A World Worth Protecting

1

“A thousand years ago, many scholars used various methods to determine that not only are there other planets in our galaxy that hold life, there are also other civilizations, other forms of life, in the universe.

“One thousand years of change, and this was slowly proven. Thirty years ago, that ancient greenish-bronze sword proved it even more!

“In the cosmos, there are other civilizations!

“And clearly, one of those worlds that contains civilizations is where the ancient greenish-bronze sword originated from. There, life is similar to ours, but there is one big difference. They… are called cultivators!”

As he spoke, the Chancellor’s expression showed his admiration. As for Wang Baole, his emotions were like a tempestuous storm. At the Five Peaks in the Pond Cloud Rainforest, he had seen some scenes, and he knew that… what the Chancellor was saying was true!

“In that world, there might be treasures everywhere, or it might be that the Spirit Qi is so thick that it cannot be described. Regardless of whatever method… it can make the human body form Spirit Roots and begin cultivation.

“As time passed, maybe the treasures grew scarce, perhaps the Spirit Qi became thin, or maybe it was because of other reasons—in any case, there was a war. This war must have been completely destructive, so this huge sword flew off with the last power and hope of that world.

“Or maybe they planned to find another place to live, multiply, and regain their previous glory. That’s why the huge sword must have one of the True Breath storage treasures belonging to that sect. All the people of that sect must have condensed their Spirit Root into the sword, to pass the seed of their power to future disciples.” The Chancellor sounded regretful, sighing and shaking his head.

“But it’s a pity… In the midst of its journey, the sword must have met some kind of situation, shattering after being smashed. Finally, it landed in our solar system. When it passed through the sun, the hilt and parts of the sword shattered, and the True Breath storage broke open, melding with the broken pieces, scattering all over the starry sky.”

Hearing the Chancellor’s words, Wang Baole’s heart was deeply moved. He thought of the scenes that he had seen at the Pond Cloud Rainforest’s Five Peaks, that unsurpassed beauty of a generation, and all the scenes of a world being destroyed. The Chancellor’s words imprinted themselves onto his heart, and Wang Baole felt that there was a fundamental answer to all of this.

“But if it’s like this, that means… there is a limit to the number of people who can become cultivators!” Wang Baole immediately saw the problem and looked at the Chancellor.

The Chancellor looked impressed. He nodded, and his tone became more excited.

“That’s right. To us, the arrival of the ancient greenish-bronze sword is a lucky chance and creation for our world. With this chance, the progress that cultivators make… depends on ourselves!

“To live in this kind of revolutionary world, the people of my generation are not worthy!”

Wang Baole’s question seemed to have stirred up the Chancellor’s emotions. The Chancellor laughed and stood up, using his finger to point at the misty region on the Upper Academy Island.

“Wang Baole, do you know what sort of place the Upper Academy Island is? Only True Breath experts can enter, and it is the true heart of Ethereal Dao College!

“If we categorize according to the information on the huge sword, comparing the Lower Academy Island Dao College to sects, we are only the outer sect. All of you are outer sect disciples. Only those who have entered the Upper Academy Island are considered part of the inner sect!”

“Outer sect? Inner sect?” Wang Baole felt that this communication with the Chancellor was like a lightning bolt tearing apart his world. In an instant, he understood many things.

“It’s also only people from the Upper Academy Island who have the ability to become a government member of the Federation. In the Spirit Inception Era’s Federation, cultivation level and government positions are directly related. The weak… have no right to lead us into our future in this era!”

The Chancellor laughed, his gaze revealing his encouragement and expectation.

“Thus, you must become a True Breath expert, and you must enter the Upper Academy Island!”

Hearing the Chancellor’s words, Wang Baole inhaled deeply and nodded. He felt that he had an even deeper understanding of Spirit Breath Village and the Upper Academy Island. Thereafter, the Chancellor told Wang Baole more about the environment of Spirit Breath Village. He gave Wang Baole a jade slip with instructions on things to take note of in Spirit Breath Village. Only then did Wang Baole take his leave.

He returned to the Dharmic Armament Peak. Due to the Chancellor’s order to stay silent, no outsiders knew about his fight with the Vice-Chancellor. Seeing that the day to depart was nearing, Wang Baole immediately went to the Spirit Cauldron Cave to organize and repair his Dharmic artifacts. He also focused on absorbing the important points that he needed to take note of for attaining True Breath.

<em>There are actually so many things to remember when absorbing Spirit Root! </em>Wang Baole’s eyes were bright. According to the jade slip’s introduction, the Spirit Breath Village had a large number of True Breath Spirit Roots. These Spirit Roots were not dead; instead, they had their own Spirit nature, spreading to all the areas of Spirit Breath Village.

They all ranged from one-inch to eight-inches, of which, one-inch was the most common, growing rarer as they got longer. There was even a nine-inch Spirit Root, but it was a pity that the human body could not absorb it.

There were two difficulties in absorbing Spirit Root. The first… every Spirit Root would automatically look for its fated person. Thus, rather than saying that people had found their Spirit Roots, it was more like the Spirit Roots appointed their counterpart!

Only a person chosen by the Spirit Root could absorb it. If the person was not chosen, they would not be able to fused together, and there would be a repelling effect. If anyone continued to forcefully absorb it, their life would be in danger.

The way Spirit Roots chose people was simple—once it had chosen someone, it would take on that person’s appearance. Like that, it would become the fate of only that person.

It was just that Spirit Breath Village had many Spirit Roots, so one needed to search extensively.

As for the second point, it was the method of absorbing Spirit Root. According to the research done by the Federation, there was only one way to succeed without loss. That was… the Substitution Method!

Everyone needed to first absorb a one-inch Spirit Root, suppressing it so that it would not have a breakthrough. With the foundation from a one-inch Spirit Root, one had to absorb one’s own fated two-inch Spirit Root to substitute. If there was no one-inch foundation, there was no way to substitute it for two-inch!

Using this method to acquire a two-inch foundation, one then needed to find a three-inch replacement. With this method, one had to follow the steps to acquire the seven-inch Spirit Root. Finding the eight-inch Spirit Root depended on luck.

The Federation had dubbed eight-inch Spirit Roots as versatile Spirit Roots. There was no need for fate. As long as one had the seven-inch Spirit Root foundation, they could absorb eight-inch Spirit Roots into their bodies!

It was just that eight-inch Spirit Roots were too rare. Every time the Spirit Breath Village opened, there were less than ten of them.

After researching the jade slip properly, Wang Baole understood. He thought silently for a long time and decided to make Dharmic artifacts according to the situation.

Just like that, three days passed. At dusk of the third day, their journey finally began. Being part of the top thousand students in the exam, Wang Baole entered the specially made green cruiser, starting on the journey to Spirit Breath Village.

Zhuo Yifan, Zhao Yameng, Du Min, and the others were also on-board.

The Chancellor led the group, with many teachers following. There was even… Wang Baole had already noticed that there were several people on the cruiser giving off the aura of an expert. Clearly, they were cultivators from Upper Academy Island.

Wang Baole did not know exactly how many were there, but he estimated that there were at least ten. There were some who gave off a suppressive force similar to the Chancellor.

<em>Other than accompanying us, they are probably to stand guard outside the Spirit Breath Village to prevent outsiders from entering… </em>Deep in thought, Wang Baole drew his own conclusions from the secrets that the Chancellor had told himself, finding his own answer.

This specially-made cruiser was much faster than regular cruisers. Even if it encountered electromagnetic storms or beasts in the sky, it could completely ignore and rush past them.

Thus, even though Spirit Breath Village was distant, they only needed one day to reach it.

Time passed, and as the cruiser left Ethereal Dao College’s protectorate and was soaring in the sky, all the students received the Chancellor’s notification. When they gathered on the upper level of the cruiser, the Chancellor arrived and introduced the mystic realm that they were about to enter and its requirements.

What he said was roughly similar to what he had told Wang Baole before. Although it was not as detailed, it still allowed people to understand the reasoning completely. As everyone inhaled and expressed their shock, Wang Baole noticed that Zhuo Yifan, Zhao Yameng, and the other older students did not appear surprised.

<em>They are probably like me and already knew all this beforehand, </em>Wang Baole thought deeply. The Chancellor’s gaze swept across the crowd as he spoke blandly.

“Next, all of you will get a jade slip. There are two uses. One, all voice transmission rings will fail in the mystic realm. While this jade slip cannot transmit sound, it can send out a distress signal in a set area. You are all Ethereal Dao College students, and I hope you can help each other.

“Second, the jade slip contains information on the promising young students from the other three Dao Colleges and some of their information. You can look at them in the remaining time, and prepare yourselves according. After all… while the four Dao Colleges are an alliance to the outside world, we are still in competition with each other internally. All of you must make Ethereal Dao College proud!”

When he finished, the Chancellor exhorted them once again before leaving. The teachers then began to distribute the jade slips. Soon, everyone had received a jade slip and was looking at it intently.

Wang Baole was no exception. He swiftly sent his spirit energy into the jade slip. Immediately, his brain showed many images, the introduction regarding the other three Dao Colleges, and information about the promising young students from the other colleges.

Soon, surprised exclamations rippled through the crowd.

“White Deer Dao College is so strong! Look, there is a girl called Li Yi who is actually just like Zhao Yameng, born with a spirit body. The information says that it’s a fire spirit body! Her previous battles say that the moment she attacks, she can raze the entire area! She can be called peerless!”

“There’s also someone called Zhuo Yixian in White Deer Dao College. His name is so similar to Zhuo Yifan, and… he is similarly heaven-defying. Not only is he the Head Prefect of White Deer Dao College’s Combat faculty, in White Deer Dao College’s competition, in five matches, he defeated all his opponents with one finger!”

“Holy River Dao College is good, too, with many skilled people. There is someone called Wu Fen. The information says that he has studied alchemy, and he is close to the standard of an official alchemist master. How can this be!”

“There is also Sun Yun from White Deer Branch College. He is from the Array Formation faculty, and he has created huge waves himself. The information has high praise for him!”

The shocked exclamations kept coming. The other three Dao Colleges had too many experts among their students. Holy River and White Deer Dao Colleges were not too bad, but White Deer Branch College had so many experts that Wang Baole felt it was unfair.

“There’s no other way. That’s why White Deer Dao College is the top college in the Federation,” Wang Baole muttered to himself. He noticed that Zhuo Yifan’s expression looked terrible, and he could not help but remember White Deer Dao College’s Zhuo Yixian. Curiously, he approached Zhuo Yifan.

“Hey, Zhuo Yifan. That guy called Zhuo Yixian—is he your brother? Yifan ¹and Yixian ² —if you’re really siblings, your father really knows how to choosenames ³ .”

Hearing Wang Baole’s word, Zhuo Yifan’s expression was even worse. He sneered and ignored Wang Baole. He clutched the jade slip tightly and walked far away.

“Why are you sneering? I was just asking if you were related…” Wang Baole glared, feeling that Zhuo Yifan’s temper was too short. He also sneered and left.

As the sky outside grew dark, everyone started to return to their own rooms. With that, one night passed.

At dusk on the second day, the Sword Sun was the color of a peach, and the clouds seemed to be burning. As the cruiser slowed, all the sand from the mystic realm appeared in front of everyone!

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