On the other side of the ocean, a similar eting was taking place.
"Any progress?"
"Wang Changyi has disappeared. His parents have returned to their hotown, and while they’ve resud a normal life, our people have found they’re being protected. We can’t get close."
"Of course. After sothing this big, I’d be shocked if they didn’t react."
"What about the Celes... Celestial Master’s Mansion?" soone asked. "The organization Wang Changyi is a part of."
"Nothing out of the ordinary," the presenter reported. "It’s a tourist area in Celestial Xia. While there’s a lot of religious activity, everyone seems to be an ordinary person. Our agents were there for a long ti and didn’t find anything."
"WTF! A tourist area? Ordinary people?" A middle-aged man pointed at the photos on the wall behind them. "They’ve basically spit in our faces, and you’re telling you found *nothing*?"
The photos showed five-colored thunderclouds blanketing the sky, a golden figure hovering in mid-air, a collapsed skyscraper, and the bodies of the dead scattered across the rubble.
"We’ve already made inquiries through backchannels, but they deny any involvent," the presenter said with an air of innocence. "According to our intelligence analysis, this doesn’t fit their M.O. It was likely done by private citizens."
"Use your head! Even if they didn’t know about it beforehand, with their level of control, they absolutely know now!" Soone slamd their hand on the table. "This is a provocation! We have to retaliate!"
"Then what’s the plan? Sail an aircraft carrier over there?"
"It’s not off the table!"
"Could a carrier withstand a lightning strike of that magnitude?"
The room fell silent.
In the movies, they could always find a way to handle Superman, but that was just because the writers gave him a debuff. In the real world, you get Holander.
"This Celestial Master’s Mansion... what exactly is it?" the old man at the head of the table asked.
"The Celestial Master’s Mansion is a branch of one of their native religions," the presenter explained. "The religion is called Daoism. It’s polytheistic and said to be nearly two thousand years old. It’s currently divided into two main schools: Quanzhen Dao and Zhengyi Dao."
The presenter then gave a brief overview of Daoism in their country.
First, Daoism has a long history and is deeply ingrained in their culture. They have Taoist Temples all over the country, much like we have churches.
Second, the people in these Taoist Temples are called Daoists. According to legend, they all ditate to cultivate their Qi. Once they develop what’s called "Inner Breath True Qi," they beco Mages who possess Magical Power.
Third, their country is vast and has a huge population, so the number of Daoists who have successfully cultivated Inner Breath True Qi is likely substantial.
Fourth, we have reports on Daoists who’ve cultivated this Inner Breath True Qi. While they are powerful—capable of defeating Yin-Yang Masters from Sakura Paste and Black Magic Masters from Southeast Asia of a similar level—they are still considered within the scope of normal human limits. They absolutely cannot stop a bullet.
Up to this point, all of these conclusions were perfectly reasonable.
If it weren’t for the incident at Berkeley, we wouldn’t have paid any mind to these Daoists and their limited abilities. After all, Celestial Xia is a secular state. Their religious organizations have far less influence than our own Church Court.
So what if their Magical Power was a little stronger? So what if they could defeat Yin-Yang Masters, Black Magic Masters, or even our own Priests?
Under a blanket of TNT, all carbon-based life is equal.
But!
And that was the crucial part.
All eyes in the room turned back to the photos on the wall.
How could these Mages, who were supposed to be within the realm of normal human ability, possess such inconceivable power?
"The heroes in our Hollywood movies, like Thor or Shazam, have this kind of power," soone said with a frustrated laugh. "Are they really just taking what we imagine and making it a reality?"
"It’s true for technology, and now it’s true for science fiction!" The man’s face was grim. "When did we fall so far behind?"
"Frank, calm down." The man at the head of the table gave him a look. "Our objective right now is to solve the problem."
"Yes." The middle-aged man, Frank, nodded.
"Daoism has a presence in our country as well; we have our own Daoists," the presenter continued. "We questioned the Daoists active here in Huaqi. They told us the Magic used by the person in the video is called the Thunder Technique, one of the most famous forms of Magic in all of Daoism."
"Magic?" soone asked. "You an it’s not an innate ability, like what gods such as Zeus or Thor possess?"
"No." The presenter shook his head. "In Celestial Xia’s legends, most Immortals were originally humans who achieved their status through Cultivation. Their powers are earned through practice, not granted by a higher power."
A few of the attendees familiar with the legends of Celestial Xia fell silent. The more they understood the history, myths, and cultural legacies on both sides of the Pacific, the more pessimistic they beca about the future of their own people and nation.
"So, can these local Daoists use this... Thunder Technique?" the man at the head of the table asked.
"They can’t." The presenter shook his head. "We’ve investigated every Taoist Temple in Huaqi Country. We found only three Daoists who have developed any Magical Power, and they most certainly cannot stop a bullet."
The reality was, when they questioned those Daoists, they did so under the guise of a Hollywood production. They claid it was for a new movie, that the person in the video was an actor playing an Eastern Daoist, and they just wanted to know if the special effects looked authentic.
Of course, these Daoists lived in Huaqi Country and had undoubtedly seen the Berkeley videos online. Whether they actually believed the cover story was anyone’s guess.
"What about our own people?" soone asked. "They have Daoists, but we have Priests!"
"Yes, exactly! Don’t we have so hidden masters in our own country?" another person chid in. "People like Cardinals or Ascetics?"
"Unfortunately, no." The presenter shook his head. "Our Priests are only interested in money and little boys. Even the few who are genuinely devout can only channel the Lord’s light to offer people so basic psychological counseling."
"WTF, a bunch of usele—" The man coughed twice, cutting himself off before he could finish the profanity.
"So, is there not a single piece of good news to report?"
"There is one," the presenter sighed. "The hype around the Berkeley incident has been suppressed, and the truth of the matter has been successfully covered up."
"Then why the sigh?"
"Because the public now believes the White House and the Hexagonal Tower ca up with this ridiculously stupid story to cover up even more sinister experints we’re supposedly conducting, like creating electromagnetic storms or engaging in genetic modification."
The presenter sighed again. "Thanks to the Hexagonal Tower’s past biological experints and the unknown virus from Debao, the public finds it more believable that we’re the villains than that sothing supernatural occurred."
Everyone was speechless.
"A bunch of ignorant morons!"
"But we can’t hide this from interested parties," the man at the head of the table said calmly. "Our allies have already sent inquiries. Furthermore, a number of Mages took a tour of Berkeley and have now embarked on journeys to their country."
Soone’s eyes glinted. ’They want to acquire this power for themselves?’
"We *must* acquire this power!" another declared firmly.
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