I Can Copy the Talents of All Creatures

August 30th. High school would start in just two days.

At two in the afternoon, all was still. The asphalt road shimmered with a greasy sheen, distorting the air above it.

The colorful flowers in the greenbelts had withered into crumpled balls of paper.

The heat was unbearable.

Tao Lang and Han Qiubai sat opposite each other, their expressions solemn.

Seated below them were Wang Jie from the Martial Arts Administration Bureau, Mr. Jia from the Public Security Bureau, and Mr. Li from the garrison.

A large screen in front of them clearly displayed a military-grade map of Y-City, its contents exceptionally detailed.

With Han Qiubai’s help, Tao Lang had already recovered from his injuries. Now, he was anxiously showing everyone a mysterious message he had received.

[The Bright God Sect will attack Tianning County. A Grandmaster is involved.] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Han Qiubai’s brow furrowed as she tried to determine if the message was real or fake.

"How did you get this message?"

Tao Lang grew impatient. "Oh, honestly, how many times do you need me to say it? I woke up this morning to this baffling message. I was scared, of course, so I called everyone here to figure out what to do."

Han Qiubai listened to Tao Lang’s saccharine way of speaking, fighting back her discomfort. She kept repeating to herself, ’He’s a Fifth Realm femboy... a Fifth Realm femboy... I have to rely on him... I have to rely on him...’

Wang Jie stared straight ahead, feigning total ignorance and tuning everything out, trying only to filter for useful information. Still, out of the corner of his eye, he could see the garrison commander, Li Cunliang, clenching and unclenching his fist under the table.

To prevent Mr. Li from doing something he’d regret, Wang Jie suddenly spoke up.

"If this message is real, and a Grandmaster from an evil sect is coming, we’ll have a hard time dealing with it. Our strongest fighter is Tao Lang, who’s at the Fifth Realm, but even he would struggle against a Grandmaster."

After speaking, he snuck a glance at Mr. Li.

He saw the man’s clenched fist relax. After a deep breath, Mr. Li seemed to regain his composure, though his expression remained dark.

The garrison commander had served on the front lines for many years before retiring due to an injury. He had been serving at the local garrison ever since.

It was Li who had been handling communications after Han Qiubai announced the appearance of the Apostle. Wang Jie knew the commander had a staunch and rigid personality and probably couldn’t stand Tao Lang’s behavior. If Mr. Li lost his temper and attacked, only to be put in his place by Tao Lang, it would be a disaster.

With such a great enemy at their doorstep, they had to set aside their differences and work together.

Tao Lang, holding his fingers in a delicate pose, stroked the light stubble around his mouth. He sighed theatrically, "Oh, please. We’re talking about a Grandmaster! And there was that Apostle before, too. Forget fighting back, I couldn’t even stall them. If I went up against them, it’d be a fool’s errand. I’d be dead the second I showed my face."

Han Qiubai suddenly smiled. "It could just be a fake message. Maybe they just want to throw us into chaos."

Tao Lang gave her a melancholy look. "Oh, my dear senior~ I wish it were a fake message, too. But my intuition is telling me this is probably real."

Han Qiubai was getting annoyed. "How can you take something as unreliable as intuition seriously?"

Tao Lang arched an eyebrow. "My dear senior, my sixth sense is very sharp. It hasn’t failed me once in all these years..."

BAM—

Mr. Li slammed his palm on the conference table, leaving behind a handprint as deep as a finger is thick.

The massive crash made both of them jump. Wang Jie rubbed his forehead in pain and was about to get up to restrain Mr. Li, but the commander shoved him back into his seat with one hand.

Mr. Li had retired due to an injury that cut short his martial path, but he was still genuinely in the Inner Qi Realm. Pinning Wang Jie down was child’s play for him.

Then, he heard Mr. Li speak, his voice hard and cold.

"Stop dawdling and whining like a couple of women. The enemy is powerful. If you two ’gifted students’ from Yuqing are scared, then go run for reinforcements. The worst we can do is fight to the death."

Han Qiubai was furious. Setting aside the fact that she was, in fact, a woman, when had she ever even considered running away? But before she could retort, Tao Lang was already on his feet, swaying his hips.

"My, my~ And where did this muscle-bound brute come from? With all that hot air, you could probably talk a Grandmaster to death. If you’re so tough, how’d you let the Illuminati invade in the first place?"

A vein pulsed on Mr. Li’s forehead. He roared, "You son of a bitch! You talk to me properly, you powder-faced piece of trash! When I was fighting for my goddamn life on the front lines, were you even weaned yet?!"

CRASH—

"Enough!" Han Qiubai sent the conference table flying into the wall with a single kick. The solid wood table, weighing well over a thousand pounds, splintered into pieces across the floor. Wang Jie and the chief of security were left sitting in their now-empty chairs, trembling too much to speak.

Han Qiubai’s voice was ice. "Take it outside. Whoever’s left standing can come back and continue discussing our defense plan. Now, both of you, get out."

Tao Lang arched a delicate eyebrow, taunting Mr. Li. "Come on now, unless you’re chicken~" With that, he leaped out the window.

Mr. Li ripped off his uniform jacket, threw it onto his chair, and jumped out the window after him.

The stern expression on Han Qiubai’s face was suddenly replaced by a robotic smile.

"Let’s continue," she said. "Regardless of whether the message is real, we’ll err on the side of caution and assume a Grandmaster is, in fact, coming. Let’s discuss our defenses..."

Wang Jie racked his brain, his brow furrowed with worry. "Mr. Han, to be honest, our forces are just too weak. I’ve already sent a request to the city for reinforcements, but the outlook isn’t good. It’s not just the Illuminati lately; all sorts of other monsters have been crawling out of the woodwork to cause trouble. The city’s elite forces are all tied up."

Han Qiubai said thoughtfully, "I think I know why. There’s been trouble in the Abyss recently, and the front lines are stretched thin. That’s why we’re in this predicament."

Wang Jie was shocked. "The Abyss? You mean the Yuanmo Clan?"

"That’s right."

Mr. Jia, the chief of Public Security who had been completely silent until now, suddenly spoke up. "Mr. Han, with this evil sect attacking, it is our duty to defend this land and its people. We have no regrets about dying for that cause. But I’m afraid that in this situation, even if we sacrifice our lives, we will still fail the people of this county..."