A World Worth Protecting

The token that he had in his hand was the imitation of the Xie family’s Peace Token that he had made. He held it up high in the air as he hollered.

“This is the Xie family’s Peace Token. Who amongst you dares to attack me now? Your sect’s right-hand elder died because of his insolence!” The sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect had frozen in his tracks the moment that Wang Baole had whipped the token out. The look on his face darkened as he stared at the Peace Token in Wang Baole’s hand, hesitation flickering in his eyes.

He didn’t realize that Wang Baole had caught that flicker of hesitation in his eyes. Wang Baole’s heart sank once again!

Something big must have happened in the Divine Eye civilization. The Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord kept his Divine Sense out so that he could locate me as soon as I appeared. He must know that the right-hand elder has died, and he must know that the Xie family was involved in his death. There’s no way he doesn’t know that I have a Peace Token. There might be some other reason that he still dared to attack me. But now that I’ve whipped out the Peace Token, why is he going through the trouble of showing hesitation? Is he putting on a show for me or for someone else? Thoughts raced across Wang Baole’s head. He was reminded of something that had been written in the high officials’ autobiographies. The human heart was the most unfathomable thing in this world.

The gears in Wang Baole’s head spun furiously while a look of hesitation remained on the face of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord. It was then that Wang Baole heard a sudden rumble from the abyss behind him. Someone was ramming into the edge of the sealed space and trying to blast his way in. The sealed space grew unstable all of a sudden, and cracks appeared in the seal. The seal’s wall caved in, opening a tear in the wall.

Beyond the tear stood the somber-looking patriarchs of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect and Violet Gold New Dao Sect.

“Who dares hurt Long Nanzi, a member of my sect?” The man who had spoken was the patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. His voice thundered with authority, and there was determination in his voice. It was a determination that promised to save Wang Baole regardless of the price that he had to pay.

He lifted his right hand and made a grab at Wang Baole, seeming to be trying to pull Wang Baole out of the seal. Next to him, the Violet Gold New Dao Sect’s patriarch unleashed his full cultivation as well, as if he were prepared to battle the Heavenly Spirit Sect if they were to try and stop the attempted rescue.

The sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect narrowed his eyes, then unleashed a sudden burst of speed. He seemed ready to stop the two patriarchs’ attempted rescue. Everything was happening at lightning speed, and Wang Baole had no time to think at all. Fortunately, he had been watching the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch cautiously all along. Regardless, this had been part of his plan all along. He had sent his avatar out as bait in order to find out what exactly was going on.

This was his chance to do that. An imperceptible flicker appeared in his eyes. Without any hesitation, he allowed excitement and glee to appear on his face before charging towards the tear that the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch had blasted open. Within the blink of an eye, he was snatched up by the patriarch’s outreached hand. He was going to be pulled out of the seal and out of danger at any moment now…

It was then that… alarm flashed across Wang Baole’s face.

“Patriarch! You!” The palm that had caught Wang Baole transformed from its initial gentle hold to a tight grip. Instead of rescuing Wang Baole from the attack, it tightened its hold on Wang Baole suddenly!

Wang Baole let loose a scream of pain amidst the thunderous boom reverberating across the cosmos. His severely weakened body caved in and began to disintegrate. However, his reflexes remained quick. Despite the physical disintegration that had begun to take place, Wang Baole continued to retreat. A cloud of dust struggled to gather in the distance and finally materialized into a blurry silhouette.

It was obvious though… that the materialized form was severely weakened and at its limits. A mere breeze might turn it back into dust and send the dust scattering across the cosmos. A bitter smile appeared on the weakened figure’s face. He stared at the tear and at the expressionless patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect who had stepped through it.

“The ones hunting you aren’t from the Heavenly Spirit Sect,” the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s Patriarch said as he stepped into the sealed space and stared at Wang Baole.

A dark look appeared on Wang Baole’s face. He glanced at the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord. Save the slight sneer tugging at his lips, he revealed little on his face. Realization dawned upon Wang Baole as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

The sect lord knew about the right-hand elder’s death and his relationship with the Xie family. That was why it didn’t matter that the token that he had pulled out wasn’t authentic. It didn’t make any difference to the sect lord. No matter what happened, the sect lord wasn’t going to allow Wang Baole’s death to be traced back to the Heavenly Spirit Sect. They weren’t going to be the direct cause of his death. That was how they were going to prevent themselves from being implicated in this matter.

It would simply be an act, but appearances mattered very much in this case. As for the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch, regardless of his reasons, he appeared to have agreed to kill him. At the end of the day, the world would hear the story of him dying at the hands of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch!

The conniving patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect wasn’t going to agree to do such a thing so easily. He wasn’t doing this because he had surrendered himself to the Heavenly Spirit Sect and was forced into it. There might be a possibility that he had no idea of Wang Baole’s relationship with the Xie family. But, he bet that… the patriarch must have made a deal with the Heavenly Spirit Sect!

Wang Baole was reminded of the expressions that had appeared on the faces of the Heavenly Spirit Sect members when he had mentioned He Yunzi.

Did something happen to He Yunzi? Has the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch captured him and seized control of his mind?

That’s not right. The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch may be a wild conniving fox, but he’s not going to do anything that doesn’t bring him gains. Would he truly dare to hold He Yunzi hostage and blackmail the Heavenly Spirit Sect? Wouldn’t he be setting himself up for greater trouble in the long run? The Heavenly Spirit Sect wouldn’t let him off easily if he were to blackmail them.

He Yunzi is part of the royal family. The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch is but an outsider to him. If the patriarch were to blackmail the Heavenly Spirit Sect, he would be interfering in matters that didn’t concern him in the first place. The Heavenly Spirit Sect is a proud people. The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch would be tempting fate if he tried to do something like that. He’s not a fool. He wouldn’t do something like that… Besides, the Violet Gold New Dao Sect’s patriarch wouldn’t allow him to do something like that! There had to be something else that held the key to the puzzle, something that Wang Baole hadn’t yet figured out!

Could it be… Just as Wang Baole was about to fade away completely, an incredulous thought appeared in his head.

Is it possible that the patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect… possesses the bloodline of the royal family as well? Wang Baole couldn’t help but feel incredulous at the very idea of that when the thought appeared in his head. But the idea took root instantly and wouldn’t go away. His thoughts began to fall into place around that idea. It was then that Wang Baole suddenly realized that everything seemed to make sense now. All the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly!

The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch also shared the royal family bloodline. That was why he had spoken to Wang Baole and gotten the latter involved in the fight with He Yunzi and the other members of the royal family. He had tried to instigate them into killing each other. He wanted them to battle it out first. He drew everyone’s attention to Wang Baole so that everyone would focus their attention on Wang Baole, like eyes drawn to a bright fire. It was all so that he could hide better in the shadows.

He would be free to advance or retreat according to how the situation unfolded. He could advance and fight for the mandate or retreat and ensure that he remained safe and his true identity hidden!

Wang Baole realized that the doubts that had been plaguing him since his return could all be answered if he were to continue analyzing the situation along these lines. Perhaps something had happened to He Yunzi. He hadn’t been captured and imprisoned. He had… been killed!

In revealing his identity now, the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch would acquire the mandate that He Yunzi originally had. He would become the only person the Heavenly Spirit Sect could collaborate with!

His deception might anger the Heavenly Spirit Sect, but they would ultimately accept an alliance with him. This was because the person the Heavenly Spirit Sect hated the most wasn’t the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch but Wang Baole. Since the patriarch was also a member of the royal family, that made him no different from He Yunzi. In their view, as long as the Heavenly Spirit Sect wasn’t being blackmailed and forced into the deal, and as long as the terms that the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect were offering were better, they had simply traded one ally for another!

This would also explain why the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch wanted to kill him. That must be one of the terms of their deal. As these thoughts appeared in Wang Baole’s head, he was once again faced with doubt!

That’s not right. If that really is the case, there isn’t a need to set up an array formation outside the Eternal Star to keep me out. That would be completely unnecessary. After all, both the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch and I share one half of the mandate. Things won’t get any worse. It’s meaningless to set up an array formation to keep me off the Eternal Star. Could it be that… the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch didn’t manage to get his half of the mandate after killing He Yunzi? Wang Baole’s severely weakened form shuddered. His eyes widened as he stared at the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch and shouted at the latter. He was going to try to lure the truth out of the patriarch.

“Old scoundrel, you’ve kept your identity as a member of the royal family hidden very well. But it doesn’t matter. In the end, you didn’t get the mandate over the Eternal Star anyway!”

The sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect raised his eyebrow when he heard what Wang Baole had said. The patriarch of the Violet Gold New Dao Sect gave Wang Baole a meaningful look as well. The patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect, on the other hand, tilted his head and leveled a stare at Wang Baole, then burst out into sudden laughter.

“It seems like you’re not as much of a fool as I thought you were. You’re a bit slow on the uptake, though,” the cultivator said before lifting his head up. Cultivation erupted from his person instantly, and waves of mid-stage Planet realm power filled the cosmos. Wang Baole could sense the familiar aura of the royal family’s bloodline on the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch. Behind the patriarch… a huge Divine Eye materialized. A white mark in the shape of a half-moon appeared on the patriarch’s brow!

Wang Baole had been right. That did nothing to ease the shock he was feeling now, though. He had to give it to the patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. The latter had displayed extraordinary cunning!