A World Worth Protecting

“That sneaky-looking fatty is Wang Baole, the one who did a great contribution?” On the spectator stand of the stairwell in the skies, the middle-aged man dressed in the red robe noticed Wang Baole secretly looking at them as his lips curled into a smile.

An elder sat beside the red-robed middle-aged man. Wang Baole did not take a close look at him, but that person was the Dharmic Armament Pavilion elder who had given him Dharmic Artifacts when he was on the Lower Academy Island because he had been impressed by him.

Now, a smile hung on his face as a look of admiration was obvious in his eyes. He replied to the middle-aged man beside him cheerfully after hearing his question, “Deputy Sect Lord, that’s him.”

The moment that the elder from the Dharmic Armament Pavilion finished his sentence, another elder beside him asked curiously, “I’ve heard that this fatty is extremely narcissistic and carries a mirror with him all the time, is that true?”

Very quickly, the Deputy Sect Lord from Ethereal Dao College sitting behind the red-robed middle-age man said happily, “I have also heard about this fatty from someone. It was said that he is a fan of being an official and dreams of being the President of the Federation!”

“This chap has a good personality!”

“Haha, I think the Grand Supreme Elder would like him.”

Laughter emerged from the crowd. The people worthy of a place there were all Elders from each pavilion of Upper Academy Island. Normally, they were rarely seen or heard, and they were known to be extremely stern. However, now that they were together, they appeared more cheerful. As they looked toward Wang Baole, they cheerfully exchanged banter, and their eyes all carried looks of admiration, like an older generation toward their younger generation.

At the same time, on the military’s spectator stand, the burly man dressed in a black cloak with a scar across his face and a complex expression retracted his gaze from Wang Baole.

“Zhou Lu, is that the person you mentioned?”

“General, that is him. According to what I have researched about him, he is more than suitable to complete the mission. He can definitely be assessed as a potential seed. You will know when you see his performance later on. He is not only good at refining Dharmic Artifacts, his physique is impressive as well, far exceeding that of his counterparts!” Zhou Lu, who was beside the burly man, appeared stern as she heard his words. Even though the person before her was her uncle, she was still extremely respectful when they were out.

“However, I’ve heard that you have some conflict with him.” General Zhou in the black cloak looked toward Zhou Lu.

Zhou Lu did not speak. She retrieved a jade slip and passed it to General Zhou. It contained detailed records of the research that she had done on Wang Baole. After taking a look at it, General Zhou gradually revealed a look of curiosity in his eyes.

“Then, let us see how he performs first.” General Zhou laughed as he pocketed the jade slip, turning his attention toward the Combat Pavilion tournament.

Right as the Combat Pavilion tournament was about to begin, a stern voice announced the rules.

The rules were simple. The east region was where the first level True Breath experts carried out the tournament while the south region was for the second level True Breath experts, and so forth. The central region was where the fifth level True Breath experts competed.

Five tournaments were held simultaneously. There were exactly thirty-two mountains in every region, like a small arena that formed the individual battle grounds. After rounds of elimination, one person would remain!

That way, thirty-two individuals would emerge from each region. Thereafter, those thirty-two people would move on to the second stage of the competition, until a ranking was formed. From the first to fifth level of the True Breath experts, the strongest person would then be revealed.

From the second stage onward, supporting teammates would no longer be allowed. In reality, the supporting teammates could only help in the first stage. After all, this was a tournament for the Combat Pavilion.

The first stage was a competition within the individual mountains. There were sixty-four entrances set up on each mountain, with sixteen entrances located on each of the four faces of the mountain. These sixteen entrances also had sixteen roads leading up to the mountain.

As the sixteen roads wound up the mountain, there would be eight crossings, where the two roads that crossed over would merge into one!

At these crossings, two teams would battle it out.

The loser would be disqualified, and the winner would continue moving forward along the road and go through another battle at the next crossing. This would continue until they reached a position near the peak. Of the sixteen teams, there would only be one team who could successfully ascend to the peak, where they would then compete with the winners from the other three mountain faces in the battle of the mountain peak.

In reality, when that stage was reached, the assisted match would have already ended. The participants would have to depend on themselves for the matches to follow. The one who eventually emerged victorious would be granted the eligibility to enter the second stage of the tournament!

After getting a clear understanding of the rules and regulations, the group of first level True Breath disciples stepped onto the different mountains according to the Combat Pavilion’s arrangement. Lu Zihao did not pay any attention to Wang Baole as he turned around and charged forward in the lead.

Seeing how impatient Lu Zihao was, Wang Baole could not help but shake his head.

He’s still just a child… With this thought, Wang Baole slowly made his way forward and quickly reached the mountain assigned to them. After choosing a road, the both of them ascended the mountain, one after another.

At the same time, in the external skies above Ethereal Dao College’s Upper Academy Island, the array formation from before had already been transformed. Now, thousands of screens appeared, floating above it, broadcasting every competition taking place between all the teams on every mountain. The tens of thousands of Upper Academy Island disciples spectating the match all had their eyes glued to the screens.

According to the rules, as the teams were being eliminated one by one, their screens would disappear. In the end, there would only be five screens left, showing the final victors of the first to fifth level True Breath rounds!

“It has begun!”

“Haha, the outcome of the competition isn’t important. What’s most important is to see what new pills, Dharmic Artifacts, array formations, and beasts will be showcased this time!”

As the tens of thousands of disciples from Upper Academy Island focused all their attention on the mountainous roads shown on the screen, Lu Zihao, who was leading the way, was approaching a crossing. He gradually slowed down and frowned as he looked back at Wang Baole, who was enjoying the view along the way.

“Wang Baole, I don’t need your help later on; this is my tournament!”

“Relax, I will not compete with you. Lu Zihao, can you not snort before speaking? That’s so rude!” Wang Baole looked askance at Lu Zihao, immediately raising his hands to retrieve five flying swords even before Lu Zihao could speak.

“Take them. Don’t complain that I did not help you. These five Flying Frost Swords are more than sufficient for you to win the first match. However, if you snort again later on, I’ll take them back,” Wang Baole said calmly as he tossed the five flying swords to Lu Zihao like throwing vegetables.

Lu Zihao was furious upon hearing Wang Baole’s words. He was about to reject him but noticed that the chilly force from the flying swords was so strong and so impressive that he was taken by surprise. He took a deep breath, and with a closer look, he realized that those five flying swords were all perfect second-grade Dharmic Artifacts!

The quality of the swords immediately made Lu Zihao swallow his intention to reject them. He rationalized that since Wang Baole was his supporting teammate, so it was not against his principles to take the flying swords given by him. Thus, he hurriedly accepted them. He wanted to snort once more to express his arrogance, but he recalled what Wang Baole said previously and the fact that he had given him the flying sword, so he kept quiet. Instead, he turned around and lifted his chin, looking at the crossing as he walked over.

Seeing how proud Lu Zihao was trying to appear, Wang Baole laughed silently to himself. He was delighted, thinking that the manner in which he had tossed out the five flying swords was impressive, allowing him to stress Lu Zihao constantly. Together with Lu Zihao, they reached the first crossing.

They were standing at the crossing of the two roads. The area was not huge, and before them was a translucent screen blocking further advancement up the road. It seemed like access would only be granted after one team was eliminated there.

The moment that the duo reached the crossing, two figures appeared extremely quickly on the other road. The aura of a True Breath expert’s cultivation was extremely strong as it neared.

“They are all senior disciples from the Combat Pavilion!” Lu Zihao was familiar with the two of them and instantly activated his hand seals to toss the five Flying Frost Swords out at high speed, preparing to go head on in the battle. Instantly, the chilly forces in the environment became overwhelming.

“Zihao, charge ahead! Don’t be afraid! I will help make you more famous. After this match, you will definitely be well known on Upper Academy Island!” Wang Baole immediately shouted loudly to increase Lu Zihao’s imposing manner. His eyes carried a look of anticipation. As he laughed heartily, he flailed his hand and quickly retrieved a small wooden bucket from his storage bracelet, tossing it toward the sky.

With a loud boom, the small wooden bucket exploded in midair, revealing a firework-like brilliance that was extremely colorful. Instantly, the attention of the spectators in the spectator stands was drawn toward it. On Upper Academy Island, as the fireworks were released, the screen that showed Wang Baole and Lu Zihao’s activity was immediately filled with brilliance, making it the most eye-catching out of the thousands of screens. This caused everyone on Upper Academy Island to be captivated by it.

“What’s the situation?”

“Someone’s actually releasing fireworks! My eyes are not playing tricks on me, are they?”

“What was he doing?”

Not only was everyone on Upper Academy Island shocked, the military and high officials from Ethereal Dao College who were in midair, as well as the Federation officials, were all taken aback. They had spectated Combat Pavilion tournaments year after year, but this was the first time that they had witnessed someone releasing fireworks.

As the masses all turned to look, it was obvious that the two senior disciples from the Combat Pavilion were all flabbergasted.

“What on Earth is he doing?”

“This is his most formidable trick?”

The two seniors were immediately shocked silly, their hearts pounding. As the Flying Frost Swords neared, they immediately activated their mystic techniques that caused their speed to be increased severalfold. In an instant, even though they suffered abrasions from the Flying Frost Swords, they dashed toward Wang Baole.

It was clear that they did not know who Wang Baole was, and coupled with the fact that they had noticed Wang Baole unleashing a powerful move, their only thought was to get rid of this fatty first before eliminating the tough-to-defeat Lu Zihao.

Seeing that things were not going according to plan, Wang Baole instantly grew anxious. There was a time limit to his fireworks, which could not last long. He purposely attracted people’s attention so that Lu Zihao would showcase his Flying Frost Swords. There was no time to waste, so he quickly stepped back and shouted, “Don’t be rash, the both of you! I’m from the Dharmic Armament Pavilion and am only in charge of refining Dharmic Artifacts. You should battle my son instead!”