A World Worth Protecting

With that thought in mind, the late-stage Spirit Immortal realm Never-Ending Clan cultivator quickened his pace and landed in the camp. His return sent waves of confusion, suspicion, and anxiety rippling across the Never-Ending Clan army. The cultivators wondered what was going on… The last commander had just returned, and now, another one had made his appearance.

How were they to know which was the authentic one and which was the fake? It’d be fine if the previous one were the real commander, but if the real deal were to be the latter, then they were going to be in serious trouble!

Similar thoughts appeared in everyone’s minds. The crowd was filled with anxiety and nervousness. The late-stage Spirit Immortal realm elder immediately caught the shifts in their expressions, and a sense of foreboding uncurled inside him.

“Could it be that…” His breathing quickened, and he unleashed his Divine Sense and activated his late-stage Spirit Immortal realm cultivation. Spirit energy swept outward like raging tornadoes as he growled.

“Did the pig-head disguise himself as me and enter the camp?” The sudden unleashing of his cultivation and his questioning tone erased all suspicions from everyone’s minds. They recalled that the previous commander hadn’t displayed such power at all. The realization sent shudders through their bodies.

Shock rippled through the crowd. Amongst them were Wang Baole’s avatars. They had similar looks of disbelief and horror on their faces. Wang Baole’s main avatar, conjured via his essence technique, was hidden in the crowd as well. He stood near the Spirit Immortal realm elder. Uneasiness and hesitation colored his face. He seemed as if he had something to say to the elder. He lifted one foot up, intent to make his way to the elder, and extend his greetings.

Before Wang Baole could make further moves, a Never-Ending Clan cultivator nearby appeared to recall something after experiencing the burst of power from the Spirit Immortal realm elder and hearing what he had asked the army. The look on his face darkened. He cried out, then quickly approached the elder. His moaning didn’t stop as he made his way towards the elder.

“Commander, someone took on your appearance and entered the warehouse earlier. He…” The late-stage Spirit Immortal realm elder twisted his head around swiftly before the cultivator could finish what he had planned to say, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes. He raised his right palm and struck suddenly, as swift as a flash of lightning!

The force behind the blow was incredible. The sudden release of late-stage Spirit Immortal realm cultivation sent the heavens and earth shuddering. Winds started howling as clouds rolled back. A power that could level mountains gathered and formed a handprint that landed on the perfected Nascent Soul realm Never-Ending Clan cultivator.

The attack had come too swiftly and had descended with incredible power. Even Wang Baole would have struggled to evade it. As for the Nascent Soul realm cultivator, he stood no chance at all. They had been standing too near each other when the elder had attacked swiftly and without mercy.

A thunderous boom reverberated in the skies. The perfected Nascent Soul realm cultivator didn’t even get the chance to scream out before his body was crushed, and his flesh was turned to dust. His body and soul were utterly destroyed!

Even his blood turned to dust under the force of the attack!

The scene sent shock rippling through the minds of every Never-Ending Clan cultivator who was present. They stepped away from the elder instantly. Wang Baole widened his eyes and gasped. Luckily, he hadn’t reached the elder in time. His avatars hadn’t approached the elder either. Even though he might be able to survive a slap from the elder, it would still leave him with some serious injuries.

He’s merciless. He doesn’t even care if it’s one of his own. He’ll kill them just the same! Wang Baole gasped. A dark look had settled on the late-stage Spirit Immortal realm elder’s face. He had just realized that the cultivator he killed wasn’t an avatar of the pig-head or the pig-head himself. He had been a member of the Never-Ending Clan.

The resentment and frustration inside him grew, and his anger spiked. It was then that an idea flashed across Wang Baole’s mind. He immediately sent one of his avatars towards the elder. The avatar raced towards the latter with a mournful look on his face, then fell to his knees and started wailing.

“Commander, please, calm down. This isn’t an oversight or weakness on our part. It’s the d*mn pig-head. He transformed into you and then proceeded to… empty the entire warehouse.”

“What did you just say?” The elder’s eyes bulged when he heard that. He marched right up to Wang Baole’s avatar, his eyeballs looking like they were ready to pop out of his head. He was clearly extremely affected by what he had just heard.

The sheer thought of being robbed of their military resources sent spikes of pain through his heart. He growled and sent his Divine Sense surging outward again, extending them towards the warehouse. He needed to see it with his own spiritual eyes.

It was then that Wang Baole’s avatar looked up suddenly, a black dagger appearing in his hand. If not for the fact that everyone could see it clearly with their eyes, no one would’ve realized or registered its sudden appearance. Wang Baole’s avatar plunged the dagger straight into the elder’s thigh!

The strange dagger self-destructed and, with the force of the explosion, blew apart the protections enveloping the elder and pierced straight into his physical body. Poison surged into the elder’s body through the wound. Everything had happened so quickly that no one had been prepared for it at all. The late-stage Spirit Immortal realm elder’s eyes widened with shock and fury, and rage erupted from his person as he turned his face skyward and howled furiously. He unleashed his full cultivation, summoning a tornado that enveloped Wang Baole’s avatar.

The attack turned Wang Baole’s avatar to dust, and an uproar swept across the crowd of Never-Ending Clan cultivators around the elder. Wang Baole’s primary avatar, the one he had first created with his essence technique, stood amongst the other Never-Ending Clan cultivators, looking equally stunned and furious. The elder continued howling, and his cultivation-powered tornadoes continued rampaging within the hall. As everyone descended into frenzied madness, a series of loud explosions suddenly sounded in the air.

The earth seemed to be swaying, the camp shaking. The sound of explosions rose from multiple locations, the force of which rippled across the camp. Multiple waves of spirit energy collided and merged into greater waves of spirit energy, culminating in an incredible force that sent the earth shaking and the skies quaking. Four army spheres blew apart and plunged from the skies, shattering upon impact as they crashed to the ground!

The camp descended into unprecedented chaos. Amidst the chaos, a Never-Ending Clan cultivator rushed towards the late-stage Spirit Immortal realm cultivator with an anxious look on his face. While the latter was still reeling back in shock at the destruction caused by the series of explosions around him and from the destruction of multiple army spheres, the Never-Ending Clan cultivator pulled out a black dagger and lunged straight at the Spirit Immortal realm cultivator.

“Another sneak attack?” The Spirit Immortal realm elder snapped his head back. His eyes were glimmering with murder as he shot his right hand out and caught the attacker. It was then that another Never-Ending Clan cultivator came charging at him, whipping out another black dagger and thrusting it towards him!

That was hardly the end of it. Some distance away, a fourth Never-Ending Clan cultivator turned raving mad all of a sudden. Instead of charging at the elder and attempting to assassinate him, he turned the other way and started running. He was trying to escape amidst the chaos that had descended upon the camp.

The series of shocking events sent the other Never-Ending Clan cultivators reeling. They were still in the midst of a stunned daze. They had just witnessed repeated assassination attempts, followed by an attempted escape. They howled furiously and started going after the cultivator who was trying to escape without even thinking.

The elder had crushed the avatar that he had caught earlier and had similarly exterminated the third avatar that had tried to creep up on him. He looked up and stared at the back of the cultivator currently running away in the distance… Never-Ending Clan cultivators were charging past him in pursuit. Suddenly, a Never-Ending Clan cultivator in their midst pulled out a black dagger and thrust it at the elder!

The sneak attack caught the elder by surprise, despite the latter being on guard. The dagger sliced into his arm. The elder lifted his face skyward and unleashed a terrifying roar as fresh poison flooded into his body.

“I’m going to kill you!” He no longer cared if he was killing his own. Tornadoes rose around him and wiped out all Never-Ending Clan cultivators that dared come near him. All that remained in a thousand-foot radius around him was blood and death. The elder charged out and started going after the escaping cultivator. The remaining Never-Ending Clan cultivators reeled back in horror at the mass destruction that had just occurred. No one dared to approach the elder.

Wang Baole’s primary avatar was still hidden amongst these cultivators. The earlier five avatars had been lesser avatars, those of his primary avatar. His primary avatar had a look of terror on his face. He was quivering in fear and shock alongside his comrades. Privately though, Wang Baole was brimming with a sense of smugness. The Spirit Immortal realm Never-Ending Clan cultivator might be powerful, but he wasn’t very smart. Wang Baole secretly formed a hand seal.

The remaining self-exploding beads that he had hidden in the camp… exploded instantly. The explosions shook the heavens and earth. Three army spheres caved in and went crashing to the ground. This appeared to be an attempt to stop the Spirit Immortal realm cultivator from continuing his pursuit…

The Spirit Immortal realm cultivator became increasingly relentless in the face of the increasing number of obstacles in his way. He had thrown everything to the wind in his pursuit and thus caught up instantly!

“Die!”