A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole was oblivious to the battle taking place between his senior brother Chen Qing and the armored man. It didn’t influence the decision he finally settled on. He only took a while before his eyes flashed with determination, and he finally made up his mind.

Over-thinking will just make it difficult for me to decide. Of course, I have to weigh the risks involved in the final decision made, but such excessive wariness… isn’t the act of a real man. Senior Brother has helped me so many times. I shouldn’t doubt him on this! Wang Baole took a deep breath then pressed his palms together in a series of hand seals. He immediately began learning the mystic technique that Chen Qing had given him.

The mystic technique wasn’t meant to improve his level of cultivation. Instead, it was to allow him the ability to change and create an illusion of himself. Wang Baole used the Dark Art to quicken his learning process. A few hours later, he opened his eyes, which had two ghostly spheres of light shimmering within.

His body blurred as he split into multiple forms, and soon, multiple replicas of himself overlaid one another. Upon closer examination, one would count nine replicas in total.

“Avatar, appear!” Wang Baole barked. Then, an avatar separated from him slowly, drifting aside. It was followed by the second, then the third, all the way up to the ninth avatar. They fused together rapidly and finally reappeared as a singular avatar before Wang Baole. It looked no different from Wang Baole’s true form.

He was identical in both flesh and blood, as well as in spirit. Wang Baole’s Stellar Nascent Soul had split in half as well, with one half entering the avatar. In fact, one could no longer simply call him an avatar. He was Wang Baole’s… second Essence Soul!

A person’s second Essence Soul shared everything with his true form. That was why he shouldn’t resort to self-destructing his second Essence Soul recklessly. The second Essence Soul’s level of cultivation and battle capabilities were only slightly weaker than the true form’s abilities. For Wang Baole, it meant that his second Essence Soul was at the early-stage Nascent Soul realm.

That didn’t detract from how amazing the mystic technique was. It wasn’t the same as Wang Baole’s previous forms of avatars. This second Nascent Soul realm Essence Soul could train independently. When he returned and fused with Wang Baole’s true form, Wang Baole would receive a boost in cultivation as well. The second Essence Soul straddled the realms of reality and illusion, and Wang Baole could switch his true form with his Essence Soul anytime!

These two very important points were why Chen Qing had given this mystic technique to Wang Baole!

After examining the unique traits of his avatar, Wang Baole took a deep breath then shut his eyes. The moment his eyes fell shut… his second Essence Soul opened his eyes!

It’s similar to controlling my previous avatars in many ways, and different in some as well… Wang Baole Number Two raised his hand and touched his own face. He stared at Wang Baole Number One next to him. The latter’s eyes opened instantly, and they began a staring contest.

“In the past, controlling my avatar was like controlling a part of myself, like moving my arm. With a single thought, I could get it to execute all my orders. This avatar though… it’s no longer like an arm. It’s like having another me!” Wang Baole Number Two muttered as he stared at Wang Baole Number One. He coughed.

“What do you think?”

“Seems like it. Interesting,” Wang Baole Number One said as he rubbed his chin and nodded.

“In that case, you stay here and have a good nap. I’ll go outside and check out what’s going on. I’ll try and look for traces of Senior Brother at the same time as well,” Wang Baole Number Two said seriously.

“Alright. Be careful while you’re outside. If possible, try to find out how far away we are from the Solar System as well,” Wang Baole Number One said with a contemplative look. Then, he stared at Wang Baole Number Two again.

“Does this look lame? Us talking to each other like this? We’re clearly one person, but we have to pretend to have a conversation like two separate people… what do you think Senior Brother was thinking when he came up with this mystic technique? He should have a second Essence Soul as well. I think… based on Senior Brother’s character, he might have made his second Essence Soul a woman…” After a long while, Wang Baole Number Two blinked and said.

“I think so too! But we, Wang Baoles, are righteous folks. We won’t even think about doing something as perverted as that. We do have to get used to talking like this from now on though!” Wang Baole Number One took a deep breath and said in all solemness.

“Alright… I’m off then. I’ll leave you with these parting words. Wang Baole, you’re really handsome!”

“Wang Baole, you’re incredibly handsome too!”

Wang Baole Number One and Wang Baole Number Two’s spirits soared when they heard the other’s earnest and so very honest compliments of themselves. Wang Baole Number One handed his storage bag to Wang Baole Number Two. Then, the latter unleashed his Dark Fire and sent it towards the coffin lid. The moment the Dark Fire came into contact with the coffin, Wang Baole Number Two transformed into an illusory sphere of fire that passed straight through the coffin!

When he reappeared again… he was outside the coffin!

The coffin was surrounded by ice that was a mix of black and brown. An intense chill that seemed capable of freezing one’s soul attacked Wang Baole Number Two immediately. His eyes flashed, and he extended his Divine Sense to their limits. It turned out that they could only go as far as a hundred feet. Fortunately, he could see his surroundings clearly. He was standing in a layer of ice of an unknown age, and the coffin was buried deep under the ice. However, beyond that, he couldn’t sense anything!

The coffin’s unique properties might have prevented the ice from caving in after the coffin’s abrupt entry. It had seemingly passed through the layer of ice and appeared under it. An overwhelming suppressive force permeated the icy surrounding and its chilly air. Wang Baole’s form was still in an illusory state. Even so, it couldn’t withstand the cold. He was sure that if his second Essence Soul had materialized physically, he would very quickly freeze and die.

After a simple survey of the surroundings, Wang Baole decided not to linger on the spot. His illusory form blurred and began racing upwards, towards the surface. It was a painful journey to undertake. The chill in the ice continued to accumulate in his body as he persisted upwards. It began to affect his thoughts.

Fortunately, he had his Stellar Nascent Soul and his Dark Fire. Both continuously pushed back against the creeping cold. Hours later, Wang Baole’s illusory form finally dashed out of the ice and appeared inside a cave!

There was no ice in the cave. Nevertheless, it was still chilly. Wang Baole scanned his surroundings, then lifted his head and stared at the frozen ground. Two ghostly lights appeared and lit his illusory form’s head from the inside.

Is this a planet? Wang Baole wondered to himself. His senses extended beyond the layer of ice. Nothing stopped him as his senses stretched further outward.

Even so, Wang Baole could sense a certain degree of suppressive energy present in this world. Its Spirit Qi was significantly richer than the Spirit Qi in the Federation. However, absorbing it seemed a slight challenge. There was something stopping him from doing so.

There were clearly different rules at play here. A flicker of light crossed Wang Baole’s eyes. He raced towards the skies and activated his cultivation before stretching his Divine Sense to their limits. It didn’t take long before his Divine Sense extended beyond the patch of icy land and reached what lay beyond!

The skies weren’t a pale blue. They were shades darker. They looked similar to the skies of Earth. The sun stood high in the skies and gave off light and warmth, but the light was cold, and the warmth not enough to melt the ice on the ground!

As for the lands… with a single glance, he saw the rise and fall of mountainous forms. The place looked wild, the plant life frightening. Not all of the land was covered in ice and snow. However, the soil was hard. That, as well as the moisture in the air, were chilly as well. The winds themselves were a piercing cold that seeped into one’s bones!

In the distance was a mountain that had caved in. Shattered rocks littered the place, and underneath the piles of rocks was a huge crater that contained four corpses. Beyond the crater was a person running farther into the distance, seemingly injured.

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and swept them over the person running further away from him. The latter appeared not to have noticed his presence. Then, with a sudden shift, Wang Baole appeared next to the crater. His eyes landed on the four corpses. They had died recently, and their bodies had been searched.

Murder and robbery? Wang Baole rubbed his chin. He then raised his right hand and formed a couple of hand seals, pointing at the corpses.

“Soul, form!”

At that exact moment, beyond the Divine Eye System, within the array formation formed from thousands of Eternal Stars, an intense battle was taking place as well. Chen Qing was exuding a fierce aura, one that was more intense than usual. Wang Baole’s choice had made him happy and brought him a measure of comfort as well.

The armored man, on the other hand, didn’t look as well. He had thought he had found Chen Qing’s weakness. He had intended to exploit that weakness and distract Chen Qing. It didn’t matter the degree of distraction, any form of it would give him an opening. What had happened instead had been beyond his expectations. The boy, whom he had viewed as a mere ant, hadn’t been affected at all by his baiting.

“I was overly hasty. My plan would have succeeded if I’d simply been patient and waited a while longer!”