A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole raised his chin and studied the young woman before him. With his current level of combat strength, a single slap from him would turn her into a smear of flesh and fabric. It would be a challenge trying to separate the two.

However, taking into account the fact that this was the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect that he was in at the moment, he decided to let the woman’s condescending tone pass. Instead, he displayed what he thought was his best-looking smile and spoke gently.

“Thank you for leading the way, miss. Hm? It seems like you dropped your storage bag.” Wang Baole stepped forward with a smile, a hint of surprise in his tone. The young woman froze at his words. Then, she stared as he flipped his right palm over and revealed a storage bag in it. He placed the storage bag before her.

A strange look settled on the young woman’s face. She took the storage bag and eyed it. Her heart began to race slightly. There was a particular item inside that made her blush faintly. She had a vaguely odd look on her face when she looked at Wang Baole again. After studying him in detail for a few moments, the look in her eyes softened, and a smile appeared on her face. She coughed softly, then said, “Thank you, fellow Daoist Long Nanzi, for pointing that out.”

Wang Baole smiled softly. He had stored a small portion of the donkey’s snacks in the storage bag—random bits and pieces of materials that he had deemed beneath his status, considering his current level of cultivation. He hadn’t examined them in detail because of that, and he wasn’t going to feel that much of a loss for giving them away. He would be maximizing the value of these materials if he could exchange for some bits of useful information by giving them away.

That was why Wang Baole continued to look his best as he followed the female cultivator, asking questions in a gentle manner. It might be because of his gift, or as Wang Baole would like to believe, his charms, but the young woman began sharing quite a bit of information with him.

For example… there were thousands of people attending this general assembly. Compared to most of them, Wang Baole had been assigned a seat further away from the front.

For example… such general assemblies usually took place over a month or so. The patriarch would only appear on the last day. All meetings that were held before that would be chaired by the commanders of the respective armies.

After tidying up the bits of information he had acquired, Wang Baole managed to gain quite a clear picture of the upcoming general assembly. Some things he hadn’t managed to guess quite right initially, but overall, he had the right idea.

What he had seen and heard proved that he hadn’t really caught the eye of the Planet realm patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. Else, he wouldn’t have simply been invited to the general assembly. Instead, he would be having a one-on-one meeting with the patriarch now.

The seating arrangement was also revealing. His attendance was simply a formality extended by a superior to his junior.

I might receive some token reward, but the chances of me being made a member of the sect are higher… Wang Baole had been a high ranking official in the Federation after all. He began to see what was going on after contemplating the matter. His smile appeared gentler the next time he turned it on the young woman next to him.

When they arrived at the assembly venue, the young woman touched the storage bag that Wang Baole had given her again. She blushed when her senses brushed over a certain item inside. After some hesitation, she said softly, “My place is the sixteenth cave, in the ninth abode, on the seventh peak, in the Northern Sect…”

What? Wang Baole, who had been surveying the venue’s architectural structure, was stunned at her suddenly blurting out her detailed address. He turned towards her instinctively, but unfortunately, he only managed to catch a glimpse of her back as she hurried away.

Something’s not quite right. Confusion colored Wang Baole’s face. He wondered if there had been something especially valuable in the storage bag he had just given away. Even though he hadn’t looked through everything in detail, he had scanned the contents with his Divine Sense. He was quite certain that there wasn’t anything of significant value hidden amidst the random piles of trash.

Of course, what was inside would be quite valuable to a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. However, in the eyes of a Soul Conduit realm cultivator, none of it was worth much.

Could it be… that she was overpowered by my incomparably good looks? Wang Baole’s eyes widened. He concluded that he must have somehow gotten even more good-looking without him realizing it. To think that he had unintentionally acquired yet another admirer in such a short period of time.

We’re not really a good match, though. What a pity. Wang Baole coughed. Still, he felt really good about it. He continued studying the venue’s architecture and was oblivious to his donkey’s uneasy rummaging through piles of items while inside the storage bracelet, as if it had just lost a really precious toy…

From the outside, the venue looked like a Roc with outspread wings, ready to take off into the wind. It was a majestic sight. The structure was tinted a faint green. Masses of cultivators were moving in and out through the gates, the place bustling with activity. However, there wasn’t a single familiar face in the crowd. Regardless, Wang Baole pretended that he knew everyone, smiling and nodding at those he made eye contact with when he entered the venue. Once inside, he swept his eyes across the entire space. The interior of the venue was shaped like a donut and could seat more than ten thousand people.

A square-shaped altar stood in the center of the donut. The altar had three levels, and there was a cushion placed on the topmost level. This was the seat reserved for the most powerful figure in the entire venue.

There were four differently colored cushions on the second level, one placed at each of the four corners. Those that could sit at those four spots and enjoy the ten-thousand strong audience’s attention must surely be of great status and ranking as well. Finally, the third level of the altar had six cushions!

Wang Baole’s eyes swept past the altar before scanning his surroundings. He had arrived neither too early nor too late. There were only one to two thousand cultivators in the venue presently.

With such a huge venue and such a huge attendance, Wang Baole’s arrival hardly drew any attention. After some time, he found his name on a seat in a corner. He stared at the seats next to him. Their occupants hadn’t arrived yet. He sat down, eyed the spirit fruits and drinks on the table before him, picked up one of the fruits, and took a bite.

Tastes quite good. Wang Baole’s eyes brightened. Someone finally filled the seat to his left after he had eaten his sixth spirit fruit. It was a chubby old man with a wide smile on his face. He shared the same cultivation realm as Wang Baole, that of the Soul Conduit realm. He was clearly not a member of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect but someone from one of the affiliated sects. He had been extraordinarily polite to everyone whom he had bumped into on the way to his seat, and he had initiated the conversation after sitting down next to Wang Baole.

“Fellow Daoist, you look like an unfamiliar face. I’m Duo Youzi from the Northern Sect.” The chubby old man cupped his fists in greeting as he introduced himself warmly.

“I see, so you’re fellow Daoist Duo Youzi. Your reputation precedes you. Nothing beats seeing the real thing, of course. What an amazing presence you have!” Wang Baole placed the spirit fruit in his hand aside and smiled, immediately beginning to chat with the other cultivator.

Wang Baole had memorized the high officials’ autobiographies and had himself been one such high ranking official in the Federation for many years. He naturally had no problems with his communication skills. The old man was eager to make new friends as well. They were already chatting merrily a few seconds into their conversation. All was well until the old man asked Wang Baole for his name, and Wang Baole replied with a smile, “I’m Long Nanzi.”

“Long Nanzi… that sounds familiar… ah, you’re Long the Mad!” A questioning look appeared on the chubby old man’s face when he heard that name. He thought for a bit before his eyes suddenly widened. In fact, he appeared ready to retreat but seemed to stop himself at the last moment. The expression on his face had shifted from its earlier friendliness, though. When he looked at Wang Baole, it was with eyes of awe and fear, and he hurriedly tried to explain himself.

“Fellow Daoist Long Nanzi, I didn’t mean to offend…” Duo Youzi grimaced and poured a cup of wine for Wang Baole as a gesture of apology.

Wang Baole didn’t stop smiling the entire time. He raised his cup and asked, “Why did you call me Long the Mad?”

“My fellow Daoist… the battle you had with the Ink Dragon Legion has shocked us all. Because of this battle, the ranking of the Ink Dragon Legion dropped out of the top ten most powerful fleets in the Violet Gold New Dao Sect… That’s why everyone thinks that you must be mad to be so gutsy!” The chubby old man tried to explain himself as he wiped sweat off his forehead. He quietly released a sigh of relief when he saw how the nickname didn’t bother Wang Baole at all, then cursed his luck to be seated next to Long the Mad. If someone should mistake him for being his friend, the fellows greedy for the Violet Gold New Dao Sect’s bounty money might start knocking on his door, looking for trouble.

The chubby old man sighed at that thought. He decided to just take this in stride and try his best not to offend the crazy guy sitting next to him for the remaining duration of the assembly. They had started secretly calling him mad, not because of his crazy bravery, but because he had actually killed numerous Soul Conduit realm cultivators from the Ink Dragon Legion just because the latter had demanded a battleship from him. It might not have been so bad if he had stopped at decimating an entire team, but he had gone as far as to kill the Ink Dragon Legion commander’s beloved disciple right before her eyes!

Even that wouldn’t have been so bad if he had let matters rest. However, no one knew what he had been thinking. After having laid low for a period of time, he had suddenly reappeared. Then, through the tactic of self-destructing hordes of artifacts, he had crippled the entire Ink Dragon Legion. Such actions clearly showed his lack of care for consequences. What else could they be but the actions of a mad man…