The Expeditionary Force's Divide

"Black Gold, activate the camouflage system and switch forms—second configuration."

Qin Heng also added camouflage to his own ship.

High-grade spacecraft already came with camouflage systems, with more than a dozen preset forms.

The second configuration retracted portions of the hull at the ship's front and rear, transforming its sharp-ended shuttle shape into a rounded oval. Its outer paint job also changed from black to red.

The red oval spacecraft streaked through the vacuum, looking far more conspicuous than before.

But its recognizability had also dropped considerably.

Yan Feng and Yu Ling entered the immortal estate, leaving only Qin Heng and Xuan Nie, who had turned into a giant python.

Xuan Nie said, "Big Brother, from now on, call me Black Snake in front of strangers."

Qin Heng teased, "Could you put a little more thought into naming yourself?"

Xuan Nie said, "I'm a pitch-black snake right now. Nothing could suit me better than that name. You're so clever—come up with one for yourself, then."

"As for me... my alias will be Fang Yi." Qin Heng smiled.

"Why that name?" Xuan Nie did not understand.

Qin Heng smiled. "I borrowed one character from my wife's surname and one from my son's name."

It was not as if he would use it often anyway, so he lazily cobbled something together.

Xuan Nie muttered, "Black Snake still sounds more right..."

The spacecraft continued onward. In another two Void Ember Days, they would reach the third Void Passage.

Qin Heng continued meditating in seclusion, while his divine sense returned to the Life and Death Arena to watch the fierce battles between the other prodigies.

At the same time, news of Rui Bo's fleet being wiped out reached the core upper echelon of the Heaven Marquis Dynasty's Expeditionary Force.

The joint conference channel of