A World Worth Protecting

1

Wang Baole regained consciousness.

When Wang Baole woke up again, he was lying outside the first palace. He stared at the sky, slightly dazed. He had one question in his mind. Why was he constantly passing out after his battle with Daoist You Ran?

<em>How many times has it been…</em> Wang Baole sighed as he climbed to his feet. His eyes widened suddenly. With a casual press of his right palm against the ground, he felt a sudden burst of energy erupting from his physical body. It shook the earth and shoved him upwards.

Wang Baole gulped as he hovered in mid-air. He hadn’t assessed his cultivation since he had awoken. He lowered his head and examined himself now, and excitement and joy quickly filled his eyes.

<em>There’s no change to my cultivation. It’s still at the perfected Core Formation realm. But my physical body… has reached the Nascent Soul realm!</em> Wang Baole had read the books found in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace and knew very well that a cultivator’s prowess in battle came from four places: his cultivation, his mystic techniques, his Dharmic treasures, and finally… the strength of his physical body!

These four aspects complemented one another. Any breakthrough in any of the four would significantly improve one’s performance on the battlefield. However, compared to one’s mystic techniques or Dharmic treasures, the improvement of one’s cultivation and physical body were essential and, indeed, the key to one’s power.

The latter, especially… Physical strength might be viewed as a simple thing to achieve, but unless one inherited a unique bloodline, the challenges faced in strengthening one’s physical body were similar to that of increasing one’s level of cultivation. Both got increasingly difficult as one advanced in level.

In addition, a cultivator had limited time and resources. Only extremely powerful cultivators who had reached a plateau in their level of cultivation would steer their focus towards training their physical bodies. Few people would acquire such a terrifyingly powerful physical body like Wang Baole did while they were only at the Nascent Soul realm.

<em>Finally… I’ve reached the Nascent Soul realm!</em> Wang Baole burst out into laughter after experiencing the power in his body. He vanished suddenly and reappeared a thousand feet away.

He hadn’t teleported. This was the speed a physical body at the Nascent Soul realm could unleash. It allowed him to replicate something that resembled teleportation. He raised his right hand and tightened it into a fist. He could feel a fearsome power gathering in his fist even though he hadn’t activated his cultivation. His excitement intensified.

Even though he still wouldn’t be a match for Daoist You Ran, based on Daoist You Ran’s performance in their last fight, Wang Baole was certain that he wouldn’t end up in as terrible a state as before.

<em>To think that I managed to acquire a Nascent Soul realm physical body just by entering the first palace…</em> Wang Baole took a deep breath as he stared at the first palace. He noticed that the red glow rising above the palace had dimmed considerably, and frost had begun to creep back around the palace. It seemed that it was going to be sealed again. Wang Baole sighed with regret.

Even though the trial he had just undergone seemed pretty simple and straightforward, Wang Baole still shivered when he remembered the pain he had experienced in the Ten Thousand Spirit Blood Pool. The constant drilling of the Blood Qi and the mental backlash from the countless dead beasts had inflicted great pain on Wang Baole. He felt as if he had really died tens of thousands of times.

<em>It’s a pity I didn’t last as long as I wanted. Else… based on the scale of the Ten Thousand Spirit Blood Pool, I might have reached the Soul Conduit realm or even the Spirit Immortal realm. In fact… it might even be possible to acquire a Planet realm physical body!</em>

<em>Maybe that’s for the best. I should be able to find my way back here after I’ve become more powerful. I can try to absorb the nutrients in the lake then and attain another breakthrough! </em>Wang Baole licked his lips. He had gotten addicted to such breakthroughs. His heart was filled with anticipation. After a moment, his eyes turned towards the other two palaces encased in ice.

<em>I wonder if I can enter the other two palaces…</em> Wang Baole’s eyes flashed at the thought. He walked over for a closer look. The ice encasing both palaces showed no signs of melting, and the earlier icy voice didn’t make a reappearance.

<em>Does this mean I’m not qualified to enter?</em> Wang Baole scratched his head. He had discovered how the rules worked, but he wasn’t prepared to just leave. He made a few rounds around the palaces. Then, his eyes landed on the palace on the right. The light in his eyes grew brighter and warmer as he examined the palace.

The palace on the right was the same size as the one on the left. However, the carvings decorating it were significantly more complex and detailed. It was clear that the access rights required for one to enter that palace were greater than those granted to an adopted disciple.

Wang Baole’s heart itched at that thought. After a long while, he finally clenched his jaw, then raised his right hand abruptly. He unleashed his full cultivation, as well as the full power of his physical body, and sent his fist flying into the ice encasing the palace on the right.

“Shatter!”

Wang Baole roared. A hurricane filled with destructive force gathered in his raised right fist. Its power surpassed that of Wang Baole’s Flame Snatch Thearch Armor!

The blow landed on the ice, but it was like sinking a pebble into the vast ocean. A muted thud sounded, and the ice remained undamaged. There wasn’t even the slightest crack on it.

Wang Baole panicked. He was about to throw another punch when a purple lightning bolt suddenly appeared in the ice after the latter had absorbed the force of his first punch. The bolt of lightning snaked through the ice, appeared before Wang Baole in the next moment, and exploded in his face.

There was an explosive roar as Wang Baole shuddered and stumbled back from the force of the explosion. He was pushed back a thousand feet before he finally caught his balance. His breathing uneven, he lifted his head and stared. The palace and the ice around it remained untouched, and the purple lightning bolt had long dissipated. The only thing that remained was the fear pumping through Wang Baole’s veins. That had been a warning. If he continued attacking the palace, he wasn’t going to get another warning. He would be placing his life on the line.

<em>That’s hardly charitable!</em> Wang Baole eyed the palace on the right, resentment building up inside him. Chances were, the palace hadn’t allowed him entry because his rank or his level of cultivation wasn’t high enough.

<em>If I were a Dao Disciple…</em> Wang Baole stood there, contemplating. Then, a strange light flickered in his eyes as an idea popped into his head.

<em>I might not be a Dao Disciple, but I have an arm that might have belonged to one…</em> At that thought, Wang Baole took a deep breath before pulling out the skeletal Divine Armament arm from his storage bag. He held it in his hand, unleashed his full cultivation, and allowed his cultivation to surge into the broken limb. The Divine Armament arm began shining with a blinding light, exuding incredible power.

As soon as the fearsome power erupted from the Divine Armament arm, the palace on the right began to tremble under Wang Baole’s nervous gaze. The tremors went on for a short while, then stopped completely.

<em>Maybe the energy released from the arm isn’t powerful enough?</em> Wang Baole frowned. He thought for a bit and concluded that it hadn’t been powerful enough. In addition, his connection with the skeletal arm wasn’t as perfect as he would like.

Determination colored Wang Baole’s eyes. He gave up the idea of injecting more cultivation into the arm. Instead, he sat down. He was going to make a new Thearch Armor based on the traditional refinement method!

That wasn’t difficult at all. The challenge lay in unleashing the Thearch Armor inheritance’s true power. He had to fuse the Thearch Armor with the Flame Snatch technique in order to do so. That had been the results of Wang Baole’s study, to combine the two in a complementary way that augmented their strengths.

The Flame Snatch technique required a vast quantity of vitality, though. This would prove difficult to acquire at this point in time. However, he was confident of his success if he were only to remake a new Thearch Armor. Having learned from his past experience, it took Wang Baole only two weeks before illusory, blood-colored meridians began to emerge from his body.

That was the first layer of the Thearch Armor. Its strength and power could hardly compare to the first Thearch Armor he had before, but it would serve its purpose of fusing the skeletal arm with the armor.

The meridians wormed inside the skeletal Divine Armament arm under Wang Baole’s commands. Without any hesitation, he unleashed his cultivation again. His spirit energy flowed through the meridians and entered the Divine Armament arm.

Waves of spirit energy began to emanate from the arm as its power was once again activated!

At that instant… the palace on the right started shaking again, and the same icy voice pierced the air again!

“As a Dao Disciple, you are qualified to shoulder the responsibility of rebuilding the Dao Palace. You may access the second Spiritual Palace for a chance to achieve phenomenal breakthroughs in your cultivation!”