A World Worth Protecting

Fairy Ling You was obviously more inclined towards believing the words of her trusted subordinate. She didn’t think that Long Nanzi had any exceptional talents when it came to refining artifacts. Regardless, this was just a small matter in her eyes.

The most important task she had now was to improve the army’s ranking. With her current level of cultivation and her ownership of a Dharmic Battleship, her army could easily overpower the current seventh army in a challenge and take its place.

There would be no objections from the other side. After all, she was now at the Spirit Immortal realm!

Of course, Fairy Ling You’s ambitions weren’t that simple. She wasn’t interested in being number seven. She wanted to be sixth in ranking. It might be the difference of a single position in the ranking, but it made a world’s difference in the resources that were made available to the army.

That was why this required careful planning. As for Wang Baole, Fairy Ling You couldn’t care less about the man. She had disliked the manner in which he conducted himself right from the start. Regardless, she couldn’t refuse the patriarch’s orders. Of course, she wasn’t bothered about handing over the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield either. In her mind, Wang Baole would need at least one to two years to successfully refine the artifact. She was untroubled as she ended the conversation with a wave of her hand.

Oblivious to all of this was Wang Baole, who was currently making his rounds in the Ice Phoenix Legion. Everywhere he looked, he saw numerous female cultivators making up a majority of the army. It was a pity that they weren’t delicate beauties but handsome and dashing looking women with wind beneath their feet as they marched from one place to another…

He had always thought his dashing good looks to be his trump card, but they had little effect in this camp. No one paid any attention to him at all. In fact, no one bothered to respond to his greetings when he initiated them. Wang Baole coughed awkwardly and tried to make excuses for the strangeness. He finally realized something wasn’t quite right when he arrived at his residence.

It seems like men don’t have much authority here… Wang Baole eyed his residence while recalling the residences he had passed by on his way here. It was clear that female cultivators enjoyed a higher status as well as better accommodations than male cultivators in the Ice Phoenix Legion.

So be it. It’s all because their commander is a cold-hearted woman. Wang Baole shook his head. He activated the entrance to his cave abode with his token and entered his residence. He wasn’t exactly pleased with the sparse space, but he hadn’t been expecting a lot in the first place. Having sat down, he began to organize his thoughts.

I’m now considered a disciple of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. As long as I don’t make life difficult for myself, I shouldn’t have to worry too much about the threat posed by the Ink Dragon Legion.

My next target should be to secure my standing in the Ice Phoenix Legion. From there, I’ll find a way to build my own army and then acquire more cultivation techniques from the Eye of the Eternal Star!

Of course, I should try and establish contact with the royal family if I have a chance to do so… I’ll be able to gain more from that! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes as he considered his future plans. There were Spirit Immortal realm cultivators all around him now, not to mention a Planet realm patriarch. There was also the fact that he was now on the sect’s headquarters, the Sovereign Planet. Unless there was no other choice, he wasn’t going to use his ability to steal another person’s identity.

I’m going to have to refine the Divine Justice Shield or whatever it’s called if I want to secure my position in the sect. I should make use of this opportunity to study the advanced artifact refinement techniques in the Divine Eye civilization! After some thought, Wang Baole made up his mind. He pulled out the jade slip containing the instructions for crafting the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield and began studying them in earnest.

He had only performed a sweeping glance the previous round and had noticed certain exceptional qualities this particular artifact possessed. Upon closer study now, his eyes began to widen. The more he studied the instructions, the more excited he became. Finally, he gasped out loud.

Is the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect really so wealthy? I mean, this is a… Spirit Immortal realm artifact! Wang Baole was taken aback with shock. The gentle young woman in the yellow skirt had told him that this was an artifact that every artifact refinement disciple in the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect had to refine as part of the sect’s trials.

I can’t imagine the standards of artifact refinement that the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect has reached… Do all disciples undergoing the trial have to refine a Spirit Immortal realm artifact? Wang Baole thought he might have been mistaken. But he was sure he had read the instructions right after studying it carefully a second time. In fact, the second reading revealed an even more shocking discovery.

Applying the Federation’s standards to the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield, it would be classified as something surpassing a ninth-grade Dharmic Armament. It’s almost a Divine Armament at this point… The potential for further evolution is astonishing as well. It could very well develop into something that’s more powerful than a Divine Armament… My god, is the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect really that powerful? Wang Baole gulped, and his face had turned pale. This was a terrifying revelation to bear.

The Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield was mainly used as a defensive and counter-offensive artifact. There were eight levels to its strength, and every increment in level intensified the power of its counter-offensive shock waves by five percent. At its eighth level, it could turn a quarter of the original offensive force back onto the enemy. There were clearly more advanced levels of evolution after the eighth level. Even though the contents in the jade slip didn’t mention anything about that, Wang Baole’s experience and intuition told him that there must be more advanced levels after the eighth level!

It was a shocking discovery, one that humbled Wang Baole. He stopped underestimating the sect. In fact, he was beginning to feel stress weighing down on him. It was like a mountain sitting on his shoulders, affecting his ability to breathe.

I have to start working hard! Wang Baole took a deep breath as he stared at the jade slip in his palm. Thoughts churned in his head as he began analyzing and studying the jade slip’s contents. Time passed steadily. Soon, seven days had passed since Wang Baole had first arrived at the Ice Phoenix Legion camp.

He hardly slept or rested during these seven days. Instead, he had been studying the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield, consolidating the experience he had in artifact refinement that he had gathered in the Federation, on the Ancient Sword, and in the Divine Eye civilization. With that, he finally managed to grasp the first level of the refinement recipe.

His identity had been updated in the Ice Phoenix Legion records. His rank wasn’t particularly high, though, which meant that he only had basic access. There wasn’t much he could do with his access rights except purchase resources within the Ice Phoenix Legion.

He began refining the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield after purchasing the necessary materials. However, before going into seclusion for the refinement, Wang Baole released the donkey into the open. It was as if he had suddenly found his conscience.

“Son, isn’t your daddy nice to you this time? Remember to be good and stay out of trouble, or I’ll ground you for a hundred years!” Wang Baole glared at the donkey. He secretly agreed with his own father’s teaching methods, which involved… a sound thrashing until the kid learned to behave!

He recalled how much more he had weighed compared to his elderly father when he was a kid. Then, he recalled how he had still been beaten so soundly that he had learned to behave. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he was doing things the right way. He was about to continue his nagging but was stunned by the donkey’s reaction.

The creature had always tried to look pitiful or cowed in the face of Wang Baole’s scoldings. Sometimes, it would even try to gain Wang Baole’s favor. It had always actively tried to be on Wang Baole’s good side. Things were different today, though… it was clearly fretting and filled with anxiety. It even began braying loudly at Wang Baole.

“Son! Son! Son!”

It looked extremely anxious and appeared to be asking Wang Baole for something. Wang Baole stared at it with surprise, then pulled open his storage bag and flung some materials at the donkey. The creature only spared those materials a brief glance, not touching them at all. Instead, it continued braying.

Wang Baole became slightly displeased.

“You’re becoming picky with your food. You know you’re getting this for free, right? You didn’t work for it at all!”

“Son!”

“Still complaining?”

“Son!”

Wang Baole smacked his own forehead, then remembered that this was his own son. He bore the heartache of wasting expensive materials and pulled out some better ones. Still, the donkey only spared them a look. It was still dissatisfied. That sparked Wang Baole’s curiosity, so he extended his Divine Sense and began communicating with the donkey.

An odd look settled on Wang Baole’s face after their chat.

“You perverted donkey!” Wang Baole said, absolutely exasperated. From what the donkey had just described, it was searching for a certain item. It had scavenged the item from their last fight with the Ink Dragon Legion, where they had blown up the army’s battleships and massacred their cultivators. The donkey had no idea whom the item belonged to. Anyway… the item was a puppet built with a single function. It appeared ordinary, but upon closer examination, one’s imagination would likely run wild. In fact, one would even be able to know the previous owner’s character and preferences…

By using this item, the donkey would be able to expend its unlimited energy to a certain extent. It would become addicted to using the item, desire to use it again and again, never feeling tired of it…

Wang Baole was filled with disgust and scorn. However, no matter what, the donkey was just a simple beast. That was why Wang Baole only sighed and began searching his storage bags for the item. He rummaged through the bags for ages to no avail. The donkey looked devastated. But Wang Baole could only shrug and give up the search. He sent the donkey away, then sat down. After taking a deep breath, he began refining the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield.

Just as Wang Baole was about to pull out the materials for the refinement and began the refinement process, a memory flitted across his mind. He recalled the storage bag that he had given to the female cultivator who had a beauty mark on her face in exchange for information. His eyes widened at the thought. A moment later, a strange look appeared on his face.

I chose the wrong target. If I’d known better then, I would have given the storage bag to Fairy Ling You…