A World Worth Protecting

The instant that Wang Baole pressed the Dharma disc, the eyes of the puppets on the Dharmic Armament faculty peak following the Dao Enlightenment faculty students suddenly flashed.

As their eyes flashed, their footsteps all stopped, and even their moanings disappeared. This surprised all the Dao Enlightenment faculty students, and they all turned to look.

Just as they looked, an even stronger moan suddenly exploded from the mouths of these puppets. The puppets had extremely strange expressions, their eyes gleaming. What made the Dao Enlightenment faculty students even more shocked, though, was…

These puppets who looked identical to themselves actually started to strip off their clothing.

“They… Why are they stripping?”

“Not, not right. Quickly run!”

While the Dao Enlightenment faculty students remained stunned, some quick-thinking people felt that things were not right. They were shocked till their faces became pale, and they started to flee.

But it was too late. These replica puppets actually stripped while… throwing themselves at their originals.

The moaning from their mouths traveled out, turning incredibly sinister in an instant. Furthermore, they were incredibly strong and sturdy, and it was difficult for the Dao Enlightenment faculty students to break them. As such… the frightened Dao Enlightenment faculty students’ faces turned white, and they fled frantically as they screamed.

“Heavens, these puppets are crazy!”

“Wang Baole, you’re shameless!”

In their shock, some students’ legs trembled and were jumped on by the puppets. Among them was the main culprit, that youth surnamed Chen. Very soon, they let out terrified cries, rolling and crawling as they struggled to get away. The puppets, however, chased them without stopping, moaning and occasionally shouting, “I am enlightening myself on the Dao!”

Furthermore, because everyone was paying close attention to the Dharmic Armament faculty, the various faculties almost immediately knew about all this. Live streams even emerged on the Spirit Intranet, igniting an explosive commotion.

“There’s a strange moaning coming from the Dharmic Armament faculty!”

“Look guys, the Dao Enlightenment faculty people are being chased by their moaning puppets. I can’t imagine what would happen if they get caught…”

“Wang Baole… This tactic is a deathblow!”

“Haha, even the Dao Enlightenment faculty is facing difficulties. It seems like only evil people can torture evil people. Good job, Head Prefect Baole!”

As the atmosphere among the spectators on the Lower Academy Island boiled over, the moaning in the Dharmic Armament faculty filled the air. All the Dao Enlightenment faculty students cried bitterly, wishing that they had more legs. In their terror, they threw all their strength in, fleeing crazily, wetting their pants in terror as they ran down the mountain.

Their faces were all pale, their hair messy, and their clothes askew. Their spirits had suffered a large hit, which even cast a shadow over them. Right now, they only had one thought in their heads—to stay away from the Dharmic Armament faculty and Wang Baole.

Wang Baole’s perverted mode had truly set the world on fire.

It was also at this time when Wang Baole showed himself. His expression was smug, and he was even more excited. Walking around the Dharmic Armament faculty with his hands behind his back, he watched the Dao Enlightenment faculty students flee from their maoning, chasing puppets. It made him feel extremely happy.

Even though you Dao Enlightenment faculty students are just like gangsters, you can’t beat my moaning beasts! Wang Baole laughed loudly and kept following the Dao Enlightenment faculty students down the mountain, watching them leave.

Even though the Dao Enlightenment faculty students also noticed Wang Baole, in the midst of their grief and anger, they did not dare stop. They could only pretend that they did not see him and quickly escape. Wang Baole was in an extremely good mood. As he was walking back to his cave abode, the Dharmic Armament faculty students stared at him with strange expressions mixed with respect. Back in the cave abode, he took out his snacks and sighed.

It’s finally quiet. Humph. Dao Enlightenment faculty, are you afraid? You don’t even dare to fight me!

Wang Baole enjoyed the peace for a while. When he decided to rest for a few days before continuing to refine Dharmic artifacts, the escaped Dao Enlightenment faculty students refused to accept their defeat. They started to plot, ready to begin a new chapter of their campaign.

Although they felt that Wang Baole’s ultimate puppet tactic was too formidable, they also could not take this lying down, especially since the Dao Enlightenment faculty students were used to being on top. Being the first time that they had dealt with this sort of hardship, this made them feel like they had lost face. Just as they were trying their best to think of an idea, an announcement attracted the attention of all the faculties’ students.

At the same time, the Dao Enlightenment faculty’s attention shifted because of the announcement. They no longer stared at Wang Baole; for many of them, their hearts started palpitating with excitement.

Because… the promotion exam this year would start early!

This promotion exam was the exam that allowed students to move from the Lower Academy Island to the Upper Academy Island. Usually, this test was not restricted by age. Regardless of whether a student was in their first or fifth year, as long as they felt that they were ready, they could take part in the exam.

Most of the candidates were fifth year students. If they succeeded, they could enter Upper Academy Island; however, if they failed, they would have to leave the Dao College and find another career path.

The exam was extremely difficult, especially since it was called the major exam. In actuality… it was a golden opportunity, an exam that gave one the opportunity to move from the Ancient Martial Arts to True Breath!

The only criteria for passing the exam was to enter the True Breath realm!

Usually, in this annual exam, about 40,000 people would take part, but only a small percentage of them would be able to enter the Upper Academy Island.

The exam would commonly take place just before the holidays, but this time… it had been brought forward.

The reason it had been brought forward… was because this exam not only tested the basics in each college but also added a mystic realm trial for the best students!

In the previous exams, 40,000 students would attempt to gain admittance to the Upper Academy Island through their own luck and achievements. Although it was difficult, it was not overly so, and those who took part were students from the various faculties of the Dao College.

As for the mystic realm trial, it was not only for Ethereal Dao College, but… it was for all the best students in the Federation’s top four Dao Colleges. The mystic realm testing location also did not belong to any of the Dao Colleges and was instead a location shared among the four. It was after the beast war that the four Dao Colleges combined forces to snatch this land of opportunity from the numerous factions out there!

For several reasons, the four Dao Colleges could only open this land of opportunity once every few years. As there were only four thousand spots, each Dao College could only admit their best one thousand students!

The reason the major exam had been brought forward was because the four Dao Colleges had determined the date to open the mystic realm. Thus, it was not only Ethereal Dao College that had brought forward their exams but also the other three Dao Colleges.

This was because… the Dao Colleges needed a large competition to choose the best one thousand students!

In this selection, the one thousand people chosen would enter the four Dao College’s mystic realm. The remaining people would, as before, enter each individual Dao College’s own mystic realm.

Right now, as the announcement spread, the Dao College was blanketed by a din. It was obvious that the common mystic realm trial location used by all four Dao Colleges afforded great opportunity, one far greater than the normal trial venues.

True Breath was above Ancient Martial Arts, but there were differences even within True Breath!

True Breath is Spirit Root! Wang Baole, who had been sitting cross-legged in the cave abode, had also received the announcement from the Chancellor. The Chancellor had asked him to take part in this exam!

And Spirit Root is necessary to transcend! Wang Baole inhaled deeply and looked at the information in the voice transmission ring that the Chancellor had sent regarding the True Breath realm.

The quality of Spirit Roots range from one to eight inches. In a regular exam, there are no Spirit Roots above five inches. Only in the mystic realm exam are there Spirit Roots that are more than five inches!

The reason it’s not called Spirit Root but True Breath is because… Spirit Roots have no shape and are only auras!

The three Ancient Martial realms are preparation for the containment of True Breath. After all, human bodies are like sieves—there are too many holes. The moment a normal person absorbs True Breath into their body, they won’t be able to hold it in… That’s why there are three Ancient Martial realms!

One of the realms is Blood Qi, to make the foundation of one’s body sturdier. The second realm, Physical Seal, is to seal all the sweat pores in one’s body. The last realm, Pulse Enrichment, is to seal shut the last pore in the body. Only through this can one seal one’s body completely and contain True Breath, making it part of one’s own body! Wang Baole looked at the voice transmission ring. Although he knew half of it, the other half was new to him.

True Breath realm… Wang Baole stayed silent. In his mind, he remembered how, when he went home, a youth had killed a True Breath beast. After much consideration, his gaze showed determination. He had decided to participate!