A World Worth Protecting

1

His voice contained the power of a Soul Conduit realm cultivator. Even a cultivator at the perfected stage of the Core Formation realm would have been shaken to the core upon hearing that voice. It was akin to being struck by lightning and suffering the dazed aftershocks.

If he had been intent on killing them, a single shout from him would have flattened a Core Formation realm cultivator. A Nascent Soul might not die on the spot, but his movements would be affected as well. He would feel as if a seal had been placed on his spirit.

Such spiritual attacks were what made a Soul Conduit realm cultivator so powerful. It was impossible for one to withstand such attacks. Even Wang Baole suffered an aural explosion in his head that instant. His spirit was almost ripped from his body. He wanted to continue attacking, but he couldn’t. He tried to retreat and couldn’t do that either.

Just as Wang Baole’s spirit trembled and shook, and he lost the ability to move, two sources of energy flared to life inside him. One came from Little Missy and the other… from his scabbard!

Perhaps Little Missy sensed the energy from the scabbard, but she immediately quieted down. In that instant, the scabbard unleashed an energy that didn’t spread beyond Wang Baole’s body but stirred inside him. The pressure from a Soul Conduit realm cultivator’s cultivation was instantly dispelled!

His state of mind immediately stabilized, and his thoughts cleared. Everything happened in a flash. As Mie Liezi’s voice echoed in the air, and his mind cleared, Wang Baole didn’t hesitate. He immediately switched places with the avatar he had released earlier!

His true form and his Lightning Avatar switched places swiftly. It was almost as if they had teleported. The Lightning Avatar didn’t hesitate and made another grab for Sun Hai’s head. Wang Baole, who had teleported to a distant location, showed no hesitation as well as he waved his hand and summoned his tri-colored flying sword. It dashed towards the same target… Sun Hai!

Everything happened too quickly. As Wang Baole and his avatar attacked simultaneously, Mie Liezi, who had been rushing towards them, let loose a furious howl in mid-air.

It rang out in the air, and a gigantic illusory hand appeared in the sky and smashed downwards. A loud explosion erupted. Wang Baole’s avatar stood no chance. Before it could land a hit on Sun Hai, it was crushed by the gigantic hand!

Mie Liezi was still a step too late. The flying sword that Wang Baole had unleashed pierced through Sun Hai’s chest. Another sword sliced his head right off!

Blood splattered everywhere. Sun Hai’s screams of agony echoed in the air. He had abandoned his physical body at the very last moment and escaped. The heavens and earth shifted, and the clouds rolled back, as Mie Liezi appeared in the sky. He walked towards the island and landed next to Sun Hai’s Nascent Soul. His right hand lifted and with a grab, he picked up Sun Hai’s Nascent Soul and stored it in his sleeve. With a dark look on his face, Mie Liezi inspected Sun Hai’s body. Its chest was pierced through with three flying swords, and its internal organs had been shredded to pieces. Then, he turned and looked at Wang Baole.

“Wang Baole, are you trying to revolt against the sect?”

Wang Baole’s breathing quickened slightly. He didn’t get overly flustered though. Instead, he stared skyward, at the second Soul Conduit realm aura that was rapidly approaching. Mie Liezi also sensed Feng Qiuran’s arrival. If this had happened prior to Wang Baole’s trial, he might have taken this opportunity to kill Wang Baole.

But he had witnessed Wang Baole’s performance in the trial with his own eyes and knew that Wang Baole had inherited the legacy from the Eye of Infinite Techniques. To a certain degree, he had been acknowledged as a true disciple of the sect. Even though he didn’t descend from the Dao Palace but had come from the Federation, Mie Liezi was still hesitant to make a move.

Amidst his hesitation, Feng Qiuran finally arrived. She saw Sun Hai’s corpse and froze. In the end, she still decided to side with Wang Baole. She turned towards Mie Liezi and said slowly, “Mie Liezi, you should be careful when invoking the word ‘revolt’!”

“I should be careful? I’ve already commanded him to stop, but he still went ahead and did as he pleased. He acted violently and mercilessly and killed his own fellow disciple. If this is not a revolt, what is it?” There was a resolute look in Mie Liezi’s eyes. He stared icily at Wang Baole as he spoke.

Feng Qiuran hesitated. She had arrived late to the scene and knew little of what had transpired. She turned towards Sect Lord Xu. The Sect Lord was about to speak when Wang Baole lifted his hand and interrupted him. Wang Baole smiled.

“Elder Mie Liezi, you only saw me trying to kill Sun Hai. Aren’t you going to question Sun Hai about what he had done to me?” Wang Baole said, then pointed to the alchemical cauldron.

“At this very moment, my intrinsic sacred beast is being cooked alive inside that cauldron. I came here to negotiate and make peace. I even proposed compensation of nearly a hundred thousand battle credits. Nevertheless, Sun Hai continued to make things difficult for me. He lusted over my battle credits, that’s fine. He repeatedly called me a beast, I took that without complaint too. I was pushed to the limits of my patience, yet he still wanted to turn my sacred beast into a Blood Pill!” Fury colored Wang Baole’s words as his voice rang out. Mie Liezi frowned.

He didn’t know the details of what had happened. However, he saw the lowered heads of the Core Formation realm cultivators around them and sensed the living presence in the alchemical cauldron. Everything seemed to add up. Even if Wang Baole had spiced up the details, it was clear he was speaking the truth.

But Mie Liezi wasn’t here to speak reason or mete out justice. He didn’t care that Wang Baole had just returned from the Worship Palace Pavilion. He believed that the most that Wang Baole had gained was a core disciple rank. Even should his rank be higher than Mie Liezi’s, his cultivation was not. In fact, there was a greater likelihood that Wang Baole hadn’t acquired a core disciple’s rank but only that of an inner sect disciple.

<em>Unless he was able to attain the status of a personal disciple, otherwise… </em>At that thought, Mie Liezi snorted and said coolly, “I care only for the results, not the cause. Wang Baole has offended his elders. Feng Qiuran, you cannot defend him. Either we abide by the rules of the sect or we expel him. Regardless, I must have an answer by the end of the day!”

Mie Liezi’s forceful personality was on full display as he said that. Feng Qiuran frowned. Her mind began thinking rapidly about the way to resolve this. Beside her, Sect Lord Xu stole a glance at Wang Baole. There was a considering look in his eyes. He was different from Feng Qiuran. He believed that Wang Baole wasn’t the sort of person who was ignorant of propriety. Someone who had worked his way up the Federation’s hierarchy, climbing from the position of an ordinary student to that of a noble at the Primary Rank Two and Secondary Rank Two, wasn’t going to commit such a juvenile mistake.

Reality didn’t deviate much from his expectations. Wang Baole was well supported for his actions. After hearing what Mie Liezi had said, he narrowed his eyes and raised his chin slightly. Then, he said coolly, “You care only for the results and not the cause? I’m fine with that…” Having said that, Wang Baole swiped across his storage bracelet. A purple identity token appeared in his hand. He activated his cultivation and sent his cultivation flowing into the identity token.

As soon as he did that, the token began to shine with a blinding purple light. The light shot upwards, into the sky, and flooded the air. The heavens transformed into a sea of purple light. As it spread outwards, the skies changed color and clouds rolled back. The ancient Hyacinthus Tree on the main island started to shake violently!

Everyone was shocked at the sight. A myriad of emotions flashed across Mie Liezi’s and Feng Qiuran’s faces. The changes summoned by Wang Baole’s token didn’t stop there. The Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s array formation appeared that instant, a vast web made visible to the naked eye, spread across the sky and land, rumbling. It appeared to achieve resonance with Wang Baole’s identity token!

The Hyacinthus Tree, the sect’s array formation, everything that was happening drew all eyes to Wang Baole at that very instant. It was as if… with a single thought, he could seize control over the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s array formation. To a certain extent, Wang Baole had just seized the access rights belonging to Feng Qiuran and the other two elders and become the most powerful person in the sect!

Even the ancient greenish-bronze sword was affected. The seas of fire erupted around them, roaring and frightening every disciple. The heavens themselves seemed to be quivering. The presence that had descended upon them was incredible!

“This…”

“What is going on?”

On Holy Air Island and the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island, stunned shouts rose to the skies simultaneously. Numerous figures dashed out from the main island. These Nascent Soul realm cultivators had a disbelieving look on their faces as they raced towards the source of the purple light, Holy Air Island.

The expressions on Mie Liezi’s and Feng Qiuran’s faces were that of unprecedented shock and awe. Emotions threatened to pull them under. Their eyes could contain nothing else except… the purple identity token!

“An adopted… adopted disciple!” Mie Liezi trembled. He seemed to have fallen into a daze as he muttered to himself.