Winding through several old corridors, he was met with a scene of utter devastation. Zhongli Heng had evidently been swept over by the residual force of various psychic attacks.

The scoring marks on the ground clearly resulted from razor-sharp forces like wind blades or sword energy, while the melting of some walls and flooring was most likely due to fire or lightning.

There were also dozens of other scorched marks showing signs of melting, indicating where light sabers or light-based techniques had swept through.

The ground was pitted and uneven, with several pools of solidified metal slag lying near Yang Ying’s feet. Although cooled, they still radiated intense heat.

Yang Ying had focused all his power into Dao Feng, who was utilizing the Breath Concealment technique and the invisibility skill inherited from the Dark Templars to minimize the chance of being detected.

Of course, this was only effective outside the immediate battle zone. If he stepped into the fray, the moment his gaze settled on the two Masters, there was a ninety-nine percent chance of immediate discovery.

However, Yang Ying was already prepared for this eventuality.

He continued forward, and soon, immense sounds began to drift from ahead.

Yang Ying recognized the grinding, the explosions, the furious roars, and a scattering of other noise.

"The battlefield is just ahead."

Yang Ying unclipped his light saber and gripped it firmly. Continuing to approach, he reached the entrance of a nearby dining and entertainment center. Suddenly, a shrill alarm blared in his mind, causing him to slow his pace involuntarily.

In an instant, the alloy wall was pierced by a water blade!

The water blade flashed directly past Yang Ying’s face, missing his head by barely half a centimeter.

Immediately, warning signs continued to erupt in Yang Ying's mind. Dozens of water blades punched through the alloy wall, the intense friction generating screeching noises and a spray of sparks, instantly turning the entire wall into a sieve!

Not all of these water blades from Yan Ran were aimed at Yang Ying, but several were directed his way, and if he hadn't dodged quickly, he would have died before even beginning his mission.

The most dangerous moment came when three water blades appeared simultaneously. After piercing the wall two meters in front of Yang Ying, they didn't vanish but swept straight toward him: one aimed at neck height, one at waist height, and one at knee height.

Yang Ying leaped almost up to the ceiling to let the trio of water blades pass underneath him.

This level of water blade attack could only be deployed by a Master-level expert, and their appearance confirmed that the fight was currently raging inside this dining and entertainment center.

Yang Ying stealthily peered through the jagged opening cut by the water blades.

He saw Jatu wielding his light staff, spinning it into a radiant wheel. Facing him, Master Garcia seemed to possess dozens of hands, each grasping a light saber and striking into the radiant wheel.

The speed at which their figures shifted and exchanged positions was blinding. Yang Ying realized that his eyes, not yet reshaped by psychic energy, were completely unable to track their movements!

A near-Master was assisting Master Garcia, but the aid he offered was minimal. If Jatu merely tilted the light wheel slightly in his direction, the near-Master was forced to retreat several steps to evade.

In Yang Ying’s perception, the near-Master’s swordsmanship was already vastly superior to his own, yet he couldn't hold off Jatu's assault for even a moment.

"Master-level experts are truly formidable," Yang Ying thought to himself secretly.

At that moment, Jatu flashed near a water dispenser. Without warning, the dispenser exploded instantly. A plume of drinking water was suspended in the air by Jatu’s psychic power, then transformed into water blades attacking Master Garcia!

Master Garcia let out a loud shout, and a round dining table flew up beside him. The tabletop began to spin at an incredible velocity. The water blades struck the surface, distorted and disintegrated by the rotational force, scattering as droplets of water around them.

Master Garcia thrust out a hand, and the table immediately hurtled toward Jatu.

Jatu swiftly evaded, while two other near-Masters, currently letting their light sabers cool, seized the opportunity. They used their psychic power to lift two more tables and launch them at Jatu.

Jatu took a step, evading the tables while instantly closing in on the two near-Masters. He raised his staff, about to strike, but was blocked by Master Garcia’s sword. The two near-Masters immediately darted to the side.

Jatu continued to flash around, unable to shake off Master Garcia's entanglement. The two were locked in a constant dance, flickering in and out of engagement across every corner of the restaurant. In the half-hour chase, their swords and staff had already clashed thousands of times, yet neither could gain the upper hand.

Naturally, a mere few thousand exchanges were not uncommon in a contest between Masters, especially since both possessed precognitive abilities; when strengths are near-equal, defense is far easier than offense.

Near a liquor cabinet, Garcia clashed with Jatu once more. At this point, a vicious smile suddenly spread across Jatu’s simian face, framed by bristling steel-gray whiskers. He spat out a few words, and several small liquor bottles on the cabinet suddenly exploded. The alcohol turned into several lines of liquid blades that instantly shot toward the alloy wall in Yang Ying’s vicinity. Friction with the air caused the alcohol in the blades to ignite violently, transforming them into fire blades!

Yang Ying had been engrossed in watching, never realizing Jatu had discovered him long ago. As the fire blades shot toward him, the warning signals in his mind surged violently, but the blades were clearly targeted at him, emitted by a high-level Master. Yang Ying felt utterly locked down; the fire blades seemed to adjust their trajectory based on his movements—impossible to evade!

The speed of the fire blades surpassed that of sound, slicing the air with a violent shriek. Yet, Yang Ying didn't even hear the sound before the fire blades were upon him.

"Dao Feng has only been out of the incubation tank for about twenty-five hours, barely a full day. Is this truly where it ends?" Yang Ying thought grimly.

Perhaps due to the proximity of death, Yang Ying felt time slow down. In a fraction of a second, a span too short to count, he managed to process an entire chain of thoughts.

Suddenly, his vision darkened. Master Garcia had appeared abruptly before the wall, redirecting all the fire blades upward toward the ceiling and downward toward the floor to dissipate their energy.

Only then did the four words Jatu had spat out register in Yang Ying's mind: "Seen enough?"

Seeing that he was exposed, Yang Ying deactivated his Breath Concealment and invisibility skills, revealing his figure. He walked a few steps and entered the restaurant through the main doorway ahead.

His sudden appearance caused both parties to pause their fighting, facing each other across the expanse of the restaurant.

Master Garcia moved to Yang Ying’s side and inquired, "Aren't you Colonel Dao Feng? You’re an Awakened one, too, possessing the strength of a high-level Psionicist. However, this is no place for you."

"Hahaha."

Laughter echoed from the opposite end of the restaurant. Jatu held his light staff horizontally before him and declared, "I, Jatu, pride myself on my perception, but I misjudged you this time. You were tricked onto this platform. The explosion on that ship earlier didn't kill you, which pleases me—it grants me the opportunity to slay you myself. And now you come here seeking death? Hmph, I shall certainly oblige!"

He hadn't expected this Colonel Dao Feng to be an Awakened one, but this explained why Dao Feng was immune to his charm techniques.

"Master Garcia, I only wished to witness a Master-level battle firsthand. I apologize for the trouble I've caused the Masters. Please do not worry about me. Since I have come here, I am prepared for the consequences."

Yang Ying knew that forcing his way into the battlefield had made him a liability, which was not his intention.

"We will do our utmost to provide protection. But you must still fend for yourself," Master Garcia conceded.

Master Garcia instructed Yang Ying to stay with the two near-Masters, while he took the other near-Master and flashed toward the center of the restaurant. On the other side, Jatu also flashed to the center, and the battle recommenced.

After only a few exchanges.

"Hah!"

Jatu suddenly roared, and a visible shockwave erupted from his mouth. This was caused by the intensity of his exhalation, which altered the air density and thus refracted the light.

His roar was so violent that all the glass in the restaurant instantly exploded into powder!

The sound carried a psychic attack that nearly ruptured Yang Ying’s eardrums. Yang Ying instinctively clapped his hands over his ears. However, his body, before transformation, was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person; the sonic wave attacked not just his eardrums but vibrated through his entire frame.

Seeing this, one near-Master pressed his palms together, projecting a force field. He then parted his hands, and the edges of the field peeled away like two membranes stuck together being suddenly torn apart, creating a pocket of vacuum in the middle.

Yang Ying felt the scene before him blur slightly, and the roaring sound that had been deafening him suddenly receded.

"I've isolated a vacuum zone to block the sound," explained the near-Master.

"Masters, are you waiting here solely because of the light sabers?" Yang Ying had observed the two near-Masters engaging only in auxiliary attacks and had already suspected something.

As for "Master," it was the common term used by the secular world for Psionicists; addressing any level of Psionicist as Master was generally considered safe.

The other near-Master, while tossing several chairs toward Jatu, replied, "Yes. Dealing with Jatu's silver blade using our purple swords is indeed quite difficult." He held up his own weapon and said, "This sword is still hot, even after I wrapped the hilt in ice energy for a while."

Jatu retaliated by flinging back several chairs, disintegrating them mid-flight before tossing them. "But this can't go on forever. The cooling rate of the light sabers is much slower. Soon, all three purple swords will reach their critical point. Currently, during combat, we must be extremely careful not to let the purple blades touch the silver one, which significantly limits our offensive opportunities."

Jatu continued to flicker rapidly, trying to reach Yang Ying to kill him, but Master Garcia kept him tied up, unable to break through. The two Masters were locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle in the center of the restaurant!

"If that is the case," Yang Ying said, handing the light saber in his right hand to the near-Master who had mentioned his own was still hot, "Use mine. This sword originally belonged to our commander, but as he spends more time in the office, he gave this sword to me."

"An ordinary light saber won't help," the near-Master replied, not believing the Trane Mercenary Group would possess a special light saber.

Yang Ying said nothing, opting instead to demonstrate with action. With a sharp Zzzlaa, a silver column of light appeared before the two near-Masters.

The sound of the light saber activating was too familiar to everyone in the restaurant. In an instant, everyone, including Jatu, had their attention fixed on the silver light saber.

"Well done, Dao Feng! Yang Ying actually gave his sword to you!" Jatu shouted.

"Just as I suspected!" Yang Ying had already learned from the data disk that Jatu had interrogated personnel at Kussen Port, meaning Jatu likely knew he possessed a silver light saber.

In any case, this secret would eventually be revealed the moment the sword was used in public, so Yang Ying didn't mind exposing it now in front of several Psionicists.

"Good."

The near-Master, who had initially been skeptical, broke into a pleased grin. He snatched the silver light saber and charged toward the combat zone.