A World Worth Protecting

With a wave of emotions, Wang Baole put down the Condensed Jadeite Sword and began refining the second perfect Dharmic Artifact. In the refinement process, he did not halt his cultivation of the Cloud Ethereal technique. He would meditate and practice the technique every day, which allowed him to build up Spirit Qi and rest as well.

Every circulation that he finished would allow him to rejuvenate his mind. He also felt that the Spirit thread within his body was growing stronger by the day, especially when he was refining the required Spirit Stones. As the devouring seed churned, it was obvious that his speed of absorbing Spirit Qi had increased significantly. The appearance of mist around him, coupled with the fact that he had activated a hundred percent of his spirit meridians, caused his cultivation speed to far exceed that of others.

He understood that neither cultivation nor the refinement of Dharmic Artifacts should be ignored, especially as it was specifically mentioned in the Technique of Infinite Armament Transformation that as the grade of the Dharmic Artifacts being refined increased, the required support from one’s cultivation would increase.

Furthermore, there were nine grades of Dharmic Artifacts listed by the Federation. The first two grades were known as Dharmic Artifacts, those from the third grade were known as Numinous Treasures, and the seventh grade was known as Dharmic Armaments. If it was beyond the ninth level, it would be known as a Divine Armament!

That put a huge demand on the Dharmic Armament cultivator’s cultivation!

As he thought about the Technique of Infinite Armament Transformation, a passage from the preface surfaced on Wang Baole’s mind.

“As armament cultivators, everything is viewed as Spirit Stones. Endless inscriptions are made, condensing them into… supreme Spirit Kernels!

“Viewing the laws as forging materials, and the cosmos as an incubator, refinement is done… to produce a Divine Armament capable of eliminating the gods!”

Wang Baole was shaken, thinking about those words. He wondered when the time would come for him to reach the level where he could refine every single object in the world.

Then, I will be able to refine Divine Armaments and become the President of the Federation! This is not something that can be accomplished in a matter of minutes of days. Who would dare say ‘no’? Wang Baole was filled with anticipation as he thought about this.

With this feeling of anticipation, days passed. The number of perfect first-grade Dharmic Artifacts that Wang Baole had made increased in number. In the two weeks that passed, Wang Baole stayed in near-complete seclusion, endlessly refining first-grade Dharmic Artifacts. With each Dharmic Artifact refined, he was a step closer to becoming an Armament Disciple.

This was not an easy feat to the other disciples who had just gained admission to the Upper Academy Island. To Wang Baole, however, it was just a matter of time. At the same time, in the two weeks that passed, the second batch of disciples entered the Upper Academy Island.

The second batch of disciples consisted of senior students who did not enter the Spirit Breath Village previously and the small proportion of people who had failed in the Spirit Breath Village. They had passed the mystic realm of their respective Dao Colleges to achieve breakthroughs and were allowed to advance into the Upper Academy.

Their arrival made the Upper Academy Island livelier. At the same time, the cruiser gifted by the Dharmic Armament Pavilion to Wang Baole for being an eight-inch Spirit Root True Breath expert was finally completed and was sent personally to him by the blue-shirted cultivator from the Pavilion Administrative Department.

He was one of the few who had paid particular attention to the battle between Wang Baole and Lin Tianhao. From that, the blue-shirted cultivator could already see that Wang Baole was extraordinary. He even looked up information about the brutal incidents involving Wang Baole in the Lower Academy Island, which strengthened his desire to befriend Wang Baole.

Wang Baole was fond of making friends. He was in the process of refining Dharmic Artifacts, but he was not at all irritated that he was interrupted by the blue-shirted cultivator’s visit. Instead, he was extremely welcoming, and after exchanging greetings before sending the blue-shirted cultivator away, Wang Baole looked at the small cruiser parked outside his cave abode, his eyes filled with excitement.

It’s a cruiser. Wang Baole stepped ahead to get a feel of it. The green cruiser was wingless and not very large. It was about thirty feet wide, oval in shape, with a dent in the middle, as if a mystic force was circulating within it.

Due to the presence of the protective shield, it was convenient regardless of whether one was standing up or sitting down when the cruiser was used for short-haul flights. If it was used for long-haul flights, one could even lie in it. There were also many flight mode options, from the autopilot mode that could be enabled after keying in the destination to the self-driving mode after the spirit energy was completely integrated into one’s body.

It’s a pity that it’s not equipped with a combat function. However, I can incorporate some Dharmic Artifacts on it. This way, it would be ready for combat! Wang Baole circled the cruiser. The more he looked at it, the fonder of it he was. It could be considered his first personal cruiser, and as cruisers of this sort were like Dharmic Artifacts, Wang Baole did not face many challenges controlling it.

After a brief look at the cruiser, Wang Baole sat on it, his excitement overflowing. Instantly, spirit energy within his body was unleashed and integrated with the cruiser, causing it to vibrate slightly and rise slowly into the air.

Wang Baole looked exhilarated. Controlling the spirit energy with his mind, the cruiser that was in midair began to speed forward into the skies.

He yelped happily. Wang Baole flew the cruiser within the skies above the Upper Academy Island. He was initially unfamiliar with it, but he gradually grew more skilled, especially as disciples from the other pavilions were also flying their cruisers in the skies. After some observation, he no longer sat down on the cruiser, instead standing up on the cruiser and roaring with the wind in his hair.

This is what a cultivator should be equipped with. Stepping into the skies, making everywhere between the heavens and earth a place that can be explored! Wang Baole laughed heartily and recalled that it was written in the Cloud Ethereal technique that if a True Breath expert reached the fifth level, they could fly into the skies while standing on a sword.

Till then, cruisers were mostly used for long distance travel. Even if danger was met midair, one could still leave while stepping on a sword and battle the opponent.

I need to buck up and level up to the peak of a True Breath! The exhilaration of flying in the skies while controlling his own cruiser made Wang Baole extremely excited for his own future, and the speed of his cruiser increased.

The strong winds that were coming at him were blocked due to the protective shield. Therefore, Wang Baole did not feel the strong winds striking his face. The cruiser’s design also minimized air resistance. Amid his joy, Wang Baole laughed as the cruiser tore through the clouds and flew at a high altitude.

At this position, no other cruisers can be seen in the vicinity.

Everything below seemed to have shrunk in Wang Baole’s eyes. Looking into the distance, the surrounding layers of clouds were like an ocean, wide and limitless. When he looked up, the sun at the edge of the skies was glowing hot, and the ancient greenish-bronze sword was especially prominent.

Ah, the Sword Sun. The sun is huge, many times larger than the Earth. Naturally, the ancient greenish-bronze sword is also astonishing and similarly many times larger than the Earth.

Such a huge sword body is akin to the great land and akin to the huge world!

After reaching the True Breath realm, Wang Baole had become acquainted with and gained greater clarity about information that he had not been as familiar with when he was in the Ancient Martial Arts realm through the Spirit Intranet.

For example, landing on the Great Sword World of the sun was a feat that all forces within the Federation were trying to achieve. As early as thirty years ago, the Five Generation Sky Clan had used an undisclosed method and become the first to land a batch of people on it, successfully obtaining some form of inheritance.

It was a pity that the details of the incident remained a top secret that could not be made known to outsiders.

There is also the moon… Wang Baole refocused his thoughts. It was evening, and the faint figure of the moon could be seen in the skies together with the sun. There had been many legends and mysterious elements regarding the moon that had been passed down since the ancient times.

Some of these legends had been proven, while some of them still remain myths that even the current Federation could not garner proof to verify. Regardless of this, it was known that many fragments of the ancient greenish-bronze sword had landed on the moon.

This made the moon, which had long been under the governance of the Federation, a treasure trove!

Some have mentioned on the Spirit Intranet that for a person who has broken through to the True Breath realm, the opportunity to advance into greater levels lies on the moon!

A look of anticipation was apparent in Wang Baole’s eyes. He felt a wave of emotions, but suddenly, he widened his eyes when he noticed that a black spot had appeared on the moon.

The black spot was moving at an incredible speed and seemed to be charging toward him.

“What on Earth is that?” Wang Baole was taken aback. Under his control, he immediately landed the cruiser. As he ran toward the Dharmic Armament Pavilion, he turned and saw that in the clouds behind him, it appeared as if a massive object had appeared from beneath the sea.

With a loud boom, the wave-like clouds began churning outward into the surroundings. Thereafter, a gigantic figure of a creature covered entirely in black hair that was two hundred feet wide emerged from the clouds. Baring its teeth, it charged directly toward Wang Baole.

The beast was a gigantic ape that had wings. The suppressive force emanating from it far suppressed that of a True Breath. Wang Baole had only looked briefly at it before he experienced breathing difficulties. His heart palpitated vigorously, and it became obvious that the force was one that he was unable to withstand.

The force from the ape was not only immense, but it also looked extremely savage. Its speed far exceeded that of Wang Baole, and now, a ferocious look was obvious in its eyes. It seemed to have locked onto Wang Baole, and as its wings flapped, its speed was boosted several times, instantly closing in on Wang Baole and appearing beside his cruiser. It raised its right hand and directly threw a forceful slap toward the cruiser.

Compared to its humongous body, the cruiser was akin to a toy. Wang Baole, who was sitting in the cruiser, was so frightened that he gasped in shock. It was too late for him to hide, and as the ape’s hand landed on the cruiser, the cruiser was instantly thrown off balance and crashed forcefully to the ground in the Dharmic Armament Pavilion, accompanied by a loud boom.

“What’s going on? There are actually beasts on the Upper Academy Island, and no one keeps them under control?”

Wang Baole trembled and screamed immediately. However, even before the cruiser struck the ground, the ape picked up speed and caught up with the cruiser. Gnashing its teeth, it appeared delighted as it forcefully and loudly slapped the cruiser again, causing it to tumble again and again.

Inside the cruiser, Wang Baole was shocked frozen, and his screams grew even more pathetic. All he could feel was that the buzzing in his head had become stronger than ever, as the unbelievable speed that he had no means of controlling caused his heart to jump out of his chest.

“This is ridiculous! I didn’t even provoke it!”

In his grief and indignation, the ape suddenly leaped into the air again, arriving beside the cruiser and slapping it with great force. Seeing the cruiser crash once again, the ape looked excited as it thumped its chest, roaring with delight.

Just like that, the ape jumped around, treating the cruiser like a toy as it continuously threw it again and again. It was obvious that it was playing a game and had good control of its strength as it did not damage the cruiser further.

Even so, inside the cruiser, Wang Baole was suffering. His painful screams were endless, and he was extremely confused as his world tumbled in all directions.

Several people on Upper Academy Island witnessed what was going on, but they were not too surprised—they merely shook their heads as thoughts filled it.

“Whose cruiser is that? He must be a newbie…”

“Only newbies would daringly fly into the clouds. That is the Diamond Ape’s territory; it strikes anyone it sees.”

Just like that, after being thrown into the skies and crashing over ten times, the ape seemed to have grown bored. It no longer cared about the cruiser as it landed heavily and loudly on the Dharmic Armament Pavilion’s ground. Luckily, the cruiser was sturdy, and Wang Baole did not sustain many injuries despite the cruiser being significantly damaged with green smoke billowing out from it. As it landed on the ground, Wang Baole scrambled out of the cruiser, struggling as his head was in a whirl. The moment he emerged, he vomited all over the ground.

His body trembled. Wang Baole raised his head weakly, filled with indignation as he stared angrily at the ape in the skies. He pointed at it with his right hand and was about to begin hurling insults at it when a kind-hearted disciple beside him who had turned pale from shock immediately spoke.

“Junior Brother, quiet down! Don’t scold it, as it is extremely fragile. The moment it is scolded, it will unleash its fiercest side, and that is extremely scary!”