A World Worth Protecting

1

Little Missy seemed shaken by Wang Baole’s words. Wang Baole could hear her breathing quicken in his head.

He immediately felt pleased with himself. He was the most handsome guy in the entire Federation, after all. A simple snap of his fingers would bring tens of thousands of young women swooning at his feet. Charming Little Missy was a piece of cake. He took a deep breath, intending to continue his passionate declarations of his undying love with greater gusto and use that to create a window of opportunity to persuade her to leave.

“Cut it out, fatty. Stop the act and get to work, quickly!”

Wang Baole blinked, stunned that this tactic of his was no longer effective. But he had a thick skin. Rather than feeling embarrassed at having his act seen through, he seemed to have perked up instead. He crouched slightly and dashed ahead for a few steps before suddenly remembering that his appearance was that of an Never-Ending Clan member. He straightened his back and swaggered in the direction Little Missy had pointed. He approached their destination steadily.

It wasn’t long before three combat vehicles zoomed past in the skies overhead. They paused above Wang Baole. The passengers glanced at Wang Baole and left without bothering too much about him.

Wang Baole watched and wanted a combat vehicle for himself too. He knew the chances of getting his hands on one were slim though. He sighed and continued forward. He passed a stretch of ruins, then suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Little Missy, if there’s no rush, can I pick up a few things for myself along the way?”

Little Missy’s first thought was to refuse Wang Baole’s request, but she knew that reason wasn’t on her side this time. Her silence conveyed her consent.

Wang Baole’s eyes lit up when Little Missy remained silent. He looked around before approaching the ruins. He inspected the area in detail, conducting one round of search before locating a few damaged Dharmic treasures, storing them away.

It was impossible to discern what the Dharmic treasures had looked like originally. However, Wang Baole’s proficiency in Dharmic Armaments meant he could tell that they had been crafted from exceptional materials. He intended to dismantle them into their individual components and reuse the latter.

Wang Baole advanced amidst Little Missy’s silence and continued scavenging. He took any items that he felt could be of use without hesitation.

He bumped into a few Never-Ending Clan patrols along the way, but the disguise he had on him had been woven into being by Little Missy, through her application of Vast Expanse Laws. As a result, those encounters ended up being harmless scares. His haul grew ever more bountiful as he continued to evade capture.

It didn’t matter if they were damaged Dharmic treasures, ridiculous and obscure-seeming parts, shriveled plants, or the occasional dried seeds, he left nothing behind and took everything. With Little Missy’s guidance, he approached the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s mountain gates steadily.

Wang Baole had been hearing a loud rumbling coming from the mountain gates from a distance away. Now that he was nearer the gates, he immediately caught sight of an enormous jackhammer-shaped Dharmic Artifact piercing the mountain peak. It exuded tremendous power as it continued to draw unknown energy from deep underground. The process of this extraction was so overpowering that it resulted in continuous rumbling ringing in the air.

Compared to the Dharmic Artifact, Wang Baole was but an ant, small and insignificant. His insignificance magnified the awe that was inspired by the artifact.

“What exactly is this gigantic Dharmic Artifact? What’s it doing?” Wang Baole gulped as he muttered in his head.

“This is the Essence Draining Leech that belongs to the Never-Ending Clan’s second Divine King. It’s used to drain a star system’s essence, which will then be used as energy to power the Divine King’s advancement. There are nine such star systems under the second Divine King’s rule. He intends to use them to build a foundation for his breakthrough from the King realm into the Emperor realm… There are thirty-seven Divine Kings in the Never-Ending Clan, and five great Divine Emperors above them!” Little Missy said coolly after a moment’s silence.

<em>Thirty-seven Divine Kings? Five Divine Emperors? </em>Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He had found out that the Never-Ending Clan had emperors during his time in his Dark Dream. There had been nine of them though, not five. The one who had appeared in the Dark Sect had been Emperor Tuo Mu. He alone had six Divine Kings under his command. In fact, he could be considered one of the more powerful ones amongst all the Divine Emperors and ranked in the top three!

It was clear, however, that both Divine Kings and Divine Emperors had dwindled in numbers. There were at least four fewer Divine Emperors!

That had Wang Baole shaken. He had his guesses, though. They must have fallen in battle during the time that had gone by. Wang Baole could also sense what was hidden beneath Little Missy’s words. The complicated feelings and melancholy. However, he couldn’t help but ask.

“To be so powerful even though he’s only the second Divine King. What’s his level of cultivation? The Star Domain realm? What kind of cultivation realm is the King realm anyway? And how powerful is the first Divine King exactly?”

If they weren’t where they were at the moment, Little Missy might not have answered his questions. However, they had returned to a place of familiarity for her. She might appear to be calm, but emotions surged within her. After a moment of silence, she said softly.

“The Never-Ending Clan’s King realm is the equivalent of the Star Domain realm. As the second Divine King, he’s reached the perfected stage of the Star Domain realm and is but half a step away from the Emperor realm. Is that powerful enough for you…”

“As for the first Divine King…” Little Missy sounded lost at that point. She seemed vaguely uncertain as she pondered, before continuing her words.

“The first Divine King is an extremely mysterious entity in the Never-Ending Clan. Few know his name. There are two rumors that sufficiently prove how terrifying he is, though. It was rumored that he challenged the fifth Divine Emperor. Make a guess how that ended?” Little Missy threw a question back at Wang Baole.

Wang Baole froze. He replied after some thought, “He lost but survived the fight?”

“He won!” Little Missy’s answer was like a bolt of lightning exploding inside Wang Baole’s head. It might not have been as bad if he hadn’t experienced the Dark Dream, but he had, and as a result, he knew better than the ordinary person the difference in power between a cultivator at the Star Domain realm and one at the Universe realm. That was why his first reaction to Little Missy’s reply was—that’s not possible.

It was clear that many others had shared his reaction. That was why Little Missy had called it a rumor.

“How about the second rumor?” Even though this first Divine King was way beyond his league, Wang Baole couldn’t help but probe further.

“There were fewer people who believed in the second rumor. At least I don’t… Rumor has it that the Never-Ending Clan once had nine Divine Emperors. He killed four of them. The remaining Divine Emperors didn’t give him any trouble for it though. That seems illogical. That’s why this remains pure rumor. You should treat it as such too.”

Wang Baole’s eyes widened as he experienced a flurry of emotions. Little Missy might not believe the rumor, but Wang Baole knew the Never-Ending Clan had once had nine Divine Emperors…

<em>Is the rumor true then? If it’s indeed the truth, this first Divine King must be powerful beyond measure! </em>Wang Baole had half a mind to question Little Missy more on more private details, but he could see the gloom that she was slowly sinking into. He could only set aside his suspicions as well as shock and keep his questions to himself. As they neared the mountain gates, Little Missy spoke again.

“Don’t enter the mountain gates. Make your way to the back of the mountain. I’ll point out a secret pathway once you’re there.”

Wang Baole didn’t say a word, switching the direction he was headed smoothly and making his way to the back of the mountain. As he drew nearer, he would occasionally tilt his head and eye the enormous Dharmic Artifact in the middle of the mountain peak. He was slightly dispirited. When he had been in the Dark Dream, his knowledge of the Never-Ending Clan had been limited to that one time when the Divine Emperor had come demanding his child’s soul and what had been found in some records.

<em>The Never-Ending Clan isn’t a singular clan but a vast alliance centered around the Never-Ending Clan. It comprises many civilizations… They established an alliance to fight the Dark Sect and transcend life and death. They wanted to stop the Dark Sect from ferrying their souls on behalf of the Heavenly Dao…</em>

<em>As for what happened after… as the sect lords of the Dark Sect fell and the Heavenly Dao collapsed, the Never-Ending Clan Federation… rose to dominance! </em>Wang Baole’s spirits sank. His knowledge of the Never-Ending Clan, while incomplete, was still significant. As he sighed inwardly, his thoughts drifted to the Federation.

In the face of the Never-Ending Clan’s Dao Domain and the Never-Ending Clan’s vast universe, the future of the Federation—one changed by the ancient greenish-bronze sword that was from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace and that had steered the Federation from a technology-based civilization to that of a cultivation-based civilization—might not be a bright and hopeful one.

In his silence, Wang Baole had made his way to the back of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace and was about to draw near. It was then that Little Missy’s voice rang out frantically.

“Watch out, incoming Never-Ending Clan members!”

As soon as she said that, seven to eight combat vehicles approached speedily from the skies. Besides the three vehicles in the lead, which sat one person each, the other vehicles each had three to five people in them. As they sped past, one vehicle stopped in its tracks. One of the three Never-Ending Clan members standing in the vehicle lowered his head and glanced at Wang Baole, who was standing in the ruins below. He spoke suddenly and said something that Wang Baole could understand!