A World Worth Protecting

“Wang Baole, you’re shameless!”

“It wasn’t a Spirit Root that we saw just now. Sisters, it is likely that it was the real Wang Baole!”

“After him! Eliminate that bast*rd!”

Very quickly, voices of anger emerged continuously from the pond. The several women from White Deer Branch College, together with the few others who were guarding the area, charged angrily. They did not notice the stone that Wang Baole was hiding himself under but were instead focused on the puppet that Wang Baole had thrown out. They immediately chased after the puppet, which was running away quickly.

The puppet was fast, and as he charged, he led the group of women away from the forest, and peace was swiftly restored in the forest once again.

Only then did Wang Baole, who was crouching under the stone shell begin inching forward. He only picked up speed when he had completely left the area, and one could see a huge rock tumbling by, crossing over the mountain peaks, distancing itself…

Before he reached the other side of the mountain, Wang Baole did not keep the stone shell at all. He wiped off the perspiration on his forehead and laughed bitterly, thinking about how this assessment in the Spirit Breath Village was becoming too exhilarating.

“It’s so difficult to be the good guy. If not for consideration of their emotions, why would I have to torture my eyes? As if I wanted to look…” Wang Baole let out a dry cough and mumbled to him as he continued moving forward in search of a four-inch Spirit Root under the cover of his stone shell.

Perhaps because he was wandering in the area where those Spirit Roots that had morphed into him had gathered previously, Wang Baole did not have to search for long before he found a four-inch Spirit Root that looked exactly like him.

Dashing out quickly to attack it before absorbing it, Wang Baole had happily wanted to take his leave before his facial expression changed. Looking toward his right and putting on his stone shell again, Wang Baole began creeping up to the area with slow, soft steps.

Very quickly, as he neared, he became more cautious of his movements. When he arrived beneath a huge tree, he lay there and looked ahead. Hundreds of feet away, two figures were battling with each other.

It’s him! Wang Baole recognized one of the two right away. That person had provoked Wang Baole previously outside the mystic realm, the youth from White Deer Branch College whose fingers had been twisted by Wang Baole. The look of hatred and his urge to take revenge were strongly imprinted in Wang Baole’s mind!

The other party the youth was battling was a five-inch-long True Breath Spirit Root that looked exactly like him. It was apparent that the youth already possessed the foundation of a four-inch Spirit Root and could successfully absorb the five-inch Spirit Root if he could successfully defeat it.

Even though attaining a five-inch Spirit Root made one slightly inferior to the top students who have set their sights at the eight-inch Spirit Roots, there actually were few True Breath cultivators who could reach eight inches in the entire Federation. Most people could only reach three inches, making those who could reach five inches seem rather impressive.

Right now, the youth from White Deer Branch College was in an intense match with the Spirit Root. After all, the combat capabilities of a five-inch Spirit Root were highly comparable to that of the actual person. The youth might still emerge victorious, but it would probably be a lengthy battle.

As he watched, Wang Baole blinked.

Should I snatch it from him? Wang Baole was very tempted.

I shouldn’t. Snatching without any attempt to hide myself is something that I, the Head Prefect of the Dharmic Armament faculty of Ethereal Dao College, cannot do!

Wang Baole’s conscience took over. He felt that he was someone of high standing and must not do something so crude and unethical that would not reap many benefits beside inciting anger in the other party.

Forget it, I’ll just go and extend my greetings to him. We’re all students from the four major Dao Colleges, and it would be rude of me to not greet him. Furthermore, since he’s so focused on the battle now, I shouldn’t distract him. I’ll greet him when he’s about to succeed in the battle, Wang Baole thought, pleased with his moral character. He felt that he was a good-natured person who was caring and considerate, so he lay there excitedly, waiting for the right time to emerge.

Five minutes flew past quickly, and the youth from White Deer Branch College was panting heavily. However, his eyes were filled with intense agitation, for he felt that his luck in Spirit Breath Village was through the roof. The four-inch Spirit Root was an easy fight, but the five-inch Spirit Root did not take long either.

“This is a five-inch Spirit Root. It’s possible that it is the only one fated to me in the entire Spirit Breath Village!” the youth said, extremely excited as his emotions overwhelmed him.

“After absorbing this True Breath, I will attain the five-inch Spirit Root, allowing me to fight for the six- or even seven-inch Spirit Root. When that happens, Wang Baole will be nothing!”

The youth laughed heartily as he threw out a powerful punch that forced the five-inch Spirit Root to move backward. When it was about to disperse, his laughter grew even heartier as he leaped into the air, preparing to throw out a final punch.

“Five-inch Spirit Root, you’re mine now!”

However, the moment he howled, the exact moment the five-inch Spirit Root was within reach of his fingers, Wang Baole’s eyes lit up and revealed himself from under the stone shell. He stood up, excitedly raising his hands to greet the agitated youth from White Deer Branch College.

“Hey, fellow Daoist, how are you?”

Wang Baole’s sudden appearance, coupled with his loud greeting, shocked the youth from White Deer Branch College, who was momentarily stunned when he saw Wang Baole.

As he stood there in shock, the five-inch Spirit Root that was originally on the brink of breaking down suddenly trembled before quickly expanding. Even its facial features transformed instantly, morphing into Wang Baole’s. While the youth from White Deer Branch College stood flabbergasted, the five-inch Spirit Root that originally belonged to him began charging at Wang Baole while howling.

“Woah!” Wang Baole was suddenly alert, and the moment the five-inch Spirit Root approached, he quickly threw out a tight slap, instantly dispersing the five-inch Spirit Root.

It was not an easy feat because Wang Baole was so strong that the five-inch Spirit Root could not fight him. Instead, it was because the Spirit Root had already been on the brink of breaking down after battling the youth from White Deer Branch College, which made it easily to defeat with just a simple slap from Wang Baole.

It transformed into a green fog, which was immediately absorbed by Wang Baole’s body, replacing the four-inch Spirit Root and turning into a five-inch Spirit Root!

Everything happened so quickly that it only took the time of several breaths for Wang Baole to appear, make his greeting, and finally absorb the five-inch Spirit Root. The youth from White Deer Branch College stood with his eyes wide open as he looked dumbfounded at whatever had just unfolded before his eyes. His breathing became quick and urgent, and his eyes grew increasingly bloodshot.

“Wang Baole!” His entire body trembled, and his heart raced widely in pain. The five-inch Spirit Root was too precious, and it was very likely that it’s the only five-inch Spirit Root fated to him. It had almost become his just a moment before it was snatched away by Wang Baole right before his eyes.

If it had been snatched away by Wang Baole earlier on, it would not have mattered as much as he would not have exerted so much effort in battling the Spirit Root. He would still have been furious, but he would have been significantly less agitated compared to now. Right now, his mind was about to explode with anger, thinking about how he had put in all that effort and had success within reach before it was being taken away by someone else.

In his rage, he let out an angry scream, howling and charging crazily toward Wang Baole. As he neared, Wang Baole also became alert and immediately kicked powerfully.

Wang Baole was swift, and coupled with the raging anger from the youth, the collision could not be avoided. Wang Baole’s kick landed directly on the youth’s stomach with a loud bang, causing him to be thrown into the air before landing on the ground far away.

“Wang Baole, you’re shameless!” The youth struggled to pick himself up, screaming angrily as green veins popped out of his forehead.

“I merely wanted to greet you, and you’re responding by attacking me? You people from White Deer Branch College… don’t you have any manners?” Wang Baole replied angrily.

“Forget it, I’m magnanimous, and I shan’t be nitty-gritty with you. Bye!”

Wang Baole cleared his throat, and his heart filled with pleasure as he turned to leave. The youth from White Deer Branch College heard what Wang Baole said and was so furious that he spurted out a mouthful of crimson red blood.

“Wang Baole, return my five-inch Spirit Root!”

Wang Baole pretended to not hear those words. He moved quickly, running away at the speed of light until he disappeared from sight. The youth, on the other hand, was unbearably frustrated, unable to release his anger. He wanted to chase after him, but he knew that he would not be able to catch up. Even if he could, he would not be able to battle him.

As he grew crazy with rage, he inevitably vomited another mouthful of blood. He began regretting his past actions and for not controlling his mouth previously, which caused him to provoke the damned Wang Baole, who was someone who held grudges.