A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole made the right bet!

The three extraterrestrial cultivators indeed didn’t wish to expose their presence. Even though they were powerful and had the black jellyfish, even though they had an edge over Mars when it came to speed and concealment, this Solar System had too many entities that they were threatened by and cautious of. Unless it was their last resort, they would always lean on the side of prudence.

The trio saw the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament showing signs of self-destruction, and ugly expressions appeared on their faces.

“He has some tricks up his sleeves. The two of you, go after him and kill him. I’ll hold this thing down!” The centipede-faced cultivator snorted. He stepped forward. In the next moment, he was standing next to the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament. He raised his right hand and swung it forward in a grab. Instantly, a giant illusory palm appeared before him. It grabbed hold of the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament and was about to shatter it in its grip…

It was then that the hastily retreating Wang Baole waved his hand. More than a hundred Dharmic Artifacts appeared, all of which he flung out mindlessly. They filled the entire cave. Most of the Dharmic Artifacts were fifth-grade Dharmic Artifacts, with some fourth-grade and sixth-grade artifacts. They were artifacts Wang Baole had accumulated during his time as a City Lord.

He ignored his heartache and threw them all out. He growled.

“Explode!”

In a single instant, the hundred-odd Dharmic Artifacts shuddered and exuded signs of self-destruction. Even though any one of the self-destructions wouldn’t be able to rival that of a seventh-grade Dharmic Armament, the combined explosion of all of them would still be a force to be reckoned with. It would send a shockwave that would trigger an investigation.

The trio was once again alarmed. They hadn’t expected Wang Baole to have so many Dharmic Artifacts on him. Guesses about his true identity grew in number, not that they had the time to examine each one. The centipede-faced cultivator was holding the Dharmic Armament back. Out of the remaining two cultivators, one had to step forward. He pressed both hands together in a series of hand seals and unleashed his full power to control the hundred or so Dharmic Artifacts and stop them from exploding.

With two of the trio tied down, there remained only one who continued his pursuit of Wang Baole!

He had a square face and a square jaw, but no trace of the justice or sternness that usually associated with those facial features. In fact, he had a fierce, gruesome look. There was a red tattoo on his forehead, and his eyes glinted with a cold light. With a single step, he neared Wang Baole. He raised his right hand and made a sudden grab for Wang Baole.

They were still intent on capturing him alive. Wang Baole’s series of actions showed how extraordinary he was. The more extraordinary he was, the more valuable he was to the trio.

It was because they wanted him alive that Wang Baole was able to seize his opportunity. Just as the square-faced cultivator reached for him, a vicious look flashed in Wang Baole’s eyes. He was never one who feared death. It had been so when he had been on the moon and when he had taken the exam for mayorship. Etched deep in his bones was a viciousness and brutality that he unleashed unto his enemies and, to a greater extent, onto himself!

He chose to self-destruct his seventh-grade Dharmic Armament without hesitation and flung out more than a hundred Dharmic Artifacts without even blinking. He had managed to do all that… it was merely a small step from self-destructing a ruined eighth-grade Dharmic Armament. It was no tough decision to be made.

A sudden violence emerged in Wang Baole’s eyes. The eighth-grade Dharmic Armament armor he had on instantly gave off signs of self-destructing. It was a wild and ferocious aura. Alarm immediately flashed across the face of the square-faced cultivator who had been chasing after him. Wang Baole hollered. The Dharmic Armament armor on him split apart, forming a dozen shattered pieces which shot towards the square-faced cultivator like multiple laser beams.

As they shot forward, they continued to give off signs of self-destructing at any moment!

“Are you going to deal with that, or dodge the explosion, or continue chasing me?” Wang Baole yelled in a low voice as he retreated hastily. He was swiftly approaching the end of the catacombs.

Curse him! Murder flashed across the square-faced cultivator’s eyes. He had never met such a troublesome Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. This was no time for fuming though. Their top priority was in remaining undetected. He could only stop his pursuit and do his best in controlling the Dharmic Armament’s self-destruction!

Fortunately, the shattered pieces of the Dharmic Armament hadn’t scattered but had instead raced towards one direction. This meant that he would have to expend a lot more cultivation in keeping the explosion under control, but he wouldn’t have to risk any stray pieces exploding!

Though, the sight of a dozen or so pieces headed in a single direction did make the square-faced cultivator wary. Doubt flickered in his eyes.

Wang Baole could have allowed these shattered pieces to scatter and self-destruct before he could deal with them, alerting the outside world, but he hadn’t done so. He was betting on the trio’s unwillingness to be discovered, and at the same time, he didn’t wish for the outside world to know what was going on.

This was because as soon as the outside world found out what was happening in the catacombs, he believed that there was a possibility of them wiping out the entire new city before the Governor could arrive with help!

He couldn’t bear the consequences if that happened. He was unwilling to bet on that. That was why his plan was to lure the trio to the place where the Dark Artifact rested. When that time came, he would try to contact the outside world again and seek the Governor’s aid.

This might expose the fact that the Dark Artifact belonged to Little Missy, but at such a moment of life-and-death, Wang Baole simply couldn’t be bothered any longer with such details. Him controlling the shattered armor pieces to go in one direction still exposed his inner thoughts though. If he had been faced with someone with slower reflexes, his thoughts might not have been revealed, but these three extraterrestrial cultivators were space travelers. To be able to travel through space showed that they weren’t fools. They had seen much and had experienced much.

As a result, as soon as Wang Baole approached the end of the catacombs, the square-faced cultivator who had been trying to control the shattered armor pieces eyed Wang Baole’s startling speed. His eyes flashed, and he suddenly shouted.

“Leader, I can’t hold them back any longer. They’ll find out we’re here, it’s unavoidable. There’s no point going after this guy. We have to leave immediately. But before we leave, we should wipe out the city above and refine their flesh and blood into our energy source!”

The centipede-faced cultivator was trying to control the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament, but an imperceptible flicker flashed in his eyes. He didn’t hesitate and nodded immediately.

“Damn it. We’ve wasted too much time… Fine, let’s go!”

As the trio spoke, they withdrew their cultivation, which they had been expending to keep the self-destructing artifacts under control. They appeared to have given up on pursuing Wang Baole and were about to leave and charge out of the catacombs!

Wang Baole shuddered. Fear and panic flooded his heart, but he narrowed his eyes and didn’t stop. Instead, he took a deep breath and appeared to unleash the full extent of his potential as his speed increased. He smirked and laughed aloud.

“Be my guest! You’re all fools and sons of me, Zhuo Yixian, if you don’t do that. I’ve stopped resorting to such tricks since, I, Zhuo Yixian, was three years old. What a joke. Why do I care if they live or die?” He stuck his right hand behind him and showed them the finger and the full extent of his scorn.

He seemed to feel that it wasn’t enough. Wang Baole gritted his teeth and pulled out the last dozen or so Dharmic Artifacts from his storage bracelet, throwing them all out as well. He activated their self-destruction mechanism.

“Come on, you can call yourselves my grandsons, the grandsons of Zhuo Yixian, if you try and stop them from self-destructing!”

The trio heard what he said and saw what he did. There was an ugly look on their faces. They might not understand exactly what that gesture meant, but they could guess that it didn’t mean anything good. They also felt there seemed to be some gaps in logic in their earlier thought process. If they were in Wang Baole’s position, given the choice of dying or sacrificing an entire city in order to save themselves, they would choose the latter without batting an eye.

They gritted their teeth and once again stepped forward to hold back the self-destructing artifacts. The square-faced cultivator, especially, was fuming with embarrassment. He hurriedly tried to hold back the dozen or so Dharmic Artifacts that Wang Baole had thrown out.

However, the space they were in wasn’t that big. Wang Baole had thrown out too many Dharmic Artifacts, and a few simply exploded in a loud boom.

The explosion sent the trio reeling, and Wang Baole himself was scared out of his wits as well.

Shit… I’ve overdone it!

Seeing how the explosion was going to trigger a chain reaction, the square-faced cultivator roared. He smacked his forehead, causing the red line on his forehead to split apart. A red glow erupted instantly, blanketing the self-destructing Dharmic Artifacts and controlling their explosions. It was like a scorching fire that melted the artifacts instantly.

This accident cleared all doubts and suspicions from the trio’s minds. They were certain that Wang Baole didn’t care about the fate of the city above them. It seemed a reasonable conclusion.

As they focused on holding back the self-destructing artifacts, Wang Baole let loose a breath of relief secretly. He continued to widen the distance between them as he quickly approached the deep end of the catacombs, where the wall stood.

He stared at what seemed like towering ice, what had blocked the entire Federation from advancing and what had made them resort to building an entire city and an array formation in order to wear it down. Panic and anxiety appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes. He howled in his mind.

“Little Missy, quick, open the door! It’s life or death here!”

Little Missy was silent. She seemed to have gritted her teeth, and her voice was tinged with embarrassment as she spoke softly.

“Baole, listen to me. Actually…”