Within the resplendent, prismatic expanse of subspace, one colossal warship of the Roman fleet, shaped distinctly like a trident, drew all eyes. The forward primary hull of this vessel was tripartite, its form mirroring the head of a trident. Trailing behind the ship was a golden conduit, thick as thirty meters and nearly a thousand meters long, acting as the trident's shaft. This bizarrely shaped vessel flew at the very vanguard of the fleet, closely flanked by sixty other gold-hued warships whose profiles resembled the long, sharp tines of a narwhal's horn.

Forty-eight standard hours into their subspace transit, a thick corona of electrical discharge began to shimmer along the golden conduit trailing the massive trident ship, its potent electromagnetic field forcing the sixty surrounding vessels to scatter outwards. A small, cone-shaped warship, propelled by the intense magnetic field within the golden conduit, began to accelerate at an astonishing rate.

With a shrill, piercing cry, a heavy golden armored plate at the bow of the main vessel slid rapidly aside, launching the cone-shaped warship forward like a projectile from a cannon, streaking ahead at a velocity roughly three times faster than the rest of the fleet. The electric shimmer on the golden conduit slowly dissipated, and the trident-shaped behemoth continued its trajectory as if nothing had happened.

Subspace Curvature Light-Speed Cruising Secondary Acceleration Technology—this was a unique mastery held exclusively by the Romans. The Earth Federation had attempted this technology countless times, but every trial resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the ship and its crew.

The cone-shaped vessel, merely fifty meters long and about six meters in diameter, took only one hundred and twenty-seven hours to eject from subspace and arrive in the Alpha Star Sector. The ship hurtled towards the designated coordinates of the wormhole leading to Paradise Planet, deftly dodging lethal meteoroid streams and particle storms, completely ignoring the intercept attempts by the two high-speed assault craft left by the Hell Angels Mercenary Group before diving headlong into the wormhole.

Inside the Paradise Planet Independent Military Command Center, the piercing shriek of an emergency alarm suddenly blared.

Gu Xiechen, who had been carefully circulating the Hanyuan True Canon to infuse innate zhenqi into his bone marrow, was startled. He dropped the Zakla crystal he was holding, halted his zhenqi circulation, and strode swiftly into the command center.

Dozens of light-screens descended from the ceiling of the command post, with dozens of satellites monitoring the heavens simultaneously locking onto the small warship that had just breached the wormhole. A golden hull, covered in dense, ornate filigree—unmistakably a Roman vessel.

“They’re fast!” Ban Ruo sighed instinctively. “I figured they wouldn't arrive for at least another week.”

“Subspace Curvature Light-Speed Cruising Secondary Acceleration Technology.” Gu Xiechen, hailing from the Gu Clan Group, was certainly familiar with this Roman capability. He shook his head. “It’s a small vanguard reconnaissance unit, standard composition should be about three high-ranking Roman warriors and perhaps ten Serf species troops. This small vessel doesn't have much space to carry many personnel.”

Ling Hu frowned deeply. “Just one ship? The Romans are too audacious!”

Gu Xiechen said calmly, “Executing a secondary acceleration launch consumes at least seventy percent of their mothership’s energy reserves. They need forty-eight hours of subspace charging to attempt another launch; there won’t be a second scout ship within two days!” Gu Xiechen sneered, “The Romans only possess one vessel capable of secondary acceleration launch: the Nebula Devourer Trident. That is the personal flagship of the Roman King. It seems the direct lineage of their First Elector family has been deployed.”

Pressing his lips together, Gu Xiechen grinned as he looked toward Siren and Aredia, who were huddled nervously in a corner of the command center, exchanging glances. “Siren, Aredia, let’s go greet these unlucky Romans together. Sending three Jieshi cultivators to meet them—they are truly fortunate!”

Aredia shot Gu Xiechen a sidelong glance and gently tugged at Siren’s sleeve, clearly signaling that she did not want Siren exerting himself for Gu Xiechen.

Siren pondered for a moment, then agreed with a smile. He looked strangely at Gu Xiechen and chuckled, “The one who choked me in the dense woods the other day, that must have been your Jie Puppet, right? I am very eager to observe it up close... hehehe, three Jieshi cultivators to welcome a mere vanguard scout unit—they are indeed too lucky.” Siren patted Aredia’s hand lightly. Siren was genuinely curious about the entity that had grasped his throat that day; the strength in that grip was terrifyingly immense! And that strange iron chain—it actually managed to restrain the Magma Rhino! Siren felt the necessity of discerning Gu Xiechen’s true capabilities.

“Fine, he isn't with me right now; I left him outside in the forest,” Gu Xiechen consented to Siren’s request. What was the big deal about letting Siren take a closer look at Xin Jia? Gu Xiechen himself hadn't fully grasped what kind of existence Xin Jia was; how could Siren figure it out just by looking a few times?

Mo He shrugged, muttering under his breath, “Is this how you treat people? A pack of scoundrels!” He flexed his arm proudly, puffing out the muscle.

After several days of torrential storms, the weather had turned unexpectedly fine. Golden sunlight, a gentle breeze, and the incredibly fresh air above the primeval forest made Gu Xiechen sing cheerfully as he navigated the dense woods. Gu Xiechen’s voice was clear and resonant, his breath powerful, and his melodious singing drifted over the forest, attracting a dozen curious Birds of Paradise to trail behind the group. Siren and Aredia, however, were turning pale with fury. Gu Xiechen could have sung anything else, but he was crooning a lullaby!

With only Siren and Aredia accompanying Gu Xiechen, was he treating them like children to be placated?

“Where exactly is your Jie Puppet if you left it in the forest?” Siren, unable to contain his irritation, finally roared at the loudly singing Gu Xiechen.

Gu Xiechen's Taoist robe swept lightly, and he effortlessly ascended over thirty meters, using the tip of his foot to lightly push off a slender branch. Gu Xiechen drifted nearly a hundred meters, light as a willow catkin in the wind, landing gracefully on another massive tree limb. Siren and Aredia were stunned into silence by the display of qinggong movement technique. Siren, who had been about to shout again, instinctively clamped his mouth shut.

This movement style was terrifying. Among all the martial artists renowned for movement techniques in the Federation known to Siren and Aredia, not one could glide and leap a hundred meters as if flying.

Aredia cautiously studied Gu Xiechen’s retreating back. The strength Gu Xiechen was displaying was far, far greater than when they had hunted him previously. Could it all be due to that set of Taoist robes?

Gently pulling Siren’s sleeve, Aredia quickly traced the shape of a Taiji diagram in the air, subtly directing Siren’s attention to the robes worn by Gu Xiechen.

Gu Xiechen continued to sing the lullaby, leading Siren and Aredia with his flying progress toward the battlefield he had chosen. He flaunted various unbelievable movement techniques, darting and weaving ahead, which caused Siren and Aredia a wave of dread. “Damn it, a lullaby it is! The situation demands it, I concede!” Siren looked at Gu Xiechen’s ethereal, dustless movement style and forcefully swallowed his anger.

The second chapter update is here... Comrades... Keep sending those recommendation votes... Well... The chapters beginning tomorrow will start a new arc...