A World Worth Protecting

To live one’s youth carefree and without worries. ‘Tis the happiness one felt that made one young!

The saying was where the name of the Green Forest Lake in Ethereal Dao College had come from. The lake had been witness to the rise of the Ethereal Dao College in the Spirit Inception Era. It had also been witness to Wang Baole’s growth, from when he had been a mere youth to where he was today.

It remained an observer even to this day, observing the changing of the seasons, as autumn crept gradually over these lands and as he grew from a teen to a young man. It observed even now, as he stood, back against the lake, staring at his senior brother Chen Qing’s silhouette.

His hair was flying, astray in the autumn wind. Gone with the chilly breeze was his youth as well. What remained were the scars that time had left behind, in place of what had been a youth’s carefree thoughts.

Even his reflection on the surface of the lake looked dark and unfathomable. A lotus leaf drifted past in the next moment, stirring ripples that unsettled the stillness of his image. It seemed like a mirror of Wang Baole’s inner thoughts, how he too wasn’t as calm as he seemed.

He took the gourd from his senior brother, taking a huge gulp from it without even examining what he was drinking.

The alcohol was strong, and a single gulp could intoxicate one slightly. Wang Baole finished half a gourd full of alcohol, then handed it back to his senior brother. He stared at his senior, then started speaking very softly.

“Senior Brother, I’ve wanted to ask you this for a long time. What I saw in the Dark Dream, what happened to you—is that really true?”

The moon flooded the scene with its cold light. It was quiet, disturbed only by the autumn breeze, whose chill seemed to intoxicate Wang Baole further. His question seemed to conceal beneath it something that a stranger would have found difficult to discern.

The lotus leaves in the lake swayed slightly in the autumn breeze while someone gazed out into the lake, sleep escaping him. That someone was Wang Baole. Something was weighing heavily on his mind!

Everything started with the last battle with Daoist You Ran. It had persisted when Wang Baole had returned to Ethereal City, remaining on his mind while he was in his parents’ company and while he was whiling his time away peacefully, and it hadn’t gone away. He hadn’t been able to let it go. What he had done had been to set it aside, burying it deep and trying not to think about it at all. If not for Chen Qing broaching the topic, Wang Baole might have left it buried in the deepest recesses of his mind… and never spoken about it.

During the last battle with Daoist You Ran, Zi Yue’s sudden change of mind had been too abrupt. It had shocked Wang Baole and pushed him into unleashing his full potential, to the point of exhausting himself completely. That had resulted in his establishing a firm connection with the coffin on Pluto. Everything… had happened so naturally, so coincidentally, it had seemed too good to be true!

Any misstep during that battle could have resulted in the extermination of the Federation civilization and the deaths of his family and friends. Perhaps everything that had happened had indeed been a fortunate series of coincidences. But there was also the possibility… of someone influencing the turn of events secretly!

Wang Baole had no idea how that could have been done. He wasn’t surprised at all that his senior brother Chen Qing had broached this topic, and he wasn’t going to use this as evidence to argue that Chen Qing had been the mastermind behind everything.

He had only asked one question. He believed Chen Qing knew what he was trying to say.

Chen Qing did. The young woman who had been destined to become his Dao partner had her fate changed due to someone’s interference. As a result, she had been destroyed in both form and spirit. Who could claim that he hadn’t suffered as well? He might seem without worries, but the truth was that he was still struggling with his loss.

He didn’t want this pain, and he wasn’t going to inflict something like this on another person.

Chen Qing took the gourd wordlessly, then finished the rest of the drink in a single gulp. He shut his eyes. After a long moment, he opened them, then looked straight into Wang Baole’s eyes and said softly, “Dear Junior Brother, I didn’t do it. But I will admit that… my intention to make Zi Yue become a source of nourishment for you caused this. Give me some time. I will find out who… is secretly trying to pit us against each other!”

Wang Baole eyed Chen Qing, then laughed. The heaviness in his heart still lingered. But now, he was sure that what had happened was either a coincidence or… some mysterious power had indeed instigated the entire thing and pushed things into motion for reasons beyond his knowledge.

“Senior Brother, you still have wine?” Wang Baole asked with a smile, ease entering his heart.

Chen Qing watched as Wang Baole returned to his normal cheerful self and laughed. He pulled out two gourds, and the both of them sat by the lake sparkling under the light of the autumn moon and began drinking.

This was meant… to be a beautiful scene. Moonlit, next to a lake rippling gently in the breeze. Two men dressed in robes, young and handsome, like deities who weren’t of this world.

The autumn breeze was chilly, but they were warmed by the wine in their bellies. Then, Chen Qing told Wang Baole his purpose for his current trip to the Federation. It was to take Wang Baole away. Wang Baole blinked, and his lips started smacking. He pulled out a few bags of snacks and began eating noisily. Chen Qing watched in a daze as Wang Baole handed a few bags of snacks over to him before pulling out a soy egg from his storage bag.

Chen Qing took the sticky, gooey soy egg from Wang Baole and bit into it instinctively. He was about to say something when Wang Baole raised his gourd up into the air and knocked it against his own.

“Come, Senior Brother, let’s drink!”

That wasn’t the end of it. Wang Baole pulled out a dozen sticks of raw chicken wings marinated in spices. As he continued drinking, he cast a spell and began grilling the wings. A stunned Chen Qing watched as Wang Baole pulled out a seemingly endless supply of meat skewers and all manners of grilled foods. In the end, Wang Baole pulled out a pot and started cooking a huge goose. Half a plate of green peppers was thrown into the pot. The atmosphere had changed drastically at that point. A scene that had been ethereal and out of this world was now mundane and ordinary.

“Come on, eat. There’s no need to be polite when you’re with me, Senior Brother.”

Chen Qing stared, slightly lost for words as Wang Baole continued to eat and drink at the same time. He rubbed his forehead and tried to continue his earlier words.

“Baole, I’m going to take you to…”

Before Chen Qing could finish his words, Wang Baole had drunk the last drop in his gourd. His eyes were misty as he turned and grinned stupidly at his senior brother. Then, he tilted his head and fell to his side. He had fallen asleep.

It was clear to Chen Qing that Wang Baole didn’t want to leave and that he was doing this on purpose. Chen Qing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He raised his right hand. With a slight wave, an invisible force entered Wang Baole’s body and pushed the alcohol out. Wang Baole opened his eyes reluctantly. Before Chen Qing could say anything, he suddenly smacked his forehead.

“Oh no, I have to go, Senior Brother. My mom told me that I have to return home before one in the morning every day. Let’s talk again tomorrow.” Wang Baole got to his feet hastily. He was about to leave when Chen Qing pointed at him. Wang Baole’s legs froze, his feet stuck firmly to the ground. No matter how much Wang Baole struggled, how wildly his upper body flailed, his legs remained immobile and firmly rooted to the ground.

“But, Senior Brother, I don’t want to go…” Wang Baole’s face was all scrunched up as he stared back at Chen Qing.

Chen Qing glared. He could feel his head pulsing with pain.

“Baole, the Dark Sect might have fallen, but there are still survivors who’ve gone underground and are still around. They’ve formed an underground sect. You are a Dark Child. As your senior brother, I am to send you back to the sect on behalf of our master, so that you can continue your training!”

“Senior Brother, my parents are old. I can’t bear to part with them. I’m scared that they’ll be gone when I return. I…”

“I’ll take care of this for you. Your parents are my elders too. I’ll give them pills that will extend their lifespans for another two hundred years. That’ll solve your problem. There’s no way you’ll still be away after two hundred years. When you return, I can still help you find more of these pills!”

“Oh? Thanks, Senior Brother. But, Senior Brother… my girlfriends are all in the Federation. What will happen to them if I leave? I’m afraid the next time I return to the Federation, I’ll find them married to other men…” Wang Baole said hastily as he tried to make his senior brother change his mind.

“Don’t worry. Think of your current status in the Federation. Who would dare to steal your women?” Chen Qing said coolly. He raised his right hand and, with a wave, dragged Wang Baole away into the air with him. They lifted off the ground, ready to leave Earth.

Wang Baole panicked.

“I don’t wanna go. I haven’t become the Federation President yet. Let’s negotiate. Why not wait for me to become president? I’ll leave with you immediately after that. Deal?”

“Baole!” Chen Qing stopped in midair. He lowered his head and stared at Wang Baole, the look in his eyes serious and intense.

“I’m not trying to be unreasonable. The Never-Ending Clan’s Heavenly Dao approaches. Every time it appears, it will scan the entire universe and destroy any presence of the Dark Sect it finds immediately. You are still weak and have no means to fight back. If they find you, you’ll be killed instantly!

“That’s why I’ve told you many times to prepare yourself, because I’m going to take you away. The only way for you to escape the approaching power of the Never-Ending Clan’s Heavenly Dao is to follow me to the underground Dark Sect and receive the blessings of what remains of the Dark Sect’s Heavenly Dao!

“You might have realized this, but the Heavenly Dao can be considered an extremely powerful artifact. Only Heavenly Dao can fight Heavenly Dao. The Dark Sect’s Heavenly Dao might be mostly destroyed, but it’s not completely annihilated. What remains can protect you!

“The coffin that you found inside the planet Pluto in the Solar System Alliance? Our master used his great power to send it here. To evade the eyes of the Never-Ending Clan’s Heavenly Dao, he had to send it through time. He had to use a great spell in order for the coffin to travel through time and reach you here. His objective was to give you a place to fall into deep slumber so that you could avoid the approaching calamity!

“You can either enter the coffin every ten years and sleep the next hundred years away, or you can follow me and settle this problem once and for all!

“Which option are you going to choose?”