Published: February 12, 2025
In a mysterious base, a gigantic crystal ball displayed the clear images of several individuals. Just moments ago, it had shown a scene unfolding thousands of miles away.
A battle between opponents of the same evolution level had concluded with one side overwhelming the other.
This result left the few individuals communicating through the crystal ball in silence.
"Everyone, what are your thoughts?"
In front of the crystal ball sat an elderly man with white hair and a face covered in fine white fuzz.
After a long pause, no one spoke.
"This time, our five families jointly funded this operation, requesting the heavenly stems and earthly branches to take action, claiming it was to eliminate core members of Cloud Summit. In reality, it was merely a probe into this colossal entity," the elderly man said, gazing at the figures in the crystal ball with a low voice. "Now the results are out, and yet no one has anything to say?"
"That wasn’t much of a successful test, Uncle Bai. The people you hired are rather weak," one of the figures in the lower left corner of the crystal ball let out a frivolous laugh, directing his remarks at the white-haired elder.
The elder did not get angry but raised an eyebrow, looking at the young man. "In two strikes against the resistance zone, they seized a total of thirty-two grade 8 magic crystals. In four strikes against the Radiant World Army, they secured forty-one grade 8 magic crystals. They only targeted the rapidly rising Liansheng Corps once but directly seized a bottle of eight-star evolution potion. Moreover, they have provoked no fewer than ten organizations ranked in the top thirty of the national district."
"But they are still living well, continuing to thrive in the apocalypse. Nephew, do you think your Watchtower could achieve this?"
"That’s because no one knows it was them; otherwise, how could Ji Rui Guang and Mu Hanyi possibly let them go?"
The elderly man shook his head. "Nephew, the ability to prevent the resistance zone and the Radiant World Army from discovering them is an achievement in itself."
The young man's frivolity vanished, sitting up straight and staring at the elder in the crystal ball. "Uncle Bai, their skill lies in hiding, in escaping, not in fighting. Just look at earlier—a seven-star evolver couldn't last three moves in front of Ye Zhongming. Their bloodline, professional skills, elemental spirits, and battle beasts were all useless; they might not have even broken a sweat. Tell me, what’s the point of such a probe? What have we sacrificed for this nonsense? Each family contributed a bottle of seven-star evolution potion, five pieces of blue equipment, and three grade 8 magic crystals! Even with the support of that queen in the sky, we’re still quite poor!"
His voice had grown loud, and the elder’s face showed evident anger.
Yet, he could no longer deny that the heavenly stems and earthly branches had indeed failed to meet their objectives.
"Enough! You two are of such differing ages, how can you argue endlessly at the first meeting?" Another man, around forty years old and well-groomed, interrupted. Even while speaking to a few of his most secretive friends, he continued to smoke a cigar, with a woman in the background who could only be seen from the waist up massaging his shoulders.
The edge of the crystal ball displayed a blinding white light.
"Old Bai, we are all under the command of Queen Pusut. We had to act against Cloud Summit on her orders, but everyone knows they are strong. It seems we have underestimated our opponent. I believe you, as someone skilled in schemes, must have a backup plan, right? Let’s see it now, so we can have a clearer assessment of Cloud Summit's strength; otherwise, if we act personally and make a mistake, it could cost lives."
Another older man, not Old Bai, tapped his metal cane, speaking with a hint of urgency.
The elder was pragmatic; he couldn’t understand why, with the pressing task from above to obtain an item from Cloud Summit, everyone should be brainstorming solutions rather than arguing. Could they really shout the needed item out from Cloud Summit?