A World Worth Protecting

This is… the smell of potatoes!

Wang Baole laughed smugly, feeling that his nose was pretty great. No matter what food, he immediately knew what it was just from the smell.

When he raised his head loftily, he saw that there was a valley ahead and immediately followed a road outside the valley. As he approached, a fragrant smell and street noises traveled toward him, causing Wang Baole to increase his pace. Just as he was about to enter the valley, he suddenly inhaled.

Heavens, it’s actually my favorite soy egg!

Wang Baole’s body shook, and he immediately stepped into the valley. Once he saw everything clearly, the streets noises, the shouting, and the numerous fragrances enveloped him.

This was actually a market. Instead of selling pills and Dharmic treasures, it sold countless snacks. Surrounding this valley, there were even many shops with advertisements hanging on the doors. One of them was actually advertising a snack that Wang Baole had seen in Ethereal City.

I can’t believe Upper Academy Island actually has a place like this. Unless… could they be testing the determination of the disciples?

Wang Baole’s eyes were bright. He noticed that there were many gray-robed disciples walking in and out, and it was incredibly lively. Occasionally, he would even see a blue-robed Armament Disciple.

In actuality, each pavilion had a market like this. Even though they had broken through the Ancient Martial Arts to become True Breath experts and were real cultivators, they could not avoid having food. With so many people, there would naturally be many businesses catering to various daily necessities.

I am a cultivator, and I have already swallowed the world’s Spirit Qi, how can I become greedy for mortal pleasures? Furthermore, I want to lose weight, so I need to resist!

Wang Baole shook his head and sighed. He wanted to leave, but just as he began walking, he passed a small food stall. He inhaled deeply, and after struggling with himself for a long time, he finally turned back.

“Senior Brother, I want thirty servings of this potato!”

“And pack a hundred servings of this soy egg for me!”

“Senior Brother, I want all of this Ice Spirit Water, and give me eight boxes of your snacks!”

After a while, Wang Baole walked out of the market. As he ate the potatoes, he swallowed one soy egg and drank Ice Spirit Water. His expression, however, was bitter.

Forget it, forget it. I won’t diet today. After all, I had to meet Lin Tianhao the moment I arrived, and now I have to figure out how to get rid of him, and this needs a lot of effort! Just blame Lin Tianhao!

Thinking about this, Wang Baole tore off another chicken leg and bit into it viciously. As he slowly walked out of the market, he saw a row of buildings, not far from where he was, at the bottom of a mountain.

There were at least a few thousand buildings. Although they were densely packed, they were arranged neatly. People did not live together; instead, each disciple had their own building.

When he found his quarters, Wang Baole examined it. Although it was not as good as Lower Academy Island’s cave abode, it was still clean and neat. The only problem was that when he opened the window, he could see the bustling market below in the valley and smell the fragrance, which was a struggle.

Although this place is good, it’s testing my determination!

After struggling for a while, through a great effort, he managed to resist the urge to buy snacks and studied the cultivation technique jade slip that had been distributed by Upper Academy Island.

As time passed, and the moon hung high in the sky, the market outside began to close. The surroundings grew quiet. That was especially so given the season; in addition, with the positioning of the mountain in midair, the wind was extra cold. It passed through the window, blanketing Wang Baole’s body, making him feel very comfortable.

Currently, Wang Baole was also absorbed in the cultivation technique from the slip. His gaze revealed him to be deep in thought, and he occasionally looked up and closed his eyes, as though digesting and deducing the information.

Just like that, Wang Baole’s first night on Upper Academy Island slowly passed. Only when the sword sun in the sky rose, casting light on the earth, did Wang Baole finally inhale and end his research into the cultivation techniques.

“So, the True Breath realm is actually separated into five levels. According to the description, the Spirit Qi on the first level is as fine as silk. The mist on the second level becomes a stream, and on the third level, the streams become a river. Thereafter, the river becomes a larger river until finally… the streams and rivers flow into the ocean,” Wang Baole muttered to himself with anticipation in his eyes. After researching through the night, he finally had a better understanding of True Breath.

“The Cloud Ethereal technique is Ethereal Dao College’s cultivation technique. If I cultivate according to the instructions, I can rise to the top of the True Breath realm with some cultivation! Furthermore, other than the first level, the other four levels all have their own special spells!

“The most important change in this cultivation technique is to allow Spirit Qi to become like mist, to become flexible and easy to control. When one cultivates themselves to the limit, one can increase the speed while allowing them to become ethereal. The explosive cultivation, one can slowly meld into the Spirit Qi in the world, drifting from place to place.”

Wang Baole inhaled deeply, thinking of the talisman that the Vice-Chancellor had taken out when he displayed his skills.

The jade slip had also introduced the talisman. The first level of True Breath was as thin as silk due to the lack of Spirit Qi, so it was difficult to display Dharma spells. It needed the help of talismans to condense the Dharma spells. In the second level, the strands of mist gathered into a river. Unless it was some Dharma spell that required an enormous force, regular spells no longer needed the piece of paper.

Judging from this, the Vice-Chancellor is a first level True Breath expert. If he had reached the second level, he could display Cloud Ethereal technique’s… Cloud Finger!

Thinking of the jade slip’s introduction to Cloud Finger, Wang Baole’s heart burned. Bending his head, he took out the jade slip for the Technique of Infinite Armament Transformation, his eyes bright.

I can also learn the Dharmic Armament Pavilion’s Technique of Infinite Armament Transformation. This is actually the complete edition of the Qi Fostering Art. There is advanced Inscriptions study, advanced Spirit Kernel study, a section on fusing materials, and a section on refining artifacts! If I manage to study this deeply, I can transform all objects into treasures on some level!

One night of research allowed Wang Baole to have a deep understanding of the Dharmic Armament Pavilion’s curriculum. The jade slip even mentioned that in the Dharmic Armament Pavilion, disciples could visit designated areas to listen to their seniors’ knowledge and also look at video lectures on Upper Academy Island’s Spirit Intranet.

In conclusion, Dharmic Armament disciples did not prioritize studying like Lower Academy Island. In here, disciples spent most of their time alone, absorbed in their own refinement and experiments.

With new knowledge that he needed to understand and research, Wang Baole was in high spirits, immediately immersing himself in it. Soon, four days passed. In these four days, Wang Baole cultivated the Cloud Ethereal technique while studying the Technique of Infinite Armament Transformation, visiting the market the moment he felt hungry. Perhaps because it was too convenient to get food, while he was still fumbling with his cultivation technique, his weight had steadily increased every day. In the span of four days, it had increased by a lot.

This can’t go on!

Early in the morning of the fifth day, Wang Baole patted his stomach, eating his sumptuous breakfast with a distressed expression. He looked back as he walked out of the market. With a long sigh, he took out a mirror, looking at his clearly plumper face.

Although I’m still handsome, I need to be careful.

Wang Baole touched his face, wondering if he ought to go to the Pavilion Administrative Department to retrieve his cave abode. Just as he put away his mirror, he noticed the reflection of a cruiser flying overhead. Wang Baole’s eyes were sharp, so he noticed that the person on the cruiser was Lin Tianhao.

It’s him again. He’s also in this mountain range? Wang Baole raised his eyebrows. When he looked again, Lin Tianhao had also noticed him. Lin Tianhao lowered his head and met eyes with Wang Baole.

One of them was in the sky, and one of them was on the ground. Lin Tianhao seemed to have some sort of thought and sneered.

Father was right. We’re not from the same world. However… Wang Baole, whether or not you can find your footing in Upper Academy Island will depend on if you get caught in my plot!

With this thought, Lin Tianhao arrogantly looked away, ignoring Wang Baole. He purposefully headed toward the cave abode area halfway up the mountain.

Wang Baole saw Lin Tianhao fly past toward the middle area of the mountain, landing right outside the door of a cave abode and entering. His eyes grew wide, his gaze turning icy.

He has a cave abode!

Interesting. This Lin Tianhao has a cruiser and a cave abode… I have an eight-inch Spirit Root and have made great contributions to the Dao College, yet I have nothing?

Wang Baole’s expression turned dark. Previously, he had not paid much attention to the cruisers, but now he noticed that the cruiser had a number. With his current understanding of Upper Academy Island, he could see that the Dao College had issued it. Realizing that it had been five days since he had spoken to the Pavilion Administrative Department, Wang Baole suppressed his inner fire, turned around, and headed straight toward the Pavilion administrative department.

When he had almost arrived, it seemed that there was no one else. As Wang Baole noticed the blue-shirted cultivator in charge of the Pavilion Administrative Department, this blue-shirted cultivator had also noticed him. The cultivator rubbed the area between his eyebrows. Without waiting for Wang Baole to speak, he sighed.

“Junior Brother Wang, just wait a little more. I’ve already gone to ask. It seems like the cave abode will be available in another ten days.”

Hearing this Wang Baole could hardly suppress his anger, but he felt that there was something odd about this situation, so he immediately took out ten Rainbow Spirit Stones and placed them on the table.

“Senior Brother, I want it today!”

The ten Rainbow Spirit Stones were a small windfall for the blue-shirted cultivator. He looked at them and gave a wry smile.

“Junior Brother, I’m not lying to you. You possess an eight-inch Spirit Root and were Lower Academy Island’s Head Prefect. Becoming an Armament Disciple is just a matter of time for you. I wouldn’t dare offend you out of all people, but I also can’t offend the other party. I’ve already chased them away several times.”

Wang Baole squinted. He waved his sleeve, and the Rainbow Spirit Stones on the table had increased to thirty pieces. He spoke calmly.

“Senior Brother, please make it clear!”

“This…” The blue-shirted cultivator hesitated. Although he was not willing to offend Wang Baole, he still had his duty to his job. The records for the cave abode were a secret, so he could not leak them. If it had been anyone else, he would have long chased them away. Even if Wang Baole raised his hand, he still had to abide by this principle. However, Wang Baole was too good at negotiating. He looked at Wang Baole for a while, his gaze finally showing his decision.

“Junior Brother Wang, I accept you as a friend!” As he said this, he collected the Spirit Stones on the table and took out a jade slip from the various scrolls beside him. He placed it to the side. After knocking it for a while, he stood to stretch.

“Junior Brother Wang, I still have a Dharmic Artifact that I’m refining in the back. I’m going to take a look. Wait for me, I’ll be back in about five minutes.” With that, the blue-shirted cultivator turned to leave.

Wang Baole saw the jade slip on the table and immediately understood his meaning. He picked it up and dusted it before his expression changed.

The jade slip recorded all of the owners of the cave abodes. They were definitely all full, but… under Lin Tianhao’s name, there were actually two cave abodes!

These two cave abodes were together. Along with the blue-shirted cultivator’s actions, the meaning was self-evident!

D*mn you, Lin Tianhao, you dare to take my cave abode?

The ice in Wang Baole’s gaze exploded. He could no longer suppress his growing anger, but soon, he realized that something was not quite right—it seemed as though the other person’s actions were too obvious.

Wait, this guy isn’t stupid. Wouldn’t he be afraid of being beaten up by me after taking my cave abode so obviously?

Although he was angry, Wang Baole did not lose his cool. Suspicious, he thought about it, wondering what would happen if the Senior Brother from the Pavilion administrative department did not show him the jade slip. With this thought, he slapped the table, understanding immediately.

This… digging a pit for me? This rat is actually trying to scheme against me. I’ve read so many high officials’ autobiographies! And I was just thinking of how to beat you up. Look at how I’ll cripple you this time! Wang Baole sneered, his eyes flashing coldly.