A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole was fully aware of the consequences of acquiring the small tripod cauldron. He knew what lay ahead of him. He also knew the dangers that loomed at every corner after the Mystic Luna Realm had been sealed.

He still decided to use the item to build his Foundation Establishment core!

I’ve learned from the high officials’ autobiographies not only the ways to handle human relationships but also lessons about life. There was something from the autobiographies that said, few things in life are guaranteed. Oftentimes, you can make a gamble for it if there’s a sixty percent chance of success. With a seventy to eighty percent chance, you should bet heavily on its success!

Even though the element of gambling is strong in the statement, how could I live with myself if I don’t try and fight for this? Wang Baole’s eyes shone with a brilliant light. He was rarely so serious. There was none of his usual mirth. In its place was a streak of vicious and crazed determination.

He was calm, instead of impulsive, and his mind raced through his various options. He knew that leaving for the visible side of the moon was out of the question. What he was worried about the most wasn’t encountering strangers but people he knew and was familiar with.

Have faith in the goodness in others, but do not bet on it. That was a line from the high officials’ autobiographies that Wang Baole had given a great deal of thought to. In conclusion, human nature was not up to the challenge.

Many times, a person’s transformation was not due to himself but a result of an opportunity that others had given him, one which he might come to regret his entire life.

As a result, the more familiar a person is, the closer a friend, the more intimate a family member, the more one should avoid presenting such an opportunity to the person. That was something Wang Baole was deeply aware of. Now, he was that opportunity in other people’s eyes.

“I’m left with the dark side of the moon then. There are fewer familiar faces, and fewer enemies too…

“I can’t give up on finding the Mystic Trace Fog either. Even at the risk of being teleported to other regions. It’ll be the last resort, using the Mystic Trace Fog to escape.

“Everything’s just a means to an end. The most important thing now is to find somewhere to build my Foundation Establishment core quickly!”

“Before that happens, if anyone dares to harm me out of greed, I may have to… fight my way out!” Wang Baole mused silently, and a cold glint flickered in his eyes. He hurriedly raced deeper into the forest on the dark side of the moon.

Wang Baole knew that his strengths lay in his resilient physical body and a cultivation that surpassed that of a typical perfected True Breath realm cultivator. He also had an abundance of Numinous Treasures as well as a Dharmic Armament. Another clear advantage he had was his experience in navigating the forest on the dark side of the moon!

Not everyone possessed his experience and knowledge. He had the experience of hunting and being hunted in the forest on the dark side of the moon. He fell back on such knowledge, and as he ventured further into the forest and the plant life thickened around him, Wang Baole’s sense of security grew. The gray mosquito regenerated anew then and, together with the other mosquitoes, spread out in the forest. Wang Baole could see everything within a hundred yards clearly.

As a result, while the rest were slowing down slightly, unaccustomed to the unfamiliar dangers in the forest, Wang Baole’s speed increased instead.

I need three days to reach the Foundation Establishment realm… Wang Baole did some calculations as he ran. He also tried repeatedly to suppress the cauldron’s Spirit Qi with his devouring seed. Though the results were not astounding, it was still of help.

Six hours had passed since he had gotten the small tripod cauldron. He hadn’t yet come across any other cultivators. However, just as Wang Baole had gotten a handle on the time that had passed, suddenly, his pupils contracted. His right hand raised and sent an arc of lightning dashing behind him, to the right, in the forest.

With his current cultivation, the Flash Arc no longer summoned a mere bolt of lightning. The attack was infused with electromagnetic force. It expanded into a vast lightning web in mid-air that flew past the trees, towards a young woman who suddenly dashed out like an arrow shot from a bow from behind him!

The young woman had a towering, muscular form and held a large sword in her hand. She was not Chen Hui, nor was she someone from the Galactic Dusk Sect. She was a cultivator from the Plume Manifestation Connate Sect who had raced ahead of the rest. They had been more prepared than Wang Baole had expected, attempting to stage an ambush after approaching Wang Baole, only to be discovered by the mosquitoes.

In the face of the sudden lightning web, the young woman roared and slashed violently at the vast net. A tremendous force erupted from her. The web was sliced into two halves instantly, transforming into countless lightning arcs that scattered throughout the area.

“Hand over the source of Spirit Qi on you, and we’ll leave your corpse intact!” The young woman lifted her head and stared at Wang Baole. As she laughed viciously, seven to eight silhouettes dashed forward from behind her. They were young men and women, and all of them had towering, muscular builds. The battle lust stemming from them was alarming. They were clearly fearsome warriors who were physically powerful.

“Get lost now, and I won’t have to kill you,” Wang Baole said coolly.

“What a joke!” The young woman burst out into furious laughter. She leaped and was about to charge forward. The people standing behind her sneered and leaped into the air as well. As soon as their feet left the ground, Wang Baole’s right hand raised and formed a hand seal. The lightning bolts forming the lightning web, which had been sliced apart earlier by the young woman, flew suddenly into the air and transformed into swords made out of lightning. They wove their way through the crowd.

They dashed about swiftly, with alarming speed. The disciples from the Plume Manifestation Connate Sect all had coarse, thick skin and hard muscles. They disregarded the swords, racing through the crisscrossing flying lightning swords with greed in their eyes and ugly grins on their faces, straight for Wang Baole.

They could disregard the lightning, but they couldn’t escape the mosquitoes. Wang Baole’s ten mosquitoes charged forward swiftly, biting each person they came upon. In an instant, the looks on the seven to eight disciples from the Plume Manifestation Connate Sect changed drastically. They gasped in shock.

“What’s going on!”

“Something bit me!”

As alarm colored their expressions, Wang Baole dispensed with useless speeches and took a step forward. With a sudden burst of speed, he arrived before a male disciple from the Plume Manifestation Connate Sect. An icy glint flashed across his eyes as he threw his fist out. The disciple, a hideous grimace on his face as he tried to withstand a terrible itch, threw his fist forward in a roar as well.

Wang Baole didn’t dodge the attack. Instead, he put more force behind his. An explosive sound rang into the air the moment the two of them collided. The disciple from the Plume Manifestation Connate Sect let out an agonizing cry. His right arm, which had collided with Wang Baole’s, was crushed from the fist. The damage traveled up his entire arm, extending to half of his body, his flesh smashed bloody before he finally exploded!

He hadn’t even the time for a single thought before he died from the immense injury.

The sight was a sudden shock to the rest. Alarm and terror rose within them, and they fell back instinctively. When they looked at Wang Baole, it was with eyes of horror and incredulity. Only the muscular young woman who had slashed through the lightning web narrowed her eyes then. She didn’t retreat. Her battle lust intensified instead.

Wang Baole ignored the crazy woman and, instead, raised his right hand and swept it across the air. A line appeared on the ground.

“I’m not a person who enjoys killing others. He who crosses this line… dies!” After he was done speaking, Wang Baole turned and prepared to leave.

“Don’t be frightened. Why not kill us if he really was capable of doing it? He’s actually afraid, and trying to scare us off!” the young woman carrying the big sword said immediately. She charged forward, ignoring the line that was drawn. The other disciples, upon seeing their senior sister disciple attacking and hearing what seemed to be words of reason, grew aggressive once more. They passed the drawn boundary and charged at Wang Baole.

As soon as they came charging, Wang Baole turned around and flicked his storage bracelet. The seventh-grade Dharmic Armament saber appeared in his hand. With a sudden wide sweep of the saber, he slashed at the seven to eight people behind him.

He controlled the power that was released, ensuring it wasn’t too overwhelming and that the extent of the backlash was something within his tolerance. Even so, as soon as the Dharmic Armament appeared, the skies changed, and a black tornado suddenly erupted. The shadow of a crocodile appeared instantly and lashed out alongside the blinding slash of the blade!

Wang Baole stored away his saber the next instant. As his hair drifted in the wind, and the black tornado and crocodile around him vanished, he turned without looking at the Plume Manifestation Connate Sect disciples standing there. He stared instead into the distant forest and said, dispassionately, “This line applies to you too.”

Done with speaking, Wang Baole turned and left, vanishing into the deep forest. A black-robed youth appeared at the spot he had originally stared at. He was the young prodigy of the Galactic Dusk Sect who had been robbed by Wang Baole previously. He couldn’t control his trembling body and found breathing difficult. His eyes were filled with unprecedented shock and horror as he stared at the line on the ground and the Plume Manifestation Connate Sect disciples who were, at present, slowly keeling over, their heads rolling off their shoulders. A sudden cold rose up his spine and throughout his entire body.

Damn it, that weapon of his must be a Dharmic Armament… hmmph! What’s so great about having a Dharmic Armament? He even went to the extent of doing something as ridiculous as drawing a line in the ground. How juvenile! The youth was furious but hesitated over whether he should continue his pursuit. He eventually released a long sigh, after realizing that possessing a Dharmic Armament was indeed quite impressive, and chose to give up.