A World Worth Protecting

The battleship had lost its source of energy and emerged from the planet’s atmosphere. It was heading straight for land and was about to crash into the mountains. The Grand Supreme Elder of the Thousand Spirit Sect, Gongsun Hou, had been in fierce pursuit of the battleship. He raced in the outer atmosphere as he relied on his lightning-based mystic technique to locate the battleship. Then, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The unique properties of the planet’s atmosphere meant that he couldn’t lock down the exact location of the battleship. He only knew roughly where it was. However, he could immediately sense exactly where the battleship was as soon as it descended from the atmosphere. Without any hesitation, Gongsun Hou raced out from the atmosphere and vanished as he teleported away.

The Thousand Spirit Sect’s battleship appeared right before his eyes when he reappeared again. It was crashing towards the ground. Shrieks pierced the air, which sounded like the howling of wind all around him.

“Oh no!”

Gongsun Hou’s face paled. There was no time to think. He unleashed his full cultivation as he raced towards the battleship in an attempt to stop it from crashing!

The Thousand Spirit Sect might be many times wealthier than the Holy Crest Sect, but it only had three battleships capable of galactic travel. The destruction of any one of those battleships would be a tremendous loss to the sect.

That was why Gongsun Hou had unleashed his full speed. He appeared instantly before the battleship that was crashing towards the ground. Then, he raised both his arms and pressed his palms on the battleship. He was going to try and stop the battleship from crashing with his cultivation alone.

A loud thunder resonated in the air. Gongsun Hou’s face turned pale, the veins in his arms bulged, and one could see the veins on his face clearly. He continued to unleash his cultivation as he was pushed back continuously by the weight of the battleship. Finally, his feet landed on solid ground. It groaned and splintered, and cracks spread from where he had landed, stretching as far as ten thousand feet. Before long, the ground caved in, relieving the pressure on Gongsun Hou.

He roared as the pressure weighing down on him was eased. He finally managed to gain control of the battleship with his overwhelming cultivation. Gongsun Hou slowly placed the battleship next to him. Then, panting, he extended his Divine Sense and surveyed the damage. He had been prepared for what he was likely going to see, but it still enraged him to the point that he trembled with fury.

The interior of the battleship was a mess. It was clearly missing many components, with several parts of the battleship being emptied completely. The missing parts were the most valuable parts of the battleship, and there were even bite marks on what remained. The sight pained Gongsun Hou greatly.

Under his lead, his sect had exterminated countless civilizations and massacred countless species. He had scrimped and saved the resources that he had plundered and pillaged over the years. Finally, that had allowed the sect to build three battleships. But now… one of his precious battleships had been taken apart to such a horrifying degree. He found it hard to breathe at the moment, especially… when he thought about how he had also been robbed of the precious Star Illusory Stones. The pain he was feeling now was akin to being ripped apart. His cultivation churned violently inside him. There was a vicious look on Gongsun Hou’s face as he raised his head skyward and let loose a furious howl.

“I don’t care who you are. The Thousand Spirit Sect will find you. We will crush your bones into ash and destroy both your body and spirit!”

His voice surged outwards, echoing in the atmosphere. It reached Wang Baole, who hadn’t yet left the area.

Only you’re allowed to rob other civilizations? No one else is allowed to rob you? Wang Baole glared and stopped in his tracks. He contemplated going back and teaching the other cultivator a good lesson. Then he thought about the repercussions if he were to do that. The backlash that would result from that might make it inconvenient for him to engineer a second robbery. He snorted and decided to ignore the cultivator’s threat. He turned and headed back to the Holy Crest Sect.

Wang Baole sneaked quietly into the restricted zone upon his return. He returned to his chambers, sat down, and began to go through his loot. His eyes shone increasingly brighter as he went through his loot.

A horse can only grow fat if it secretly munches grass at night. There’s some truth to that saying. What I’ve earned today is almost as much as what the Holy Crest Sect got through orthodox means in its previous auction!

Wang Baole began the construction of his very own battleship with great excitement. He had amassed sufficient resources for the time being. In the days that followed, Wang Baole immersed himself in the crafting of components for his battleship. He didn’t pay much attention to what was going on in the world outside.

He wasn’t unconcerned about the reactions to his robbery, but he believed that he had handled the matter prudently. Even though he might not be extremely well-versed in the art of piracy, he knew that a sect would view a pure robbery and a robbery and murder very differently. The former entailed only a loss of wealth. The loss might be painful, but the damage was really to the sect’s reputation. However, the latter would amount to a declaration of war.

Outsiders would view it this way as well. The degree of malice was clearly different. If one heard that their neighbor was robbed of something precious, they would instinctively raise their guard and be more cautious. However, if one heard that their neighbor had been killed, their reaction wouldn’t be restricted to a mere increased sense of caution.

The reactions following Wang Baole’s robbery were as he had predicted. It was almost impossible to hide the fact that the Thousand Spirit Sect’s battleship had been stolen. Besides, the sect had quite a few enemies. The robbery of their battleship soon made headlines across the planet. The news spread like wildfire.

Every sect, big and small, was talking about it. Even the disciples in the Holy Crest Sect were discussing the matter. There was a slight edge of caution to their words, as well as a great deal of petty cheer over someone else’s misery.

“Have you heard? The Thousand Spirit Sect’s battleship returned with a full bounty and was robbed. Not only was their loot stolen, but a great portion of their battleship was also taken apart!”

“Something like that hasn’t happened in years…”

“The Thousand Spirit Sect has always been cocky. Who knew this would happen to them? Haha, I asked around. I heard they destroyed a small civilization and got their hands on a mountain of Star Illusory Stones. They worked so hard only for those stones to fall into someone else’s hands!”

Wang Baole might be immersed in the construction of his battleship, but he would still get out occasionally and take charge of the repairs on the Holy Crest Sect’s battleship. He would catch snippets of discussions amongst other disciples. He would frown then.

“The Thousand Spirit Sect belongs to the cluster of sects on the fifth mountain ring. We might not be able to offer aid after they were robbed, but we should be careful to only discuss the robbery within the confines of the sect grounds. We shouldn’t speak so carelessly when we are outside. At the same time, we should practice greater caution so that the same thing doesn’t happen to us!”

Wang Baole had a stern expression on his face as he spoke seriously. The disciples who had been discussing the matter trembled secretly. They lowered their heads and murmured their agreement. The Grand Supreme Elder agreed with what Wang Baole had said as well. In fact, he gathered the seven elders to discuss this matter with them in detail.

“Grand Supreme Elder, I have a humble suggestion. We could ask the Thousand Spirit Sect if they require our help in searching for the perpetrator. It doesn’t matter if we’re sincere in helping or merely putting up appearances. It might also help prevent something similar from happening to the Holy Crest Sect in the future,” Wang Baole coughed and said seriously during the meeting, as if he were truly concerned about the Holy Crest Sect.

The Grand Supreme Elder smiled and waved Wang Baole’s suggestion aside.

“I sought out fellow Daoist Gongsun immediately when I heard about this, but Gongsun Hou seems suspicious of everyone at the moment. He rejected my offer to help.”

“We cannot blame him. It’s really quite embarrassing… A galactic pirate is supposed to be the one doing the pillaging and plundering, but he’s now being robbed by someone else,” another elder smiled and said.

“There’s a high likelihood that someone in the sect leaked information about the returning battleship. So many battleships return to the home planet every day. There’s no way to explain why theirs was targeted.” Wang Baole nodded and provided a seemingly intelligent analysis of the situation.

It was in line with what the other sects were guessing as well. It had been a while since someone had attempted to rob a battleship on the Divine Eye planet. Not to mention that the target had seemed too deliberate. It was as if the perpetrator had known that the battleship had been the one carrying the most valuable load.

The farce of a galactic pirate being pirated soon became a running joke amongst the few sects hostile to the Thousand Spirit Sect. The Water Refinement Sect, especially, put a lot of effort into fanning the flames.

The Thousand Spirit Sect felt the most miserable of all sects in the days that followed. They had lost their hard-earned loot, their battleship had been dismantled for parts, and they had to put up with the mocking commentary coming from other sects such as the Water Refinement Sect. In addition, no matter how relentlessly they investigated, they couldn’t find any traces of evidence explaining the robbery or identifying the perpetrator. In a moment of rage, Gongsun Hou had carried out a ruthless investigation against the members of his own sect, to no avail…

Gongsun Hou was frustrated. He suspected the Water Refinement Sect was involved in the entire fiasco but had no evidence to prove his suspicions. In the end, he prepared to continue the investigation in secret. It seemed that there was no end in sight. A month passed. Wang Baole was sitting inside his chamber when he raised his head, his eyes shining. He licked his lips.

I’ve used up all the materials…