A World Worth Protecting

Chapter 830: A Golden Ticket!

A look of nervousness mixed with fear and gratitude appeared on Wang Baole’s face when he heard what the figure engulfed in flames and afloat in mid-air said. It was a look with a complicated mix of emotions. Any other ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to do something like that, but Wang Baole had familiarized himself with the high officials’ autobiographies since he was a kid. He had started practicing such looks then and had become skilled at it.

But privately, he was already muttering unhappily to himself about how unreliable the old man was. If he wanted a disciple, he should just take one. Why was he taking an in-name disciple…

He just wants the reputation of being my master without dishing out any benefits. Does he take me for an idiot? At this juncture, Wang Baole had already decided that he was going to reject the Flame Patriarch. His master might have passed on, but his reputation was still sound. Besides, he already had an unreliable senior brother who was almost never around to help. The gears in Wang Baole’s head began spinning furiously as he thought of ways to turn down the offer without causing any offense.

The deceptive look on his face remained unchanged as he went through his options. The Flame Patriarch didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. In fact, the thoughts in his head were that of approval. The young man before him might be a troublemaker, but he appeared to be a sensible one as well who knew his place.

“Esteemed Senior…” Wang Baole didn’t take long to think. After a few seconds, he looked up with a look of gratitude on his face. He ignored the prickling pain in his eyes and tried to bring tears to his eyes. Then, he looked skyward and gave a deep bow.

“This is an important matter. I have to…”

“Consult Chen Qing?” The Flame Patriarch interrupted Wang Baole with what seemed to be a smile on his face.

The hair on Wang Baole’s skin stood up when he heard that. A look of confusion settled on his face as he stared at the Flame Patriarch, seeming both lost and surprised.

“You plan to tell me that you’ll need time to consider the matter, saying that we still have a long way ahead of us before you can come to a decision. Perhaps you’re also thinking that I’m only taking you as an in-name disciple to deny you the privileges and benefits of a true disciple?” The Flame Patriarch spoke casually, a faint teasing look flickering in his eyes.

Beads of sweat appeared on Wang Baole’s forehead. He opened his mouth, but his attempt to speak was cut off by a wave of the elder’s hand.

“So be it. You do need some time to think this over. If you do bump into Chen Qing, you can ask him for advice. Ask him if I, the Flame Patriarch, want to take you as a disciple, if he’s going to agree to it, or if he’s going to approve of it.”

Wang Baole blinked, then started muttering under his breath again. Didn’t the two mean the same thing? But he knew that the Flame Patriarch probably had him all figured out. The essence technique that he had belonged to his senior brother. Powerful cultivators who were familiar with who Chen Qing was would naturally come to certain conclusions about Wang Baole.

He might be able to recognize who Wang Baole was, but whether Wang Baole admitted to the fact was another matter altogether. Wang Baole kept the look of confusion on his face and pretended that he wasn’t sure what the Flame Patriarch was going on about. He opened his mouth but held himself back from speaking, acting as if he were afraid of asking too many questions. Finally, he looked down and spoke meekly.

“Thank you, Senior. I’ll let you know my answer as soon as possible. There’s another matter… Your humble junior doesn’t know how to contact you when I have made a decision on the matter. Why not… leave the mask with me so that I may contact you easily?” Wang Baole said with an earnest look on his face, cupping his fists and extending a bow towards the Flame Patriarch again.

“I have no objections to that. You’ve used the curse in the mask. There’s not much use to the thing now.” the Flame Patriarch laughed. There was a meaningful look in his eyes. He seemed to see right through Wang Baole.

Wang Baole didn’t feel embarrassed for being so easily seen through, though, continuing to play the fool as he spoke.

“Oh, in that case, why not seal a dozen more of those curses inside it? Your humble junior will be able to spread your name far and wide when I bring the mask out into the world.”

“Stop having ideas about the mask. I’m not letting you have it,” the Flame Patriarch replied coolly when he heard Wang Baole’s request.

How much of a miser is he? Wang Baole wondered with mild surprise. He thought about it for a while and decided to try again. He wasn’t willing to give up just yet.

“Esteemed Senior must be intending to impart the knowledge of how to set the curse in the mask as a gift to mark our fortuitous meeting. Is that why you don’t plan to just let me have the mask? Please accept my thanks, Esteemed Senior!” Wang Baole shouted and extended yet another bow to the Flame Patriarch.

“You’re about as shameless as Chen Qing,” the Flame Patriarch said exasperatedly. But after giving the matter some thought, he realized that he could afford to be more generous. He hadn’t planned on giving anything to Wang Baole, but his mind had changed after hearing what Wang Baole had just said. After a moment of consideration, he lifted his right hand. Then, with a swipe through the air, he summoned bead-like objects from the ruins around them. They darted through the air and gathered in his palm, transforming into a gray-colored jade slip.

The Flame Patriarch blew lightly over the jade slip, and it turned black instantly. Then, he tossed it into the air. The jade slip flew towards Wang Baole and was caught by him.

“I’ve sealed the curse inside this jade slip. You get to use the curse once. You can also use the jade slip to contact me, but you also only get to do that once. If fate intends for us to be master and disciple, we will meet again. But for now, you should leave.” After the Flame Patriarch said that, he gave Wang Baole a deep, meaningful look. His desire to have him as his disciple was genuine.

He might be an in-name disciple, but… the Flame Patriarch hadn’t had a disciple for a very long time.

The thought seemed to have brought certain sad memories to mind. The Flame Patriarch waved his hand, turned around, and headed for the distance. His retreating back was that of a solitary old man. Wang Baole’s form began to grow indistinct. In front of him was the lonely, retreating figure of the Flame Patriarch. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he remained silent. Wang Baole eventually disappeared from the ruins, leaving behind the pig-headed mask. The mask transformed into a beam of light and raced towards the Flame Patriarch. It landed in the Flame Patriarch’s palm instead of joining the other masks inside of his body.

“If it’s meant to be mine, it will come to me. If it’s not… then we should let it be.” The Flame Patriarch’s murmurs rippled across the heavens.

In the next moment, in Wang Baole’s room in an inn in a market, there was a sudden flare of bright light. Wang Baole materialized in his room and immediately scanned his surroundings with his Divine Sense. Having affirmed that he had returned to the market and that he was safe, he released a long sigh of relief. Images of the various dangerous situations he had survived during the mission flashed across his eyes and faded away, leaving him… with the final image of the Flame Patriarch’s solitary back burned into his memory.

“That’s another man with a story,” Wang Baole said. He took a deep breath and let his thoughts settle. Then, he began to inspect his damages. First was the Thearch Armor… 90% of it was damaged. Then, the Dharmic Battleship… Almost 90% of the Dharmic Battleship was damaged as well, with its core components barely functional.

Some of his other artifacts had been damaged as well. He had exhausted some items too. He wasn’t going to forget the countless battleships that he had self-destructed in the fight. The mission had depleted whatever supplies Wang Baole had painstakingly stocked up.

But his spoils were considerable as well. He had advanced his level of cultivation, and his storage bag was overflowing with new materials. They housed the contents of a fully stocked army warehouse that belonged to the Never-Ending Clan. The number of pills, Dharmic Artifacts, and materials inside would turn anyone’s eyes green with envy.

He could definitely recoup whatever losses and damages he had suffered in the mission with what he had looted from the warehouse. In addition to that, he now had 13,000 Red Crystals. What he had wanted to buy from Xie Haiyang only cost 300 Red Crystals. The purchasing power he now had with 13,000 Red Crystals was tremendous.

He recovered a Rainbow Core as well. He didn’t know its uses at the moment, but he was certain that the Rainbow Core must have something to do with the Rainbow Planet. It must be extremely valuable.

In addition… he also got himself one half of a palm that used to belong to a Planet realm Never-Ending Clan cultivator. That could be used as a material for refinement. As for the storage ring left on one of its fingers, Wang Baole was sure that he could find some use for it and its contents.

A storage ring that belonged to a Planet realm cultivator… Wang Baole was rather excited. After going through the rest of his spoils, he pulled the ring off the maimed palm and extended his Divine Sense out for a scan. A frown soon appeared on his face. The seal placed on the ring by the Planet realm cultivator was still in effect. Nothing Wang Baole tried could unlock the ring.

“Forget it. I’ll just have to wait until I reach the Spirit Immortal realm. I might be able to chip away at the seal slowly then!” Wang Baole said reluctantly. He had no other choice. He dared not seek help from anyone else. He would be exposing his identity as a Descender if he did that.

Wang Baole continued to take stock while studying the ring at the same time. A vast cosmic distance away, in a sea of blue planets… lay a land that was controlled by the Never-Ending Clan’s nineteenth army.

Countless planets could be found in the cosmic region. An ancient palace sat on one of those planets. The blinding light of a teleportation had flooded the floors of the palace. One half of a head came flying out of the portal. It bounced onto the floor and rolled into a corner, shrieking and howling.

The head belonged to the Never-Ending Clan cultivator who slipped through death’s clutches after his fight with Wang Baole. His face was contorted with pain and madness. He was furious because he had never sustained such grievous injuries prior to this battle, and he was mad because… he had lost his storage ring!

In the storage ring, he had hidden away a treasure that he had kept a secret from everyone. It wasn’t a powerful weapon. But… it wouldn’t be an exaggeration if he called it a cultivation golden ticket in the Never-Ending Dao Domain!

He had no natural talent when it came to cultivation. This treasure was the reason someone as mediocre as him could advance to the Planet realm. With this treasure, he might even achieve a breakthrough and attain the Eternal Star realm. He could possibly advance beyond the Eternal Star realm. If anyone were to find out about this treasure, a war would break out amongst countless family clans and tribes as they fought madly to get their hands on it. With his mediocre cultivation, he would be sure to lose his golden ticket for good!

Damn pig-head, I swear I’ll find you, no matter where you are!