Upon stepping into the Fourth Level, a potent sense of presence radiated through the mental plane, causing even the Master-level experts across the Solar System to feel the intense disturbance emanating from its edge.

“No, this is unbelievable! Hardek actually managed to return from the other side of the mental plane, and has ascended to the Fourth Level!” Master Kong Li shuddered, his expression shifting drastically as he shook his head, still seemingly unable to fully credit the feat.

“I feel it too.” Master Tu Xin narrowed his eyes, cold light glinting from them as he gazed toward the sky, a palpable aura of slaughter manifesting around him. “A powerful presence projects from Pluto, a beacon in the mental sphere. It is indeed the feeling of the Fourth Level. Ape King Hardek—has he finally crossed that final threshold?”

Master Kong Li sighed in distress, “Alas, I never expected Hardek’s will to be so fiercely uncompromising. I fear the other peak Masters in the Solar System cannot compare to him. Decades we were his equals in fame, yet I cannot match him now.”

He admitted his inferiority to Hardek only because he understood the path to the Fourth Level was fraught with thorns; every step forward demanded immense wisdom and indomitable resolve. Furthermore, the two sides of the mental plane were like an unbridgeable chasm, making return almost impossible. For Hardek to maintain his selfhood within the dark side of the mental plane without descending into confusion—that was the first insurmountable hurdle. To achieve a breakthrough while within that dark side was the second. To shatter the separation between Yin and Yang, to claw back from the dead—that was the third.

Not every newly ascended Fourth Level entity could immediately grasp the method for traversing Yin and Yang. Hardek, after his death, experienced nirvana and rebirth in a mere few dozen minutes. Yet, Jesus, returning over two thousand years prior, had required three days!

At this moment, several telepathic messages reached the ears of the two Transcendent Masters: “Master Kong Li, Master Tu Xin, what has happened? Why does such immense pressure emanate from the direction of Pluto?” All psionic Masters on Earth capable of projecting their thoughts to Mand Island sent similar inquiries.

Master Tu Xin relayed the news of Hardek’s recent ascension to the Fourth Level via a collective mental broadcast, feeling a wave of chaotic noise echo back through the mental plane, sensing the profound shock of the Psionic Masters.

“Do not worry yourselves; leave this matter to us. The Solar System will be safe,” Master Kong Li soothed them.

Meanwhile, within the Song Star Embassy on Union Island, Ambassador Jiayouna was dining with the fourth peak Master of the Psionic Temple—the only female Transcendent Master, Sisselyn Denton.

The disturbance in the mental plane arrived, and Master Denton immediately set down her cutlery and sprang to her feet. Tall and curvaceous, she sported sharp, aqua-blue, ear-length hair and bright eyes that betrayed a fierce spirit. Her attire was precise and immaculate, leaving no small detail unaddressed, projecting an air of unyielding seriousness. Her very existence had always been shrouded in mystery; it was rumored she had suddenly appeared before the Psionic Temple Elders seven or eight years ago, had never engaged on the front lines, and remained extremely low-profile, meaning many psionics had only heard her name, never seen her face.

“Sister Sissely, what happened? I feel such powerful pressure radiating from the edge of the Solar System,” Jiayouna’s voice remained ethereal and beautiful, instantly evoking images of pale moonlight and a serene night sky. Though she possessed Third Level cultivation, she remained a significant distance below Master Denton’s level.

“It is the Pluto headquarters of the Ancient Legion. Wait here; I will ask Master Kong Li,” Master Denton projected her thoughts across half the globe, making contact with Masters Kong Li and Tu Xin. She quickly understood the sequence of events.

She recounted the situation to Jiayouna.

“Hardek has reached the Fourth Level!” Jiayouna gasped, covering her mouth, eyes wide. “I must hurry back to Song Star and tell Grandmother immediately. Sister Sissely, please forgive my departure; I hope you enjoy the rest of your meal.” With that, she stood, executed a gesture of instinctive elegance, and vanished without a trace.

Master Denton smiled faintly at her haste. The ‘Grandmother’ Jiayouna mentioned was Afeiya, the guardian deity of Song Star—a Fourth Level master renowned for ten thousand years, much like Karagounis of Kusta.

She rose and moved to the window, gazing at the vast, boundless sea in the distance. Her face clouded over again, her lips pressed tightly together, a surge of anxiety gripping her heart: “The Solar System is clearly descending into greater chaos. Your Highness, where precisely are you?”

The two Song Star handmaidens in the room noticed her expression and mistook her concern for worry over Hardek’s ascension to the Fourth Level, adopting sympathetic looks.

Master Kong Li remained intensely focused on the edge of the Solar System. He could feel Hardek beginning to fight again; the towering battle intent that pulsed through the mental plane far surpassed the highest levels he had ever encountered. It was then he heard Master Tu Xin say, “Master Denton sent word that Ambassador Jiayouna has already transmitted the news back to Song Star…”

Master Kong Li shook his head. “The Solar System is ours, after all. If the Song Star people choose to intervene, the Kustans will use it as an excuse to find an opportunity to step in. If my prediction is correct, the Song Star people will unfortunately be of no help to us in this matter.” He paused. “However, I believe that with Hardek’s advancement to the Fourth Level, the threat to Earth might actually lessen.”

“Why?”

“Based on my understanding of Hardek, his life’s ambition was to liberate the Ancient Legion from their status as biological weapons. For this, he has exhausted himself plotting to annihilate humanity and conquer the Solar System. To achieve this, he stepped out of the world of the dead and reached the Fourth Level. But the current situation is drastically different. Now a Fourth Level entity, he will receive eminent respect in any corner of the Milky Way. Even Karagounis could no longer control him, let alone continue to use his race as mere weapons.”

Master Kong Li pondered for a long time, connecting the cause and effect, arriving at a final conclusion: “It can be said that upon becoming Fourth Level, the Ape race has achieved liberation. He no longer has any need to occupy the Solar System.”

Master Tu Xin remained silent for a long time. It was not that he failed to understand; as soon as Kong Li explained, he grasped it. In fact, he had seen the possibility even before Kong Li spoke, but he did not agree with it.

“Master Kong Li, what you say holds merit. Hardek certainly has no necessity to attack humanity now. Any location in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way would welcome him and his kind. They could even find worlds better than the Solar System to root themselves. However, over the last half-century, humanity on the front lines has bled and sacrificed; hundreds of millions have perished, countless families torn apart. Every year has been a river of blood, and now those rivers have converged into an ocean. Never in the history of the human world has there been such profound, deep-seated blood vengeance. Can we simply erase it all and watch them depart?”

Master Kong Li turned to him, his gaze serious. “Master Tu Xin, have you been influenced by this hatred?”

“Revenge is justice—not merely for hatred, but to uphold the rules, and therefore revenge is necessary!” Speaking of the blood feud involving hundreds of millions, killing intent coiled around Master Tu Xin as if he would never rest until every ape was slain. “And do not forget that the apes see it the same way! For half a century, hundreds of millions of apes have died by human hands. It is only because the Kustans have supplied reinforcements that their numbers have been maintained around ten million. And every ape desires humanity’s death!”

The Kustans had always maintained the balance of the Solar System by adjusting the ape population and equipment—replenishing more when the Ancient Legion was at a disadvantage, and less when they held the upper hand. This prevented the apes from growing too strong and seizing the Solar System, thereby escaping Kustan control, and also kept humanity from annihilating the Legion entirely.

“If Hardek wishes to leave, he can take the Ancient Legion with him. The apes regard him as king and will obey his commands. No matter how intense humanity’s hatred, what recourse do they have?” Master Kong Li lamented wryly.

However, sensing the heaven-defying battle will surging from Pluto’s direction, Master Tu Xin noted, “It seems Yang Ying has truly ignited Hardek’s fury. He appears determined to kill Yang Ying before he rests.”

Master Kong Li nodded. “Indeed, I feel it too. But Pluto is too distant—about forty astronomical units away. Even using the Meteor Halo System at one-tenth the speed of light, it would take two and a half days to reach Pluto. It’s too late for us to intervene directly. However, the Teran Mercenary Group possesses spatial jump technology; perhaps they can escape back, giving us some room to maneuver.”

“Two and a half days then?” Master Tu Xin’s killing intent seemed to solidify into tangible form before suddenly erupting into streaks of sword energy shooting toward the sky!

Clearly, he was enraged!

“Two and a half days it is! I am making a trip to Pluto!” Master Tu Xin declared, and without waiting for Kong Li’s reply, he vanished. Seconds later, on the opposite end of Mand Island, a warplane shot upward like an arrow, tearing toward the heavens!

After clearing the atmosphere, a halo opened behind the aircraft, unleashing a brilliant golden light that instantly accelerated the plane to one-tenth the speed of light, turning it into a meteor hurtling toward Pluto.

Master Kong Li did not stop him. He remained standing in place for a long time, lost in deep contemplation. When he finally raised his head, a flash of insight sparked in his eyes. He murmured inwardly, “Perhaps there is still a sliver of a chance. Hardek has only just ascended to the Fourth Level; he is like an infant learning to walk. Though Fourth Level powers are immense, he may not be able to wield them effectively yet.”

Karagounis certainly had not provided him with knowledge regarding the Fourth Level during the transmission, and Hardek had no time to comprehend it himself. In that case, this moment might be the optimal chance to defeat him.