The top floor of the Deep Space Technology Building was shrouded in darkness.
Only a three-dimensional holographic projection continuously monitored the battle deep within the underground palace in real-time.
This was the battle plan designated by the Peak City District: First, twelve captains would feign death and withdraw under the Fallen's attack, leaving seventeen rookies behind as bait to draw the enemy's attention.
At the same time, it served to deplete the Grave Digger Organization's strength.
And also provided an opportunity to assess the rookies' capabilities.
While purging any impurities among this group of rookies.
Many external factions would take advantage of the Ether Association's recruitment of rookies, using temptations of benefit to develop their own spies.
The Ether Association would seize such opportunities to eradicate these spies.
The names on the death lists were largely these types of individuals.
When the Ether Association decided to act seriously, it would be swift and decisive. The real killing moves would surely not be handed over to mere rookies but would inevitably fall on the six captains ranked Superdimensional Level or above.
As the leader of the Grave Diggers, Hasegawa Shinichi was merely an ant.
The real concern was the individual behind him.
"No matter how you look at it, I must still thank the Sword Tomb for providing the Mythical Weapon. Without Mythical Weapon·Extreme Thunder, I would have had to act personally. If dimensional rifts were triggered at that point, things would be truly troublesome to handle."
Lu Zijin sat comfortably in her office chair, holding a cup of milk tea, sipping loudly: "I must admit, Thunder is the most talented rookie of the past decade. It's no wonder he was chosen by headquarters to enter the Omega Sequence. At the age of twenty, he's already achieved the Sword Obsession Rank and gained recognition from Extreme Thunder."
She felt some relief as she spoke.
Thankfully, Tang Ling is in her twenties, still single, and hasn't fallen in love.
If she were no longer a virgin, she wouldn't have been able to wield Extreme Thunder and unleash power that surpasses the Extraordinary Level.
The investigative results had already been uploaded to the Deep Space Network.
Lu Zijin narrowed her enchanting eyes, uneasy about not confirming any leads concerning the Gu Master within the Grave Diggers.
A beautiful and mature woman at the table, her white hair styled into a dignified and elegant updo, with strands of hair framing her rounded, oval-shaped face, said unhurriedly: "Tang Ling's talent is undeniable. Even among the successive inheritors of the Sword Tomb, her talent ranks in the top three. However... her personality is a bit problematic."
She paused briefly: "Of course, had your brother not met with misfortune back then, he might have entered the Omega Sequence as well."
"Captain Lu is indeed a pity."
A middle-aged man dressed in a white suit stared coldly at the holographic projection and said indifferently: "So, how many Omega Sequence slots does the Peak City District have this time? I hope we don't end up with uneven allocation and create disputes again."
Opposite him, a plump man with a sly smile and crossed legs responded: "Our Peak City District hasn't had any rookies claim Omega Sequence slots for ages. Having one is already good enough; who cares about uneven allocation?"
Nie, the Deacon, sipped his tea and glanced sidelong at these few people.
The Ether Association was a global Ascension Alliance founded to unify human forces against the Ancient God Clan's invasion and maintain global peace and order, theoretically independent of any nation.
However, in the vast majority of countries, it held absolute power.
In the ancient East, the cradle of all Ancient God civilizations known as the Land of Divine Revelation.
In the East, the Ether Association opted for alliances.
The association's high-ranking leaders used their massive power and resources to entice ancient Ascender families and secretive legacy factions, taking hundreds of years to barely establish a foothold in the East.
But that was just establishing a foothold.
In the East, many powerful figures were difficult to placate and did not fully respect the association.
For instance, the two prominent families in Peak City at the time: the Gu Family and the Yan Family.
The Cheng Family, experts in alchemy, and the fanatics of the Sword Tomb.
Among those present, each was a significant figure for the Peak City District, whom the association had to appease.
"That was then. This year, my Yan family wants two slots."
Yan Wu said casually: "Isn't this already set in stone?"
"The entity deep within the Forbidden Zone still hasn't been identified."
Cheng Youtian maintained his sly smile: "If something goes wrong, everyone will be doomed."
"That's unlikely, right?"
Bai Simu narrowed her eyes: "Chen Bojun is the Omega Sequence's overseer. He originates from the Holy Land Level and possesses a Growth Type Mythical Weapon. With him overseeing things, that entity shouldn't stir up trouble."
In the world of Ascenders, the Extraordinary Level was merely the threshold.
The true backbone consisted of those at the Superdimensional Level.
And above the Superdimensional Level was the Holy Land Level.
Which was the level of the thirteen division heads of the association and the Night Watchers in the special operations department.
"With Chen Bojun around, I'm reassured."
Lu Zijin licked her crimson lips: "Honestly, what intrigues me more is the performance of these rookies."
She ordered: "Taixu, pull up the top five rankings among the rookies."
Unbeknownst to all the rookies, before the captains feigned death, micro-robots had been deployed across Black Cloud City.
These micro-robots were scattered throughout various places and captured footage from three combat scenarios.
The first took place at an inn in Black Cloud City during a clash with the Grave Diggers.
The second occurred during the arrival of the Black Mist, in the fight near the Great Ruins.
The third happened deep within the Forbidden Zone, inside the underground palace.
Using the data uploaded by the micro-robots, the artificial intelligence Taixu would analyze the footage and compile rankings.