A World Worth Protecting

1

<em>They’re trying to kill me. If that’s the case… I’ll fight to kill too! </em>Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He knew that the trial didn’t forbid killing other participants. But everyone was of the same Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Even if they belonged to different factions, killings rarely occurred. It was clear that double standards were at play where he was concerned.

With that thought in mind… Wang Baole’s lips twitched with mockery. His eyes flashed with an icy glint. He didn’t hesitate and dashed out so quickly, instantly colliding with the dozen or so cultivators in front of him.

“Lowly life form from the Federation, die!”

“Kill him!”

The disciples from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace all shouted and attacked. All manners of spells and artifacts lit up the air. They erupted with power as soon as Wang Baole approached.

However, as soon as they attacked, Wang Baole suddenly shifted. A Lightning Avatar that looked identical to him split from his person. It was as if he had suddenly replicated himself!

The avatar didn’t stop moving. It charged at the crowd, drawing their spells and artifacts to him. Wang Baole’s true form took another step, and the Thearch Armor appeared outside his body. Tens of red-colored meridians, like sharp blades, extended outwards speedily and charged at the crowd!

Everything happened too quickly. The crowd’s spells all landed on Wang Baole’s avatar. They were about to modify their attacks, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, the red-colored meridians outside Wang Baole’s body sliced through all artifacts, disregarded the power of all spells, and pierced the foreheads of five people!

The five cultivators screamed. As they screamed, their bodies shuddered and shriveled right before everyone’s eyes. Their bodies were dragged along, without their control, by the red-colored meridians that were Wang Baole’s Thearch Armor. They swayed and circled the surrounding.

Everything happened right before everyone’s eyes. From the crowd’s first attack to the five cultivators being pierced in their foreheads and screaming painfully—everything took but a moment. The remaining cultivators had been stunned. Before they could react, they saw the five cultivators, who had been pierced through by the red-colored meridians around Wang Baole, sway in the air as they were drained of all blood, flesh, and will. They were transformed instantly into mummies. With heavy thuds, they were flung onto the ground.

What was even more creepy were the red-colored meridians. They kept wriggling their bodies as if they were sending back everything they had absorbed to Wang Baole rapidly. The scene sent alarm flashing across the surviving cultivators’ faces. They gasped in shock and terror, then retreated hastily.

Li Bin’s eyes almost popped out. His breathing quickened, and he could feel a prickling on his scalp. But he was a late-stage Core Formation realm cultivator and mentally more resilient than the others. He took a deep breath and was about to console the others so that they wouldn’t lose their will to fight due to terror.

Before he could speak, Wang Baole, with a sudden burst of speed, took a step and appeared in front of an early-stage Core Formation realm cultivator. Wang Baole was so fast the latter had no time to react. He was still reeling from shock at the earlier creepy sight. It was too late when he finally sensed Wang Baole’s approach. Just as he was about to retreat, Wang Baole raised his right hand. Every spell and defensive artifact around this cultivator shriveled up and seemed to be rendered completely useless. A hit landed straight on the cultivator’s forehead!

There was a loud thud, like the sound of an exploding melon, and the cultivator’s head exploded. As his dead body fell to the ground, a blood-colored meridian dashed out. Wang Baole didn’t spare the dead body a single glance. He took another step, relying on his lightning-fast speed, and appeared next to a mid-stage Core Formation realm cultivator!

He found this person familiar. He had been there outside the cave abode and had harbored rather strong murderous intent towards him—one of Li Bin’s companions. This mid-stage Core Formation realm cultivator’s reaction was significantly quicker than the early-stage Core Formation realm cultivator. Shocked, he didn’t hesitate as he yelled.

“Wang…”

He only managed to get the first word out. Nothing else followed. He had bitten the tip of his tongue, spilling a mouthful of blood after speaking. It was no ordinary blood but his secret weapon. The blood transformed into a blood mist. It exuded extraordinary energies of a spell and charged straight at Wang Baole!

However… before Wang Baole, everything was rendered useless. He sent his fist punching out, striking through the blood mist and landing straight on the mid-stage Core Formation realm cultivator’s chest. With a loud series of cracks, the cultivator’s chest collapsed inwards as he spat out mouthfuls of blood. A red-colored meridian pierced through him the moment he died.

Everything happened suddenly. Within the blink of an eye, out of the original thirteen cultivators… seven had died. Including Li Bin, there remained six cultivators!

“You… how is it possible for you to be so powerful!” Having seen Wang Baole kill seven people with such strange methods, Li Bin couldn’t control the shudders traveling down his body. His breathing grew uneven, and his scalp felt numb. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed.

Even if he was at the late-stage Core Formation realm, he immediately realized that he was no match for Wang Baole. Wang Baole’s spell was incredibly bizarre and strange. It stank of blood and violence. As he shuddered, he suddenly remembered how Chi Lin had appeared outside the cave abode. It was him that Chi Lin had saved then, not Wang Baole!

He could imagine that if Chi Lin hadn’t appeared then, he would have died. He suddenly felt so absurd. To think that he had thought Wang Baole was the lucky one then.

What irony. The one who had been lucky then was him. However, even though he had seen Wang Baole’s power, he still couldn’t believe his eyes.

<em>He’s hidden himself very well! </em>He shuddered again. Li Bin didn’t hesitate. He retreated immediately and attempted to escape. He didn’t get far before he heard five separate cries of terror and pain behind him. The screams struck terror into Li Bin’s heart. He was still a late-stage Core Formation realm cultivator though. At such a critical moment, as he distinctly sensed an immense danger approaching him speedily from behind, Li Bin gritted his teeth and, with a holler, turned and formed a series of hand seals with both his hands!

An enormous, illusory seal appeared before him, standing before the approaching single blood-colored meridian. A thunderous boom sounded in the air. The blood-colored meridian shook and was flung away, while blood spilled from Li Bin’s lips as he staggered backwards.

He didn’t feel as if he had just escaped from the jaws of death though. Instead, he descended into further despair!

This was because… a single blood-colored meridian had been so powerful that Li Bin had to use his full strength to retaliate against it. He had even sustained injuries from the backlash of their collision. Before him was Wang Baole, who was walking slowly towards him. Around him were blood-colored meridians swaying in the air. They numbered in the dozens!

The difference in power between them was so vast, Li Bin’s mind broke. He shrieked, his voice shrill in his terror.

“I’ll hand over all the keys to you. Don’t kill me, Wang Baole. This is a trial. The entire sect and all the elders are watching.”

His reply was the dozens of blood-colored meridians extending from Wang Baole’s body. They approached swiftly and pierced through his body. Li Bin screamed, resentment and hate clear in his eyes. His body shriveled up and was drained dry. He died!

“I’ve said it before. You were lucky the last time!” Wang Baole said coolly. With a wave of his hand, the partially formed Thearch Armor vanished. His body resumed its normal appearance, and while he seemed to be in a slight daze, he soon recovered.

<em>The Flame Snatch Thearch Armor does affect one’s mind. However, one will recover after shedding the armor. </em>Wang Baole mused. Then, he stared at the dead bodies around him.

Wang Baole didn’t mind killing others. Firstly, the trial had no requirements and restrictions against killings. Secondly… Wang Baole knew very well that as long as he got first place, Feng Qiuran would seize the opportunity. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t deserve her status as an Elder.

At that thought, Wang Baole lifted his head and stared at the aerial map. He narrowed his eyes. After some time, Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao finally arrived. They looked at the corpses all around them, then at each other. They walked over silently and retrieved the keys from the dead bodies. There were seven keys. Added to the six they already had, they now had thirteen keys!

The thirteen keys clustered together. Even though the number of keys might not rival that possessed by the five personal disciples, it was still a striking cluster on the aerial map!

A long moment later, Wang Baole withdrew his gaze from the night sky. He turned towards Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao, nodded at them, then continued advancing. The other two took a deep breath and chose to follow him.

Presently, in the outside world, amidst the numerous projections, someone finally noticed… Wang Baole’s earlier massacre!