A World Worth Protecting

While the audience in the outside world was heatedly discussing about what had happened, Lu Zihao’s competitor—the Combat Pavilion disciple—also admitted defeat, depressed. There was no way that he could win. Fighting Lu Zihao was already a challenge. He was no match for him.

Not to mention Wang Baole with his strange Dharmic Artifacts. It left his scalp tingling. That was especially so since his assistant was all tied up with her hands behind her back. Forcing a smile, this Combat Pavilion disciple could only admit defeat.

At the same time, many of those in the sky platform had expressions of interest. Although they were learned with lots of experience, in their eyes, this subtle gimmick had its merits.

However, the elder of the Combat Pavilion was in a fit of rage. A perfectly good Combat Pavilion Tournament was single-handedly being ruined by Wang Baole’s advertisements.

If it were any other disciple, they would have long been afraid of the serious repercussions, but Wang Baole had the elders of the Dharmic Armament Pavilion putting in a good word for him. Furthermore, he had made great contributions to Ethereal Dao College. The former was a favor that he could not ignore, and the latter was the reason Wang Baole had special treatment in the first place.

Quickly, after the elder of the Combat Pavilion expressed his displeasure, Wang Baole was given a lenient punishment. He was only given a warning, which came from the direction of Ethereal Dao College and could be heard from the sky platform.

“Wang Baole, disciple of the Dharmic Armament faculty, focus on assisting! You must stop intentionally promoting your Dharmic Artifacts to the public!”

This warning spread far and wide, throughout the entire combat area. Many disciples who were engaged in combat heard it and were surprised. Some of them had noticed the fireworks previously and deduced what had happened.

The whole audience on Upper Academy Island heard it. Those who had considered following in Wang Baole’s footsteps immediately abandoned the idea.

Wang Baole retracted his head. He had initially been full of excitement, but upon hearing the warning and knowing that he could not continue, he was depressed and wistful.

“What a pity… I lost such a good advertising opportunity…” Wang Baole lamented, anger bubbling within him. He had neither cheated nor interfered with their combat. What right did they have to ban him from advertising his Dharmic Artifacts?

Standing at the side, Lu Zihao became agitated. Truth be told, he had thought that this tournament would allow him to shine, but Wang Baole had stolen his limelight. Once was enough, but a second time? The thought made him uncomfortable.

Seeing that the Dao College had banned Wang Baole from advertising, Lu Zihao felt that the Dao College had handled it brilliantly this time. Although anger festered within him, seeing the depressed look on Wang Baole’s face, he looked away with a snort.

“This is unfair! Wang Baole, if I were you, I wouldn’t take this lying down! The Dao College is obviously targeting you. If you want my advice, you should fight it out with the Dao College. They won’t be able to do anything to you. After all, you weren’t wrong on this matter, and you’ve contributed so much to the Academy!” Lu Zihao whispered in Wang Baole’s ear, egging him on. He really did want to see Wang Baole fight it out with the Dao College.

Only, Lu Zihao was too young and inexperienced at this. When Wang Baole heard this, he observed Lu Zihao through the corner of his eye.

“You can’t take this lying down? Why don’t you do it then! Come, my son, come! Daddy will help you set off the fireworks while you fight it out with the College! As long as you can take down the elders, I don’t care if you call me Daddy or not!” Wang Baole exclaimed, lifting his hands and producing a small wooden bucket.

“What a scaredy-cat, it’s so embarrassing to be seen with you!” Lu Zihao cried out angrily. He was shocked to see the small wooden bucket in Wang Baole’s hand. Snorting, he quickly backed away, making his way toward the third meeting point.

“Look, if you’re so brave, why don’t you do it! Quit playing mind games with me!” Wang Baole retorted, rolling his eyes. Still depressed, he walked forward. When Lu Zihao heard this, he spun around in anger and glared at him.

“Wang Baole, listen here. The first two times, I let you off, but if there’s a third time… if you dare steal my limelight again, I’ll fight it out with you! I’m not kidding!” Lu Zihao warned in a low growl, his eyes bloodshot.

“This time, I don’t care what you give me! Don’t even try to bribe me. I, Lu Zihao, am a man of principle. This is my tournament!” Lu Zihao declared. He glared at Wang Baole, then turned around and sprinted toward the third meeting point.

“What’s there to be worried about? The Dao College doesn’t let me advertise anymore. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t attack!” Wang Baole said, waving his hand. Deep in his heart, he was still regretful that he could not continue advertising and was too lazy to launch any attacks.

By now, the two of them were not far from the meeting point. They could vaguely make out two figures standing at the end of the small road—the meeting point—waiting for them.

One of them was short, and the other was tall. Both of them had calm expressions, but their eyes were full of vigor. As they stood there watching Wang Baole and Lu Zihao, their gaze seemed to harden. The duo did not attack, and they could not tell who the combat cultivator was or the background of his assistant.

The moment he saw the duo, Lu Zihao’s eyes instantly brightened. Although Wang Baole had already promised that he would not attack, Lu Zihao was still worried that he would steal his show once again. Hence, he picked up his speed. Roaring, he went straight for the two figures.

Seeing that Lu Zihao was so eager, Wang Baole simply stopped in his tracks, but in a flash, his expression changed. He observed that there was something amiss about the two figures standing at the meeting point.

“Wait!”

He should have kept quiet. The moment that word left his mouth, Lu Zihao increased his speed, as though someone had stepped on his tail. He went all out with a loud roar.

But… he was sprinting too fast. At the same time Wang Baole let that word out, the short figure’s eyes flashed. At breakneck speed, he retrieved a compass and aimed it at the floor, pressing the button fiercely. Suddenly, a windstorm arose from all around, turning into a prison cage, exploding directly in front of Lu Zihao.

“No!” Lu Zihao cried, his mind whizzing. His eyes were full of sorrow, and his roar reverberated across the area, but he simply could not hide from it. Instantly, he was captured within the windstorm. From afar, it seemed like he was trapped in a gigantic windstorm ball, effectively muting him and cutting him off. Even his growl had ceased.

“An array cultivator?” Wang Baole questioned, showing a weird expression. Deep in his heart, he felt sympathy for Lu Zihao. He knew that he was just anxious to the point that he lost all sense of propriety, allowing him to fall for the array formation ambush.

“This unlucky child, why were you so anxious? I already told you, I won’t attack. Look at what has happened…” Wang Baole sighed. He blinked and observed that the duo was coming for him with wry smiles. Evidently, their plan was to take the assistant down first before working together to defeat the competitor.

Watching the duo come straight for him, Wang Baole’s eyes lit up. He pondered that this would be a good opportunity for him. Although he was banned from advertising, nobody said that he could not set off fireworks. In fact, that wooden bucket of fireworks was also a Dharmic Artifact in itself…

While the duo was charging straight for him, Wang Baole lifted his right hand. Instantly, a wooden bucket appeared and flew skyward. It exploded with a loud boom, setting off resplendent lights that spread across the sky!

Once the fireworks exploded, all in Upper Academy Island could not help but turn their heads toward the scene.

The duo was shocked by the change in colors of the fireworks. At the same time—before the duo could reach him—Wang Baole’s eyes brightened. In his excitement, he waved his right hand. Immediately, three Flying Frost Swords flew out from his storage bracelet.

“My two Daoists, listen up! That was just a shocking explosion of my first-grade Dharmic Artifact. What I now have is my perfect second-grade Dharmic Artifact! These swords are indestructible. To top it off, they have Rainbow Spirit Stones at their cores—equipped with formidable might!” Wang Baole roared. The moment those three swords appeared, the coldness spread, and they went straight for the duo.

They were so quick that they seemed to have broken space. This changed the duo’s expressions. Immediately, they tried to block them, but just as this was happening, Wang Baole waved his hands and out came three big seals.

“My two Fellow Daoists, listen up! This is my perfect second-grade Dharmic Artifact, the Mountain Seal. This seal welcomes the wind and has strength inscriptions inscribed internally. It’s akin to having a mountain crush the opponent!”

“My two Fellow Daoists, look out for my Dharmic Artifact, the Deity Immobilization Rope! It can tighten or loosen, and it even has potent burning inscriptions!”

“Both of you… this is the Baton of Abolition! Even rocks shatter in its presence. Never ever touch it, for it will explode!”

“This is the Sky Destruction Whip! Once it explodes, blood will fill the skies!”

“This is the Blinding Soul Mirror… You will lose your soul once you look at it!”

As Wang Baole continued to speak, Dharmic Artifacts started popping out from his storage bracelet one by one until the entire area seemed to be covered. They whistled toward the duo like an overwhelming tidal wave.

The place was so densely packed with colorful artifacts that the whole land seemed to be taken over by Dharmic Artifacts. All the artifacts within a glance were different, and to add to it, Wang Baole explained the how every Dharmic Artifact worked. The duo was struck dumb in amazement at its sheer absurdity.

“What is he trying to do? What kind of habit is this, giving such detailed explanations!”

“Damn it, why does he have so many Dharmic Artifacts!”

The duo was angry and sorrowful. They wanted to retaliate, but they simply could not because Wang Baole had thrown out too many Dharmic Artifacts. Furthermore, his explanations added on to the stress that they felt. To top it off, the Dharmic Artifacts were extremely fast.

Everyone in Upper Academy Island and the sky had weird expressions as they watched the two cultivators, instantly… drown in the sea of Dharmic Artifacts.