A World Worth Protecting

That was indeed the case. News of Wang Baole’s return as an adopted disciple began to spread, and it shocked everyone in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Those who had no idea what was going on at first went through the records and discovered the prestige that had been associated with the adopted disciple rank in the past.

This newfound identity meant Wang Baole could easily call the shots in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. After all, his rank had been bestowed upon him by the true Vast Expanse Dao Palace. His current cultivation was the only thing preventing him from seizing control of the Dao Palace at the moment.

In fact, it no longer mattered that he wasn’t a native from the Dao Palace.

Wang Baole wasn’t the only one who had shocked them all. There was also Zhao Yameng. Both Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao had returned as an inner sect disciple and an outer sect disciple respectively. Kong Dao’s rank wasn’t that great a shock, but Zhao Yameng’s rank had inspired similar disbelief. If not for the mind-blowing news of Wang Baole’s adopted disciple rank overshadowing Zhao Yameng’s achievements, she would have been placed in the limelight.

The Federation… had finally, truly assimilated with the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. It would be almost impossible to separate the two entities now. After all, there was Wang Baole—irreplaceable and incomparable.

What the Vast Expanse Dao Palace had to decide now was the role and position Wang Baole was to be given. There were plenty of views on that matter. The ones suffering massive headaches over this were Mie Liezi and Feng Qiuran, as well as Daoist You Ran, who had just come out from his seclusion and had maintained mostly silence over the matter.

While Mie Liezi was nursing a headache, Feng Qiuran was still swimming in faint bewilderment. She didn’t know what to do with Wang Baole. The three elders didn’t comment on the matter at all, and the whole fiasco dragged on.

The three of them knew that they had to come up with something soon though, or there would be problems. An adopted disciple could influence both the Hyacinthus Tree and the sect’s array formation. If this were the Vast Expanse Dao Palace of the past, not a single one of them would be qualified to become one of Wang Baole’s followers.

The three elders fought against a growing headache while the remaining cultivators in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace continued debating heatedly over this matter. Wang Baole had returned to Green Fire Island and settled his affairs. He had issued a stern warning to the donkey before contacting Kong Dao and Zhao Yameng. The three of them gathered on the main island, prepared to exchange their loot for battle credits.

Their gains had been spectacular, which meant that everyone avoided them with a strange look on their faces when they approached the mission stone stele. As the exchange was initiated and they began to pull out item after item, the stone stele began to shake and give off a blinding light.

It wasn’t a mere flash but a persistent bright light that shone unceasingly as the gang pulled out one item after another, as if their storage bags contained an endless stash of treasures!

The Dao Palace disciples around them were initially shocked, then gradually became stunned speechless. Finally, thirty minutes passed. Wang Baole and his friends finally left. It was then that an uproar erupted at the mission stone stele!

The commotion persisted for a long while, and the sounds of the commotion traveled far into the distance. Wang Baole and his friends were overcome with excitement as well. The battle credits they had earned reached almost a million credits. They had created a miracle!

They went their separate ways soon after. Wang Baole had contributed the most during the search, which was why both Kong Dao and Zhao Yameng had insisted on him having five hundred thousand battle credits. Kong Dao had claimed forty percent of the remaining four hundred thousand credits, leaving the remaining sixty percent to Zhao Yameng.

The distribution seemed reasonable. Kong Dao had thought it a fair allocation. He bade farewell to Wang Baole and Zhao Yameng, then left excitedly to exchange the credits for a Dharmic treasure. He intended to get his hands on the combat cloak with the ability to turn its wearer invisible.

Zhao Yameng had things she wanted to buy as well. She blushed as she eyed Wang Baole with a meaningful look, then left. Wang Baole himself rushed towards the Vast Expanse Techniques Chamber with his token containing the enormous wealth of battle credits he now had.

This time, I’m going to get Little Duanmu to call me daddy! Wang Baole thought proudly. As long as he had battle credits, he would be able to rule the world. He reached the Vast Expanse Techniques Chamber. With a wave of his hand, he exchanged for two hundred sets of cultivation techniques without batting a single eyelash, even though many of those cultivation techniques required more than a thousand battle credits!

He spent almost three hundred thousand battle credits on the cultivation techniques. He didn’t care though, there were still a hundred and fifty thousand credits that Sun Hai was going to pay him today. Besides, he had been away for quite some time. He should have accumulated quite a bit of income from the game. He hadn’t asked Xie Haiyang about it, but Wang Baole was confident that he was reaping massive profits.

He wasn’t stressed by his expenditure at all. He took all two hundred cultivation techniques to the teleportation array formation and sent them back to the Federation in a single go. He could imagine the shock the Federation was experiencing at this moment, having just received two hundred cultivation techniques. He wondered if Duan Muque’s jaw dropped to the floor. The thought pleased him immensely, causing his spirits to soar.

Little Duanmu, there’s no way you can get out of admitting defeat. You shouldn’t have tried such cheap tricks in the first place! Wang Baole patted his tummy proudly. He believed in being relentless. He had sent more than three hundred cultivation techniques back to the Federation. Perhaps he should round the figure up and make it five hundred instead!

It’s decided then!

With that thought in mind, Wang Baole ended the teleportation and happily returned to Green Fire Island. As he had expected, the Federation was indeed in an uproar over the two hundred sets of cultivation techniques that he had just sent over.

The commotion on Mercury and the sudden increase on the Federation Seedlings Contributions Ranking immediately incited heated discussions across the entire Federation. All manner of news articles were published and shared. The citizens of the Federation all began to talk about it. Duan Muque was at a loss for words. He had a strong gut feeling that his presidency… was going to be short-lived.

Many media agencies had begun to mention the promise that Duan Muque had made. This meant that anyone following the news knew that Wang Baole was going to be receiving a great promotion when he returned!

People all across the Federation began discussing this. The residents of Ethereal City participated as well. Wang Baole’s parents had now established their circle of friends in the city, and they began following the news as well. The two older folks watched with racing hearts, unable to imagine their son becoming the Federation President.

This was their reality now. They had realized that from the security they were getting. They were clearly being guarded very tightly. Their new friends had all become increasingly friendlier to them as well…

As the Federation continued to be in an uproar, Wang Baole’s life on the ancient sword had slowly calmed down. He began his cultivation again.

He had to stabilize his cultivation at the perfected Core Formation realm as well as make plans for his advancement to the Nascent Soul realm. There was also the matter of advancing to the second level of the Flame Snatch Thearch Armor inheritance. He also planned to master the final level of the Lightning Immortal Transformation.

His progress with the Flame Snatch Thearch Armor remained slow, but he saw better results with the Lightning Immortal Transformation. Regardless, progress with the latter had also slowed down. This was the final stage, after all. The power he would gain upon its mastery would be greater than the other techniques of the Lightning Immortal Transformation. In fact, it would be considered one of the most powerful techniques of the Lightning Immortal Transformation at the Core Formation realm.

Its name was the Lightning Immortal Point!

The heavens and earth would be transformed when the Lightning Immortal Point was unleashed! This fourth level of the Lightning Immortal Transformation emphasized gathering the power of lightning in one’s body to form a powerful and lethal finger of lightning. It would contain the power to destroy everything in its path!

Wang Baole’s first few attempts had allowed him to experience the incredible power contained within this Lightning Immortal Point. That motivated him to study and practice it more diligently.

Sun Hai had finally managed to gather a hundred and fifty thousand credits after some begging, stealing, and groveling. At the same time, Xie Haiyang had also transferred over two hundred thousand battle credits—earnings from the game—to him.

Wang Baole’s wealth had just increased and now exceeded four hundred thousand battle credits. He might not be the richest man in the Dao Palace, but he definitely ranked in the top ten.

Wang Baole continued with his cultivation. During this period, the problem regarding his status was also resolved. Feng Qiuran finally proposed to provide Wang Baole the status of a Grand Supreme Elder—equal to the three elders. He would become the fourth Grand Supreme Elder in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. He would be able to form his own faction!

If it were any other occasion, Mie Liezi would have opposed the proposal vehemently. The position granted to Wang Baole had exceeded what he was prepared to accept. Now, however… in the face of such tremendous stress brought about by Wang Baole’s rank as an adopted disciple, Mie Liezi could only grimace and accept what was being proposed. The reality was, that if this had been the Dao Palace of the past, Mie Liezi himself wouldn’t even be qualified to become a follower of an adopted disciple…

Daoist You Ran seemed to have his own views regarding the matter, but he kept them to himself. Both Feng Qiuran and Mie Liezi had agreed to the proposal. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment further. He kept silent while an icy glint flickered in his eyes.

The three elders reached a consensus, and the announcement sent the entire Vast Expanse Dao Palace spiraling into a greater uproar!

There was no one in the sect who wasn’t shocked by the news. Everyone knew that things were about to change in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace!