Earth Condemnation Bureau Meeting

At the Jinghai City branch of the Earth Condemnation Bureau.

The atmosphere in the conference hall was oppressive and heavy.

More than fifty people were seated at the long conference table.

All of them were group leaders or above.

The Human-Level Group, Tiger-Level Group, Dragon-Level Group, Ghost-Level Group... every group leader was present.

Every one of them was injured.

Some wore bandages, some had broken mechanical arms, and some had half their faces smashed to pieces.

Clearly, the battle with the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult had been exceptionally brutal.

The conference room door swung open.

Chu Xun walked in.

He was sixty-one, dressed in the dark blue uniform of a bureau director. His hair was graying, his eyes sharp, and he carried a natural air of authority.

He walked into the conference room one step at a time.

An inexplicable pressure accompanied him, making people afraid to look him in the eye.

He was the deputy director of the Earth Condemnation Bureau in Jinghai City and the highest-ranking official in the branch.

He was also a Dawn Divine Machinist with a combat power of 510,000.

When he wielded the Earth Condemnation Divine Weapon, his combat power could reach 870,000.

At that moment, his expression was grim in the extreme.

He walked to the head of the table and sat down.

His gaze swept over the room.

Finally, it settled on Tian Yijing, the person in charge of the operation.

"Group Leader Tian," he said in a grave voice. "Report on what happened last night."

Tian Yijing stood up.

Her face was deathly pale. She had clearly been injured as well.

Yet she still carried the silver case, never letting it leave her side.

She took the documents in her hand and began her report.

"Through our fighting and investigation last night, we learned the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult's true objective."

"They intended to set up the 'Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams Blood Sacrifice Grand Formation' in the center of Jinghai City."

"Using blood sacrifice, they gathered blood to refine blood pills."

"They set up subsidiary formations at eight positions."

"The Giant Whale Sect was only at the kan position, and was also their apparent target."

"We joined forces with the Sturgeon Group to set a trap, originally intending to catch them all in one net."

She paused, her voice growing graver.

"But we never expected the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult to deploy forces far beyond our estimates."

"They sent out twelve true disciples and over a hundred core disciples."

"In addition, there were large numbers of inner sect, outer sect, and servant disciples."

"By throwing us off the scent, they successfully activated the grand formation."

"After the grand formation was activated, it collected blood from across the entire city center and condensed it into blood pills."

"Civilian casualties... exceeded ten thousand."

Deathly silence filled the conference hall.

Everyone's expression was grim.

They had all seen last night's battle with their own eyes and experienced it firsthand.

The Ten Thousand Immortals Cult had deployed an enormous force, and the Blood Sacrifice Grand Formation had caught them completely off guard. They had made no preparations against it whatsoever.

Even with the Earth Dispatch Bureau and the Sturgeon Group joining forces, the casualties had still reached such a terrifying number.

No one could take responsibility for such a tragedy.

Tian Yijing continued her report.

"As for the results of the battle, both sides were evenly matched."

"The Ten Thousand Immortals Cult lost many disciples. More than half of their servant, outer sect, and inner sect disciples were killed or injured in particular."

"But our Earth Condemnation Bureau and the Sturgeon Group also lost quite a few augmented humans."

"According to preliminary figures, we lost twelve complete-form augmented humans, and thirty-five were seriously injured."

"The Sturgeon Group lost five complete-form augmented humans, and eighteen were seriously injured."

By the time Chu Xun had heard it all, his face was livid.

He slammed a hand down on the table and cursed at the top of his voice.

"The Ten Thousand Immortals Cult's crimes are so numerous that all the bamboo in the world could not record them!"

"How vicious can they be? They actually created this Blood Sacrifice Grand Formation and murdered so many civilians!"

"Utterly deranged!"

"A crime against humanity!"

"This Ten Thousand Immortals Cult is nothing but an enemy of humanity!"

"They use the blood of living people to refine pills. A cult like that should be wiped out completely!"

He took a deep breath, his voice filled with rage.

"Headquarters is treating this incident with the utmost seriousness."

"They called it the most serious incident in the outer city in a hundred years!"

Not a sound could be heard in the conference hall.

No one dared speak.

Chu Xun paused, his tone softening slightly.

"However, there is some good news."

"The Ten Thousand Immortals Cult lost quite a few people this time."

"Especially those core disciples. Their cultivation is similar to the practice of Secret Martial Arts, and it takes time."

"Every one who dies is one fewer."

"As for us augmented humans..."

He looked at the assembled group, his tone proud.

"Complete-form augmented humans in particular."

"As long as the brain tissue in their bodies isn't destroyed, they can be repaired and fight again."

"As for the high cost..."

"Don't worry. The bureau will cover it!"

"Headquarters has already given the order: the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult has reached the point where it must be eradicated. We can't delay for even a moment."

"We must never allow another incident like last night's."

He stood up, his voice ringing with force.

"Every Earth Condemnation Bureau in the outer city will take action to thoroughly investigate and wipe out the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult!"

"This matter has now been made our highest priority!"

"At the same time, headquarters has contacted the Sturgeon Group, and they have agreed to provide their full assistance."

"Starting today..."

"Whenever you find a disciple of the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult..."

"Kill every one you see."

"Show no mercy."

After making his speech,

Chu Xun offered a few words of comfort to restore the morale of everyone in the Earth Dispatch Bureau.

The bureau would take care of anything that might hold them back.

As long as they gave their all to wiping out the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult, it would be a great achievement.

After those formalities, the post-battle meeting finally came to an end.

The attendees left one after another.

Xu Jiang followed his colleagues out, walking at the back.

He had quite a few injuries himself, and he was covered in grime. Some circuitry was even visible on his arm and chest.

These had clearly been caused by his fight with the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult's disciples.

He returned to his office and pushed open the door.

Someone was sitting inside.

It was Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming had his head lowered and looked uneasy.

Xu Jiang closed the door, his face dark.

"Let's hear it."

"Why didn't you show up for last night's operation?"

He walked over to his desk, sat down, and stared at Zhou Ming.

"Didn't I specifically tell you to make sure you were back before one in the morning?"

"But the whole night passed. Where were you?"

"And where's Bai Xue? Where is she hiding?"

He had been busy all night, first leading his squad in battle against the Ten Thousand Immortals Cult's disciples.

As soon as that was over, he had gone straight to the meeting.

He hadn't had a chance until now to ask what had happened to Bai Xue and Zhou Ming.

Despite something so important happening, they had failed to return all night.

Zhou Ming raised his head, looking uneasy, but told him the truth.

"Group Leader, we... ran into Su Han."

Xu Jiang frowned.

"Su Han?"

"Yes." Zhou Ming recounted what had happened last night.

From the moment they received their official appointments and began tracking Su Han's signal,

to intercepting Su Han at the entrance to Jiayuan Residential Complex, fighting him, suffering a crushing defeat, and finally fleeing.

He described it all in great detail.

Xu Jiang's expression grew uglier as he listened.

Finally, he heard that Bai Xue had been seriously injured, remained unconscious, and was receiving treatment at the bureau's hospital, with little chance of recovery.

"More than ninety-five percent of Bai Xue's organic body was damaged, almost to the point of disintegration."

"The augmented parts were also badly damaged. More than eighty percent of her three major templates were damaged."

"For her to survive, she'll probably have to undergo complete-form augmentation."