A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole sighed. His good reputation was going to be ruined at the hands of his own son. After some contemplation, he concluded that the only thing he could do now was to spend more time on the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield. He was going to use that to secure his standing in the Ice Phoenix Legion and advance through the fleet.

I’m going to have to work hard. I have a duty to rise up the ranks in this matriarchal fleet. Besides, the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect has some extraordinary artifact refinement techniques. If I want to make a killing in the Divine Eye civilization, I’ll have to make a name for myself and show my worth first! Wang Baole inhaled deeply. He wanted his own army, and he wanted his army to rise up the rankings. Only by getting both could he get his hands on the more advanced techniques for the Demonic Eye Art from the Eye of the Eternal Star.

At the same time, he could also use the opportunity to get near the royal family and find a shortcut to obtaining said cultivation techniques.

It’s a pity that I, Wang Baole, am a principled man who won’t exploit my good looks to further my goals. Doing that would make everything so much easier. Wang Baole sighed in consolation as he basked in the knowledge of his righteous morality. Then, his eyes flashed as he set all thoughts aside and emptied his mind. He didn’t begin refining the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield immediately. Instead, as a precautionary measure, he began studying the artifact’s internal structure and running through its refinement process.

Three days went by in this manner. It had been ten days since Wang Baole had first acquired the instructions for refining the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield. He had grasped the principles under which the artifact operated through sheer and relentless study and had conducted multiple tests to ensure his understanding was thorough. He didn’t spot any gaps in his knowledge or oversight on his part during his repeated experimentation. That was when Wang Baole finally concluded his study. He lifted his head and took a deep breath, determination brightening his eyes.

Ninth-grade Dharmic Armaments are really something. It has taken me ten days just to study the first two levels of the artifact… All of the knowledge invested in these artifacts is vast indeed. I really mustn’t underestimate others again. Wang Baole sighed as he shook his head. With a wave of his upraised right hand, hordes of materials flew out from his storage bracelet and floated before him. Wang Baole focused his mind and began the actual refinement process based on the knowledge he had acquired from his long study!

Wang Baole’s current artifact refinement capabilities were a consolidation of knowledge from three separate civilizations. His fusion of these separate systems had allowed him to rise to an advanced level of artifact refinement. He himself wasn’t exactly sure which realm he had achieved in terms of refining artifacts. His thorough study of the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield further eliminated any chances of him committing errors during the refinement process.

Two days later, a seven-inch-long jade that shimmered like an emerald appeared before Wang Baole.

Laid flat, the seven-inch-long jade resembled a sampan. Placed upright, it looked like a shield in the shape of a leaf blade!

The artifact constantly shimmered and exuded an extraordinary power that filled the entire chamber. One could almost see countless runes flowing through the jade, circulating throughout the artifact like some form of fluid. This was clearly an extraordinary artifact.

Wang Baole might have personally crafted this seven-inch-long jade shield and had fully grasped the inner workings of this artifact, but he was nevertheless stunned by its appearance upon the artifact’s formation. After a moment of thoughtful silence, he formed a hand seal with his right hand and shot a beam of light from his finger. The seven-inch-long jade shield absorbed the light instantly upon its emission, refracting it into numerous illusory runes that surrounded Wang Baole and transformed into a semi-transparent shield with Wang Baole as its center.

Wang Baole eyed the shield around him in contemplation. With a single step, he appeared outside the shield and pinched the shield with his right hand. A sudden force flowed through his finger and pushed back against him.

The difficulty level of refining this artifact is extremely high. It took me nearly two weeks to complete the whole process. This is really quite an extraordinary artifact! Wang Baole tested the force repelling him, and a strange light flickered in his eyes as he ascertained the strength of the force. After some thought, he decided to continue his refinement and attempt to upgrade the artifact to its eighth level.

The refinement process became increasingly more challenging. Regardless, Wang Baole was able to resolve the problems he encountered through diligent research and skill. Three days later, he finally upgraded the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield to its second level!

The appearance of the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield was drastically changed from when it had been at the first level. The glow surrounding it had brightened considerably, and the runes within it multiplied, clustering together in masses when activated. The upgraded artifact exuded a powerful aura. However, Wang Baole wasn’t satisfied with what he saw.

It’ll draw too much attention… that’s not good at all. Others will become wary when they see it. It’ll be difficult to stage an ambush or a trap. Wang Baole considered the practical uses of the artifact in battle. The artifact appeared excellent in all aspects, save its appearance, which didn’t match his unique fighting style at all. After further thought, he decided to make some modifications. He extracted the new runes that had appeared after the upgrade and fused them with the original runes that had appeared after the artifact’s initial refinement. The artifact now looked no different from its appearance at the first level. Wang Baole was pleased with the results and immediately began the next round of upgrades.

The third round of upgrades was completed successfully days later. Similar to what he had done for the second level of the artifact, Wang Baole extracted the additional runes that had appeared and fused them with the original runes. The artifact appeared unchanged, but should one test its strength, he or she would immediately realize the actual improvements the artifact had gained.

The force repelling his attack—a good fifteen percent of the original attack—was a great boost to the artifact’s offensive capabilities. That was the equivalent of augmenting his divine powers by an additional fifteen percent. The additional boost could decide one’s fate in actual battle!

Wang Baole was extremely pleased with the results. Unfortunately, he soon encountered a problem during the next upgrade to the artifact’s fourth level.

The next upgrade proved to be extremely challenging. Nevertheless, it was a difficulty that Wang Baole could overcome with his skill at artifact refinement. The problem was that this upgrade required a material called the Spirit Tempering Leaf. The Spirit Tempering Leaf’s supply was controlled by the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect, and trying to buy it outside the sect was nearly impossible. The only way to get it was through purchase within the sect, and that was only if one had the necessary access rights.

Wang Baole currently only had the most basic of access rights and wasn’t eligible to purchase the material. He scratched his head, then eyed the third level Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield. He had no choice but to end his seclusion and make his way towards Commander Fairy Ling You’s residence.

Fairy Ling You’s position as the commander of the Ice Phoenix Legion ensured that she was constantly busy. The fact that she was now preparing her army’s advancement made her especially so. Therefore, she wasn’t at all pleased with Wang Baole’s abrupt appearance and didn’t bother to conceal her mild annoyance when she summoned him to see her.

“Long Nanzi, what do you want?”

“Commander, I’ve refined the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield. However, upgrading the artifact to higher levels requires me to acquire materials beyond my current purchasing rights. I’m here to request an upgrade of my access rights…” Wang Baole felt slightly sheepish. He had only refined the artifact to its third level, which was hardly anything spectacular. Regardless, he still pulled out the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield he had refined for the commander’s examination.

“You’ve successfully refined it?” Fairy Ling You froze when she heard what Wang Baole had just said. She briefly glanced at the artifact Wang Baole was showing her to ensure that it was indeed the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield. She hadn’t expected such progress from Wang Baole, but her surprise didn’t last long. Wang Baole had specialized in artifact refinement, so it shouldn’t be surprising that he would have a strong foundation in the area. It wasn’t shocking at all that he could refine a first level Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield.

She still viewed cultivators from affiliated sects as persons beneath her. In her view, they were cultivators who only made use of unorthodox means and had tricks up their sleeves. Wang Baole might be able to refine the first level of Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield, but that was likely the best he could do. If he wanted to advance to the next level, he was going to need at least a few years.

Besides, the most important thing occupying her mind now was the advancement of her army. That was why she didn’t pay much attention to minor details like Wang Baole’s request and couldn’t be bothered to examine his request in detail. She upgraded his access rights immediately and sent him on his way.

Wang Baole walked out of the halls, not particularly bothered by the commander’s attitude. Personally, he thought that a third level Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield really wasn’t something to be proud of. With his upgraded access rights, he immediately purchased the Spirit Tempering Leaf and returned to his residence, ready to retreat into seclusion again. Wang Baole marched across the Ice Phoenix Legion camp, his eyes sweeping past groups of female cultivators looking sharp and handsome as they too swiftly made their way across the camp. However, his mind was elsewhere, running through the Heaven Shaking Divine Justice Shield’s upgrade to the fifth level.

The fourth level shouldn’t be a problem. Now that I have the Spirit Tempering Leaf, it should only take me two hours to complete the upgrade. The complexity involved in reaching the fifth level is comparatively greater. It’s like crossing the bridge between the Soul Conduit realm and the Spirit Immortal realm. I’ll need to research this in greater detail. Wang Baole was deep in thought and about to reach his residence. It was then that he heard laughter ahead of him, followed by sounds of reprimanding and the sharp lashing of a whip.

Wang Baole raised his head in surprise. When he turned his eyes towards the direction of the commotion, he saw seven to eight female cultivators from the army. Amongst them was a tall woman who looked extremely strong and was at the perfected Soul Conduit realm. Her physical appearance and level of cultivation gave her a terrifying presence. She held four ropes in her hand…

Tied at the end of each rope was a creature. They were like pets being taken on a walk. The group approached Wang Baole, their laughter growing louder as they drew near!

The four pets looked different from each other. There was one that was clearly a plant-based humanoid, another that was a fearsome-looking, three-headed lizard, and one that was a python with the head of a woman. As for the last pet… Wang Baole’s eyes widened with incredulity when they landed on the last creature!

Zhuo Yixian?