A World Worth Protecting

1

Unknowingly, ten painful days passed.

During those ten days, the purging and persecution of the Spirit Stones students by Lin Tianhao and Cao Kun continued in the Dharmic Armament faculty. Even more people had been dragged in. However, because there were too many people and the disturbance was huge, a lot of time was needed to gather evidence. Therefore, all those people were only locked away for investigation and not seriously punished.

Everyone could see that it was only because it was a short period of time. Without any mishaps, those students would definitely be punished to different degrees.

As for Wang Baole, he did not leave the cave abode for ten days. At most, he would leave the hallucination realm to eat something before clenching his jaw and re-entering, trembling with sadness and anger.

<em>Heavens, when will this end…</em>

The moment Wang Baole thought of the fear of familiarizing himself with the system of calculations, he felt as though he had lost his loved one. But when he thought of his own responsibilities and goals, he could only grit his teeth and continue to bear the agony amid his screams.

Under the never-ending lightning strikes, Wang Baole’s ability to calculate the formula increased dramatically. Although the lightning still hit him, causing him to scream in agony, the time needed for his calculations swiftly decreased.

As the lightning’s power grew bigger and bigger, the feeling of pain forced Wang Baole into a frenzy, unleashing all of his potential. He was very worried that if he did not work hard, he would be shocked to death.

Now, as long as the Inscriptions arrangement was not too complicated, he could arrive at an answer within seconds. However, the mask was still not satisfied with that and gave Wang Baole a shorter time to calculate while increasing the number and difficulty of the Inscriptions.

As such, Wang Baole’s screams became more wretched.

Ten more days passed, and Wang Baole’s behavior became abnormal. He had already forgotten about the passage of time, and it was not until a voice transmission came from the Chancellor that he stopped his cultivation.

The reason the Head Prefects from the various faculties of Ethereal Dao College and Lower Academy Island were known as disciples of the Chancellor was because they would occasionally gather at the call of the Chancellor. The Chancellor would open the Chancellor’s lecture hall and personally teach classes, answering and explaining questions that the Head Prefects would bring up. For these kinds of things, it was compulsory for Head Prefects to attend.

Throughout Lower Academy Island, it was only the Chancellor who could do this. He knew everything about the lessons and knowledge of the Lower Academy Island’s faculties, and he had even done research on them, so he could mentor every Head Prefect and even invite the Upper Academy’s cultivation masters to provide guidance for the Head Prefects.

At this moment, the voice transmission had summoned Wang Baole because of the initiation of the Chancellor’s lecture.

Within the cave abode, Wang Baole walked out of the hallucination realm. His whole body had already been shocked countless times. He trembled as he walked. He was dispirited, his hair was disheveled, and his gaze was vacant. From time to time, even though he had exited the hallucination realm, one could still hear him talking to himself.

“To form the speed Inscriptions, one needs to match and calculate 731 types of basic Inscriptions, and to go through nine times of systemic deduction…”

“Condensing Spirit Qi Inscriptions, there are 3,185 ways, and the first method of systemic calculation is…”

Trapped in the stupor of calculating numerous systemic problems in his head, Wang Baole walked out of the cave abode, swaying. He spent most of his attention on calculations and only a little attention on walking. Just like that, all those students who saw Wang Baole were stunned after noticing his condition.

“Wang Baole, this is… What happened?”

“Why does it look like he has gone silly? Look, what is he muttering to himself?”

“That’s not right. Don’t tell me he was unable to deal with having his authority removed and went mad?”

The people in the Dharmic Armament faculty discussed the matter in hushed voices. Wang Baole was unable to notice his surroundings. He was performing the numerous calculations in his head as he arrived at Chancellor Peak.

This was his first time visiting Chancellor Peak. If it had been his previous self, Wang Baole would have paid more attention. But today, his mind was hazy, and he had to pump himself mentally to walk up the mountain peak and to the Chancellor’s pavilion.

Because he was performing his calculations along the way, he was the last person there when he arrived, even though he was not late. The moment he walked into the large hall, he saw that the Head Prefects of all the faculties were all seated, including Zheng Liang, Cao Kun, and Lin Tianhao.

In the Chancellor’s lecture hall, no one was allowed to make a lot of noise. As such, Zheng Liang’s gaze was deeply concerned as he nodded in acknowledgment. Cao Kun laughed contemptuously, and as for Lin Tianhao, a cold look flashed across his eyes. After that, he no longer looked at Wang Baole.

All the other Head Prefects also noticed Wang Baole. After all, it was not long ago that Wang Baole had risen to fame. Although he had lost influence today, he was still a notable figure.

It was just that after sizing him up, all of them felt disappointed. After all, Wang Baole’s current appearance made them misunderstand him, and they all thought that he had given up on himself.

In front of them sat the old physician on a stool with his eyes closed. Sensing Wang Baole’s entry, he opened his eyes and saw Wang Baole’s dispirited appearance. The old physician was astonished.

Wang Baole gathered his spirits and greeted the old physician before finding a seat. He already knew the old physician’s identity—after all, this was not a secret. As for the opinions of the surrounding people, he had no more energy to care.

After sitting, he sank into the systemic calculations in his head. This had already turned into his habit. After being shocked for twenty days or so, he had developed a phobia, a fear, that his calculations would be too slow and that he would be shocked again from being unable to complete the calculations in an instant.

Seeing Wang Baole’s listless appearance, the old physician shook his head and looked away. With the start of this lecture, the old physician mentioned all the faculties from the Lower Academy Island such as the Traps faculty and the Alchemy faculty, to the Ancient Martial Arts faculty and the Dharmic Armament faculty, and even the Array Runes faculty and the Dao Enlightenment faculty.

“As this old man sees it, every faculty has their commonalities. For example, the Traps and Dharmic Armament faculties are both researching how to refine products. And we cannot forget the Array Runes faculty, which shares similarities in the study of Inscriptions…

“Even the Combat faculty isn’t just about cultivating their bodies. If all of you manage to get into Upper Academy Island, you will understand. The Dao is painful and difficult, and it requires all of you to work together and support each other in order to walk further along the path of cultivation.

“As for the Dao Enlightenment faculty, don’t give up on yourselves. The whole Federation today has a common view of the Dao Enlightenment faculty. The way of enlightenment is a necessary path to cross when working toward the Dao!”

The old physician’s speech made everyone unaware of time’s flow. Every new piece of information seemed to be at his fingertips—sometimes detailed, sometimes succinct and to the point. Even though all the Head Prefects were every faculty’s outstanding seniors, they still reaped many benefits.

After all, to become Lower Academy Island’s Chancellor, he had to have his uncommon points. There were even rumors that the old physician had been a famous senior on Upper Academy Island.

It was only because of his advanced age that he came to Lower Academy Island and took charge of helping Ethereal Dao College nurture those who were capable of entering Upper Academy Island.

This lecture covered many hours straight. When dusk came, the old physician took a sip of tea and finally stopped. Even though he had lectured the whole day, he had no signs of exhaustion. Instead, he had a smile on his face after putting his teacup down, his gaze sweeping over all the Head Prefects.

“That’s it for today. Do you have any questions?”

The moment the old physician spoke, all the Head Prefects raised their heads. One Head Prefect from the Dao Enlightenment faculty asked a question first.

“Chancellor, you said that the Dao Enlightenment faculty is a necessary path toward understanding the Dao, and the path of enlightenment points directly to the source. Then, what is this source?”

For this question, all the Head Prefects were deep in thought. Truthfully, the Dao Enlightenment faculty had a special position in Ethereal Dao College. The students of this faculty had no official lessons and spent most of their time pondering over the universe to gain enlightenment. Becoming a Head Prefect of the Dao Enlightenment faculty had to do with the enlightenment essays that they had to write every month.

In reality, if the previous Federation President had not come from the Dao Enlightenment faculty, proving that success in the Dao Enlightenment faculty could immediately shock the world, this faculty would have been scrapped.

The old physician smiled after hearing this. He touched his beard and then blandly opened his mouth.

“The way of the source, according to my cultivation level and knowledge, is very difficult to truly understand. It’s only that, in a piece of the Sword Sun, there was a section that explained that everything in this universe can be found in the source! With the way of the source, one can walk the path of the firmaments by selecting just one path!”

That Dao Enlightenment faculty Head Prefect nodded his head, absorbed in deep thought. Very soon, all the Head Prefects from the other faculties continuously asked different kinds of questions. For each question, the old physician’s answer was very thorough—some answers could immediately resolve the confusion while the answers to others made people think.

When almost everyone’s questions were done, Wang Baole also raised his head and forced himself to pay attention. He also had questions to resolve as he had encountered many—while solvable—questions that he could not understand while working on his systemic calculations.

“Chancellor, I have a question regarding Inscriptions.

“There are hundreds and thousands of Inscriptions to gather Spirit Qi. Every one of them is meant to gather Spirit Qi, but why are there so many of them, and what do they mean?”

The moment Wang Baole spoke, Inscriptions Head Prefect Cao Kun laughed without waiting for the old physician to respond. He stood and bowed to the old physician.

“Chancellor, it’s such a simple question. Any student who has paid attention in a few classes in Inscriptions lessons will be able to answer it. Chancellor, might you permit me to answer Junior Brother Baole’s question?”

After getting the old physician’s approval, Cao Kun turned around, and from an angle unnoticeable by the old physician, he looked at Wang Baole with undisguised disdain and scorn, accompanied by a hint of hatred.

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