Ling Tian was also very interested in this monk, as his second master, Master Jie Nu, was also a martial monk from the Shaolin Sutra Depository. They could be said to be from the same lineage.
Xie Liheng's trip was not in vain. He was recommended as the first Secretary-General of the Dragon Shield Special Operations Department, and his job was to be fully responsible for coordinating the actions of the Dragon Team organization.
After the meeting concluded, the busy leaders departed, leaving the formal members of the Dragon Shield organization to hold their first meeting.
A man, who appeared to be under 30 and wore a white lab coat, walked up to everyone and opened another document using a PPT.
Ling Tian observed the man. He was very handsome, with his hair tied in a Taoist topknot, and his bangs falling on either side of his face. He looked like a prince charming from a shojo manga.
The man first introduced himself. Ling Tian almost spat out his drink when he heard the name – the man was named Ouyang Feiyang.
Seeing everyone around burst into laughter, the man also felt a bit awkward and shrugged helplessly.
"There's nothing I can do about it. My mom was a chuunibyou when she gave birth to me..."
The crowd laughed for a while, and then a video appeared on the screen. It was information about a celestial body observed by the National Astronomical Observatory.
This small star was about the size of the moon and was named "Tiangong."
Unlike other asteroids or comets, this asteroid moved very slowly in the solar system, and it would take another 30 years for it to reach near-Earth orbit.
It was worth noting that most celestial bodies in the solar system orbit on the ecliptic plane.
However, the orbital path of this asteroid was so bizarre that it was almost perfectly perpendicular to the ecliptic plane!
But this orbital path had an advantage: it ensured that the asteroid's movement was not affected by the other planets in the solar system.
According to scientists' calculations, the period for this asteroid to orbit the Earth and reach near-Earth orbit was 4,000 years!
Next, Ouyang Feiyang changed the PPT. This one actually contained some historical events or myths and legends.
The approximate historical period for the existence of Chinese myths and folk legends, immortals, sorcery, ghosts, and even the various strange beasts recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" coincided with over 4,000 years ago, which was precisely when this asteroid named Tiangong was in Earth's near-Earth orbit.
Later, as the asteroid gradually moved away from Earth's near-Earth orbit, the spiritual energy on Earth began to weaken. Those myths and legends also gradually disappeared into the river of history.
A year ago, scientists detected the resurgence of spiritual energy on Earth. At that time, the Tiangong asteroid had just reached a distance of 30 astronomical units from Earth.
This distance was equivalent to the distance from the Sun to Pluto. Even though it was very far away, this planet had a strong influence on the spiritual energy on Earth!
Upon hearing this, Ling Tian recalled what his first master had told him before he descended the mountain.
The reason he was told to descend the mountain at that time was because his master had calculated that a great change would occur in the world soon, and it was a great opportunity!
Whether Ling Tian could avenge his family depended on whether he could seize this great opportunity!
Now, it seemed that this opportunity was most likely the Tiangong asteroid, which had brought a large amount of spiritual energy to Earth.
Ling Tian even wondered if, in ancient times, people often spoke of immortals ascending.
Were those who ascended incredibly powerful, able to penetrate the atmosphere with their physical bodies and enter space?
In the eyes of mortals, this was ascension!
Perhaps some people, with extraordinary strength, flew out of Earth and reached that small planet filled with spiritual energy. They became even more powerful, to the point where they were revered as gods by the unenlightened humans!
The people in the conference room fell silent after hearing Ouyang Feiyang's analysis.
This news was too shocking; it completely overturned their understanding. Many of them had heard corresponding myths and legends.
Even many of their sects had legends of these immortals and ghosts.
However, they were now told that these were real things that existed. How could they not be shaken!
Seeing their reactions, Xie Liheng clapped his hands.
"Alright, now is not the time to dwell on these matters. There is still a lot of work for us Dragon Shield members to do.
Next, I will assign tasks...
Ling Tian, Zhang Caifeng, Ouyang Feiyang, the three of you will form a group and immediately head south to Diannan Province. There is a village where an inexplicable plague has occurred, and the bodies of the deceased villagers have also mutated...
Your task is to go to that village, assist local departments in finding the cause of the villagers' deaths and propose solutions!"
Xie Liheng assigned five tasks in total, dispatching everyone who could be sent. Ling Tian then realized that the dozen or so people in the room were only a small part of the Dragon Shield. Behind them was a vast logistics support department, a research department, and an operations department!
For their mission, Ouyang Feiyang was the main person in charge. Ling Tian was going as a medical consultant, and Zhang Caifeng was accompanying them purely as a bodyguard to prevent encountering enemies with supernatural abilities.
Of course, before they left, Xie Liheng called Ling Tian aside and gave him specific instructions. Ling Tian was only a consultant; if he could help, he should, and if not, he should just let it go.
Even if nothing was found and the mission failed, Ling Tian's personal safety must be guaranteed!
An hour later, they arrived at an airport in the southern suburbs of the capital, which was a military airport. They boarded a domestically produced large jet transport plane and flew to Diannan Province.
This large transport plane was fast and stable, carrying over 30 members and a large amount of equipment. There was also a lot of empty space inside the plane, demonstrating its powerful carrying capacity.
If the country didn't sell such things, Ling Tian would have even considered buying one.
No man would dislike such a behemoth; it was a man's romance.
On the plane, they were not idle and continued to study the epidemic that occurred in the small village called Yinlonggou.
The onset of this disease was very strange. It was as if, suddenly, almost everyone in the village fell ill within a few days. The illness was very severe, and patients died within a day of falling ill.
The local custom was to keep the bodies for a period of time. After death, the bodies were not immediately cremated but were kept at home for one to two days for relatives and friends to pay their respects.
However, during this period of keeping the bodies, these corpses mutated. They actually crawled out of their coffins and bit anyone they saw.