A World Worth Protecting

After realizing that he must be the son of Lady Fortune, Wang Baole ended his seclusion in a merry mood. He took his seventh-grade Dharmic Armament megaphone and was about to find a place to test its power. He wanted to take this chance to let the world know that he had become a Dharmic Armament master.

However, as soon as he ended his seclusion, before he had even stepped out from his secret chamber, he turned on his voice transmission ring and received a flood of messages.

There were too many incoming pieces of news and messages. Wang Baole couldn’t afford disturbances during his fugue state, so he had turned off his voice transmission ring. But he remained connected via the new city’s array formation. If something were to happen, the array formation would alert him immediately, and he would end his seclusion prematurely.

At present, upon seeing the messages, Wang Baole was stunned. He lowered his head and started reading them. Color gradually fled his face. Then it turned red. Finally, at the end, Wang Baole lifted his head and roared.

That’s just too much! Wang Baole flew into a rage. The good mood that he had been in had vanished completely. He had received news from Lin Tianhao, from Kong Dao, and Li Wan’er and the others. Liu Daobin as well as plenty of people from the four Dao Colleges had also sent everything they had heard and subsequently found out regarding the special region to Wang Baole.

Li Wan’er informed Wang Baole specifically about the Secondary Rank Two Noble requirement. There was no need for her to explicitly say what would happen once the proposal was approved and the new city was promoted to a special region. Wang Baole knew what would happen when he read the messages!

They couldn’t get to me with their devious ploys, so they’ve decided to try something new and do this to steal my accomplishments from me! Wang Baole heaved. He knew that once the new city became a special region, the fact that he wasn’t a Core Formation realm cultivator meant that even if he remained in the city, he would be re-appointed as a deputy.

He had personally built this new city. To be demoted from a city lord to a deputy position was something Wang Baole found completely unacceptable! But the other party had openly conspired against him, rendering Wang Baole defenseless. He couldn’t think of a way to resolve this. In his panic, he immediately contacted the Martian Colony Governor.

Even the Martian Colony Governor found this a headache. After all, the promotion of the new city to a special region would mean a great deal to Mars. From her perspective, this was incredibly advantageous to Mars.

Besides, regardless of who took over the office of city lord, he or she would still have to respect her authority. Nothing would change. Only Wang Baole would feel miserable. The Governor told Wang Baole not to listen to the gossip spreading around outside. Before she hung up though, she still tactfully shared her views on this manner.

“Due to certain special circumstances, there is a need to set up a special external department for the Anti-Spirit research facility on the Martian Colony City. It would test the results and findings from the research facility. The head of this department has to be a Primary Rank Three Noble.”

Her words chilled Wang Baole’s heart. Even though the Governor didn’t openly state her stance on this matter, her attitude had been clear, and she had given all the advice she had. She was trying to tell Wang Baole that it was likely that the plan would be put through, and that she had already prepared a backup plan for Wang Baole.

It was a good backup plan, but Wang Baole was unwilling to let all his efforts go towards another person’s glory. The Divine Armament Catacombs also played a pivotal role in his cultivation. Regardless, he wasn’t going to hand over his office willingly.

After ending his communication with the Governor, Wang Baole thought hard about it and contacted the Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College. Wang Baole thought himself a member of the Ethereal Dao College, so he wasn’t as tactful as he had been with the Governor. He spoke immediately and with great anxiety.

“Help me, Sect Lord!”

Upon receiving the voice transmission, the Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College sighed. He knew why Wang Baole had contacted him. However, the four Dao Colleges were divided into factions regarding this matter. The conspiracy that the Five Generation Sky Clan had set was done so openly and brazenly that it was difficult to address and resolve it.

“Baole, about this matter… you should be prepared. Based on what I’ve heard… there’s a high chance that the Federation will approve this…” The Sect Lord was silent for a moment before he sighed.

When Wang Baole heard that, his partially despairing heart turned completely cold. He was drowning in despair and helplessness and felt a strong sense of resentment. He was unwilling to just let this go.

“Isn’t there any other way?”

“There is!” the Sect Lord suddenly said.

“If you can achieve a breakthrough soon and reach the Core Formation realm, this matter wouldn’t only not be a misfortune but would turn out to be a golden opportunity!

“If you reach the Core Formation realm, the Five Generation Sky Clan would be handing you a golden opportunity on a golden platter. They would have wasted their own resources and bargaining chips to push you to a Secondary Rank Two Noble. You would hold greater power than you have had before and would stand at the top of the power pyramid in the Federation!

“This is the only way! I will utilize all my resources and call on all my favors to delay this and give you as much time as possible, but three months is my limit. If you can reach the Core Formation realm within these three months, this will turn into an opportunity for you!”

The Sect Lord’s voice was firm and filled with determination. He had analyzed the situation clearly and in detail for Wang Baole, but what Wang Baole needed to do first was reach the Core Formation realm!

They ended the conversation. Wang Baole sat cross-legged inside his secret chamber. His eyes had turned red. The stress was simply too immense. He knew that the approval to turn the city into a special region could arrive at any moment. He didn’t have much time left. Once the approval arrived, if he wasn’t at the Core Formation realm then, he would have to face a situation he was most unwilling to see.

It’s just forming a Core. I’ll fight it out with them! Wang Baole thought very hard about it and finally decided to wing it. He roared.

“Five Generation Sky Clan, you just wait. I’m going to enter seclusion. Once I am out, I swear… I’m going to reach the Core Formation realm!” Wang Baole got to his feet in a flurry. He knew the only way to achieve a breakthrough in cultivation was to enter the catacombs and train at the outer edge.

It was only within the catacombs that the Dark Qi was sufficiently thick enough. Alongside the Dark Qi absorbed by the array formation, he would be able to achieve astonishing progress in his training and cultivation. Staying within his own residence wouldn’t be sufficient by any measure.

However, the former option had an element of danger to it. There were the dangers within the catacombs itself. Even though he was only going to be at its outer edge, he might still encounter Beast Tides. Another danger was in the extensive absorption of Dark Qi. There might be hidden risks in doing so. Wang Baole wasn’t certain what might happen. That was why he had always only relied partially on Dark Qi in the past when he trained. He had placed safety as his top priority.

In other situations, safety should be the top priority. However, Wang Baole no longer had the luxury of time. He took a few hasty breaths, and his eyes shone with determination. He stood and with a single step, left his residence. He raced towards the original Divine Armament Catacombs that had been sealed in the center of the region during the earliest stages of building the new city zone!

The central Divine Armament Catacombs had long been sealed and was under Kong Dao’s charge now. On his way there, Wang Baole contacted Kong Dao and informed the latter that he was entering the catacombs.

Kong Dao was initially hesitant. He was concerned about security. However, at Wang Baole’s insistence, he activated the entrance to the catacombs. At the same time, he also wanted to arrange for escorts to accompany and protect Wang Baole, but the offer was turned down by Wang Baole.

His cultivation must remain a secret from others. Besides, Wang Baole was quite confident of himself when he decided to train in the catacombs. Firstly, he wasn’t going to venture too deep. Secondly, he was the new city’s City Lord, meaning he had certain access over the seals and over the array formation. Even if he encountered a Beast Tide, he would still have the power to fight back.

Besides, every other time he had come here, there had been outsiders present. Wang Baole hadn’t been able to utilize his Dark Fire. But his intuition told him, that with the Dark Fire… that perhaps he might not meet any danger that he wouldn’t be able to resolve.

Wang Baole didn’t merely disallow anyone from following him into the catacombs, after he had reached the outer edges, he controlled the array formation and obscured all viewing and recording devices inside. As a result, no one outside would be able to observe what was going on inside.

After that, Wang Baole took a deep breath. With a single leap, he jumped into the catacombs and started his search for an ideal spot for seclusion!

At the exact moment that Wang Baole entered the catacombs, in the starry heavens, a giant black jellyfish was silently approaching the Solar System… It didn’t enter immediately but hover outside. Its body quickly turned vaguely transparent, revealing three cultivators suited up in scaly armor inside it. They sat cross-legged in the jellyfish, their eyes shining with a strange light. They stared straight through the jellyfish at the distant Solar System.

“There are indeed signs of civilization here…”

“We’re here, but they have yet to discover our presence. I believe this is only a lowly civilization!”

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s a lowly civilization or not. We should still check if there are any dangers!” The cultivator with a centipede on his face heard what his comrades had said. He held down the rising greed within him and carefully took out a crystal compass. He formed a series of hand seals, and the compass began to give off a dazzling light.

As the light sparkled, an illusory, three-dimensional map began to appear above the compass. It mapped out the Solar System, including the sun and all its planets!

On it showed clearly Earth, Mars, and the moon!