A World Worth Protecting

The Solar System Array Formation was activated once the battleship carrying Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran entered the Venusian outer atmosphere. A series of checks confirmed that neither of them hid Never-Ending Clan parasites. Li Xingwen conducted his own special inspection as well, verifying that they were indeed not under an external force’s control. Their battleship was finally allowed entrance and landed at the Venusian aerial port.

The entire aerial port was placed under martial law.

The interior of the port was placed under lockdown, and the defenses around the port were ironclad. Masses of cultivators stood guard, alert and curious. They were commandeered by Duan Muque himself. Countless eyes stared as the battleship slowly landed.

The doors of the battleship swung open. All eyes turned towards the opened doors, and a low voice thundered in the air.

“Salute!”

Every cultivator and staff member on the ground, including the various leaders of the respective political entities, raised their right hand and performed the Federation military salute. Duan Muque was one of them.

The salute was directed at Wang Baole!

They had all heard the reports from Zhao Yameng and Sect Lord Xu. Wang Baole himself had personally escorted Feng Qiuran back to the Federation. The contributions he had made to the Federation were beyond parallel!

The reports had revealed how Wang Baole had risked his life to send Zhao Yameng and the others to safety. That had been how the Federation was alerted to the incoming danger. Wang Baole’s subsequent return with Feng Qiuran had been a boost of confidence to the currently disadvantaged Federation.

When the Federation’s Hundred Seedling Plan had first been initiated, Duan Muque had advertised Wang Baole’s name as well. Wang Baole’s reputation and his contributions to the Federation had been made known to the entire Federation. Even Duan Muque had no idea what position he was to award Wang Baole now…

Regardless, this was a salute that Wang Baole clearly deserved!

However… just as everyone stood at attention and extended their salute, ready to receive the new arrivals, an excited bray pierced the air and echoed in the port. The sight that greeted everyone when the battleship doors opened made their eyes widen. The expression on their faces was that of surprise, and Duan Muque was clearly startled.

The first people to step out of the battleship were Li Xingwen and the giant tree. Their appearances were ordinary and hardly noteworthy. However, there was a slightly embarrassed look on both their faces. Wang Baole followed behind. He also seemed normal. He was no longer exhausted, was dressed in proper attire, and was no longer chubby looking but had become slim. Even his aura had changed. It was drastically different from when he had left the Federation.

It was all due to the advancement of his cultivation, his attainment of the Stellar Nascent Soul, and his years of hardship. He had shed all residue of immaturity. The changed and matured him should have been an opportunity to leave a good impression on everyone. His new self should have inspired respect and admiration. It would have… if not for the donkey sitting on his shoulders!

It was a small black donkey. Its hind legs were hanging over both sides of Wang Baole’s neck, while its front legs were pressed onto Wang Baole’s head. It was skin and bones. However, the braying it let out was filled with life and clear as day…

Humans riding donkeys was a common sight, but a donkey riding a human… was certainly out of the ordinary. The bizarreness of the situation was compounded by the bag of snacks in Wang Baole’s hand and how he kept raising his arm up to feed the donkey…

The expression on everyone’s faces turned odd at the sight.

Wang Baole wasn’t immune to embarrassment, but there was nothing he could do. The donkey hadn’t been willing to return inside the storage space after being let out. It had cried tragically, shivered like a leaf, and even stuck its tongue out to make a show of its willingness to just kill itself right there and then. The sight had sent guilt spiking through Wang Baole. A moment’s weakness had led to their current situation.

The snacks had been something Wang Baole had started feeding the donkey after seeing its starved state. The donkey had started exploiting his guilt-driven generosity then. It would threaten to bite its tongue and kill itself if Wang Baole stopped feeding it.

That was how they had ended up walking out like that. An embarrassed Wang Baole swept his eyes across the crowd outside the battleship, as well as the strange looks on their faces. He sighed secretly, then stopped in his tracks. With a solemn look on his face, he shouted, “My fellow Daoists, you must be wondering why I have a donkey on my back as I appear before you!”

“That is because, in my eyes, this is not any mere animal. This is my comrade, my ally. He saved me repeatedly in times of danger. He even chose to forsake food and water in order to search for food and medicine for me while I was unconscious, to the point where he almost starved himself to death!”

“I, Wang Baole, value friendship and loyalty above all else. Carrying him on my back is nothing. In fact, I won’t hesitate to cut my own flesh to feed him. It’s because when I first began my journey of cultivation, my grandmaster at the Ethereal Dao College taught me—us cultivators of the Federation will always return a favor!” Wang Baole’s voice grew increasingly louder. The crowd was clearly moved as he came to the end of his speech.

The skin-and-bones state the donkey was in was the strongest proof. There must be a reason why any animal or human would choose to starve itself to such an extent!

In such a day and age, trying to starve to die was a considerable feat. The reason it had tried to do so… must be because of what Wang Baole had just said. It had chosen to sacrifice itself in order to save its master!

Not everyone believed Wang Baole, but a great many accepted his words for truth. When they looked at the donkey, it was with great respect. The donkey, naturally intelligent, sensed the sudden shift in their attitude and the look in their eyes. It froze at first, then blinked. It was about to grin when Wang Baole suddenly coughed softly. It was so soft only the donkey heard him.

The expression on the donkey’s face immediately turned solemn. It looked as if it had just sworn to die by its master’s side.

Wang Baole was pleased at how quickly the donkey reacted. His speech not only resolved the embarrassing moment he had been caught in, but it also seemed to have left a positive effect as well. He brimmed with self-satisfaction. His tact and awareness seemed to have improved considerably once again. Then, he spoke again with great solemnity.

“Then, when I graduated from the Ethereal Dao College, our president, Duan Muque, taught me another thing, and that is… we must always get even! The Never-Ending Clan has invaded the Federation’s turf. This wrong must be avenged. The Dao Palace cultivators have willingly chosen to follow the orders of the Never-Ending Clan. As Elders of the Dao Palace, Senior Qiuran and I will cleanse the sect of its evildoers. But everything boils down to what President Duan Muque has taught me. We, the cultivators of the Federation, must never forget. We will get even!”

Wang Baole used all of his strength to shout out the last words. With his cultivation, his final roar gained the force of a hurricane, sweeping through the aerial port. His words were like lightning bolts, striking deep into the hearts of the crowd, stirring emotions to life. Many of them began to shout as well.

“We will get even!”

The Federation cultivators’ morale surged as Wang Baole worked the crowd. They gathered closer to one another, a united force that emanated an intense fighting spirit that made one tremble with excitement. The upper echelons of the Federation, from the respective political entities, were equally stirred. They began to cheer loudly as well. Duan Muque, Li Xingwen, and others more familiar with Wang Baole knew his habit of spewing nonsense. Regardless, their eyes were bright with an intense light. Duan Muque, especially, was seized by a sudden thought… If Wang Baole were to become the Federation President, despite not knowing how he would perform in other areas, it was clear that at least when it came to motivating the people, he was doing much, much better than Duan Muque was. He was clearly suited for this role.

Feng Qiuran, who had followed Wang Baole out of the battleship, was equally moved. Her injuries hadn’t fully recovered, and her face was still slightly pale. However, upon hearing the roars rising all around her and feeling the Federation’s fighting spirit, she took a deep breath and shut her eyes. The faces of Dao Palace cultivators—cultivators she had to fight her way through—flashed across her eyes. When her eyes opened again, they were clear of mixed emotions and divided loyalties. Instead, a bright, resolute light shone in them. At the end of Wang Baole’s speech, she stepped forward and stood next to him. Then, she turned towards the crowd, cupped her fists, and bowed deeply.

“Grand Elder Baole is right. The Dao Palace… is in need of cleansing! The Dao Palace’s betrayal has caused great injury to fellow Daoists in the Federation. I can extend ten thousand apologies, but it wouldn’t be enough. I can only offer my full aid and my life, to fight the war with my fellow Federation Daoists!”

Wang Baole’s and Feng Qiuran’s words resonated with the crowd, inspiring and exciting them. Their bold declarations gave the people a greater determination to fight.

“Let us salute Wang Baole and Senior Qiuran!” Duan Muque shouted, his bright voice steady and resolute. Everyone bowed once again. Their fighting spirit, united, flooded the port once again.

The welcome party reached an emotional climax at that point. Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran descended from the battleship, then followed Li Xingwen, Duan Muque, and the other upper echelons of the Federation into the military base.

Duan Muque represented the Federation as he and the other upper echelons of the Federation spoke to Feng Qiuran in detail and gathered more information regarding the current situation. Feng Qiuran was then placed in a secret chamber in the base where she could continue healing. The donkey was led away as well. Wang Baole was left standing in the main pavilion. Only he, Duan Muque, and Li Xingwen remained after everyone else left. Duan Muque had a serious expression on his face. After some thought, he suddenly spoke.

“Wang Baole, if the Federation wins this war, you will be made the next Federation President!”