A World Worth Protecting

The cultivation of Daoist You Ran—or the Never-Ending Clan member who was using Daoist You Ran’s body, to be more specific—at his peak had clearly surpassed the Soul Conduit realm!

He might have been at the Spirit Immortal realm, or perhaps even at the Planet realm. The past war had left him severely injured, and his recovery since then had been slow, which was why the strength he was able to unleash now was only at the Soul Conduit realm.

That was why even though Wang Baole had unleashed Soul Guiding, Dream Spinning, Ten Thousand Tribulations, and A Thousand Lives and earned himself a small window of opportunity, he still couldn’t underestimate Daoist You Ran’s fighting instincts when placed in such grave danger.

Daoist You Ran’s eyes were showing signs of struggle and awakening, causing the look of determination in Wang Baole’s own eyes to grow stronger. He didn’t waver and consider retreat. Instead, he moved more quickly and more decisively. His cultivation churned more fiercely, and he seemed to be unleashing his full potential. He was like a shooting star encircled by lightning bolts, approaching Daoist You Ran instantly!

In the blink of an eye, Wang Baole and his flying sword appeared next to Daoist You Ran. The skeletal fist of his Flame Snatch Thearch Armor was about to land on Daoist You Ran’s head when the latter suddenly exploded!

The deafening explosion resonated in the air as Wang Baole’s flying sword pierced through Daoist You Ran’s dantian from his back. Blood splattered in the air!

There was no joy on Wang Baole’s face. Instead, alarm flickered in his eyes as the threat of danger rose inside him. His entire body was screaming for him to get away immediately. He gritted his teeth and raised his right fist again, his cultivation erupting. He planned to drive a second punch into Daoist You Ran!

It was too late… Wang Baole’s earlier fist might have appeared to have landed on Daoist You Ran’s head, but he knew that Daoist You Ran’s head had exploded on its own when his fist was a mere inch away from it!

He wasn’t the one who had blown it up. Daoist You Ran had blown his own head up!

Daoist You Ran, who hadn’t managed to awaken in time to save himself, had decided to blow a part of his body up instead. He had chosen to blow up a part of his host body!

He made use of the sudden explosion to defend himself against Wang Baole’s punch, saving himself from death. Wang Baole still managed to injure Daoist You Ran though. His flying sword had come out of nowhere, and Daoist You Ran hadn’t expected it at all. There was no way he could have expected a flying sword shooting out from the pillar at such a critical moment.

That was why… even though he made use of his own physical body as a defense against Wang Baole’s punch, he was still injured by the flying sword that had pierced his dantian from the back.

However… even though this might be considered quite a serious injury where Daoist You Ran was concerned, Wang Baole obviously hadn’t thought it grievous enough. The sense of danger had exploded inside his head, and he wanted to unleash a second attack. But three lumps of flesh had appeared on the bloodied stump where Daoist You Ran’s head had been!

There were no facial features on the two lumps on each side. They looked like featureless piles of flesh that were both gruesome and a fearsome sight to behold. The lump in the middle looked slightly more palatable, as it had a pair of eyes on it. However, it was skinless, and its mouth was mere bone. It looked terrifying.

This was Daoist You Ran’s true form. Four arms burst out from his body at the same time the three fleshy lumps appeared. One arm shot forward in a blur and caught Wang Baole’s flying sword, while the remaining arms came together to form a flurry of hand seals before throwing their hands towards Wang Baole!

An incredible force of destruction at the Soul Conduit realm erupted at that moment. It transformed into a powerful hurricane that seemed capable of destroying everything in its path and swept towards Wang Baole.

The hurricane resembled a black, spinning sphere. It expanded to the size of Wang Baole’s Flame Snatch Thearch Armor in the blink of an eye and seemed about to swallow the later whole.

Wang Baole’s head buzzed, and his mind turned blank. He dared not allow any thoughts to enter his mind. The first thought that did would arise from pure instinct, and he would immediately switch places with his avatar.

But that would only delay his eventual death. It might not even give him that much more time. He would have maybe another ten seconds before death caught up with him, and he would also lose any chance of teleporting away. Daoist You Ran would be able to seize control and continue with his evil plans.

He had no choice… Wang Baole’s eyes had turned completely red. The destructive and violent hurricane was on the verge of tearing his Thearch Armor apart, and his own body was being squeezed to the point of implosion. He howled and once again unleashed a self-destructive mystic technique!

It was a reversal of his absorption of Spirit Qi, the breaking down of his spirit fat. Typically, Wang Baole wouldn’t replicate such a technique within such a short span of time. However, there was no time to think of another solution. His fat shook as he howled. It burned and vanished within the blink of an eye, the Spirit Qi housed within it erupting and surging into the Thearch Armor. He pulled back his fist and raised his other arm to block Daoist You Ran’s attack!

The spherical hurricane surged forward like a raging tsunami, rushing at Wang Baole and unleashing its full force at him. Cracks appeared on Wang Baole’s armor instantly. In the next moment, the armor, as well as Wang Baole’s inner protective clothing, shattered. He spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was flung backwards. But… he had successfully survived the attack!

More than half of the armor was shattered, his inner protective clothing was completely destroyed, and he suffered severe injuries. However, his unleashing of his mystic technique and his Spirit Qi, as well as the buffer provided by the Divine Armament arm, had allowed him to survive the blow. In addition, Daoist You Ran had been severely injured by his flying sword. This attack had been made hastily, and it hadn’t been his most powerful.

Wang Baole’s body was flung backwards. He landed next to the battle robes in the middle of the lake, blood flowing from his lips. He was still alive, but he could fight no longer. There was only one option left to him, he had to switch places with his avatar. This would allow him to stay alive for a few moments longer!

The difference in power between them was too great. It had been a miracle that Wang Baole had even managed to hold his ground for so long, forcing Daoist You Ran to blow his body up and injuring the latter with his flying sword… If someone were to find out about this, they would be utterly shocked. It would be completely unbelievable!

Daoist You Ran had a cause to be so infuriated. His rage was beyond measure, and he was beside himself with fury. It was simply unimaginable that his plans had been thwarted by Wang Baole. The battle robes had been drained to the point of losing two arms, and he himself had had to maim his host body and had suffered additional injuries. When he finally regained his mind again, the fury in his eyes seemed almost tangible. He howled at Wang Baole and made a grab for him.

“Wang Baole, I’m not going to give you an easy death. I’ll extract your soul and make you bear witness to the destruction of your lowly civilization. I’ll…” Daoist You Ran promised as he made a grab for Wang Baole. It was then that Wang Baole, panting and with blood still flowing from his lips, shouted in a shrill voice.

“You dare kill me?”

“My senior brother is Chen Qing, the first Divine King of the Never-Ending Clan. I am his only junior brother. My senior brother won’t let you off if you kill me. It doesn’t matter how far you run or where you run to, he’ll find you. When he does, you’re dead!”

Wang Baole’s voice was shrill. He wasn’t even doing it on purpose. He didn’t even think about the people who had uttered similar threats to him before he had killed them. It was as if this ability had been hidden inside him all along. His words didn’t feel strange on his lips at all. They rolled easily off his tongue.

“You Ran, I’m here because of some shitty training my senior brother wanted me to undergo. To think that someone as important as me is having my ass kicked by someone like you. I’m not playing anymore. I’m the junior brother of a Divine King. I must be nuts, fighting to the death with someone like you!”