※The path of wish fulfillment manifested itself instantly. Just as Yang Ying developed an interest in the Ten Sword technique, Ting appeared before him. If he could truly master this swordsmanship, wielding a pair of golden light sabers that flew in tandem, or deploying an invisible saber to harass an opponent during a duel—either tactic would prove decisively effective against his foes.

Of course, this level of confidence was only warranted when facing opponents whose psychic strength was less than his own. Once encountering an enemy whose mental power vastly surpassed his, launching those light sabers away would merely be gifting them to the opposition.

This data chip was about the size of half a hand, its exterior crystal clear, as if carved from black crystal, though a few drops of blood marred its aesthetic beauty.

Yang Ying used his psychic power to wipe the blood from the surface, storing the data chip within the floating continent before continuing onward across the trail of blood.

By this time, news of the intrusion into the core sector had spread. Waves of messengers dispersed superior orders throughout the entire area. Garrison troops everywhere began to contract their defensive lines, encircling several key locations.

Communicating with the Phantom Agents, Yang Ying learned that the power facilities had been utterly devastated by them; recovery would take days, and several backup generators had suffered the same fate.

The darkness made the already invisible Phantom Agents even more concealed. A single operative could wipe out a squad of mercenaries with one firearm and one grenade during a raid; a contingent of half a dozen Phantom Agents assembled could assault a mercenary force numbering over a hundred.

The Phantom Agents also carried miniature high-explosive charges. A block of explosive the size of a matchbox was enough to detonate a large piece of machinery. They had already blasted the armory and the central control room within the core sector, and other vital points were under continuous assault; reports of smooth progress came from all fronts.

However, some Phantom Agents had encountered Awakened ones consecrated by the Caesar family, sparking several engagements. Some apprentice-level Awakened were cut down by the agents' guns, but later, two Formal Psi-Mages appeared. Though both were only Low-Tier, they were not easy to deal with.

When half a contingent of Phantom Agents ran into them, the Awakened sensed their approximate location from over ten meters away. Fortunately, the Phantom Agents were highly intelligent combat-talented clones, their combat awareness at the peak of human capability. Seeing that the situation was dire, they dropped a bomb and fled, destroying countless corridors along the way to ensure pursuit was impossible.

Awakened of a lower tier could not yet employ high-level footwork techniques like Earth Shrinkage. While their physical speed far exceeded ordinary people, it did not yet reach a level that left the Phantom Agents helpless.

Afterward, that half-contingent of Phantoms regrouped with several nearby smaller squads to reclaim the advantage, employing various exquisite tactics to separate the two Awakened, drawing each into a trap before executing them.

It seems simple when summarized in these few lines, yet the countless thrills, crises, choices, wisdom, and luck contained within them are impossible to recount one by one.

The Awakened realized that Formal Psi-Mages could be nearly invincible on the ground battlefield, easily taking on a hundred ordinary soldiers single-handedly. Although the Phantom Agents fought with superior numbers against fewer foes, eliminating two Low-Tier Awakened was by no means an easy feat.

Aside from Tim and the two Low-Tier Awakened, no other masters of the Formal Psi-Mage level were discovered in the core sector. After all, the number of human Awakened was too few, and the path of psychic cultivation was arduous. It was already commendable that the Caesar family had managed to enlist Tim.

At this moment, within the main conference hall, the core figures of the Caesar family had concluded their vote. The proposal to retreat received the majority’s approval.

Once the results were clear, Gaius and the others stood up, raising their right hands high simultaneously. With a deep voice, Gaius announced, "Since this is the decision, I declare, in my capacity as Patriarch of the Caesar family, that we abandon the Julian Fortress and initiate a full withdrawal to the Killer Whale Omni-Submarine!"

"You even had the Killer Whale ready? You truly are something, Gaius," an Elder exclaimed in pleasant surprise. "This Omni-Submarine is the culmination of the Caesar collective's latest technological might—a super-submarine. Once it sets sail, we will be safe!"

Other Elders who had heard the name 'Killer Whale' also showed expressions of relief, as if stepping aboard that vessel granted them invulnerability.

Gaius summoned several of his most loyal personal bodyguards and instructed them to gather all reachable members of the Caesar family and escort them to the Killer Whale, which was housed in the underwater depot.

After the security personnel departed, Gaius pressed a button on his armchair armrest. A flap automatically opened, revealing a numerical keypad. He quickly entered a passcode. With a sound of mechanical grinding, everyone felt a shudder beneath their feet. The entire conference hall floor, along with the conference table and the Elders themselves, began to sink downwards.

Those in the hall seemed unfazed by this drastic change, showing no surprise, calmly watching the ceiling recede higher above them.

At the base of the side walls of the hall, precisely at the height before the floor began its descent, two rows of hidden doors slid open simultaneously. A layer of flooring slid out from each side, meeting in the center to replace the original floor.

The entire conference room resembled an emptied space; not a single item remained.

The floor descended nearly ten meters before stopping. Behind Gaius’s chair, a pitch-black passage wide enough for two people appeared. A stout bodyguard led the way, pulling out a glowing rod, igniting it, and holding it high overhead before stepping into the passage first.

Then Gaius followed, and then the Elders and the remaining bodyguards.

Five minutes later, they arrived in a vast, dark space. The distinct sound of flowing water reached their ears, and they detected the faint, briny scent of seawater. The sound of their leather shoes striking the floor was especially pronounced, accompanied by clear echoes that denoted the space’s openness and scale.

Several bodyguards used their illumination rods to locate the generator and connect the power supply. Hundreds of bright lamps on the ceiling flared to life almost simultaneously, instantly bathing the surroundings in daylight. The Elders, accustomed to the dark, instinctively shielded their eyes.

Startled by the intense light, Gaius’s pupils contracted sharply, but instead of closing his eyes, he revealed a predatory gaze, like a lion about to strike.

The Elders gradually opened their eyes and realized this space was an enormous shipyard. In a massive pool spanning tens of thousands of square meters, a large submarine, approximately two hundred meters long, lay silently afloat.

Its perfectly streamlined hull and deep, dark exterior radiated an immediate sense of inherent combat capability.

After boarding the submarine, the bodyguards moved to secure their combat stations, preparing to launch. The Elders conferred and decided to wait fifteen minutes here, allowing the later arrivals among the younger generation to board. Fifteen minutes later, anyone not inside the vessel would be left behind.

Meanwhile, Yang Ying continued deeper until he finally reached the main conference hall. The massive door was shut tight, bearing a circular emblem about one and a half meters in diameter—the Caesar family crest, Yang Ying knew.

"Holographic Battlefield Sandbox, activate. Display detailed architecture for all structures within a hundred-meter radius. Life Detector, activate. Overlay detection results onto the sandbox."

Before the words faded, a three-dimensional sandbox materialized beside Yang Ying. The lines on the sand table were minute and flawlessly detailed, as if the surrounding hundred meters of environment had been compressed many times over into a space the size of a basketball.

According to the sandbox display, the conference hall was empty, devoid of tables or chairs, let alone life signs. However, the sandbox also revealed a space beneath the hall floor containing the conference table, chairs, various clutter, and an escape passage.

"They fled so fast. Not even a hint of resistance? Those Caesar rats!"

Just as Yang Ying was about to use his decoder to open the door, he paused abruptly. Although the room appeared empty, a distinct feeling of danger lingered in his mind.

"Better safe than sorry. A probing action."

He drew a standard green light saber and thrust it into the door. The door hissed as the saber’s extreme heat melted the material. Then, Yang Ying traced a circle around the outline of the crest, slicing it free.

Clang!

He kicked the severed family crest into the conference room. An ear-splitting shriek echoed, and the ceiling instantly unleashed a torrent of hammer-like light beams, raining down like a torrential downpour!

The beams, each as thick as a finger, covered nearly every corner of the room. Since there were no obstacles like furniture on the floor, every beam struck the ground directly, leaving no blind spots. Even an organism the size of a mosquito would have been vaporized within seconds by such concentrated attack.

Through the hole he had cut in the door, Yang Ying saw the family crest being riddled with pockmarks, nearly pierced through, while the floor beneath had a layer shaved off by the dense beams.

After about ten seconds, the rainstorm of focused beams gradually ceased.

The floor was now pitted and uneven; as far as the eye could see, there was hardly a patch of intact surface larger than a playing card.

Yang Ying muttered internally, Good thing I tested it first. Otherwise, even protected by the body of a Blade Emperor, surviving that barrage would have been nearly impossible.

Losing a body didn't matter much, but if he lost this opportunity, letting the Caesars escape meant it would be much harder to gather them again for a complete sweep.

The entire conference hall now resembled a furnace, the ground melted into a liquid emitting waves of intense heat. Yang Ying paused, then sent out a pulse of psychic energy, lifting the Caesar family crest. Sure enough, the patch of ground directly beneath the crest remained intact.

Yang Ying smiled faintly, wondering if the Caesar family would have heart attacks if they knew their own crest had helped him so much.

He flashed over to the intact section of the floor, then used his light saber to cut a circle in the surrounding melted ground. The piece of floor beneath his feet dropped into the space below the hall, smashing a chair. He flashed once more and plunged into the escape passage.

Declaration of Intent: From today until May 7th is the double monthly ticket period. I have decided to issue three updates daily seeking votes from tomorrow until May 7th!!! I hope all my readers will offer their strong support! Cast your monthly tickets! If you don't have a monthly ticket, recommend a vote as well!