A World Worth Protecting

Thunderous sounds rumbled from the distant sky. Kong Dao and Zhao Yameng gradually appeared in the distant horizon. They were already traveling at extremely high speeds as they had been worried that something might happen. Zhao Yameng unleashed the array formation in her compass, which gave her and Kong Dao an additional burst of speed. That was how they managed to hurry over so quickly.

As they approached, they saw Lu Song and his teammates trembling on the ground, terror coloring their faces. They could tell that the three cultivators were at the mid-stage Core Formation realm. One of them had reached the peak of mid-stage Core Formation realm and wasn’t far from advancing into the late-stage Core Formation realm. Zhao Yameng was startled at the sight. She stared at Wang Baole.

She had known all along that Wang Baole was extremely strong. Despite that, both her and Kong Dao were still shocked by the power that Wang Baole had displayed. He had faced off against three cultivators at the same level of cultivation fearlessly and managed to injure them heavily within such a short span of time. The extent of his strength was extraordinary.

Only someone at the late-stage or perfected Core Formation realm could have done that.

Kong Dao had witnessed Wang Baole’s battle with the stone bat statue in the cave abode under the Sea of Fire. However, he had been focused on pushing the stone doors open and couldn’t afford to spare too much attention on Wang Baole. Besides, the stone statue had been an insentient entity. That wasn’t the same as fighting a living person. That was why he was shocked.

Wang Baole smiled when he saw Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao. He raised his right hand and made a grab through the air at the three cultivators sprawled on the ground. He got his hands on their storage bracelets. Then, he said indifferently, “Now, the three of them will be hidden from the aerial map. Their legs are broken, though, and they don’t have their storage bracelets with them now. They’re stuck here. It doesn’t matter if their presence is hidden on the map!” Wang Baole threw the confiscated storage bracelets and the other two keys to Zhao Yameng.

“Let’s go. To our next target!” Having said that, Wang Baole turned and marched into the distance.

Zhao Yameng had a strange look on her face. She stared at Wang Baole, then at the three disciples from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace who were trembling silently on the ground. She smiled wryly, shook her head, and followed Wang Baole.

Kong Dao took a deep breath. After realizing how powerful Wang Baole really was, he suddenly felt that there was a chance of someone from the Federation getting into the top three in the trial. In fact, they had quite a great chance of achieving that!

The three disciples from Mie Liezi’s faction released a sigh of relief when the other three cultivators left. They stared at one another. They could see the bitterness in the others’ eyes, as well as shock that they were still reeling from.

“Is he really a cultivator… from the Federation, that Wang Baole?”

“He’s obviously at the mid-stage Core Formation realm, but his fighting abilities… may match that of a personal disciple!”

“We’ve… underestimated the cultivators from the Federation! This Wang Baole is extremely powerful!” They grimaced. They knew that this meant they were eliminated from the trial. Their feelings were mixed as they struggled to sit up. Their hearts still raced with fear as they recalled the earlier battle. They waited silently for the teleportation that would occur hours later.

Wang Baole and his team, who had left them behind, were speeding off presently. They were silent as well. After a long moment, Zhao Yameng began massaging her forehead. She still firmly believed that regardless of how powerful one was, it was still necessary to have a strategy. It would increase their chances of success. After some thought, she turned and looked at Wang Baole.

“Baole, we should stay away from others now and avoid trouble. We should be more careful of those who are hidden from sight. Not everyone who’s invisible on the map has lost their ability to fight. They are the hunters.”

“Yameng!” Wang Baole stopped in his tracks. He turned and looked at Zhao Yameng, a serious look on his face. He said slowly.

“All plans fall apart in the face of absolute power. The rules of this trial are secondary to that of absolute law. You shouldn’t be so concerned with the rules. If this were the Federation, I would do exactly what you would do and choose the course of action that would reap the greatest rewards with the smallest amount of effort. That is because even though the Federation has entered the Spirit Inception Era, it did so recently. We cultivators are still bound by law, as rules have not completely fallen apart!

“But this is the ancient greenish-bronze sword… the true world of cultivation! I’ve thought it through and finally understand… Running away won’t solve the problem. The strong will devour the weak. In the end… we have to rely on our strength!”

“I may not be able to hide my presence, but I’m a hunter as well!” As Wang Baole spoke, the look in his eyes grew fiercer. He raised his right hand and pointed at the map in the sky.

“Our seventh key is five hundred kilometers away from us. I’ll lead you there!”

Zhao Yameng was shaken by Wang Baole’s words. She admitted to being overly concerned with the rules. Array formations were, after all, another system of rules. She didn’t think that her analysis was of no use, but she respected Wang Baole’s decision and thus kept her silence.

Kong Dao stood at one side as he listened to Wang Baole and Zhao Yameng’s conversation. He thought that there was nothing wrong with what Wang Baole had said, but he felt that Zhao Yameng was reasonable in her choice of strategy as well. He smiled wryly and said.

“Baole, we have six keys with us now. It’s enough to last us three days. Why don’t… we wait for the next teleportation to be over before we begin snatching more keys?”

Wang Baole didn’t reply immediately. He lifted his head and stared at the night sky as he considered Kong Dao’s suggestion as well as what Zhao Yameng had said earlier. A moment later, determination flashed in his eyes, and he shook his head. Then, with his back to the duo, he said slowly, in a low voice, “Yameng, the rules of this trial are complicated and allow for too many probable scenarios. You and Kong Dao won’t be able to predict all possible scenarios without missing anything. It’s impossible to have a full grasp of what’s going on and predict every single thing that’s going to happen!

“This is because the inherent probabilities are a result of the invisible participants on the map. They are mobile. It’s impossible to predict their exact movements and actions. Even if I helped, the three of us wouldn’t be able to predict everything. There is one thing I know though… One powerful man can defeat ten men. The strongest will prevail!

“There’s no need to plan strategies and consider rules. I only need to remember one thing, and that is to advance and never look back. I don’t care about the participants hidden from the map. I don’t even care how many keys there are. That’s because I don’t care about the rules of this trial!

“Taking the top three spots is simple… just get all the keys we can find and eliminate everyone that we come across. I’ll naturally become one of the top three. I might even get first in place!

“I understand you’re worried that we might incur the wrath of the public. But so what if the other participants are forced to join forces to attack us? There are spectators watching. If we manage to achieve that, it’ll also prove the worth of us cultivators from the Federation!”

“These are my views. Only weaklings are bound by rules. Only those who break and set the rules have the right to become the strongest!” Wang Baole’s voice might be calm, but as he spoke, his cultivation began churning again. His cultivation technique and his will achieved a resonance, and the resonating waves of spirit energy began to exude from his person again!

This time, the resonance was stronger than the previous two times. It had formed a kind of presence that seemed to have summoned indistinct hurricanes in the surrounding area. They rose into the air. It was an overpowering aura that was fearsome and fearless. It was forceful, akin to a blade that could slice through anything—including oceans and mountains—that stood in its path!

The aura was much more distinct this time, allowing Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao to feel it immediately. Kong Dao’s breathing stilled momentarily. He couldn’t control the trembling inside him. He stared at Wang Baole, emotions surging inside him. He finally knew why he couldn’t compete with Wang Baole despite his strong battle lust. He had grown accustomed to hiding in the shadows. He lacked… a certain overpowering aura that belonged to a true prodigy!

“A cultivator is supposed to fight with other cultivators and challenge the heavens. He’s supposed to face challenges head-on and go against the flow of nature and the heavenly laws. That’s how he can advance fearlessly. If he doesn’t fall, he will definitely be able to create new paths to the Great Dao!”

Zhao Yameng stared at Wang Baole in a daze. There was comprehension in her eyes. Just as understanding dawned on both her and Kong Dao, there was a sudden transformation in the aerial map!

In the distant northwestern region, far away from them, four keys had gathered together. It might seem as if they were in the possession of three to four people, but it was more likely that they were in the possession of only one person!

The person moved swiftly in a straight line. Where he passed, other keys around him swiftly vanished and clustered around him. The original number of keys kept increasing in number. In a short period of time, it reached more than a dozen keys!

It was as if an invisible vortex had formed where the dozen or so keys had been, affecting the surrounding area and triggering a chain reaction, causing more keys to disappear and new keys to reappear and replace their absence. Those who had lost their keys had begun fighting for new keys.

The cluster of a dozen keys moved swiftly. It charged ahead, seemingly crushing everything in sight. The number of keys grew. If these keys were truly being held by one person, then at this moment…

The impression that he was giving all cultivators looking at the map was that of a forceful entity that was overwhelming and overpowering, advancing fearlessly against all forces of nature!

The feeling it gave Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao was even more intense. This was because… the aura that this cluster of keys was giving in the northwestern region was exactly the same as that which Wang Baole had exuded earlier!

One that disdained hiding and disregarded the rules!

“If there’s only one person in the northwestern region, then… it must be one of the prodigies!” Zhao Yameng reeled back with shock once again. She turned and stared at Wang Baole, and understanding dawned on her.

Wang Baole had noticed what was going on in the aerial map as well. His eyes flashed brightly, like starlight. A smile appeared on his face, and he was bathed in an intense battle lust!

That is my true opponent!