A World Worth Protecting

Just as something drastic was taking place in the northwestern region of the world, outside, in the public square atop the mountain in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace, the spectating crowds of cultivators watching the three vortexes began to gasp. Many got to their feet and stared unblinkingly at a particular image in the vortex, at a disciple from Mie Liezi’s faction!

There were too many images moving in the vortexes. However, the one that currently held everyone’s attention was showing something most incredible!

On the projection was Mie Liezi’s personal disciple, Dugu Lin, his face expressionless and cold. He was racing in mid-air presently, so quickly it seemed that he had reached the limits of how fast a Core Formation realm cultivator could go. In the blink of an eye, he approached a cultivator from Feng Qiuran’s faction. The other had no chance to speak before Dugu Lin struck. With a single finger, he sent the other cultivator flying backwards, blood spilling from his lips. The latter passed out from what appeared to be serious injuries.

His key flew out from his grasp and towards Dugu Lin, who was already racing off. It was clear that Dugu Lin required the key, but he didn’t seem particularly concerned about getting it!

The crowd watched with their own eyes as the earlier scene repeated itself in all images with Dugu Lin in them. The number of keys he possessed continued to grow. It had exceeded forty!

That was the highest number of keys a single participant had in the entire trial!

The spectators in the public square started making noises as their breathing quickened. Those from Mie Liezi’s faction, especially, grew extremely excited as they cheered.

“Eldest Senior Brother Dugu Lin, he is invincible amongst all Core Formation realm cultivators!”

“Haha, I bet five hundred battle credits on Eldest Senior Brother Dugu Lin. It’s a sure win!”

“I’ve said it before, this trial is essentially a battle amongst the personal disciples. The other personal disciples must be growing nervous.”

As compared to the cheers from Mie Liezi’s faction, the cultivators from Feng Qiuran’s faction all had sullen expressions on their faces. They stared at the projections showing Xu Ming and Lu Yun and longed to see their incredible performance.

While the disciples of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace got carried away emotionally, the Nascent Soul realm cultivators were relatively calm. They were slightly surprised by what they had seen though, as the battle prowess that Dugu Lin was displaying was clearly extraordinary.

Even Feng Qiuran was frowning. Next to her, You Ran narrowed his eyes and seemed lost in thought. He turned and saw the faint smile on Mie Liezi’s face.

The three Elders didn’t speak, but the expressions on Feng Qiuran’s and You Ran’s faces shifted as they continued to watch the trial, paying special attention to Dugu Lin.

There was a commotion in the outside world. Similarly, all the participants in the trial were shocked by the drastic changes shown on the aerial map. Feng Qiuran’s personal disciple, Lu Yun, was the first to react. After a few moments of silence, his eyes flashed brightly. He unleashed his cultivation and abandoned his original plans for stability. An aura of icy violence oozed from his person, and with a sudden burst of speed, he began to sweep the vicinity for keys!

He was doing what Dugu Lin was doing, relying on his superior strength and striking those he came across, then snatching their keys away!

The next to follow suit was Xu Ming. He knew that the rules had changed with Dugu Lin’s actions.

He’s trying to speed up the trial and get most of the participants eliminated by the first teleportation. Seems interesting! Xu Ming laughed, a cold glint flickering in his eyes. He chose to go on the offensive as well.

There was also Zhou Chudao and his Dao partner. They had stuck together at first, but after discussion, they decided to split up and strike independently. They attacked from two directions with overpowering force and began their hunt for keys!

The five of them going on the offensive created a strong chain effect that affected the entire trial. It intensified, and numerous cultivators lost their keys. No one had died yet, but there were cultivators who were maimed as well as those who were seriously injured and lost their ability to fight.

There were also some people who lost their keys but retained their ability to fight. Those were often the ones who met the prodigies in their own factions and had surrendered their keys willingly.

They had become truly invisible on the map. They were often the ones who posed a threat and danger to others, and the ones who engaged in battle with others as well!

The map showed that as all five prodigies went on the offensive, the entire world was affected. Keys disappeared off the map every moment and reappeared again, shining. Exchanges occurred endlessly. It was as Zhao Yameng had predicted—an intense first day with countless casualties!

Wang Baole’s team was dashing through the air presently as well. What had changed were Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao, who now knew Wang Baole’s choice after a comparison and after understanding his views. They followed him like guards flanking his sides, racing through the sky, advancing forward.

Their target… was the cluster of seven keys that they were drawing near!

From the map, it seemed that the seven keys weren’t being held by a single person but by many people. There were various scenarios they might meet with, but Wang Baole didn’t care. No matter how many people their opponents had, he would simply crush them!

His aura grew increasingly more powerful as he sped forward. He became a shooting star encircled by lightning bolts, approaching the location of the seven keys speedily as thunder boomed in the skies!

As he approached, Wang Baole’s Spiritual Sense, which far surpassed that of other Core Formation realm cultivators, allowed him to see an image of his opponent as he came within a certain distance, even before his opponents could sense his presence!

Li Bin? A smile appeared on Wang Baole’s face. His eyes were icy cold. With another sudden burst of speed, he dashed ahead!

Ahead of them, where the seven keys were clustered, not one, but thirteen people stood!

They were all cultivators from Mie Liezi’s faction. Their leader was the one who had clashed with Wang Baole in the cave abode under the Sea of Fire and had been stopped by Chi Lin, the one who had been harboring murderous intentions towards Wang Baole—Li Bin!

He still believed that Wang Baole had been lucky that day. If not, he would have definitely been able to kill the latter and seize the opportunity to scavenge the cave abode that had been opened for the first time in many years. This was a regret that he still held on to. Every time he thought about it, his desire to kill Wang Baole intensified.

That lowly life form from the Federation, Wang Baole, is here at the trial as well. Hopefully, he won’t be as lucky this time, and we cross paths… At that thought, Li Bin sneered. He eyed his companions proudly.

As a late-stage Core Formation realm cultivator, he could be counted as one of the more powerful cultivators in this trial. As long as he didn’t cross paths with the five prodigies—those freaks of nature—he believed it would be a piece of cake for him to be placed in the top ten.

In addition, besides himself, he had gathered many followers as well. That being said, Li Bin knew that his chances of getting into the top three were minuscule. That was why he had thought it through and decided that he would trade his keys with a personal disciple for a personal favor!

Because of such a mindset, and because of his extreme arrogance, even though he had noticed the six keys racing towards him in the aerial map, he hadn’t paid it much mind. He had already concluded that his new opponent wasn’t one of the five prodigal freaks. The five of them had more than ten keys now. It was clearly shown on the map.

The highest level of cultivation that the arrival could have was the late-stage Core Formation realm, similar to his level of cultivation. Unless the size of the incoming party was almost that of his, they were simply bringing their keys to him.

We still have to be careful though. He might have done what I did and gathered people who have lost their keys. At that thought, Li Bin finally realized that the new arrival was very near his location. He waved his hand immediately, and the cultivators around him scattered. Li Bin raised his hand and unleashed his late-stage Core Formation realm cultivation. He was about to speak, but Wang Baole had been traveling at extremely high speeds. When he appeared at the distant horizon, Li Bin immediately recognized his face.

Wang Baole? Li Bin was overjoyed when he saw that the new arrival was Wang Baole. He lifted his face skyward and laughed out loud. Without hesitation, he took a step forward and spoke with a voice filled with murderous intent.

“I can’t believe I actually managed to come across the lowly life form from the Federation, Wang Baole. Today, I’m going to see if you’re really that lucky and if a Nascent Soul realm cultivator will enter the trial and save you!” Amidst his laughter, Li Bin waved his hand and pointed his finger at Wang Baole.

“Kill him!” His voice rang out. The cultivators around him began to sneer. In their opinion, a mere lowly cultivator from the Federation was never going to be able to compete with a disciple from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Even if they killed him, nothing would happen to them. After all, the trial didn’t forbid killing. However, everyone was of the same sect and had friends in the sect. Unless it were the last resort, no one would truly try to kill someone. But if that someone were a cultivator from the Federation… the situation would be different!

The dozen cultivators charged at Wang Baole as they sneered cruelly.

Wang Baole grinned as they approached him of their own accord.

I can’t let this great opportunity go to waste… A blood-colored light flickered in his eyes. The diamond-shaped Thearch Armor seal on his heart erupted and surged outward, emerging from within Wang Baole’s body and expanding outwards. It wasn’t the complete Thearch Armor, but a mad dance of meridians—a red glow bathed the skies!