"What sort of existence is this Primordial Alliance?" The doctors present had always devoted themselves to their own research, and few of them had any concrete notion of what the so-called Primordial Alliance actually was.

"The compiled intelligence on the Primordial Alliance has all been sent to your computers. A glance will make the details clear." Lan Xiaoru gestured toward the laptops before each of them. In truth, quite a few had already been reading before she spoke.

Not everyone enjoyed that privilege, however—at least not the peripheral researchers seated around the edges. Brother Dafeng noted this and inwardly lamented the loss; otherwise he might have gauged exactly how much these people knew about the Primordial Alliance, and thereafter would have been far more confident in what to say and do, never fearing he might betray himself with some unnatural slip.

"At the very least they are all Foundation Establishment experts? If every cultivator in the Primordial Alliance is that powerful, then with the strength we have here, I'm afraid it's hardly enough to deal with them, is it not?" someone immediately questioned.

"Exactly, and right now they're all gathered together—there's no chance to strike at all, is there?" Others shook their heads in agreement.

"Everyone, even Foundation Establishment experts can be dealt with if we plan carefully and pick out the weakest among them—success is not impossible. As for their being gathered together, far from being a bad thing for our plan, it is in fact a tremendous advantage." Lan Xiaoru smiled faintly.

"How do you figure that?" The crowd was puzzled.

"It's simple. Though most of them are gathered together, not all have been recalled. Some are still active throughout the secular world, and these people almost always operate alone—they are precisely our ideal targets! Conversely, if all of them moved about normally, we would have to weigh matters very carefully indeed, because that would mean they could likely come to one another's rescue. But as things stand, those operating outside are few in number, and scattered to the four corners of the earth. Once we fix our eyes on one, there will be no help coming from heaven or earth." Lan Xiaoru spoke with confidence.

"Doctor Lan, may I ask what we are to use against the Primordial Alliance's Foundation Establishment experts? I heard that the only successful Subject One from before has already been killed. Could Cloud Terrace Island send reinforcements through?" someone asked.

"That's impossible. The transmission channel connecting us with Cloud Terrace Island can currently transport only inanimate objects; the success rate for living matter is negligible. Pinning our hopes on such a low-probability event is simply unreliable." Someone immediately shook his head in opposition.

The crowd fell into heated discussion. Brother Dafeng, seated at the edge, listened dumbfounded. Though central headquarters must certainly possess means of travel between Cloud Terrace Island and the secular world—a fact already confirmed by that earlier letter—hearing it with his own ears still left him shaken. The strength of central headquarters was truly off the charts.

"We don't need reinforcements from Cloud Terrace Island. We have that capability ourselves." Lan Xiaoru paused, slowly sweeping her gaze across the room, and from her lips came three words: "The Hunter Team."

At these words the room fell silent at once. Brother Dafeng did not understand, but the core doctors of central headquarters present knew full well the weight of those three words. Every one of their latest achievements was equipped to this mysterious squad at the first opportunity; it was a card the secular world's central headquarters rarely played—a trump card.

Shuiheng City, a small yet rather prosperous coastal city. By every measure Shuiheng stood on an entirely different plane from other cities, yet it was famous for one thing above all, and that was the very root of its prosperity: escort girls.

This was the national stronghold of escort girls and the playground of the upper class. Hiring streetwalkers was the way of bumpkins; once one truly reached a certain tier, one inevitably sought out escorts. In beauty and bearing alike, they were far beyond the reach of ordinary working girls—and of course, so were their prices.

The Shuiheng Tower, a landmark building of Shuiheng City, was a heaven within heaven. Those who came and went here were invariably rich or noble. Only the very top tier of escorts was fit to attend here; ordinary people could not even get through the front door.

Yet on this day, the top floor of the Shuiheng Tower was reserved entirely by a wealthy young heir, and he had but one guest—a man in red who appeared to be in his twenties or thirties.

"Young Master Yu, it's been so long since you've been here—what's brought you around today? You didn't even call ahead so we could dress up a little!" Several escort girls in exceedingly skimpy attire pushed the door open with giggles, each one alluring or demure or sultry or cute—top-tier looks rarely seen in the outside world, dazzling to the eye.

"Why are you girls so slow? You kept us waiting several minutes. Hurry over and apologize to Brother Jing!" Young Master Yu beckoned, then turned to the man in red with obsequious courtesy. "Brother Jing, what do you think of these few?"

The man in red leered at the escorts, nodding and shaking his head by turns. "Not bad, not bad—but still a little lacking."

"Still lacking?" Young Master Yu blinked, then watched as the man in red ran his hands all over the girls yet seemed left wanting more, and comprehension dawned. "Got it. I'll call a few more over."

The escorts were sharp-eyed women all; seeing how deferential Young Master Yu was to this man in red, they knew he must be someone of enormous standing, and at once grew all the more solicitous, cooing, "Where is Brother Jing from?"

"The Thousand Blades Sect." The man in red pulled the women into his arms with a grin, fondling them freely, the very picture of a starving ghost in heat.

"The Thousand Blades Sect? Where's that? Never heard of it. Brother Jing, you didn't just make up some place to tease us, did you?" The escorts laughed and played along, yet were thoroughly perplexed.

The man in red laughed heartily. What he said was no invention—his name was Jing Xuanyang, and he was an expert of the Thousand Blades Sect from the Primordial Alliance. The Thousand Blades Sect had always been strict in its rules, and within the Primordial Alliance he had never had the chance to get close to women. Now that he had finally made it to the secular world, he was naturally determined to indulge himself to the fullest. By chance he had come to know Young Master Yu, and thereafter came here.

The lap of tender beauty is the tomb of heroes. Having tasted the intoxicating delights of women, Jing Xuanyang grew all the more unrestrained, and he even ignored the summons issued by his sect. In his view, so long as he made it back before the Primordial Passage closed, all was well—and before that, he simply had to enjoy himself to the fullest. (To be continued.)