and bones, barely breathing, and unconscious. He was Liang Long!

Immediately after they appeared above the island, Wang Baole looked at Liang Long and saw the absence of a rope on the latter. He secretly released a breath of relief. At least the rope was intelligent enough to escape in time. Else, he would have a hard time trying to explain himself. He also realized that Liang Long’s presence had no longer been concealed precisely because the rope had left. That was how Mie Liezi had been able to sense his location.

<em>Is the rope’s ability to seal one’s presence and cultivation that powerful? </em>Wang Baole’s heart stirred at that thought. He wondered if perhaps Mie Liezi hadn’t used his full powers to look for Liang Long.

Wang Baole was unsure of the details. Regardless, he had gained a deeper understanding of his rope’s strange abilities. While Wang Baole was deep in thought, a sullen Mie Liezi lifted his right hand and pointed a finger at the unconscious Liang Long.

Liang Long shuddered violently and slowly opened his eyes. He looked lost at first. His confusion persisted for a duration of seven to eight breaths. Then, he shivered when Mie Liezi snorted and awoke completely. He stared at Mie Liezi, who was hovering in mid-air. His body began to shake violently, and he climbed to his knees and kowtowed immediately. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sobbed loudly and uncontrollably.

“Master, you’ve finally come to save me!” Liang Long wept. It was the loud kind of crying that implied that he had barely survived death. It made him sound pitiful. Even Wang Baole felt sympathy for him as he listened to his sobbing.

Feng Qiuran frowned as she looked at the loudly weeping Liang Long. Mie Liezi seemed unhappy as well. He said lightly, “Tell me what happened.”

“Master, it’s this cursed Wang Baole! It’s him! I was out on a mission when I passed by this area and was ambushed and heavily injured by him. He humiliated me using every means possible. Then, he tied me up and left me here to die. He used a cursed rope that sealed my presence and my cultivation. I suffered a fate worse than death! Please seek justice for me! Please mete out justice for the Vast Expanse Dao Palace!” Liang Long gritted his teeth. His eyes were red. He had seen Wang Baole standing next to Feng Qiuran. He might not be as clear-headed as he was ordinarily, but he knew his master’s character. What his master needed was simply a reason to act.

He didn’t spare too much thought before he started outright lying.

Wang Baole had been thinking about how to make what he had said in the great hall seem true. It would be a challenging feat. He had a few ideas, but they weren’t ideal. However, Liang Long was playing the blame game now. Wang Baole was overjoyed. This was his chance. He put on a bitter expression on his face, then cupped his fists and saluted Feng Qiuran.

“Elder Feng, I’ve said it before. I was only able to escape from this island by using an artifact. What Senior Brother Liang Long has said is a blatant lie. If I really had the upper hand, if I had the means to humiliate him and seal his presence, why wouldn’t I simply kill him for good? Why didn’t I take his storage bag? The contents of his storage bag should be worth a fortune, what with Senior Brother Liang Long’s status and rank!” As soon as Wang Baole said that, alarm flashed across Liang Long’s face. His mind finally cleared. He recalled how Wang Baole hadn’t made any attempts to steal his storage bag throughout the entire fight.

He had overlooked that fact earlier due to his just coming to and still feeling fuzzy in the head. His breathing quickened. In his panic, he spoke again hastily.

“Wang Baole, you’re the liar! You didn’t kill me and take my storage bag because you didn’t dare to! I told you that my master could turn back time. He would be able to see who directly or indirectly caused my death!”

Wang Baole released a sigh of relief secretly when he heard that. He couldn’t help but give Liang Long a thumbs up secretly. With Liang Long’s unknowing cooperation, he finally managed to simplify a complicated problem and narrow down all his troubles to this single problem.

Everything came down to one question—who was the one who set an ambush?

Addressing that question would allow him to have reason on his side!

At that thought, Wang Baole gritted his teeth. Sorrow and fury colored his voice as he asked Mie Liezi loudly, “If that’s the case, Senior Mie Liezi, please activate the spell to turn back time. Please see for yourself… who was the person who set up an ambush!”