A World Worth Protecting

1

He had to wing it, there was no way around it!

Wang Baole wasn’t a coward. This had been proven time and again from the various encounters he had survived in the Federation. Hidden beneath his mild exterior was a character that was brutal to his enemies and even harsher to himself!

Wang Baole’s eyes were filled with madness as he watched Daoist You Ran unleash his attack at him. He knew that with his current level of cultivation, there was no way he could fully unleash the Rebirth Severing and Five Punishments techniques, even after absorbing the spirit energy from the Death Dao Battle Robes.

It was impossible to unleash them here and use them as his final trump card, so he had only one option left!

It was… the Flame Snatch Thearch Armor!

His armor might have shattered, but Wang Baole still had one ultimate technique that was his trump card. It was his greatest gain since his arrival on the ancient sword!

That was… the Thearch Collapse!

It wasn’t as simple as blowing his armor up but a technique inherent in the Thearch Armor inheritance. The practitioner was to sacrifice the Thearch Armor that he had painstakingly cultivated, compress said cultivation using a special method, and unleash a terrifying power that was beyond imaginable.

This power would shake the heavens and unleash an indescribable force against both the caster and the target. Wang Baole wouldn’t have resorted to such madness in normal circumstances, but he was left with no other options.

Death was inevitable if he tried to run. If he wasn’t going to wing it and fight for his life now… when then was he going to do it?

These thoughts flashed past Wang Baole’s mind as he sent all his cultivation into the Flame Snatch Thearch Armor without hesitation. He also activated the full power contained within the armor itself!

He sent his will into the armor, unleashing his full cultivation and his full potential. His body, which had slimmed down, shrank to skin and bones rapidly!

The light in his eyes grew brighter all this while, as did the light emanating from his armor—it shone like a star. As Daoist You Ran drew closer, Wang Baole shouted!

“Armor Removal!”

The roar thundered and sent the entire cavern shaking. The brightly shining armor on Wang Baole separated from his body and reassembled into a huge cube made of flesh and blood meridians before him!

It looked like a box made of ligaments and tendons. Blood-colored meridians circled inside, forming a sphere that wrapped around the Divine Armament skeletal arm. The appearance of the cube sent the abyss surrounding it shattering into pieces as waves of terrifying spirit energy surged outwards.

The waves of spirit energy were so powerful that even Daoist You Ran was taken aback. His pupils contracted, and his heart raced. He abandoned all thought of testing Wang Baole, retreating hurriedly and evading the brilliant light.

He clearly felt threatened by the waves of spirit energy emanating from Wang Baole’s Flame Snatch Thearch Armor. They felt different from the earlier spirit energy that had been released. Less powerful, but more real.

It was as if… one was distant and the other up close and personal. One was the invisible explosion of a star while the other, the collapse of the ground beneath one’s feet!

Both made his heart race fearfully. The latter left a greater impact due to the visual shock!

Daoist You Ran retreated almost instinctively. It was too late though. He had forced Wang Baole into a corner, and Wang Baole wasn’t going to let him go so easily. Besides, Wang Baole knew that this was the only chance he was going to get!

A vicious light flashed across Wang Baole’s eyes as he shouted.

“Body Possession!”

Daoist You Ran reeled back with shock and retreated hastily when he heard those words. The cube-shaped Flame Snatch Thearch Armor exploded. It didn’t erupt. Instead, it seemed to have dissected itself and transformed into dozens of pieces that then surrounded Daoist You Ran. It all happened in a blur, disrupting whatever laws were set in place on the battleship. The disassembled armor locked on to Daoist You Ran. No matter how fast he retreated, they continued to surround him!

Within the blink of an eye, the dismantled pieces had appeared all around Daoist You Ran—above him, under him, in front and behind him, to his left, and to his right. They closed in and trapped him!

Everything happened extremely quickly. From the moment Daoist You Ran abandoned the idea of testing Wang Baole, to Wang Baole’s relentless and vicious retaliation, they ended up in their current situation in the blink of an eye. Daoist You Ran seemed to have reached the limits of his shock. He didn’t hesitate. Once he saw that he couldn’t escape the disassembled armor segments, he bit the tip of his tongue. His left and right heads exploded at the same time!

This was one of the Never-Ending Clan’s techniques. It wasn’t the first time Wang Baole was witnessing it. Despite that, he had no way of stopping You Ran. The violence in his eyes intensified as he unleashed the second final step of the Thearch Armor inheritance’s ultimate technique!

“Nine Folds!”

As soon as Wang Baole shouted those two words, the cube that had surrounded Daoist You Ran suddenly folded itself, transforming itself from a three-dimensional entity into something two-dimensional, then into a one-dimensional plane!

The sight was beyond bizarre. Daoist You Ran appeared to be imprinted onto that one-dimensional paper-like plane, and his body showed signs of disappearing. Wang Baole wasn’t done yet. The paper bent then folded itself again!

Signs of Daoist You Ran’s destruction grew clearer. Just as the piece of paper tried to fold itself again, a sudden thundering sound exploded. The paper was blown apart from the inside by an incredible force. Daoist You Ran had blown up both his heads and forced his way out of the sealed space, narrowly escaping with his life.

Wang Baole spat out a mouthful of blood. He was obviously reluctant to accept Daoist You Ran’s successful escape, but he had no choice. The chasm of power separating them was too vast. He might possess numerous incredible mystic techniques that had caught Daoist You Ran by surprise, but in the end, he could only injure the latter further. Killing him remained a challenge!

<em>If that’s the case…</em> Wang Baole watched as the one-dimensional plane exploded and Daoist You Ran fought his way out. He decided to simply wing it. He shouted again, doing so before the mystic technique was complete.

“Thearch Collapse!”

An indescribably powerful force erupted from the folded piece of paper that had been in the midst of being ripped apart. The explosion was so powerful it formed waves of energy that surged outwards and flooded everything in the area!

Rumbling erupted in the cavern, like thunder that seemed never-ending. It sounded like the furious roars of a heavenly beast. Wang Baole shuddered violently and spat out a mouthful of blood as he stumbled backwards. Waves of spirit energy ripped outwards and rushed over him. A pale-faced Wang Baole immediately activated the spell that allowed him to switch places with his avatar!

It was then that a bloodied hand shot out from the center of the Thearch Armor and made a grab for Wang Baole. A soft, gentle light appeared just as the hand approached. Little Missy materialized. She lifted her hand and pointed, and a white light suddenly emerged from within the Thearch Collapse. It dashed out and appeared between Little Missy and the gigantic bloody hand. It was… the skeletal Divine Armament arm that had been joined to Wang Baole’s Thearch Armor!

Little Missy and the gigantic bloody hand were instantly connected via the skeletal hand. A deafening thunder rose to the skies as a blinding light erupted from the Divine Armament arm. There was a muted grunt inside the Thearch Collapse, while Little Missy’s face paled. She exhaled a wisp of green air, and her materialized body trembled and turned several shades fainter. She stepped back, drawing the skeletal Divine Armament arm to Wang Baole’s side.

Her appearance and attack gave Wang Baole the time to switch places with his avatar, and he disappeared in the next moment, his avatar reappearing in his place!

The backlash from the Thearch Collapse rushed towards the avatar almost immediately after its appearance. Wang Baole had no time to react at all. The avatar was pulled under instantly, disintegrated and turned to dust!

That wasn’t the end of the attack. Amidst the howling storm that resembled the roars of a heavenly beast, the golden lake was turned into tumultuous waves that evaporated when exposed to the air. The cavern walls stood no chance at all and turned to dust instantly. The enormous pillar that hung in the ceiling, though extremely malleable and gifted with an incredible recovery rate, was also destroyed. It collapsed almost immediately, triggering a chain reaction that traveled up the flesh-lined pathway and resulted in an explosive force that surged outwards!

The entire cavern was decimated. The destruction spread for at least a hundred feet. Only the Death Dao Battle Robes remained seated and immobile as the ceilings crashed down. It seemed relatively impervious to the destruction around it. The only damage was the crack on its forehead, which grew a slight bit wider.