A World Worth Protecting

The delivery of the missive was followed swiftly by a voice transmission from Chen Yutong.

“Junior Brother Baole, you should’ve received the missive as well. We’ll be traveling to the seventh stronghold to support the repair and restoration of the composite Numinous Treasure. Nearly all of us Dharmic Armament Pavilion disciples have been dispatched to the different primary strongholds. There are a few who will be traveling with me—you, Zhou Penghai, and someone called Sun Fang will be in my team.

“There are seven great generals in the Federation. The general stationed at the seventh primary stronghold is Zhou Dexi. Junior Brother Baole, do you know what it takes to be a general? It takes a primary stronghold, a ninth-grade Dharmic Armament, a conquest of new lands for mankind—it is the utmost glory!”

Chen Yutong’s voice was overwhelmed with excitement, as if he was brimming with anticipation for the mission to support the war efforts.

“If one wishes to become a general, one must extinguish an entire species! Annihilate any one of the top twenty species found in the Beast Records, destroy the entire bloodline, and one will receive the honored rank of general!

“Every time that a new general appears, the Federation will declare a war of expansion on the wilderness where the monsters reside. A new primary stronghold will be built in the newly conquered lands. There, we will light the Eternal Smoke Signal that will strike fear straight into the hearts of the monsters!

“The Eternal Smoke Signal is a ninth-grade Dharmic Armament crafted by all living top-rate Dharmic Armament cultivators who have been gathered by the Federation, made from the spirit blood of the extinguished species.

“My passion is to create a living puppet, and my dream has always been… to destroy an entire monster species, to become a general, and for an eighth primary stronghold to appear in the Federation, lighting the eighth Eternal Smoke Signal!”

Chen Yutong’s words climbed steadily toward a near-feverish intensity as he shared his dream. He continued speaking with inexhaustible excitement before ending the voice transmission with their date of departure.

Wang Baole placed the voice transmission token away and took a deep breath. His expression became solemn as his mind digested what Chen Yutong had said.

Wang Baole was cautious but hardly a coward; prone to anger, even more so toward violence; forceful to the extent of being overly aggressive. He understood that the threat of the monsters was akin to a sharp sword hanging over the Federation’s head. Many even believed that the second Beast War would inevitably break out in the future.

With regard to the general status and the Eternal Smoke Signal… Wang Baole felt that neither were what his final goal was. That was because his dream was to become the Federation President!

If exterminating one monster species is what it takes to become a general, then to become the Federation President, I’ll have to at least exterminate ten monster species, expand our lands and build ten primary strongholds, and light ten Eternal Smoke Signals. Else, I won’t be able to keep the generals in order.

Taking a deep breath, a fierce light burned in his eyes. He held the same fervor as Chen Yutong when it came to conquering new lands.

With that thought, Wang Baole started his preparations. He organized his Dharmic Artifacts and sold quite a few pills. During that period, he noticed the daily cruisers, each ferrying three to five people, dashing through the layered clouds from one place to another—disciples who had set off early for their respective assigned strongholds.

His eyes shone with anticipation as he saw them off. Three days later, after he had purchased all his necessities for the trip, the day of departure as agreed upon with Chen Yutong arrived.

Wang Baole left his cave abode early that morning and headed straight for the disciplinary department. He was in high spirits and greatly looking forward to the mission.

He soon reached the disciplinary department and spotted Zhou Penghai and Sun Fang. The pair had arrived early and were waiting for Chen Yutong and Wang Baole.

Sun Fang seemed especially nervous. He was speaking in hushed, respectful tones beside Zhou Penghai while his eyes wandered all over the place. Upon seeing Wang Baole, he sucked in a deep breath and took a few hurried steps toward Wang Baole. Wang Baole was hardly given any time to approach before Sun Fang cupped his fists hastily and bowed deeply.

“Fang Sun greets Senior Brother Wang!”

When Zhou Penghai, who had been standing alongside Sun Fang, heard that, an odd expression fell across his face. He had caught wind of news that Sun Fang had been referring to himself as Fang Sun. At present, after observing Sun Fang’s behavior before Wang Baole, he could not help but smile. He cupped his fists and greeted Wang Baole, a tinge of deference in his demeanor.

Wang Baole broke out into laughter as well after seeing how quickly Sun Fang had fallen in line. He gave Sun Fang a pat on the shoulder before greeting Zhou Penghai warmly and drawing the latter into a lively conversation.

As for Sun Fang, he felt as if a burden had been lifted off him with that mere pat on the shoulder from Wang Baole. A great portion of the heaviness that had been weighing upon his heart finally dispersed. His spirits excited and energized, he remained cautious as he stood beside the two, nodding incessantly in agreement regardless of what Wang Baole or Zhou Penghai said.

Not much time passed before Chen Yutong also appeared, fully equipped. He looked at Wang Baole and the rest, laughed, and without saying a word, retrieved his cruiser.

Chen Yutong’s cruiser was incomparable to Wang Baole’s. It was of unquestionably superior quality, could seat ten people, and was painted completely silver. Its mere appearance was exceptional.

“Let’s set off!” With a wave of his hand, Chen Yutong leapt on board. Wang Baole followed his lead, followed by Zhou Penghai and finally the meek Sun Fang.

Once everyone had gathered onboard, Chen Yutong took a deep breath as his eyes shone brightly.

“Everyone, let’s all pull together as a team for this mission. I hope that when we return, no one will be left behind!”

After saying that, Chen Yutong’s Spirit Qi suddenly unfurled; energy that far surpassed the cultivation level of Wang Baole and the rest—the peak of the True Breath realm—exploded instantaneously and fused with cruiser. That sent a tremor throughout the cruiser and sparked an incredible propulsive force; the cruiser crossed a vast distance in a blink of an eye.

Wang Baole stood in the middle of the cruiser and turned toward a Green Forest Lake, which shrunk rapidly as the distance grew. He took a slow, deep breath. His determination and resolve toward the mission shone clear in his eyes.

Chen Yutong’s cruiser differed from the cruisers of the Ancient Martial realm and the common folk. As someone who was not only a top-tier disciple of Upper Academy Island but was also a popular candidate in the running for deputy Pavilion Head as well as a cultivator at the peak of True Breath realm, Chen Yutong’s cruising speed was extremely fast. Despite the vast distance separating the seventh primary stronghold and Upper Academy Island, if all things went well, it would be a matter of hours before they reached their destination.

In comparison, if Wang Baole had taken the cruiser at Lower Academy Island, the traveling time would have been much, much longer. After all, they were bound to encounter numerous bad weather conditions, every manner of which would affect the speed of the cruiser.

Only cruisers such as Chen Yutong’s could, due to his exceptional cultivation level, ignore and pass safely through most parts of the adverse weather. There were of course quite a few changes in the weather and atmosphere that even Chen Yutong’s cruiser had to steer clear of.

As for the threat of monsters, though there existed ferocious beasts within the Federation lands, most were of the Ancient Martial realm. True Breath realm beasts generally lay low. The Federation had plans of exterminating all beasts within their territory, but this was a nearly insurmountable task. Each year, common beasts, nourished by Spirit Qi, mutated into ferocious beasts in great numbers.

It would not be completely impossible a task if the Federation was to put its mind to it. However, due to reasons unknown, the Federation only set their sights on ferocious beasts of the True Breath realm. Every year, a specialized department would conduct a targeted extermination.

There were also some territories that seemed to have reached an agreement with the Federation to keep out of each other’s backyard.

Presently, Chen Yutong’s cruiser dashed through the clouds. From afar, one could see a streak of white arcing across the blue heavens, accompanied by the thundering boom of the sound barrier being broken resonating all around—it was like the roar of a giant beast, formidable and awe-inspiring.

Within the cruiser, Chen Yutong and Wang Baole stood at the front of the deck, gazing into the distant lands.

Cities town after cities could be sighted on the ground that passed speedily by. Most were, regrettably, in ruins and had been taken over by the encroaching jungles. A few times, they could see the remains of what had once been cities.

“When the Beast War broke out, humankind was on the losing end of the war. More than half the population died,” Chen Yutong said softly as the sight of city ruins sped past.

“I’ve read a lot about that war. During that time, among all the various political forces in the Federation camp, the highest cultivation level reached then was the Foundation Establishment realm—no one had attained the Core Formation realm!

“The monsters camp, on the other hand, had three Core Formation realm Beast Kings…

“Fortunately, during that pivotal moment of crisis, someone in the Federation finally broke through the Foundation Establishment realm and stepped into the Core Formation realm. It was this that turned the tide of the war. The Divine Armament came into being then. After battling the other political forces as well as the monsters for the Divine Armament, the four great Dao Colleges finally emerged victorious!

“The appearance of the Divine Armament resulted in the Federation’s decisive victory. The Federation built the seven primary strongholds and killed all the Beast Kings. However, they failed to drive the beasts to extinction…

“But I believe that as we continuously advance and improve, this planet beneath our feet will one day be fully ours!”

A fierce light shone in Chen Yutong’s eyes.

Wang Baole was experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. He was about to speak before he noticed a stronghold appearing on the land ahead. It sat on a mountain valley; armed with fierce-looking spikes, pitch-black stronghold walls of metal, Numinous Treasure-grade grand cannons on numerous ring-shaped platforms nested within the spikes, the stronghold exuded a fearsome aura that shook one to the core.

The countless warriors in the stronghold and the air of violence emanating from their persons were equally terror-inducing.

“Are we here?” Wang Baole looked over immediately. Chen Yutong, Zhou Penghai, and Sun Fang followed suit.

“This is a minor stronghold. The one slightly ahead is the seventh primary stronghold—the one we’re to report at!” Chen Yutong said in a low voice after he had taken a look.

“This is just a minor stronghold?” Wang Baole was stunned. He soon noticed many more strongholds like the one that he had just seen ahead. Even though they were referred to as ‘minor’, the size and scale of each stronghold was, in actuality, huge. They were often built on mountain ranges and mirrored the primary stronghold. Together, the strongholds formed an irregular blockade!

Within an hour, Chen Yutong announced that the seventh primary stronghold was right ahead of them. Wang Baole stared, in awe, at the earth-shattering, great metal wall on the mountain range in the distance.

No words could describe the tempest of emotions that he was experiencing. Wang Baole was shaken to his core. The stronghold before him, whose size and magnitude vastly exceeded the many minor strongholds that they had seen, and the imperial gate that seemed to support the heaven and earth held his gaze captive.

It was at this precise moment of weakness, of faltering, that he saw—from within the majestic stronghold walls, rising into the skies—rings of smoke clouds that continued their ascent up the heavens.

The Eternal Smoke Signal!