Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

That evening, Daluo Palace held a banquet to welcome the two new Star Officials who had just joined.

Fire Monkey of Turtle Beak Hou Hao!

The Monkey Yuan Lin!

The next day, Taoist Xu Ning of the Pure Sect slew a Soul-Devouring Fierce Ghost in Qinglan Prefecture and broke through to five hundred years of Dao Practice.

Daluo Palace had gained another three masters!

"How are Martial Uncle Huai Yi, Martial Uncle Tai Xian, and Martial Uncle Xuan Yong?" Gu Zhao asked via telepathy.

He had brought five old Daoists back from Lao Mountain all at once. Jingyi was too young, but the others were all seasoned Daoists. He figured they shouldn’t be too far behind.

Then he heard Taoist Xu Ning laugh and say, "Those three will probably need a little more time."

"Heh heh..."

"Hee hee..."

"Hahaha..."

The slightly awkward laughter of the three old Daoists echoed in his Sea of Consciousness, followed by a clamor, as if the three had agreed to go out and continue Exorcising Demons and Evil Spirits.

Gu Zhao couldn’t help but chuckle. "How’s Jingyi?"

"She’s doing well. Her mood hasn’t been affected." Taoist Xu Ning knew what Gu Zhao was asking. "Don’t worry. If her temperament were that fragile, she would never have been able to achieve true Cultivation or attain the Dao."

"That’s good." Gu Zhao nodded, then brought up Zhan Qing and Xue Bingbing of Snow God Mountain. "If Jingyi has time, she can go chat with Xue Bingbing and ask about Snow God Mountain."

"No problem," Taoist Xu Ning said with a gentle laugh.

Although Xue Bingbing was certainly older than Jingyi, her years of Cultivation meant her mental age was only around seventeen or eighteen.

Jingyi had been tempered by the trials of modern society, escaping unscathed from a pack of ravenous, wolf-like relatives, and still managed to maintain a stable mind for successful Cultivation. Gu Zhao was confident that handling Xue Bingbing would be a piece of cake for her.

Speak of the devil.

He had just been thinking of Jingyi when a telepathic message from Taoist Yuan He came through his Sea of Consciousness. "Jingyi’s identity has been exposed."

At this time, the one holding down the fort at the Taoist Research Institute was the old Daoist from the Pure Yang Sect, Taoist Yuan He.

"That video?" Gu Zhao guessed.

"Yes." Taoist Yuan He nodded. "Some of the onlookers in the hotel lobby also spoke out. As time went on and the story developed, Jingyi’s identity was dug up."

"The Taoist Office has partially controlled the hype and called to ask for our opinion," Taoist Yuan He said.

Gu Zhao asked, "Has it had any effect on Jingyi’s company?"

Taoist Yuan He was concise. "Orders have skyrocketed!"

Gu Zhao burst out laughing and shook his head. "Then don’t worry about it. Instead, we should keep an eye on Jingyi’s relatives. Be careful they don’t..."

"Jingyi’s identity was exposed because of the video of her flipping out at the hotel. People in the know have already dug up all the dirt on her family," Taoist Yuan He said with a laugh.

Gu Zhao shook his head and chuckled, then heard Taoist Yuan He continue, "There are two other things."

"First, a reporter in the West has confirmed what happened in Kabia that day," Taoist Yuan He said via telepathy. "The Office’s analysis is that it’s either a probe from their side or a sign of internal divisions."

"Second, some Extraordinary Beings have revealed their identities online. There are some from Sakura Paste, some from Ah San, and some from Huaqi," Taoist Yuan He continued. "They’ve also demonstrated their abilities online, but it’s nothing more than things like Spiritual Hypnosis or True Qi Manipulation."

"So some people couldn’t hold it in anymore?" Gu Zhao asked.

"They probably couldn’t handle the pressure."

In Yangcheng, inside the Taoist Research Institute, Taoist Yuan He held the documents sent over by the Taoist Office.

"Lately, there have been more and more rumors about Extraordinary Beings in the country. As the saying goes, what’s real can’t be fake, and what’s fake can’t be real. In the past, it was all fakes or special effects that were easily debunked. Most people just treated this kind of news as a joke.

"But things are different now. There are too many witnesses to the Mongolian Mine Disaster and the Shu Province airliner incident. They aren’t professionals from classified agencies. Even if they signed non-disclosure agreements, they don’t have the professional knowledge or mindset to keep a secret.

"It’s the same abroad. The ruins of Berkeley Mansion are still sealed off. And while Kabia is remote, the giant iron ball that Senior Brother Yan Song twisted out of the factory has been photographed by all the locals.

"This time, the exposure of Jingyi’s identity was probably the last straw that broke the camel’s back. A well-known Western reporter publicly confirmed it, and some Extraordinary Beings have revealed themselves as well."

Taoist Yuan He summarized, "The matter of Extraordinary Beings has finally been brought out into the open."

Gu Zhao laughed. "To be honest, it’s later than I expected."

Taoist Yuan He laughed too. "This is a technological society, after all. Normal people would never think of it. If we hadn’t been acting so frequently, people wouldn’t have even considered the possibility."

Gu Zhao was very curious. "What’s the situation like domestically?"

Taoist Yuan He chuckled. "Perhaps because we’ve been making too much noise, but even though the domestic internet is buzzing with discussions about the Taoist Sect’s Immortals, no accomplished Cultivators have come forward."

"Besides our Taoist Sect, are there other Cultivators in the country?" Gu Zhao asked.

"Of course," Taoist Yuan He replied. "The reputation of our ’friendly religions’ isn’t great, but there are still Monks who genuinely practice Cultivation. Besides them, there are those who practice traditional Qi Gong, those in the northeast who train their spirits through shamanism, and the Witchcraft in the southwest is also something to be reckoned with."

Gu Zhao understood and nodded. "That’s more like it."

’The civilization of Celestial Xia has a long and storied history with numerous traditions. Even those barbarians have their own Extraordinary systems passed down. It would be abnormal if Celestial Xia Country only had the Taoist Sect.’

"Hasn’t the Taoist Office looked for them?" Gu Zhao asked.

"They have, but they only compiled statistics. After all, the actual utility of most Extraordinary Beings isn’t that great." Taoist Yuan He shook his head with a wry smile. "If we hadn’t obtained the Thunder Seed and been able to harvest Evil Qi, our usefulness wouldn’t be that great either."

"Don’t sell yourself short. At least your Flying Sword performance can make turns. It looks much better than anyone else’s," Gu Zhao said with a laugh.

Taoist Yuan He roared with laughter, then said, "Well, that’s the situation. I’ll go let Jingyi know, so she isn’t completely in the dark next time she comes back."

"Alright." Gu Zhao nodded. "I’ll head back tomorrow to check on things."

...

The next day, just as Gu Zhao crossed over, he received a surprising piece of news.

"Huaqi Country announced the Superpower Special Service Bureau?" Gu Zhao said in surprise. "They announced it themselves?"

The Taoist Research Institute, while not deliberately hiding, had never actively revealed its existence.

To be honest, if the Taoist Office were able to keep the Research Institute in check, they would never have allowed it to be exposed. The old Daoists in the Institute were all living strategic weapons. How could their identities be revealed so easily?

Taoist Yuan He also couldn’t figure out what the other side was up to. "The Grand Commander of Huaqi Country sent out a tweet, saying that Huaqi Country has already established a national-level Extraordinary organization: the Superpower Special Service Bureau.

"In terms of both size and Extraordinary abilities, the Superpower Special Service Bureau is the largest and strongest Extraordinary organization in the world, capable of crushing the Extraordinary Persons of other countries.

"Under his leadership, Huaqi Country can stay great and keep on winning."