The underwater city of the Zite people was truly breathtaking. Having lived submerged for countless millennia, they had developed a power system utterly distinct from Earth's style, utilizing hydro-power to its absolute peak.

The ocean currents and the deep-sea geothermal vents were exploited to their fullest by the Bant people. Transparent conduits crisscrossed the city, channeling immense hydraulic power everywhere, driving numerous mechanized devices that sustained the Bant people's daily lives and industrial output—from cooking meals and personal transport to mechanical fabrication, the presence of water power was undeniable.

Pipinav even took Yang Ying for a ride in a "Pipe-Car," a highly characteristic Bant mode of transport, similar to a subway. It consisted of a tubular train running inside a large, thick water pipe. Composed of several carriages, the outer walls of the cars fit snugly against the inner walls of the pipe. The pipe’s interior was lined with a special material that created zero friction, offering no resistance to the train's movement. Propulsion was achieved by creating differential water pressure between the front and rear, allowing the train to advance rapidly—several times faster than a subway, consuming minimal energy, and generating virtually no pollution.

As evening approached, Yang Ying and his companions returned to the entrance of the underwater city, the main thoroughfare for arrivals and departures. Octopus-people bustled all around, making the area lively.

Yang Ying cast one final look back into the city. "The scenery of the Water City is certainly unique. It’s a pity a single day doesn't allow for seeing much."

"Then why not come again tomorrow, brother Yang? What do you say?" Pipinav suggested.

Yang Ying smiled. "Perhaps not. There’s a saying on our planet: 'Leave while the mood strikes.' My mood has been satisfied; it’s time to depart."

"Ah, we finally managed to get you to visit, only for you to stay a single day," Pipinav sighed, shaking his head. "But one day is better than none. Please allow me to escort you back."

"Perhaps it's better if you don't escort me back," came an ice-cold voice.

Accompanying the voice, nine piercing beams of light suddenly shot towards Yang Ying, while simultaneously, a single white streak of water, electric-fast, hurtled from the distance towards him. A thread of golden light was embedded within this white streak, moving at incredible speed, arriving before Yang Ying in an instant.

"Talin! You actually came! You must have been lying in wait here all along!"

Yang Ying instantly vanished, drawing his sword, dodging six of the beams while striking three, deflecting them back. Immediately after, he brought his hands together, and a burst of icy-blue light flashed, instantly freezing all the passing Octopus-people nearby.

Talin, worthy of his reputation as a seasoned assassin, had maintained a mind as placid as the surrounding seawater before making his move, reducing the chance of discovery to an absolute minimum. Only at the moment of attack did he unleash the long-accumulated killing intent, pushing his spirit to its zenith—simultaneously intimidating the enemy and maximizing his own combat prowess.

The four third-level assassins he brought with him attacked simultaneously, each firing two piercing beams. Including Talin's single strike, nine beams struck in total.

However, Yang Ying possessed a sense faster than time itself. A full second before they acted, he had already sensed their presence. There was no question they had been ambushing him for a long time. After dealing with the beams, he calmly froze the surroundings to prevent collateral damage.

This white streak of water was caused by Talin drawing his sword underwater; the light edge of his sword instantly vaporized the seawater, triggering violent localized boiling. Yang Ying saw this clearly. The golden light within the white steam was Talin’s energy sword, while Talin himself remained cloaked in invisibility.

"They say the third time's the charm, but you have come to assassinate me time and time again. Today, I cannot afford to let you go. Take this!"

Zzzzt!

Yang Ying raised his right hand, his sword cleaving down onto Talin's energy sword. The violent vaporization of seawater created white steam that erupted outward between them, nearly forming a wall. Yang Ying’s left hand then thrust towards Talin, who bent and blocked the strike with his energy sword.

Concurrently, the four third-level assassins launched their second wave of attack—eight more piercing beams shot towards Yang Ying. Yang Ying swept his twin energy swords into a shimmering screen, deflecting all the beams back. This forced the four third-level assassins to scramble and leap, dedicating most of their focus to evasion.

Worengas also drew his sword and moved in to assist. The four third-level assassins engaged as well, and the whole group became locked in battle.

"Don't fight here. Find somewhere farther from the city so we can handle this properly," Yang Ying transmitted to Worengas via telepathy, then flipped and charged toward the distance. Worengas, holding off his enemies, followed closely.

"Don't even think about escaping! I brought backup today specifically to take your life!"

Talin, desperate to avenge his two previous failures and repay Yang Ying for injuring him twice, had gathered every expert he could find. He was the only peak third-level operative in his assassin organization. Though they had a dozen other third-level masters, aside from the four present, the others were either too distant or already occupied with missions.

Nevertheless, Talin believed their combined force of five offered a fifty percent chance of killing both Yang Ying and Worengas. While this probability wasn't high, when Yang Ying—

As Talin fiercely pursued Yang Ying from behind, he thought grimly, I have already tried to assassinate him twice; that should have garnered his full attention. Who knows if he’ll even venture out once he returns to the solar system? If he does, his defenses will surely be tighter, making it hard for me to strike. I must bet everything on this one attempt.

The two parties traded blows and pursued each other, chasing and fighting, for over ten minutes until they reached a vast, bottomless oceanic trench.

"Let's go down!" Yang Ying told Worengas.

"Yes!" Worengas nodded, following Yang Ying as they plunged into the trench.

"Chase them!" Talin commanded his four assassins, closely following them downward.

The groups descended deeper and deeper, approaching a depth of nearly ten thousand meters without seeing the bottom. Yang Ying inwardly mused that the deepest point on Earth, the Mariana Trench, was only a little over eleven thousand meters; he hadn't expected to encounter something almost as deep here.

By this point, the surrounding water pressure reached about a thousand times standard atmospheric pressure. Even a steel tank would be crushed into a ball here, and even third-level masters could only struggle to hold on beneath the crushing weight of billions of tons of water.

Worengas’s movements were already becoming sluggish, and Talin's four accompanying assassins were clearly not faring much better. The weakest of the four was already showing signs of being unable to endure.

Cunning bastard. Coming to this depth, is he trying to sacrifice one of his subordinates to incapacitate my four helpers? He’s courting death!

Talin sneered, sending a mental message to his four men: "In this environment, swinging swords and dodging will both be extremely difficult, right? Give them a proper greeting with your Uranium (Uranium Shooter Cannons)!"

"Yes!"

The four assassins aimed their eight barrels at Yang Ying and Worengas, unleashing a continuous barrage of piercing light beams, striking them like a torrential downpour.

Yang Ying still wielded his swords with great agility, dancing them into a light screen that deflected the beams back. Worengas, however, struggled more, visibly flustered and off-balance. If the four assassins hadn't also needed to dodge the beams Yang Ying reflected, Worengas would have been hit already.

Talin noticed this situation. "Concentrate fire on that big fatty! Let's eliminate one of them first!"

Yang Ying glanced left and right, gauging the depth and pressure, and thought inwardly, It’s time!

"Hahahaha," he suddenly laughed, projecting mentally, "Talin, if you think I brought us to this depth merely to prevent your four assassins from using their full strength, you are mistaken."

Talin frowned, not yet grasping the situation, when a flash of golden light appeared before him. Six figures materialized beside Yang Ying.

Fearsome exoskeletons, razor-sharp bone spurs, extended bone wings, and gleaming armor. Although the seafloor was pitch black with no light, the eyes of third-level masters were piercingly sharp, allowing them to clearly discern the appearance of the six figures.

They were Yang Ying's clones—the Blade Emperors!

At that moment, before the four assassins could turn their cannons toward Worengas, Yang Ying suddenly pointed a finger, unleashing a Great Vortex Technique, pinning the assassin who was on the verge of collapse in place. Though the man tried to evade, the water pressure had already immobilized him; he could only watch helplessly as he was struck.

Simultaneously, the six Blade Emperors each unleashed a Great Vortex Technique toward Talin and the other three assassins.

Talin felt a surge of dread and frantically swung his sword, hacking apart the deep-crimson light beams shooting toward him. The depths beneath the sea flashed wildly with crimson light. In the resulting chaos, all four assassins were frozen in place; only Talin managed to avoid the direct capture.

Yang Ying revealed his plan: "The reason I lured you to this depth was precisely to prevent your escape! Talin, you forced me to compensate for the reconstruction costs of a singer's concert hall; today, you will pay for it!"

Yang Ying and the six Blade Emperors transitioned from defense to offense, flashing forward to confront Talin’s group. Yang Ying and two Blade Emperors engaged Talin, while the other four Blade Emperors each seized an immobilized third-level assassin, flooding their minds with mind-control spells.

"What are you trying to do!" Talin immediately knew he had been tricked!

"I need an intelligence network spanning the entire Orion Arm. After careful consideration, your assassin organization has significant potential for utilization. I think I'll borrow your shell!" Yang Ying’s twin swords flew out, slashing toward Talin!

"Absurd!" Talin blocked while shouting back, "A mere Earth, having ascended to a higher civilization for less than a year—what difference is there between you and a low-level civilization? Even if you mobilize your entire race, attempting to swallow our organization, you risk bursting your own belly!"

Yang Ying laughed. "Whether we burst or not—we’ll find out when we see the results!"

In Yang Ying's estimation, third-level masters were central figures in any organization; they couldn't possibly know nothing. If he could successfully flip these four assassins to his side and extract all the intelligence they possessed, then taking over the organization might not be an impossible goal.