The footsteps drew closer.
One of the wise old monks, dressed in a gray robe, frowned slightly, clasped his hands together, and spoke first, his voice filled with worry:
“Abbot, our temple has always been detached, maintaining a calm and observant mind, and not getting involved in disputes.”
"Nephew Jingshi entered the world to cultivate with the great vow of 'severing karma,' which is his personal karma. It is already the monastery's duty to look after him on his way back. If we directly intervene in such matters of killing, I'm afraid the karmic backlash will affect all the monks in the monastery..."
"Senior brother, be careful what you say."
Another elderly monk, dressed in a brown short jacket and resembling a guardian deity, interrupted him.
"The Eternal Life Sect is filled with monstrous evil, treating humans as livestock and lives as resources."
"Faced with such karmic obstacles, if we still cling to 'transcendence' and let the sea of evil churn, how is this any different from witnessing evil deeds while closing our eyes to recite scriptures and burying our heads in the sand?"
His voice suddenly rose in pitch, echoing under the eaves:
"Are you afraid?"
"It's not out of fear, but because of thorough consideration! This is not just one person's responsibility, but the responsibility of the entire institute."
"Responsibility? To turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to a cannibalistic feast is dereliction of duty!"
The two argued endlessly, their auras subtly fluctuating, and even the rain curtain in front of the grotto seemed to be disturbed by an invisible force.
The abbot did not stop them, but listened quietly.
His gaze was lowered, as if he were in a meditative state.
Only when the sound gradually subsided did he slowly raise his eyelids and speak again, his voice cutting through the sound of rain and the lingering argument:
"With the full strength of the entire academy, we will openly and forcefully pursue the Pure Land practice."
The two old monks were both startled and looked at the abbot.
They knew the weight of those words.
To outsiders, this is almost tantamount to the Reincarnation Institute formally "declaring war" on the Longevity Sect.
The Reincarnation Institute, which has always been detached from worldly affairs, has suddenly intervened in the secular world with such a resolute attitude, and its impact is immeasurable.
When success is achieved, the evil obstacles will be reduced, the righteous path will be revealed, and a ray of clarity will be opened.
If we lose...
The abbot seemed to understand what the two were thinking and slowly spoke:
"If we are defeated, it will prove that my Reincarnation Academy is destined for this calamity."
"Tranquility may have been a form of escapism, but now that disaster has struck, there is no way to avoid it, so we might as well face it head-on."
He looked at the two eminent monks, his gaze profound:
"Let's start preparing."
Having said this, the two eminent monks exchanged a glance.
All they could do was clasp their hands together, bow, and slowly retreat.
"Amitabha."
The morning bell tolls at this very moment, its sound echoing through the valley, long and resonant.
The rain intensified.
at the same time.
All factions in Jincheng seemed to have awakened overnight.
Commands were passed down through the ranks.
A large number of people were mobilized overnight, frequently shuttling back and forth, constantly conveying various messages that were both true and false.
Such large-scale synchronous anomalies occurred one after another within a single day.
Anyone could see that something enormous was about to happen.
With such a big commotion, Zhou Zhenbei, who had been staying in Jincheng for a long time, naturally learned about it well in advance.
Zhou Zhenbei sat upright in his operations room, his face gloomy.
After a long while, he suddenly stood up.
Under the watchful eyes of numerous informants, both overt and covert, Zhou Zhenbei surprisingly went out of the city himself.
His figure flashed by quickly in the rain.
Only after confirming that he was not being watched and had shaken off all possible tracking did Zhou Zhenbei turn and head towards the secret base.
Much later.
Inside the secret base, Zhou Chuan, the person in charge of alloy modification, was busy when he suddenly saw Zhou Zhenbei appear in the base. He was stunned and didn't react for a moment.
Zhou Chuan's expression immediately changed. He abruptly straightened up, almost instinctively bowed, and quickly walked to a position half a step behind Zhou Zhenbei.
"General!"
There was also a hint of barely perceptible tension and surprise in his voice.
Zhou Zhenbei didn't waste any words. His gaze swept directly over the massive mechanical structures being assembled and tested within the base, and he asked Zhou Chuan directly:
"How are the follow-up data and key data samples from those two batches of steel castings that were destroyed last time being analyzed?"
Zhou Chuan snapped out of his daze and immediately responded:
"The combat test data of the 'steel casting type II-III' that were previously sent back have all been analyzed."
"The main cause of the damage was that it was completely melted due to an extremely high-intensity individual energy impact."
Zhou Chuan adjusted his glasses and waved behind him.
Several technicians immediately pushed over another set of temporary models.
Zhou Zhenbei looked down and saw a more streamlined humanoid mechanical body with strange crystalline structures covering its joints.
Zhou Chuan pointed to the model and continued his explanation:
"We have already begun to carry out partial modifications and upgrades based on the reasons for its destruction and its weaknesses."
"The new generation will be entirely lined with a new 'stardust polymer' material, which theoretically enhances its impact resistance, and even the energy buffer layer can provide high-temperature protection."
"The next batch of enhanced 'steel casting type IV' is being manufactured simultaneously on three production lines."
"Hmm." Zhou Zhenbei nodded slightly, his face still expressionless, but Zhou Chuan knew that this meant approval.
Zhou Chuan pressed on, continuing his report and also taking the opportunity to raise the core challenges they currently face:
"Regarding weaponry... the conventional firearms previously equipped by Steel Casting, although resupplyable, still have extremely limited lethality and deterrent effect against high-level Awakened."
"Therefore, in the design of the new steel casting, we have significantly increased the proportion of energy weapons, focusing on equipping cluster weapons."
He paused slightly, lowering his voice to reveal obvious worry:
"However, this weapon consumes a great deal of energy. If it runs out of energy in a short period of time due to high-frequency combat and loses its subsequent supply, the combat effectiveness of the steel-cast weapon will be greatly reduced."
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