A World Worth Protecting

“Ah?” Lu Zihao had no idea if others were shocked or surprised, but he was utterly stunned by Wang Baole’s sudden outburst.

However, just that exclamation was enough, and Wang Baole smacked his thigh, his voice conveying immense excitement.

“Indeed! Such a Dharmic Artifact would cost three thousand Spirit Stones.”

Lu Zihao was struck dumb with astonishment.

That forced advertisement was seriously too fake to the audience on Upper Academy Island. Although the bead was indeed of excellent quality, its price was ridiculously expensive. That was especially so because they were all attracted by Wang Baole. This caused the Combat Academy Pavilion to lose some of its glamour.

Nonetheless, the reputation of the Golden Bell Bead has been built up solidly. One could say that almost everyone on Upper Academy Island knew about it. Even the old disciples at the fifth stage of the True Breath realm had to know about it.

Under the weird expressions of the audience, Wang Baole was still very energetic. He slapped his thigh again, letting out a loud ‘Pah!’ sound, and looked very energetic.

“However… I have very good news for all of you today. The first one hundred Daoists to make an order will not need three thousand Spirit Stones—you will only need one thousand! You heard that right! Just one thousand Spirit Stones, and you can bring this treasure home!” Wang Baole shouted loudly, even sharing his voice transmission number with everyone. As he finished speaking, his voice transmission ring started vibrating profusely.

Message after message was immediately sent to Wang Baole’s voice transmission ring. Lu Zihao and the two Combat Pavilion disciples watched in shock as they saw Wang Baole’s voice transmission ring tremble as though it was about to explode.

In the blink of an eye, there were hundreds of messages sent to him. Wang Baole was very excited and surprised. Although he had expected his advertisement to not be in vain, he did not expect it to be so effective.

Actually, although the price of one thousand Spirit Stones was relatively expensive, it was still acceptable. That was especially so because it was a second-grade Dharmic Artifact and because of Wang Baole’s advertisement. Whether they wanted to buy it for research purposes or to use it, even if the customer base of tens of thousands of Upper Academy Island disciples found the advertisement fake, Wang Baole still received a few hundred orders.

Even the two Combat Pavilion disciples immediately asked to purchase the beads after coming to their senses. After all, they had personally experienced its power, and it was selling like hotcakes. For the two of them, Wang Baole was so happy that he gave them a discount.

“You have good taste!” Wang Baole laughed. Under the gazes of the audience, he completed the deal with the two Combat Pavilion disciples. After that, he pulled the still stunned Lu Zihao along and headed straight for the path that appeared following the disappearance of the light screen in front of him.

The fireworks had long since dissipated, and Wang Baole’s advertisement had already ended. However, many people among the audience on the sky platform and Upper Academy Island disciples still paid attention to Wang Baole, and the rowdy discussions were never-ending.

“This Wang Baole, he can’t possibly do an advertisement in every match, can he?”

“That being said, I’m actually looking forward to seeing the next Dharmic Artifact he advertises.”

While the audience was discussing, Ethereal Dao College and the Army all gazed with different expressions toward Wang Baole and Lu Zihao, who were traveling on the mountain road.

Wang Baole did not bother about the attention of others. He felt highly spirited and looked toward Lu Zihao. Standing beside Wang Baole, he seemed to have just come to his senses and had an extremely ugly expression. However, seeing Lu Zihao look like he was about to scream at him, Wang Baole patted Lu Zihao’s shoulder and spoke generously.

“Lu Zihao, we’re relatives. Don’t worry, we’ll split the profits seventy-thirty!”

Once he said that, the storm of fury about to erupt within Lu Zihao immediately paused for a moment. After that… it dissipated and extinguished without the control of Lu Zihao.

I’m not going against my moral principles; I’m just getting the remuneration I deserve! Lu Zihao thought secretly. However, his heart rate increased uncontrollably, and he started to calculate how much money he would get. Alas, as he calculated, he thought of how Wang Baole had attacked and stolen his limelight, and his anger arose once more.

“Wang Baole, I, Lu Zihao, am not a man who will do anything for money. I’m telling you, I’ll let what you did previously slide, but the upcoming second battle is mine. Don’t come steal my limelight; this is my tournament!”

“Got it! Come, equip this armor. Go forth and fight!” Wang Baole quickly said after seeing Lu Zihao look as though he was going to explode once more. He threw out a glittering suit of armor.

Lu Zihao’s anger disappeared after he saw the suit of armor, but he harrumphed secretly. He felt that this was not against his moral principles… After that, he picked up the pace alongside Wang Baole, who was in high spirits, and eventually arrived at the second meeting point.

The first meeting point was the round of sixteen, and the second meeting point right now was the round of eight. The teams who could get into the round of eight were definitely not weak, and they had to have their own talents. Hence, neither Wang Baole nor Lu Zihao dared let down their guard.

That was especially so for Wang Baole. Learning from the experience of the previous battle, he retrieved a Golden Bell Bead and activated it at his feet the moment that he arrived at the second meeting point with Lu Zihao. As the golden light screen appeared, Wang Baole stood there and smacked his chest.

“Zihao, the rest is up to you. Good luck!”

Lu Zihao felt Wang Baole’s sincerity. He took a deep breath and was about to speak.

“Here they come, Zihao, go!” Wang Baole immediately reminded him. Lu Zihao’s expression changed, and a vicious glint appeared in his eyes. He turned his head to look toward another path and immediately noticed a man and a woman charging toward him.

The man was large and imposing, with a glint in his eyes. He wore a purple suit of armor, and three flying swords surrounded him. The woman behind him was petite and looked very sweet. She had a ring of bells on her snowy-white wrist, and they rang as she charged.

That was not all. Beside this woman were three vicious wolves who were more than half a man tall. These wolves had vicious glints in their eyes and growled as they ran. Their exposed fangs were unbelievably sharp, and they looked extremely vicious.

Beast Tamer! Lu Zihao furrowed his eyebrows, but a glint appeared in his eyes afterward. Although he was unwilling to meet a disciple from the Beast Taming Pavilion because it was troublesome to fight them, his will to fight rose since he knew that he had to fight one anyway.

As he shook his body and flicked his hands, the five Flying Frost Swords immediately flew out, and an icy aura surrounded him, making him seem like a war god. He charged directly at the Combat Pavilion disciple.

The Combat Pavilion disciple narrowed his eyes and noticed the protective screen surrounding Wang Baole’s body. He did not bother about it and charged toward Lu Zihao, looking like a huge beast as he took his first step.

The two men immediately got into a brawl. As the sounds of battle spread, their flying swords also clashed at great speeds in midair, trying to break each other’s seal. At the same time, talismans flew, and the physical power of the both of them was on full display at that point in time as they traded blows.

Lu Zihao’s strength was also fully displayed at that time. His control of the Flying Frost Swords and the changes in his spells were all swift and ferocious. With a few hand seals, he made his right hand expand to twice its size. As it exuded a black glint, he threw a punch.

Although the Combat Pavilion disciple was remarkable, he was not quite in Lu Zihao’s league. As his expression changed, a cold glint flashed in the woman’s eyes, and she formed a hand seal. Immediately, the three wolves beside her growled and charged directly at Lu Zihao.

These three wolves were not slow, and their fangs had incredible biting power. It seemed like they could even break a Dharmic Artifact with one bite.

Seeing this scene, Wang Baole was furious and shouted within his protective screen, “Hey, that’s not fair. You’re bullying him!”

The woman tilted her head to throw a disdainful look at Wang Baole. She did not stop but instead rushed toward Lu Zihao with a leap forward.

Even under those circumstances, Lu Zihao was evenly matched with them. That was because Wang Baole had added magnetism within the Flying Frost Swords. Hence, he did not need to spend so much spirit energy to control them. The suit of armor on Lu Zihao had also been crafted by Wang Baole to become extremely sturdy. It even had a knockback effect.

Because of that, Lu Zihao got stronger as he fought.

Seeing that Lu Zihao was fine, Wang Baole stopped worrying and retrieved another small wooden pail from his storage bracelet. With a snicker, he threw it out, and it immediately exploded in the air.

Fireworks quickly spread, and the gazes of the audience on the sky platform and Upper Academy Island gathered upon Wang Baole once more after seeing the resplendent fireworks. Meanwhile, the expressions of the Combat Pavilion disciple and woman changed. They had already seen the fireworks previously but did not know what was going on. They were on high alert after seeing the fireworks again.

As they were on high alert and as Lu Zihao’s expression changed to one of anger and sorrow, Wang Baole coughed within his protective screen and looked toward the sky with cupped fists.

“Dear Elders, teachers, and fellow disciples, look over here…

“I’m sure all of you get a headache whenever you see a Beast Taming Pavilion disciple. After all, they have vicious beasts beside them, and we’re at a disadvantage when fighting them. You see, my boy… hood friend, Lu Zihao, is facing this very situation now. Now then… what should we do?” Wang Baole’s voice became excited once more. Although he almost called Lu Zihao ‘my boy’, he was lucky to have quick reactions and gave a huge flick of his wrist.

“Today, I, Wang Baole royally introduce to you another type of Dharmic Artifact. Its name… Shut Up!