Seeing that she had lowered her weapon, Dao Feng also sheathed his own lightsaber, took hers, and said, "Speak then. I'm ready to hear your explanation."

Master Langdon fell silent for two seconds, as if weighing his thoughts. He cast another glance toward Bai Bai, noticing her wide, astonished eyes fixed on them. Seeing no sign of injury on her, and recalling the sheer joy that had illuminated her face when he first saw her, Master Langdon made up his mind. He turned back, pointed at Bai Bai, and stated, "I acted because of that child. You must have seen that much. But do you even know who that child is?"

Having said that, she stared intently into Dao Feng's eyes, searching for a reaction—a test to see if the Trant Mercenary Group had any ties to them.

Dao Feng shrugged. "I have no need to answer your questions. You lost the fight. You should be the one answering mine now."

Master Langdon gave Dao Feng a deep look, shook her head with a self-deprecating chuckle. "Forget it. The answer is obvious. If you knew her identity, you wouldn't be treating her the way you are now. It was my own nervousness that brought about this incident just now, and for that, I sincerely apologize." She bowed slightly.

"You still haven't gotten to the core of it," Dao Feng reminded her.

"Yes, I haven't gotten to the core, because I fear that once I speak, your attitude toward her will change drastically," Master Langdon said gravely. "Please believe me, this child's identity is of immense significance, and keeping her will bring you disaster. Please let me take her away."

Dao Feng frowned. Hearing such a declaration from Master Langdon was indeed surprising, but demanding she hand over Bai Bai based on a single statement was sheer fantasy.

"Your mercenary leader, Yang Ying, once told Jiao Yuna that you originated from the True Human Empire. That is why I came—to probe the depths of your group. But now I am certain you are not from there," Master Langdon continued. "If you truly hailed from the Empire, you would know the child’s physical characteristics, but you do not. Therefore, you are not from the Empire."

"The True Human Empire? Not the Atlantis Empire?" Dao Feng questioned.

"Do you understand the meaning of 'True Human'?" Master Langdon scoffed.

Dao Feng shook his head.

"So-called True Humans are humans born with a Level Three soul essence—those who advance from Level Two to Level Three without encountering a bottleneck," Master Langdon announced with an air of arrogance.

Dao Feng felt a jolt in his heart. Born with Level Three soul essence—wasn't that the same as the Protoss?

Master Langdon went on. "The so-called Atlantis Empire is merely what outsiders and Imperial commoners call it. True Imperial nobility have only one name for the Empire: the True Human Empire! This is because the noble class of the Empire are all True Humans, born with Level Three soul essence. The commoners, though vast in number, are born only with Level Two soul essence and are called Sub-humans; they cannot advance to Level Three unless they break through their bottleneck. Atlantis is the empire of True Humans, controlled by the aristocratic strata of the Empire—it is a dominion of True Humans, not Sub-humans. Hence, the True Human Empire!"

It was clear she held an obsessive attachment to the term "True Human."

Dao Feng pondered, scrutinizing her from head to toe. "You are an Imperial noble? A True H—"

Dao Feng's scrutinizing gaze made Master Langdon deeply uncomfortable. She snapped, "And if I am?!"

"Did you advance to Master level without a bottleneck?" Dao Feng followed up immediately.

"That is correct!" Master Langdon replied with a rigid expression. "It is similar to how Awakened beings on Earth experience no bottleneck when advancing from Psionic Apprentice to Lower Psionic Soldier—from Level One to Level Two. For a True Human, there is no rank equivalent to Sub-Master; one advances directly from Upper Tier to Master, as naturally as water flows downhill—it is innate transcendence into sainthood."

Just like the Protoss, Dao Feng thought with considerable emotion. Those Imperial nobles, born with Level Three soul essence, who dared to call themselves True Humans—they weren't merely using an empty title. Innate transcendence versus mortals; how could they not develop a sense of superiority?

"Alright, I now understand the meaning of True Human and the True Human Empire. Let us return to the main topic," Dao Feng said. "Tell me Bai Bai's identity."

"Bai Bai?" Master Langdon didn't know that name. After thinking for a moment, she realized Dao Feng was referring to Her Highness. A surge of rage instantly welled up within her. She stepped forward almost nose-to-nose with Dao Feng, furious. "What kind of name is that! I truly cannot find words to describe such vulgarity—it is blasphemy! To dare address her with such a name! If we were in the Empire, I would exert every effort to ensure you receive the severest sanctions!"

She reacted so fiercely over a mere nickname.

Dao Feng countered, "Am I not asking for her identity right now? Tell me her identity first, then we can discuss the name."

Meanwhile, under the protection of a clone, Bai Bai had kept her distance. She was perplexed as to why Dao Feng and the beautiful newcomer started fighting the moment they met, their movements so fast she couldn't follow, only to suddenly stop and talk. The whole affair left Bai Bai utterly confused. The beautiful stranger, whom she was sure she was meeting for the first time, seemed vaguely familiar... She voiced her confusion to the Yang Ying clone standing beside her.

On the other side, Master Langdon finally answered directly this time. "She is the daughter of an Imperial Grand Noble. Her parents hold positions of immense authority."

"If that is the case, if she is the daughter of a Grand Noble, why did she come to Earth?" Dao Feng pressed.

"Because someone wanted to kill her, and the person who wants her dead is also an Imperial Grand Noble, whose power is immensely vast—far beyond what a single mercenary group like yours could handle, no matter how much hidden strength you possess! Let me put it this way: even if you combined the mobilized power of the top three races in the Orion Arm, you would still fall far short of that individual."

The top three races in the Orion Arm were each stronger than the Ksing people or the Kusta people. Yet, all three combined were inferior to the person seeking to kill Bai Bai. That person was truly terrifying.

Dao Feng continued, "You’ve explained why she fled the Empire, but how did you reach Earth? And why weren't you by her side all these years? Why was she without any guards? You should know, when I found her, her circumstances were truly tragic."

"Tragic? What happened?" Master Langdon immediately pressed, showing alarm.

"Don't forget your current predicament. Answer my questions first," Dao Feng was uncompromising.

Master Langdon had inquired several times to no avail and could only respond first. "That incident happened nearly eight years ago. She was just an infant then, and I was half a step shy of the Master Peak. I carried her through layers of ambushes to reach Earth. And the way we arrived was not through spaceship spatial jumps."

"What method was that?" Dao Feng instantly pursued, secretly wondering if there was another means of interstellar travel besides spatial jumps.

"There is—through the Atlantis Interstellar Gate," Master Langdon replied. "The Empire once spanned the entire galaxy, establishing Interstellar Gates everywhere. Though the Empire's domain has shrunk by half today, many gates still exist on planets settled by Imperial descendants, but they have all been sealed."

"I see," Dao Feng mused silently. "The Protoss also have Interstellar Gates, connecting any two points. Atlantis can do this too. Their technology must be extraordinary; I need to be vigilant."

Master Langdon went on, "In order to escape with her, I fought with all my might to break through the encirclement, but I was gravely wounded. I barely managed to activate an Interstellar Gate and reached Earth. Then, I destroyed Earth's Interstellar Gate to prevent pursuers from following. Since the Interstellar Gate was located beneath the glaciers of the South Pole, the climate was extremely cold. Although I used my psionic power to create a long-lasting protective shield for the child, I soon faced utter exhaustion. I used my final strength to break through the ice layer and reach the surface. I was too heavily injured then, and after finishing everything, I passed out. When I awoke, I found I had been rescued by a passing ship, but she was gone."

"It seems Bai Bai survived because of the shield you made, drifted until she was picked up, and in doing so, her extraordinary nature was discovered. She was then transferred to Caesar Group's secret experimental base in Santos City on Mars, treated like a lab rat, until the Trant Mercenary Group attacked Caesar Group over a year ago, rescuing her," Dao Feng supplied the rest of the narrative.

Master Langdon's blood instantly ran cold. When the attack happened, Yang Ying had launched a wave of public opinion assaults. What the Santos experimental base was doing had already been reported in the news, and Master Langdon had heard of it. Naming her 'Bai Bai' alone felt like sacrilege, let alone subjecting her to vivisection—

"The Caesar family! I will exterminate their entire line!" Master Langdon became agitated, waves of energy radiating off her, carrying a murderous intent almost tangible enough to solidify.

"Calm down. The Caesar family was wiped out completely during the period of reform. Even those remnants the Leader left behind didn't survive," Dao Feng advised.

It took considerable effort for Master Langdon to regain her composure.

"Right," Dao Feng, seeing she was calm, asked again. "You said Bai Bai is the daughter of a Grand Noble. How high up is this nobility? You don't need to make excuses or lie. Because regardless, I will not hand her over to you, and with your current strength, you couldn't seize her anyway. Your answer makes no difference. If you want me to clearly understand the troubles we might face later, then speak plainly."

Master Langdon frowned. "Must you pursue the absolute truth even if it means inviting death? Can you speak for Yang Ying or the opinion of your entire collective?" Her gaze pierced him, her demeanor intensely serious.

"You hid for eight years and didn't seem to invite any fatal trouble; Bai Bai is still safe and sound. Don't paint the situation so grimly," Dao Feng retorted. "Furthermore, I can represent the collective's opinion. While you're at it, tell me Bai Bai's real name."

Master Langdon remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Her Highness... she is the Second Princess of the Empire. Her true name is Sophie Mia Ang Atlantis."