A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole made the right bet!

Daoist You Ran was a mere puppet, so what he thought wasn’t important. What was important was how Zi Yue thought, and because of the loss of her finger, Zi Yue clearly thought that Wang Baole was more important than the Federation!

It made sense. After all, her plan to destroy the Federation civilization was only a trial she was conducting on Daoist You Ran, and part of her practice of the Star-Seeding Dao. Her intention all along had been to allow Daoist You Ran to carry out her plans. She had only wanted to remain an observer while using this opportunity to advance her cultivation.

It was the same as flying a kite and watching where the wind took it. Essentially, she didn’t care whether the Federation was destroyed or not. Wang Baole, on the other hand, had become a threat to the core of her existence. She had clearly realized that she couldn’t interfere directly. No matter how one looked at it, she simply wasn’t going to let Wang Baole escape!

Besides, events had developed to a point where the situation had spiraled slightly out of Zi Yue’s control. The spell that she had cast on Daoist You Ran had been a test of her Star-Seeding Dao as well as a part of her cultivation. That was why she had spent such a long time preparing for this. Once she completed her observation of Daoist You Ran’s journey through his conquest of the Federation, her Star-Seeding Dao would’ve advanced to a greater level.

That was why she couldn’t give up. Another reason that she couldn’t was that she had done her calculations. This was her only chance of finding the object that Chen Mofeng had hidden from her, the important item essential to her practicing of the Star-Seeding Dao.

In addition… in her original plan, the destruction of the Federation civilization and the sacrifice of an entire star system was going to bring her sufficient energy and nourishment for her rise to power. She would be able to master the ancient sword and brand the elders slumbering on the ancient sword with the Star-Seeding Dao. The Solar System would become the foundation upon which she would advance further in cultivation and attain the Eternal Star realm within a short period of time!

Her plan had been perfect, and it had unfolded perfectly, until… Wang Baole had appeared!

This meant too much to her. She had given too much of herself for this. They were at a point where she was ready to reap her returns. If not for all of the above reasons, Zi Yue would have stayed clear of the first Divine King and left. Now, though… she could only grit her teeth and carry on!

She wasn’t interested in killing Wang Baole. Due to her current circumstances, she had no choice but to seize his very life and remove him from the karmic cycle. This was the conclusion she had reached after using the Star-Seeding Dao to run through the various scenarios. It was the only solution that would release her from the karmic cycle as well!

As her will pulsed through Daoist You Ran, the latter’s eyes flashed. Daoist You Ran ignored the battle taking place on Mars and began his pursuit of Wang Baole. The both of them vanished from Mars instantly as they raced towards the stars glittering in the distant cosmos.

Their impossible speed ensured that no one could watch their battle and make sense of it. The Solar System Array Formation, which was weakened due to its earlier waves of controlled self-destruction, could no longer perform long-distance observation. Folks on Mars and Earth could only wait anxiously as they watched the two disappear into the distance.

Fortunately… the battle on Mars reached a balance of sorts following Daoist You Ran’s departure. Everyone knew that the fight that was taking place on Mars was no longer the decisive battle. The decisive battle was the one between the two cultivators racing away from them!

The Federation’s victory in this war was going to be determined by Wang Baole’s victory in his fight with Daoist You Ran. If he won, their civilization would live on. If he lost… everything would be destroyed and turned to dust and ashes.

Wang Baole shouldered the fate of an entire civilization, but he wasn’t in a great state currently. Blood seeped profusely from his lips. He was traveling as fast as he was capable of. Behind him was Daoist You Ran, who was equally swift. It was difficult for Wang Baole to put distance between the two of them.

He kept calling out to Pluto and replying to its earlier summoning call desperately as he raced through the cosmos. However, he was too far away. In addition, even though he had been able to sense the original summoning call, his limited cultivation made it difficult for him to establish a connection or even get through to the other side!

The problem of distance can be easily solved, but what about the problem of insufficient cultivation? Wang Baole was filled with anxiety. Daoist You Ran seemed to have unleashed some kind of mystic technique, as Wang Baole could sense a sudden spike in Daoist You Ran’s speed. The anxiety racing through Wang Baole intensified.

He knew that if things remained as they were, Daoist You Ran would soon catch up with him. Without any powerful means to fend off Daoist You Ran’s attacks, Wang Baole’s death was almost inevitable!

Jupiter it is! Determination flashed across Wang Baole’s eyes as he decided to head for Jupiter. He would still be shortening the distance between him and Pluto. In addition, the Stellar Nascent Soul’s unique capability would allow him to receive a boost of power from the planet that would then make up for his current insufficient cultivation!

The Dark Sampan beneath his feet began burning its own vitality. No price was too heavy as he raced through the cosmos in a blur, almost like he was teleporting, and crossed vast distances. When he next appeared, he was in Jupiter’s vicinity.

The price for crossing such vast distances so swiftly was great. Wang Baole spat out a mouthful of blood and almost collapsed, his physical body pushed to its limit and almost unable to withstand such travel. The Dark Sampan’s form had turned blurry and indistinct due to the energy it had expended, and it now resembled a thin cloud of mist!

It hadn’t been repaired fully and now appeared to suffer great damage, but Wang Baole didn’t have the time or energy to care about that. He commanded the power of the Dark Sect once more and continued his approach towards Jupiter, which was still a distance away. Regardless, his Nascent Soul was already becoming more lively in his body.

The connection between him and Pluto also seemed stronger and clearer than before. This greatly boosted Wang Baole’s confidence in his success.

Jupiter alone might not be enough… Madness entered Wang Baole’s eyes then. He just thought of a place that could greatly augment his Stellar Nascent Soul to levels that would seem almost terrifying.

He had no idea the current distance separating him and Daoist You Ran. Based on his calculations, though, he just needed to reach Jupiter. He still might not stand a chance to win a fight against Daoist You Ran, but he could definitely get through to Pluto!

His Dark Sampan burned its vitality to unleash greater speed, pulling him closer to Jupiter. It was then that a thunderous boom erupted in the cosmos behind him. Daoist You Ran had slid through space just like he had and reappeared behind Wang Baole, a frustrated look on his face. He then immediately shifted. Countless vines erupted from his back, intertwined with one another, and transformed into a pair of enormous wings. A single flap of the wings sent waves of spirit energy rippling through space and gave Daoist You Ran another burst of speed. He dashed out, his hands merged into a series of hand seals as dozens of runes lit up his body.

“Wang Baole, the Solar System is a small place. Do you really think you can escape me?” Daoist You Ran’s voice echoed in the cosmos. The runes separated from his body and floated in space, then they sped towards Wang Baole, their speed swifter than Daoist You Ran’s. The distance between the two had been shrinking all along. These runes crossed the distance swiftly, and three of them immediately caught up with Wang Baole. Before they came into contact with him, they exploded abruptly!

The shock waves created from the explosion carried the power to destroy the cosmos. They surged through space, whipping up a storm as they rushed at Wang Baole.

Wang Baole didn’t spare the attack a glance. With a wave of his hand, his Dark Robe ballooned once more to fend off the attack. Blood seeped from his lips, but he kept his speed up and continued to use the Dark Sampan’s vitality as fuel. He was approaching Jupiter, and the Stellar Nascent Soul inside his body was becoming stronger.

The connection with Pluto was becoming more powerful as well, to the point that he could sense the summoning call from Pluto. It had originated from something whose form remained unclear to him at the moment.

It’s still not enough! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and continued running. Daoist You Ran’s runes continued to explode behind him, inflicting increasingly greater injury to Wang Baole. Regardless, Wang Baole continued his hasty escape to Jupiter. His Stellar Nascent Soul began to brim with power, and its vitality began to overflow to the rest of his body, causing his injuries to heal almost instantly.

Finally, he saw Jupiter within his line of sight. Wang Baole’s Nascent Soul opened its eyes then, and a terrifying power pulsed within those eyes. Strange waves of energy flowed from Jupiter and into Wang Baole. This was a power he had never experienced, one that lit Wang Baole’s eyes up with an intense light.

Wang Baole tried his best to hide his sudden transformation. Regardless, Daoist You Ran still managed to sense something was amiss. The expression on Daoist You Ran’s face shifted as a sense of foreboding settled in his gut. However, there wasn’t time to think. Instead, with a flash of determination in his eyes, Daoist You Ran raised his right hand and ripped off his left arm. Then, he roared, “Divine Star Transformation!”

His amputated left arm began to wriggle. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a black stick insect that spanned a thousand feet long. With a shriek, it leaped into space and lunged for Wang Baole, its jaws wide open and ready to devour the latter whole. Wang Baole’s Dark Robe ballooned in size again, but it was no use, the stick insect pierced clean through the robe!

As the stick insect approached, a flash of violence crossed Wang Baole’s eyes. His body blurred as he summoned multiple avatars hastily. A dozen avatars appeared. They didn’t attack the stick insect, and instead, they exploded. The force of the explosion propelled Wang Baole forward in a sudden rush. Thunder rumbled in the cosmos amidst the avatars’ explosions, and the burst of speed pushed Wang Baole closer to Jupiter. He finally entered the asteroid belt that lay between Jupiter and Mars!

This was Wang Baole’s target, this was the idea he had thought of that would allow him to receive a boost of power that would raise his current cultivation to terrifying levels!

That was because hundreds of thousands of small planets could be found here. They were right in front of Wang Baole, a special planet that had been discovered by the Federation a millennium ago was located here as well… it was Ceres, the only dwarf planet in this asteroid belt!

It was here that the Stellar Nascent Soul would unleash unprecedented power and make known to the world its might!