A World Worth Protecting

With a cold laugh, Zhao Hailin immediately recorded a video and published it on the Spirit Intranet.

Till now, the number of people on the Spirit Intranet who had their attention on the matter grew. They all anticipated that Zhao Hailin’s video that would reveal the mechanism of the flying sword. The instant that Zhao Hailin’s video appeared, its viewership shot up. People told others they knew about the video, and very quickly, the number of people viewing Zhao Hailin’s video skyrocketed.

In the video, Zhao Hailin did not show any signs of the sorry state he was in that resulted from researching the flying sword. He was energetic and carried the same supercilious look that he had previously as he spoke calmly.

“The reason this video took a few days was because I was refining a fourth-grade Numinous Treasure. I did not have any time or attention to spare this. It was only yesterday that I managed to successfully refine the grade-four Numinous Treasure, which finally gave me time to look at this sword.

“In my opinion, this sword… is still trash!

“It’s even worse than the previous one and is the trash among the trash!

“I would like to inform the maker that even though I do not care whether you concede to this or not, but as an Armament Soldier of the Dharmic Armament Pavilion, I have the responsibility to make you realize that it is not as simple as you think to be part of the Dharmic Armament Pavilion!

“As for this sword of yours… due to issues in technique, the temperature was not properly controlled and was too high. This resulted in the melting of the 3,785th inscription. This then caused an error in the inscription arrangement, such that when it was activated, it would fail in locking in its target. Furthermore, due to your messy set of inscriptions, the sword has such immense killing power that was being suppressed that it had nowhere to release it, causing it to be indiscriminate of friend and foe!

“Lastly, I want to warn you to not use these trashy Dharmic Artifacts to swindle others again. If not, I will find out who you are and bring up the matter for investigation!”

In the video, Zhao Hailin sounded strict and just. As his voice reverberated, it seemed as if he was a representation of authority, such that everyone who saw him were instantly vigilant.

That was even more so as whatever he said was logically proven. In the video, as he spoke, he took apart the flying sword and pointed at the inscription that was incorrect. His actions made everyone believe him wholeheartedly.

“So, that’s how it is! It’s no doubt that he is an Armament Soldier. It only took him a day to do such a thorough examination of the Dharmic Artifact!”

“Impressive! That’s the real capability of an Armament Soldier!”

“I said so previously! All these Crossed Dharmic Artifacts are trash. Now, this is indeed the case from what we have seen. All trash!”

Immediately, discussions erupted on the Spirit Intranet. Voices against the Crossed Dharmic Artifacts grew louder. Seeing that a momentum has been created, Zhao Hailin was delighted.

To him, even though the person who refined the Crossed Dharma Artifact was somewhat talented, that was the end of the matter. He thought that person would not retaliate any further.

That was especially so after he had observed the situation for two days and found that even as voices against the Dharmic Artifacts were growing louder, the person who had refined the Crossed Dharmic Artifact had remained silent. Zhao Hailin snorted to himself, thinking that his prediction that the refiner had been driven to his wit’s end was correct.

“He seems smart, but he is ignorant!” After making one last comment on the Spirit Intranet, Zhao Hailin shifted his attention away from the matter.

As another day went by, seeing that the maker of the Crossed Dharmic Artifact still had not made any comments, the insults and discussions about it grew.

It was also at this time that Wang Baole finally managed to complete the refinement of a thousand Armament Sand grains. In his delight, he thought about his Crossed Dharmic Artifacts and opened up the Spirit Intranet. Immediately, he saw the discussions and voices against his Dharmic Artifact, and his rage grew.

“Who would be so free as to look at the Spirit Intranet day and night?” Wang Baole was angry. When he listed the flying sword, he took a look at it once in a while. However, since the examination had taken so long, Wang Baole had subsequently forgotten about it and was busy refining Armament Sand instead.

Now, after reading all the insults, he found Zhao Hailin’s video. He was filled with indignation after watching the video. With his eyes wide and breathing rapid, a glow was apparent in his eyes. After a few moments, he slapped his thigh hard.

“So, this is the reason! The Armament Sand affects the temperature!” Wang Baole jumped up immediately in surprise. Agitated, he took out a bottle of Ice Spirit Water and gulped everything down before throwing the bottle aside. He walked circles around his cave abode, trying to play out the logic in his mind.

This way, if that segment of inscriptions can be adjusted, such that other areas will be altered as well, then this sword will be completely improved. Not only will it distinguish between friend and foe, its power will also be significantly stronger!

The key to transforming a Dharmic Artifact to a Numinous Treasure lies in the temperature and the inscriptions… I… I seem to understand now!

Wang Baole was agitated. Before listing the indiscriminate flying sword, he had memorized the inscriptions. However, due to a lack of insight and his need to pay attention on refining the Armament Sand, he had been unable to figure out where the problem lay. Therefore, he did not make any alterations to it. Now, he suddenly stopped after pacing around and retrieved a flying sword before dashing straight to the smelting furnace room.

In the smelting furnace room, Wang Baole experimented over and over again in order to confirm the hypothesis. After ascertaining that the solution given by the Armament Soldier was correct, he became even more agitated. He recalled the relationship between temperature and inscriptions, and he felt that the video was like a bolt of lightning that instantly turned the impossible into the possible.

So, this is how it is… Wang Baole held his breath and immediately tried it out. After several days, when he stepped out of the smelting furnace room, Wang Baole was extremely exhilarated, his eyes revealing a look of excitement. Clutching a Spirit Kernel in his hands, he laughed heartily.

That Spirit Kernel was a new product that Wang Baole had refined after achieving a breakthrough in his understanding of inscriptions, through combining his own reasoning with his understanding from Zhao Hailin’s video. Even though Armament Sand was not incorporated within it, its power was already exceedingly similar to that of a Numinous Treasure!

There’s actually such a use for inscriptions. This means that, in reality, many of the Dharmic Artifacts that I made before did not need to be completely covered with inscriptions. During the refinement process, there will be slight changes to the inscriptions due to the temperature. This is also why I failed at refining Numinous Treasures previously! If it is possible to account for the changes in temperature during the refinement, then the inscriptions can be made complete immediately, and perfection can be achieved!

I know now! This is the difference between a Dharmic Artifact and a Numinous Treasure! It is precisely what they told me before… the relationship and changes between temperature and inscriptions!

Looking at the Spirit Kernel in his hands, Wang Baole laughed even more heartily. Not only did the Armament Soldier manage to solve something that he had been troubled over, which allowed him to improve on his Dharmic Artifacts, it was even more valuable that he had completely understood the fundamental difference between a Dharmic Artifact and a Numinous Treasure through the Armament Soldier’s examination video!

To Wang Baole, all this was like fate. From the confusion and ignorance that he had previously, he had managed to gain a better understanding. It was like a road to the exit had appeared in front of him just as he was trapped in a maze!

Not only is this Senior Brother Zhao capable, he is also good-natured!

Besides feeling exhilarated, Wang Baole also conceded. His feelings of rage were immediately eliminated. He genuinely thought that Zhao Hailin was very capable and that he should not be angry at him. After all, Zhao Hailin had helped him solve a problem.

What Zhao Hailin had done was akin to helping him to become an Armament Soldier quickly!

Thinking of that, Wang Baole was excited. Now, he thought about what other problems he was unable to solve. After thinking about it for a moment, Wang Baole’s eyes lit up. He then carefully retrieved two self-exploding beads from his storage bracelet.

These two self-exploding beads were placed in a cushioned box to significantly reduce the chance of accidents happening.

He had studied the beads previously but was unable to find out where the problem lay. To him, it was many times more difficult figuring them out than figuring out the problem with the flying sword. Now that he had the opportunity, Wang Baole wasted no time completing the necessary administrative work and listing them on the Spirit Intranet.

“Senior Brother Zhao is indeed very capable! Since this is the case, then I should be more serious as well. These two beads are self-exploding beads, and they explode by themselves upon the slightest touch!

“Non-professionals are not allowed to buy them, as I cannot bear responsibility for anything that happens. Therefore, I have already set a restriction that it can only be bought by you, Senior Brother. I do not believe that you have the capability to thoroughly understand it!”

Wang Baole quickly published his post before emotionally taking out a bag of snacks to eat.

Senior Brother Zhao is such a nice person. He is so serious in helping me, and I shouldn’t make him feel that it’s not challenging enough. Therefore, I’m saying all that in order to agitate him… Wang Baole laughed to himself. He felt that he should definitely change his habit of always being so considerate of others.

After finishing the snacks, he noticed that when his post was published, a commotion seemed to be created on the Spirit Intranet. It garnered a lot of attention. Wang Baole suppressed his anticipation as he delightfully took out his scabbard and began the improvement process for it.

In the improvement process, he also made adjustments to the inscriptions that he had recorded from the Crossed Dharmic Artifacts and added them to the scabbard, such that it would become more powerful than before.

At the same time, as commotion in the outside world erupted, the unappeased attitude carried by the maker of the Crossed Dharmic Artifact, as well as the self-exploding beads that he had listed as a challenge, became the spotlight of people’s attention.

Very quickly, Zhao Hailin also received the news. After checking the Spirit Intranet, a glow flashed across his eyes.

Interesting… is this a challenge?

People who had made it to Upper Academy Island were not dumb. Almost instinctively, Zhao Hailin sensed the meaning behind Wang Baole’s actions.

He realized that he had acted rashly previously, such that he was now in a situation debating Dharmic Artifacts with someone who was no match for him in terms of status.

However, I have to see whether you’re qualified or not!

Zhao Hailin laughed coldly and retrieved a Numinous Treasure to list on the Spirit Intranet. He then posted a message.

“To the refiner of the Crossed Dharma Artifact, I will accept your request. However, I want you to try examining this Numinous Treasure as well. It has a few problems that I have not had time to correct. I’ll loan it to you for a month to figure out the issue. If you fail, do not bother me in the future!”