The return of Yang Ying and Blade filled Bai Bai with an unmerited elation, and for the following few days, she simply couldn't settle. In her young heart, securing Yang Ying's approval through her efforts was perhaps the single greatest joy the world could offer her.

Time slipped by quickly—three days later, Bai Bai was once again on the Great Azure Stone, meditating. Yang Ying watched from nearby, knowing that today was the day Bai Bai would achieve the Third Level.

During her meditation, Bai Bai's spiritual power rose steadily, drawing ever closer to that boundary. Lesser races would be barred by this threshold upon entering the Quasi-Master realm, but Bai Bai, as a true human, and furthermore, royalty among true humans, would face no such obstruction.

Finally, the accumulation of quantitative change naturally culminated in a qualitative leap; she broke through.

It was as if a door had swung open in Bai Bai's mind. Everything she had previously forgotten flooded back to her now.

She saw the first light that greeted her eyes when she was still an infant—that light was her initial encounter with the world. Appearing alongside that world was a dignified and magnificent woman. To Bai Bai, this figure was indescribably beautiful, deeply familiar, and infinitely kind.

That face, which nearly brought her to tears, leaned closer and whispered softly, "Your name. Is it Sophimia? Ang? Atlantis, the Princess of the True Human Empire, and my beloved daughter. According to royal tradition, I must impart certain knowledge to you. You may not remember it now, but you will recall everything upon ascending to the Third Level. First, there is the knowledge of the Primordial Sea. The Primordial Sea is the fundamental difference between the Imperial bloodline and other nobility, and it is the very foundation upon which the True Human Empire was established."

Images, pieces of information, surged forth from the depths of her consciousness like a fountain. Bai Bai realized, through the tears streaming down her face, that the visions before her were moving forward in time. Gradually, they approached a scene that filled her with terror, one she desperately did not want to witness.

"Cécile! Quickly, take Su off!" A girl with the exact same hair and eyes as her was shouting in distress; it seemed she was her older sister. "Mother is holding back Millum! I will hold off the others! We received intelligence that Millum recently defected to Duke Sandow. These must be assassins sent by Duke Sandow! You must take Su and go far away, leave the Empire, and never return. Oh, and use those ancient Stellar Gates to transfer to the Orion Arm or the Perseus Arm! Hurry, what are you waiting for!"

Then came Landon holding her, moving rapidly, the roar of shattering mountains and earth echoing in her ears, powerful enough to burst her eardrums.

They broke through layers of interception. Landon was severely wounded protecting her. With immense effort, she managed to activate a primal Stellar Gate, bringing them to a place where a blue sun hung in the sky. Landon seemed unsatisfied, taking her through more Stellar Gate transits until they reached a profoundly cold location. Landon waved her hand, unleashing an energy wave that shattered the towering Stellar Gate, then carried her adrift on a sea of ice. Landon fainted, and they were separated unknowingly.

"What has happened to me? How could I forget those things, those deeply etched memories? My heart aches so." Bai Bai seemed to have matured in an instant, grasping sorrow, feeling the ubiquitous love that enveloped her, a love flowing from her bloodline, originating from the other side of the galaxy.

"Mother! Sister!" Bai Bai suddenly stood up and let out a heartbroken cry toward the sky. "H-Her Highness remembers everything!" Landon covered her mouth, stealing a glance at Yang Ying. She had awaited this day for a long time. Previously, she had constantly feared that Yang Ying would refuse to grant Her Highness freedom. After all, as the Second Princess of the Empire, Bai Bai had been privy to numerous core secrets of the Empire since birth—secrets that even beings of the Fourth Level would covet.

However, she was merely at the peak of the Third Level. Yang Ying and Blade, on the other hand, were beings of the Fourth Level. She possessed absolutely no means of resistance. Moreover, Blade had mentioned this matter to her before, indicating they were prepared, so she stopped worrying about it.

At this moment, the emotionally turbulent Bai Bai failed to notice that fine threads of summoning power emanated from her bloodline, instantly connecting to something distant, hovering between existence and non-existence.

Landon felt the tendrils of that something the very first moment, shuddering violently, and exclaimed:

"It's the Primordial Sea! The Primordial Sea has found Her Highness on its own after her Third Level ascension! How could this happen?" It could only be said that Landon’s understanding of the Primordial Sea remained superficial.

Yang Ying was different from Landon. Using his High-Grade Spiritual Sight, he observed faint, web-like threads of light connecting from an infinite distance to Bai Bai. The origin of these light threads was the Empire's [Redacted].

"It is time," Yang Ying stated.

Simultaneously, on the capital star of the True Human Empire, a triumphal drama involving a sea of people was unfolding in the grand plaza before the main entrance of the Imperial Palace.

Hundreds of thousands of capital residents had gathered to welcome the Regent Sandow, returning victorious from the expedition to the Perseus Arm. Over a month ago, the Regent had already sent back a report stating the Perseus Arm campaign would conclude in "ten days." However, the sheer distance to the Perseus Arm and the time required for the fleet to navigate the interstellar currents took nearly a month.

Seven days prior, the main fleet had returned to Imperial space and mostly dispersed back to their respective garrisons. Yet, the Regent’s personal Guard Fleet received the unique honor of attending the triumphal ceremony in the capital. This fleet comprised a total of one hundred thousand warships, entirely the Regent's private military, financed and built by his own domains, loyal only to him.

Currently, the Guard Fleet hovered in the outer orbit of the capital star, while the Regent’s ultra-luxurious flagship was slowly descending. Space had been cleared in the center of the plaza for his landing. Flowers, applause, and cheers were already prepared, waiting only for the Regent to step out of his ship for the triumphal ceremony to enter its climax.

The Empress and the Empress Dowager were seated in the viewing stand before the Imperial Palace's main entrance. The Empress gazed calmly at the descending luxury vessel. As the ruler—at least, the nominal ruler—of the True Human Empire, she possessed many channels of information hidden from view. Consequently, she knew that the military operation to the Perseus Arm had been a sham from the very beginning.

Regent Sandow had spent hundreds of years setting up traps and deploying pieces throughout the Perseus Arm, which were activated in unison not long ago, thus creating the situation where the Fifteen-Race Alliance of the Perseus Arm launched a massive invasion against the Empire.

The specific details of this maneuver could almost be written as an encyclopedia of god-tier conspiracy. Even the Empress's intelligence network had only pieced together fragmentary clues, barely enough to deduce that Sandow himself was the mastermind.

The military success in the Perseus Arm had propelled Sandow to a new zenith of prestige. During the war, he personally slew ten beings of the Fourth Level from the Perseus Arm side, achieving an even greater feat than when the Tan people of the Perseus Arm and the Glenvar people of the Orion Arm jointly attacked the Empire ten thousand years ago.

In many parts of the Empire, people had already begun calling him the War God of the Nation. According to the Empress's intelligence reports, there were clearly factions in the public sphere actively building momentum for him.

As for why Sandow needed this prestige, the Empress was well aware: it was preparation for forcing a marriage.

The Primordial Sea was the very essence of the Atlantean royal line, the ultimate treasure distinguishing the royal family from the nobility, and the bedrock of the True Human Empire. It held mysterious and immense power. It could be said that whoever controlled the Primordial Sea held the qualification to be the Emperor of the Empire.

But the Empress knew Sandow wanted more than just the Imperial throne; he sought the ultimate achievement that even the ancients had failed to reach: ascension to the Fifth Level.

No being of the Fifth Level had ever appeared since the founding of the True Human Empire, yet Sandow stubbornly believed he could extract the secret to Fifth Level advancement from the Primordial Sea, and thus he would stop at nothing to obtain it.

Controlling the Primordial Sea required a prerequisite: union with the current administrator of the Primordial Sea. While this union might not guarantee 100% control, attempting to control it without this step was absolutely impossible. The Primordial Sea maintained a subtle connection with its administrator; one could only gain leverage through the administrator.

The Empress covertly clenched her fist. At that moment, she felt a hand rest upon her shoulder, bringing a wave of warmth. She raised her own hand, clasping the hand on her shoulder, and whispered softly, "Mother..."

At that moment, the luxury flagship landed in the center of the plaza. The hatch opened, and the figure of the Regent stepped out.

Boom!

The entire plaza erupted. Hundreds of thousands of citizens roared like a tsunami, chanting "Sandow!" "Regent!" treating him as a hero.

Regent Sandow smiled, waving to the crowd to display his affable demeanor.

The Empress watched his performance, outwardly composed despite the hatred burning within her, but a single, mournful cry instantly shattered her customary calm.

"Mother! Sister..."

It was a distinctly tender voice, likely belonging to someone no older than ten. She had never heard it before, but the feeling of shared blood connecting them instantly revealed the voice's owner.

"Su! No, the Primordial Sea is chasing after her!"

The faces of the Empress and the Empress Dowager changed simultaneously. They both sensed the girl's spiritual power had reached the Third Level, and the Primordial Sea was instinctively reaching out to establish a connection with her.

"Has the next heir finally appeared? Hahahaha! It's a double blessing today; Heaven favors me!" Sandow was overjoyed, having sensed the target he had long sought through the Primordial Sea. "Open for me!" He reached out and pulled, and space ripped apart like a curtain. He stepped through without hesitation.

"Wait a moment!" The Empress and Empress Dowager cast spells simultaneously, opening wormholes and pursuing him.

In the plaza, a crowd of bewildered onlookers remained, staring blankly at each other. They could not understand how the triumphant ceremony had suddenly halted right at its peak.