A World Worth Protecting

Just as Wang Baole lifted his head, and the stone door opened, the soil above them began to shudder and part. A gigantic tear appeared. The Sea of Fire surged in from above, like a fiery waterfall!

The underground cave was significantly expansive though, so the Sea of Fire would take some time to fill it completely. However, with the gradual and continuous collapse of the ancient battlefield, it wouldn’t take long before this entire place became flooded with the Sea of Fire.

Of course… Wang Baole wouldn’t have batted a single eyelid if it were merely the flooding of the Sea of Fire. His face swiftly darkened though, as nine Spirit Boats dove in alongside the Sea of Fire through the large crack. They swam through the Sea of Fire and appeared in the underwater cave. The Spirit Boats shone glaringly as nine Core Formation realm cultivators from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace appeared suddenly.

Shock flashed across their faces when they appeared and saw what was going on in the cave. They saw the stone statue missing its head, Kong Dao who was on the verge of a breakthrough in his cultivation, Wang Baole and his avatar standing guard, as well as…

The wide-open doors to the cave abode as well as the emptied interior—a sign that it had clearly been searched and rummaged through. They could also sense the extraordinary richness of Spirit Qi in the area. The sight of Kong Dao in meditation led to all of them coming to the same shocking realization. An expression of agitation appeared on all their faces at once.

“The initial opening of a cave abode!”

“Only when a cave abode that has been sealed off from the outside world for many years is opened would there be such rich Spirit Qi escaping from it!”

“Haha! We’ve struck the lottery this time. To think we’ve actually managed to come across such a treasure trove!” The Core Formation realm cultivators all became excited. They didn’t seem to pay Wang Baole or Kong Dao much attention. They naturally recognized who Wang Baole was. However, they continued to disregard his presence. A mid-stage Core Formation realm cultivator dashed past Wang Baole and Kong Dao excitedly and headed towards the cave abode, intending to see what was inside.

The look on Wang Baole’s face grew dark immediately. The devouring seed inside his body continued churning, and he continued to remain where he stood. However, as soon as the mid-stage Core Formation realm cultivator walked towards him, Wang Baole’s avatar took a step forward and stood before the cultivator. It sent a kick flying without a single word. The attack was swift and accomplished by the sounds of wind and thunder. Lightning descended. The mid-stage Core Formation realm cultivator sneered.

“A Lightning Avatar from the Lightning Immortal Transformation?” He swept his hand across and tried to push Wang Baole’s avatar away. However, he had clearly underestimated the avatar. A thunderous boom erupted as soon as they touched. Wang Baole’s avatar charged forward, disregarding his opponent’s spell, and approached instantly. Lightning erupted from its body and formed a sudden force. Alarm flashed across the mid-stage Core Formation realm cultivator’s face. He tried to retreat, but it was already too late. As thunder boomed, blood spilled from his lips. The other cultivators around him stepped forward and managed to rescue him. They all turned and stared at Wang Baole with alarm and wariness.

The light from Wang Baole’s avatar faded slightly. It didn’t pursue the cultivator and instead took a few steps back. It stood next to Wang Baole, and they stared coldly at the intruders.

The newly arrived cultivators narrowed their eyes and leveled a stare at Wang Baole. They had noticed Wang Baole’s presence and known who he was. However, they hadn’t paid much attention to him. After all, they outnumbered him and had a late-stage Core Formation realm senior brother leading them. At the same time… they belonged to the hostile, extremist faction. They were scornful towards cultivators from the Federation. Many of them were like Liang Long, who thought of cultivators from the Federation as lowly life forms.

However… with the sudden attack from Wang Baole’s avatar, while their views might not have changed, they did become warier. The fact that a mere avatar had been able to send a mid-stage Core Formation realm cultivator retreating showed that Wang Baole was quite the powerful opponent.

“Interesting. You’re Wang Baole, right? Hand over your loot. We’ll take nine-tenths of it and not pursue this matter any longer after that.” The person speaking was the one leading the team, the middle-aged man at the late-stage Core Formation realm. He had a cold expression on his face as he stood there, like a figure of authority. The tone of assertion in his voice allowed no negotiation. He seemed to think that the remaining one-tenth left to Wang Baole was an immense generosity on his part.

It would seem so. After all, in the world of cultivation, the strongest had the final say. Power determined everything. He clearly saw himself as the more powerful one here!

The consent and approval of weaklings was meaningless and unnecessary!

If Wang Baole decided not to accept the generous deal, he might have some trouble with the clean-up after. However, for a cave abode that was opened for the first time, he believed that killing a lowly life form from the Federation was a small matter. That was why he continued speaking indifferently, “You have ten seconds to think about it. Decide if you want to live or die!”

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes when he heard that. He weighed his options. The opponent had numbers in their favor, but he was confident that he could kill most of them. In fact, he might even be able to kill all of them. That wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. He had to consider the consequences though. He also had to consider the consequences of affecting Kong Dao’s breakthrough in cultivation should he decide to start a fight.

There was no way of ending this amicably though. Wang Baole considered lying that he was here on Feng Qiuran’s orders. He also thought about bribing the other party with battle credits to avoid a fight, but he gradually eliminated these options.

The bloodlust oozing off them, and the hostility in their eyes, told him clearly where and who the problems were. There was no use in trying to avoid it. None of them were idiots. There was no point trying to delay the inevitable.

If that was the case… murderous intent surfaced in Wang Baole’s heart. He revealed none of his intentions on his face. Instead, he smiled. He was about to send his avatar over to Kong Dao to guard the latter and then attack when suddenly, an overpowering presence that surpassed that of a Core Formation realm cultivator emerged from the crack above them!

The overwhelming presence descended and loomed over the entire cave. An ancient voice tinged with impatience and annoyance boomed in the air.

“That’s enough. Wang Baole was the first person to discover and open the cave. The sect rules dictate that he now owns the place. As for you, Li Bin, you are to leave this place immediately!” As the voice rang out, someone walked right out from the crack. He was an elderly man with a head full of red hair. He was one of the Nascent Soul realm cultivators from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace, Chi Lin!

The commotion in the Sea of Fire that had erupted due to the tremors in the ancient battlefield had drawn him over as well. He had witnessed the standoff between Wang Baole and Li Bin. Despite his reluctance to interfere, he still belonged to Feng Qiuran’s faction. Despite his growing doubts in Feng Qiuran’s vision and ideals, he had chosen to step in.

Wang Baole’s display of tact a year ago in the grand hall had also contributed to his willingness to help Wang Baole. However, he still harbored dislike towards the cultivators from the Federation from the bottom of his heart. As soon as he spoke, he glanced coldly at Wang Baole and then eyed the cave abode. Based on his experience, he assessed the cave abode as an ordinary cave abode. He didn’t speak further. Instead, he turned and left.

Even though he had left, his orders still stood. No matter how reluctant Li Bin was, he dared not go against a Nascent Soul realm cultivator’s orders. He clenched his teeth and murder flashed across his eyes as he glared at Wang Baole.

“Kid, you’re quite lucky this time, but who knows how long that’ll last…” He left his words trailing. He sneered, turned, and left. The others followed with hostility and a promise of vengeance in their eyes.

Wang Baole blinked. He didn’t think himself lucky. In his opinion, they were the lucky ones. If Chi Lin hadn’t appeared, he would have struck. After Wang Baole’s fight with the stone bat statue, he was confident that he could kill all of them. He would make it seem that both sides were heavily wounded from the battle. Even if the sect found out about it, he would have a way to protect himself.

Next time, we’ll see if you’re still so lucky! Wang Baole withdrew his stare. He turned towards Kong Dao and patiently waited.

Thirty minutes went by. The cracks above them grew in numbers, and the Sea of Fire rushed in. Then, Kong Dao suddenly shuddered as a Core Formation realm cultivation erupted from his person. An illusory eye appeared behind him!

It was shut. After about fifteen seconds, it began to disappear gradually. It clearly had something to do with the cultivation technique Kong Dao was practicing. After the illusory eye disappeared, Kong Dao opened his eyes. A brilliant light shone within. He got to his feet, cupped his fists, and saluted Wang Baole!