The ferocious winds and torrential rains that had raged throughout the night finally subsided by the next morning. Washed clean by the downpour, the entire "Star City" looked remarkably fresh and vibrant, exhibiting a scene teeming with life.

However, inside Liu Hui’s office, the atmosphere was decidedly grim. On the massive screen TV mounted on the wall, a video recording was playing. The footage showed the Maoshan Sect Master successfully infiltrating the area and landing on the beach of "Star City," immediately engaging in a fierce battle with the inexplicably appearing Lu Nong-Augustus. The recording continued until the moment Black Knight appeared, at which point the entire screen dissolved into blue static.

“Everyone, speak up. Why was there such a massive breach in the defense of our 'Star City'? How could someone infiltrate so silently without us detecting the intruder immediately?” Liu Hui asked calmly.

Before Liu Hui stood Wu Yuanjia, Desheng, and Lin Yuan, all sweating profusely, completely at a loss for words. Under the extreme weather conditions of the previous night, their vigilance had slipped. They had failed to monitor the surrounding waters as meticulously as usual because they never imagined anyone would attempt to sneak into "Star City" during such an atrocious storm. After all, any vessel attempting to sail in such harsh weather faced a near-certain fate of being wrecked and sunk.

Sensing the tension rising, Zhou Tengyun tried to smooth things over: “Boss, I don’t think we can place the entire blame on them. The level of the gale and storm last night was exceptionally high, rarely seen in recent years. It might have led to a lapse in their focus. They will correct it going forward. Furthermore, I think we should also inspect the monitoring equipment we deployed; it’s possible that it malfunctioned under such severe weather conditions!”

Liu Hui sighed, “We established a three-dimensional defense system for 'Star City'—stretching from the sea, through Star City itself, up to the aerial fortresses, and finally to the orbital space station. We thought our defense was impregnable, impossible for anyone to breach without a trace, yet such a colossal loophole has been exposed. How can I face this?”

Seeing Liu Hui resort to self-deprecation, no one present dared to speak up. After all, they had genuinely incurred a massive security failure and felt they lacked the standing to offer excuses.

Liu Hui continued, “If the two God-tier masters managed to sneak into 'Star City' undetected, perhaps our monitoring equipment failing is somewhat excusable. But a yacht of that size sailing right up to 'Star City' without us noticing is outright dereliction of duty. You should be grateful that the yacht only carried people. If they had loaded it with a significant amount of nuclear weaponry and detonated it near 'Star City,' our entire city would be wiped out. Everyone present, including you and me, would be meeting at the gates of the Underworld.”

Hearing Liu Hui state the severity of the situation, Wu Yuanjia and the others felt even more ashamed. The recent success of "Star City" had made them appear overwhelmingly dominant, deterring any open challenges from the outside world. This unintentionally led them to relax their vigilance, resulting in this major security flaw that placed "Star City" in extreme jeopardy. Therefore, even though Liu Hui berated them harshly, they felt they deserved every word.

Liu Hui looked at the security chiefs below, who stood silently, adopting the posture of the accused. He then added, “I will instruct the Scientific Research Institute to conduct a thorough inspection of our monitoring equipment, ensuring it functions correctly even under the extremely harsh weather conditions like last night’s. This will aid you in monitoring the adjacent waters.”

Zhou Tengyun saw that Liu Hui’s anger had somewhat subsided and quietly murmured, “Boss, I believe that after this lesson, they will certainly heighten their alertness. With the strong support from the Scientific Research Institute, we should be able to prevent future incidents. From now on, no vessel should be able to approach 'Star City' silently. However…”

Liu Hui asked, “Third brother, what is it?”

Zhou Tengyun replied, “Boss, you saw it too. Two God-tier masters appeared last night, and their abilities are quite bizarre. We can monitor ships and aircraft to prevent them from entering 'Star City's' defensive perimeter, but how do we guard against the intrusion of these God-tier masters who stand at the absolute peak of human capability?”

Liu Hui stroked his chin. Zhou Tengyun had just reminded him of a critical point: while his technology could stop the vast majority of ordinary people, it was ineffective against those monstrous existences—the God-tier masters, as they had surpassed the limits of human imagination, making them impossible to fully guard against.

“Third brother, how many God-tier masters do you estimate exist in this world?” Liu Hui suddenly asked.

Zhou Tengyun considered for a moment and replied, “In my opinion, there cannot be more than ten God-tier masters in the world.”

Liu Hui pressed, “Why are you so certain?”

Zhou Tengyun explained, “God-tier masters stand at the pinnacle of humanity; the emergence of even one is extremely rare. No God-tier master has ever achieved that level without countless fortuitous encounters combined with arduous personal effort. Even if many people worldwide stumble upon rare opportunities, they would still need heavenly luck to break past the limits and become a God-tier master. Therefore, I believe the number of God-tier masters in this world definitely won't exceed ten.”

What Zhou Tengyun was describing were the paths for others on Earth. To reach the God-tier realm, they required the perfect confluence of timing, location, and human factors, plus unimaginable luck. In contrast, he and Liu Hui achieved this status naturally by employing cultivation techniques and utilizing abundant resources from Monster Beast Crystal Cores. Their path to God-tier mastery was incomparable to the arduous struggle faced by ordinary humans achieving the same feat on Earth.

Liu Hui stated, “Third brother, based on what you know, which God-tier masters currently exist in the world?”

Zhou Tengyun replied, “As far as I currently know, there have been a total of six God-tier masters appearing. They are: Zhuihun and Duoming from the ‘N’ organization, the special consultant Bina from the American ‘I’ agency, Yan Hongye of the Yan family in Shuzhou domestically, the Maoshan Sect Master, and Lu Nong-Augustus of the European Augustus family. Among these God-tier masters, Duoming is already dead, and that Yan Hongye is highly unlikely to survive. This leaves only four God-tier masters remaining in the outside world.”

Liu Hui nodded. “So, there are four external God-tier masters posing a threat to us right now. If we can keep tabs on these four, does that guarantee the safety of our 'Star City'?”

Zhou Tengyun conceded, “That can generally be said. However, among these four, the Maoshan Sect Master and Lu Nong-Augustus were both severely wounded last night and have lost their combat effectiveness for the time being. Coupled with Zhuihun from the ‘N’ organization, whose status was already life-or-death, the only one currently intact and posing a genuine threat is the American ‘I’ agency’s special consultant Bina. If we could locate where they are hiding and strike first, either eliminating them or subduing them to work for us, that would resolve the potential danger we face.”

Liu Hui shook his head. “Third brother, you are being too optimistic. While we have only encountered these few God-tier masters, do you truly believe they are the only ones in existence? Before yesterday, I myself wouldn't have believed that the Maoshan Sect Master and Lu Nong-Augustus were even real God-tier masters!”

Zhou Tengyun’s expression shifted. “Boss, you believe there are other God-tier masters in this world?”

Liu Hui nodded. “Indeed. I believe there are definitely other God-tier masters out there. They might be living in seclusion, choosing not to oppose us yet, or perhaps they haven't had time to find us, and we simply haven't discovered them. These God-tier masters have an abnormally tenacious life force. Unless we can kill them instantly, if they manage to escape, they will recover quickly and return to cause trouble.”

“Boss, are you suggesting that if we cannot kill them with one strike, we should temporarily avoid engaging them? But should we just sit here and wait for them to attack us?” Zhou Tengyun asked, unwillingly.

“Third brother, don’t worry. In the short term, those God-tier masters won't dare to approach. 'Star City' has guardians; sending only one or two of them would be sending them to their deaths. Those masters have basically met our guardians and are aware of their power,” Liu Hui smiled.

Zhou Tengyun considered this and realized the situation was indeed as described. The current fame of "Star City" was immense, and with Black Knight guarding it, no one would dare come knocking to commit suicide. He had fallen into a mental trap by being overly focused on eradicating every threat immediately.

Liu Hui turned to Wu Yuanjia and Lin Yuan. “You two must immediately commence a comprehensive inspection of our defenses. Find every vulnerability. I do not want to see any vessel approach 'Star City' silently again. Desheng, immediately gather personnel. Launch a global search for any information regarding potential God-tier masters. Prioritize finding the whereabouts of the Maoshan Sect Master, Lu Nong-Augustus, Bina, and Zhuihun. Notify me the moment you have any intelligence.”

“Understood, Boss!” they chorused before departing to carry out their tasks.

Zhou Tengyun looked at Liu Hui with surprise. Although Liu Hui had advised against direct confrontation without certainty, he had simultaneously ordered Desheng to track the movements of those God-tier masters. It appeared Liu Hui would not passively wait for threats to arrive but intended to control their movements, intending to strike personally when the timing was right, thus eliminating potential dangers at their roots.

Thanks to book friend: Xing Yuan Zhi Meng for the tip!

Two updates today; the next update will be at seven in the evening, stay tuned!

Also, please forgive the incorrect chapter directory in yesterday's post! RO