A World Worth Protecting

1

The first match was over!

To Wang Baole, this battle was extremely easy. He only needed to step into the arena and immediately scored a point!

This match involved 2,000 people battling each other simultaneously in 1,000 battles. In other words, after this match, half of the people would gain a point, and the other half would not receive any points!

The difference between the winners and losers could clearly be seen through this first match!

In the second stage of the competition, it was based on cumulative points to a certain extent. Every victory added one point, while every loss carried no penalties. This way, if someone accumulated five points, meaning that they had won five matches, they would definitely gain a good position in the rankings.

After thinking about the rules of the second stage of the competition in his mind, Wang Baole swaggered off the arena. Under the attention and whispers of the onlooking students, he greeted everyone with a polite smile. When he returned to the cave abode, he opened a bag of snacks in satisfaction, munching on them as he browsed the Spirit Intranet to watch the competition of the others.

The Spirit Intranet was busy with activity right now. Students who were watching the different matches were discussing wildly. That was especially so for the contenders who were famous as they garnered the attention of many.

“Latest news! Wang Baole is victorious! His opponent was Wu Haisen from the Dharmic Armament faculty, who conceded defeat!

“Zhuo Yifan is victorious! He used less than thirty breaths and won head-on against the Traps faculty’s senior student Sun Yan!”

Seeing how news about himself had gained so much attention, Wang Baole was delighted. However, realizing that Zhuo Yifan had won, his eyebrows jumped.

<em>This Zhuo Yifan has improved. Not only did he become one of the Head Prefects of the Combat faculty, he even obtained the first victory. However, he is still a far cry from me, </em>Wang Baole thought as he twisted a bottle of Ice Spirit Water open and drank from it smugly. Suddenly, the hand he was using to hold the bottle of Ice Spirit Water paused, his face revealing a look of surprise as he stared at a new message posted just recently.

“Dark horse! Chen Ziheng was defeated by a lesser known senior student from the Alchemy faculty, Li Nan!”

“Gosh! Chen Ziheng is someone who competed with Zhuo Yifan for the position of Head Prefect! In less time than it takes to burn a stick of incense ¹ , he was defeated by this Li Nan!”

“This was the match that I watched! Li Nan swallowed a mysterious pill, became extremely savage, and attacked Chen Ziheng head on!”

Discussion regarding the match involving Chen Ziheng was bountiful on the Spirit Intranet. Regrettably, in order to prevent the strategies of the elite students from being revealed in the second stage of the competition, the Dao College worked doubly hard to prevent recordings from being leaked. The moment a video was found, the culprit was punished immediately. Therefore, there was no footage available. Unless one watched the match in person, there was no way one could see the match process.

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes when he read the discussion. He knew that Chen Ziheng’s cultivation had already surpassed the Physical Seal stage, reaching the Pulse Enrichment stage. He was obviously no small fry, but he had still lost to the Alchemy faculty.

<em>There are many elites here! I need to be alert! </em>Wang Baole thought, as if he had gained a deep realization. After reading a few more posts, his attention was suddenly fixated on another post.

“Zhao Yameng, who went against Zheng Liang, the Vegetation Head Prefect in the Alchemy faculty, assembled a formation within three breaths and floated away! Zheng Liang bitterly concedes defeat!

Many people were discussing on the thread, but most people were focused on how they did not understand Zhao Yameng’s moves. However, there were students from the Array Formation faculty who explained that someone who could assemble a formation within three breaths had never been seen before in the whole Array Formation faculty!

This news quickly roused excitement within the Array Formation faculty and spread rapidly throughout the whole Spirit Intranet. After Wang Baole read the explanation from the Array Formation faculty students, he revealed a concerned gaze.

<em>Zhao Yameng… </em>Wang Baole set the bottle of Ice Spirit Water down. He was stressed out over the messages posted on the Spirit Intranet. In reality, other than the people hotly discussed, there were also other elite senior students who had suddenly appeared, and they were all strong contenders.

<em>The next match will take place tomorrow, and there isn’t much time.</em>

The outcome of the competition affected one’s ability to enter the mystic realm. No matter how confident Wang Baole was, he could not become complacent. After shutting off the Spirit Intranet, he began meditating to calm his mind so that he would be in tip-top condition.

A day passed just like that. Even when all the matches ended, the discussions within Ethereal Dao College and on the Spirit Intranet never ended and became even more prominent if anything.

Very quickly, the second day arrived. An hour before the match began, Wang Baole received the notification that the draws had begun. He opened his eyes and drew his lot.

<em>The ninth fighting ring in the Array Formation faculty. Who could the lucky one challenging me be? </em>Wang Baole laughed. After the draws ended, he planned his time, and after deciding to head to the ring early, he stepped out of his cave abode.

He quickly reached the peak of the mountain where the Array Formation faculty was located. This was the first time that Wang Baole had been in the Array Formation faculty. This place was different from the Alchemy and Dharmic Armament faculty. There seemed to be an order to the whole faculty, from the architecture to the natural environment. Even the vegetation of the surroundings was not grown haphazardly and seemed to harbor an aura that Wang Baole could not describe.

<em>Synergizing into one! </em>After a few steps, Wang Baole took a deep breath, having found the phrase that could perfectly describe what he was feeling.

That was the aura given off by the entire Array Formation faculty. If someone not from the Array Formation faculty entered the premises, it was as if they would be severely rejected by the entire peak. It was an indescribable, pressurizing feeling.

That was especially so when he noticed that the surrounding rocks had residual Spirit Qi wafting around them. It seemed like many regions had already been influenced by the array formations but were being forcefully suppressed so that they would not erupt.

<em>The people in this Array Formation faculty couldn’t have the habit of forming arrays randomly, could they? Why does it feel like danger’s lurking everywhere? If I were to meet someone from the Array Formation faculty in the future, I must be cautious. These guys are scheming, setting up traps everywhere… </em>Wang Baole was cautious even when walking. Because of that, when he arrived at the ninth fighting ring, there was not much time left before the match began.

The moment he appeared, he immediately caught the attention of students looking on from the periphery of the fighting ring. They all looked toward him, and as they reeled in surprise, Wang Baole jumped directly onto the ring in a swift motion, his arms behind his back.

He had just steadied himself when whispers arose from the surroundings.

“So, Wang Baole is participating in this match!”

“This fella’s opponent surrendered in the first match. This time, I wonder who will go against him!”

With discussion abound, Wang Baole reveled in the attention. He felt a myriad of emotions. Even though he kept a low profile, he felt that his dashing appearance inevitably caused commotion anywhere he went.

Therefore, he raised his hand to greet the spectators. However, very suddenly, an excited roar spread from afar, and as it reverberated, a figure emerged. It originally seemed to be at a distance, but it approached and rapidly arrived on the ring.

“Wang Baole, my opponent is you! Hah, the heavens are watching indeed, and this is the result of my destiny!” It was a long-haired youth, dressed in a student’s Daoist robe. He was agitated and anticipating what was to come as he shouted excitedly once he stepped onto the ring.

Looking at this cheerful, enthusiastic youth, Wang Baole was confused for a moment, and doubts arose in his mind. He had little impression of the youth and began to speak hesitantly.

“Schoolmate… you are?”

“I am from the Dao Enlightenment faculty! Wang Baole, stand there and do not move. Let me gain Dao enlightenment for a few hours. Don’t worry, victory is yours this round!” The youth could not hide his excitement in his words. Enthusiastically, he stepped forward toward Wang Baole.

His words surprised everyone. The spectators widened their eyes, and a loud boom sounded in their minds, causing them to take a uniform step backward, as if they were possessed!

“The Dao Enlightenment faculty!”

“Gosh! There was actually someone from the Dao Enlightenment faculty who made it to the top 2,000!”

Everyone was taken aback. Even Wang Baole was incredulous.

“They cannot be chased away!”

“Wang Baole, please grant me my wish!”

In his enthusiasm, the youth took a big step forward as he rushed toward Wang Baole.

<em>How did this lunatic pass the preliminary screening? </em>The match had not even begun, but that insane youth was charging right at him.

The teachers who were watching outside the ring stood up immediately, but when they attempted to stop what was to happen, the youth turned his head abruptly and snidely shouted, “Teachers, I am enlightening myself on the Dao!”

The moment he spoke, the teachers did not know whether to laugh or cry; all of them stopped in their tracks, giving up on their attempt to stop the youth.

The youth roared as he neared. His fearless attitude toward whatever was to come his way caused the spectators to look at each other in confusion.

<em>We have a lunatic here! </em>Wang Baole stared, and the instant that the youth approached, he kicked him directly.

Bang!

The powerful kick sent the lunatic from the Dao Enlightenment faculty falling heavily to the floor.

Upon impact, the facial expression of the youth from the Dao Enlightenment faculty changed. He lowered his head and looked at his belly, sitting on the floor without speaking a word, as if he was gaining Dao enlightenment.

Wang Baole saw what happened and momentarily felt immense fear. The spectators, including the teachers, had their eyes glued to the stage.

<em>It couldn’t be that he has really succeeded in enlightening himself on the Dao, could it? I only gave him a kick.</em>

As Wang Baole contemplated whether or not to interrupt the youth’s Dao enlightenment process, this youth from Dao Enlightenment faculty suddenly raised his head, laughing as he looked upwards. He no longer cared about people around him and turned about, jumping off the arena directly, running far away as he laughed manically.

Listening to his laughter and looking at his back, Wang Baole rushed to raise his hand and speak loudly.

“Schoolmate, have you succeeded in gaining enlightenment?”

However, the youth from the Dao Enlightenment faculty seemed oblivious to everything as he continued laughing hysterically, disappearing into the distance without turning his head.

<em>Darn it, would it kill you to reply? So, did you succeed in gaining enlightenment or not? </em>Wang Baole felt his frustration welling up. He could not understand why Ethereal Dao College needed a Dao Enlightenment faculty—it was obviously a faculty for the insane.

As he thought about the possibility and effects of the youth really gaining Dao enlightenment by virtue of his kick, Wang Baole instantly felt troubled. He slapped his forehead and looked disappointedly at the teachers who were refereeing.

“Teachers, the lunatic has left. What is the verdict of this match?”

The three teachers looked at Wang Baole with weird expressions on their faces. They turned to look at each other before announcing the result.

“Wang Baole is the winner!”

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