After a short wait, Ghost Agent delivered the backup plan, Document Number 17—a data disk etched with the forty-seventh pattern on its surface.

Yang Ying accepted it, then passed it to Master Merlin. "Please review this, Master. These are the countermeasures we've designed for potential actions by the Kustar. You can examine the details here."

"Very well." Master Merlin inserted the data disk into the port on his wrist device, projecting the contents onto a screen. He scanned the entire plan with an almost supernatural speed, grasping the core concepts line by line.

As Master Merlin flipped through the pages, Jia Youna watched with unblinking intensity. With each passing screen, her surprise grew. "I hadn't expected the Tran Mercenary Group to possess such a clear understanding of the Kustar's operations. While it pales in comparison to our own Song Star people's knowledge, grasping the plan to this degree suggests the Tran Mercenaries have established channels within the higher civilizations. To achieve this right after leaving the Sol system for the first time is truly remarkable."

Master Merlin finished, closing the projection. He nodded slowly. "If the initial assumptions hold true, then your conclusion should also be correct: the Kustar cannot launch a direct assault on the Sol system in the short term."

As he spoke, he looked toward Jia Youna, who gave a slight nod, confirming the accuracy of the plan's premises.

Master Merlin turned back, a fraction of his tension easing, though his brow remained faintly furrowed. "However, given enough time, the Kustar will inevitably find an opening. A single fleet they dispatch would outnumber the entire Earth military, and their firepower exceeds ours by two energy tiers. Honestly, they wouldn't need even half a fleet—perhaps only a quarter—to turn the entire Sol system into a sea of fire."

"A higher civilization race isn't something the Kustar can simply wipe out at will," Yang Ying countered, turning to Jia Youna. "The old saying holds: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. When the Kustar finally strike, I trust the Song Star people, and the Kustar's other enemies, will not simply stand by and watch us be annihilated."

"Indeed. We Song Star people will not allow that to happen," Jia Youna affirmed solemnly.

As the Song Star Ambassador, Jia Youna possessed far more detailed knowledge of the situation than Yang Ying or Master Merlin. She knew the debate had been fierce when this proposal reached the Kustar Emperor. Even the notoriously warlike Kustar had proceeded with extreme caution regarding whether to classify humanity as an adversarial race, solely because they knew humans had just eliminated the Level Four entity, Hardek!

The Kustar Level Four expert, Kalagunis, was Hardek's master. Setting aside Kalagunis's personal view of Hardek, their master-apprentice relationship had spanned many years. Even when Hardek reached the Sol system, Kalagunis could faintly sense his condition. When Hardek advanced to Level Four, Kalagunis sensed it immediately.

At that time, he had issued orders to recall the Ancient Legion to mend ties, elevating the status of the Ape-men to be equal to the Kustar, granting them equivalent citizenship—much as the Galan Star people had recruited Bedak, one of their own three Level Four experts. If they could successfully recruit Hardek, the Kustar would become the third race in the Orion Arm, after the Galan Star people and the Luoya, to possess more than one Level Four master.

However, shortly after this command was issued, Kalagunis sensed Hardek’s complete annihilation—body and soul. He erupted in fury then, an earth-shattering roar that could be heard hundreds of kilometers away.

The recruitment plan was shelved. Nevertheless, the fact that humans had destroyed a Level Four being like Hardek left the Kustar utterly stunned, rendering them indecisive about whether to categorize Earthlings as an enemy.

"The Kustar have likely already sent agents to the Sol system to investigate the exact situation at that time, though we have no idea where their spies might be lurking," Jia Youna thought internally, dividing her attention between her own musings and the conversation between Yang Ying and Master Merlin.

"That will be all, Master Yang Ying. I must return to report this Backup Plan Forty-Seven to the Elder Council; I cannot stay any longer," Master Merlin announced, rising to his feet.

Seeing this, Jia Youna also stood immediately. "I should be leaving as well. I have administrative duties to attend to at the Ambassadorial Residence."

Yang Ying saw they were both set on departing and made no attempt to persuade them otherwise, escorting them away from the castle.

Returning inside, Yang Ying passed through the ground-floor hall. His eyes flickered over the dozens of oil paintings adorning the walls, and he suddenly recalled the Council, the Caribbean Pirates, and the Ape Worship Sect—organizations he hadn't heard any news about since the Great Reform began.

Pondering this, Yang Ying summoned Kalia, intending to question his head of intelligence about any recent updates concerning those three groups.

"Sir, are you asking about the Council, the Caribbean Pirates, and the Ape Worship Sect?" Kalia arrived and shook his head upon hearing the query. "I haven't received any intelligence on them for quite some time either. It is our failing that the Ghost Special Forces have yet to root them out. Back when we first breached the Council's latest data streams, we didn't fully map out their power structure, leaving behind these latent threats. The core figures of the Council have never contacted them, as if they have abandoned those anchors."

After the behemoth battlecruiser was completed, Yang Ying had questioned Master Kong Li and that group, including Jin Sailer, but it was too late. Although that group had deeper knowledge of the Council, the core leaders had been terrified into hiding by Yang Ying’s previous purges, and they hadn't surfaced even after the Great Reform began. Yang Ying could only sigh; an organization with a thousand years of inherited tradition like the Council was truly deeply rooted, their escape routes so well concealed that even the Ghost Agents couldn't track them.

Kalia continued, "The Caribbean Pirates disbanded most of their forces after the Pluto Campaign. The Pirate King, along with a small core of die-hard supporters, has vanished into the depths of the Asteroid Belt, undiscovered to this day. However, we have already deployed fifty thousand Observers for a carpet search. We won't miss a single clue; we’ve currently surveyed sixty-one percent of the entire Asteroid Belt. Naboo won't remain hidden for much longer."

"As for the Ape Worship Sect... they have also gone into hiding," Kalia frowned. "They are likely concealed among the general populace, keeping a very low profile. Since the death of Horath, we haven't heard of them targeting ordinary people again. According to your assessment, the current Ape Worship Sect should be under the command of that so-called Emissary of the Primal Apes, Ulysses. With the fall of the Ancient Legion, the Sect seems to have lost its operational target, and their new objective remains unknown; further observation is required."

Receiving no constructive updates, Yang Ying waved Kalia away.

The following period was the most leisurely Yang Ying had experienced since his transmigration. His enemies within the Sol system were either eliminated or in hiding; not a single one remained intact. His only external adversary was the Kustar. Yang Ying had not provoked any other higher civilization races—or rather, although he had engaged them, he had left no discernible trace. The Burke, Si, and Nim people all believed their explorers had perished in the cosmic radiation burst from the gas cloud.

Yang Ying spent his days accompanying Katerina, strolling here and there, and frequently watching Bai Bai practice etiquette movements. Because the little girl was so innocently spirited, she often created amusing blunders, acting as a source of constant joy that brightened everyone's mood.

While his main body enjoyed his leisure, his clone continued to cultivate on the Floating Continent, mastering the application of various spells and diligently continuing his swordsmanship training. He had finally obtained the internal techniques of the Psionic Monastery that he had long sought from Landon—a comprehensive collection encompassing over ten thousand varieties of spells and sword styles. These spanned techniques passed down since antiquity alongside those created by successive Master-level experts over the monastery's three-hundred-year history. Every single technique embodied the wisdom of predecessors, often causing Yang Ying to devour them day and night with immense pleasure.

Yang Ying glanced once at the cultivation methods intended for Level One Psionic Apprentices and Level Two Psionic Adepts, then dismissed them. These techniques were far too rudimentary for him now; he grasped them instantly and could execute them without dedicated practice.

Only the methods designed for Level Three Psionic Masters warranted his careful study and practice by his clone. He was already at the absolute peak of Level Three, the perfect time for cross-disciplinary assimilation.

Yang Ying absorbed the techniques like a starving man, allowing the variations in his attacks to multiply exponentially. A single sword strike could now unleash a thousand potential follow-ups, an unending stream of reactive maneuvers capable of addressing any unforeseen circumstance.

This also meant Yang Ying's defensive perimeter had become significantly stronger—not due to a raw increase in psionic power, but through improved application, ensuring every ounce of strength was used precisely where needed.

However, these techniques were merely supplementary methods for combat; they offered no path toward breaking through to Level Four. Yet, Yang Ying was content. No master in the history of the Psionic Monastery had ever reached the pinnacle of Level Four, so seeking the key to that breakthrough within their existing records was unrealistic.

The peaceful days passed quickly.

One day, Kalia approached Yang Ying. "Sir, we have developments."

Yang Ying was currently hovering above a grassy expanse, as if seated on an invisible aerial sofa, watching Landon teach Bai Bai noble dances. Dancing, clearly more complex than walking, required Bai Bai to start over repeatedly as Landon corrected her. Her small face was stubborn, refusing to give up because Yang Ying was watching nearby.

Upon hearing Kalia report a development, Yang Ying descended, planting his feet firmly on the ground, and turned to ask, "What is it?"

"Earth has just been elevated to a Higher Civilization. Recently, several higher civilization races have sent envoys seeking alliance," Kalia first provided context before getting to the main point. "Today, a Kustar fleet arrived in the Sol system under the guise of friendship."

Thank you all for your support! The monthly votes are in. I will add another update tomorrow! For the next part of the story, please log in to [URL/Platform Name] for more chapters, support the author, and read the genuine work.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.