What formidable power. That's thirteen—no, fourteen Fourth-Level Extremes gathered together. One of them must be Shalo from the Orion Arm. The other thirteen possess a presence that the Sea of Primordial Force has never encountered before; they are newly emerged Fourth-Level Extremes, and their auras are remarkably similar. They must belong to the same race, but how is that possible?”

Empress Alimia paced restlessly in her private chambers. She stood before the intricately carved balustrade of the balcony, gazing blankly at the starlit expanse, her delicate eyebrows knitted together in a subtle display of worry.

“Daughter, did you feel it?” The Empress Dowager’s voice reached her ears. A moment later, the Empress Dowager herself appeared at the threshold of Alimia’s room.

“Mother, you felt it too?” The Empress turned to face her.

The Empress Dowager nodded, moving to her daughter’s side. “Indeed. It is not just me; I suspect those elders in the Senate who maintain a deep connection with the Sea of Primordial Force have already sensed these powerful presences. It is truly unbelievable.”

“Yes,” the Empress agreed softly. “Thirteen Fourth-Level Extremes, all from the same race, and never encountered before. Such an event has scarcely occurred since the Sea of Primordial Force was established.”

“This matter must be treated with the utmost seriousness,” the Empress Dowager stated. “Thirteen Fourth-Level Extremes—this potentially means thirteen God-Core Legions led by Supreme Experts. Throughout the entire Empire, only the ancient senators who possess Fourth-Level Extreme strength can construct such legions centered around themselves, each commanding one. Since your father passed, the Royal House hasn't commanded a single one. Zhadewo was able to annihilate the combined fleet of the fifteen Perseus Arm clans that invaded the Empire and swept through everything during the counter-offensive into Perseus Arm, slaying many Fourth-Level beings. His Regent’s Guard Legion also played an indispensable role.”

The most crucial element of a God-Core Legion is its God-Core. Legions can be conscripted at any time, and warships can be built, but the Fourth-Level entity serving as the core cannot be replaced arbitrarily.

The Empire’s greatest military might lies in the God-Core Legions. Months ago, the Empire’s fleet, numbering two million warships, utterly annihilated the Perseus Arm Fifteen-Clan Alliance fleet, which totaled thirty-five million vessels, precisely because the Empire deployed dozens of God-Core Legions. Under normal circumstances, God-Core Legions led by Fourth-Level Extreme experts are uncommon. This is because beings possessing Fourth-Level Extreme power are mostly the elite among the high-ranking nobility. They have typically cultivated for tens of thousands of years, possessing vast networks of influence deeply rooted within the Empire’s upper echelons, with countless individuals serving them. They generally only issue orders for others to enter the battlefield; they rarely engage personally.

Among them, Sandewo is a definite exception. He is the youngest among the Empire’s top-tier nobility to achieve Extreme status (being just over twenty thousand years old). Ambitious and bold, his personal guard fleet has been the most active Extreme expert legion on the battlefield in nearly ten thousand years.

Now, Perseus Arm has suddenly unleashed the presence of thirteen unknown Supreme Experts. It is easy to imagine the shock this news brings to the Empire, which has been weathering storms recently.

Empress Alimia closed her eyes again, sensing more carefully, and then reported to the Empress Dowager, “Mother, it appears those thirteen mysterious Supreme Experts intend to eliminate the dozen or so Fourth-Level entities within the Orion Arm Expeditionary Force.”

“They are taking advantage of the Empire’s current inability to expand its territory, coming to Perseus Arm to poach the spoils. They brought this crisis upon themselves; there is no need to pity them,” the Empress Dowager replied. “The most important thing now is to ascertain the background of those thirteen Supreme Experts, and then attempt to make contact with them. We must see if we can establish friendly relations, and we cannot allow Sandewo to get there first. If my intuition is correct, given Sandewo’s nature, he should already be en route.”

“Then I shall prepare immediately,” the young Empress nodded.

“Wait,” the Empress Dowager stopped her. “I will go. There is an important matter concerning the Capital Sphere that you haven't forgotten, have you?”

“Of course, I haven't forgotten—the deployment of the new Awakening Serum,” the Empress replied, shaking her head.

According to the policy promulgated by the Royal House, the deployment of the new Awakening Serum would begin in the Capital Sphere first, as it was the only territory the Royal House maintained firm control over.

In recent years, due to Sandewo’s machinations, the authority of the Royal House had been significantly weakened, heavily suppressed by the regional nobles. Orders from the Imperial Palace rarely instilled awe in the local aristocracy, whereas Sandewo had accumulated immense prestige from two major wars.

Sandewo’s arrogance has still not been suppressed. Although Zhadewo has recently faced misfortune and lost considerable ground to the Royal House, he still maintains dominance over the Royal House in many respects, such as within the Senate and the Imperial Military.

If this trend continues, Sandewo could instigate a civil war at any moment, causing immense trouble for the Royal House. Even if Sandewo were defeated then, the Royal House’s control over the regions would plummet to its lowest point, plunging the entire Empire into a vicious cycle instigated by this rebellion. If that happened, chain rebellions would erupt ceaselessly; one falling would lead to another.

To change this situation, the two Supremes set their sights on the new Awakening Serum. They announced that the serum deployment would commence in the Capital Sphere as a pilot program.

The term "Capital Sphere" refers to a stellar region. The territory of the True Human Empire spans half the Milky Way, meaning two spiral arms. Within this vast domain, there are a total of sixty stellar regions, one of which is the Capital Sphere.

The total population of the Capital Sphere is three hundred billion, of which approximately fifty billion are True Humans, and among them, three hundred million are Imperial Nobles. Among the two hundred and fifty billion sub-humans, only about one in a million and a half awaken due to various fortuitous encounters—a number negligible against the total.

The Royal House decided to first distribute the new Awakening Serum to the unawakened sub-humans in the Capital Sphere. This work is nearing completion. The Empire’s pharmaceutical industry possesses immense production capacity; at the factory in the Capital’s suburbs, ninety-five percent of the two hundred and fifty billion doses have been completed, and distribution is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Feedback from all sides has been optimistic and enthusiastic. Ninety percent of the sub-humans in the Capital Sphere have awakened. The probability of failure to awaken after ingestion is only one in a million; after all, some individuals experience genetic mutation that prevents their bodies from reacting to the serum, which is entirely normal in scientific research.

To people elsewhere in the Empire, this data already represents a miracle made reality, clearly signaling that the era of universal awakening is fast approaching—an era only mentioned in ancient histories.

According to the projected timeline, the remaining deployment in the Capital Star will be completed within three days, after which the formal serum promotion plan will be publicly announced. Empress Alimia has been busy with these matters these past few days; the power struggle between the Royal House and the regional nobility concerning the new Awakening Serum will officially commence in three days.

For this reason, the Empress Dowager persuaded her daughter to let her handle the meeting. As the Empress Dowager of the True Human Empire, she did not fear the thirteen Supreme Experts. The True Humans’ accumulations over hundreds of thousands of years were not in vain. The Royal House possessed many trump cards; even if they couldn't persuade those mysterious Supreme Experts, they could at least ensure their own safety in their presence.

“Indeed, the disclosure of the formal plan in three days will shock the entire Empire. Before then, I still have much work to do to bring the anticipated changes under control. This mission must be entrusted to Mother,” the Empress mused for a moment, then added, “How about this: let the two Imperial Consecrated join you, Mother. I presume Lord Yang Ying and Lord Blade will not refuse. And... Katerina as well.”

Recently, the Empress and Katerina had gotten along very well, their relationship growing quite close. Therefore, when she uttered Katerina’s name, the Empress omitted the honorific ‘Lord.’ The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded. “Very well. Await my good news.”

Leaving her daughter’s chambers, the Empress Dowager proceeded to a side hall—the residence of Yang Ying, Blade, and Katerina.

Before stepping through the main door of the side hall, the Empress Dowager heard a sound like silver bells laughing. She instantly recognized the voice as that of her other daughter.

“Sophie, you are bothering Lord Yang Ying again,” the Empress Dowager remarked as she entered the hall.

“Mother,” the fair-skinned girl wailed melodramatically, rushing into the Empress Dowager’s embrace.

“Little darling, go find your elder sister. I have matters to discuss with Lord Yang Ying and the others,” the Empress Dowager said gently, patting the girl’s head.

“Okay.” Although Baibai didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, she was not petulant. Knowing her mother must have something important that required discretion, she turned, gave a very demure farewell to Yang Ying and the others, and left the side hall.

“Your Excellency, the Empress Dowager, what brings you to us?” Yang Ying knew the Empress Dowager was due to arrive, but he still asked. Even a Fourth-Level Extreme has a limited sensory range; they cannot perceive things too far away, let alone across spiral arms, a distance of tens of thousands of light-years. Logically, he should not have sensed the emergence of thirteen mysterious Supreme Experts in the Perseus Arm.

The Empress was only able to sense it because she commands the Sea of Primordial Force, the reconnaissance network that once spanned the galaxy.

The Empress Dowager briefly explained the situation to Yang Ying and the others, then inquired, “Lord Yang Ying, I wish to meet those mysterious Supreme Experts. Are you willing to accompany me on this journey?”

Yang Ying nodded. “That is certainly possible.”

“No problem,” Blade replied.

“I will go too,” Katerina added with a smile.

“That is excellent!” the Empress Dowager beamed. “Let us not delay; we shall depart immediately.”

With that, the Empress Dowager waved her hand, tearing open a wormhole, and stepped through first. Yang Ying, Katerina, and Blade followed her in.

(Only two chapters today; I currently owe you two chapters. I will try to make them up when the opportunity arises.)H