A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole was extremely delighted as he thought of how perfectly he had executed the entire thing and had pushed Lin Tianhao into a difficult position.

His delight was not apparent to the onlookers, but his back looked broad and reliable in the eyes of the masses. His words especially moved the surrounding cultivators, for they were all empathetic toward the disadvantaged. This was the pity tactic that Wang Baole was using!

The bold move by Lin Tianhao, who resorted to violence under the watchful eyes of the Pavilion Head, also dumbfounded everyone as they developed a certain hostility toward Lin Tianhao. Now, they all lifted their heads to look at the Pavilion Head.

Lin Tianhao, on the other hand, felt suffocated. He had never seen this side of Wang Baole and instinctively realized that the fellow was pretending to be disadvantaged, putting up a good show that was filled with vivid details.

“Pavilion Head, he’s just pretending…” Lin Tianhao grew anxious as he tried to speak. However, the middle-aged men dressed in a purple robe in the sky simply threw a cold gaze, causing Lin Tianhao to tremble with fear internally, as he was forced to shut his trap despite the anger that he was experiencing reaching the boiling point.

Seeing how Lin Tianhao fell silent, Wang Baole was even more gleeful. However, he understood that everyone was intelligent, and his acting could not be too exaggerated. Therefore, he lowered his head and did not speak.

The purple-robed middle-aged man in midair withdrew his gaze from Lin Tianhao. The violence that he had displayed previously made him unhappy. Even though the additional cave abode that Lin Tianhao had was approved by him on the grounds that it would be used to refine Dharmic Artifacts, he had not thought much about it then. Now that trouble had arisen, if Lin Tianhao had not launched his attack, he would have put his main focus on reprimanding Wang Baole and simply chiding Lin Tianhao, seeing how everyone had greeted him respectfully.

However, now the entire situation had changed, given that Lin Tianhao had attacked and Wang Baole’s attitude was justified based on the flawless story that he had told and the proof that he had. Furthermore, it was pivotal that Wang Baole had remained respectful and not willful throughout, despite having sensible arguments for his behavior.

On the other hand, Lin Tianhao…

What intensified the situation was that there were onlookers. As the Pavilion Head, he could not ignore the thoughts that people might have in their minds. Now, he narrowed his eyes, looking at Wang Baole several more times. He could see through Wang Baole’s pretense and motives, but he had to agree that Wang Baole was a capable individual who knew how to maintain relationships!

“Both of you, don’t you dare do this again! One more fight in the Dao College, and both of you would be severely punished!

“And you, Lin Tianhao! Why on earth are you occupying a cave abode that belongs to others? Return it immediately!”

The Pavilion Head glanced coldly at Lin Tianhao before turning to leave.

Lin Tianhao’s heart trembled. Wang Baole was pretending to be bitter and pitiful, but he was the one that was truly bitter and pitiful. He knew that he had lost this round.

As the Pavilion Head left, Wang Baole stood up, clutching his chest as he cupped his fist toward the people around him.

“Senior Brothers, everyone is from the same sect, and we would be neighbors in the future. I am new here, and I hope to gain valuable advice from all of you!” Wang Baole stepped up passionately, as he greeted all the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters amiably. He even gave each of them one of his Rainbow Spirit Stones.

Even if they only received one Rainbow Spirit Stone, everyone present was pleased, and their impression of Wang Baole grew fonder. They started chatting heartily with each other—the earlier incident had left them with a good impression of Wang Baole. They understood that before them was a cunning, ferocious, yet extremely capable individual.

At the same time, the puppet was proof that Wang Baole was extremely proficient at refining Dharmic Artifacts. Furthermore, as someone who had achieved a breakthrough at the eight-inch state, he knew how to delicately handle tasks and interpersonal relationships. A person like him was an all-rounder in their eyes. They had been aware previously of the matters involving Wang Baole in the Lower Academy Island and the Spirit Breath Village, but they did not know the details. Now that they began checking the matter up and gained a better understanding of everything, they became even more passionate.

Even though they all realized that Wang Baole had been putting on an act just now, they did not care.

As the laughter all around inflicted pain to his ears, Lin Tianhao immediately turned and rushed toward the cave abode. Wang Baole glance at him, harrumphed silently in his heart, and did not care about him anymore. He continued chatting heartily with the people around, and after they had all left, Wang Baole stood in front of Lin Tianhao’s cave abode.

Looking at it in detail, the two cave abodes there were situated at the extreme corners of the entire area. The distance between their doors was less than a hundred feet. After taking a look, he felt that the one on the right carried a bad omen for it was the last in the line, while the one on the left was much better, being situated in the middle, and therefore began to speak loudly.

“Lin Tianhao, I want the cave abode on the right that you’re residing in. Get lost right away—I want it!”

The moment he spoke, blue veins immediately appeared on the forehead of Lin Tianhao, who was moving his items into the left cave abode. He had originally planned to give Wang Baole the cave abode on the right, but now he changed his mind. He turned and rushed into the cave abode on the left and cleaned up briefly before throwing out the cave abode identity token.

“Take it or leave it!” he said as he returned to his cave abode on the right.

“A grown up like you, still rebellious and mischievous!” Wang Baole caught the identity token and cleared his throat. In the right cave abode, Lin Tianhao gritted his teeth after hearing Wang Baole’s words. Then Wang Baole stepped dramatically into his own cave abode on the left.

Wang Baole was instantly satisfied the moment he stepped inside and took a look. Not only was it more than double the size of his cave abode in the Lower Academy Island, there was also a resting area, a seclusion area meant for meditation, and most importantly, came equipped with an Earth fire smelting furnace. That meant that he could refine Dharmic Artifacts in the comfort of his own cave abode and no longer needed to go to a designated area to do so like on the Lower Academy Island.

At the back, there was also a veranda where one could see the clouds in the sky and another mountain peak in the distance. Looking even further, it seemed like the sky and the lake had combined into a beautiful painting, making one rejuvenated.

At the same time, the Spirit Qi was much more concentrated compared to his previous room. That was accentuated by the fact that different kinds of flowers and plants were growing in the cave outside the balcony, and the scent of the flowers carried in the wind was refreshing to anyone who smelled it.

What a good place. Even though Wang Baole was a little disappointed that he was neighbors with Lin Tianhao, he was able to distract himself from that as he was satisfied with the cave abode. Delighted, he sat there and began munching on a bag of snacks.

Next, I need to set aside time to refine and learn. I’m not here to battle Lin Tianhao. My goal is to become the President of the Federation!

Thinking of this, Wang Baole put his snacks down and began accessing the Spirit Intranet of the Upper Academy Island. He familiarized himself with the structure of Upper Academy Island as well as information regarding higher-level inscriptions and the forging.

Other than this, I also need to understand the structure of Upper Academy Island and the meaning of being an Armament Disciple…

Wang Baole was deep in thought. He had understood a small part of everything and now began to look for information in detail.

At the same time, as Wang Baole was learning and researching, his neighbor, Lin Tianhao, was extremely depressed. He gritted his teeth as he sat inside, an evil look appearing in his eyes. As he took out his jade slip to pass some instructions, he laughed coldly.

“Wang Baole, how dare you tarnish my reputation! Let’s have both our reputations tarnished then!”

Time passed quickly, and three days flew by. The incident of how Wang Baole regained possession of his cave abode only spread slightly within the Dharmic Armament pavilion. After all, to the majority of the disciples in the Dharmic Armament Pavilion, both Lin Tianhao and Wang Baole were merely just newcomers that did not garner much attention. Even though Wang Baole’s performance in the Spirit Breath Village and Lower Academy Island was impressive, it simply meant that he had potential to be unleashed.

Right now, Wang Baole finally found the information that he was looking for on the Spirit Intranet and gained a deeper understanding of the Upper Academy Island and the Dharmic Armament Pavilion.

“The Dharmic Armament Pavilion takes charge of refining Dharmic Artifacts and Numinous Treasures internally and the maintenance of Dharmic Armaments for the troops situated within the borders. At the same time, Ethereal Dao College does not advocate individuality. Instead, the disciples from the different pavilions have to work with each other, practicing outside in small groups during semester time,” Wang Baole mumbled as he meditated with his head raised and his legs crossed.

Simultaneously, he also found information about the Dharmic Armament Pavilion’s structure.

The Dharmic Armament Pavilion was like a city. Going from top to bottom, there was the Pavilion Head, followed by the four Deputy Pavilion Heads and the Armament Soldiers, then the numerous Armament Disciples. An ordinary disciple was of the lowest rank.

At the same time, relative levels of authority lay in the hands of these people. To Wang Baole, the Pavilion Head was like City Lord of a city, ranked highly within it and controlling the entire place. He had great authority, able to not only control life and death but also wielding limitless power in the boundaries of the rules.

As for the Deputy Pavilion Heads, they could be thought of as the deputy city lords. They were assistants to the Pavilion Head and also wielded immense power. They were all in charge of their respective regions in the Dharmic Armament Pavilion, and if they collaborated with each other, they could possibly go against the Pavilion Head.

The Armament Soldiers belonged to the four deputy Pavilion Heads in name. Under the leadership of each deputy Pavilion Head were some Armament Soldiers who were in charge of the organizational management within the Dharmic Armament Pavilion. They were the supervisors of the various organization.

Lastly, the Armament Disciples shared a similar relationship as that between the Armament Soldiers and the Deputy Pavilion Head. There were many Armament Disciples under the lead of each Armament Soldier, and they assisted the Armament Soldiers in management. All these were similar structures seen in almost every pavilion within Upper Academy Island. The ordinary disciples, on the other hand, had no power at all.

Not to mention the Pavilion Head, the Armament Soldier alone wields so much power that it’s unimaginable! If one becomes an Armament Soldier, they will be in charge of an organization. Furthermore, this is Upper Academy Island, the core of Ethereal Dao College! Every single Armament Soldier would make an ordinary City Lord bow in respect if they appeared in the streets!

Wang Baole took a deep breath as his eyes revealed an unusual look.

If I could become an Armament Soldier, not only will people be less likely to bully me, but I will also be a step closer to becoming the President of the Federation!

Wang Baole was filed with emotions. As he thought of searching up ways to become an Armament Disciple on the Spirit Intranet, he suddenly noticed that a notice had appeared on the Upper Academy Island’s Spirit Intranet, and his name was inside.

“Hmm?” Wang Baole reacted and immediately opened it. Soon, he began laughing.

“Today, let’s introduce Wang Baole from the Dharmic Armament Pavilion. It’s said that when he was in the Lower Academy Island previously, he cheated in order to rise to the ranks. He was despicable and shameless to the extreme…”

“So, this is it? I was wondering why he was so rich. It turns out that when Wang Baole was Head Prefect in the Lower Academy Island, he was violent and forcefully snatched what belonged to others. He was so greedy and such a thief, and that allowed him to amass wealth!”

Notices like these were few and far between initially, but they began to grow in number. That was especially so as the notices began to focus on issues of lust, wealth, and power, and they were extremely insulting.

Such lowly tactics made Wang Baole realize that Lin Tianhao only looked intelligent on the surface but was extremely childish. That was the conclusion that he came to after reading the notices, and he lowered his head slightly.

If this was the Lower Academy Island, Lin Tianhao’s tactics could still work. However, they were on Upper Academy Island, and everyone was focused on their own cultivation. No one was stupid. Issues like that could hardly tarnish one’s reputation and instead revealed how uncultured and sly one was.

Culture… it seems like Lin Tianhao has hit puberty late. He’s so narrow minded, like a clown.

Wang Baole shook his head and felt that he should not bother himself with it. He had wasted too much time on Lin Tianhao, so he raised his right hand, where his storage bracelet was, and waved slightly to retrieve an object.

However, I shouldn’t waste the opportunity. Let’s experiment with him… the limits of how much the human mind can withstand. It’s nice that I can now research psychological Dharmic Artifacts!