A World Worth Protecting

He realized that the patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect must have some way of concealing the presence of his bloodline and evading discovery. He also realized that… this must be the biggest and most important secret that the patriarch was hiding.

He belonged to the royal family, yet no one knew of his relationship with the Divine Eye civilization’s royalty. He had risen to become a Planet realm patriarch of an enemy sect that had fought the royal family fiercely and mercilessly. Wang Baole believed that there must be a history between the patriarch and the royal family. It probably had something to do with a member of the royal family who left behind a bastard child many years ago. Those who had knowledge of this bastard child had probably been killed and silenced!

“It’s true that I didn’t inherit the mandate to the Eternal Star, but I will once I kill you. Now that you know the truth, go in peace.” The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch spoke coolly. The truth had been unveiled. Long Nanzi was going to die, and his plans would be realized. There was no longer a need for him to hide anything anymore, so he lifted his right hand and pointed at Wang Baole.

Incredible power surged from his finger and charged towards Wang Baole, and the severely weakened Wang Baole shuddered and turned to dust. His death was instant!

The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch could hardly contain his excitement after he had killed Wang Baole. He was indeed a member of the royal family. Wang Baole had guessed correctly. His plan had been to engineer a battle between the royal family and Wang Baole. He wanted to eliminate as many royal family members as possible while hiding his own identity as a royal family member. When he and Long Nanzi became the only two sole surviving members of the royal family, he would strike.

However, having Wang Baole fall into a trap on the Eternal Star hadn’t been part of his plan. That was why he had come to Wang Baole’s aid and given the latter much help. The death of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s right-hand elder brought him the chance that he had been waiting for. He exploited the blinding appearance of the sun and killed the few remaining members of the royal family. He had killed He Yunzi!

The fact that the mandate hadn’t been transferred to him after He Yunzi’s death had been something he hadn’t expected. He had paid a heavy price to kill He Yunzi. The layers of protection surrounding He Yunzi meant that he couldn’t guarantee his safe return even if he were to successfully kill the man. But the events that had unfolded, from the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s outrage to his admission of his true identity as part of the royal family, had been exactly as he had planned!

That was because even though the mandate hadn’t yet been transferred to him, the mark had been. It appeared between his brows as a white mark.

Whatever He Yunzi could give the Heavenly Spirit Sect, he could give as well. After all, what they wanted was simply the mark of the Graveyard of Stars. In addition, what He Yunzi couldn’t give them, he, the patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect, could!

That was why he and the Heavenly Spirit Sect had formed their new alliance. In addition, he had arrived at a conclusion on why the Eternal Star’s mandate hadn’t been conferred upon him after some thought. The royal family’s bloodline was through actual blood relations as well as the inheritance of the Divine Eye Art. The mark itself rested in the blood and flesh. That was why only one who shared blood relations with the royal family could inherit the mark. The mandate to the Eternal Star differed in that aspect, though. The Eternal Star was an external body. One might even see it as an enormous Dharmic Artifact. The transfer of mandate over the Eternal Star, therefore, depended on whether one had inherited the Divine Eye Art.

Even though he wasn’t as deserving as Wang Baole when it came to inheriting the mandate, he had a simple solution to that. It was to kill Long Nanzi. As long as Long Nanzi was dead, he would become the only person left who could inherit the mandate.

With that thought in mind, the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch began to sense the aura exuding from the divine eye behind him. Next to him was the sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect. He glanced at the patriarch and spoke coolly.

“Long Nanzi is dead. Fellow Daoist, patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect, congratulations on obtaining complete control over the Eye of the Eternal Star. Please activate the Eternal Star so that the second batch of cultivators from the Violet Gold civilization can teleport here. The Dao Disciple of our civilization will be arriving with this second batch of cultivators. He has been chosen to receive the mark. The boat to the Graveyard of Stars… is due to arrive soon.”

The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch began to frown upon hearing what the sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect had said, and doubt and confusion appeared in his eyes.

“I don’t yet sense the mandate being conferred on me…”

“Patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect!” The look in the eyes of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord turned cold instantly.

“You wiped out the rest of the Divine Eye civilization’s royal family. You are the sole descendant and owner of the royal bloodline. Long Nanzi is dead, and you have the mark. How could you not have the mandate over the Eternal Star?” The words of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord radiated with displeasure. The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch was a smart man, and he could hear the unhappiness in those words clearly.

The frown on his brow deepened, and the doubt in his eyes intensified. He eyed the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord. Then, he tried to offer an explanation while secretly scoffing at the other man’s lack of intellect.

“Fellow Daoist, I have made an oath. I’ve even offered the Fallen Star mark in exchange for an alliance with you. Why would I care for control over this Eternal Star? But I truly don’t possess control over it now!”

“This only means one thing…” A dark look suddenly descended upon the cultivator’s face. The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch snapped his head up abruptly and stared at the spot where Wang Baole had perished with a stormy expression on his face.

“Long Nanzi… isn’t dead!”

The sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect didn’t hesitate at all when he heard the words of the other cultivator. But before he could speak, alarm flashed across his face. He looked up suddenly and stared in the direction of the Eternal Star.

A wave of spirit energy appeared to ripple across the distant Eternal Star. The array formation on the Eternal Star had been breached!

“Oh no!”

As alarm flashed across everyone’s faces, Wang Baole’s essence body smashed into the array formation outside the Eternal Star like a shooting star. While his avatar had been distracting his enemies, his essence body had left the meteorite that it had been hiding on secretly and headed swiftly for the Eternal Star.

His essence body had been within the Eternal Star’s vicinity when his avatar had died. There was no need for him to conceal his essence body then. He had unleashed his full speed and rammed straight into the array formation before his enemies finally sensed that something was wrong!

No Planet realm cultivator stood guard outside the Eternal Star currently. Only a few Spirit Immortal realm cultivators were left behind. They hadn’t sensed Wang Baole’s arrival and couldn’t stop him. The only obstacle in Wang Baole’s path was the array formation. But with enough time, Wang Baole was confident that he could blast it wide open and enter the Eternal Star!

He already knew that the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch hadn’t acquired the mandate over the Eternal Star when he had killed He Yunzi. That meant… there was a great chance that Wang Baole currently had the full mandate and complete control over the Eternal Star!

There was no other reason for the array formation outside the Eye of the Eternal Star and no other reason that explained why the Heavenly Spirit Sect and the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect had spent so much effort to hunt him down.

If he were right, the Eternal Star would be the safest place for him in the Divine Eye civilization. He would be invincible there!

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. No matter how conniving and devious the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch is… I still managed to see through his scheme this time. I’ve got the upper hand now! Wang Baole’s eyes flashed. He was like a shooting star, rumbling in the cosmos as he charged into the army of Heavenly Spirit Sect cultivators standing outside the Eternal Star. He left death and destruction in his wake, as there was no one who could hold him back.

They could only watch as Wang Baole advanced like a god of war, his Emperor Armor enveloping his person, his Divine Armament glimmering on his arm, and his Demonic Eye Art unleashing waves of destructive power as he charged straight into the array formation.

The cosmos shuddered, and waves of spirit energy appeared to ripple across the Eternal Star, stirring greater waves of heat. The array formation outside the Eternal Star flared up instantly. It looked like a translucent shield encircling the Eternal Star, and now, distortions had appeared on the surface of this shield!

The cause of the distortions was Wang Baole. The spot that he had repeatedly rammed into had sunken inward, and a blinding light erupted from the sunken spot. It seemed to be resisting Wang Baole’s attacks, but Wang Baole had unleashed his full cultivation in his charges. The shield wasn’t going to hold for much longer.

This was because… Wang Baole was currently displaying power as strong as a Planet realm cultivator. An early-stage Planet realm cultivator who was slightly weaker than the average early-stage Planet realm cultivator might not be his match at this moment!

The Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord and the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch had finally recovered from their shock. Amidst their alarm, they unleashed their divine power and raced towards the Eternal Star. They spared no effort, expending their cultivation as they crossed the vast distance swiftly, appearing outside the Eternal Star within moments. They were welcomed by the sight of Wang Baole ramming himself into the array formation with everything he had. They charged forward with the intention of stopping him, but they were too late…

Before anyone could attack, waves of intense spirit energy surged from the array formation, which then collapsed right before their eyes. Wang Baole stood before the sunken spot that had caused the array formation’s complete collapse. As the array formation disintegrated, he turned around and gave his enemies a meaningful look, a scornful smile tugging at his lips.

A dark look fell across the face of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord as he stared at that smile. A similar stormy look descended on the face of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch. They watched… as the array formation shattered and its fragments fell away to reveal a thundering, scorching Eternal Star behind Wang Baole.

Its thunderous roar appeared to be cheers. It had been waiting for Wang Baole!

Wang Baole could sense a strong connection between his Demonic Eye Art and the Eternal Star falling into place. He could sense his power growing as he stood on the Eternal Star. He raised his right hand and twitched his finger at the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch.

“Scoundrel, do you dare meet me in battle on the Eternal Star?”