A World Worth Protecting

After crossing out the Dharmic Artifacts one by one, Wang Baole felt more at peace. He decided that, in future, he would put a cross on all the other Dharmic Artifacts that he was unsatisfied with.

This way, not only would it be more convenient to classify them, his own reputation would also not be at stake if the undesirable Dharmic Artifacts happen to be leaked out.

Hmm… I don’t have much use for all this trash. Why don’t I sell it?

Wang Baole rubbed his chin. He had grown proficient at selling Dharmic Artifacts through his previous experience. Thus, as he looked at those Dharmic Artifacts, he felt that it was not a bad idea to sell off the trashy Dharmic Artifacts as a way to recoup some losses.

However, I can’t sell them in my name. If I do, the branding that I’ve worked so hard to create will be ruined… Wang Baole thought about it and decided to stay anonymous as he listed them in the management department in charge of the Spirit Intranet.

This way, other than the management department of the Spirit Intranet, nobody would know the origins of these Dharmic Artifacts. Furthermore, the management department had always been strict in terms of confidentiality.

I’ll sell whatever I can. If no one wants to buy anything in the end, so be it.

With that thought, Wang Baole immediately sprang into action. He only listed a portion of them, and not everything at the same time.

In order to attract attention, Wang Baole also named the few Dharmic Artifacts that he had listed with what he thought were impressive names. As for the prices, they were not exorbitant.

After finishing all that, Wang Baole did not pay further attention to the matter. Gradually, his life was restored to the state that it had been a month ago. Other than studying and researching, his days were spent refining Dharmic Artifacts and Armament Sand.

Two weeks soon flew by. Wang Baole had already accumulated hundreds of Armament Sand grains. As he continued working toward his goal of accumulating a thousand of them, he received a payment of five hundred Spirit Stones.

This payment was entered directly into his account at the Dao College. After receiving the notification, Wang Baole was slightly confused. After checking it up, he realized that someone had bought one of the trashy Dharmic Artifacts that he had listed.

The Dharmic Artifact sold was the extremely sturdy flying sword that Wang Baole had made previously by successfully integrating Armament Sand with it.

It seems like there are many hidden talents on Upper Academy Island who have an eye for treasures… Wang Baole was extremely delighted. He recalled that he had given the flying sword an impressive-sounding name.

He basked in delight as he continued refining more Armament Sand while anticipating that more of his trashy Dharmic Artifacts would be sold.

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.

That day, in the Public Square of the Combat Pavilion stood an ugly youth who was dressed in a simple gray Daoist robe. He was Shi Nan, a new disciple of the Combat Pavilion. He stared with his eyes red at a man and a woman, clenching his fists.

The woman looked relatively attractive, with a provocative figure that could not be completely hidden by the Dao College’s robe. The man beside her was thin and looked ordinary, but he obviously had an advantage in terms of height. Now, he lowered his head slightly, speaking as he looked condescendingly at the youth.

“Shi Nan, are you sure you want to battle me?”

Shi Nan’s breathing quickened, and his eyes were filled with rage and bitterness. Both he and the woman beside the man were disciples who had just gained admission to Upper Academy Island. They were lovers, but he had never expected that the woman would abandon him and get together with Li Fei, the senior disciple, once she was on Upper Academy Island.

He was indignant and was insulted when he came to confront the man. Anger overrode his logic, which had made him propose a battle.

“Fine, if you want to battle, I’ll fulfill your wish!” Just as Shi Nan stared angrily at him, Li Fei grew annoyed. He raised his right hand and slammed forcefully. Instantly, a flying sword appeared, charging toward Shi Nan.

It was moving at a high speed. Even though it did not cause a sonic boom, it made a bright sword mark in midair. In the blink of an eye, it had arrived before Shi Nan. Shi Nan was taken aback, as the gust of wind following the flying sword’s movement fell on his face and felt like a cold bucket of water. He was immediately awakened from his agitated state.

As a newbie who had just gained admission to Upper Academy Island, there was a substantial difference between him and Li Fei. Now, he scrambled and retreated as he was at a loss as to what to do. He quickly took out several Dharmic Artifacts from his storage bag, but most of them were first-grade Dharmic Artifacts. Regrettably, only the flying sword was a second-grade Dharmic Artifact.

He tossed the flying sword out without thinking further as he wanted to put up some resistance. However, Li Fei’s flying sword, as a perfect second-grade Dharmic Artifact, was extremely sharp and reliable. As it neared, it immediately turned many of Shi Nan’s Dharmic Artifacts to dust. It was a hair’s length from Shi Nan’s glabella when an ordinary looking flying sword blocked it.

The moment contact was made, a deafening boom was created, causing passers-by to stop instantly in their tracks in shock. Shi Nan, who had turned pale, immediately retreated by taking several steps back.

Most of the Dharmic Artifacts in front of him had already been damaged. Only the second-grade flying sword floated before him, acting like a shield and giving off a blinding glow.

On the other hand, Li Fei’s flying sword seemed to behave as if it has hit an immovable rock, as it directly bounced off as the loud boom continued reverberating. There were also cracking sounds produced as the sword tip was blunted. Even the sword body was severely broken, with a frightening crack appearing on it.

Seeing what had happened, Li Fei gasped in shock as his mind buzzed noisily. He was taken aback, his surprise swiftly apparent on his face as he looked at the half-damaged flying sword that scrambled back to him and then at the sword floating in front of Shi Nan. He felt his heart ache with pain.

“I was wondering about why you would dare to battle me… Seems like you’re relying on this Dharmic Artifact, huh?” Li Fei narrowed his eyes and revealed a chilly look. He flailed his hands again as he did not believe what had just happened. Immediately, seven flying swords flew out from his storage bag.

Every single one of them was a perfect second-grade Dharmic Artifact, amazing both in terms of their speed and sharpness. He had accumulated them over the course of two years, and now, as he activated his hand seals, the flying swords charged forward at an astounding speed.

“Then… I’ll just destroy your Dharmic Artifact. Let’s see if you can still act so arrogant after that!” As Li Fei spoke, the flying sword neared Shi Nan, who was still frozen with shock, at high speed.

Loud booms instantly erupted. All the onlookers stared incredulously with their mouths agape. Some of them were even dumbfounded as their eyes widened in disbelief.

“Gosh! My eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, are they? That flying sword is too strong to be true!”

“What… what Dharmic Artifact is that? A Dharma shield in the shape of a sword?”

“There seems to be a cross at the top of it! What does the cross mean?”

Looking at everything from their perspective, Li Fei’s flying swords formed something like a sword rain, colliding with Shi Nan’s flying sword directly. However, in the blink of an eye, all those flying swords were completely repelled, breaking apart almost completely due to the high speed and force. Some of them even instantly broke into pieces. Even the most minor damage involved the sword tip breaking off the sword.

Whatever happened was unusual and bizarre. Very soon, as the loud boom quieted down, large amounts of flying sword debris flew around Shi Nan. He was still in a daze, and Li Fei was frozen with shock. His body was trembling as he stared at the flying sword in front of Shi Nan, as if he had just seen a ghost.

“Is it a Numinous Treasure? How shameless of you, Shi Nan! It’s just a battle fellow disciples, and you used a Numinous Treasure!” Li Fei trembled and was feeling so appalled that he no longer felt his physical pain. With his eyes wide open, he retreated several steps. Even though the sword did not look like a Numinous Treasure at all, he also could not figure out which Dharmic Artifact could be so robust to such a sickening degree.

The onlookers were also gasping in shock. Even Shi Nan’s ex-girlfriend was thrown into a daze.

Shi Nan, on the other hand, had become tongue-tied with shock before everyone else. He was breathing rapidly now, staring at the flying sword in front of him. He clearly remembered that he had bought the sword a week before simply because he thought that it was cheap. After he bought it, however, he had soon realized that the sword was annoyingly slow and was not sharp at all.

Despite its hardiness, he felt that a flying sword was useless if it was not equipped with high speed and sharpness. If not for a no-refund policy, he would have long returned it.

However, right now, those thoughts were thrown out of his head. He snapped back to reality and clutched the flying sword before him, looking agitated.

“This is not a Numinous Treasure but a second-grade Dharmic Artifact that I had bought a week ago. It is named… Free If It Breaks!” Shi Nan shouted loudly in excitement.

The moment that he heard those words, Li Fei’s eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets. To him, that Dharmic Artifact was of supreme-grade, but its name was even more unbelievable… However, he agreed that its name matched its characteristics very well.

The onlookers all looked puzzled after hearing the flying sword’s name. However, very quickly, someone shrieked loudly, apparently having thought of something.

“That name… I remember now! I saw someone buy it on the Transaction Zone, and it only cost five hundred Spirit Stones!”

“I saw it before as well! I think there are seven or eight of them on sale, all marked with a cross…”

“They only cost five hundred Spirit Stones? Then I want to buy one, too!”

As everyone listened to the conversation, they suddenly all became agitated. Some of them immediately logged onto the Spirit Intranet with the intention to purchase the items. Even Li Fei joined in and opened up the Spirit Intranet without hesitation.

Seeing how things had turned out, Shi Nan also grew anxious. He quickly tried to make more purchases as well.

Instantly, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the battle. They all rushed to search for the items on the Spirit Intranet, and before long, the Dharmic Artifacts that Wang Baole had listed on it were completely sold out.

Some were delighted, while some ended up in disappointment. Wang Baole, who was refining Armament Sand inside the Dharmic Armament Pavilion, was confused as he read the messages appearing continuously on his voice transmission jade slip.

“Five hundred Spirit Stones have been transferred to your account… Your balance now is…”

“Seven hundred Spirit Stones have been transferred to your account…”

“One thousand Spirit Stones have been transferred to your account…”

…

Wang Baole immediately put away his Armament Sand to check the situation out.

What on Earth is going on?