The Senate session dispersed in discord; neither Empress Elimiya, nor Sandor, nor any of the assembled nobles had achieved their objectives.

Due to the Empress Elimiya’s iron stance, the proposal for the nobility and the Royal Family to share the new Awakening Potion could not pass. As for the subsequent discussion to reduce Sandor’s military authority, that motion was also defeated by a narrow margin when put to a vote.

This plenary session of the Senate could be called an utter failure.

Those senators who coveted the new Awakening Potion blamed the Empress’s inappropriate rigidity. Several of the most obstinate elders even declared that as long as the Empress continued to disregard the interests of the nobility, they would unhesitatingly vote against every single one of her decisions. They were no longer arguing logically, but engaging in sheer contention.

While the meeting was underway, Yang Ying arrived at the Zerg territory on the Floating Continent.

His feet trod upon purple creep, and his ears were filled with the chitinous squeaks and chirps of the Zerg, mingled with low hisses and high-pitched roars from various insects. Everywhere he looked were structures built entirely of flesh and blood. They were alive, possessing a degree of intelligence; they were simultaneously individuals and parts of a greater collective.

Yang Ying approached the base of a low mountain, where a Zerg structure, vast as a stadium, stood. Its entire exterior was encased in a purplish-red carapace, beneath which energy pulsed, expanding and contracting like blood surging through vessels.

As Yang Ying walked toward it, the Zerg structure recognized its Master and reacted automatically. A section of its wall-like armor peeled outward, revealing a passage into the interior.

Inside, the passage was deep crimson. The lines were exceptionally smooth, the floor made of chitin, and the walls lined with thin membranes. Tiny, glowing energy conduits were visible within these membranes, through which streams of faint, luminous energy flowed, illuminating the corridor.

He walked to the end of the passage, where the path seemed to terminate against a thick layer of chitinous shell forming the floor.

Yang Ying waved his hand at the shell. It immediately began to move, splitting into six distinct segments. Arched at the edges, they contracted in a vortex pattern—left, right, upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, lower-right—six directions opening a doorway. Beyond this opening lay a semi-transparent membrane, which also parted in six directions to reveal a chamber.

The room was roughly thirty meters square, largely empty save for a single Zerg cocoon situated precisely in the center. Upon closer inspection, faint energy pathways, spread like a spiderweb, were visible across the walls and floor, all converging upon the central cocoon. Energy flowed along this network, gathering from all directions into the husk.

The cocoon's surface was translucent. A human silhouette seemed to rest within, and the influx of energy caused the interior to shimmer with vibrant, unparalleled beauty.

Yang Ying approached the cocoon, studying the figure within intently.

After a moment, the silhouette inside appeared to sense Yang Ying’s gaze and suddenly opened its eyes. They shone with an intense light that even the radiance within the cocoon could not obscure, much like lamplight cannot eclipse the sun.

As the figure opened its eyes, the entire room brightened perceptibly.

Yang Ying smiled and spoke to the cocoon, “Katarina, time to wake up. If you don’t get up, you’ll get spanked.”

“Yes, Commander,” Katarina replied, seemingly unable to shed that title, nor did she appear to intend to change it. However, having ascended to a Fourth-Level existence, she was now free from the mandatory loyalty programming imposed by the central intelligence, no longer burdened by questioning the origin of her own emotions.

The brilliance within the cocoon dimmed as if she had absorbed the light into her body. She extended a hand and lightly scored the surface membrane. The membrane split vertically, and a slender hand, encased in purplish-red chitin, emerged.

Though delicate like a young woman’s, five-centimeter claws extended from her fingertips, and sharp bone spurs jutted from her knuckles.

Then, her entire arm extended, revealing that her elbow joints, too, were armored with carapace and bone spurs.

Finally, she sprang out completely. Just like Yang Ying’s Blade Emperor form, Katarina was now enveloped in biological armor and an exoskeleton. The arm guards, shoulder pauldrons, chest plate, leg coverings, and the bone wings sprouting from her back—all clearly displayed the Zerg aesthetic, their exoskeletal edges extending outward like blades.

This was the Blade Queen, equivalent in status to a cerebrate—a Fourth-Level existence, a transformation made truly possible only after Yang Ying acquired the Xel’Naga technology. Compared to this, the technique he had used to modify his avatar into the Blade Emperor now seemed utterly primitive.

More than a year prior, Katarina had consumed the top-tier genetic stimulant potion provided by Yang Ying and awakened. Yang Ying had then utilized various elixirs to nourish her mental power, elevating her to the peak of the Second Level, reaching the Quasi-Master realm.

After touring the New Continent with Yang Ying, Katarina soon broke through her bottleneck. She progressed faster than Yang Ying originally had because her focus was purer; her mind contained only Yang Ying, without any distracting thoughts. To spend more time by his side, she could overcome any difficulty.

When Yang Ying arrived on the New Continent, he obtained the Xel’Naga knowledge, which contained the most profound insights into the spirit world. After acquiring this knowledge, although Yang Ying still could not explain to Katarina how to cultivate to the Fourth Level, he could use Xel’Naga techniques to directly transform her into a Fourth-Level being!

The Blade Queen was thus born. Yang Ying stepped forward, examining her closely. The exoskeleton only extended up to her neck, not covering her face, lending her an aura of wild beauty that contrasted sharply with Katarina’s gentle, water-like nature—a refreshing novelty.

Bathed in Yang Ying’s gaze, Katarina was filled with happiness. She knew that from this day forward, nothing could separate them. She stretched out her arms, allowing him to look his fill.

“Enough, retract the exoskeleton now,” Yang Ying said, taking her hand.

“En,” Katarina nodded obediently, and the blade-like exoskeleton surrounding her body suddenly retracted back into her form.

The body of a Fourth-Level being was extraordinary, representing a further leap beyond the transcendent sanctity of the Third Level; the physical body alone possessed myriad divine abilities. Just as Yang Ying could freely shift between Human, God, and Zerg forms, Katarina could shift between her human body and the Blade Queen form.

Retracting the armor, Katarina instantly materialized a set of basic Medic's scrubs and draped them over her naked body. Despite their long relationship, she remained intensely modest in everyday situations.

“Let’s go. I will assign your Royal Guard to you,” Yang Ying said with a slight smile, taking her hand and leading her out of the Zerg structure and directly off the Floating Continent.

The external environment was clearly that of Xylos Prime.

The sky was filled with an endless swarm of Zerg. Overlords and Overseers patrolled everywhere, inspecting the domain. Swarms of Mutalis appeared in numbers reaching tens of thousands, blotting out the sky like dark clouds. Other, larger aerial Zerg units, though fewer in number, were also visible, appearing in formations of several hundred at a time.

As Yang Ying gave Katarina a tour, he explained, “When the first batch of eighty cerebrates was dispatched, they took eight hundred million troops with them. Xylos Prime was quite desolate then, but recently, new waves of Zerg have been spawned, and the planet has largely returned to its former state.”

“The Zerg's reproductive capability is indeed extraordinary.” This was Katarina’s first time on Xylos Prime, but she had visited the Zerg territory on the Floating Continent many times and was familiar with the environment here.

Yang Ying continued, “Your current mental power hasn't even reached the Fourth Level. I only used the Blade Queen modification formula to grant you the essence of Fourth-Level being. To fill this essence, you require a Zerg Royal Guard. The Blade Queen is on par with a cerebrate, but you possess complete autonomy; you do not have to obey me as a cerebrate does. However, due to the structure of the Zerg, your Royal Guard will function similarly to a cerebrate’s: half of the mental power they generate must be consecrated to me, and the other half to you.”

Katarina nodded. Although she did not manage the main Zerg hive, she was intimately familiar with the fundamental principles of Zerg structure.

“Therefore,” Yang Ying stated, “I will assign you six hundred million Zerg troops at once as your guard. The six hundred million in mental power they provide will be divided equally between us, meaning you will possess three hundred million in mental power, reaching the very limit of the Fourth Level.”

“Will this affect you, Commander?” Katarina’s first thought, as always, was for Yang Ying.

“Don’t worry, it won’t affect me.” Yang Ying tightened his grip on her hand. “When the first batch of cerebrates left, they took four hundred million mental power, reducing my number of Fourth-Level peak individuals from five to four. But I quickly compensated. By the time Sandor came to the Solar System to capture Bai Bai, I had already restored five Fourth-Level peak individuals. Now, with continued Zerg reproduction, population growth among the Protoss, and cultivation advancement, I have six—or more accurately, six point nine—and will soon have the seventh. Giving you one now will have no impact.”

Saying this, without waiting for Katarina’s reply, Yang Ying pulled her close and kissed her.

Katarina felt as if she were floating on clouds, lost in the sensation. She perceived countless ineffable spiritual connections transmitted through Yang Ying’s tongue into her body. Innumerable pieces of Zerg knowledge were imprinted upon her mind.

After a long while, they separated. Katarina awoke from her reverie and immediately perceived a fundamental difference within herself. Time and space, once formless, now appeared tangible. The core laws of nature unfolded before her; she could directly see the underlying mechanisms governing the world’s operation.

Moreover, it seemed that with a mere gesture, a movement, or even a single thought, she could elicit a response from nature, achieving miraculous results.

Yang Ying whispered close to her ear, “My dearest love, our eternity begins now.”