"Alright, we'll leave the other matters for later. For now, what information do you have on Gai Nie?" After Director Zhao of the company spoke, Mu You immediately fell silent.
Although Director Zhao's personal power was considered weak in the Exorcist Community, no one could deny his authority as the head of the company. During the war, Zhao had contributed greatly to the nation, making even someone like Mu You cautious not to provoke him lightly.
It had to be said, Director Zhao's cultivation talent was exceptionally poor. Despite having access to the vast resources of the company, his qi ability was limited to being able to move a pen with great effort, only slightly better than those who had never cultivated at all.
"No information whatsoever," Lu Jin and the other Ten Elders shook their heads. Director Zhao then turned his attention to Mu You.
"Jianghu Tavern hasn't been able to uncover anything about him. It's likely he's using an alias, and even his appearance might be fake. As for his techniques, we haven't found any clues," Mu You reported after a brief pause.
Mu You's Jianghu Tavern was a renowned intelligence organization in the Exorcist Community, making a living by selling information. In the original story, Lu Ci used Jianghu Tavern to locate Lü Liang's hiding place.
"Old Heavenly Master, may I ask who the person you fought that day was?" Director Zhao asked, turning toward the Old Heavenly Master, who was seated nearby.
"I don't know. All I can say is that the person was very powerful and used ice-based techniques or abilities," the Old Heavenly Master replied calmly.
"This is becoming quite troublesome." After the Old Heavenly Master spoke, the room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Each person present was a prominent figure in the Exorcist Community, yet they were all at a loss.
"In that case, let's leave it for now. I hope each of you will continue your investigations after you return," Director Zhao said after waiting a while and seeing that no one else had anything to add.
The purpose of this meeting was to gather intelligence on Gai Nie. As for the potential consequences in the Exorcist Community due to the disappearance of Wang Ai, as long as it didn't cause too much disruption, the company typically wouldn't intervene.
"Any updates from Er Zhuang?" Director Zhao asked his secretary as they left the meeting room.
"We've only tracked his last known location," the secretary said, handing over a stack of photographs. "Based on our findings, he may have entered the mountains. Although the area has been authorized for investigation, we haven't obtained any useful information yet."
"Have Er Zhuang continue monitoring the situation," Director Zhao instructed after reviewing the photos.
"Understood."
"How's it looking?" As soon as Director Zhao entered his office, one of the two board members waiting for him asked.
"Not good. We still have no idea who he is—it's like he appeared out of nowhere," Director Zhao shook his head slightly as he made his way to his seat.
"Could he be an old hidden master who's just emerged?" one of the board members speculated.
"Whether he's from Shaolin, the Heavenly Master Sect, or the Ten Elders, it doesn't matter. Before he causes bigger problems, we need to find him and talk."
To "talk." For the company, finding Gai Nie wasn't about eliminating him. The company's scope was much broader than that of the Ten Elders—they needed to deal not only with the domestic Exorcist Community but also with international issues.
Just like in the original story, when Mu You wanted to cripple the Old Heavenly Master after his battle with the Full Faction, that was never going to happen. Even without the opposition of Lu Jin and Lü Ci, the company would never have allowed it. After all, you couldn't just discard the country's strongest exorcist. Who would face foreign threats then?
The company had to ensure that the Exorcist Community didn't interfere with the lives of ordinary people, while also maintaining a group of top-level exorcists capable of handling international situations.
"So what should we do now?"
"The only option left is to have someone divine his location." Naturally, the company had its own sorcerers capable of divination. In fact, many of the Nine Grand Masters of the Exorcist Community had connections to the company.
And the company didn't just rely on its sorcerers. In times of need, they could even call on the Zhuge family, the nation's top sorcerer family.
"Divine Mask, Lingxu Finger... Summer Liuqing certainly knows a lot of martial arts." While the company was busy searching for Gai Nie, Daniel Davis had no idea, nor did he care. At the moment, he was studying under Summer Liuqing, a senior member of the Full Faction.
"Performance, huh?" The core principle of the Divine Mask technique was simple: performance. You had to act until others believed, and more importantly, until you believed it yourself. Through this belief, you could transform into a god.
Once you reached the level of transformation, with the aid of special tools that stored faith energy, you could embody mythical or legendary figures, gaining some of their characteristics.
Summer Liuqing had several transformations, including Sun Wukong, Nezha, and the Door Gods.
The figures one could transform into were widely recognized mythical figures because only they had enough collective belief to fuel the transformation.
"If I had this Divine Mask ability before crossing worlds, I could have transformed into all sorts of characters. Maybe I should start drawing some comics in this world and promote them," Daniel mused.
Modern society had certainly made life difficult for many exorcists. For instance, the corpse-driving family from Xiangxi found themselves out of work, as there were no longer any bodies to drive. Many of them had transitioned into careers as forensic pathologists.
Then there were those with beast-taming abilities. In ancient times, they could only control wild animals, but with modern advancements, they could manipulate prokaryotes, or bacteria, greatly expanding the scope of their abilities. One of the Seven Temporary Workers was such a person and called himself a biologist.
Similarly, Er Zhuang's ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves, which was useless in the past, had now become a strategic-level power. The Divine Mask technique also saw significant improvements in modern society.
In ancient times, due to the lack of information and education, it was difficult to spread legends and stories. Outside of a few widely recognized legends, it was nearly impossible to gather enough belief energy. For example, the Door Gods and Martial Saints only became viable for Divine Mask transformations in modern times.
The belief energy required for Divine Mask was entirely different from the faith that powered Western churches. The Divine Mask only required people to know the character—it didn't matter how devoted they were. The more people knew the character, the more belief energy could be collected.
"This ability seems perfect for someone with a severe case of 'chuunibyou' (delusions of grandeur)," Daniel chuckled as he continued to study Divine Mask.
To act until others believed, and until you believed—this was essentially the essence of 'chuunibyou.' With the speed of modern communication, as long as you had enough money for promotion, you could easily create a legendary figure for Divine Mask.
For example, if Daniel introduced One Piece to this world, after a certain period of promotion, he could transform into Whitebeard or Red-Haired Shanks.
So why didn't more people study this seemingly powerful ability? The reason was simple: regardless of who you transformed into, the power you could wield depended on your own strength. Just because you transformed into Sun Wukong or Nezha didn't mean you could access their full power.
If it were truly that easy, why bother with Sun Wukong or Nezha? Wouldn't it be better to transform into the Tongtian Jiaozhu and wield the Immortal Execution Sword Formation? The problem was, you wouldn't have the strength to use it.
For example, even if you gained Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi (Tremor-Tremor Fruit) ability, if you were weak, you wouldn't be able to shake anything, not even a block of tofu.
Just like Director Zhao from the company—despite his qi abilities, he could barely move a pen with his full strength.
"Come to think of it, if I took this ability to the One Piece world, after collecting belief energy for a while, I could probably gain the power of the Gura Gura no Mi," Daniel considered.
With Whitebeard's renown in the One Piece world, he could certainly become a viable target for Divine Mask. Not just Whitebeard, but any of the Four Emperors would do.
"Not just Whitebeard—Gol D. Roger could be used too, though someone like Rocks probably wouldn't work." The Divine Mask technique had its limitations. You had to be very familiar with the character you were embodying. Sun Wukong, for example, was a fictional character in The Outcast, but his widespread fame and well-known abilities made him a suitable target for transformation. The same went for Nezha.
Rocks D. Xebec, on the other hand, wasn't as well-known. Not enough people knew of him to provide sufficient belief energy for a transformation. The same could happen to Whitebeard if his fame diminished over time.
"These are all high-potential techniques." Like the Eight Miraculous Techniques, the Divine Mask had immense potential, but its power was limited by
the world and the user's capabilities.
"You're free to go." After completing his training in Divine Mask and Lingxu Finger, Daniel released Summer Liuqing. Summer was one of the few members of the Full Faction who wasn't completely irredeemable, similar to Xia He. As for the ordinary people who had been caught up in their schemes and died, Daniel wasn't a saint and had no intention of avenging them.
"I was wondering what kind of business the company was involved in. Turns out, getting into the anime industry wouldn't be a bad idea," Daniel mused as he changed his appearance to that of Wei Zhuang and headed toward Biyou Village. Along the way, he considered how to incorporate the anime industry into his future plans.
After all, even if he didn't actively use Divine Mask, it wouldn't hurt to store some belief energy for future use.
"Master Bi is indeed impressive." Upon returning to Biyou Village, Daniel didn't immediately begin training in Controlling Spirits and Dispatching Generals or Double Full Hand. He wanted to wait until he could confirm things with Qu Tong regarding Double Full Hand. As for Controlling Spirits and Dispatching Generals, there was no rush. He had another priority: studying medicine with Master Bi Yuan.
Master Bi was one of the Nine Grand Masters, renowned for his medical skills in the Exorcist Community. His Ghost Gate Needle technique could save lives or kill with a single thought, and it was especially good at targeting weaknesses. In his hands, defensive techniques like Golden Bell Shield or Iron Shirt might as well have been made of paper—though this only applied to ordinary practitioners. The Old Heavenly Master's Golden Light Incantation was an exception.
With such a prestigious figure willing to teach him, Daniel seized the opportunity to learn. Although Master Bi often claimed he was of average talent, no one actually believed that—only a fool would.
Master Bi wasn't an ordinary person. All of his disciples were famous figures in the Exorcist Community, including one of the Two Heroes, Ding Shian. Even Gong Qing, the acting leader of the Full Faction, was his disciple.
Despite Gong Qing's seemingly easy defeat, his position as the acting leader of the Full Faction was no small feat. His downfall was simply a matter of choosing the wrong opponent.
In addition to learning Ghost Gate Needle, Daniel took the chance to study the Earth Movement Technique and Jin Yong's Stepping on the Big Dipper. These two masters were among the few who weren't burdened by sect rivalries.
"There are two tasks here. Who's free to take care of them?" One day, Ma Xianhong, the leader of the Biyou Village, summoned several top-tier disciples, including Daniel, Qiu Rang, Zhang Kun, and Ding Ziheng. Absent were Fu Rong, Liu Wukui, and Zhao Guizhen.
"I'll take the one in the capital," Daniel quickly volunteered when he saw that it involved contacting Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye.
The other task was to capture Grandma Jin Feng of the Full Faction alive. Daniel had no interest in that.
"Alright, it's yours. Take a few people with you."
"No problem."
"Should I approach Qu Tong from Yaoxing Society now, or wait until Ma Xianhong finishes modifying the Body Refining Furnace?" Daniel pondered as he looked at his phone, scrolling through information about the Yaoxing Society on his way to the capital.
He didn't want to interfere too early and risk Ma Xianhong abandoning his modifications. At the same time, Daniel wasn't planning to kill Qu Tong. He was genuinely curious about her motives and preferred to play the role of the "mantis stalking the cicada," waiting for the right moment.
If Qu Tong were removed from the equation, Ma Xianhong would undoubtedly cause even bigger problems with his impulsive nature. Daniel had no interest in cleaning up that mess—he preferred to leave it to Qu Tong.
"The news only reported on the Full Faction's attack on the Heavenly Master Sect, but nothing about Wang Ai's disappearance. Has it been covered up?" On the Exorcist Community's private network, the hottest topic was the Full Faction's disastrous assault on the Heavenly Master Sect.
The acting leader of the Full Faction, Gong Qing, three of the Four Maniacs, and senior members like Tu Junfang and Yuan Tao had all been wiped out. The Full Faction's power had been cut in half overnight.
It was undeniable that the Full Faction was a force to be reckoned with. Even after losing so many top-level exorcists, their strength had only been halved. In contrast, the disappearance of a single figure like Wang Ai had significantly weakened the Wang family.
With so many top exorcists gone, the Full Faction's leadership now rested on one of the Two Heroes, Ding Shian, and the Six Thieves. In the original story, three of the Six Thieves were killed during the Old Heavenly Master's battle with the Full Faction, but this time, Tian Jinzhong had survived, so the Six Thieves might not be as easy to kill.
Compared to the original story, the Full Faction had suffered even heavier losses this time.
"Looks like I'll have to head to the grasslands and take out Ding Shian."
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