Waiting by the Stump for a Hare

Meanwhile.

On the other side, on the top floor of the Giant Whale Sect's building.

This was the Giant Whale Sect's conference hall, a vast space covering more than five hundred square meters.

Normally, no one should have been there at this hour.

Yet, unexpectedly, the hall was brightly lit.

All the Giant Whale Sect's upper echelon were present.

And sect master Chen Wanjun stood at the very front.

He was fifty-five, dressed in a black Tang suit, his square face grave.

Behind him stood two True Gang elders, both men in their sixties with sharp eyes.

Behind them were twelve Baodan Realm experts. They were not particularly strong, but all held senior positions in the sect.

Everyone was standing.

Not one of them dared sit down.

Because two people were seated in the places of honor in the conference hall.

The first was a man.

Tall and powerfully built, his nearly two-meter frame was like an iron tower.

He wore a silver metal mask that left only his eyes exposed.

They were blue, marked with distinctive technological patterns.

His body was much the same, brimming with a technological aesthetic.

His exposed arms, neck, and part of his chest were all mechanical.

Together with his enormous frame, they gave him an intangible air of pressure.

One look was enough to tell he was a cyborg.

But unlike other cyborgs in appearance,

the modified parts this man had exposed were an unusual color.

They shone with the rainbow hues of glazed glass, their luster shifting beneath the lights with an eerie beauty.

The others did not recognize the material, but Chen Wanjun, as the Giant Whale Sect's master, did.

Rainbow Steel.

It was the finest material available for cyborgs.

Only one kind of being could use it.

An ultimate complete-form cyborg.

The strongest of all cyborgs!

His entire body was made of Rainbow Steel, equipped with a level-four neural module, a level-four combat module, and a level-four energy shield module.

His combat power started at a minimum of five hundred thousand.

His identity was equally terrifying.

He was Wang Yi'an, leader of a level-five security team from the Sturgeon Group.

The other person was a woman.

She appeared to be in her twenties, with an ordinary face, but her eyes were extraordinary.

Unlike the physical pressure Wang Yi'an exerted,

her eyes carried a mental pressure that made it impossible to meet her gaze.

Even being looked at by her made their hearts tremble a little.

She sat there in a white business suit, holding a silver case in her hand the whole time.

The case was small, less than thirty centimeters in length, width, and height.

But a slender iron chain was fastened around her wrist, its other end attached to the case.

Clearly, it was extremely important to her, and she never let it leave her side.

Her identity was equally terrifying.

She was Tian Yijing, a member of the God-Level Group at the Earth Condemnation Bureau's Jinghai City branch.

A Dawn Divine Machinist.

The case contained her divine weapon.

Her combat power started at five hundred thousand, but in actual combat, she was even stronger than an ultimate complete-form cyborg.

Wang Yi'an was the first to speak.

He slowly rose to his feet.

His Rainbow Steel body shimmered with seven-colored light beneath the lamps, and every step carried an intangible pressure.

"Everyone."

His voice came from behind his mask, slightly muffled.

Everyone in the conference hall held their breath.

"I called you all here tonight because of one matter."

Wang Yi'an surveyed the hall, his mechanical eyes flashing blue.

"The Ten Thousand Immortals Cult."

He spoke the name with undisguised disgust.

"This foreign evil cult is everyone's common enemy."

"And now, they have set their sights on your Giant Whale Sect."

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath sounded through the conference hall.

The sect master and elders all turned pale.

They had gathered here because they had already been told something serious had happened.

Although they had already had their suspicions,

they still could not help feeling afraid when it was confirmed.

The Ten Thousand Immortals Cult was an evil cult through and through, and it had recently wiped out several Secret Martial Arts sects in succession.

The Giant Whale Sect, despite being the strongest Secret Martial Arts sect in Jinghai City,

had ultimately been targeted as well.

Without outside help, a Secret Martial Arts sect like theirs, relying on itself alone,

could not possibly withstand an evil cult like that. They might even end up exterminated like the other Secret Martial Arts sects.

"But you needn't worry." Wang Yi'an changed tack.

"The Sturgeon Group, at the Earth Condemnation Bureau's invitation, has made thorough preparations to resolve this incident."

He raised his hand, his voice noticeably louder.

"We will deploy twenty level-one security teams."

"Each team has five members, all black-grade enhanced humans and half-cyborgs, with combat power starting at one hundred thousand."

"Ten level-two security teams, five members each, all beginner complete-form cyborgs, with combat power starting at two hundred thousand."

"Five level-three security teams, five members each, all advanced complete-form cyborgs, with combat power starting at three hundred thousand."

"Two level-four security teams, five members each, all top-tier complete-form cyborgs, with combat power starting at four hundred thousand!"

With every sentence he spoke, the breathing in the conference hall grew heavier.

Chen Wanjun and the others felt their scalps go numb as they listened.

Such a lineup was simply terrifying.

But that was not all.

Finally, Wang Yi'an tapped his Rainbow Steel chest and said with pride and confidence,

"In addition, there are three ultimate complete-form cyborgs in total, myself included."

"We will stand guard together and help you through this crisis."

"So you can rest assured."

"In this operation, we will pull the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult out of Jinghai City by the roots."

At those words, everyone present immediately felt much more at ease.

At the same time, they were shaken to the core.

The Sturgeon Group had actually sent such a lineup.

With that kind of combat power, turning the outer city upside down might not have been out of the question.

After Wang Yi'an finished speaking,

Tian Yijing stood up as well.

She carried the silver case, the iron chain on her wrist clattering.

"Team leader Wang is right."

Her voice was calm, but it carried an intangible mental pressure that made everyone afraid to make a sound.

"The Ten Thousand Immortals Cult is a true evil cult."

"They stir up trouble everywhere, committing every evil imaginable, slaughtering innocents, exterminating entire families, and wreaking destruction."

"Their many crimes are too numerous to count."

"Their sins are unforgivable; even all the bamboo slips in the world could not record them."

"An evil cult like that deserves to be put to death by all."

She walked to the center of the conference hall, her gaze sweeping over each person's face.

"That is why the Earth Condemnation Bureau has been monitoring the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult's movements for the past two years."

"And recently, we discovered that many of their disciples were converging on Jinghai City, including powerful core disciples and even true disciples."

"And their target is the Giant Whale Sect."

The hearts of the Giant Whale Sect members present tightened.

"But things are certainly not that simple," Tian Yijing continued.

"The Ten Thousand Immortals Cult sends out all its experts just for a Secret Martial Arts sect?"

"Impossible."

"To guard against the unexpected, we at the Earth Condemnation Bureau have decided"

"to meet every change by holding steady, and have invited the Sturgeon Group, the largest local power, to join forces with us."

"We'll wait by the stump for the hare, and make sure they never return."