The 'Azure Divine Power' practitioner had cultivated to the peak of the Second Level. In the Orion Arm, one could easily achieve this. After all, searching the entirety of the Orion Arm yielded only twenty-six beings at the Fourth Level; thus, a master at the peak of the Third Level, being second only to the Fourth Level, naturally commanded immense prestige.

The horse-faced alien, seeing that he had already announced "Next," but Yang Ying and his party showed no signs of leaving, inquired again, "Do you require anything further?"

Yang Ying stated, "I am aware of the mercenary corps' regulations, and one clause pertains to those at the peak of the Third Level."

"Oh." A hint of interest flickered across the horse-faced alien's features as he scrutinized Yang Ying closely. "A master at the peak of the Third Level! Are you referring to that provision allowing a mercenary group that has not yet reached the Third Level to be directly promoted to the Third Level?"

Yang Ying smiled. "That is precisely the one."

The horse-faced alien expressed surprise. "You have someone at the peak of the Third Level in your corps? That is an exceedingly esteemed individual!"

Yang Ying inquired, "If I wish to utilize this specific provision to immediately elevate my mercenary corps to a Third Level corps, what must be done?"

"There truly is a master at the peak of the Third Level?" All four eyes on the horse-faced alien's face widened to their limit, almost bulging from their sockets. He shot to his feet with a whoosh, demanding repeatedly, "Who is it? Who is the peak of the Third Level? Have they arrived?" His four eyes darted around before suddenly settling on Worengas beside him. "Could it be this Burk person?"

Yang Ying frowned. He could decipher the alien's thought process; the horse-faced alien clearly looked down upon Earthlings who had only just entered higher civilization. Even if they possessed a peak Third Level master, they wouldn't be so abundant as to dispatch one as a mere mercenary, whereas the probability for a Burk was clearly much higher.

Worengas pursed his lips. "I am not."

The horse-faced alien swung his four eyes back, his eagerness almost that of the most fanatical devotee. Not a Burk, and certainly not a robot. Only the Earthling leader remained.

At some unknown moment, the surroundings had fallen silent. The previously noisy hall felt like a dream. The horse-faced alien had shouted "Peak of the Third Level" so loudly that, in this gathering place for mercenaries—many of whom possessed keen hearing and understood Galactic Standard—attention had immediately gravitated here. As the alien shouted, hundreds of eyes turned toward Yang Ying's group, a wave spreading rapidly from the dozens nearby. As they stared, murmurs rippled through the crowd, repeating the phrase "Peak of the Third Level" in various dialects—a term that clearly captivated their imaginations.

Just then, several other mercenaries entered the hall from outside. Seeing the hushed atmosphere, they initially thought they had taken a wrong turn. After confirming they were indeed in the Mercenary Hall, they began asking surrounding individuals for news, soon joining the circle of onlookers.

The reactions of the aliens from various races only served to deepen Yang Ying's understanding of the exalted status accorded to a master at the peak of the Third Level in the Orion Arm.

"If you are the master at the peak of the Third Level," the horse-faced alien unconsciously switched his address from "you" to the respectful "Sir," his body trembling slightly with excitement. He extended a hand toward the center of the hall. "Please look over there!"

Yang Ying turned his head and saw a raised platform about four meters high in the center of the hall. A crimson light pillar, two meters in diameter, pierced the platform, connecting the floor all the way up to the ceiling nearly twenty meters high. He had noticed the pillar upon entering but hadn't paid it much attention then, assuming it was mere decoration or perhaps an energy conduit, akin to a high-voltage cable.

"Touch that light pillar with your hand. The pillar will display different colors based on the strength of the toucher's mental power. A lifeform lacking mental power will cause it to turn orange. A rookie at Level One will see it transition from orange toward yellow. A Level Two individual will see it transition to green. A Level Three individual will see it transition to blue. Even within the same level, the color isn't static; the deeper one's mastery of mental power, the closer the color moves toward the next level's hue. As a peak Third Level master strengthens further, the blue will deepen significantly, culminating in purple for those at the peak of the Third Level."

The horse-faced alien narrated the details meticulously.

"He speaks the truth; this pillar is a device for testing psychic strength," Worengas confirmed.

"Very well, I shall try it."

With that, Yang Ying turned and, under the gaze of the entire assembly of aliens, stepped onto the platform and reached out toward the light pillar.

The instant his hand made contact, the pillar's color violently shifted. It leaped from crimson to orange, then yellow, then green, all the way to blue—each color seeming to flash by in an instant, rocketing upward like a flare. After reaching blue, it gradually deepened, finally manifesting a trace of purple!

A collective gasp seized the hall throughout the entire process. Following the appearance of purple, there was a pause, and then a sudden, thunderous eruption of noise.

"Truly the peak of the Third Level!"

"Is this my lucky day? To witness such a thing..."

"The last time I saw the pillar turn purple was two standard years ago! I never thought I'd see another master at the peak of the Third Level joining the ranks of mercenaries today!"

"Quick, find out who he is! We must invite him to join our corps!" "What? He's forming his own corps? What a shame."

"Ah! Look! The pillar's transformation hasn't stopped!"

Yang Ying hadn't even withdrawn his hand, yet the pillar's color continued to deepen beyond the initial trace of purple, becoming a dark purple!

"Heavens! Even among peak Third Level masters, this individual's cultivation is profound. Look how deep the pillar's color has turned purple—I have never encountered anything like it in my life!"

The light pillar was a significant source of illumination in the hall, and once it turned dark purple, its glow radiated beyond the entrance, visible even to those outside the Mercenary Guild building.

"Purple? Everyone look! A purple glow is emanating from the Mercenary Guild—a peak Third Level master has appeared!"

"Wait, no, the purple is deepening! It's turning dark purple again? Brothers, come and see the divine!"

Wave after wave of people, drawn by the deep purple radiance, streamed toward the Mercenary Guild. This was likely the biggest news on Veda Star recently.

The light finally settled on dark purple, so deep it was almost black. Seeing that the glow had stabilized, Yang Ying withdrew his palm. The pillar's color slowly receded: from purple back to blue, then green, yellow, finally returning to the original crimson.

Glancing around, Yang Ying saw that everyone in the hall was in an uproar. The aliens were conferring animatedly, their gazes filled with eagerness, which included even some Second Level psychics and even a few Third Level masters.

Of course, mixed with the eagerness were other emotions: deliberate aloofness, scorn, disdain, haughtiness, provocation—a full spectrum of human (or alien) behavior laid bare before him.

"Hmph. What concern is it of mine what they think?"

Yang Ying ignored the gazes cast his way and walked straight off the platform, approaching the horse-faced alien's window. "What are the next steps? Let's complete them all at once so my corps can be promoted to Level Three as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, please, please..." The horse-faced alien was so agitated that his speech faltered slightly. He shook his head violently, as if trying to shake off a torrent of thoughts, before regaining composure. "My apologies, sir. I can handle the paperwork for low-level corps like Level One and Two at this window, but Level Three is considered a mid-level mercenary corps. I lack the authorization to promote you. You must proceed upstairs to the executive offices for that. I trust the local Branch Master will personally receive you this time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the horse-faced alien received an internal message. After reading it, he turned to Yang Ying. "Indeed, it is as I suspected. The Branch Master has just issued an order instructing me to invite you all to the main reception room on the second floor. Allow me to escort you."

"Then lead the way," Yang Ying nodded. This was logical; the horse-faced alien worked at a ground-floor window, surrounded by hundreds of similar staff members—his authority was clearly limited.

The horse-faced alien immediately closed his window and came outside to lead Yang Ying upstairs.

During the ascent, some individuals kept trying to approach Yang Ying, and outside the hall, many other aliens drawn by the dark purple light were rushing in, threatening to jam the entrance completely.

Dozens of professional bodyguards trained by the Mercenary Guild, originally stationed around the hall, seemed to have received an order. They instantly formed a human barrier, clearing a path for Yang Ying's party to ascend.

Fortunately, those inside the hall were all mercenaries. They weren't rabid fans; their sole purpose in coming was to catch a glimpse of the legendary peak Third Level master from a distance, thus preventing any major panic.

Regardless, this incident had profoundly spread Yang Ying's name. Mercenaries are inherently gossipy; spreading and gathering information are their specialties. The various races who had been in the hall would vividly recount today's events to others later, etching Yang Ying's image deep into their minds.

In a corner of the hall, several figures wrapped in black robes watched Yang Ying until he disappeared upstairs. They were entirely concealed by their robes, revealing no features whatsoever; others couldn't even discern their race. Even some Third Level masters, employing their keen sight to pierce ordinary cloth, could not penetrate these black robes. While anti-psychic observation fabric was available commercially, it was prohibitively expensive for the average person.

"I didn't expect to encounter a master at the absolute limit of the Third Level here. This person is likely just one step away from breaking through to the Fourth Level. If we could recruit him, our chances of success in this operation should increase significantly..."