The Great Eagle felt the harvest of death grow a pair of new eyes; the spiritual perception, bright red and formless, of a higher spiritual creature suddenly opened. This spiritual sense, far surpassing mere physical sight, allowed him to perceive the reality of the world. The fundamental rules of time and space were laid bare before him, and the infinite mysteries of the cosmos unfolded before his eyes.

A trace of enlightenment arose in his heart: the fundamental rules were the bedrock of the universe, unchangeable, yet possessing the potential for distortion—a feeling that defied verbal description. Without personal experience, one could not even begin to speculate on it.

Compared to the current Yang Ying, his former self was like a blind man stumbling through the fabric of universal law. He might grasp a few meager results, but in the vast cosmos, he was merely a speck of dust.

Now, with the Eyes of Higher Spiritual Perception open, the rules appeared incredibly clear. Problems once considered profoundly abstruse now seemed as effortless as reading an answer laid directly before him.

At this very moment, he comprehended more deeply: spiritual power truly was the root of everything; various applications were merely the branches and leaves. The deeper the root, the more abundant the foliage. If his spiritual power were only at the level Hardeck achieved upon breaking through to the Fourth Level, then even with the Eyes of Higher Spiritual Perception open, he would only glimpse the surface of the rules.

He redirected his attention inward. Before his eyes appeared a body that had fused the essences of the Human, God, and Insect races. Yet, though the essence of the three races resided within him, what manifested externally was still a human form.

Yang Ying knew the reason: after ascending to the Fourth Level, his essential being had transformed into nihility—a state beyond verbal description. To put it crudely, it was a state of both existence and non-existence in this world.

His current body was, in fact, the projection of his essence within this world, imbued with the three essences. It manifested as a human form according to his will. If he wished to appear in the form of the Luminous Consul or the Blade Emperor, it would not be difficult; a mere thought would suffice.

Though termed a projection, this did not imply a phantasmal shadow. The projection was a substantial, tangible body—a body transcending the mundane. Its function was to tether his being to this world.

If he were to manifest without the projection, the consequences would be dire. The essence of a Fourth Level existence was impossibly glorious; once revealed to the world, it would blaze like a scorching sun, exceeding the sensory tolerance of ordinary people. If an ordinary person looked directly at a Fourth Level being up close, the least result would be blindness, and the worst, instant death. Therefore, having a projection serve as a vessel was absolutely necessary.

Suddenly, a tremor ran through Yang Ying’s mind: Projection! He recalled when his spirit traveled to the Floating Continent, his physical body remained in the external world. Wasn't what appeared on the Floating Continent also a projection?

Moreover, this had been the case since he first acquired the Floating Continent, but he had never considered it from this perspective. Now that he had, he realized this was indeed a significant point.

A projection indistinguishable from his physical body! The Floating Continent could grant him, who had just awakened with only a hundred or two hundred points of psychic power, certain characteristics of a Fourth Level being. Could it be...?

He shifted his focus to the Nine-Layered Nine-Cornered Tower. Then, something astonishing occurred. The Eyes of Higher Spiritual Perception, capable of piercing time and space, could not penetrate this tower. They could only discern that the tower body was solid, dense, and utterly monolithic, as if containing no rules whatsoever.

However, Yang Ying knew profoundly that all existence in the world was governed by rules; anything without rules could not exist. If that were true, how could the seemingly rule-less Nine-Layered Nine-Cornered Tower be explained?

After pondering for a moment, Yang Ying directed his gaze toward the fourth lamp on the seventh layer—an unlit lamp representing the four-hundred-millionth gate of spiritual power. He had only lit up to the third lamp on the seventh layer. Looking past his fingertips, he saw the tower still possessed an eighth and a ninth layer, and above the spire, the golden "You" symbol.

Yang Ying offered a relaxed smile. If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't force it. The very existence of this tower proved that realms higher than the Fourth Level existed. Perhaps he, at the limit of the Fourth Level, was not yet qualified to study the Nine-Layered Nine-Cornered Tower.

Having fully experienced the Fourth Level state, Yang Ying abruptly retracted the overflowing spatial fluctuations around him, returning to simplicity, concealing his immense power.

With a wave of his hand and a flash of golden light, he recalled Katerina and the Human, God, and Insect leadership present for the ceremony.

"Great Master, your existence alone is enough to illuminate ten million light-years! Your humble servant Baal has waited and yearned, finally awaiting the day of your breakthrough!!!" The sycophant Baal had evolved from a mere lord to an Inspector, but his nature for flattering had not changed; he was the number one Inspector of this Insect contingent.

Yang Ying chuckled twice and said, "Less nonsense. The territories of the Human and God races are under attack; you all should return quickly."

Baal thought to himself: The Human and God races are being attacked, but that doesn't require the Insect race to rescue them. He was just about to launch into a grand ode of praise, so why leave? Nevertheless, since the great Master had commanded it, he, Baal, would execute it with two hundred percent effort. With a flash of light, the entire inspection team performed a spatial jump, leaving only Katerina by Yang Ying's side.

Yang Ying extended his hand to her. "Come. Let's take a tour of the new Floating Continent together. It has suddenly expanded one hundred and fifty times; there's a lot to see."

Katerina smiled joyfully and nodded. Taking Yang Ying's hand, her hand suddenly stiffened. A look of contemplation crossed her face, and she asked, "But... aren't the territories of the Human and God races currently under attack? And Igor, Sir, has been preparing medicines at the Glacier Central Academy since this morning, and it's already been more than half a day. Is your status at the Glacier Central Academy not important?"

"I will have Blade and Cass deal with the Human and God territories. The total spiritual power tribute from the Insect and God races now amounts to a full sixteen hundred million, enough to create five existences at the peak of the Fourth Level. If the Burkeans and Kustar people come knocking, they are simply courting death. As for Igor, there's no need to worry either; I used a substitute long ago. My main body is currently on Planet Xylos," Yang Ying explained.

In truth, after gaining inspiration from pharmaceutics and conceiving the method of using Good-Evil Soul Separation Potions for soul division and subsequent reintegration to reinforce his foundation, he understood that the opportunities granted by the Glacier Central Academy were exhausted. The Fourth Level was already imminent, and leaving the academy posed no major issue.

However, he still wished to retain the identity of Igor, as his main body had lived under that guise for nearly two years, making many friends. It would be too much of a waste to simply discard the identity.

If he wanted to keep the identity, he necessarily couldn't attempt to break through while his main body was still at the Glacier Central Academy.

This was because he worried there was a karmic link between the projection on the Floating Continent and his main body. If the projection achieved the Fourth Level on the Floating Continent, the main body in the real world would also advance, and that fluctuation would be too immense, easily noticed by all Third Level masters on the entire planet. Yang Ying did not want that.

Therefore, before preparing to concoct the two Good-Evil Soul Separation Potions, he had used a clone resembling Igor to substitute for him in his dormitory villa. His main body then used the Floating Continent as a transfer point to arrive at Planet Xylos. This location was both secret and could attract a massive swarm of Insect forces to guard him, preventing external environmental interference during his breakthrough.

The moment his breakthrough succeeded, his fears were realized: as the projection on the Floating Continent advanced to the Fourth Level, the main body on Planet Xylos also ascended to the Fourth Level. Furthermore, when his spiritual power broke past three hundred million, the invisible pressure crushed all non-Insectoid beasts on Planet Xylos, while the boundless Insect hordes rejoiced and grew frenzied with excitement.

If this had occurred on Glacier Star, it would have been major news for the Empire, something that happened once every few years. The identity of Igor would have been incessantly harassed.

"I see." Katerina was greatly relieved to find Yang Ying's arrangements so thorough.

"Let's go."

Yang Ying took her hand, and the two ascended into the sky, beginning a journey to explore the Floating Continent. This journey, incidentally, brought Yang Ying a surprise, which shall be mentioned later.

Not long after the Burkean fleet was spotted, a luxurious carrier fleet launched from Planet Ayr. This fleet consisted of twenty thousand carriers, all upgraded second-generation models. The flagship leading the formation was Cass's command vessel—a specially modified, heavily armed carrier whose destructive power far surpassed the standard models.

As the carrier fleet exited the atmosphere, countless interceptors swarmed out—a wave of sixteen million interceptors. As far as the eye could see, the tail end was invisible. The interceptors could reach speeds approaching the speed of light, plunging toward the Burkean fleet with blinding swiftness.

"What is that? Are those works of art disguised as warships?" The Burkean commander clearly disdained the aesthetics of the God race, issuing the verdict, "Artistic warships," after just one glance.

"Sir, the enemy has dispatched numerous small fighters. Their speed reaches near-light speeds, and their numbers exceed ten million."

"What?!" The Burkean commander finally paid serious attention. "If they possess near-light speed fighters, they are not ordinary enemies. Dispatch our fighters to tie them down, then have the fleet close in and shatter their motherships with the main cannons!"

It must be said that the Burkean commander's tactical reasoning was sound in principle. The problem was that he had made a huge error in judging the relative strengths of the two sides at the very beginning, leading him now down a divergent path where one mistake compounded the next.

The interceptor swarm quickly engaged the Burkean fighters. However, the Burkean fighters were at a severe numerical disadvantage, numbering only about two million. The interceptors left a small contingent to entangle them, while the rest, moving with unparalleled agility, pierced through the Burkean fighter defenses and headed toward the Burkean fleet.