A World Worth Protecting

1

Wang Baole recited the sutra in his head while saying something completely different out loud and unleashing an attack on his enemies. This was something he had done on numerous occasions. It had become a familiar dance.

The power of the sutra descended from the heavens, striking fear and awe into the hearts of the five Never-Ending Clan cultivators. Their minds went blank. Despite being battle-hardened warriors, they were still shocked by the sudden display of power. Only two of them managed to retreat in time. The other three cultivators had been too slow. In an instant, Wang Baole arrived before them, accompanied by a stormy cloud of mist.

A deafening thunder rose to the skies. The mist exploded, the resultant shock waves forcing blood from the three Never-Ending Clan cultivators’ mouths. The one who had spoken earlier had been caught right in the middle of the explosion. An enormous, fat hand reached out suddenly and grabbed him by his head.

Wang Baole materialized, pressed his palm heavily onto the Never-Ending Clan cultivator’s head, and shoved him landwards like he was dropping a lead ball from extreme heights. Everything happened rapidly. A thunderous boom erupted in the next moment as a huge crater appeared in the ground. It was where Wang Baole had slammed the Never-Ending Clan cultivator!

The cultivator’s pained scream was lost in the loudness of the crash. Alarm flashed across the faces of the other four Never-Ending Clan members hovering in mid-air. Incredulity colored their faces as Wang Baole slowly walked out from the crater.

He was a towering mountain of flesh, fearsome-looking. He hardly resembled a human at all, looking more like a mad, crazed ancient beast. The power he emanated filled the air and struck terror in the hearts of the Never-Ending Clan cultivators.

What made the sight more terrifying… was the countless blood-red meridians dancing in the air around the mountainous lump of flesh like tentacles. They intertwined together and transformed into a gruesome-looking armor as Wang Baole stepped out from the crater, adding another layer of visual violence to his person. He looked like an enormous, overweight war god!

Dragged along by his right hand was a corpse. All three of its heads had been blown apart, and a trail of blood painted the ground. The sight… sent horror shivering up everyone’s spines!

“Which civilization are you from?”

“This land belongs to the Never-Ending Clan. There might have been some misunderstanding here…” The four cultivators eyed the scene and hurried to speak while communicating hastily amongst themselves.

“What is that monster?”

“I’ve heard of some clan that’s called the Giant Civilization or something like that. Everyone in that civilization is born as a lump of flesh that grows bigger in size as they progress in cultivation. They continue growing until they are large enough to devour an entire planet!”

“This guy was just at the Nascent Soul realm earlier before he suddenly displayed a power that rivaled a Soul Conduit realm cultivator. Could he be from the Giant Civilization?” The four Never-Ending Clan members’ breathing quickened in their nervousness. The spirit energy that Wang Baole had unleashed, as well as his unbelievably enormous frame, had them terrified beyond measure.

Wang Baole couldn’t care less about what they said. He dragged the corpse out, his eyes flashing with an icy glint. Then, with a sudden explosion of speed, he rushed towards the Never-Ending Clan cultivators in mid-air. It was like seeing an enormous meatball rolling towards oneself.

Alarm flashed across his enemies’ faces, and they retreated hurriedly. It was then that the sutra’s power made a reappearance, descending from the heavens in a soundless explosion. The four cultivators shuddered, their senses stunned and minds dazed. Wang Baole caught up to them, but instead of unleashing a punch, he charged straight into one of the cultivators with his mountain-like form.

Thunderous booms resonated in the air. The power unleashed by both the Thearch Armor and Wang Baole’s physical body culminated in a terrifying blow. It was like being hit by a small meteorite. The sound of bones shattering and screams of pain rang out. The cultivator who had suffered Wang Baole’s charge head-on failed to withstand the attack. His body blew up instantly, filling the air with blood. His Nascent Soul tried to escape, but it failed to evade Wang Baole’s devouring seed and Flame Snatch.

The Nascent Soul struggled, but to no avail, to escape the sudden eruption of an immense suction force. It was dragged over to Wang Baole. The Flame Snatch immediately consumed it like one would eat a snack. Wang Baole burped, licked his lips, then turned towards the remaining three Never-Ending Clan cultivators. They were trembling, their scalps prickling with numbness. They retreated immediately and without hesitation, then they split three-ways and fled into the distance.

<em>Trying to escape?</em> Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He flung the headless corpse gripped in his right hand outward violently, hitting one of the Never-Ending Clan cultivators running away to his right. His Thearch Armor spasmed and came apart, transforming into crimson meridians that flew out and raced towards another Never-Ending Clan cultivator. They caught up with him immediately. The cultivator roared and struggled, but it didn’t matter. The meridians crawled over and encased him in armor. The Thearch Armor had become his prison.

His screams of fear were silenced instantly. Wang Baole then dashed forward and reappeared in mid-air. He was going after the next Never-Ending Clan cultivator.

His battle capabilities had been reduced from the Soul Conduit realm without his Thearch Armor. Regardless, his strong physical body, his Nascent Soul realm cultivation, and the vast stores of Spirit Qi inside him meant that he was still a lethal force to be reckoned with. He unleashed whatever Spirit Qi he held inside him without holding anything back. The Never-Ending Clan cultivator only managed to hold his own for a few counts in the explosion of all that power. Wang Baole pummeled him with ten Supernova punches and sent him spiraling to the ground, heavily injured and with blood spilling from his lips.

With a wave of his hand, numerous puppets rushed out and trapped the fallen Never-Ending Clan cultivator. To prevent the cultivator’s Nascent Soul from escaping, Wang Baole kicked him in his dantian. The kick sent waves of spirit energy into the cultivator, trapping his Nascent Soul.

Everything happened within the blink of an eye. The surviving Never-Ending Clan cultivator, who had escaped towards the right, had reeled back in shock as he witnessed Wang Baole suppress his last two companions with ease. He dodged the corpse that Wang Baole had flung at him and was about to run away at full speed.

It was then that the headless corpse suddenly exploded. Numerous black strands shot out from the explosion of blood and flesh, gathered together, and formed the silhouette of a person. It was Wang Baole’s avatar!

The avatar rushed out to stop the cultivator from escaping. Of course, that wasn’t its primary objective. It had only one aim, and that was… to exchange places with Wang Baole!

Wang Baole switched places with his avatar instantly. The switch happened too quickly. The final surviving Never-Ending Clan cultivator, heart racing with fear, didn’t even have the time to speed up before he was caught by Wang Baole. Screams of terror pierced the air as Wang Baole’s vast spirit energy, as well as his sutra’s power, crashed down. The Never-Ending Clan cultivator’s two heads were smashed instantly. He crashed to the ground and fainted.

Out of five Never-Ending Clan members, two were killed, another two were injured, and the last was sealed within a short period of time!

Anyone who had witnessed the battle would have been shocked beyond measure!

Wang Baole would have been equally proud, but he wasn’t in the mood for that now. Feng Qiuran had been hunted relentlessly, and the Never-Ending Clan was running wild. This was not what he had expected.

<em>Maybe Daoist You Ran isn’t the only mastermind behind this whole thing?</em> Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He grabbed the unconscious Never-Ending Clan cultivator and, with a sudden step, reappeared next to the Never-Ending Clan cultivator who had been bound by his puppets.

The Never-Ending Clan cultivator’s dantian had suffered serious injuries. His cultivation had been dealt a heavy blow, and his Nascent Soul was trapped and unable to escape. He was also bound tightly by numerous puppets. All he could do was watch as Wang Baole walked over. Venom filled his eyes as he spoke with a hoarse voice.

“I don’t care who you are. You’ve just offended the Never-Ending Clan. You…”

“You talk too much!” Wang Baole said casually. His left hand pressed abruptly onto the head of the talking Never-Ending Clan cultivator, unleashing the soul searching spell. He hadn’t been able to wield it effectively in the past, but it had become easier now that he was at the Nascent Soul realm.

The Never-Ending Clan cultivator shuddered violently and released a pained scream. The expression on Wang Baole’s face darkened immediately after. A dozen counts later, he suddenly lifted his head, his breathing quickened. He looked incredulous. He turned towards the unconscious Never-Ending Clan cultivator and performed the soul searching spell again.

He still couldn’t believe the information he had gotten from his second attempt. He flew over to where his Thearch Armor was and grabbed the Never-Ending Clan cultivator trapped inside the armor. He unleashed the soul searching spell again!

The answer he got from all three attempts was the same!

Daoist You Ran wasn’t dead. The Vast Expanse Dao Palace and the Federation… were in the midst of all-out war!