To aid the Protoss spirit, the thought had taken root in Yang Ying's mind long ago, yet Yang Ying knew the Protoss were vastly different from the Zerg.

The Protoss did not possess the trait of offering psionic power to a leader; therefore, in terms of psychic ability, Yang Ying ultimately had to rely on the Zerg's strength.

But after hearing the Way of the Khala today, even with Yang Ying’s current tenacious mind, waves of emotion were stirred within him.

The psychic power of the Protoss was undeniably the strongest among the three races. Compared to the Protoss, the Zerg were merely a race that lived by their physical bodies. The Zerg’s characteristic was the ability to rapidly evolve by absorbing various excellent genes, their martial power mainly deriving from fertility, physical strength, bacteria, viruses, parasites, secretions, and so on. Psychic power was merely a necessary tool for a superior to control a subordinate.

The Protoss, however, were completely different. The soul of every Protoss citizen possessed a master-level essence from the moment of birth. When they cultivated to a certain level, they would naturally become master-level experts, requiring none of the arduous breakthroughs Yang Ying had to endure.

Yang Ying had once asked some experts in Protoss psionics, such as Glimoran and Boktana. Early on, not long after arriving in this world, he had asked them if there was any way to borrow psychic power from the Protoss, and their answers were basically five words: "It is not yet time."

Later, as the tribute of psychic energy from the Zerg exceeded expectations to the point where one body could no longer contain it, Yang Ying gradually forgot the matter.

Now that the old topic was brought up, although what Yang Ying saw now was merely a distant, idealistic future, it still gave him considerable encouragement. Yang Ying remembered the feeling of that light that had once appeared in his soul. The next time he needed to re-enter that state, the difficulty would be greatly reduced.

Boktana had initially been reluctant to discuss the Way of the Khala, because in his view, Yang Ying's soul essence still did not meet the prerequisite. That step required for the soul to ascend, no matter how close it appeared, was a fundamental difference. The difficulty of calculating it might take other quasi-masters several years, or even more than ten years.

However, since Glimoran believed their leader could overcome this hurdle quickly, he stopped holding back and explained all aspects of the Way of the Khala knowledge to Yang Ying's avatar. As a Judicator of Light, his understanding of the energy matrix far surpassed that of the Dark Prelates.

The energy matrix, as a creation, was the core technology of the Templar and the Judicators of Light faction. For the Dark Templar and the Dark Prelates, the omnipresent void energy was their specialty.

The Dark faction of the Protoss paid even less attention to the Way of the Khala—this psychic link extended from the energy matrix technology—than the Light faction of the Protoss.

After Yang Ying’s avatar gained a relatively comprehensive understanding of the Way of the Khala, Glimoran and Boktana took their leave.

The avatars on the plaza silently continued their original various training activities, maintaining an appearance of deep concentration as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Yang Ying's main body was still listening to Kalia report on the recent various developments.

The most important piece of information among them was that news had spread through certain channels indicating that the assassination attempt on the Tenth Minister was orchestrated by the Terran Mercenary Group.

"Nabu’s actions are certainly swift; shortly after turning hostile, they’ve given us trouble. What is the reaction from all sides now?" Yang Ying’s voice sounded as if a storm was approaching, carrying an oppressive quality.

"None of the sides have shown any obvious reaction. Whether it is the United Council that has temporarily taken over the government, the Terran Army, the Psionic Temple, or the Lifelong Society—they all remain silent," Kalia stated calmly.

"Try to find out clearly what their higher-ups are thinking. If there is a possibility of action detrimental to us, I do not want to be caught unprepared," Yang Ying said.

"Of course," Kalia nodded. "Kevin, through online monitoring, has pinpointed the source of this transmitted information. It originates from several intelligence exchange hubs in the dark worlds. Many spies, counter-intelligence personnel, intelligence organizations, mercenaries, and military personnel frequent these chaotic places, which is why the news spread so quickly."

Yang Ying snorted and asked, "What opinions do the staff officers have?"

"The Staff Headquarters has formulated two plans for the Commander to choose from." Kalia activated a light screen and brought up two documents. "The first one is to ignore it. If those intelligence exchange hubs are destroyed right after the news of our assassination of the Tenth Minister spreads, the accusation of us silencing witnesses will be confirmed. The major factions will then be even more certain that we assassinated the Tenth Minister."

Yang Ying shook his head. "To let those petty rats clamor outside while we do nothing would only make other factions laugh, thinking we are truly afraid of them. Before the Council and the Terran Army, we have always maintained a mysterious and tough stance. Their hesitation to make a move proves this has been effective. Before they fully gauge how many resources and how much military power the Terran faction truly possesses, they dare not act rashly."

"And under the cover of the Ghost Special Operations Unit, the strength possessed by the Terran faction is very well concealed. Intelligence personnel from all factions are unable to infiltrate. Kalia, I must thank your Ghost Special Operations Unit for their efforts," Yang Ying praised.

Kalia bowed. "This is our duty, Commander. I dare not accept your thanks."

A smile appeared on Yang Ying’s face. To have such highly intelligent and absolutely loyal subordinates was what every superior envied.

"Regardless of whether we did this or not, we cannot give other factions the impression of weakness. Therefore, my opinion is to immediately destroy those intelligence exchange hubs and maintain our hardline stance. Sometimes, if you take one small step back, the enemy will advance ten steps, taking advantage of the situation. Such scenarios happen frequently," Yang Ying shrugged.

"I understand." Kalia made a slight adjustment and then reviewed the second plan. "This is the raid plan formulated by the Staff Headquarters; we can execute it anytime. If the order is given now, they can be dealt with before midnight tonight."

"Very good, proceed with this one." Yang Ying glanced at it once and immediately made his decision.

The next day, some local news programs broadcasted reports about several mixed-location venues suffering from shootings, fires, or bomb attacks. For ordinary citizens, these were just mundane daily news items, discussed casually with family and friends, and forgotten by the next day.

However, for certain intelligence organizations, this was no simple matter.

The fact that the Terran Mercenary Group insisted on destroying several intelligence exchange hubs, disregarding the risk of being labeled as murderers covering their tracks, truly shocked many people.

"This Terran Mercenary Group truly has guts, acting so conspicuously at such a tense moment."

In a lavishly decorated office, Defense Minister, Marshal Duncan of the Terran Army High Command, reviewed the intelligence reports handed up to him. As one of the former Twelve Ministers, the assassination of the Tenth Minister was a matter of life and death for him.

After reading for a while, he closed the folder and asked the other person seated by the desk, "Alexander, you are more familiar with the Terran Mercenary Group. Tell me, did the Terran Mercenary Group assassinate the Tenth Minister?"

"Just like the rumor that spread not long ago, judging by the operational methods, the assassination of the Tenth Minister shares similarities with the purge of the Caesar family. Both were characterized by the same decisiveness and swiftness; few organizations can achieve this level. And organizations with such capability would generally not assassinate the Tenth Minister. Thinking it over and over, it really seems the Terran Mercenary Group bears the greatest suspicion."

Seated at the desk was the youngest of the Terran Army Marshals, Alexander, who had served the shortest time.

Marshal Duncan nodded and said with a smile, "Actually, whether it was the Terran Mercenary Group or someone else, getting rid of those ten fellows is always a pleasing event. They were already fighting for power and profit within the government, yet they still tried to extend their reach into the military. Fortunately, they are dead now, saving me a lot of effort."

"Do you have no opinion on the Terran Mercenary Group?" Alexander asked tentatively.

"They clearly possessed the capability to kill me but chose not to, and they also derailed my proposal for military expansion two months ago. Speaking of which, they don't owe me anything in this affair. Perhaps from a certain perspective, I owe them."

Marshal Duncan poured himself a glass of red wine, poured one for Alexander as well, and continued, "Besides, even if I had an opinion of them, what use would it be? Even if I wanted to deal with them, I would at least need to understand them first. As Joe G. Clark always says, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' We don't even know the location of their secret base, only that it's in the asteroid belt. What use is that? They are in the shadows, and we are in the light. They strike so ruthlessly. This old bone of mine hopes to live a couple more years; why should I provoke them? If I must provoke someone, I’ll use others as a proxy and see how things develop."

The Terran Army had a total of four Marshals, previously three, thus they were also known as the Terran Army's Big Three: Marshal Duncan, the Supreme Commander of the Terran Army; Marshal Schmidt, the Chief of General Staff of the Terran Army; and Marshal Joe G. Clark, the Commander of the Terran Fleet and Commander of the First Fleet.

Although Marshal Duncan was nominally the supreme commander of all Terran forces, because the wars currently taking place in the solar system were confrontations between fleets, Marshal Joe G. Clark, as the Commander of the Space Fleet, held almost as much influence within the military as Marshal Duncan.

The reason Alexander became the Vice Commander of the Space Fleet this time was with the support of Marshal Duncan, aiming to dilute some of the power held by Marshal Joe G. Clark. However, for Alexander, this was by no means a simple task.