A World Worth Protecting

Jin Duoming was a little taken aback by what Wang Baole had said. He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but noticed that Wang Baole had cast a glance at him.

That glance was somewhat threatening, and that made Jin Duoming laugh bitterly. He swallowed the words that he had wanted to say, but he was still unable to sing unwilling praises to Wang Baole. Therefore, he cleared his throat and took out a jade slip from his storage bracelet before passing it to Wang Baole.

“This is the Federation Seedlings Contributions Ranking announced by the Federation. I have brought it specifically for you.” Wang Baole’s eyes lit up with satisfaction upon hearing Jin Duoming’s words, and he hurriedly looked into the jade slip upon receiving it.

When Wang Baole saw that his name was ranked highly as first on the list and that his contributions had exceeded that of Li Yi’s by tens of cultivation techniques, he felt extremely good about himself. To him, the only thing that was separating him from becoming the president of the Federation was his return.

As Wang Baole thought about how Little Duanmu had to relinquish his position and make way for him once he returned, he was filled with anticipation and patted his tummy with satisfaction. Even though touching his tummy didn’t feel as good as before now that it was smaller, it was still a habit that he was unable to get rid of. Wang Baole didn’t care much about it either, and he raised his chin and cleared his throat.

“Little Ming, other than the Contributions Ranking, did you bring anything else?”

Jin Duoming, as the successor of the Trilunaris Corporation, was an extremely smart person. He laughed upon hearing those words, then tossed out a storage bag. Wang Baole opened it to take a look, and his eyes instantly lit up. He looked at Jin Duoming with appreciation.

The storage bag was bursting with snacks of various flavors, and there were over a hundred boxes of Ice Spirit Water as well. To Wang Baole, someone who had licked his last three pieces of snacks over and over again in the past year he had spent in the Dao Palace until they had lost all flavor, that was a huge gift.

Therefore, Wang Baole couldn’t control himself and tore open a bag of snacks. He took a bite out of it, and his body trembled. He closed his eyes and began murmuring to himself softly after a brief moment.

“Ah, this is the taste of home. I, Wang Baole, am not someone who is greedy about food. This is homesickness…”

Jin Duoming blinked several times. He thought about how his act of bringing the Contributions Ranking and snacks to Wang Baole, as well as not arguing against Wang Baole’s narcissistic exclamations, were perhaps enough to make Wang Baole satisfied by now. Therefore, he cleared his throat before speaking with an embarrassed expression on his face.

“Baole, there is something that I… need to tell you about.”

Wang Baole took out a bottle of Ice Spirit Water and drank a large mouthful of it. That made him feel extremely comfortable and elevated his mood greatly. He also looked at Jin Duoming with greater satisfaction, and he waved his hand and spoke with generosity.

“Say it! What’s the matter?”

Having heard Wang Baole’s words, Jin Duoming sighed with an awkward expression on his face.

“Baole, I’ve been leading a tough life for the past year… We are brothers, and this is a fact known by everyone on Mars, and even within the Federation. However, this matter is beyond my control. I am here this time with a mission to fulfill…” With that, Jin Duoming observed Wang Baole’s facial expression carefully. After noticing that Wang Baole had stopped moving his hand, which was holding the bag of snacks, Jin Duoming hurriedly spoke again.

“Ah, it’s all because you are too capable and superior. That made that evil Federation President Duan Muque extremely cautious of you, such that he had despicably threatened me to shoulder the burden with you!

“Baole, this is not a rebellion from me. I don’t have a choice, either. Even though my Trilunaris Corporation is formidable, we still pale in comparison to that shameless Duan Muque. That fella has gone overboard in forcing me to compete with my brother! Baole, after I thought about this matter in detail, I feel that the best way out of this is that I become the Federation President, while you can be the Deputy Federation President. You can have the final say in everything then!”

Jin Duoming looked extremely indignant, appearing as if this were something that he didn’t want either. However, at this point, Wang Baole suddenly laughed as he set aside both his snacks and the Ice Spirit Water, raising his head to look at Jin Duoming.

“Little Ming, this isn’t a major issue. I, Wang Baole, am not a petty person. We will compete fairly and squarely, and all of this is for the benefit of the Federation. However, the Vast Expanse Dao Palace is a dangerous place, and everyone here is ruthless. Ah, it’s hard to say, but if there were ever a day when someone finds you an eyesore…” Wang Baole shook his head with emotion. He didn’t finish his sentence, but the ferocity in his eyes was already so strong that it couldn’t be hidden.

Wang Baole snorted in his heart, as to him, anyone who dared to compete against him would be his enemy! At the same time, he felt that what Jin Duoming had mentioned at the end sounded familiar. That was how Wang Baole had hoodwinked Li Wan’er back then as well.

Looking at the ferocity in Wang Baole’s eyes, Jin Duoming felt troubled, and he hurriedly opened his mouth to speak again.

“Baole, I’m unwilling to do this as well, but Duan Muque is pressuring me with his authority…”

“Furthermore, I remember that the Federation President must be someone from the four great Dao Colleges, but does that include the Trilunaris Corporation as well?” With that thought, Wang Baole looked at Jin Duoming.

Jin Duoming blinked several times. It was incorrect to say that he wasn’t interested in becoming Federation President. However, after weighing everything, Jin Duoming still decided to speak the truth.

“In the second half of last year… Duan Muque sent me to White Deer Dao College to study… I didn’t do it out of my own will, as that was an order by that evil Duan Muque.”

When he heard those words, Wang Baole put on a fake smile. Based on his understanding of Jin Duoming, Duan Muque’s initiative was just one of the driving factors. Jin Duoming himself must also have been very tempted to take on the opportunity handed to him.

In addition, even though both of them had worked on Mars for a period of time, Jin Duoming wasn’t like Kong Dao. Kong Dao had conceded to him, while Jin Duoming was still extremely arrogant.

Therefore, it might be true that Jin Duoming didn’t take the initiative in this matter, but it was also very possible that he wanted to leverage on the opportunity he was given. However, it was without a doubt that all this fundamentally happened as Duan Muque had been too full of himself back then. Now that he felt that Wang Baole’s contributions had far exceeded what was expected, he was afraid that Wang Baole would really replace him when he returned.

Little Duanmu, you have gone overboard. Wang Baole snorted in his heart, but he didn’t bother himself too much about it. After all, he held an advantage after what he had been through the past year. He was in the lead and had quite a high status in the Dao Palace as well. It was also much easier for him to earn battle credits now.

It seems that it is pertinent for me to obtain a hundred cultivation techniques in total so that Little Duanmu would give up all hope and relinquish his position without any qualms! With that thought, Wang Baole felt a little proud. After all, he was perhaps the only person in the entire Federation who could make the Federation President stressed about his position.

With that, Wang Baole waved his hand and didn’t continue talking about the matter. Noticing that, Jin Duoming heaved a sigh of relief as well. Even though he had wild ambitions himself, he also didn’t want to offend Wang Baole. Most of what he said previously was sincere as well, and he had mentioned that beforehand to prevent the possibility of turning into Wang Baole’s enemy in the future.

After all, he knew that even though Wang Baole may appear to be amicable on the surface, he could also be extremely ruthless if he wanted to. Right now, Jin Duoming was really troubled, and therefore instinctively sang some praises to Wang Baole. They then chatted for a long while before Jin Duoming took his leave late in the evening.

Wang Baole pondered about the matter in detail after Jin Duoming had left. He felt that even with Duan Muque’s support, it was still extremely difficult for Jin Duoming to surpass himself. As such, he didn’t think too much of the matter and continued meditating and learning his cultivation techniques when he returned to the cave abode.

Days passed. Other than the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord and Jin Duoming, there were also a few people amongst the second batch of Federation cultivators whom Wang Baole was acquainted with who paid him a visit. However, Zhuo Yixian didn’t show up at all, and Wang Baole wasn’t the least bit surprised about that. He still communicated with Yun Piaozi, in order for Yun Piaozi to send someone to keep an eye on Zhuo Yixian. He wanted to find a chance for him to solve the dilemma between him and Zhuo Yifan.

However, Zhuo Yixian went missing on the fifth day after arriving in the Dao Palace. No one knew where he was, including Yun Piaozi. That shocked Wang Baole as he thought about what the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord had mentioned back then. As he was pondering about the matter, a major matter that had spread throughout the entire sect happened in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace, which diverted Wang Baole’s attention!

The Galactic Dusk Sect Lord was the one who started it. It sent shock waves everywhere, and everyone who heard it widened their eyes in extreme shock. Even Mie Liezi gasped and was in disbelief upon hearing it…

That matter was… Sect Lord Xu of the Galactic Dusk Sect was asking Feng Qiuran for her hand in marriage!

However, it wasn’t for himself. He was asking for Feng Qiuran’s hand in marriage in place of Li Xingwen!