A World Worth Protecting

On the forty-eighth year of the Spirit Inception Era, war had broken out between the Dao Palace and the Federation.

Five months later, the war had ended. The Dao Palace cultivators, led by Mie Liezi, had chosen to surrender.

It had been a brief war, but one that had been intense and with a high casualty count. Its end had been viewed as a mystery by almost everyone.

That was because no one had witnessed the most decisive battle. It had remained a mystery that had fueled many rumors regarding how the war had truly ended.

Rumors spread from person to person. During this period, the postwar cleanup and rebuilding efforts continued nonstop. The first on the agenda was what to do with the Dao Palace cultivators who had surrendered. Thirty percent of the surviving cultivators were judged to have committed grievous crimes. Their sentence was declared forcefully by Duan Muque and broadcast to the entire Federation. They were to be executed!

It was a harsh sentence, but the people of the Federation needed this. There was no way they could allow those who had invaded Federation territory to surrender without suffering any consequences. Duan Muque was willing to bear the consequence of allowing such a massacre to happen!

In addition, almost all of the Dao Palace’s upper echelons were planted with a Spirit Science hex—a product of Zhao Pinfang’s research. They were no longer a threat to the Federation. They were also given a five-hundred-year sentence!

They would be released from their hexes five hundred years later, once they completed their sentence. Mie Liezi’s status and circumstance made him an exceptional case. While the Federation hesitated over his final sentence, he chose to make an oath and return to the Dao Palace. He would guard the Dao Palace for the rest of his life. Unless the Federation summoned him, he wouldn’t take a single step out of the Dao Palace.

As part of the war reparations, the Dao Palace would grant the Federation full access to their resources. That included access to all their records and mystic techniques. The Federation would also possess unilateral rights to enter and leave the Dao Palace. Federation cultivators could now enter and leave the ancient sword freely. Of course… under Feng Qiuran’s insistence, the deepest regions of the ancient sword were designated as restricted zones. Federation cultivators were forbidden from entering the area and disturbing the slumber of the Dao Palace elders.

Next… Wang Baole’s proposal to form an alliance prior to the outbreak of the war was raised again. Duan Muque gave it the full attention it deserved, summoning the upper echelons of the Federation as well as Feng Qiuran to discuss the matter. Both parties made minor modifications to the original proposal and agreed to the setup of the alliance.

In the forty-ninth year of the Spirit Inception Era, the Solar System Alliance was established. Its creation heralded a new era—the Solar Era!

There were currently two members in the Solar System Alliance, the Federation civilization and the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Alliance regulations stated that the Federation civilization was the only member to possess a longstanding, first-tier membership status in the alliance. It had the power to change or veto decisions of the alliance. The Vast Expanse Dao Palace, on the other hand, held a second-tier membership.

These rules clearly gave the Federation a great advantage over the Dao Palace. The latter would never have agreed to such terms in the past. Even though Feng Qiuran had always had the intention to build an alliance with the Federation, she would have pushed for the Dao Palace to be the leader of the alliance. However, the war and the power that the Federation had displayed during this war had changed her mind. Both Feng Qiuran and the Dao Palace began to view the Federation with greater respect, and they recognized its power. The key reason for their change was still… Wang Baole!

His power and his final mysterious battle with Daoist You Ran had resulted in Feng Qiuran’s agreement to the terms of the alliance. It didn’t matter that no one had witnessed the final battle.

The honeymoon period between the Dao Palace and the Federation officially began with the alliance’s establishment. Communications and exchanges between the two took place with unprecedented frequency. The wealth of knowledge and mystic techniques the Dao Palace possessed were invaluable to the Federation. Spirit Science development in the Federation progressed rapidly during this period of exchange.

The Dao Palace stood to gain as well. Extension of the Federation’s infrastructure, such as the Spirit Internet, as well as provisions of daily supplies, were a great help to the Dao Palace cultivators. As the immigration laws between the two grew more liberal, many Dao Palace cultivators and Federation cultivators on Earth chose to immigrate.

Rebuilding efforts in the alliance were ongoing as well. With the Dao Palace’s support, rebuilding efforts on Mars progressed smoothly. Deep excavations on Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were successes with the combined efforts of the Dao Palace and the Federation. They became the first bases of the alliance. To a certain extent, they could even be considered as the first free cities of the alliance.

There was Jupiter as well… After some deliberation, the Dao Palace decided not to bring the matter of the planet up. The Federation, on the other hand, utilized their first-tier membership status to classify Jupiter and its surrounding asteroid belt as a restricted zone!

Few understood the strategic value of that decision. Not Li Xingwen, Duan Muque, and the other upper echelons of the Federation though, who had sought Wang Baole’s advice and understood the situation. They were prepared to cordon the region and create a place that belonged solely to Wang Baole.

The alliance overflowed with life and opportunity. The smooth assimilation between the Dao Palace and the Federation allowed many great things to be done. Civilization advanced without stop. At the same time, Wang Baole received the Federation’s recognition. He had not only become their hero, but everyone—from the citizen on the ground to the upper echelons of the Federation, and even the Dao Palace—knew very well that he was going to be the next Federation President. He was going to hold the highest office in the Solar System Alliance!

That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon because the Federation and the Dao Palace had just begun their assimilation and alliance. There was still a great deal of work to be done. They had to rebuild, to set up laws and rules. They needed to decide how to divide profits. There were so many tedious details to be ironed out. Most importantly, Duan Muque didn’t want Wang Baole to have to deal with such a chaotic situation immediately when the latter got into office. He wanted to get all the grunt work done. He intended to untangle the political chaos in the Federation, which was caused by the presence of the various political entities. He intended to amputate the malignant tumor hidden in the Federation. He was going to exploit the authority and power he had gained from the war and consolidate all power in the hands of the presidency. Then, he would hand over a brand new Federation to Wang Baole, one free from troubles and burdens!

Wang Baole couldn’t wait to be made president. However, he also understood Duan Muque’s good intentions. After gaining consciousness from his battle with Daoist You Ran, he returned to Earth. He spent his time with his parents, enjoying an ordinary person’s life while burying the unresolved matter that had risen inside him after his battle with Daoist You Ran. He put it to rest silently, unwilling to touch the matter again.

He told himself to be happy. As he kept brainwashing himself quietly, he seemed to slowly forget about the existence of this unresolved matter. He began to look forward gleefully to the announcement declaring him as the Federation President.

Wang Baole’s life with his parents became peaceful and calm. Besides staying by his parents’ side, what Wang Baole enjoyed doing the most was leading his donkey out secretly. It was then that he would eavesdrop on conversations, listen in on heated, passionate voices, and watch the looks of adoration on the speakers’ faces as they discussed him.

He even put up the occasional pretense of being a wolf in sheepskin. He would pretend to be bullied, then reveal his powerful self at the end and observe the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces. The experience brightened his mood every time. But after doing that too many times, his donkey grew tired of it. He himself found it meaningless as well. After some thought, he began protesting his singlehood in his mother’s presence. Soon, his mother began setting up matchmaking sessions for him.

His mother knew how amazing his son had become. However, no matter what, Wang Baole would always remain a child in her eyes. As she went through her selection of candidates, Wang Baole began bringing his donkey to session after session of matchmaking. The experience became a new source of fun for Wang Baole.

Then, Bunny arrived. Wang Baole could only end the matchmaking. Still, he enjoyed his time with Bunny. The academic exploration they conducted with each other was extremely enjoyable.

This didn’t last long. However… Li Wan’er arrived next. The feelings of happiness that Wang Baole had been experienced shifted immediately to that of absolute terror. Wang Baole’s head began to throb. Time crawled as three months passed. The alliance was running along smoothly, and rebuilding efforts were nearing completion. After spending a great deal of effort, Duan Muque finally got the Federation into shape. Everything was pointing to a new beginning. Wang Baole was sitting on his hands, waiting in excitement. It was then that…

Many of Wang Baole’s friends—Zhao Yameng, Liu Daobin, Li Wuchen, Jin Duoming, Lin Tianhao, and Kong Dao—came knocking on his door and bid him farewell.

They didn’t share any details of their departure, they only informed him that they were off to carry out a secret mission. The duration of this mission might be short or very long.

Zhao Yameng had originally not been part of the mission. She was the daughter of the Martian Colony Governor and Zhao Pinfang, so she had a bright and stable future in the Federation and in the alliance. However, she had chosen to join the mission of her own accord. No one knew why she had done so. Her tone had been cold when she had said farewell to Wang Baole. She had even glared at him fiercely before her departure.

The intense hostility in her eyes had made Wang Baole shiver with guilt. He had quickly made use of his access rights to find out the details of their mission. There was nothing he wasn’t allowed to know in the entire Federation.

A quick search left him looking somber. Their mission was highly classified, with only four people allowed to access the mission details!

They were Li Xingwen, Duan Muque, Zhao Pinfang, and Wang Baole!

The mission was a continuation of the Hundred Seedling Plan and the Federation’s plans involving the Dao Palace. It had been drawn up many years ago. It had been given a name… Dark Swallow!