A World Worth Protecting

1

The vast battleship—formed from three disks that seemed to hold within them three worlds—had risen from the Sea of Fire inside the sword body, charged forward with the force of a mighty sword, and sped towards the sword handle. On the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island, Li Wuchen and Zhou Mei’s wedding ceremony continued.

Following Wang Baole’s and Feng Qiuran’s blessings, the cultivators from the Dao Palace and the Federation had all begun cheering loudly. The Dao Palace was a sea of joyous celebration. Those who had not attended the ceremony could also hear laughter from the public square on the main peak.

Everything seemed so perfect at that moment. The Hyacinthus Tree swayed slightly in the breeze as the Vast Expanse Dao Palace basked in peace and happiness.

The Federation cultivators had partially assimilated themselves with the Dao Palace. The establishment of the Spirit Internet and the introduction of a financial credit system, as well as numerous other new initiatives, had allowed the Vast Expanse Dao Palace disciples to grow used to the ways of the Federation. Their attitudes towards the Federation cultivators had also changed drastically.

Wang Baole’s status also played an important role. Save for exceptional situations, his authority was unshakable in the highly regulated and stringent Dao Palace.

If the current situation were to continue, within a decade, numerous intermarriages would have taken place, and the next generation would be born. The assimilation would have been completed, and the Federation and the Dao Palace would have been completely inseparable by then. The agreement between Feng Qiuran and Li Xingwen would have been realized.

The alliance would have allowed the Federation civilization to develop adequately and speed up the latter’s progress. The Federation civilization would have been able to advance further…

This was what the Federation had hoped for, and what Wang Baole had hoped to achieve as well. That was why Wang Baole’s blessings for Li Wuchen and Zhou Mei’s union had been sincere, and his smile hopeful. Of course, there was still regret on his part.

He was also a young man who was still unmarried and without a partner. His gaze swept uncontrollably across the crowd and landed on Zhao Yameng.

Zhao Yameng was smiling, her eyes bright with joy and blessing for the newly wedded couple. There seemed to be a hint of envy on her face as well. She seemed to sense Wang Baole’s eyes on her. Zhao Yameng pushed locks of her hair—loosened by the slight breeze—behind her ear as her bright eyes met Wang Baole’s.

Zhao Yameng smiled as their eyes met. Wang Baole didn’t know why his heart started racing suddenly. He instinctively rubbed his tummy…

The sudden gesture instantly broke the spell, rendering Zhao Yameng speechless. Wang Baole seemed embarrassed as well. He was just about to approach Zhao Yameng to say a few words to her when Zhou Mei and Li Wuchen, who had been exchanging drinks with the crowd, suddenly appeared before Wang Baole.

“Dean…” Zhou Mei had drank quite a bit, so her cheeks were flushed as she stared at Wang Baole with respect and deference. There was also gratitude. She bowed and then presented a wine cup to Wang Baole.

Li Wuchen stood at one side. His feelings towards Wang Baole remained mixed, but he was similarly grateful to Wang Baole for his decisiveness and support for their love. He took a deep breath and filled the cup to the brim.

Wang Baole stopped in his tracks and looked at the couple in front of him before his eyes fell on Zhou Mei. Memories of her being a young girl from the Dao Mountain Mist Academy appeared in his mind. He turned towards Li Wuchen, heart filled with congratulatory joy and comfort. He took the wine cup, then said teasingly, “Mei’er, you can address me as your master.”

Zhou Mei lifted her head and looked at Wang Baole with excitement bright in her eyes. She had long considered Wang Baole as her master. In fact, she wasn’t the only one. The original batch of students who had been taught personally by Wang Baole all felt the same way. Even the batches after who hadn’t received lessons from Wang Baole continued to look up to him. This was true of every pupil who had graduated from the Dao Mountain Mist Academy since Wang Baole’s deanship.

She took a deep breath excitedly and greeted Wang Baole once again.

“Greetings to Master!”

The Federation and the Dao Palace witnessed Zhou Mei greet Wang Baole, and the greeting changed the way they saw her. The Dao Palace placed great importance on tradition. Zhou Mei addressing Wang Baole as master meant that her status and identity in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace had now been transformed.

In fact, she would now be considered as a personal disciple in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. She would also be known as Wang Baole’s first personal disciple!

This was extremely important!

Wang Baole smiled at Li Wuchen amidst the crowd’s shock and envy. Li Wuchen knew what this meant to Zhou Mei, and even though his feelings towards Wang Baole were still mixed and tainted with their past conflicts, these soon vanished as he looked back at Wang Baole. He took a deep breath, then mirrored Zhou Mei’s deep bow.

Wang Baole smiled. He drank the wine and placed his cup down. He was about to speak when suddenly… something happened!

The clear skies that had been conjured up by array formations transformed as a deafening thunder erupted in the skies above the Dao Palace!

Boom!

The thunder shook the heavens and earth. Wang Baole shook as well, and alarm colored Feng Qiuran’s face. The disciples around them widened their eyes. Confusion colored their faces as uneasiness began to unfurl inside them. They had a bad feeling about this.

“What’s that noise?”

“What happened?”

Shouts of shock and alarm rang out. The heavens began to warp and distort, and a series of thunderous booms, each one louder than the previous one, erupted. The lands quaked, the Dao Palace shook, and the Sea of Fire boiled!

The skies and the lands had transformed. The winds howled, and the clouds rolled back.

The Dao Palace descended into shock as they witnessed the sight. Many cultivators who hadn’t attended the wedding ceremony hastily flew out from their cave abodes and stared at what was happening around them in shock. Mie Liezi appeared as well, and there was incredulity in his eyes as he turned abruptly towards the sword body and stared!

Wang Baole’s breathing quickened. He could sense that something wasn’t right as he looked around. Suddenly… a tornado appeared in the skies out of nowhere. It seemed to have come from the sword body, whipping up waves in the Sea of Fire as it blew past, creating a series of explosions in its wake. The loud thunderous explosions erupted in the distance and drew nearer as the tornado swept away everything in its path, stirring a storm in the Sea of Fire and creating a fury of noises that struck terror into everyone’s hearts!

Alarm colored everyone’s faces. Before they could do anything, the voice of someone very, very old, came echoing from the distance. It seemed to have traveled with the winds as it swept past the Dao Palace!

“Save me… save me…”

The voice rang throughout the entire Dao Palace. Feng Qiuran, who had been alarmed by the sight before her, heard it. She suddenly shook violently. She had a look on her face that no one had ever seen before. It seemed as if she was on the verge of a mental breakdown as she cried out in shock!

“Father?”

Feng Qiuran knew that voice all too well. It was her father, an elder of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace who had died in battle while the ancient greenish-bronze sword had been traveling through space. He had perished in the fight against the Never-Ending Clan!

“Uncle Master?” Mie Liezi recognized the voice as well. Shock surged through him as he turned and looked at Feng Qiuran. They saw the look of disbelief and shock mirrored in each other’s eyes.

Feng Qiuran’s breathing quickened. Without any hesitation, she dashed out and raced in the direction in which the voice had come from.

“Elder Feng, please wait!” Mie Liezi and Feng Qiuran might have their differences, but his loyalty towards the Dao Palace was undisputed. Feng Qiuran had just acted irrationally. He couldn’t stop her in time though. He gritted his teeth and decided to follow her!

Daoist You Ran had also appeared with a solemn look on his face. He too went after the two elders, charging towards the distance!

Everything happened too quickly. Before the crowd could recover from their shock and react, the three Soul Conduit realm cultivators had disappeared into the horizon.

A myriad of emotions flashed across Wang Baole’s face. Sect Lord Xu, the giant tree, and the other cultivators of the Dao Palace and the Federation shared the same experience. Everyone had the same feeling… something big was about to happen!

At the border separating the sword body and the sword handle, thunderous explosions continued to rise to the skies. The vast battleship finally broke free from the barrier. Half of its body appeared on the side of the sword handle as a crack appeared in the barrier. It didn’t shatter immediately, but sounds of its cracking hinted at its eventual and soon-to-happen collapse.

The battleship chose to stop its advancement at that moment. It stopped, hovering within the barrier, straddling between the sword body and the sword handle. A raspy, weak, and old voice continued to travel out from inside the battleship.

“Save me… save me…”

The voice echoed in the air. The crack in the barrier created tornadoes in the sky around the battleship. The tornadoes began to travel further into the sword handle…