A World Worth Protecting

1

Wang Baole, at the mid-stage Core Formation realm, was someone who could unleash Dugu Lin’s first level seal and battle it at an equal level. However, he wasn’t someone who could make Dugu Lin unleash his second level seal.

However, right now, everything had changed. As the devouring seed devoured and counter-nourished, Wang Baole achieved a breakthrough in his cultivation, reaching the late-stage Core Formation realm. He was only a small step away from entering the perfected Core Formation realm!

That form of breakthrough was also a leap in terms of physical qualities. Right now, not only did it allow Wang Baole’s injuries to fully recover, but it also caused all the cultivation in his body to send shock waves in all directions.

The Lightning Core and Dark Core could no longer be seen in his body, as everything, including the green lotus, was inside the devouring seed. Wang Baole could feel their presence and that they were undergoing a form of transformation that even he couldn’t describe accurately. However, he knew that the transformation wouldn’t be disadvantageous for him!

Instead, he would stand to gain greatly when the transformation had been completed!

However, these issues weren’t the ones that Wang Baole had to focus on right now. As he raised his head and the glow of battle flashed across his eyes, his Lightning Avatar appeared once again, layering on top of his body and causing his combat capabilities to be further boosted!

What followed was the Flame Snatch Thearch Armor that Dugu Lin had crushed previously. It reappeared in the next instant, and blood-colored meridians appeared, spreading in all directions and causing Wang Baole’s aura to explode with three times the force!

His will resonated with his cultivation technique, augmenting him by two times!

In the end, with all the boosts, an aura that seemed capable of destroying the heavens and earth was formed. That force eventually culminated in his right fist, forming a punch that landed directly on Dugu Lin’s Four Beast Punch!

“Break!”

The heavens and earth tumbled, and the winds churned, shaking the entire area. Amidst the shock of the surrounding cultivators and those on the outside, that seemingly unbreakable Four Beast Punch instantly showed signs of breaking down. The first to be devastated were the four beasts inside. The giant ape, the vermillion bird, the nine dragons, and the Kun Peng roared pitifully. They couldn’t withstand the impact any longer as they were torn apart by the violent winds. It was then that Dugu Lin, who was pale with shock, was revealed, and he scrambled to retreat with blood spewing out of his mouth.

He looked surprised and was filled with indignation in his heart. The combination of shock and indignation didn’t evoke a sense of weakness, but a desire to battle. Even though he wasn’t able to open his second level seal for too long without it causing irreversible damage to him, at this moment, Dugu Lin still chose to lift the seal!

“The second seal is to be opened for the time of ten additional breaths!”

Just as Dugu Lin sealed his hands and spoke, the aura from his body erupted once again, forming a hurricane that was swiftly controlled. Like previously, it demonstrated a powerful force as it exploded from Dugu Lin’s body. As a chilly glow flashed across his eyes, he turned and charged towards Wang Baole!

That punishing aura that seemed to replace that of the firmament was produced again, causing the sky to be transformed into a large vortex. Dugu Lin, who was charging towards Wang Baole at high speed, was at the center of it!

Seeing that Dugu Lin was about to attack again, the spectators outside the trial grounds watched solemnly with their eyes widened. Wang Baole appeared as calm as he had ever been as he looked at the approaching Dugu Lin, murmuring softly.

“I really want to know if right now, I can withdraw… the sword that I feel is hidden in the scabbard!” Wang Baole smiled, and without looking at the fast-approaching Dugu Lin, he held the scabbard in his left hand. After taking a deep breath, he shut his eyes and gripped his right hand on top of the scabbard. He seemed to have gripped onto thin air, but if there were indeed a sword, the area that he grabbed would be the sword handle!

The moment Wang Baole’s hand gripped onto that area, everything seemed to have vanished in Wang Baole’s world. There was no more Dugu Lin, no more trial grounds, no more Vast Expanse Dao Palace, and no more green lotus. There was only the invisible sword that he vaguely felt was hidden in the scabbard!

<em>Sword, rise! </em>In the mind of Wang Baole, who had his eyes shut, a sword had appeared. He imagined himself withdrawing it, and all those thoughts were transformed into a sense of touch in his right hand. He twisted his right hand out, and at that moment, change happened!

The entire trial grounds shook. Even the Vast Expanse Dao Palace outside was shaking vigorously. Mie Liezi, Feng Qiuran, and Daoist You Ran all stood up. They were completely filled with shock, and right now, even the ancient greenish-bronze sword shook slightly!

An invisible force seemed to be pulling on the vast ancient greenish-bronze sword, pulling it out of the sun!

Regrettably, that force was too weak and was unable to accomplish that feat. It could only move it slightly, but even so, even though Wang Baole still couldn’t pull out the invisible sword in the scabbard, he maintained his posture and the effect that he produced still caused the scabbard to shake violently, unleashing an extremely powerful force!

The force couldn’t be seen or felt, but the moment it emerged, it formed a formidable sword intent that could shock everyone. The sword intent was directed towards the approaching Dugu Lin!

Even though the second level seal had been opened, Dugu Lin, who was extremely powerful, still trembled. A strong sense of impending life-and-death crisis that he hadn’t felt for a long time instantly flooded his mind. Amidst his shock, Dugu Lin had a strong premonition that if he continued to advance, he would die without a doubt!

In his fear, Dugu Lin retreated. However, it was still too late. As Wang Baole opened his eyes, a sword projection flashed across his pupils!

An invisible sword projection charged towards Dugu Lin, its ferocity extreme. Dugu Lin, with bitterness in his heart, didn’t hesitate and unleashed his third level seal, which he had originally not wished to unleash!

As the seal was lifted, Dugu Lin’s hair grew. The golden glow in his eyes was replaced by a black glow. It was as if he had been transformed into a black hole that was releasing a frightening aura. He sealed his hands and put in all his effort to block the incoming sword projection!

Images of god beasts transmogrified behind him. They all roared and maniacally charged towards the incoming sword projection!

He opened the first level seal without much thought. As for the second level seal, the most he could open it for was the time of ten breaths. Furthermore, opening it caused severe damage to his body. On the other hand, the third seal… could only be opened when his cultivation technique was pushed to the limits. Even though his previous efforts wouldn’t be made futile if the third seal was opened before that, it could break the force that he had been accumulating and prevent him from continuing. He could only choose to breakthrough in advance while in seclusion!

Dugu Lin never wanted to open his third level seal initially. His goal was to surpass the Nascent Soul realm and enter the Soul Conduit realm. However, right now, with his life on the line, he was forced to open the third seal with bitterness in his heart!

Even though the third level seal was opened, it could only allow him to survive in the face of the sword projection!

Instantly, the sword projection neared. Like an autumn wind that blew off the leaves of a tree, the sword projection destroyed all the illusory images of the god beasts and landed heavily on Dugu Lin’s body with an extremely strong force. Blood spewed out of Dugu Lin, and his body tumbled and fell backwards, pushing him back to the second level seal. The black color in his eyes returned to a gold color. Even then, it didn’t end as blood spewed from his body again. The second level seal was devastated, and his eyes were transformed into a pale gold color!

That wasn’t the end. At that moment, the first level seal was broken apart as well. The aura from his body weakened, and his body landed heavily and loudly on the Blood Peak that represented him, crumbling it. He was thrown to the brink of death before a mouthful of fresh blood spewed from his mouth. That was when the sword projection dissipated!

There was silence all around. Both outside and within the trial grounds, everyone stood dumbfounded. Wang Baole sighed softly in his heart. He was still unable to withdraw the sword in the end. No one but him knew that the sword projection that was seen previously was the only one that the scabbard had accumulated so far!

If he wanted to unleash it again, he would need to accumulate it for a period of time.

As he sighed, Wang Baole raised his head and stepped out. When he appeared, he stood in front of Dugu Lin, lowering his head but not speaking.

Dugu Lin laughed pitifully as he struggled to raise his right hand. He grabbed in the direction of a key and mountainous rocks a distance away, and the key flew instantly to Wang Baole.

“You win!”