A World Worth Protecting

1

Astonishment and amazement like never before!

That was the thought that revolved around the minds of the trial-takers who were standing around the twin peaks. Their emotions were being heavily influenced by the two pikes that Wang Baole and Dugu Lin had transmogrified. Astonishment, and nothing else, filled their thoughts right now!

The next moment, a deafening noise sounded, reverberating in mid-air as Wang Baole and Dugu Lin collided, and as the Nine Dragon Punch and Supernova made contact!

The nine dragons were torn apart, and the supernova was devastated. As a result of the both of them completely unleashing their power and cultivation, a black hole-like existence appeared, overlapping and exploding in the opposite direction. An indescribably powerful impact spread swiftly between the two of them!

The waves that were produced as the spread happened also harnessed an astonishing force. If other Core Formation realm cultivators were to go between the two of them, they would definitely be killed by the waves themselves!

To Wang Baole, who was equipped with the Heart Core, the waves may be frightening, but it wasn’t sufficient to kill him. That was the case for Dugu Lin as well. He didn’t have a Heart Core, but his combat body could provide him with a physical protective covering. Amidst the loud boom, the two of them didn’t even move a single step back, unlike what the others had expected!

That was because at that moment, whoever moved back would lose the lead. Being in the lead was important, perhaps the most crucial in a battle between two equally matched individuals!

It could be said that from the beginning, the duo’s individual attacks were already extremely intense, and they weren’t giving each other any leeway!

Amidst the loud boom, Dugu Lin laughed heartily, with excitement evident in his laughter. His intention to battle far exceeded when he battled Xu Ming and Lu Yun. He turned around and bellowed.

“Wang Baole, you’re qualified!” With that, Dugu Lin sealed his right hand, and with his body against the impact, he charged towards Wang Baole. At that moment, as the Blood Sea behind him churned, a giant Kun Peng emerged from under the sea!

The appearance of the creature instantly made everyone who was around, as well as those outside, shocked beyond words. The fact that a Core Formation realm cultivator could create such a powerful scene was incredulous to many. In the minds of most cultivators, only the Nascent Soul realm cultivators could achieve this feat!

However, this phenomenon appeared through Dugu Lin. In addition, it was extremely powerful. When the Kun Peng appeared, it was already extremely physically imposing as it was tens of thousands of feet wide. As it screeched, it didn’t charge towards Wang Baole. Instead, it turned and raised its tail, sweeping it towards Wang Baole!

Looking at everything that was happening, it seemed as if a large fan was creating a churning wind that could destroy everything in its path. It tore apart the space, causing the Blood Sea to tumble. It appeared like ink was being spilled to stain everything red!

It moved extremely fast, at a speed that exceeded even that of Dugu Lin himself. Instantly, it appeared before Wang Baole, who was similarly going against the impact!

A strong sense of crisis arose in Wang Baole’s mind. It didn’t come from in front of him, but from behind him instead!

Behind him, as the tail of the Kun Peng swept with immense force towards him and blocked the path ahead of him, Dugu Lin appeared!

He somehow appeared behind Wang Baole, and his appearance was extremely bizarre. He seemed to be bloated and covered with large amounts of black hair all over his body. In the blink of an eye, he was transformed into a maniacal ape that was hundreds of feet tall!

The ape’s eyes were reddened, carrying a maniacal level of desire to battle. It was extremely excited, and as it waved its large arms, its two fists were like giant pails, pounding down on Wang Baole as it laughed!

The Kun Peng was in front of him, while the giant ape was behind him. This was an extremely treacherous situation and didn’t give Wang Baole any time to react. If it were someone else, they would be completely flustered. Dugu Lin was simply too experienced, and every move he made was fatal!

However, Wang Baole had been through life-and-death crises numerous times before. Right now, even in the face of danger, he was calm. He suppressed the urge in his mind to unleash Thearch Armor. It wasn’t that it shouldn’t be unleashed, but if he were to use it as a form of resistance now, it would definitely not feel as good as using an unexpected move!

Therefore, a glow flashed across Wang Baole’s eyes as he sealed his hands without hesitation. Instantly, a ribbon appeared, winding around its surroundings while the tri-colored flying sword also appeared, shining brightly as it pierced straight ahead at the Kun Peng. As for Wang Baole, he turned around with a punch to welcome the giant ape that Dugu Lin had transformed into!

Everything, from the beginning of the crisis to tackling the attacks head-on, happened in an extremely short amount of time. Immediately, a loud boom reverberated. The ribbon that was akin to an eighth-grade Dharmic Armament had a unique protective characteristic. At the same time, the tri-colored flying sword that was like a ninth-grade Dharmic Armament was extremely powerful. Using the two Dharmic Armaments together boosted their individual powers, such that the Kun Peng’s tail that was fast approaching was staggering.

The punch that Wang Baole threw after turning around was also without hesitation. With all his cultivation being activated, he collided with the giant ape with the collective force of his body.

A loud boom was produced. Wang Baole’s Blood Qi churned throughout his body. He knew that in this battle, he was at a slight disadvantage. As such, a glow flashed across his eyes, and he was about to leverage on the force to retreat and emerge from the situation before entering it again to attack. However, Dugu Lin didn’t give him the chance to do so, as he laughed heartily.

“It seems like the pressure I’ve given you is still insufficient for you to unleash your trump card. Fine, I’ll add on to the pressure!” As he spoke, Dugu Lin opened his mouth and spat out three beads!

The three beads were green in color, with a blurry figure sealed within them. It looked extremely bizarre, and a vibe that made Wang Baole’s heart tremble emanated from the beads. He didn’t even have time to fully recognize what they were when Dugu Lin suddenly shouted.

“Shatter!”

Instantly, sounds of explosions were produced as the three beads broke apart, and three identical Dugu Lins emerged. Every single one of them carried an imposing aura, and when they appeared, they charged towards Wang Baole from five different directions together with the Kun Peng, unleashing a formidable force!

The sense of crisis far exceeded what he experienced previously. It was clear through this battle that Dugu Lin was extremely powerful. Even though Wang Baole was mentally prepared for it, he was still deeply shaken. It could be said that if Zhou Chudao had replaced Wang Baole, he would definitely be defeated under Dugu Lin’s continuous attacks!

<em>A worthy opponent! </em>Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He realized that if the three beads weren’t broken apart, they could be reused multiple times. However, their force wouldn’t be as powerful as right now, after they had been torn apart. This made him grow vigilant of Dugu Lin’s decisiveness, as he recognized that the person before him only cared about winning and not about the items he possessed!

With that thought, a look of ferociousness appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes. He no longer fret over making a loss. As he sealed his hands, he pointed towards the ribbon and bellowed.

“Explode!”

Instantly, the ribbon exploded. It wasn’t an eighth-grade Dharmic Armament that had a one-time-use quality. Instead, it was a treasure from an extraterrestrial civilization. Right now, as it exploded, it immediately formed a hurricane with Wang Baole as the center as it swept its surroundings. The tri-colored flying sword also produced a sharp sound as it charged towards Dugu Lin’s three avatars.

That wasn’t the end. Wang Baole quickly took out five one-time-use eighth-grade Dharmic Armaments and exploded them. The hurricane that resulted instantly rose towards the sky with an even more powerful force that swept the surroundings!

As the hurricane swept violently with such an imposing force, the giant ape that Dugu Lin had transformed into trembled. Even he was surprised at Wang Baole’s decisiveness. He could sense the aura from the ribbon, and it wouldn’t be a huge matter if only one of his Dharmic Armaments had exploded. Instead, right now, Wang Baole exploded five such treasures, and this decisiveness filled Dugu Lin with surprise for the very first time. He didn’t dare to go head-to-head with the force that resulted from the explosion of the five Dharmic Armaments, and he could only retreat.

His three avatars also retreated as the explosion happened and the tri-colored flying sword zeroed in on them. A weakness was exposed in Dugu Lin’s attacks. The most obvious weakness was the gap formed by Dugu Lin and his avatars as they retreated. However, Wang Baole didn’t choose to attack that area. Instead, as the hurricane swept, he stepped back and landed on the Kun Peng’s tail. Blood spewed out of his mouth as he passed the Kun Peng, as well as the gap left as Dugu Lin and his avatars retreated!

Unexpectedly, he tossed a coin into the gap!

That made Dugu Lin narrow his eyes, and a look of excitement could be evidently seen. As he waved his hands, an almost invisible thread emerged from the gap that resulted when he and his avatars retreated. It coiled around the copper coin instantly, and the copper coin couldn’t break free no matter how hard it struggled!

“Wang Baole, you’ve piqued my interest!” As Dugu Lin laughed, he turned and charged towards Wang Baole!