Read The Legendary Mechanic - Chapter 990 - Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn online free - Novel Full

Chapter 990 Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn

After coming to an agreement on the matter regarding the Modo Civilization, both of them chatted about the Flickering World for a while before engaging in idle chatter.

Tarrokov took a sip of tea and said, "The dynasty's research facility is now studying the Spacetime Splicing Technology. A few of my old friends there told me that this will be a new theoretical direction for research that will give birth to an extremely powerful technological skill. We will now be able to gain a new trump card in the spacetime field. This is all thanks to you."

"This is a good thing. Even without me, the dynasty would've obtained the technology." Han Xiao lowered his head and wanted to grab onto the cup on the table, only to have his holographic hand pass through the cup. He then looked at Tarrokov with resignation.

Upon seeing Han Xiao's gaze, Tarrokov placed his cup down and coughed dryly.

"The Federation of Light has the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, but the dynasty's spacetime research isn't a match for them. This time, we obtained the Spacetime Splicing Technology, and we may be able to develop a trademark technology in the future. Thus, a confidentiality agreement cannot be helped."

"I understand. This technology will not be spread out from me." Han Xiao nodded.

In his previous life, the Spacetime Splicing Technology was monopolized by the dynasty. This time, the dynasty was not able to monopolize the technology and could only request that Han Xiao did not let it spread.

During this period, Han Xiao's level and attributes were not increased by much, but he gained quite a few powerful abilities and talents. If the Mechanic Emperor attempted to infiltrate his database again, he would not be afraid anymore, and history would not repeat itself.

Tarrokov suddenly seemed to have thought about something and smiled. "Speaking of which, the Spacetime Splicing Technology is the greatest wealth of the Kunde Race Civilization. The Modo Civilization is obviously a step ahead of us in this respect, but they were made use of by others and are still hidden in the dark."

"If the Modo Civilization knew that their plan didn't only harm themselves but gave the dynasty a huge advantage, they'd probably regret it."

The two burst out laughing together.

After laughing for a while, Tarrokov changed the topic and said, "With my status, it isn't appropriate for me to ask you this question, but I still want to ask you… What are your arrangements with regards to your marriage?"

Han Xiao's face suddenly became strange.

What? You want to be a matchmaker now?

With both of our statuses, it isn't too good for you to ask me such a private question, right?

Tarrokov also had an odd look on his face but continued. "The dynasty places a huge emphasis on their alliance with you and also pays close attention to your lifestyle. Maybe you aren't aware, but you are very popular among the daughters of the upper echelons."

Upon seeing his look of resignation, Han Xiao understood what was going on.

A Universal Civilization generally would not interfere in the private life of a Beyond Grade A Super. However, the alliance between the dynasty and Black Star Army was currently in the honeymoon phase. The potential that the Black Star Army had displayed resulted in many of the upper echelons having high expectations in him. As such, the idea of a marriage alliance was born, but such matters could not be forced.

Although the dynasty did not have a royal family, a marriage alliance was still a common method to rope their allies in. A portion of the upper echelons had such thoughts, and the others were happy to see the marriage happen as well. With a marriage between the two, this would cause a change in their relationship. It would be much easier to take care of the Evolution Cube problem as well. Black Star could keep the Evolution Cube after the marriage, and the upper echelons would not find the matter that unacceptable.

On the other hand, a Universal Civilization had always placed huge emphasis on the various Beyond Grade A races. This would be a cradle for new Supers to be born. The dynasty also wished for Han Xiao to have his own children and Beyond Grade A race.

To put it simply, they were pushing him to get married.

The matter of an arranged marriage might not be Urranrell's suggestion; it was probably the various upper echelons getting Tarrokov to pass on the message.

Seeing Han Xiao remain silent, Tarrokov could only continue. "If there's time, you can participate in some of the dynasty's banquets. There are many daughters who want to get to know you."

They want to get to know me?

They probably want to sleep with me!

Humph, a guy needs to know how to protect himself. I will not give you such a chance.

"We can talk about this again later." Han Xiao chuckled and changed the topic. "Does the dynasty have any other upcoming plans?"

"Let me think…" Tarrokov thought for oa moment, "Right, a Beyond Grade A from the Arcane Church has not appeared for a long time. It is a little strange."

"Who's that?" Han Xiao had not paid attention to such matters recently.

"Ninjia, do you still remember him? He is one of the members who attacked Planet Lighthouse. He was the one who escaped with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter."

"Oh, him." Apart from Ninjia, the other Beyond Grade As of that group were sealed in the Spacetime Amber.

"Ninjia hasn't appeared all these years, and the Arcane Church claim that he's recuperating. However, as time's gone on, things have become more and more suspicious. Even if he was recuperating, there's no reason for him to not appear for a decade. There is probably a hidden reason behind this…"

"Is the Arcane Church lying?" Han Xiao raised his brows.

"Hmm, it's possible that Ninjia is missing or already dead. I think that it is possible that Ninjia didn't return with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and was intercepted by someone," Tarrokov said with a deep voice.

"You mean to say… the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter isn't in the hands of the Arcane Church, and they are only pretending that they have it?" Han Xiao stroked his chin. "I have already unsealed the few Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church, but they have not requested that I unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter yet. Even if it is because they don't think that the dynasty will agree, this excuse is a little flimsy."

"That's right." Tarrokov shook his head. "However, it doesn't matter who has the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Without your help, no one will be able to use it and pose a threat to us."

"Hmm… This means that the dynasty will be the only party capable of using the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. We may even have a chance to purchase the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and make the once trump card of the Arcane Church ours."

"It isn't so easy. We still have to see the intentions of the upper echelons." Tarrokov was not too optimistic about that.

Both of them then chatter for a while. Tarrokov said that he had a meeting to hold, and Han Xiao did not disturb him anymore.

After deactivating the long-distance projection, Han Xiao returned to his room and thought about their conversation.

"I will have to wait for the fourth exploration phase to finish my revenge against the Modo Civilization. I should make some preparations before Version 4.0."

As he said that, Han Xiao opened Phillip's database and looked at the current scale of the army.

After so many years of development, the Black Star Army had stabilized its position as the head of the Shattered Star Ring. Although it faced some challenges, their status would not be so easily shaken as long as he was around. The army had also received their own territory in the Flickering World and had plenty of room for improvement.

The Black Star Army had set up various divisions in the other Star Fields, but the scale of these divisions could not be compared to those in the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World. Their main territories were still in these two Star Fields.

The second exploration phase was now on track. Although there would be more manpower being channeled in during the third phase, without an obstruction like the Kunde Race, the entire universe would be able to develop stably for the next ten years or so. The universe would only start to stir in the fourth phase.

"The army has sufficient time to build various facilities in the Flickering World during this period. The mechanical civilization and Black Spirit Race will also have sufficient time to develop."

Next, he went through the pressure that he would be facing from the outside during this period.

There was no need to mention the Mechanic Emperor. The conflict of interests between them would not be resolved so easily. The Limitless Financial Group was also fighting for business with him and probably would not let up. Then, there was the World Tree Civilization, a time bomb that could turn the entire universe upside-down.

"There's now the Modo Civilization on the list as well. There are truly many things to take care of."

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

There were plenty of powerful enemies, and they were all extremely powerful. In order to deal with them, the strength of his faction and his own individual strength was extremely important.

"My strength will be able to grow quickly when the players return, and it will be much easier for me to take care of these problems."

Although his efficiency in obtaining experience was not too low, it could not be compared to the frightening speed of harvesting leeks.

He was not planning to remain idle. Even if he could not increase his level, he was planning to make use of this time to search for the method to forge Universal Treasures. A Mechanic would have other ways to increase their strength.

It was already very good for a Beyond Grade A to have one Universal Treasure. Han Xiao already has two in his hands, but he would not mind having a third.

"The next batch of Beyond Grade As will be born in Version 4.0. Hehe, I have become a senior so quickly."

Han Xiao shook his head. Thinking about this, he could not help but think about Hila, who was in training.

He missed Hila after not seeing her for some time. After leaving Planet Aquamarine, the two of them had rarely seen each other.

"She will probably step into the Beyond Grade A realm in Version 4.0."

Han Xiao thought highly of Hila, and she was the only one who had the chance to become a Beyond Grade A among all his officers.

Hadavy, Lothaire, Feidin, and Lagi had potential, but they were too far away from becoming a Beyond Grade A.

"Perhaps I should think of a way to strengthen these officers."

Han Xiao thought for a while and took out an intelligence report. This was EsGod's intelligence about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

According to the information, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would appear in Version 4.0. Although he would not be able to use this special Esper Ability, he could obtain it first before finding an appropriate host.

The chance was rare, but he was not planning on letting go of it.

In a strip club within the transportation hub of the Constellation Corridor, the atmosphere was boisterous. However, the atmosphere was the complete opposite in the corner.

There were two individuals sitting opposite each other. One of them was wearing a windbreaker, and his appearance could not be seen. The other was a sentient creature that had zits all over his body. He looked like a standing toad and had a pair of sunglasses.

"This is what you want." The toadman took out a small disc and passed it to the other party before softly saying, "The information is inside."

"Hmm." The man in the windbreaker picked the disc up and walked away.

The toadman then called out to him and said, "I don't understand. I backed out from the intelligence community a long time ago, and there are only a few who still know me. How did you find me? Who are you exactly?"

"Don't you think it is very pointless to ask someone who is hiding his identity such a question?" the man in the windbreaker said with a hoarse voice.

He then boarded a galactic spaceship and left the transportation hub.

When he was in his room, he took off his windbreaker and revealed a pale face. It was Gaud.

Taking out a machine, he inserted the disc, and the information was displayed on the screen.

Gaud's lips curled up slightly.

"That's right. It's information on the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…"

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Chapter 991 Galaxy Calendar: Year 729

On Planet Three Kings…

"There have been many assassination incidents recently, and public security is being affected badly. The identity of the assassin is unknown, but according to our investigations, the Crimson Dynasty's shadow can be seen behind this matter. It is very obvious that Madison has failed, and his methods weren't able to fool the dynasty."

An important meeting was being held to discuss recent events, and everyone present had an ugly look on their face.

The continued assassinations of their government officials brought about social unrest, and many Modo citizens were living in fear.

With their safety under threatened, these high officials were all enraged.

A military officer with an explosive temper slammed the table and roared, "Too arrogant! Does the dynasty really think that we are a weak civilization that cannot fight back‽ If we work together with the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Primeval Star River and refuse to listen to the rule of the three Universal Civilizations, we shall see what they do!"

"It is best to say fewer such words," someone said.

The others present also did not treat those words seriously. Although all the Super Star Cluster Civilizations had plenty of resentment toward the three Universal Civilizations and wanted to replace the other party, gaining independence was a path of no return. Unless they had absolute confidence, no one would support such a notion.

After venting their anger for a while, they went back to the main topic and discussed how they should take care of the matter.

"We must first stop anymore assassinations from happening, but we cannot give in to the dynasty. They want us to admit to the crime of making use of the natives and compensate their losses in the war. They must be dreaming!"

"That's right. Announce that this matter has nothing to do with us. If the dynasty is able to bring out evidence, insist that the evidence was forged."

"Also, we must insist that the dynasty is assassinating our officials without any evidence and make an application to the Civilization Conference to denounce the dynasty's actions. The federation and church will stand on our side. We will also be able to pull more Super Star Cluster Civilizations to our side. The universe isn't ruled by the dynasty alone."

Someone shook his head and said, "The Flickering World is about to be opened up, and there won't be many willing to offend the dynasty during this period."

"Then, what should we do? We can't let the dynasty continue assassinating our officials, right?"

"Humph, we should give them a taste of their own medicine. Since they can assassinate our officials, we can also assassinate their officials."

Another immediately objected. "Assassinate the dynasty's officials? Have you forgotten what happened during the Tragedy of the Pinnacles?"

Upon hearing that, a look of anger could be seen on the faces of everyone present.

This was a humiliation that they had not forgotten. The Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations were engaged in an intense battle, and because of their heavy losses, they decided to make the Super Star Cluster Civilizations the scapegoat. Including the Modo Civilization, the three Universal Civilizations slaughtered all the Beyond Grade A Supers in the Super Star Cluster Civilizations before leaving as though nothing had happened.

This action of theirs damaged the strength of the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations greatly and resulted in a long-lasting negative impact. Many Beyond Grade A Supers became worried about their own safety and did not dare join a Super Star Cluster Civilization.

As such, the Modo Civilization knew that they would not be able to retaliate by assassinating the other party's officials. If they did, a huge storm of blood would definitely be stirred up. The church and federation would not watch by the side and would work together with the dynasty to deal with them. The three Universal Civilizations would collaborate if it was to protect their prestige.

They had already experienced this many times before and could only endure silently.

"Don't exaggerate this issue. The assassinations are only a small matter. The dynasty will know when to stop and won't dare push us into a corner. However, we must also fight back and control the degree of our retaliation. We cannot touch the dynasty and can only take a step back to deal with the organization of their allies. However, we can only deal with the organization but not the Beyond Grade A."

"I think Beyoni is very suitable. His organization is located in the Primeval Star River, and it will be easy to deal with him. We will also be able to show our attitude this way."

In just a short few sentences, Beyoni's bad luck was determined.

To a Super Star Cluster Civilization, apart from Manison, Kasuyi, or Black Star, an ordinary Beyond Grade A was nothing in their eyes. Even a Star Cluster Civilization would be able to get rid of a Beyond Grade A, not to mention a Super Star Cluster Civilization like them.

Since the dynasty assassinated our officials, we will definitely have to take revenge.

As for the fact that we are the ones who started this matter and are at fault…

So what?

We're all gangsters anyway.

At this moment, someone said with worry, "What I am worried about is the fact that the dynasty may make use of this matter to restrict our entrance to the Flickering World."

"What are you afraid of? The Flickering World will be opened eventually. Even the dynasty won't be able to stop this from happening. If they insist on barring our entry, we can just create a huge fuss! The other Super Star Cluster Civilizations will stand on our side, and the dynasty won't be able to endure the pressure!"

The Modo Civilization was not afraid that they would be barred from entering the Flickering World because of this.

All the Super Star Cluster Civilizations understood extremely well that even if the Flickering World was opened, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely suppress them. As such, they had formed an alliance of their own.

The Flickering World was a rare opportunity, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were willing to work together for this.

Even if the Modo Civilization was the only party being suppressed in the Flickering World, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations would back them up. Although they did not like to help their competitors, fighting back against the three Universal Civilizations was more important. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations understood that they would be defeated if they did not stand together.

Furthermore, the dynasty was currently occupied with other things and could only use assassinations to warn the Modo Civilization.

The Super Star Cluster Civilizations had the confidence to fight the three Universal Civilizations. After all, they were different from other Star Cluster Civilizations. They no longer had the space to fawn over the three Universal Civilizations.

They could only fight and snatch.

In the Limitless Financial Group headquarters, Mechanic Emperor Manison, Void Overlord Kasuyi, and Beast Ancestor Gorutan visited Sorokin again.

"I wonder what the three of you need today?" Sorokin said with a calm smile.

"Do you still remember our deal?" Gorutan asked.

"Of course. I am in charge of competing with the Black Star Army and applying pressure to him to aid all of you in getting the Evolutionary Totems," Sorokin said slowly.

"However, you don't seem to be producing much results," Kasuyi said.

The Black Star Army was able to withstand the pressure of the Limitless Financial Group, and the organizations behind the three were not satisfied.

"Ah," Sorokin replied casually. "I already said that it wouldn't be so easy to deal with the Black Star Army."

"We hope that you will apply more pressure."

"No problem." Sorokin smiled. "However, I have already displayed sincerity, and it is now your turn."

The three of them understood that Sorokin was asking them to fulfil a portion of their promises first.

"That isn't a problem," Manison said slowly.

"I shall wait then." Sorokin smiled. "I also need an appropriate opportunity for my next plan."

"What plan?" Gorutan asked.

Sorokin cleared his throat and slowly said, "After so many years of competition, we are stuck in a stalemate, and it will be difficult to have a new point of breakthrough in the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, I have my sights set on the Flickering World. That is the core of the Black Star Army's development.

"I have some inside news. The dynasty will open the Flickering World in the fourth exploration phase. Many financial groups will be interested in fighting for this slice of cake at that time."

He was already eyeing the opening of the Flickering World. He would be able to make use of various methods to pressure the Black Star Army at that time.

Since the Black Star Army had received the benefits of obtaining a territory, they would have to take the risks of managing it. Sorokin wanted to engage on a new battlefield with the army.

The Limitless Financial Group had plenty of different methods to use money to suppress the ordinary businesses of the Black Star Army within their territory.

Of course, Sorokin's main objective was the growth of the Limitless Financial Group.

Compared to the benefits of the Flickering World, the cost of suppressing the Black Star Army was negligible.

Under the control of both parties, the conflict between the Modo Civilization and the Crimson Dynasty did not escalate further.

Both parties prepared their manpower and resources as they awaited the opening of the Flickering World.

Apart from a few small skirmishes, the galaxy was extremely calm.

Under such circumstances, the second exploration phase of the dynasty was completed smoothly, and the dynasty started the third exploration phase.

In those peaceful times, time crept by silently, and many years went by.

Without too many setbacks, the third exploration phase was coming to an end.

On the 15th day of the 7th month of the 729th year of the Galaxy Calendar, the Crimson Dynasty finally announced a piece of news that everyone had been waiting for.

The fourth exploration phase was about to start, and the Flickering World would be opened!

It was like a psionic bomb being set off!

The universe that had been peaceful for over a decade was stirred again!

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Chapter 992 Incoming Storm 1

News of the fourth exploration phase spread through the entire universe like a storm.

The entire universe had been waiting for this day for far too long, and every Star Field became bustling with excitement. The civilizations of the various regions all began to recruit manpower and purchase resources.

The normal galactic residents also became excited. They could not wait to explore the new Star Fields, and many of them wanted to try their luck to get rich or migrate over.

Countless troops and resources were being mobilized all over the universe. The dynasty had only announced the time, but before the official opening of the Flickering World, all the manpower and resources would have to wait in the Shattered Star Ring. As such, the Shattered Star Ring would become bustling with activity during this period.

The opening of a new Star Field would reshuffle the current state of the universe once more.

A huge tide of migrants flooded toward the Flickering World from all directions.

On a red mining planet, there were many prisoners mining for resources.

In the middle of a circular mountain range, there was a prison with a grayish exterior.

"Congratulations, you're finally out."

After stepping out from the surveillance region of the prison, even the air smelt sweeter. Looking at the usually stern prison guards smile at him, Evans felt as though it had been an eternity.

He could finally leave the stinky sweat filled prisoner attire and was dressed in a simple top with light luggage in his hands. It had been a long time since he was so at ease.

A floating device was stopped not too far away. This was the prison's bus that was in charge of sending the prisoners to the space dock outside the atmosphere. At this moment, there was a man in military attire standing beside the bus waving at him.

Although it had been a long time since they last met, Evans immediately recognized the man in military attire.

He could not help but smile and hugged the other party.

"I am here to fetch you. How have you been all this while?"

"Work, eat, sleep—every day is the same."

They were both extremely excited to meet each other after so long and felt as though they had endless conversation topics.

Evans sized his friend up and lamented, "Time really flies. You were only a skinny child running behind me before I went into prison. Who would have thought that you'd join the military?"

"You have also changed greatly. Don't just stand there. Get on."

Both parties then took the bus to the space harbor and took a spaceship to a colonial planet not too far away.

This prison was located on a mining planet surrounded by various colonial planets. There were plenty of different prisoners housed within the prison being laborers on the mining planet.

Evans' friend had already booked a room in a famous hotel and treated Evans to a good meal.

It had been far too long since Evans last tasted anything other than nutrition fluid. He immediately gobbled down all the food before him and stuffed himself until he could not eat anymore.

Patting his bloated tummy, Evans let out a sigh of satisfaction.

At this moment, his friend took out a box and opened it up. There was a Galactic Communicator, a translator, and other necessities in the box. There was even a portable mechanical suit in it.

"I prepared all this for you. I also opened up an account for you with 15,000 Enas inside."

"I will accept the other items, but you can take the Enas back. I don't need it. I did receive a salary in the prison, so I have some money." Evans waved his arms.

"How can that do?" his friend immediately exclaimed. "You saved my life before. If not for you, how would I have my current life? You must definitely accept my repayment."

He had always been thankful toward Evans. Evans killed an evil Super back then in order to protect him and went to prison because of it.

The supernatural abilities of a Super would enlarge the darkness in some people's hearts. They would attempt to seek a sense of superiority from ordinary individuals and humiliate or torture these individuals with their strength.

They had once met such a Super, and their lives had been threatened. Although Evans was only an ordinary person, he had managed to find a way to get rid of that Grade E Super.

His good friend was already a military officer and had awakened his Super Gene. However, it was a pity that Evans did not have a Super Gene and would remain an ordinary individual for all his life.

With Evans' abilities, if he has the talent to become a Super, he would definitely be more powerful than me in future.

Sigh, it is a pity that this is his destiny.

"Haha, I shall accept your sincerity, but I don't need your money. Don't think of trying to repay me with material items if we are brothers," Evans said with a smile.

"You can come over to my place if you are willing." His friend refused to give up.

"You are already married. I cannot disturb you."

"I can try to get rid of your past record if you want to enter the military."

"It's alright. I am an ordinary individual and will only be cannon fodder if I join the army." Evans knew that it would be impossible for him to become a Super but was not too bothered about it.

He did not have the bad habit of lamenting about life. The way he saw it, rather than spend time lamenting, he might as well spend the time on practical actions.

"Then, what are you planning to do in the future?" his friend said with resignation.

"Hmm, let me find a job first and talk about the rest later."

Evans then began browsing the web with his communicator to view the employment advertisements. He was startled the moment he saw the advertisements.

There were plenty of jobs available but the first criteria of all the jobs was the same.

'Job location: Flickering World!'

As long as they could work in the Flickering World and were not a wanted individual, they would be hired!

His friend looked over and shook his head.

"The Crimson Dynasty has finally announced the opening of the Flickering World, and every organization is hiring more manpower."

In his memories, the Flickering World was still in the Crimson Tide era. The universe had truly changed greatly during his imprisonment.

He then lowered his head and looked at the recruitment notice before nodding his head.

"Flickering World… let me go and take a look then."

"It is finally going to open up."

On the Star Pupil Holy Race's home planet, Psyker stood in front of a window.

After the Planet Lighthouse incident, he had maintained a low profile to recover from his losses.

After more than ten years, the negative influence of him giving up the Evolution Cube was already gone, and he was still the noble leader in the eyes of many.

Although he was extremely close to the Flickering World, he could only watch as Black Star and the Tyrant gained an early advantage in the Flickering World because he was a member of the church. Psyker was extremely envious and anxious. He had been waiting for this day for a long time and also wanted a slice of the cake.

The way he saw it, the Flickering World was an opportunity for the Star Pupil Holy Race. He no longer needed to be restricted in the Shattered Star Ring. His current situation would only become worse as Black Star and the Tyrant developed themselves. As such, he needed to find a new way out for the Star Pupil Holy Race.

As such, the Arcane Church had an excuse to interfere and support him. The more the benefits he could obtain in the Flickering World, the better for his race.

As he thought about the past, Han Xiao's figure appeared in his mind.

"Black Star… he has also remained silent for more than ten years. It seems like his strength has stagnated after reaching peak Beyond Grade A…"

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Chapter 993 Incoming Storm 2

It was the day for Black Star's Party again, and the Black Star Army headquarters located in the Shattered Star Ring welcomed the representatives from many different organizations.

Over the past ten years, Black Star's Party had become an iconic event of the army.

Compared to the first few years, there were many more participants with many of the organizations coming from other Star Fields. They were all organizations preparing to head to the Flickering World. With the Flickering World about to open to the outside world, many organizations wanted to have a good relationship with Black Star, who had territory in the Flickering World.

The number of explored Star Clusters would be increased to nine, and the Dawn Star Cluster, which was the entrance to the Flickering World, was being managed by the dynasty. Garu, Renault, and Crown, which were explored in the first exploration phase, had been split up to the dynasty's allies, and their basic facilities had been completed. The five Star Clusters of the second and third exploration phase had plenty of room for development, and the dynasty was prepared to open more slots and get the various organizations of the universe to bear the cost of developing them.

The dynasty announced that the Black Star Army would be given two Star Systems, located in the Russo Star Cluster of the second phase and the Mark Star Cluster of the third phase. Only a small portion of the other allies had a territory assigned to them.

Unlike the first phase, the dynasty would not give out too many territories but considered arranging various National Pillars to maintain their control over the various Star Clusters.

Within the territory of the nine explored Star Systems, the Black Star Army was the organization that had the largest territory in the Flickering World, except for the dynasty. Thus, there were many organizations fawning over the Black Star Army and hoping to gain more benefits from the Flickering World.

The party was boisterous and filled with individuals from many different races. It was almost as though it was a gallery to view all the different races.

There were many who were joining in Black Star's Party for the first time, and they gathered in small groups to chat with each other while gossiping about the various Black Star Army officers.

"That woman with a Star Cluster representative beside her is Chief Administrative Official Sylvia. She is Black Star's head butler, and I heard that she is extremely capable. The one beside her is Fleet Commander Herlous, and his student Mia is beside him. She stepped into the Calamity Grade a year ago and uprooted a traitor of a galactic civilization organization that had a Calamity Grade Super single handedly. It is said that she is the lover of Nero, the heir to the Black Star Army."

"… Look there. That is Vice Commander Lagi, the former leader of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey. He is also the principal of the Black Star Super Academy and entered the list of Beyond Grade A seeds last year. The one beside him is Tomar, a genius Mage. It is said that Austin wanted to rope him in a few years ago but was rejected by Black Star."

"The individual reading blueprints in the corner is Reynold, who is in charge of logistics. The one beside him is the vice head of the intelligence department, Shazik. There is also the upper echelon of the Germinal Financial Group, Iapetus… Most of the important personnel of the Black Star Army are gathered here. I think that there are more than thirty Calamity Grade Supers present."

"This is only a small portion of the Calamity Grade Supers in the Black Star Army. The elite Black Star Guards such as Hadavy and Feidin are all in the Flickering World. The entire Black Star Army has about sixty to seventy Calamity Grade Supers with two Beyond Grade A seeds."

"Black Star has lived in seclusion for the past few years and almost never made any public appearance. It is only possible to see him during Black Star's Party. I wonder if there will be a chance to talk to him…"

Just as everyone was chatting, a holographic projection appeared on the stage.

The attention of the guests was immediately attracted by the screen, and they all greeted the silhouette that had appeared.

"Your Excellency Black Star."

Han Xiao nodded and smiled. "Welcome to the Black Star Army."

With his current life span, a decade was no more than a snap of his fingers, and he did not seem to have aged the slightest.

With the main character appearing, the plaza became boisterous with plenty of people coming forward to chat with Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was already used to this and dealt with them with a smile.

According to his memory, a portion of these organizations were active in the Flickering World.

Apart from the three Universal Civilizations and Super Star Cluster Civilizations, some neutral civilizations and civilian organizations also played an important role in the Flickering World.

Because of Han Xiao's hard work, the army had gained an advantage in the Flickering World and had nine Star Systems as their foundation. They could make use of their foundation to build ties with more organizations and form a large net of benefits. This was also the reason for the party today.

Han Xiao dealt with all those who approached him while searching through his memories to match these individuals to their organization.

The banquet was a very successful one, and after sending away the guests, the officers followed Han Xiao into his office.

"Army Commander, the Flickering World is about to be opened to the outside. We need to make sufficient preparations and be prepared to fight off the various large organizations," Sylvia said.

Han Xiao nodded and replied, "Just go according to our plan."

The army had been preparing for more than ten years and had already made all the relevant preparations.

When the Flickering World opened, it would also be the start of Version 4.0 and the time for the players' return. At the same time, inter-Star Field transportation would also be activated for the players, and all the players would flood toward the Flickering World.

Compared to the other players, the players of the Black Star Army obviously had an advantage as they had come in contact with the Flickering World during Version 3.0.

Han Xiao had been waiting for this day for a long time. The Black Star Army now had the foundation to welcome the new version, and they would be the leeks for him to harvest.

Through his hard work, the Black Star Army had become the largest private organization in the Flickering World and could provide the players with even more benefits to attract them.

Over the past ten or so years, the strength of all his officers had improved, and he had not remained idle either. He had replenished his mechanical army and perfected his Dimension Factory. At the same time, he had converted more first-generation Mechanical Lives to aid in the development of the machinery civilization.

Although he still was not capable of forging a Universal Treasure, Han Xiao would send his mechanical army out from time to time to search for opportunities to obtain some talents. He had also accumulated plenty of Random Reward chances.

The experience that he had accumulated was all spent on increasing the levels of his skills to obtain Potential Points. As such, his level did not change much, and he was still around level 300.

Apart from this, Han Xiao also searched for more Energy Training Techniques to increase the upper limit of his energy.

Because of his interface, his training efficiency far exceeded the other Beyond Grade As, and the increase in his energy level was pretty substantial.

After over ten years of accumulation, Han Xiao's foundation was no longer weak and could barely match up to his status of a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic.

After remaining low profile for so many years, the outside world probably thinks that my strength has stagnated. I am already all prepared and only waiting for an opportunity. When Version 4.0 launches, my strength will be increased rapidly again…

Nero stood up and said, "Godfather, I have a request."

"Speak." Han Xiao looked over. Nero was already an adult, and although he still had a childish appearance and was still short like before, he had a far more stable aura.

Nero had acted as his right-hand man over the past few years and helped him greatly.

"I wish to apply for leave to accompany my father on Planet Aquamarine. I also wish to take Mia with me," Nero said.

"Hmm, you should go back."

Bennett was getting older and older. As the leader of Planet Aquamarine, he was extremely busy, and Nero would apply for leave to visit him from time to time. Han Xiao naturally did not stop him from doing so.

After checking on the work of all the officers, Han Xiao's communicator suddenly rang.

Upon glancing at the caller, Han Xiao waved his arms and got his subordinates to leave the office before picking up the call. Tarrokov's silhouette then appeared on the screen.

"Black Star, the Flickering World is about to be opened, and you should know what you need to prepare. I am calling you for something else."

"Speak."

"You should have paid attention to the newly ascended Beyond Grade As over the past few years, right? One of them chose to join the dynasty, and they will head to Planet Crimson Ring to meet Her Excellency Ruler. The dynasty is going to gather the Beyond Grade A allies to meet him. Are you planning to meet him?"

Every Beyond Grade A that joined the alliance had the same treatment, and it had been the same for Han Xiao.

Over the past ten years, a few new Beyond Grade A Supers had risen in the various Star Fields.

He was no longer considered a newbie.

After taking a look at the information that the dynasty had sent to him, Han Xiao was immediately tempted. This individual had joined the dynasty during this period in his previous life and made the same decision.

"Alright, I shall go and meet him," Han Xiao agreed, and his thoughts began to drift.

Version 4.0 is about to open up. I wonder how Hila is doing.

At the same time, in the desolate universe belt, Ames floated outside the atmosphere of a planet and looked down at the boundless sea of red on the planet.

The red energy swept over the entire surface of the planet like a flood, and anything that came into contact with it disintegrated into dust.

The sturdy earth seemed to have turned soft, and the sea of red was still rapidly expanding.

All of a sudden, the red energy shot toward the sky with a red figure emerging from within it.

Her face was filled with the coldness of death.

Upon seeing that, Ames smiled.

"Welcome to the Beyond Grade A realm."

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Chapter 994 The "Whore" of the Beyond Grade As

The red energy that saturated the entire sky was quickly absorbed back into Hila's body, and the red light within her eyes dimmed. However, her aura seemed as though she was a totally new person.

After twenty years of grueling training in the universe, Hila had finally taken this step. In her previous life, she had arrived at the Beyond Grade A realm earlier than this, so she had always had the potential.

After transforming into a Beyond Grade A species, Hila's appearance became more refined, her skin was cleansed and flawless, and her genes were greatly optimized.

Though her growth rate could not be compared to Black Star, Ames was equally amazed by Hila's talent. Compared to those who needed centuries to reach this stage, Hila's special S Grade Esper Ability had greatly shortened her journey.

"How do you feel?"

Ames sized Hila up, her eyes glowing with appreciation, as though she was viewing a work of art.

"Miraculous." Hila was sensing the changes and thoughtfully spoke. "So, this is the world in the eyes of the Beyond Grade A. Everything feels different."

"Hehe, slowly experience and get used to it. We have plenty of time." Ames slightly smiled.

Hila breathed out, a spark of excitement flashing across her eyes.

The me now should be able to barely catch up to Black Star.

I can… return.

Ames then controlled her force field, taking out the communicator and sending it to Hila's side as she smiled. "Do you want to share this good news with him?"

Hila received the communicator, but after hesitating a few seconds, she shook her head.

"No, I'll surprise him by personally returning."

On Planet Crimson Ring, a saucer shaped spaceship pierced through the Psionic Seal Ring, slowly approaching Planet Crimson Ring. On the star bridge stood a huge figure in front of the porthole, silently staring at the growing Planet Crimson Ring.

This person possessed a bright silver body, and his skin was like flowing liquid metal. One could only see a pair of metallic eyes on his face, and any other places are as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the galaxy outside the window. He was not wearing clothes and possessed no sexual characteristics.

He was a newly born Beyond Grade A, having ascended just five years prior. He was considered a Beyond Grade A seed from the Sea of Star Spirits, and a hundred years ago, he had locked himself into the core of a dying star to cultivate in a perilous method that only gave a slim chance of survival. A hundred years later, like a cocoon, he broke out, transforming into a new life form born from the core of the star.

He abandoned his original name, naming himself 'Silver Shadow', and formed his own Beyond Grade A organization within the Sea of Star Spirits. Over the past few years, he had made a name for himself and developed rapidly, forming a base of operations within the Sea Of Star Spirits.

Silver Shadow had accepted the dynasty's invitation, so he had traveled over to meet the Dynasty Ruler as well as the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty.

At this moment, one of his officers came up behind him and whispered, "Your Excellency Silver Shadow, we're about to descend."

"Hmm." Silver Shadow's voice was cold and brought with it the timbre much like a metal vibration. It was akin to an electronic sound without emotion.

The officer hesitated a while before asking, "Your Excellency, if I may ask, why are we choosing to join the dynasty?"

"Are you questioning my decision?" Silver Shadow did not even turn around.

"I do not." The officer immediately refuted that. He had not joined Silver Shadow for long, so he did not dare offend him at this time. He spoke in a hesitant tone. "I just feel that the offers from the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light were much better."

Silver Shadow did not deny that. "With the development of the Flickering World, the attraction the dynasty has now prevails over the rest, so the Federation and the Church have to pay higher prices. It's not because they value me. Furthermore, the power distribution in the Sea of Star Spirits has reached saturation, and only the Flickering World can provide me with more room to develop. Thus, choosing the dynasty is the better option for me… However, this is not the main reason I chose to join them."

"Then why?"

"The Evolution Cube… as well as Black Star." Silver Shadow paused. "If not for the fact that Black Star, who has possession of the Evolution Cube, is with the dynasty, I would not have agreed to their invitation."

"That's right. The dynasty said that they were going to gather a few Beyond Grade As to meet you. Will Black Star come as well? If he's there, you can make your request."

"Heh, from what I know, those old Beyond Grade A fogeys seldom appear at such affairs. The most one will see is Urranrell's bodyguard, Dark Lord Clotti. As for whether Black Star will come or not, I do not know," Silver Shadow muttered. "But I would like him to come so that I can spar against him."

"You wish to spar with Black Star?" The officer got a shock. "He rose to the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm more than a decade ago and is even recorded as one of the strongest Mechanical Deities. While he has been silent these few years, still…"

"I know what you mean. There's no need to say any more. The Beyond Grade A circle within the three Universal Civilizations have always ostracized newcomers. If you want the right to speak, you have to prove it through your strength. Since I must fight, I might as well pick a stronger one."

The Silver Shadow turned around, coldly remarking, "Dark Lord, Dragon King, and Illusory Deity. These three veterans have the highest status of the Beyond Grade As within the dynasty, and directly behind them would be Black Star, who only took a few decades to reach the Beyond Grade A realm. He is almost guaranteed to succeed the trio and will be the main pillar of the dynasty in the future, holding the most authority. In just twenty years, to grow to such a state, I'm extremely interested in him, and if he wants me to listen to him, I must experience just how good he is."

Very quickly, the spaceship landed on the political core of Planet Crimson Ring, Tarunamir Palace. Silver Shadow brought his officers to exit the spaceship and followed the attendants to walk into the palace.

Boom!

At this instant, a strong overbearing Beyond Grade A pressure burst out, viciously pressuring him. This was obviously an opening gambit by the seniors.

Silver Shadow did not show any weakness, and the aura unique to a Beyond Grade A burst out from him and pushed back hard.

Bang bang bang!

Rings of invisible shockwaves seemed to burst apart in midair.

As though sensing his attitude, the Beyond Grade A pressure receded quickly like the tide.

"We'll meet with the Ruler first." Silver Shadow coldly gazed toward the direction of the aura before following the attendants to another location.

At the same time, inside a room far away, a few of the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty were seated.

"The newcomers now are really arrogant. None of them are willing to bow their heads." Beyoni sighed.

"That's right. Thinking back, when I first fought Black… cough cough." Viru embarrassedly coughed twice, sneaking a look at Han Xiao who was sitting at the head using his Lord's Descent.

Han Xiao smirked and made a sarcastic remark. "That time, you couldn't even beat a newbie like me."

"That was different. You're a special case that broke all records in history, and you're even at the peak of Beyond Grade A now. Losing to you at that time… shouldn't be too embarrassing, right?" Viru laughed hollowly.

"No, it was embarrassing." Lotus Swordsman harshly shot him down.

Everyone could not help but burst into laughter.

Over the past few years, Han Xiao had already established a deep level of friendship with most of the Beyond Grade A allies in the dynasty. Due to his strength and legendary points, he had a greater say in this circle, only behind Dark Lord, Dragon King, and Illusory Deity. He had long shed his identity as a newcomer.

Among the dynasty alliance, only the stubborn little Ty-Ty refused to admit his influence; the rest all were in awe of him.

That day, there were nine Beyond Grade A present. Neither Milizaus nor Kant were there, but it was still more than when Han Xiao had arrived for the first time.

The last person to experience such a battle was Han Xiao himself. Seeing Silver Shadow was just like seeing the him of yesteryear, coming in with as much pomp and fanfare.

He was not interested in bullying the newcomers together with this group of Beyond Grade As, so he did not pressure Silver Shadow with his momentum like the rest. He chose to come because he wanted to see Silver Shadow.

If he remembered correctly, this Silver Shadow was a special existence among the Beyond Grade As. He had molded himself into something equivalent to a Universal Treasure during this life evolution, but right now, this ability should have awoken yet.

In the later version during his past life, Silver Shadow had an infamous nickname among the players—the 'Whore' of the Beyond Grade As!

According to incomplete statistics, during the World Tree Civilization battles, over twenty Beyond Grade As had 'used' Silver Shadow before.

Among them, the one who utilized his abilities the most was the late bloomer Karlot, which earned him the nickname of 'Whore Monopolizer' Karlot.

While Han Xiao wished to turn this 'public good' into a 'private good', this sort of thinking was a bit unrealistic, so he settled for making contact with the other party first.

At this time, Ravenlaude was surveying the audience. "We will most likely have to do a spar later. Who's going up?"

"I have no interest." Lotus Swordsman firmly refused.

"Don't look at me." Beyoni waved his hands. "You should know that I'm not good at solo battles."

"I…" Viru hesitated a little. After the thrashing Han Xiao had given him, he was no longer that passionate about such matters and ended up shaking his head. "I won't go up either."

"Black Star, are you interested?" Maximiler looked over.

"I never fight unnecessary fights." Han Xiao waved his hands in refusal. He did not have any intention of bullying a newcomer who should be worth befriending.

Moreover, they were on Planet Crimson Ring, the capital of the dynasty. He had not stationed much machinery there, and any machines that broke would need to be fixed.

By the side, Kohler, who was treated like transparent glass, finally opened his mouth in resignation. "Since none of you are interested, let me do it."

Everyone cast their sight over, with suspicion on their faces.

Without any exaggeration, Kohler was the one recognized as the most noob, even taking Beyoni into account.

"I'm still a Pugilist class that specializes in individual battles. What sort of expressions are you guys showing‽" Kohler was embarrassed and angry.

"We're afraid of you embarrassing us," Lotus Swordsman said straightforwardly.

Taking advantage of the people teasing Kohler, Han Xiao scooted over to Beyoni's side, whispering, "How've you been doing recently?"

"How else can I be doing‽" Beyoni replied in a not-so-polite manner. "Thanks to you, the Modo Civilization is constantly trying to suppress my race. The other day, those idiots even fired a long-range galactic missile toward my Land of the Fire Core, ploughing the entire landscape for me. Are you paying for the damages?"

"Nope, speak to the dynasty for compensation. It was them who allowed me to do so." Han Xiao dryly coughed.

Over the past few years, Lothaire had been making waves within the Modo Civilization, assassinating target after target. He had already thoroughly offended the entire civilization many times over.

Modo naturally vented his anger on Beyoni, who was an ally of the dynasty. In those few years, he had been beaten black and blue, an innocent bystander dragged into the affair.

While Lothaire was cautious in handling matters, it was not as if he experienced no danger. Treading the thin line between life and death had allowed him to grow rapidly. While there was some measure of luck involved, it was not as exaggerated as Feidin and Nero, and more of relying on his own skills to escape the situation.

His Assassin's Society was developing quite well, having already nurtured a group of interstellar killers. On paper, it was a bounty hunter organization within the black market, but in secret, they were Han Xiao's Shadowers.

After chatting for a while, Silver Shadow's aura suddenly drew closer. Everyone instinctively knew that his talk with the Ruler had already ended and put on a serious expression.

Swoosh.

The doors opened, and two people walked in. One of them was Clotti with a passive expression. He walked up until he reached Han Xiao's side, taking a seat at the head.

The other was naturally Silver Shadow. He stood in the middle of the room, surveying the area and the Beyond Grade As present. Finally, his gaze stopped on Han Xiao's avatar.

"You're Silver Shadow from the Sea of Star Spirits?" Viru was the first to open his mouth, pretentiously sneering. "You don't seem to respect us much."

"Why should I respect you?" Silver Shadow indifferently replied.

By the side, Kohler coldly laughed. "How arrogant. A pity, this place is the Crimson Dynasty. The dynasty does not allow such prideful characters to exist."

Hearing this, Han Xiao immediately cast a glance at him.

Why does that sentence sound so familiar?

Silver Shadow turned to Kohler, and after being silent for a while, he finally said, "There's someone like you in the dynasty? I've never heard of you."

Kohler's gaze turned frosty. He was originally only pretending, but having been insulted, the person in question could not suppress his rage.

"Within the Beyond Grade A circle, status and authority are earned by strength. I believe you understand this rule as well." Kohler pushed his hands against his kneecaps, leaning forward. "You've come to the Ruler's side as an ally of the dynasty, but you haven't earned respect among us. Do you dare you spar against me?"

"You? Forget it, you're not my opponent."

Silver Shadow's tone was calm, as though he had just spoken a fact.

Without waiting for Kohler to continue, he turned to look at Han Xiao, leisurely saying, "If I must spar, I will of course choose someone stronger. Black Star, do you have the guts to fight me?"

Han Xiao was stunned in place.

Why did it suddenly become my problem?

I only came here to support you.

The eyes of everyone present lit up, and a look of interest crossed their expressions.

There were people, who after stepping into the Beyond Grade A realm, felt that their strength had no limits and would like to leapfrog to directly challenge those at the peak. This sort of mentality often appeared in the Beyond Grade As, so people did not find Silver Shadow to be weird.

It was just like how a newborn calf might dare to challenge a tiger. The spirit of daring to challenge someone stronger was also a good mentality.

Han Xiao was about to decline, but he discovered a notification on his interface and immediately swallowed his words.

Glancing at the notification, he almost let out a cry.

Silver Shadow had initiated the battle, which directly triggered the mission for battling against the Beyond Grade A. Just as had happened against Heber and Manison, not only was the experience reward good, he even had the chance to draw a skill from the other party.

After so many years of research, Han Xiao was now more aware of the trigger mechanism for such missions. If the other party took the initiative to request a battle, then the rate of the mission appearing was insanely high. Right now, while there were only a few people within this room, they could all be considered big shots within the universe, so there was sufficient influence to activate the mission.

This newcomer is too generous, to actually give me a skill the moment he showed up… Han Xiao could not help shaking his head.

"Alright, no need to be aggressive. I can agree to that."

Silver Shadow nodded before suddenly saying, "Just sparring itself is pointless. Shall we have a bet as well?"

Han Xiao was curious. "What do you want to bet?"

"I wish to borrow the Evolution Cube. If I gain the advantage or even win in this battle, please accede to my request. If I lose, I can fulfil any request you have of me, so long as it does not cross the line."

"Done. It's a small matter." Han Xiao nodded. He did not lose out in any way.

At this moment, the cold-faced Clotti opened his mouth. "Go fight outside the Psionic Seal Ring. Don't fight near the mother planet."

Hearing this, Han Xiao suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart.

You seem to have also said this the previous time, and it was even the exact same wording. You just came here to be a referee, right?

Urranrell stood by the window at the office within Tarunamir Palace. She raised her head to see a group of Beyond Grade As rising like spaceships, disappearing beyond the horizon.

"Ruler, have Black Star and the rest left?"

There were several other upper echelons within that room, consisting mostly of advocates of the Evolution Cube being handed over. Among them was the hawk faction Bekorodi, as well as Ludwell, who previously owed Han Xiao a favor.

Urranrell turned around, indifferently commenting, "Hmm. It seems that Clotti said they went beyond the Psionic Seal Ring to battle."

"That…" Bekorodi mused for a while before saying, "Your Excellency Ruler, what do you think of our plan then?"

Urranrell's brow creased. "Gaud's ability is indeed the first of its kind, but we can't even do anything with our techniques. Are you sure of the success?"

"Right now, no." Bekorodi shook his head. "He only told me that, as long as he reaches the Beyond Grade A level, his Esper ability will allow him to analyze the principle behind the Evolutionary energy. You also know how miraculous the powers of Espers are."

"Beyond Grade A…" Urranrell shook her head. "He thinks that he will reach that realm for sure? Even so, how long does he even need?"

"Not sure. We can only wait."

Hearing this, Urranrell could not help but fall into silence.

Seeing this Bekorodi could not help but push some more. "Your Excellency, this is a good chance. Black Star has already proved that it is nigh impossible for the dynasty to obtain the Evolution Cube from him. We cannot use any domineering methods against him, but if we can dissect and analyze the energy ourselves and replicate it, Black Star will have no excuses. This is not offending him, and he has no grounds to forbid us studying the Evolution Cube, so even if he's dissatisfied, he can't do anything!"

"I know." Urranrell's brows were still furrowed. "But Gaud's request is for him to come into contact with the actual body of the Evolution Cube. If his goal is discovered by Black Star, this may anger him."

"This is a small risk, but we're not trying to snatch the cube, so it isn't so serious. Furthermore, Gaud has always been someone our dynasty supports, so it is natural that we provide him the quota for the Evolution Cube."

Urranrell was still hesitant. The Evolution Cube was Black Star's, and the dynasty could not snatch it, but it would be a different matter if they managed to create one themselves.

From a personal viewpoint, Urranrell did not have any problems with Black Star and was even pleased with his performance.

However, as the Ruler, she had to consider the issue from the standpoint of the dynasty. The benefits of the Evolutionary Totems were too great, and they had to be recharged every decade or so. Allowing an 'outsider' to monopolize it was not something the dynasty was comfortable with.

"This is not necessarily to snatch away the interests of Black Star but to prevent the outcome of Black Star losing the Evolution Cube some day. It's better for the dynasty to study the mystery of the Evolution Cube in advance as a backup." Bekorodi struck while the iron was hot.

"He makes sense," Ludwell added.

Speaking of whom, Ludwell had owed Han Xiao a favor, but in previous years, he had taken the initiative to invest within the Shattered Star Ring, suppressing the Limitless Financial Group, which was in a way repaying his favor.

Today, he did not go against Bekorodi but rather supported this plan. It was not because he had issues with Han Xiao, but rather, from a professional viewpoint… the success rate of this proposal seemed quite high.

Urranrell thought for a while longer before sighing and replying, "Bekorodi, Black Star will come over later. You can use your name to invite him to discuss the matter of exchanging the Evolution Cube with something else one last time.

"If he still rejects, then put that plan into motion. Remember, the fewer people who know about this, the better. This is especially so for Black Star. If he finds out, he will definitely think of ways to prevent it."

Hearing this, Bekorodi and the others in the room had expressions of joy and immediately nodded in response.

"Understood."

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Chapter 995 Exchange Three for One?

It did not take long for the whole group of Beyond Grade As to arrive outside the Psionic Seal Ring, and the group chose an uninhabited area for the battlefield.

Han Xiao and Silver Shadow separately from the group, facing each other. The other Beyond Grade As stayed outside the battlefield and chatted animatedly, with Lotus Swordsman even building a mental network for them to communicate.

"To actually choose Black Star as his opponent, I'm not sure how long this Silver Shadow can last." Viru shook his head.

"Even if he beat Kohler, his authority would be second last," Lotus Swordsman indifferently replied. "Instead, he might as well choose Black Star. As long as he can pose problems for Black Star, the effect will definitely be better than fighting Kohler."

Kohler frowned. While this is the truth, can you be less hurtful in your comments my friends!

Ravenlaude pondered, "Silver Shadow seems to have quite a lot of confidence. Maybe he has some special talent."

"I heard he's a pugilist, but he looks more like an Esper."

"I've checked through his history, and his speed is the astonishing factor. I heard that he even has some special flying skills, allowing him to continuously accelerate to warp speed. It seems like he has a void bloodline." Maximiler pointed to Silver Shadow in the distance. "Furthermore, look at his body surface using microscopic vision. The seemingly smooth silver surface is actually covered with extremely small mana circuits, which most likely come from the Beyond Grade A mages of the Sea of Star Spirits."

Hearing this, the Beyond Grade As all adjusted their vision and entered their microscopic view, and they discovered that there was indeed a dense energy circuit covering Silver Shadow, much like a semi-invisible tattoo.

"There are several Beyond Grade A mages residing within the Sea of Star Spirits, but such an insane way of inscribing magic circuits should belong to the [Secret Master] of the Elderly Association. While the Secret Master is one of the controllers of behind the scenes of the galactic black market, he belongs to the neutral faction. Still, his fees are not cheap, so it seems like Silver Shadow must've bled quite badly."

Ravenlaude got unhappy. "What Elderly Association? It's called the Ancient Ones!"

Lotus Swordsman was focused on another point, and she squinted. "He has too many enchantments on his body. To be able to withstand such a load, his fleshly body should be quite strong."

"Oh, this is indeed the case," Beyoni said in resignation. "However, no matter how strong his fleshly body is, can it be stronger than Black Star's?"

"Good point."

With Han Xiao as a shining example, no one was surprised anymore when they saw any meat shields.

"Speaking of which, ever since his battle with the Mechanic Emperor, Black Star has not fought anyone in the past twenty years. After reaching this stage, he most likely won't be able to maintain that startling growth speed." Viru shook his head.

Even Clotti who was usually silent could not help but say, "Upon reaching the limits known to man, climbing further will require one to break through the limits into a whole new path. Throughout history, there were many who tried and failed. It's more difficult than it seems."

As they chatted, Han Xiao and Silver Shadow also began their battle.

The mechanical host carrying avatar floated in the universe with a small mechanical army. Its dark armor flickered constantly with blue and gold Mechanical Force.

He, the mechanic, stood still while the Pugilist Silver Shadow was the one who took the initiative to put some distance between them.

This sort of situation was rarely seen, but everyone shared a glance, their eyes twinkling with laughter. In the entire universe, it was probably only the Mechanic Black Star that no pugilist dared to face head on.

From afar, Silver Shadow circled around Han Xiao, looking for openings and opportunities to attack.

Looking at him making circles around him, with no intention to attack, Han Xiao could not help but open his mouth.

"How long are you going to circle me? Come and attack!"

Silver Shadow did not reply, only continuing to circle around. He gradually accelerated, flying faster as his body began to blur. He was akin to a silver comet, leaving behind a series of silvery afterimages like a flaming tail of a meteor.

Through his Void Vision, Han Xiao could clearly see that the speed of Silver Shadow was not only fast—the space around him had distorted slightly, constantly warping at the rear to form the shape like a tidal wave, which allowed him to ride the waves to provide additional acceleration.

At the same time, there was a familiar Void Energy fluctuation coming out of Silver Shadow, which proved that the other party also possessed some Void Genes.

Han Xiao was quite clear of the general abilities of Silver Shadow. At the Beyond Grade A realm, Silver Shadow had a few obvious characteristics. One of them was speed, or his ability to maintain near warp speed for prolonged distances. At his peak, he could even reach actual warp speed.

The second was that his body was extremely tough and nearly indestructible.

The third was a rare racial talent.

And his fourth was the 'whore' effect.

Silver Shadow did not have a high HP count, but his defense was extremely exaggerated, to the point that even Heber could not compare with him. This was related to his attributes as a living Universal Treasure.

Due to his various special abilities, Silver Shadow's actual combat capability was pushed up to the level of Heber or Viru despite him being a new Beyond Grade A, above the likes of Kohler and Beyoni. He was probably only weaker than Maximiler, Ravenlaude, and Lotus Swordsman, who belonged to the middle ranks, as he had a great shortcoming in his spiritual attributes.

As one of the dynasty's allies with the strongest combat capabilities, Han Xiao carried himself calmly and did not mind allowing Silver Shadow to display all his means. After all, the other party was someone who had a special role. It was worth it to allow the other party to play his own style and obtain more authority to speak within their circle.

It was not that Han Xiao was arrogant, but he knew his baseline. He had already calculated the entire battle scenario time and again in his heart, and the conclusion was set.

Just with his current strength, he had enough ability to control the entire battle situation. He did not need any fancy moves to deal with Silver Shadow, he just needed to F2A[1, and everything would be settled.

With such an overwhelming advantage, how could he lose‽

No matter how flowery the opponent's skills were, a raise of his hand would be enough to annihilate them.

Thus, Han Xiao patiently waited for Silver Shadow to speed up, only occasionally letting his machines shoot from a distance.

Finally, Silver Shadow felt that he was sufficiently warmed up and suddenly turned around, shooting like a beam of light straight toward Han Xiao's mechanical troops.

With permission from Han Xiao, the battle AI Sparta immediately responded, opening the spacetime stabilizer to lock down the area.

With the increase in spatial stability, Silver Shadow's speed was affected as part of his speed came from the distortion and warping of space. Even so, his speed remained quick, to the point that Calamity Grades would not be able to discern where his true body lay, only seeing a silver streak.

Relying on his high speed, Silver Shadow started to clash against the machinery. The psionic cannons' shots mostly went wide, and the few that contacted were stopped at the psionic energy matrix shield that was formed from his silver pugilist flames, unable to penetrate.

After fighting for a while, Silver Shadow turned and rushed toward the psionic shield of the mechanical troops like a silver comet.

Before impacting, the silver comet suddenly changed, splitting up like a cluster warhead and turning into hundreds of tiny silver meteors. They scattered in all directions in an instant, bypassing the limited area of the shield and penetrating the mechanical troops' formation.

Each sub-body was a silvery liquid-like metallic substance, which were reduced versions of Silver Shadow and all part of his body.

This was his racial talent, which was brought about by the mutation within the star nucleus. His body could achieve the effect of splitting itself on a nano level, as well as freely take on all shapes and sizes.

Furthermore, the split selves also possessed a considerable fighting capacity. Because his total overall strength remained unchanged, the combat capability of each smaller self would depend instead on its size. Silver Shadow's Void genes allowed him to use the void dimension to obtain energy to boost each smaller self.

Silver Shadow's Universal Treasure talent brought him insane defense, which would not be differentiated by size. So, even if each smaller self did not possess the same strength as its main self, it was nigh indestructible, which was his advantage.

Because of this special skill, within the suffering Pugilist class, Silver Shadow was akin to a billionaire in a society, not needing to bow to anyone to survive.

A few of the split selves rushed through the mechanical soldiers at great speed, but due to the separation in strength, the attacks were fast but could not pierce through the armor of the mechanical soldiers, only leaving traces on the surface.

The majority of his selves merged together again, turning into a childlike version of Silver Shadow, and went straight to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao's avatar did not move, only releasing a faint blue arc from his eyes. [Virtual Paramount] struck directly into Silver Shadow's soul!

The next moment, Silver Shadow lost control of his body, barreling out of control!

Even his smaller selves lost control and were easily captured.

Han Xiao twisted slightly, avoiding Silver Shadow, and reached out to grab his ankle, pulling him back.

Silver Shadow's weakness was spiritual attacks, but [Virtual Paramount] did not just contain a mental attack but also the difficulty of Virtual Technology. It would take Silver Shadow a long time to escape from the skill normally, not to mention that Han Xiao's virtual technology and level suppression would only increase the difficulty.

Nano-mechanical tentacles extended from behind the avatar, firmly binding Silver Shadow with three layers. At the same time, the tentacles were outfitted with electromagnetic, space and other control devices. Disc-shaped miniature cannons popped out from Han Xiao's shoulders, suspending over Silver Shadow.

From afar, the mechanical army also caught up, turning their weapons toward the restricted Silver Shadow, and released the reverse psionic shield, locking Han Xiao and Silver Shadow within the small confined area. In this manner, even if Silver Shadow wished to rush out, he had to break through the shield in order to gain distance to accelerate.

Silver Shadow finally got out of the shackles from Virtual Paramount and received great mental injuries in doing so, being inflicted with many negative statuses. The moment he regained consciousness, he discovered that he had been fully bound up.

"Do you want to continue?" Han Xiao communicated within the mental network with a jovial tone.

"… This sort of battle can't hurt me." Silver Shadow struggled for a while before realizing that it would be hard to extricate himself. He then decided to pull out his head, separating himself from his body and turning into a miniature version of himself.

"I know, your body is extremely durable, and my troops can barely harm you." Han Xiao nodded and smiled. "However, just this point is not enough to gain the advantage against me… Believe me, I have sufficient experience in this regard."

In fact, he was the natural counter to Silver Shadow. If he had utilized the Spacetime Amber, with Silver Shadow's smaller frame, it would have been easy to encase and seal him within before slowly weakening him. However, this was only his avatar, so the Spacetime Amber was not with him.

Silver Shadow sighed before hiding his arrogance and nodding. "You've won."

He originally wanted to rely on his high speed and the ability to split up his body to gain the upper hand for a while. He had no confidence in being able to defeat Black Star, even if this was just an avatar.

But the offensive that he had been preparing for a long time was dissolved by Han Xiao easily, and he ended up falling straight into the grasps of his opponent. This allowed him to feel the disparity between their abilities.

With more than half of his body currently trapped by Han Xiao, it was pointless to continue fighting. Furthermore, Black Star had given him face and allowed himself to display his strength. Silver Shadow understood that clearly and did not wish to fight for a lost cause. While he wanted a strong opponent, he would not seek ridicule needlessly.

Hearing this, Han Xiao released the restraints, and Silver Shadow regained his original body. Han Xiao laughed. "Now you owe me one."

"What will you have me do?" Silver Shadow asked.

"Er, just remember it for now. I'll look for you when I need your help." Han Xiao thought about it before deciding to shelve the matter.

He actually wished to research Silver Shadow's body, to activate the Universal Treasure hidden attribute, but they did not have that good of a relationship. To suddenly suggest such an absurd thing… this was a dangerous topic for all Beyond Grade As.

So, it was better to cozy up to him first. This was not a one-off matter, so a better relationship would allow him more usages of Silver Shadow if need be.

In the past, Karlot was a good friend of Silver Shadow's, so he was about to enjoy such personalized service free of charge.

Speaking of which, Karlot should have entered the dynasty army right now. While he was still far away from the time he was supposed to take shape, it was unknown if history would change due to Han Xiao's interference.

"Ok, I'll remember it." Silver Shadow nodded.

"If you have time, you can come over to the Shattered Star Ring or Flickering World to look for me. If you have any problems, I can help too." Han Xiao laughed in return.

Silver Shadow nodded quietly, accepting Black Star's friendliness. Black Star sounded like an older brother right now and was just lacking the words 'I'll protect you'.

He felt a little emotional in his heart.

All the other Beyond Grade As were trying to make things difficult for him, but only Black Star was different. This was the attitude that the future pillar of the dynasty should have!

Seeing that the battle had ended, the rest of the Beyond Grade As flew toward them.

The result of the battle was not out of anyone's expectations, but the calmness with which Black Star had handled this battle left everyone sighing in awe. In just twenty years, Black Star's bearing no longer gave one the feeling of a maverick who did not stick to conventional means but rather a straightforward suppression, easily pulling it off.

While they did not cross swords, everyone could judge what would happen to them if they were faced with Silver Shadow's skills. Their conclusion was that while Silver Shadow might be a newcomer, his combat capabilities were good. Even Kohler or Beyoni might not be able to win.

This was especially so for Kohler. He was secretly thankful that Silver Shadow did not accept his invitation to spar, or else it would have been really embarrassing.

However, Black Star could deal with Silver Shadow so easily. It represented the gap between their realms.

Other than Clotti, the respect that the other Beyond Grade As had for Han Xiao deepened.

Upon returning to the spaceship, the group set up to return to Planet Crimson Ring. While Han Xiao chatted with Silver Shadow, he summoned the interface and saw that the mission of fighting against Silver Shadow had already been marked as 'completed'.

However, he did not settle it immediately, instead choosing to wait until he returned. He had to molest Feidin before he drew his reward—this ritual could not be skipped.

Once they returned to Planet Crimson Ring, they exchanged communicator numbers before Silver Shadow bid his farewell, returning to his quarters to rest.

Han Xiao was about to release his Lord's Descent, when a member of the dynasty's army approached him.

"Your Excellency Black Star, Mister Bekorodi requests an audience with you."

"Bekorodi?" Han Xiao knew that this guy was the most important leader of the hawk faction, totally not in line with him. They did not have many dealings, so he curiously asked, "What is he looking for me for?"

"He wishes to discuss with you the problem of the Evolution Cube."

Han Xiao was surprised. Over the past few years, the federation and church did not stop their pressure, which caused many of the dynasty's upper echelons to question the ownership problem of the Evolution Cube. Bekorodi was one of the hardcore supporters of the dynasty owning the cube. That much, Han Xiao knew.

Then, what does he wish to talk to me about?

Han Xiao was a little curious and nodded. "Alright, please lead the way."

"Please follow me."

The dynasty officer guided Han Xiao to a government building, passing through layers of restrictions, before they arrived at a secret conference room.

Han Xiao went in and saw an old yet majestic dynasty official seated at the head. His skin was stretched, the wrinkles deeply carved, and his nose a little big. With his dead-set eyes and mouth, he looked like a stubborn man.

"Nice to meet you, Black Star. I'm Bekorodi. This should not be our first time meeting." Bekorodi squeezed out a small smile.

Han Xiao sat on the other side of the conference table as he replied, "It's the first time we've met in private though."

He had only seen this person during the meeting of the senior officials of the dynasty, but they had not communicated much.

"I'm not a person who likes to talk nonsense, so I'll get straight to the point." Bekorodi supported his hands on the table and spoke in a deep voice. "The dynasty hopes to exchange items for your Evolution Cube. The conditions can be freely raised by you."

Wanting to exchange for my Evolution Cube? Han Xiao's eyes moved.

In fact, such signs had appeared a long time ago, but this was the first time the dynasty had approached him directly.

"This should not be your personal intention, right?" Han Xiao gave a smile that was yet not a smile.

"That's right. I hope you understand. This is no personal grudge, and the reason we did not do so in the past was because the Evolution Cube was not worth much. However, the Evolutionary Civilization blueprints that were in the EsGod's hands use the cube as the core of their technology, so its importance has changed. The dynasty hopes to obtain such a strategic Universal Treasure, but we had not asked you up till now because of the Ruler's support for you."

Han Xiao nodded. This was understandable. As a civilization, there were a lot of points to consider, and they would only be reassured if they could hold the strategic level object in their own embrace.

Not to mention the Crimson Dynasty, be it the federation or the church, as long as the Evolutionary Totem as well as a bunch of related techniques appeared in their hands, they would also make the same choice.

If he was a Beyond Grade A of the civilization, the rest would probably have forced him to give it up directly, rather than talking conditions.

Since he was an external ally, the dynasty could not force him to hand over his items, or it would result in a negative impression.

For the advanced civilizations, a Beyond Grade A was merely used as a tool for war, and the civilization itself was the main character of the universe instead.

However, to a Beyond Grade A, there were few who were actually willing to help a civilization to the end. They were merely exchanging services and benefits.

"Letting me make conditions at will, this is really generous…" Han Xiao smiled. "There should be an upper limit though. How about you make an initial offer?"

"Good." Bekorodi nodded. "The dynasty is willing to use a Universal Treasure to exchange for your Evolution Cube."

Han Xiao shook his head. "You've already said so yourself. The Evolution Cube's meaning has changed. Wouldn't a one to one exchange be detrimental to me?"

"You're mistaken. It's not a one to one." Bekorodi smiled before dropping the bombshell. "Three Universal Treasures in exchange for the Evolution Cube! This is a sincere offer from the dynasty. What do you think about it?"

[1] F2A should be describing a macro bot in Starcraft that was so powerful that all it needed to do was to press F2 (select all armies) and then A (attack) to win any battle.

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Chapter 996 Tricky Question

"Three for one?" Han Xiao jumped in surprise.

It seemed like the dynasty was prepared to bleed. Just by the amount, they indeed were expressing their sincerity.

A Universal Civilization would naturally have the technology to craft Universal Treasures, and with their many years of accumulation, they should have a lot in stock.

Bekorodi tapped on the table, and a screen popped out in front of Han Xiao.

"This is the exchange list provided by the dynasty. You may choose any three of them listed."

Han Xiao glanced at it and immediately knew that the Universal Treasures on the list were not the complete inventory of the dynasty.

Thinking about it, he then opened his mouth to ask, "What if I want other Universal Treasures from the dynasty?"

"If you wish to exchange for those outside the list, then there will not be the privilege of three exchanging for one. Furthermore, there are important assets of the dynasty that cannot be taken out for the exchange. I hope you understand this point. Other than that, if you wish to customize a Universal Treasure, you may suggest it to the dynasty. However, it needs to undergo a review," Bekorodi said.

That's within my expectations… Han Xiao nodded.

Just think about it, the three for one could not be without conditions, and they would definitely not use their own strategic-level Universal Treasures to acquire his Evolution Cube.

Whatever they were willing to exchange was those they opened to everyone, which was also the Universal Treasures not too important to the civilization.

The importance of Universal Treasures was dependent on their specific role. From Han Xiao's perspective, they were akin to magical items, with the top being held by strange, unsolvable mysteries such as the Spacetime Amber. There were also many kinds of man-made Universal Treasures, such as Austin's Palace of Hidden Spells, Beyoni's Land of the Fire Core, or the Arcane Church's Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

The Evolution Cube was the core of the technology from the Evolutionary Civilization, and this technology had since been lost, only leaving behind a series of technological applications.

With the legacy from EsGod being revealed, many advanced civilizations would also have obtained the data, which meant that whoever obtained the Evolution Cube would inherit part of the core technology from a quasi-Universal Civilization, completely exclusive to them. This was naturally of great significance.

Han Xiao pondered while scanning the exchange list again, secretly analyzing the pros and cons.

In his previous life, during the World Tree Civilization war, the three Universal Civilizations took out large stacks of Universal Treasures to equip the Beyond Grade As with, including quite a few Universal Treasures that he had seen on the list today.

Among them, magic and mechanical equipment occupied the most of them, and the majority were meant for individual scale battles, such as armor, melee weapons, or special devices.

A small part of them would be special purpose Universal Treasures, most of which Han Xiao knew about from his previous life. For example, there was an item called the Shadow Lantern, where the wick was made up of the source energy fragment of the shadow dimension, and the 'light' it emitted was pure shadow. It possessed many special effects, with the main effect to open the dimension portal and transform the area into a dangerous dark dimension, changing the existences of everything in the area, as well as inviting shadow creatures from beyond.

Another example would be the Key of Destruction. This was one of the defining technologies of the Crimson Dynasty, which could be mass produced and even used by ordinary citizens. Its effect was to remotely call upon the firepower of the various armies of the dynasty.

However, this required the dynasty army to cooperate. Most of the dynasty's armies were equipped with a Key of Destruction. When activated, a special secondary dimension would be opened, and the armies would launch a cannon salvo, which would be temporarily held in the secondary dimension and transported over to the summoner.

The summoner would then release it to attack at their desired location. The range was extremely wide, enough to clean up everything in the area. However, because it was an indiscriminate attack, it was only used as a last resort.

Compared to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Key of Destruction was not as flexible and was affected by spacetime stabilizing anchors, magic, or Psionic Seal Rings. However, it had its advantages of being portable and high-volume production.

As long as the operating procedures were known, even mortals could use this, but this was not a good that could be sold, and the dynasty would only give this out during special missions.

When caught unaware, even Beyond Grade As could be killed by the volley of firepower. Throughout the exploration era, the dynasty used this technology to kill many of the original pioneers, leaving them without a complete corpse. However, with the development of space technology, the Key of Destruction was now slightly outdated, and everyone knew to guard against this trick of the dynasty's.

In addition, there were also miscellaneous items, such as golden blueprints left by the previous Beyond Grade A mechanics or magic equipment forging diagrams from mages and so on.

The dynasty had a lot stashed away and wanted to exchange their unused stuff for the Evolution Cube.

As for what the dynasty did not study or understand, it would naturally not be included in the list. Han Xiao initially wanted to take advantage of this loophole, but it was a pity that the other party did not give him a chance.

After patiently waiting for a while, Bekorodi asked, "How is it? Have you made your decision?"

"Oh…" Han Xiao breathed out before shaking his head. "This is too sudden, and I've not thought about it properly. I can't give you an answer now. Give me some time to consider."

"That's fine." Bekorodi nodded, and his tone grew a little heavier. "I believe, after serious consideration, you will make the best choice and not disappoint the dynasty's faith in you. I hope you can make your decision before the Flickering World opens."

"We'll see depending on the situation."

Han Xiao nodded before standing up, following the secretary out of the room.

Leaving the government building, he headed toward his small base that was used for storing his machinery while thinking about the pros and cons.

The first would be with regards to the interest. If he handed over the Evolution Cube, he would receive three Universal Treasures. According to the list, he should obtain all combat related Universal Treasures, but there was always the opportunity to acquire another strategic level Universal Treasure instead. Han Xiao had always felt that it was pointless to only have combat-related treasures.

It would be good if they gave them away for free. However, that was just his wishful thinking.

There were also other benefits, namely that the Black Star Army would not have to stand on the cusp of the storm, and Sorokin's Limitless Financial Group would not continue to make trouble for him. There was also no need to worry about any potential attacks from both the federation and the church, which could mean a long period of stable development… given that their previous grudges were not counted.

Han Xiao also assessed the effects of losing the Evolution Cube.

This was a unique strategic-level Universal Treasure, and while it possessed no combat power, its effect could be reflected in all aspects of development for a faction. If this were to be handed over to the dynasty, the Black Star Army would lose its faction's special product, and its attraction to players and other characters would inevitably decline. A good example would be Silver Shadow. The latter would not have been so interested in him if not for the Evolution Cube.

With the Flickering World as a foundation, his interest group derived from the cube at the start had also stabilized, but the business of the Evolution Cube was still an important pillar in the army's finances.

Handing over the cube was tantamount to transferring the frightening profits of the Evolutionary Totem to the dynasty. The expansion and maintenance of the Black Star Army required a huge amount of funds to constantly flow in, and without the transactions of the Evolutionary Totem to support them, the army would shrink and even slow its expansion.

While they had to abide by the covenant and seek the dynasty's permission to use the Evolution Cube, he still possessed its ownership. Once his ownership was lost, the meaning would be different.

This would mean that other organizations would no longer need to cooperate with the Black Star Army, instead directly bypassing them to work with the dynasty. The Black Star Army would be kicked out of this game, which would impact their various businesses. The financial losses were not limited to just the transactions of the Evolutionary Totem.

Moreover, if he wished to use the Evolution Cube in the future, he would have to buy the right with money or contribution points.

At the same time, without the uniqueness of the Evolution Cube, the Black Star Army would also drop in influence. No matter how good his prestige was, he could not provide people with what they wanted.

To sum it up, the growth of the Black Star Army would become several times more difficult if he handed the cube over.

Han Xiao did not know if the dynasty had any hidden intentions to restrict the Black Star Army from growing. Did they feel that it was enough to allow his organization to grow to such a point? By reason, it would not be the case, but the thoughts of those above were always hard to speculate.

The Mechanic Empire was a good example. While the Federation did not regret it, if they had a chance to start over, they might not wish for the Mechanic Emperor to grow to such an extent, making him difficult to control.

But if he were to reject the dynasty's suggestion, there would also be trouble.

From Bekorodi's words, Han Xiao smelled a different meaning within… Was the dynasty eager to obtain the Evolution Cube so that it could sell the totems publicly?

After the Flickering World opened, countless organizations would enter and inevitably cause friction with the dynasty. If they began selling the totems openly, the pressure would decrease, and their control of the Flickering World would become unbreakable.

If that was the case, then rejecting the proposal would mean disrupting the strategic deployment of the dynasty, which was tantamount to him being ignorant of the bigger picture.

Bekorodi had already displayed the 'sincerity' of the dynasty, with polite words, and even shown a sincere attitude. However, in reality, this was merely a facade, and they were forcing him to hand over the cube. If he rejected, the upper echelons of the dynasty would feel that he did not know what was good for him, incurring dissatisfaction.

Han Xiao believed that if we refused to hand the cube over, the dynasty would not give up easily and would likely take some unknown follow-up measures.

It was impossible to steal from an ally, but underhanded moves would be set down one after another.

"What a difficult problem for me…"

Han Xiao sighed, unable to choose.

When the Evolutionary Totem appeared, he knew that the future would be troublesome, but the dynasty had helped him bear the pressure and had lasted for twenty years. Finally, this trouble had still appeared.

"I need to carefully think about this. I'll contact Urranrell in the next few days and find out about her stand."

Not long after Han Xiao left, a figure walked into Bekorodi's conference room. It was Gaud.

After accumulating enough military merits over the years, Gaud had been sent back to the dynasty, formally focusing on his training with the same batch of Calamity Grades with potential.

The birth of a Beyond Grade A was full of uncertain factors. Even a Universal Civilization could not mass produce them, so the basic method was to spread the net as wide as possible and cultivate a large number of Calamity Grades.

Due to the huge talent pool as well as their advanced training methods, the conversion rate would not be null, but their output was also not fixed. It was the method through which Dark Lord Clotti had been trained by the dynasty into a Beyond Grade A.

Gaud was wearing a special dynasty officer uniform but with no rank markings on it. His figure was still skinny, no different from the him over a decade ago.

"You're here, sit." Bekorodi glanced at him before nodding.

Gaud sat at where Han Xiao had originally sat and lightly smiled. "How was the discussion?"

"No idea. It would be good if Black Star agreed. That would save us a lot of trouble."

"With such good conditions, I believe he will not reject it. Black Star is a smart person, and smart people know their circumstances." Gaud smiled.

"It's difficult to say. Based on the character analysis by Heroic Soul, Black Star is a typical profit-seeker. Three to one may not be able to impress him, and the probability of rejection is at sixty-three percent." Bekorodi shook his head. "Let's not mention him. In short, whether he agrees or not, we still need your ability to analyze the principle behind the evolutionary energy."

"Haha, I'm waiting to be sent." Gaud laughed.

"I know that your abilities are unprecedented, but how confident are you that you can use your abilities to analyze the Evolution Cube? Don't wait till the end before telling us it's impossible."

"Right now, there's no chance, but if I reach Beyond Grade A, I would probably have a seventy to eighty percent chance."

"So, when can you reach Beyond Grade A?" Bekorodi asked.

Gaud only smiled.

Seeing this, Bekorodi knew that there was no answer to this question and shook his head. "So long as you know it in your heart, that's fine. If you can unravel the mystery of the Evolution Cube, this would be a great contribution to the dynasty. In addition to your promotion, the Dynasty Ruler will also pay more attention to you."

He firmly supported the Evolution Cube being handed over and could only rely on Sorokin to put pressure on Black Star, but because of the Black Star Army and Germinal Financial Group's cooperation, there were not many results. It was only when Gaud appeared that Bekorodi saw a new hope.

As a direct potential Super cultivated by the dynasty, many factions were attracted to Gaud, but the one he was closest to was Bekorodi's Hawk faction. They had invested in him from an early stage.

After pausing for a while, Bekorodi's words turned sharp.

"Let's set this aside for now and talk about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. This is information revealed by EsGod's legacy, and this mysterious energy is very dangerous. If you cannot become the host, even a Calamity Grade can be annihilated. Isn't your idea too risky?"

"There's no risk."

Bekorodi frowned. "Are you sure that your Esper Ability will allow you to control the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy at the Calamity Grade?"

"It can. Furthermore, this power will allow me to reach Beyond Grade A much faster," Gaud replied.

"Humph, you'd better be right," Bekorodi said in a deep tone. "Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was from EsGod's legacy, but it did not fall into the hands of the dynasty. The fact that you obtained it from other sources and handed it to us is good. When the time comes, if there are any other organizations that want to fight for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the dynasty will also interfere. I've already submitted your application, and the whether the dynasty will allow you to use the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in the end is up to them."

"That's right." Gaud laughed.

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Chapter 997 A Simpleton"s Killing Move

After releasing his doppelganger, Han Xiao's consciousness returned to his main body, and the scene in front of him changed back to the room where his Divine Mechanical Throne was located in Black Star Palace within the Flickering World.He took off the Evolution Cube that he wore around his neck, looking carefully at it. The small silver square reflected the gleam of light.

"It's been twenty years since I got you from Psyker's hands…"

Han Xiao touched the cube, and from the icy cold touch, a sense of intimacy rose from his heart.

According to the incomplete legacy of the Evolutionary Civilization, Han Xiao had long resonated with the Evolution Cube, forming a soul connection.

If he passed this over to the Dynasty, he also did not know if the dynasty would request for him to cut off his soul connection, letting someone else like Dark Lord Clotti form a connection.

Shaking his head, he buried this thought before putting the Evolution Cube back around his neck. He left the room to find Feidin.

From the surveillance shown by Phillip, Han Xiao found Feidin as well as the other older officers in the recreation area. He took a floating vehicle, arriving outside the Black Star Guards' exclusive recreation room.

As he walked in, he could hear Hadavy's delighted voice.

"… I can feel it. A few days ago, my Esper Ability rose a bit once again. There have been some minute genetic changes in me, and I feel that a small corner of the door to Beyond Grade A has opened."

Aurora turned to look at Feidin. "How many times has he said this?"

Feidin laughed. "About two hundred and thirty-three times."

"That's right. Every day, you talk about how you're about to reach the Beyond Grade A realm, but it's been a decade, and there's still no change," Aurora added.

"You may not believe me, but every time I finish sparring with the Army Commander's Apostle Weapons, I show some improvement, even if it's only a small bit." Hadavy snorted.

"Spar? More like being beaten up." Feidin waved his hands in dismissal.

"So what if it's being beaten up? My Esper Ability is like that." Hadavy was not angry. "At least I can now last longer than all of you. After all, I can be considered Black Star's trump card."

Now that he was already a peak Calamity Grade Super, only the powerful attacks of a Beyond Grade A could stimulate his cells to improve further.

After the first of his Apostle Weapons, Psionic Prime, was born, Han Xiao had handed the task of beating up Hadavy to his Apostle Weapons. With the improvement in his abilities, the combat prowess of the Apostle Weapons naturally increased. Since they were able to fight against Beyond Grade A Supers, they could naturally thrash Calamity Grades. Thus, Hadavy would always run over to them to seek abuse.

Because of his superior defense, he could remain in the hands of the Apostle Weapons for a long time, surpassing other guards. After receiving more than twenty years of beatings, Hadavy had been steadily progressing, and his combat power had significantly improved. As a Beyond Grade A seed, he had always boasted about being the top warrior in the army.

This moment, everyone heard footsteps and turned around to see Han Xiao walking in. They all stood up in respect.

"Sit, I just came over for a look." Han Xiao waved his hands before walking over to Feidin, his hand grasping his shoulder.

"Again‽" Feidin spoke in resignation, only using his hand to hit Han Xiao's chest as a token of resistance.

After so many years, he had already gotten used to it. The friendship of men was simple—the more they touched each other, the better their relationship would get.

With the rise of Black Star's prestige, there were more and more officers who felt cautious about Han Xiao. In the army, only a few old friends, including Feidin, could be so casual in front him.

After Han Xiao was satisfied that he had gotten enough luck, he turned around to look at Aurora before asking, "How's the accumulation of life energy?"

Aurora smiled, and the entire room seemed to be wrapped with sunshine. "It's quite huge, and I can feel that as long as I train for another half a year, I'll step into the Calamity Grade."

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao nodded.

Aurora's Esper Ability was that of life, and thus, her life energy was increasing every moment, resulting in the transformation of her body. Not only would her physical fitness become better, her genes would also naturally optimize, and she would maintain her youth forever.

At Grade B, her abilities were upgraded in a different manner. It was difficult for her to train her life energy; she had to wait until the total amount reached the standards of the next level.

This approach had its advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage was that progress would be slow. Every day, only a certain amount of life energy would be generated based on one's level. Because Aurora had created many life potions, her life energy had not yet reached the Calamity Grade, so she rarely did so anymore.

But the benefit in this approach was that there was almost no bottleneck for her in the long term. As long as her life energy reached a certain standard, she could advance, which meant that it was only a matter of time for her to advance to Beyond Grade A, but it might take hundreds or even thousands of years.

Speaking of which, Hila functioned through grabbing the life energy of others to strengthen herself, while Aurora shared her life energy with others and slowed down her own growth rate. Both their abilities and advancement modes were diametrically opposite.

"That's right, uncle, when will my sister return?" Aurora could not help but ask that.

"I don't know." Han Xiao shook his head. "A few days ago, I sent out news to them, but they didn't reply, nor did they pick up my call. They might have run off to some dangerous place where there's no signal."

"Sigh, it's been so many years. I miss my sister." Aurora scrunched up her face, looking a little depressed.

"Me too." Han Xiao nodded.

"Me three." Hadavy added on.

The duo immediately glared at him, with an expression of 'what has it got to do with you' on their faces.

Hadavy crossed his hands and coldly snorted. "She left twenty years ago and is still hogging the title of Captain. Feidin is only a stand-in, and I'm still the deputy, without being able to challenge her position."

"Oh, it's like that." Aurora sighed in relief, patting her bouncy chest. "I thought you had something for my sister."

"Your sister is so aloof. How could I like her…" Noticing Han Xiao's gaze, Hadavy trailed off and coughed, mumbling in a small voice, "And how could I dare?"

When he first joined under Black Star, Hadavy did not have many qualifications, so he was willing to serve under Hila as a deputy despite being a Beyond Grade A seed.

However, so many years had passed, and Hadavy was considered an old-timer now. His capabilities had improved, and he had influence and qualifications. Furthermore, Hila had been gone for twenty years straight, so he felt that he had the right not to be under any other Calamity Grades. He wished to have a higher position, becoming the captain of the Black Star Guards.

This was also good for his reputation in the universe. The title of 'Captain of the Black Star Guards' was just like the Chief Vanguard Official for Bloodshed Land, and there was a bonus in terms of influence. Hadavy was someone who sought authority and strength, so he considered this as well.

"Alright, when Hila returns, as long as you can defeat her, you'll be the new captain." Han Xiao laughed.

"Ok, you've said it." Hadavy perked out.

After some idle conversation, Han Xiao left the room. As he walked down the corridor, he opened his interface and selected Silver Shadow's Beyond Grade A mission.

Mission: Silver Shadow is complete!

You have completed all the mission requirements and received 24,500,000,000 Experience.

You have received: Character Summon Card – Silver Shadow

Character Summon Card – Silver Shadow: [Comet Rush]. For a short time, 15% DEX, 45% Move Speed, and 300% Acceleration. Upper cap for move speed is removed, and one can accelerate endlessly. Lasts for 12 seconds. Number of times used: 0/4

You have received a reward: Draw one of Silver Shadow's skills (Ability/Talent)

Tip: Silver Shadow is a Pugilist, so some of the abilities and talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. Charge—Endless Potential – Ability: Your next melee attack will grant additional damage based on the sprint distance. The greater the distance, the higher the damage. There is no upper limit, but at the same time, your body will suffer from the recoil, being damaged for 70% of the total damage inflicted on the other party. Consumes 200 Energy and 3,000 Stamina. Cooldown: 240s. Remark: To strike the enemy, or to strike yourself, that is the problem.

2. Dark Energy Extraction – Ability: You can draw upon the Dark energy within the universe, recovering 15% – 25% of your Energy each time. Consumes 800 Stamina. Cooldown: 24s.

3. Nuclear Force—Structure Reinforcement – Talent: Your cells will undergo particle structure reinforcement, gaining 12% immunity to all physical damage. You are immune to True Damage, Armor Piercing, Shock, and other special attacks (non-immunity, converted to normal damage).

4. Self-Refresh – Ability: Remove all negative status affecting you (does not work on [Silenced] and [Energy Locked] states). Consumes 300 Energy. Cooldown 420s.

5. Repeated Critical Strike – Ability: Passive skill. When you accelerate, your body's melee Crit Rate and Crit Damage multipliers will rise, providing up to a maximum of 80% Crit Rate and 375% Crit Damage. The effect is constant when you maintain your speed. When speed is reduced and peak speed is not restored within 2.5s, the effect will begin to irreversibly decline after 8s and return to zero in 4s. A cooldown of 120s will be applied the moment it hits zero. Remark: Life is like exercising. Start running, don't stop!

"The quality this time is quite good." Han Xiao was satisfied.

There was even a Molding Talent, and the other skills were all good. Apart from his 'touched' luck, the main reason was that the average quality of Silver Shadow's skills was high.

Taking a closer look, Han Xiao first ruled out [Dark Energy Extraction]. The Pugilists required a lot of energy, but he had a more efficient manner of gaining energy through being beaten.

Generally speaking, Han Xiao would want to choose Molding Talents where possible, but [Nuclear Force—Structure Reinforcement] only provided damage immunity, which would duplicate the ability given by the Germinal Organization Leader.

As for the twelve percent of Absolute Physical Resistance and immunity to shock, armor piercing, and so on, it was a good effect, but the cost to performance ratio was not good.

Since Han Xiao was already tanky, the defense improvement would be weak. Furthermore, he had trampled upon little Ty-Ty the last time and obtained his [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction, which was enough.

After thinking for a bit, he finally made a choice.

You have acquired the skill: Charge—Endless Potential!

"This suits me better."

While [Repeated Critical Strike] was good, it was limited to only one's melee Crit Rate and had to be triggered by speed. This was suitable for Silver Shadow's combat style but not too much for Han Xiao.

In contrast, [Charge—Endless potential] was very fierce. It provided unlimited additional damage according to sprint distance, but one had to bear seventy percent of the damage inflicted. It had great power and side effects.

This was a move that would result in a pyrrhic victory where no one would benefit.

However, the Great Mechanic Han was a unique character unseen in this world!

With his ability to recover energy from taking damage and use the energy to recover his HP, not only was his skull thick, he was not afraid of recoil damage.

Furthermore, he was a Mechanic, and he need not even go personally to battle. Just by having one of his avatars rush forward to hit them, all danger was gone. This was even more suited for him than Silver Shadow!

"What a reliable ability. I finally got my hands on a fierce attacking skill. Silver Shadow is really generous, to give me such a good welcome gift."

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

This brother is interesting. I'll have to look after him more in the future.

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Chapter 998 Storm Rises and Falls

"My current combat style is perfect, not only tanky but with powerful burst strength and lots of crowd control skills. The size of my mechanical army is huge, and it can carry out tactical cooperation with hundreds of thousands of troops. There are also high levelled machines such as the mechanical host as well as Apostle Weapons, and my mental resistance is also high. I have Virtual Paramount as a spiritual attack, and my void bloodline also gives me unique skills…"

Analyzing his current cards, Han Xiao felt that he was getting quite overpowered, having developed a comprehensive spiritual and physical enhancement.

Among the five big Super systems, the Espers had the highest battle power in the beginning, but in the endgame, the Mechanics and Mages would shine. Compared to the other three systems, Mechanics and Mages utilized knowledge as the source of their power and had very comprehensive abilities, leaving few shortcomings. For Mechanics, their low HP and mental resistance would be considered their more prominent weaknesses.

However, in Han Xiao's dictionary, there was no 'Low HP' or 'Weak Mental Resistance'. Having compensated for them, there were no weaknesses, and he was basically an all-rounder.

But now, he had the skill [Charge—Endless potential]. This sort of super high-explosive single target skill would make the fighting method more perfect because when they were fighting, Han Xiao's main body or his avatar would usually be roaming around and would not immediately step forward to engage in a melee entanglement. With his potential accumulation skill, the distance he travelled could be converted into damage, which gave him more strategic options.

He gleefully admired this ability for a while longer before turning off the interface.

Returning to his room, he suppressed his joy, taking out his communicator. After a few deep breaths, he dialed the private line of the Dynasty Ruler to find out her stand.

After a few rings, Urranrell's delicate face appeared on the screen. It seemed that she had expected Han Xiao to contact her.

"Black Star, you're here."

"Your Excellency Ruler." Han Xiao went straight to the point. "Do you know about Bekorodi's matter?"

"Hmm." Urranrell nodded.

Glancing at her calm expression, Han Xiao confirmed his suspicion that the dynasty's decision makers wanted him to turn the cube in, and even the Ruler was standing on their side.

Han Xiao paused for a moment before saying, "Do you have any suggestions?"

"I also hope that you can hand over the Evolution Cube. This concerns an important strategy of the Dynasty."

"Is the important strategy to sell the totems publicly? If I pass over the cube to you, what I'm losing is a huge amount of profit." Han Xiao tested the waters.

Urranrell shook her head, slowly explaining, "The dynasty has no intention at the moment to sell the totems to the public. This decision was based on our consideration of risk. For you, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The federation and church are increasing their pressure, and while the dynasty is holding the majority back, as long as you hold onto the Evolution Cube, it's hard to guarantee that they will not take the risk again to launch a new sneak attack.

"I believe that you understand this too. In your hands, the Evolution Cube is a hot potato. Dealing with you is much easier than forcing the dynasty to compromise. If the cube is handed over to the dynasty for custody, the enemy will face no chance."

"You seem to have very little confidence in me." Han Xiao raised a brow. "I thought you were always optimistic about me."

"I indeed am optimistic about your future, but you're still one person," Urranrell replied. "After their last lesson, if the federation and church act, they will definitely bring out the likes of Manison and Kasuyi, peak Beyond Grade As. As of now, you're still not an opponent for the Mechanic Emperor himself, and if the other peak Beyond Grade As are added, the risk is too big."

"This makes sense, but since they chose not to act over the past few years, it's hard to say so in the future too." Han Xiao was still undecided.

"The situation is now different. Beyond Grade As are generally distributed in different Star Fields, so when mobilized, we can receive warnings and prepare in advance. However, when the Flickering World opens, it will be an excellent opportunity for the federation and the church. The entire universe's Beyond Grade As will rush to the Shattered Star Ring, and with so many people gathering, it will be easy to gather high levelled combatants to quickly attack your base camp. Because they have a legitimate reason to gather them, it will be difficult for us to be on guard."

Han Xiao stroked his chin. Indeed, due to the news of the Flickering World about to open, all sorts of organizations had begun to gather within the Shattered Star Ring. This naturally included many Beyond Grade As from the other Star Fields.

In the past, all these Beyond Grade As were distributed in various Star Fields, so it was difficult to gather them to deal with him. However, with the opportunity, the situation would naturally turn more dangerous.

It could be foreseen that during this period, the originally chaotic Shattered Star Ring would become much worse. Whether or not he as the local tyrant could withdraw the chaos, it was really hard to say.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not speak, Urranrell continued in her attempts to persuade him. "Black Star, although the future profit of the Evolution Cube is huge and it is disadvantageous to trade it, it's still better than losing it."

"Let me think about this." Han Xiao nodded. For the time being, he decided not to burn all his bridges.

"There's no need to give me an answer soon." Urranrell suddenly changed the topic. "I have something I need you to do as well."

"What?"

"Right now, the dynasty is building an Inter-Star Field Stargate to link the Shattered Star Ring and the Flickering World. Before we officially open it, a large number of organizations within the entire universe will flock over, which will impact this Star Field. I need you to maintain law and order, suppressing all foreign organizations and Beyond Grade A to prevent chaos."

Han Xiao was quite interested in this. "But I remember that the Shattered Star Ring belongs to the federation in name."

"That's right. However, our dynasty is stronger in the region, and maintaining stability is beneficial to us. I don't want any incidents to happen and affect the opening of the Flickering World."

"You could actually speak to Heber for this."

"The Tyrant doesn't have your prestige, and only you have the qualification to suppress all the incoming Beyond Grade As."

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but laugh.

To think that the dynasty Ruler, who sat above all others, would be so well versed at bootlicking.

His interface released a notification, which was displayed as an additional faction mission regarding the Main Storyline of the Flickering World arc. The requirement was to maintain the stability of the Shattered Star Ring before the opening, and the reward was quite satisfactory, giving him experience, contribution points, Enas, and resources from the dynasty.

"Alright, I'll take helm in the Shattered Star Ring, and I hope that the other Beyond Grade As will show me some face."

Even without the mission, he would still do the same. The Shattered Star Ring was where his army was currently camped, and stabilizing his backyard was compulsory. He would not allow any outsiders to run rampant in his leek field.

This was especially so for those newly minted Beyond Grade As. During this time, they would need to perform great deeds that would cement their influence and prestige.

After hanging up, Han Xiao breathed out and activated [Lord's Descent, sending his consciousness to his machinery civilization's planet.

Since he was going back to hold the fort, the troops remaining in his headquarters were not enough, and a new wave of reinforcements was needed.

It was just nice that the machinery civilization had already developed for over twenty years stably and was walking on the correct track. He was going to pull the group of Apostle Weapons back.

The scene in front of his eyes changed again, and he was now inside a mechanical palace, with the mechanical host sitting on the throne of the palace.

Han Xiao had left a mechanical host in the machinery civilization to facilitate himself coming over to take a look now and then. Thus, Psionic Prime and the rest had built a palace hall that resembled a Sky Reaching Pagoda, tens of thousands meters in height, and had enshrined his mechanical host within.

Manipulating his avatar, Han Xiao walked out of the palace and stood there overlooking the entire planet. He saw an endless line-up of mechanical cities, and countless mechanical life forms were flying in the sky.

This was the main planet of the machinery civilization, Planet Apostle, which was much better than a decade ago.

After more than twenty years of constant development, the machinery civilization had completely transformed this planet, building countless facilities on the surface and underground. With their strong productivity, they had even started to develop the planets nearby.

At the same time, like tree branches growing leaves, their population swelled up. This would be the future source of Han Xiao's mechanical army.

Speaking from the scale of a civilization's progress, the machinery civilization's speed of development was akin to travelling using a hyperdrive spaceship. However, compared with the Black Spirit Race, the latter's development was not slow either.

After years of study, batch after batch of scholars and researchers had appeared within the Black Spirit Race, and they had begun to integrate the knowledge from various fields taught by the army. Due to the special characteristics of the Black Spirit Race, once someone had learned a piece of knowledge, they could quickly spread it out.

With the resources and equipment generously provided by the army, the Black Spirit Race did not need to accumulate their production efficiency and could directly apply any acquired knowledge. Thus, in just two decades, they had directly entered the electrical age from the tribal age, completing a triple jump. The horrifying talent of the race had begun to emerge.

In his view, if the Black Spirit Race had started at the same point together with the federation and the church, it might have been the fourth Universal Civilization.

The talents of the Black Spirit Race were almost entirely focused on learning and education. To slightly exaggerate, this was a race that was qualified to use the prosperous saying of 'everyone can be a dragon'.

As for the Kunde Race, they were still undergoing their cultural transformation, but Han Xiao had also allowed people to give them something good.

At this moment, the inner circle of the Kunde Race had already shown signs of people worshipping the Machinery Faith. Although their tragic battle a decade ago had left behind some wounds and they had not fully converted to this religion, the roots had already taken hold.

As Han Xiao gazed around the planet, in a short time, more than ten black dots appeared from afar, heading over.

Behind those black dots, which were his Apostle Weapons, there was a huge mountain-like shadow slowly approaching. This was the Giant King Kong, famous for his size, and his height was exactly parallel to the gate of the Sky Reaching Pagoda where Han Xiao was located.

"We greet our Lord."

Psionic Prime led the Apostle Weapons and flew into the gate, stopping in front of Han Xiao and saluting.

In the recent years, Han Xiao had utilized all his Apostle Weapon slots, expanding the team. Because of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] as well as a series of talents and abilities that increase the upper limit of his skills, his Apostle Weapons numbered more than twelve now.

Gazing at them, he discovered that the Apostle Weapons now had better weapons and armor than they had twenty years ago. At the same time, their source energy had also grown.

All Mechanical life forms could grow as they could upgrade themselves. This was especially so for the first generation of mechanical life forms, which contained the purest Mechanical Life Tinder.

"Psionic Prime, Silver Flash, Mad Sky Hunter, Scarlet Flame, Gold Sovereign, Formless Ghost, Heaven-Suppressing Banner, and Purple Sky Spirit… Bring your troops with you and return to the headquarters in the Shattered Star Ring. I might require you guys to fight." Han Xiao passed down the command.

"Understood," Psionic Prime responded. To him, Han Xiao's words were akin to divine doctrine.

At a stargate border of the Shattered Star Ring, a fleet with the symbol of the Arcane Church slowly exited the stargate.

Nowadays, Beyond Grade As everywhere were flocking to the Shattered Star Ring. This fleet was dedicated to escorting a new Beyond Grade A who had joined the Arcane Church a few years prior.

'Red Devil' Tolaen, once a wanted criminal from Silver Arm, had reached the Beyond Grade A a few years back. He was then recruited by the Arcane Church, and his previous deeds were wiped clean. With the support of the Arcane Church, his Silver Arm had a place in the universe.

In the conference room of the flagship, a portion of the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were within the room, but only Tolaen was there with his main body.

"Haha, it seems like I'm the first to arrive. When will you all get here?" Tolaen laughed.

"Soon. You and Psyker had better wait there quietly for us." Sun Hunter had a small stature, but his voice was mighty like a booming cannon.

"Hmm, what's the use in just waiting?" Tolaen's eyes gleamed. "Since there's nothing to do, I'll find someone to spar."

He had just entered the Beyond Grade A realm not too long ago. As a newcomer, he did not have any outstanding battle records, so upon reaching the Shattered Star Ring, he felt the urge to prove himself.

"Don't try to do anything funny in the Shattered Star Ring," Kasuyi coldly interjected, his voice wispy. "It's his territory. Show him some face."

The Shattered Star Ring of the past only had Heber, Austin, Ames, and Psyker, which made it a remote and weak place, not enough for a peak Beyond Grade A like Kasuyi to notice.

But things were different now. With Black Star rising vigorously, he had become the representative of the Shattered Star Ring, holding the fort in the name of the dynasty.

There was a certain level of prestige given toward a peak Beyond Grade A, and the other Beyond Grade As were willing to show Black Star some face and behave themselves in the Shattered Star Ring. Even as fellow peak Beyond Grade As, none of them wanted to rile Black Star up for nothing.

The moment Black Star was mentioned, a few of the Beyond Grade As present showed uneasy expressions. They were the participants of the Planet Lighthouse battle and had eaten a loss when facing Han Xiao.

The feeling of being trapped in Spacetime Amber was not a good one. That was especially so for Dylan, who let out an involuntary shudder upon hearing Han Xiao's name.

"Haha, you've only been defeated once, but you're already afraid to this point? Your Excellency Kasuyi, it can't be that even you are afraid of him, can it?"

Tolaen knew about this matter and could not help but laugh sarcastically. As a wanted criminal in the past, he was not someone to lie low.

As soon as this remark came out, quite a number of Beyond Grade As looked a little embarrassed, coldly snorting.

"I'm not afraid of him," Kasuyi calmly stated. "But now isn't the time for us to fight. I advise you not to provoke him."

"I'm not that foolish." Tolaen waved his hands. "Relax, I'm not so arrogant as to choose Black Star as the target."

"Then, who do you want to spar with?"

"Heh, I can't defeat Black Star, and Heber belongs to the Dynasty, which is also troublesome to provoke. Psyker is weak, but he's still one of us, so that only leaves the other two."

Tolaen's eyes flashed in excitement.

"Austin always hides in his Palace of Hidden Spells, and I should not be able to defeat him, but as for Ames… Hehe, she should be easy to deal with. I'll use her as my stepping stone and let her become my Beyond Grade A battle record!"

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Chapter 999 Return, Accepting the Battle

A small spaceship was flying through the universe at warp speed, resembling a gleam of white light against the dark backdrop.

The spaceship was on autopilot, with only two people in the cabin. They were Ames and Hila.

Hila sat in a precarious position, her eyes closed and her hands flat on her knees. Her fingers were continuously moving as she controlled wisps of death energy to flexibly swim between her fingers, training her control over her power.

Opposite her, Ames reclined on the sofa with a hand on her head and the other on her waist.

Watching the death energy move, Ames could not help but sigh. "You're really working yourself to the bone. Even at the Beyond Grade A realm, you're continuously training."

Hila opened her eyes, her tone indifferent. "Beyond Grade A is not the endpoint, and there's no limit to my path ahead of me. I cannot be satisfied with just this."

"I feel that you should still rest a little though. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Ames shook her head in resignation. She was very satisfied with this disciple of hers, but her desire to grow stronger was so intense that it made her, as the teacher, seem like a lazy bum.

"I'll always have time to rest in the future." Hila shook her head. "When I return, I will definitely spar with Han Xiao once and test out my current strength. Thus, I cannot rest now. However little I can improve, it's better than nothing."

"Relax, based on what I know of Black Star, he will definitely not let you lose too badly and damage your self confidence." Ames laughed. With a flick of her finger, she opened the star map. "We only need two more days to arrive at the Inter-Star Field Stargate of the Ancient Star Desert, then we'll arrive directly at the Constellation Corridor. We can use Black Star's identity to borrow the dynasty's channels, which will save us a lot of time…"

Before she could finish her words, the communicator beside her started to ring.

"It's Black… eh? It's actually old man Aesop." Ames was surprised after giving it a look. She originally thought that it was one of Han Xiao's desperate serial calls, but it turned out that it was her teacher on the line.

Sitting up, Ames activated her force field to bring her communicator over before answering, and Aesop's face appeared.

"What do you want?"

"Where are you guys now? When are you returning to Floating Dragon?" Aesop asked.

"We're still at the Ancient Star Desert, almost reaching the stargate."

"You should still make it on time." Aesop relaxed. "Try to hurry. I've foreseen that, in a while, the new Beyond Grade A of the Arcane Church will come over to challenge you, and you need to step forward."

This was really insane. Tolaen only had the thought, and Aesop had already sensed the changes in the world. The powerful ability of this old man surfaced once again.

A flicker passed through Ames eyes, and she laughed harshly. "A new Beyond Grade A challenging me? I know, that person is probably looking to gain a battle record. Hehe, to pick me when there's five of us within the Shattered Star Ring, does he think I'm that easy to bully?"

While Floating Dragon was stationed by Planet Aquamarine, allowing the Black Star Army to aid them, this was a battle between Beyond Grade As. Since the other party was targeting Floating Dragon, the Black Star Army had to receive the permission of Ames before they could help. But such a small matter could be settled on her own, and she did not intend for Black Star to step in.

After hanging up, Ames found Hila staring at her.

Ames looked at her and immediately understood what she wanted. "What, are you interested?"

"You're my teacher, so this time, let me help." Hila nodded, and a cold gaze flashed across her eyes.

She had originally intended to directly head toward the army to give Han Xiao the good news after arriving at Shattered Star Ring, but with such a situation, she changed her mind.

The other party was also a new Beyond Grade A, and such an opponent was not commonly found.

It was a good time for her to test out how much she had grown.

On one of the islands around Floating Dragon, a group of newly recruited Supers were practicing in the square, and the current commander of the Floating Dragon Island Field Team, Vilna, was supervising them.

It had been more than twenty years since Floating Dragon Island anchored itself to Planet Aquamarine. The main island continuously expanded, along with its subordinates and troops. While they could not compare to the scale of the Black Star Army or Bloodshed Land, they could be considered a passable Beyond Grade A organization.

Correspondingly, the scale of Floating Dragon's officers also expanded, and the work for everyone was becoming more and more arduous. Vilna had taken over Han Xiao's post and helped manage Floating Dragon to the best of her abilities.

While her temperament was mild, she could be fierce and strict when needed, so this batch of new recruits did not dare slack off, fully engrossing themselves in exercise.

Beep beep!

At this moment, the communicator on Vilna's wrist rang. It was Aesop.

The moment she picked up, Aesop did not even greet her, immediately shooting out commands.

"Gather the fleet and set down a defensive formation."

"So fast‽" Vilna stuttered but did not hesitate, immediately calling out all her subordinates to assemble the fleet.

Ames had specifically instructed earlier on that if she were not present, Aesop would be the highest in command.

Thus, under Vilna's instructions, Floating Dragon's armed forces finished assembling, surrounding Floating Dragon in a tight defensive array.

There were a lot of people thinking that something serious had happened, but after a long while, everything was still calm, with no new orders.

"There's nothing. What are we going to do now?"

"Was it just a drill?"

Just as everyone was getting confused, an abrupt change took place.

Ohm!

All the spaceships within the fleet let out warning alarms as a humongous fleet appeared on their radars, rapidly drawing closer to them!

The next moment, streams of light could be seen from the distance, and an armed fleet appeared on the outer space of Planet Aquamarine, each marked with the insignia of the Arcane Church.

"Arcane Church‽"

Vilna's expression changed as she jumped.

Her reaction was mild, as the other Floating Dragon members were showing even more exaggerated reactions. All of them panicked, as though facing their mortal enemy.

Floating Dragon was different from the other organizations like Black Star Army, which regularly had dealings in the universe. Thus, seeing such a scene would easily ruffle them.

However, it was not just Floating Dragon. Even the observatory post on Planet Aquamarine was also alarmed!

The observers scrambled to send the news back to their headquarters, and this information was quickly uploaded, skipping through all the layers of authority, directly to the decision makers where Bennett was.

"The Arcane Church have come?"

In the administration building at Planet Aquamarine, Bennett also received a shock.

As the leader of a civilization protected by the Peace Treaty, the Black Star Army, the Crimson Dynasty, and Floating Dragon Island, he was not afraid that the Arcane Church had any malicious intentions. However, such an abrupt visit left him with a bitter taste in the mouth, and the lack of a diplomatic etiquette showed that the other party did not have any good intentions.

Thinking about this, Bennett immediately sent an order.

"Invite Black Star's avatar!"

His voice had just sounded, and he found out two figures had suddenly accelerated quickly toward the sky. Raising his head, he saw Nero and Mia shooting up toward the sky, taking the first step to check on the situation.

At the same time, Tolaen was staring down at the defensive troops from his main flagship, pouting.

"Sigh, I thought I could scare them a little and look at them scramble and panic… but they seem to have already known that I would come. Was the stealth function rendered invalid, or is it the legendary Aesop's ability?"

Shaking his head, Tolaen did not bother to think so much. This sudden appearance was just a passing evil thought of his. After all, he still had to publicly declare his challenge.

Turning to the commander, he said, "Send out the broadcast; announce my intention."

The commander nodded before moving on to carry out the tasks.

The arrival of the Arcane Church's fleet was imposing, causing both Planet Aquamarine and Floating Dragon to be on alert. After some negotiations, both sides reached a consensus, with the Floating Dragon fleet giving way to allow Tolaen to land on Floating Dragon Island with a spaceship.

Hu!

The spaceship landed on the main island, and Tolaen walked out with large strides, setting foot on Floating Dragon Island.

Surrounding him was a group of Floating Dragon Warriors bearing arms, with visibly nervous expressions.

There was no helping it, for he had announced his identity and intentions a moment ago, and without Ames helming Floating Dragon, everyone felt nervous at having to face an unfriendly Beyond Grade A.

Tolaen swept them a glance before coldly saying, "I want to speak to the commanding officer."

The crowd moved, parting to allow Aesop and Jenny to step out.

Jenny was impassive as she said, "I'm the Chief Administrator of Floating Dragon. Her Excellency Dragon Emperor is not here at the moment. You've come at a bad time."

"I don't care if she's present or not. You just have to give me an answer. Does she dare accept my challenge?" Tolaen stood with his arms crossed, revealing a high and might pose.

"I cannot make that decision." Jenny shook her head.

"Then you should just shut up, Baldy. Contact Ames and have her answer me." Tolaen was not polite at all.

He had a different temperament to most Beyond Grade As. While he had been 'reformed', he still carried the air of a wanted criminal, arrogant and brash.

"Bald… Baldy‽"

Jenny froze for a moment before flaring up.

My hairline is just a little high. This lady here is not bald! I have hair!

At that moment, Aesop blandly replied, "I've already contacted Ames. She has indicated that she will accept your battle."

"Oh, you're Aesop?" Tolaen turned to look at him with an interested expression. "I've heard your name, and everyone says you're an immortal species with a good ability. How about it, would you like to work for me?"

"You don't have the qualifications." Aesop slightly smiled. While he was not a Beyond Grade A, his bearing was more regal and dignified than Tolaen.

"Tsk." Tolaen only snorted before ignoring him. He raised his voice. "Since Ames has already agreed, I'll wait here until she arrives… What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to prepare a room for me‽"

At this moment, a few figures flew up from Planet Aquamarine, landing on the main island of Floating Dragon.

Among them were Nero and Mia, and the rest were the machinery troops that Han Xiao had left on Planet Aquamarine, which included a mechanical host carrying his Lord's Avatar.

Seeing that Black Star was there, the soldiers all heaved a sigh of relief.

The prestige that Han Xiao had left behind on Floating Dragon Island had continued to this day. In the eyes of many of Floating Dragon's members, their ally Black Star was sometimes more reliable than their own boss, Dragon Emperor.

Han Xiao's consciousness had already descended as an avatar, and he sized up Tolaen before muttering in a puzzled tone, "What, are you tired of living already?"

He had guessed that the new Beyond Grade As would cause problems, but he did not expect them to jump the gun like this. To run all the way to his mother planet, were they seeking death?

His current identity was different from the past. If one provoked him, he would not mind getting rid of a Beyond Grade A Super from the Arcane Church. Since the dynasty had tasked him with maintaining law and order, nothing set an example like killing another.

"It's you." Tolaen eyed him before lightly saying, "Your Excellency Black Star, I'm not here to go against you. This matter has nothing to do with you."

Oh, what an arrogant attitude. People like you, I've already killed numerous of. Nothing much to add another to the list, Han Xiao thought.

He had read all the material on the new Beyond Grade As that the dynasty had shared with him, and he recognized this guy as 'Red Devil' Tolaen, who had joined the Arcane Church. His strength was ranked around the middle of the Beyond Grade As, but he had a streak of self-confidence, making him think that he was the best. It seemed a miracle he had not gotten beaten to a pulp yet.

There was a wide variety of Beyond Grade A personalities, from those like a big brother such as the Mechanic Emperor or Dark Lord, and there were also old foxes such as Sorokin, lazy people like Ames, and Heber who was prideful. There were also people like him, who could not hide his handsome-ness even though he stayed low…

"Dragon Emperor is my ally. Since she's not here, how about I play a round with you?" Han Xiao tilted his head.

"It's alright." Tolaen raised his hands up, an arrogant expression still on his face as he said, "I can't beat you."

Han Xiao was stunned.

With that expression, I thought you were going to say something insulting!

Could it be that those were the most courageous words you could squeeze out with that expression?

Directly blocking me like such, what a clever little brat you are!

Han Xiao had intended to teach this Tolaen a lesson, but to think that this person had seen through his ruse and 'arrogantly' rejected it.

While Tolaen might appear very impulsive, he knew his limits clearly. He understood that it was not good to provoke Black Star, who was at the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm, so he decided to only challenge Floating Dragon and nobody else.

At this moment, fluctuations could be seen in the space not far away, and the Palace of Hidden Spells jumped out of the void.

Seeing this, Han Xiao froze.

Austin?

Why is it you‽

How are you everywhere‽ You really know how to join in the fun!

However, Austin did not come over to watch a scene this time. After his Palace of Hidden Spells arrived, it created another rift, and a small spaceship flew out, landing on the dock.

Shua!

The door opened, and long, smooth legs appeared. Ames and Hila descended from the spaceship one after another.

Ames smiled and explained, "Just rushing would not have cut it, so I called Austin to help out."

Han Xiao could not help but raise his head, and he saw that at the peak of the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin sat there like a little kid, with two fingers pointing up and twiddling around, making a ridiculous greeting to Han Xiao.

"Show off," Han Xiao grumbled.

After a quick greeting, Ames noticed Tolaen, and a smile appeared on her face.

"So, you wanted to challenge Floating Dragon?"

"Aren't you asking the obvious?" Tolaen snorted.

Ames nodded before taking a step back, allowing Hila by her side to step out as she smiled. " If you wish to spar with me, that's fine, but you've got to win against my student first. She's part of Floating Dragon."

While Han Xiao's avatar was present, Hila had not glanced at Han Xiao once after touching down. Her gaze was fixed on Tolaen with an indifferent expression.

"Her?"

Tolaen was surprised. He looked over her, remembered the previous material he had seen about Black Star Army, and snorted.

"I recognize her. She's an officer under the Black Star Army. Just a mere Calamity Grade, are you sending her to die or to humiliate me?"

However, just as he spoke, the surging death energy burst out from Hila like a tsunami, exploding with intense energy fluctuations rising into the sky!

Boom!

Shockwaves spread, and the land around them cracked.

Everyone steadied themselves in a hurry and refocused their attention on Hila, who was cloaked in death energy. Fright and amazement filled everyone's eyes.

This level of energy fluctuations… belonged to a new Beyond Grade A!

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Chapter 1000 Goddess of Death

"Beyond Grade A‽"

Tolaen's expression warped with horror!

All newly born Beyond Grade As would have their records taken by the advanced civilizations, so he knew of all their abilities and weaknesses. However, Hila was not on the list, and thus, it totally disrupted his momentum!

Hila had just stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm and had only just displayed her skill for the first time in front of people, so no one had any information on her.

But today would be the day the Goddess of Death was truly born!

Nero's figure jerked, and a look of happiness crossed his face.

"Sister Hila has broken into the Beyond Grade A realm!"

While they had not seen each other for years, Nero had always remembered how Hila had shown him grace by giving him the Death Spirit Mark[1]. Seeing that Hila had finally taken that last step, he felt happy for her and could not wait to share the news among the Black Star Army officers.

"She's the Hila that you guys always mention?" Mia asked with a look of excitement while tugging on Nero's sleeves.

Mia had joined the army after Hila left, but she always heard her name coming out from all the important officers, including Nero. In her mind, Hila appeared to be a mysterious character.

This was the so-called 'No longer in the martial world, yet the martial world would ring of one's tales forever'. Today, Mia finally got what she wished for, to see Hila in person. She was indeed as everyone described her.

Looking at the strong aura being released by her body, Mia was instantly won over. It was exactly in line with her imagination of how a strong female warrior should be.

In Han Xiao's past life, Mia had been a follower of Hila's, and now, meeting for the first time, it was just the same as before. She totally worshipped Hila.

Feeling Hila's aura, a sense of relief surfaced in Han Xiao's heart.

Finally, the Goddess of Death that I'm familiar with is back!

She indeed didn't let me down!

Austin also froze for a moment before a genuine smile appeared on his face. He looked as though he was about to watch a good movie.

"The sixth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring? Damn, this is going to be lively…"

While everyone was reeling in shock, Tolaen's expression slowly changed to an ugly look.

The situation was somewhat beyond his expectations. He had thought that his opponent would be Ames, but suddenly, a new Beyond Grade A had popped out.

While Ames was a veteran Beyond Grade A and would be stronger, the material compiled about her had clearly explained her strengths and weaknesses. This was very important, and now that his opponent had been changed to an unknown Beyond Grade A, it was harder for him to deal with it.

He had seen Hila's files before, but that was twenty years ago, and she had even undergone an evolution. It was unknown what new abilities she had developed.

"You…"

"Don't waste my time. Fight or not?" Hila's eyes were shining with an ominous red light, her aura suppressing everything around her.

She ignored everyone else around her and was only focused on her target. She had always been decisive in her matters and never liked to waste time spouting bullsh*t.

"Alright!" Tolaen's personality meant that he would not think too much and quickly agreed.

Both were Beyond Grade As, so whether he won or not, it would still be a battle record for him.

At this moment, Han Xiao, who was standing by the side, indifferently spoke.

"If you want to fight, move further away from Planet Aquamarine. If even a single blade of grass on the planet gets destroyed because of your battle… you can forget about leaving today, Tolaen."

"Humph, I wouldn't dare." Tolaen coldly snorted.

He knew not to lay hands on Han Xiao's mother planet. If not, even if the other party shredded him to pieces, the Arcane Church would not make a sound.

Both sides reached a consensus, and everyone pulled away to a location further from Planet Aquamarine for their battlefield.

There was only Hila and Tolaen on the battlefield. Both faced each other, their auras rising rapidly.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the two, holding their breath and watching the battle.

At the next moment, both of them moved!

Tolaen's body swelled, and muscles bulged out as bone spurs emerged from his skin. A pair of curled devil horns grew on his head, and two pairs of bat wings spread out from behind. His back vertebrate also lengthened and divided into three jagged tails.

His entire being turned into a red creature resembling a demon. His muscles were bulging and knotted, covered with bone spurs. His skin was covered in mysterious lines, and it lent him a cruel visage.

"He's a Pugilist?"

Seeing this, Ames raised her brow.

"Nope, a Mage."

From a side sounded a voice. Han Xiao's avatar had flown over, and he was reading out Tolaen's information.

"He possesses a demon's lineage, and this bloodline got elevated during this sublimation to Beyond Grade A. Just now, he utilized the True Liberation unique to the Demon Race. That red body is his true form and also the origin behind his nickname 'Red Devil'. He's a mage that leans toward transfiguration and melee battles, as his racial talents have brought him extraordinary resistance and extreme regeneration, a relatively rarer breed. His combat style should be a bit similar to Milizaus of the dynasty."

"I see." Ames nodded before turning and lightly smiling as she teased, "Long time no see. Are you still doing well?"

"Very." Han Xiao nodded and joked, "Did you miss me?"

"Why would I?" Ames laughed before turning back to look at the battlefield.

On the battlefield, Tolaen completed his transformation before charging forward aggressively, heading straight for Hila. At the same time, a cluster of dark blue mana poured out of him, turning into spells that buffed his body. He continued to grow, and at the same time, a colorful magic circuit appeared on his skin, raising his attributes.

He did not know what new abilities Hila had obtained, but her core power would not change. Based on the data twenty years ago, Hila was a mid-range combatant, with an Esper Ability that controlled a certain type of energy, so he chose to engage her in close combat.

The Demon Race's True Liberation brought him strong resistance and regeneration, and various magic shields on his skin supported his flesh and muscles. If needed, he could even use it to support a long range spell artillery.

Ames' power was focused around control and restraint, and she did not have high lethality. In his opinion, his combat style would restrain Ames, so his chances of winning would not have been low. Only because of this did Tolaen have the confidence to challenge Ames.

Seeing her opponent rush forward aggressively, Hila did not retreat, instead choosing to advance, wrapping her dark red death energy around her entire body and shooting forward like a comet.

Boom!

The sound of an impact echoed in everybody's heads as they slammed into each other. A dark red shockwave exploded at their point of contact!

Just comparing strength, Tolaen, who was blessed with an amplification spell, had the absolute advantage, directly flinging Hila away.

However, instead of taking the chance to follow up, Tolaen suddenly froze, as though finding something strange.

Hila did not stop, stabilizing her body and shooting out rays of death energy from her finger to overwhelm Tolaen.

"Shield!" Tolaen woke up from his reverie, and his gestures rapidly changed as he covered himself in a mana shield shaped like a tortoise's shell.

The countless death energy arrows hit the shield, collapsing every layer!

Bang bang bang!

Every shot that struck the shield would bring with it a mental shock, which was pressuring to every spectator on the scene. The mental shock did not require a medium and would sound in the minds of everybody near the source.

Hila's death energy was equipped with multiple damage types and contained both physical and mental attributes. At her level, there was even true damage, so it was difficult to defend against.

Tolaen did not take the attacks passively, however. He continued to advance toward Hila while blocking. While Hila was good at mid-range attacks, she did not adopt any hit-and-run tactics but faced him in a frontal battle.

The figures of the two continuously collided with each other, flying out again and again, leaving behind hundreds of afterimages that were hard to tell apart.

Hila was always someone who gave her all in every battle, so the intensity of the battle gradually progressed beyond the scope of a spar.

Han Xiao was paying attention to the battle, but Nero suddenly flew toward him with Mia tagging along and asked with a voice full of concern, "Godfather, Sister Hila doesn't look too good right now, does she?"

"You're thinking too much," Han Xiao said before chuckling.

"Isn't it so? Sister Hila gets sent flying each time. Her melee battle abilities are below her opponent's, but she does not engage in hit-and-run. Isn't that a bit…"

Han Xiao smiled as he shook his head. "Carefully observe Tolaen's body. He's not doing as well as you think."

Hearing this, Nero squinted. The speed of a Beyond Grade A was too fast to see clearly, and it took a while for him to notice the abnormal state of Tolaen.

Dark red death energy was coiled all over his body, full of corrosiveness, just like gangrene. It was constantly eroding his mana but could not be removed.

Han Xiao patted Nero's shoulder as he explained, "The time at which they entered the Beyond Grade A realm only differs by a few years. To a Beyond Grade A, such a short amount of time is negligible in terms of their improvements, so their actual combat ability should be in the same tier… Don't look at me. I'm an exception. And within this tier, Hila's Esper Ability has an absolute advantage."

He was not even the least bit concerned about Hila. Among those spectating, only he knew… just how perversely strong the Beyond Grade A Hila was!

Controlling death itself, this was an Esper Ability that was part of the Super High Risk Esper Abilities!

He knew full well that after arriving at the Beyond Grade A realm, Hila's Esper Ability would undergo a qualitative change.

The intelligence regarding Hila's abilities in his past life was overflowing, and it was all teased out using players who threw their lives away.

Firstly, upon reaching the Beyond Grade A realm, Hila had obtained an exclusive passive ability. Every time her death energy struck her target, a stack of a special status, [Death's Erosion, would be added to them.

[Death's Erosion] had a total of fifteen stacks, and the first stack would reduce all enemy recovery skills by twenty percent and defense by fifteen percent.

Reaching the fifth stack would result in a forty percent decrease in their recovery ability, a twenty-five percent decrease in their defense, and the random elimination of a buff every ten seconds.

The tenth stack would result in a sixty percent decrease in their recovery ability, a thirty-five percent decrease in their defense, a ten percent decrease to all attributes, the random elimination of buffs, and the collapse of their cells, reducing their HP by 0.8% every twenty seconds.

At the fifteenth stack, an eighty percent decrease in their recovery ability, a forty-five percent decrease in their defense, a twenty percent decrease to all attributes, the elimination of all buffs, and a loss of one percent of their HP every twelve seconds.

And when all fifteen stacks were placed, Hila could release a special skill without any prerequisites—she could completely detonate all [Death's Erosion] stacks on the enemy and immediately make a death judgment!

The conditions for death judgment were harsh, and generally, they could not be applied to targets that exceeded their level. However, even if the judgment failed, it would still have an effect where it would directly shave off twenty to thirty percent of the enemy's total HP and reduce their max HP by eight to twelve HP.

After detonation, Hila could immediately apply a new round of [Death's Erosion] after a short cooldown, which was extremely scary.

If the enemy wished to stop the stacking of [Death's Erosion] marks, then they had to disperse the death energy settled in their body. If they did not have similar skills, then they had to rely on their own resistance.

The duration of [Death's Erosion] depended on the resistance of the target. The higher the number of stacks, the longer the retention time would be. The first layer usually lasted for only three seconds, but at the third layer, it would last for eight seconds. Furthermore, forcefully resisting would only allow the layers to drop down one by one instead of them completely disappearing, making it extremely hard to completely get rid of.

In addition to this core skill, Hila's death ability had also obtained the passive property of 'Vampiric', which could turn ten to twenty percent of the damage she dealt to a vital target into her own HP. Group battles against her would be tough, as the more enemies she had, the faster she would regain her HP.

In addition, every time her death energy hit a target, there would be three seconds of aftereffects, which would hit her enemies with fifty to seventy percent of her base damage.

Lastly, after Hila was promoted, she had also developed a special ability that was useless against the players yet lethal threat to any others.

That was to use her death ability to deprive the cell vitality of a living person, reducing their upper limit of cell divisions, causing them to lose their life force!

Because of this ability, the vast majority of Beyond Grade As in the universe treated her like a viper, not willing to fight with her.

If you hit me, I'll lose one second of my life, literally. Who would dare spar with you‽

However, other than Han Xiao, no one in the universe knew of this point.

Even Tolaen, who was sparring against Hila, was clueless.

Boom boom boom!

The fighting was getting more intense, and the surging mana waves and death energy collided again and again, exploding against each other in a burst of energy.

Tolaen might initially just have wanted to spar, but against the strong attacks of Hila, he could no longer keep his aces hidden and continued to raise his strength. Now, the situation was no longer under his control, almost shifting to a life and death battle.

If an onlooker did not know that both of them had met for the first time, they would probably think that the two had some deep hatred, where one could not live if the other was alive.

Crazy woman!

Tolaen was furious, to the point that his attacks got wilder and fiercer.

Even though his magic shield could ward off most attacks, his body would still be occasionally hit. As the [Death's Erosion] stacks grew, he began to discover something weird.

Not only were his recovery abilities restrained, but the effect of the amplification spell applied to him seemed to be getting weaker, and his body seemed to be unable to bear the magic energy used for transformation.

Moreover, since he had stacked up more than ten stacks, he discovered that his cells were continuously being destroyed, his injuries rapidly increasing. He could barely maintain his current state with his suppressed regeneration.

Her Esper Ability is too strong! Tolaen's heart sank.

While he had also dealt Hila some injuries, they seemed to recover in the blink of an eye, and it was him that seemed to be getting worse because of the death energy raging in his body!

This newly emerged Beyond Grade A had such a high combat capability!

In that case…

Tolaen's eyes grew cold, and mana condensed in his hands. This was followed by a mass of blood pouring out of his fingertips, and they mixed, turning into a strange purple blood flame.

By the side, Austin suddenly narrowed his eyes. As a master mage, he recognized the spell.

The Demon Race's unique advanced forbidden technique—Polluted Blood!

"Not good." Austin felt his heart clench.

This was a forbidden technique, and it transformed the blood of demons through a special method to become polluted and full of inferior genes. This would pollute the blood and genes of the other party, causing irreversible damage to them. Its power was not strong, but it was very damaging, a unique method of the Demon Race.

He knew that Tolaen's usage of this technique would not help his battle situation, but it would contaminate Hila's genes instead. His intention was insidious.

Hila also sensed the danger with her instincts, immediately retreating, but Tolaen raised the purple flame and pursued her. The distance between the two continued to shorten.

"Don't blame me…"

Tolaen had on a vicious expression.

Because Hila was a Black Star Army officer, he had been worried of provoking Han Xiao and did not intend to do so in the first place. But now that he was truly angered, he did not care about being lenient, and he was determined to use more damaging tactics. As a former wanted criminal who had slaughtered surface civilizations for pleasure, he had no moral standard to begin with.

Seeing that she could not get rid of Tolaen, Hila squinted before shooting out a highly concentrated blast of death energy that pierced through his magic shield, hitting his chest squarely.

At this moment, Tolaen's body suddenly expelled a large amount of mana, and his cells eroded by the death energy could no longer bear the amplification effect. Thus, all his buffs disappeared!

"Wha—"

Tolaen's expression changed.

But before he could react, Hila raised a hand, pointing toward him from far away, and squeezed her fingers together abruptly.

[Reaper of Souls]!

The full fifteen stacks of Death's Erosion immediately detonated!

Tolaen's heart tightened, and a life-threatening instinct sounded in his mind. He felt that the death energy in his body had been agitated, and like a bomb ignited by a fuse, it exploded within his body!

The next moment, intense pain penetrated his body and soul!

Boom!

Under the gazes of everyone present, before his attack could reach Hila, his body burst apart into a mist of blood!

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Chapter 1001 First Battle Victory

A fog of purplish-black blood spewed out from every single pore of his body as he seemed to simultaneously explode into fireworks. The forbidden technique was directly cancelled.

Shua!

The next instant, Tolaen flew out from the blood fog before quickly retreating. His expression was one of horror, and he was dripping blood everywhere, looking extremely tragic.

In that instant, he had felt the shadow of death.

Ever since he entered the Beyond Grade A realm, Tolaen had never felt his life being threatened so strongly. However, this attack seemed to have awakened his memories, allowing him to feel the taste of fear again.

Just that one attack had evaporated almost twenty percent of his HP. A Beyond Grade A's total HP was usually around two to three million, so this was a heavy blow. There were even negative status effects, as the explosion of death energy almost made his cells completely collapse. This terrified Tolaen to no end.

Hila's Esper Ability was far beyond his wildest imagination!

At this moment, Tolaen looked at Hila from afar, full of trepidation in his eyes.

[Death's Erosion] had resulted in him obtaining heavy injuries, but with the detonation, the stacks of Death's Erosion had also been cleared, so Tolaen's regeneration went back to normal. The injuries covering his body gradually healed, and his HP increased.

However, his max HP had dropped by about ten percent, and it was an irreversible decrease.

Hila would not sit back and let her opponent recover, so she borrowed the chance while Tolaen was in a confused state to stun him, stopping his retreat, before launching a storm like barrage, her death energy sweeping across the sky.

Tolaen could not understand how Hila's Esper Ability worked, so he could only play a cat-and-mouse game, retreating whenever Hila approached. He did not dare advance aggressively like before, opting to only throw spells from a distance while brushing up on his shields, not willing to be hit by the death energy once again.

The situation instantly reversed, the pursuer becoming the pursued. Tolaen ran away while Hila chased after his butt.

The power of this move also gave Austin a nasty shock.

"Such a fierce newcomer? Eh… what can I say…"

He had worried that Hila would be tainted by the Polluted Blood, but he did not expect the tides to turn in just a moment.

"If it was me…"

Austin could not help but substitute himself in the battle and found that he would probably not have gotten off easily. Although he had various spells to remove any negative statuses, the erosion of the death energy was endless, and no matter how many times it was purified, the energy would still be attached to his body. The only solution was to not get hit by her Death's Erosion.

In this case, while some Beyond Grade As would not lose to Hila, they would fear the repercussions of their actions, and this would affect their performance.

Tolaen was currently in this state. After being frightened by Hila's burst attack, he became extra careful, choosing to be more defensive.

If he forced a close combat, he would expose his body, so it was better to kite her. However, his range would not outstrip hers; thus, there was no way to win at all, placing him in a difficult situation.

Tolaen secretly cried. This time, he had really kicked a metal plate!

Hila, however, did not care about her opponent's psychological tricks. Since Tolaen was defending, she took the chance to attack and use Tolaen as a human target.

Boom boom boom!

Magic shields continuously shattered, like layers being peeled off an onion. It looked as though Hila was single-handedly thrashing Tolaen.

But it seemed that despite his ragged state, this Beyond Grade A mage Tolaen was not just for show. Supported by his massive mana reserves, magic shields continued to appear, barely blocking Hila's frenzied attack.

This has become a war of attrition. Whoever's strength is greater will win! Although I'm in a passive state, it's not as if I have no chance of winning. I'll see if her energy is higher or mine!

Tolaen felt his spirits being boosted.

The True Liberation of the Demon Race allowed one's cells to generate more energy, and with both of them being new Beyond Grade As, he believed that his species had the advantage and could hold out for a longer period.

Hila's brows furrowed as she also realized this point.

"Hmm… the expenditure in battle is not on my side."

With her death energy being so powerful, the expenditure was naturally huge as well. Hila did not have many energy regaining skills, and her main recovery method was to recover her energy through killing. Because it was a spar, there were no soldiers to turn into her nourishment.

She had not entered Beyond Grade A long ago, so she did not have the time to learn many Energy Training Techniques. Thus, her energy limit was her restraining factor.

With a thought, Hila changed her tactics, and the death energy gathered in her palm, turning into a vortex-like shape. She exhibited a new skill.

[Abyss of the Dead!]

A weird spiritual wave suddenly spread out, and all the people around saw stars as their vision swam.

Their surroundings disappeared, replaced with only themselves, trapped within darkness with only a small beam of light at the top, as though they had fallen into a deep well.

"Argh!"

From below, countless screams pierced the ear. When one looked down, all they would see was translucent gray faces, containing all sorts of creatures and possessing all shapes and sizes, packed together.

Every face was contorted in pain and horror, screaming in different tones. The sea of faces was endless like the ocean, and this lent a strange type of horror to the scene. This would give most people a shock to their mental states, maybe even causing insanity.

These faces were all from the soul fragments of people killed by Hila. Their essence was integrated into her powers to help her grow, and the residue of the soul fragments would be deposited, forming this Abyss of the Dead.

At this moment, the faces suddenly stopped screaming, their eyes staring straight ahead. They all repeated a single sentence in uniform, forming a grand sound wave, much like an ethereal everlasting echo.

"Merge with us… be one with us…"

The next instant, countless hands stretched out from the sea of faces like tentacles. They were connected to each other like links in a chain, and they continued to extend and thicken, clinging to everyone's legs as they grabbed them and pulled them down.

"Let me go!"

"Help!"

"Don't grab that place!"

A sense of falling could be felt, and many screamed as they struggled.

The next moment, the scene in front of their eyes shattered like glass.

Many of the people who had covered their eyes hurriedly opened their fingers, observing the surroundings through the gaps between their fingers. They discovered that they were back to where they had been originally, as though everything that had just happened was an illusion.

Everyone broke out in cold sweat.

However, these spectators were all only affected by the aftereffects, and Tolaen was the true target. It was unknown what horror he saw, but his entire figure was frozen stiff, and he had halted all actions, just as though his Sanity[1] was completely depleted.

Upon getting a closer look, everyone was shocked to discover that there was actually an ethereal shadow coming out of Tolaen. This was his spiritual body, and he was being pulled out and struggling madly in midair.

If the onlookers could see his status bar currently, they would discover that he was being spammed by [Chaos, [Fear, and [Stunned] statuses.

The death energy naturally came with a spiritual attribute, and Hila had obtained a unique attacking method for the spirit. The [Abyss of the Dead] skill was a mind control technique that could pull out the soul of a target. Both sides would wage a war of mental states, causing the other party to temporarily lose control of their body.

As such, his magic shields were not replenished, and the countless death energy rays directly bombarded Tolaen's body, smashing his body into a bloody mess.

"Stop!" Tolaen's spiritual body was still struggling to get rid of the [Abyss of the Dead, and seeing this scenario, he could not help but feel his heart breaking.

That was his own body!

Being unable to control it, he could only watch his opponent ill-treat it. Seeing that he was about to turn into meat paste, he got anxious.

Hila, however, turned a deaf ear, as though she had made up her mind to make some Tolaen meat sauce this very moment.

Seeing this, Tolaen felt his heart chill. He immediately screamed, "Stop! Stop! I surrender!"

He only wanted a good battle record and was not willing to risk his life to this extent!

Hila narrowed her eyes before twirling her body. A burst of death energy burst out, directly knock Tolaen away and cancelling the effect of [Abyss of the Dead].

Tolaen's spirit got rid of the restrictions and returned to his body.

The next moment, he was completely wracked with pain, and his spirit was even weaker, obviously having received heavy injuries.

"With such injuries, it might take me several years to recover…"

Tolaen's expression was ashen, and he immediately retreated while glancing warily at Hila, as though afraid she would pursue him.

Seeing this, Hila took in the death energy back into her body before glancing at Tolaen and transmitting her thoughts in an icy tone.

"Scram."

Hearing this, Tolaen was furious, but he was afraid of Hila and dared not attack.

"Hila, right? I'll remember you!"

He gritted his teeth and flew back to the Arcane Church's fleet.

To say that he was not frustrated would be a blatant lie. Tolaen actually wanted to earn some accolades for himself and use Ames as his stepping stone, but he had ended up as someone else's stepping stone, giving them a glowing battle record.

This trip was nothing but a pure waste, and his mental state even got injured, which would take a long time to recover.

Since he had already lost, and in front of Black Star at that, he did not dare say anything. If Black Star actually took his arrogant words seriously, then he would definitely not be able to live.

"You're not stopping him?" Ames threw Han Xiao a glance.

"He already lost. Let's not make things difficult for him." Han Xiao shrugged.

Tolaen was a strange combination of reckless arrogance and cautiousness. Since he did not make things difficult for Han Xiao, his serious injuries from Hila were enough. Just the reduced life span would give Tolaen endless regret in accepting her challenge.

Since the other party was on the receiving end of bad luck, Han Xiao was in a good mood and could not be bothered to pick a fight.

Glancing at Hila, who was slowly flying back, Han Xiao laughed as he spoke to Ames.

"The news of today's battle will soon spread out, and other forces will soon know that there's another new Beyond Grade A in the universe."

"It's finally time for you to experience a headache." Ames smiled.

"What headache?"

"Hehe, remember how you wanted to create an independent group right after you reached the Beyond Grade A realm? Do you think that Hila will stay by your side?" Ames' mouth curled up. "Do you think that a Beyond Grade A will willingly follow under you?"

"50/50." Han Xiao did not deny it. "Even if she chooses to be independent, our relationship will still exist, and we're still allies. The worst scenario is still good news."

At that moment, a portal appeared beside them, and Austin flew out with a smile.

"Congratulations, Black Star. Your officer has risen to Beyond Grade A, and there are now six of us in the Shattered Star Ring. I think Psyker is going to shut himself in this time."

"Hasn't he already shut himself in for a long time?" Ames laughed.

As they chatted, Hila slowly landed on the dock and walked over. Austin's eyes lit up, and he went up to introduce himself and converse. He loved meeting new people.

Hila and Austin could be said to be acquainted, but due to the difference in power levels, they only had an impression of each other. Now, they were finally communicating on equal footing.

She responded with a few cursory words, still maintaining her cold attitude, but Austin did not mind, and after laying his foundation of friendship, he bade farewell to everyone.

Han Xiao gazed at the closing portal and could not help thinking to himself, The movie watcher is finally gone…

At this moment, Hila turned her head over to see Han Xiao's avatar. Pausing for a moment, she commented, "I'll come to you for a talk when I return."

"I'll wait for you in the headquarters." Han Xiao nodded.

He knew that Hila wanted to discuss her future. For an old friend like her, it was unsuitable to talk about such a matter with his avatar.

Hila nodded and turned to leave. She felt that there was nothing worth discussing with the avatar; a hunk of metal could not compare to the hunk in real life.

At the same time, Bennett received the report that the enemy had been repelled by Hila and heaved a sigh of relief.

Reading the report, the ease on his face turned into gratitude.

Hila has also become a Beyond Grade A?

That means there are two Beyond Grade As that appeared on Planet Aquamarine….

What are the odds?

This is the fortune of Planet Aquamarine!

Bennett could not help but sigh. Thinking of the old enemy he had spent half his life fighting against, he felt complex.

While you certainly did many wrongs, to have someone like you responsible for nurturing two good seeds for our planet, your merit is incalculable…

[1] For those of you who want to know more about Sanity, check out the game 'Don't Starve Together'. #notsponsored

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Chapter 1002 Spectate

Because of the Flickering World, countless organizations were gathering in the Shattered Star Ring. This star field was currently the liveliest place in the universe, attracting the attention of every corner of the known universe.

Tolaen's battle was not kept secret, and the intelligence of this battle spread rapidly along the all-encompassing quantum network channel. In just a few hours, the entire Shattered Star Ring exploded in commotion!

The birth of every Beyond Grade A was a big event in the universe. After Black Star, the Shattered Star Ring had finally ushered in its sixth Beyond Grade A!

The news came too abruptly, and none of the organizations were prepared. Everyone started to urgently collect information about Hila's past in order to understand the new Beyond Grade A.

Before this, due to the long period she spent in cultivation, she had few records in the universe and did not receive much attention. Her most representative identity was that of the Captain of Black Star Guards, and even then, she had disappeared from her post for twenty years. Now, she had quietly stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm and returned, showcasing her strength to the entire universe and leaving a convincing record!

Tolaen, who joined the Arcane Church a few years prior, was no weakling. He had taken the initiative to earn fame but ended up as a stepping stone for the other party's rise.

To beat another Beyond Grade A newcomer meant that her immediate combat capabilities were considerable for her level, and while her promotion speed did not match up to Han Xiao's, it was still much higher compared to the average time taken to promote to the Beyond Grade A realm. This meant that she had high potential, and her achievements would not stop there.

The location of Shattered Star Ring had always been remote, and it was the bottom level in terms of Beyond Grade A standard in the major star fields. This situation had improved somewhat with the birth of Black Star, and the promotion of Hila to Beyond Grade A had improved its status once more.

However, compared to the birth of a newcomer Beyond Grade A, the major organizations were more concerned about her identity.

Her identity and statuses were both unordinary!

Intelligence reports stated that not only was she a member of the Black Star Army, she was also the disciple of Ames. She was related to two big shots and was even born on Planet Aquamarine, the same place as Black Star!

Upon seeing her birthplace, everyone was stunned.

Planet Aquamarine…

Decades ago, this was still a backwater surface civilization, and it suddenly gave rise to two Beyond Grade A supers just like that!

What sort of mysteries did this planet contain, to be able to produce so many outstanding people!

This is no dogsh*t luck!

Even if they were to count all those in history, these two would probably be the only pair of Beyond Grade As that belonged to the same hometown!

Her unique status and identity were the reason all the organizations were shocked. Everyone's primary concern was how this birth of a new Beyond Grade A would affect the current situation.

Given that Hila's identity as an officer of the Black Star Army, the other organizations were all aware that the Black Star Army would undergo a new round of personnel shuffling and might even split, with Hila choosing to go independent. What would Black Star do?

With this mentality, everyone was watching where this situation would lead.

On Planet Heber…

"What, that Hila has stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm‽"

The Chief Vanguard Official Fosters jerked his head back as he dumbly looked at Jorde, who was reporting the news.

"That's right. It was just yesterday when she defeated Tolaen of the Arcane Church. The news source has confirmed this."

Jorde smiled bitterly.

It happened too quickly, so when the news was delivered to him, Jorde got a shock as well, leaving him speechless for quite a while.

"How could this be?" Fosters muttered to himself irresolutely, his expression a mask of incredulity.

Several decades ago, the two of them had represented their respective factions in a duel but were called to a stop before they could determine a winner. He had always treated Hila as his opponent but did not expect that the person he had once again identified as an opponent would throw him far behind.

The first was Black Star, and then it was Hila. Fosters could no longer hold in his depression and began to wonder… Could it be that the Black Star Army had a secret method to raise Beyond Grade As‽

The threshold for him to step into the Beyond Grade A realm was still far away, yet his opponents had all already crossed it. This sort of feeling was not good at all, and Fosters only felt a sense of powerlessness.

At the same time, with the Tyrant's palace hall, Heber was discussing the same topic with Sorokin's consciousness.

"An important officer of the Black Star Army has risen to the Beyond Grade A realm, and the greatest possibility is that they will now have an additional ally. This will cause Black Star's power and influence in the Shattered Star Ring to expand once more, which is not good for us." Sorokin had a resigned expression. He had not planned for such an unexpected scenario at all.

"Another person related to Black Star."

Heber was a little unhappy, feeling sour in his heart.

How was it that Black Star had such good luck to be able to recruit such good talents?

I'm obviously also a Beyond Grade A, but why don't I have any powerful officers under me?

"I don't have enough intelligence on my hands on how to restrict Hila. I need to spend some time looking for her weaknesses. I'll send my men to work on this." Sorokin spread his hands out. "Let's wait and see."

"Suit yourself," Heber nonchalantly replied.

Among the Star Pupil Holy Race…

"Another one‽"

After seeing the news, Psyker gritted his teeth, his seven eyeballs looking as though they were about to explode from anger.

After the incident at Planet Lighthouse, the standing of his race within the Shattered Star Ring had not been good, but now came along another Beyond Grade A ally of Black Star!

Black Star served the dynasty, so he stood on opposing sides to him. While Heber was not a friend of Black Star, his position remained the same for this matter. In addition, the other three Beyond Grade As were more or less related to Black Star. No local Beyond Grade As were on his side, and the number of enemies had increased from four to five.

F*ck your mom!

How can anyone continue to stay in this broken place‽

Psyker's mentality was on the verge of collapse.

While the outside world was in chaos, Hila left Floating Dragon alone, heading toward the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

This time, Ames did not accompany her. She was forcibly stopped by Jenny to stay on Floating Dragon Island and complete her administrative duties.

Planet Aquamarine was quite close to the army headquarters, so she did not require much time to arrive there. Han Xiao, who had returned from the Flickering World not too long ago, was already waiting for her.

The moment she entered, Hila felt a difference in atmosphere.

Everyone in the Black Star Army knew that she had hit the Beyond Grade A realm, and everyone focused on her along the way, staring in awe and curiosity.

Her eyes did not deviate however, first going over to find Aurora. She walked straight into the officer's resting room, where many of the older officers awaited her.

"Congratulations on reaching the Beyond Grade A realm."

The moment she stepped in, everyone smiled as they congratulated her.

"Thanks." Hila nodded. While she was cold by nature, she was not someone impersonal.

The atmosphere in the room was harmonious, and at this moment, a deep voice suddenly boomed, suppressing all the other voices.

"Captain, you're finally back! I really missed you!"

Hadavy stepped out from the crowd, immediately stepping forward toward Hila with a sycophantic expression.

"You… missed me?" Hila looked suspicious. She did not remember her relationship with Hadavy being so good.

"Not just me. In the past twenty years, everyone in the Black Star Guards has missed you. Without your leadership, we were lost! It's been a tough journey for you, and you're probably tired, so why don't you sit down for a while? Don't tire yourself out." Hadavy appeared extremely passionate, and one could imagine a dog wagging its tail at the place where he stood.

Everyone was stunned by his performance.

I swear this isn't what you used to say…

This abrupt change in expression was even better than that of the face-swap operas!

Feidin raised his brows and spoke in a joking tone. "Is that so? Why do I remember that you seemed to have said that you wanted to challenge Hila to resign from her position the moment she returned so that you could take her position as Captain? In fact, your chance is here!"

"Nonsense! I never said such words!" Hadavy put on a righteous expression. "Hila, don't listen to such rumors. They're trying to create a rift between us. Whenever I mentioned you during this period, when wasn't it to praise you? Don't listen to those people who are envious of our relationship!"

He got a big shock when he found out that Hila had risen to the Beyond Grade A realm, and he immediately wished he could take back all the words he had spoken in the past few years.

The other party is already a Beyond Grade A. Snatch her position? Do you think I'm insane‽

What? You say I'm a coward?

Bullsh*t!

How could this be called being a coward! This is called tactical retreat!

Everyone was stunned. To lie like that without even blinking, his skin was indeed the thickest!

"Is that so? How come I don't seem to believe any of that?" Hila snorted.

As they were chatting, Aurora walked into the room and called out in joy, "Sis, you're back!"

Hila turned to look at Aurora, and her eyes immediately softened. She walked up to Aurora, sizing up her sister, before releasing a barrage of questions.

"How have you been? Have you been eating well, sleeping well…"

While she knew that Han Xiao would definitely take good care of her, after the Germinal Organization was destroyed, she had not separated from Aurora. She could not help over imagining things every day, fussing over Aurora.

The sisters talked for a while before Hila reluctantly separated with Aurora for the time being. She knew that Han Xiao was still waiting in his office for her.

Upon reaching the Army Commander's office, Hila pushed the door open and saw Han Xiao seated behind his desk and smiling at her.

"You're here." Han Xiao nodded. "Congratulations."

"I've fulfilled my promise, not returning until I've reached the Beyond Grade A realm." Hila nodded, sitting opposite Han Xiao.

"I knew you'd achieve that. I never doubted you." Han Xiao sized up Hila, discovering that she had become more perfect as a whole.

"And I know that you would definitely believe in me."

They smiled at each other.

"I would be glad to listen to you talk about your experience, but we can put that off first. Now let's talk about formal matters." Han Xiao pointed toward the table as he stared at Hila. He slowly said, "Now that you're a Beyond Grade A, tell me, what are your future plans? Do you wish to become independent?"

"If I choose to be independent, will you support me?" Hila turned the question back.

"We're friends, so I will not force you to work for me. If you choose to be independent, I'll support you to the best I can, helping you to develop your own Beyond Grade A organization." Han Xiao knocked on the table as he smiled.

Hearing this, Hila did not immediately reply, but a hesitant look crossed her face.

The room descended into silence.

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Chapter 1003 Double Beyond Grade As

As time passed, Hila pondered in silence. Han Xiao waited with a smile on his face; he was in no hurry.

After quite some time, Hila slowly breathed out.

"I choose to be independent."

Han Xiao's brows rose. "Alright, then I shall have Sylvia…"

Before he finished, Hila cut him off and added, "But not now."

Han Xiao's face twitched. Seeing the teasing look in her eyes, he felt funny and speechless.

Kiddo, you dare tease me?

If you enjoy not finishing your sentences, why not go write a book?

Hila sighed before speaking from the bottom of her heart.

"In the past, I lacked a sense of security. I always wanted to keep up with you, so my only goal was to become stronger and stronger till I had enough power to protect myself. Now that I'm finally a Beyond Grade A and can protect myself in most situations, I haven't really thought about what I should do next. So, I might as well stay in the army for now. If I change my mind in the future, I'll think about it by then."

Hila had already thought about this matter on the way back. What should she do after she had the power of a Beyond Grade A? She had no idea.

In the past, in order to become stronger, most of her time was spent in battle; she never stopped to appreciate the beauty of the universe. At least for now, Hila did not want to form her own organization.

Furthermore, thinking back on the path she had taken to get there, Han Xiao had given her way too much help. Without his referral, there was no way Ames would have taken her as her student. God only knew when would she have been able to become a Beyond Grade A.

After owing Han Xiao so much for so long, feeling like what she did in return was almost trivial, she absolutely did not want to split off as soon as she became a Beyond Grade A. Her personality would not allow her to always owe Han Xiao so many favors.

Back then, Black Star did indeed form his own organization as soon as he became a Beyond Grade A, but he had already made huge contributions to Floating Dragon, so he was in a good position to do so. Hila felt like her contribution to the army was far from what Han Xiao contributed to Floating Dragon in the past, so she could not shamelessly do the same as Han Xiao.

Most importantly, Hila knew how to kill and how to fight, but not how to form and operate an organization, nor did she want to waste her energy on such things. She had really inherited Ames' 'talent' in this respect. She would rather use these times to strengthen her power. She was not interested in forming an organization right now.

From the way she looked at it, with her strength and her close relationship with Han Xiao, her position in the Black Star Army would basically be above all but one. If she wanted a force of her own, staying in the already enormous Black Star Army was better than spending time building a new organization. Furthermore, the Black Star Army was now at the top of the organizations in the Shattered Star Ring, so it was not suitable for her to create a new Beyond Grade A organization since she would not be able to obtain too many resources.

After hearing Hila's explanation, Han Xiao laughed and said, "Okay, then stay in the Black Star Army for now. My promise will always be effective. If you want to split off and become independent one day, I will still help you."

"Hmm." Hila nodded.

"You're already a Beyond Grade A, so it's no longer suitable for you to be one of my Black Star Guards. Let's see, I shall officially make you the Vice Army Commander of the Black Star Army. Your position will only be below mine and no one else, including Lagi. You will be involved in the most important decisions made in the army, and you will manage some of the daily functionalities such as mining of resources, arming the divisions, and so on. You will be given the power to command part of the army's fleet, as well as have the position of the Commander of the Black Star Guards. However, you will not be part of my personal guards."

With just a few sentences, Han Xiao promoted Hila and gave her a lot of power within the Black Star Army.

After all, her value was now different. Even if Hila did not need it, he had to give it to her. One reason for this was to show that Hila was very important to him and to emphasize the relationship between her and the army. Another was to prove to the outside world that he followed the rules of this industry.

Han Xiao was very content about keeping Hila.

He had thought of multiple scenarios, and Hila choosing to stay was the best outcome.

This was the first Beyond Grade A Officer in the army. Having one or two Beyond Grade As in one organization were two completely different concepts.

In the past, the army only had me to hold the ceiling. With Hila, she will be able to take care of many things for me, and it's also beneficial to increasing the influence of the army…

"Vice Army Commander? Whatever." Hila did not care about positions much. Suddenly, she pressed onto the edge of the table, leaned slightly forward, and said with a passionate look in her eyes, "We'll talk about these things next time. I have a request. Let's have a fight."

"Sure," Han Xiao agreed. "But not today. You have only just returned to the headquarters. Let's get to that after you rest. Spend some time with your sister. I'll need to take care of some matters too. In a few days, I will beat… ahem, fight with you."

"Okay."

Hila nodded and suppressed her heart that was filled with anticipation for the time being. Ever since she became a Beyond Grade A, she had been eager to discover how large the difference between the two of them was.

After chatting for a while longer, Hila left the room and went to see Aurora—the two of them had endless things to talk about after not seeing each other for quite many years.

Watching Hila leave, Han Xiao smiled. This time, the communicator suddenly rang.

He looked at it, and it was from Urranrell.

For the dynasty to contact me now, it's probably about Hila… Han Xiao pondered for a moment before picking up the call.

"Your Excellency, what made you call me with your extremely busy schedule?" Han Xiao smiled as Urranrell appeared on the screen.

"I heard one of your Officers became a Beyond Grade A. Congratulations." Urranrell nodded.

"Haha, her name is Hila. She's not just my Officer but also an old friend. Her and I…" Han Xiao raised his brows and said, "Oh, almost forgot, you guys definitely have her information."

"Hmm, have you spoken with Hila?"

"Coincidentally, I was just done speaking with her."

"And how did it go? What's her plan?"

"She doesn't want to form an organization because she thinks it's too troublesome, so she's decided to stay here and assist me."

"I see…" Urranrell paused, stayed silent for a moment, before slowly saying, "I have something to ask of you."

"Go on."

"If possible, I hope you can convince Hila to join the dynasty."

As expected… Han Xiao smiled and did not speak.

His relationship with Hila made the dynasty feel that they had a very high chance to obtain a new Beyond Grade A ally, so they looked for him directly to make the first move.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not reply, Urranrell then asked, "What do you think?"

"No problem, I will try to convince her, but I can't promise I'll succeed," Han Xiao replied.

"I understand." Urranrell nodded. She would not force it.

This time, Han Xiao changed the topic and said, "By the way, since you contacted me, I have something to report to you. You asked me to maintain the order of the Shattered Star Ring, and I have an idea that can be used during such times. However, it's quite an impactful one, so I need the dynasty's support."

"Tell me about it."

"Due to the Flickering World, the Beyond Grade As of the various Star Fields will gather in the Shattered Star Ring, which will make up to at least ninety percent of all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe," Han Xiao slowly said. "Since that's the case, I might as well take the lead and invite these people to gather in one place, hosting an enormous party for the Beyond Grade As of the entire universe and having a chat with everyone. This way, I can come to an agreement with all of them at once to not cause problems in the Shattered Star Ring."

Hearing Han Xiao's idea, Urranrell started thinking.

This would basically be equivalent to inviting all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe, which would indeed be way too impactful. These people were all symbolic individuals of their various Star Fields. If this succeeded, it would be more than enough to cause a sensation throughout the universe.

It might even be written in history as a memorable major event.

As for what Black Star would gain from it, it was rather clear. First, it would save him time and energy to resolve the matter of Star Field stability at once, be it with negotiation or showcase of power.

Furthermore, if he could really gather all the Beyond Grade As together, as the host, Black Star's influence would increase tremendously. It would be proof that all these Beyond Grade As were willing to give him face.

"How confident are you in being able to gather all of them?" Urranrell asked.

"About fifty percent."

"Really?" Urranrell somewhat doubted him. "Most Beyond Grade As are smart; they know very well that answering your invitation means they're indirectly helping you make an even bigger name for yourself. The dynasty's Beyond Grade As are no problem, but can you ensure that the federation and the church are willing to give you face?"

"I can't promise, but…" Han Xiao chuckled. "I think my face should be somewhat useful. As for those I'm not able to invite, I'm going to need the dynasty's help."

"Alright, it's worth a try. I'll have some people assist you." Urranrell thought about it and approved of this plan, expressing that she would provide assistance.

"Then I shall thank the dynasty in advance." Han Xiao smiled. He then suddenly said, "Other than that, I have something else to say."

"Go on."

"About the Evolution Cube, I've already thought about it." Han Xiao shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't plan to use the Evolution Cube to exchange for something else for the time being. The truth is, I've read through the list the dynasty gave me many times, but sadly, there's no Universal Treasure in the list I'm really interested in. I'm very appreciative of the fact that the dynasty is very sincere in this matter, but I've made up my mind."

Urranrell stayed silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "No problem, we won't force you. If you changed your mind, contact me anytime."

The two of them then chatted for a while more before ending the call.

Han Xiao played with the communicator, thought back about the conversation, and nodded.

After thorough consideration, he had decided to decline the dynasty's proposal and keep the Evolution Cube.

The dynasty wanted ownership of the Evolution Cube to completely control the business of the Evolutionary Totems, which just so happened to be exactly what he wanted to control as well. This was a conflict of interests. Even if the dynasty would not be happy about it, he had to keep this crucial business in his hands.

Instead of relying on others, he preferred to rely on himself. His good relationship with the dynasty was not because of sentiment but because he was useful to the dynasty, and that was the foundation of the army.

Declining the proposal might make the dynasty unsatisfied, but there was absolutely no chance it would destroy their relationship—the dynasty still needed him.

The act of first mentioning the plan to gather all Beyond Grade As before his decision about the Evolution Cube was also a small test to see the change in attitude of the dynasty.

In order to control something, he had to have enough strength to match up to it. Indeed, the dynasty was undoubtedly a giant, but the current Black Star Army also had enough power to keep this profit in its hands, even more so with Hila's return.

The root cause of the pressure from the federation and the church was the dynasty forbidding the sale of the totems to outsiders. However, if that was no longer the case, the answer to whether the federation and the church would want the dynasty or the dynasty's allies to control the cube was extremely clear. They would rather have the dynasty's ally to have the profit made from the totems than have their direct competitor control the business.

Although, on paper, both these cases would still mean that the dynasty was the one benefitting from it, the ownership of the profit was completely different.

"The dynasty will definitely make some moves privately. Let's see what they're going to do."

Han Xiao shook his head.

The next day, an announcement was made in the Black Star Army.

"The sixth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring who defeated Tolaen, Hila, will become the Black Star Army's Vice Army Commander."

Not splitting off and forming her own organization but continuing to stay in the Black Star Army!

Countless organizations were paying close attention to the matter. As soon as the news was out, the entire Star Field was shocked!

Everyone knew that since the Black Star Army had double Beyond Grade As, their influence would surge drastically.

Although Black Star could easily thrash multiple ordinary Beyond Grade As alone, to the galactic residents all around the entire universe, it was a world of difference.

Many organizations with ulterior motives were looking forward to Hila splitting off, but things went the complete opposite direction from what they hoped. They could not help but feel disappointed.

You're a Beyond Grade A, yet you are satisfied with being below Black Star and working for him?

Can you have some backbone‽

Why not learn from your seniors and form your own organization!

Damn it, there must be a way to split them up!

On the other hand, to the partners and members of the Black Star Army, this was undoubtedly good news.

Knowing that Hila was staying, the entire army was thrilled!

With one more Beyond Grade A behind their backs, the army members were so much more confident that even the way they walked became prouder.

The influence showed very quickly—the army's appeal to high standard talents became much higher.

Seeing that Han Xiao seemed to really have cultivated a Beyond Grade A, many Supers could no longer sit tight and only watch. Among which, the most affected ones were the neutral Beyond Grade A seeds, as the chance of becoming Beyond Grade As was lethally attractive to them.

Somewhere in the Shattered Star Ring, in an Arcane Church fleet…

The conference room of the main fleet was filled with projections of the Arcane Church's allies. Tolaen was the only one present and sitting in the middle.

"… You're saying that Hila's Esper Ability has extraordinary damage to living things, and when it exploded, you were heavily injured in one hit?"

"That's right. It was really painful. Also, she could even damage my mind. I'll have to rest for at least a few years." Tolaen clenched his teeth.

Tolaen was furious about losing to Hila. Not only did he lose, he even suffered damage that he could not easily recover from. It was mainly the damage caused to his mind, which needed to be dealt with slowly. Before he recovered, his control of spells would be reduced, and he would not be able to fight at his peak power.

After resting for a few days, he had contacted the others today and reported Hila's ability.

Kasuyi slowly shook his head. "The Black Star Army has obtained a new Beyond Grade A with extraordinary potential. His organization has become stronger again."

Many people were frowning because of this.

Among the three Universal Civilizations, the Arcane Church was the one that did not want the Black Star Army to become stronger the most. After all, they had suffered a huge loss during the Planet Lighthouse battle, and many people there held grudges against the Black Star Army.

At this time, Sun Hunter suddenly looked at his communicator. "Hmm? Black Star sent me a message."

"What did he say?" Kasuyi turned and looked over.

"Er, he's sent an invitation to us, asking us to go to his place as guests," Sun Hunter said with a strange tone.

"Us?"

"Yes, he's inviting… all the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church."

Other than Kasuyi, the expression on everyone's face changed, filled with shock and confusion.

Inviting all the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church?

What is Black Star doing? Is he itching to get beaten up‽

If it were others, they would think that this was basically suicide. But since it was Black Star, the people there believed that he could really just be itching to get beaten up.

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Chapter 1004 Face

"Your Excellency, do you think we should go?" someone asked.Kasuyi kept silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "Since Black Star invited everyone, this isn't a private matter, so it depends on the Arcane Church… I'm guessing we'll have to accept the invitation.""Why should we? The Arcane Church and the Black Star Army are not friends, so why does Black Star think he's worth this much respect?" Tolaen complained.

Kasuyi shook his head. "I can somewhat guess what method Black Star is going to use. His reason is to maintain the stability of the Shattered Star Ring, and if we don't go, he'll target us afterward…"

"And we're scared of him?" someone said furiously.

"We're not, but the Black Star Army has an enormous force in the Flickering World, so the church won't want to mess with him. Furthermore, the church has to think of Psyker. He lives in the Shattered Star Ring and has nowhere to run. If Black Star wants to find someone to settle the issue, he's going to get it," Kasuyi said calmly.

Sun Hunter squinted. "But if we all respond to his summon, it will increase his reputation and influence drastically, and he's not even hiding the fact that this is his goal. There's no way the upper echelons don't know about this. Furthermore, will the Beyond Grade As of the other organizations be willing to be used by Black Star?"

"The dynasty is definitely giving their full support to this, and the federation might agree to it too," Kasuyi said.

"The Federation of Light might agree?" Tolaen doubted.

Kasuyi looked at him. "The Shattered Star Ring is, after all, the Federation's territory."

At the same time, the Federation of Light has received Han Xiao' invitation and immediately gathered their various allies to discuss it.

"Black Star wants to host a large Beyond Grade A meeting. His intentions are clear. Do we have to help him build his reputation?"

With his two arms crossed and two other arms placed on the table, Sierron said with a cold and disdainful expression, "Although he's a peak Beyond Grade A, isn't he overestimating himself too much? What, he thinks that everyone else has to give him face?"

He was a crucial ally of the Federation of Light, a member of the elderly celebrity group who held a very high position in the circle of Beyond Grade As. His position was equivalent to the dynasty's Milizaus or the church's Sun Hunter.

Another Beyond Grade A turned to look at Bader, the President of the Federation, and asked, "What are your thoughts on this?"

"Maintaining the stability of the Shattered Star Ring isn't a bad thing to us," Bader said slowly. "Even without the dynasty leading this, I wasn't planning to cause trouble. The development of the Flickering World is about to start, so there's no need to cause unnecessary conflict."

"So, since we never wanted to cause trouble, there's no need to respond to Black Star, right?" someone asked.

"I'm still considering it," the Chief Elder said. "From the way things are looking now, there's indeed no need to give Black Star face and help to increase his influence. This contradicts our strategy to pressure the dynasty for the past few decades."

"I think that we can help Black Star a little." This time, someone actually spoke for Han Xiao. "From what I see, the pressure we've applied all these years has been quite effective. In addition to some special reasons, the dynasty opening up the purchasing right is just a matter of time…"

Everyone turned to look at this person with different expressions on their faces.

This person's name was Hades, a relatively new Beyond Grade A. He had joined the Federation rather recently and never had any notable achievements, so his position was plain. No one expected him to suddenly express his opinion. It seemed like he had a source of intelligence unknown to others.

"You said that there are special reasons that are going to cause the dynasty to open up the purchasing rights of the totems? What inside information do you know?" Bader questioned.

"Just some trivial pieces of intelligence." It was clear that this was a perfunctory response, and Hades did not want to say anything.

Seeing this, Bader was a little unsatisfied. Knowing that continuing to ask would not result in anything, he asked, "Then, why are you saying we should help Black Star?"

"Simple," Hades said. "The Evolution Cube is the core of the Evolutionary Totem business. If the dynasty opens the totem purchasing rights one day, our demand will be met. In that case, if the dynasty is the side who own the cube, not only will we not have any chances, but the dynasty will also receive the most of the profit made by it. Comparatively, it's better to continue letting Black Star keep the cube.

"Therefore, we can help Black Star to increase his position and reputation, preventing him from breaking under pressure and giving the dynasty the Evolution Cube."

"Sounds logical, but since the totem purchasing rights are not open yet, whatever you're saying won't make a difference. Helping Black Star now is going against our strategy to pressure the dynasty and will only cause more trouble for us. If you can prove that the dynasty will definitely open the purchasing rights for the totems, tell us the inside information you have. Only then will your proposal be meaningful." The Chief Elder's thoughts were very clear.

"I have reliable sources. The information is definitely trustworthy." Hades shook his head and still did not plan to explain.

This time, Manison, who had been watching from the side and not saying anything, turned his head and calmly said, "Do what you guys want, but I'll accept Black Star's invitation."

The others were shocked. They all looked at him, many confused.

"Don't you have conflicts with Black Star that are yet to be resolved? Isn't your relationship with him not good?" Sierron asked.

"That has nothing to do with you." Manison casually waved. "I think that this is a festival, and I want to make it happen. Usually, the Beyond Grade As are all staying in their own territories. Since this rare opportunity has come up for us to gather in one Star Field, we should all meet."

Everyone sized Manison's expression up but could not see through his thoughts. They were all confused and did not understand what Manison's intentions were.

Logically, Manison and Black Star were competitors, so Manison should want to suppress him as much as possible. Why would he help him? No one knew what he was thinking about.

Looking around at the others, Manison shook his head in his mind.

He was not worried about this matter increasing Han Xiao's influence, as an increase in regular reputation would not impact their position in the Machinery Faith. The believers only cared about mechanical abilities and the result of battles between mechanics, nothing else. Therefore, he did not care if Black Star became more famous.

However, this was also not because Manison wanted to help Han Xiao. His main goal was to indirectly increase the position of all the Beyond Grade As in the universe through this event.

Beyond Grade As were already at the top of the universe, but he felt that it was not enough. In the eyes of the advanced civilizations, their value was more focused on strategic intimidation and killing each other. It had been like this for many years, and Manison wanted to improve this situation.

If all these Beyond Grade As were gathered because of this opportunity, once the advanced civilizations thought about how much power they had if they came together, the advanced civilizations would be more fearful to them. Thus, they would be more important to the advanced civilizations. This would cause some implicit impacts, but overall, there were both pros and cons. Nonetheless, there were more pros than cons to Manison—he had already looked beyond what he had now and planned to bring more benefits to the standard that the Beyond Grade As represented.

In other words, Manison was consciously increasing the ceiling of the entire industry. Of course, it was mainly for his own benefits.

He also did not mind that Han Xiao was the one leading this festival. Although they were competitors, they also had similarities with both being Mechanics. With Black Star gaining more fame, more people would be attracted to becoming Mechanics, which would be beneficial for the Machinery Faith. This way, as the man at the top of the Mechanics, Manison would also benefit from it.

Of course, if he was the one leading it, he would benefit even more. However, Manison was not a petty man. Since Black Star was the one who suggested it first, he did not bother taking that away. Furthermore, Black Star had the excuse of maintaining the order for the Star Field, while he was in no position to gather all these people.

Compared to the church and the federation, the Beyond Grade As of the Crimson Dynasty reacted much more positively.

Milizaus tutted. "Black Star's ways of obtaining profit are really superb."

Everyone shook their head and chuckled.

All these Beyond Grade As gathering in the Shattered Star Ring was initially a bad thing that would impact the stability of the Star Field, yet Black Star saw an opportunity and turned it into a good thing.

Everyone knew Han Xiao's goal in doing this. Not only was it to increase his reputation and influence, but it was also to confirm his position as the head of the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring.

Also, it just so happened that the Black Star Army recently revealed a new Beyond Grade A, so Black Star could ride this wave to further solidify the position of the Black Star Army.

Another clearer and more direct influence of this would be that the Bloodshed Land's competitiveness would be reduced. The Limitless Financial Group would also be heavily affected and would no longer be able to cause any trouble to the Black Star Army in the short term.

"Black Star's methods really are creative. He must be having fun." Kant smiled. He had turned into an adorable little black pig the size of a palm. He was sitting right up with his two back legs split like a man sitting with legs closed. His two short front legs were barely crossed.

"The dynasty is publicly expressing their support. I wonder what Heber thinks about this." Beyoni chuckled.

"It's not that the dynasty doesn't care about him; he just isn't strong enough," Clotti calmly said.

In the Bloodshed Land, Heber and Sorokin's doppelganger sat opposite each other.

"With the Black Star Army obtaining a new Beyond Grade A, Black Star made his move as expected. He wants to completely solidify his position in the Shattered Star Ring. Sigh, this is an open and direct move. I can't do anything about it. If he succeeds, more than half of the results we achieved all these years will be lost."

Sorokin shook his head with resignation.

He knew that Black Star was not one to easily let go of opportunities. As he expected, Black Star used the heat brought by the new Beyond Grade A in his army to make a move. Due to how sudden this was, he did not even have enough time to complete the investigation on Hila, so of course, he could not counter this.

Furthermore, Black Star had invited all the Beyond Grade As this time, so the result was not something he could interfere with. The only thing he could do was watch.

Heber did not reply immediately. He stared down at the invitation envelope in silence.

"Your Excellency Heber, are you planning to reject Black Star's invitation? I don't recommend it."

Heber looked at him before slowly saying, "Reason."

"The dynasty's stance is very clear. They're supporting Black Star. If you refuse, you'd be going against the dynasty, and that's not a good choice." Sorokin shook his head. "If everyone else in the dynasty goes and you don't, you'll stand out way too much. By then, it won't matter if you go; not going will be even more embarrassing."

"I don't need you to teach me." Heber snorted. "What about you? Are you going?"

"Of course." Sorokin smiled. "After all, Black Star and I are just business competitors. We have no hatred for each other. Furthermore, I'm in no place to insult him."

He did not like to stand out; following the crowd was more beneficial to hiding himself.

Your skin is so damn thick… Heber could not help but complain in his mind.

"Sigh, it's a shame. If only you and I were the ones to lead this festival." Sorokin sighed. "Maybe us Beyond Grade As know the reasoning behind this and won't think it's a big deal, but to the outside world, it's like we all basically responded to Black Star's call. If the Black Star Army was listed, just this one event will make his market capital rocket."

As for now, me joining this festival should increase the Limitless Financial Group's market capital a little too, Sorokin thought.

Not caring about Sorokin, Heber looked at the invitation envelope again. He was not willing to watch Black Star solidify his position as the head of the Star Field.

Sadly, after the lesson he learned last time, he knew that he was no match for Han Xiao, so there was nothing he could do.

Among the Star Pupil Holy Race…

"He even invited me‽"

Psyker was shocked and confused.

Honestly, he did not want to accept Han Xiao's invitation at all.

But the problem was, he did not dare reject.

Black Star was too strong now. Psyker's race was right in the Shattered Star Ring. If he made Black Star lose face, what if he found a reason and charged right over there‽

Even though the hatred between the two of them was immense, Psyker had lived on with the shame and grown low profile without doing anything. He did not dare to mess with Han Xiao.

For a Beyond Grade A, this is way too shameful!

Move! I have to move house!

Psyker roared in his heart. This was the second time he had experienced a break down this month.

Han Xiao sending out invitations was not announced to the public, but rumors of it still surfaced.

Usually, things happening between these Beyond Grade As hardly ever got leaked. However, the various media outlets of the Shattered Star Ring somehow got the news from somewhere and sent people to the Black Star Army to ask around, wanting to follow up on the story and make it into a huge deal.

The clearest indication of that was the new scenery at the Black Star Army headquarters—a group of extremely persistent reporters who were chasing after army members to ask questions.

Han Xiao did not stop it. It was clear that the dynasty had secretly leaked this. Since they were hosting a festival, building it up was unavoidable. Only then would the impact of it be maximized.

He initially wanted to do it himself, but the dynasty did it for him and saved him some trouble.

There were still some days till the day of the meeting, and most of the Beyond Grade As had yet to arrive. Han Xiao told Sylvia to prepare for this while he paid attention to the responses of the Beyond Grade As from all organizations.

Originally, he prepared some methods to convince some Beyond Grade As. However, unexpectedly, it went smoother than he thought. Most people agreed, and it seemed like he did not have to use those methods at all.

"It turns out that without me knowing, my face is already this valuable…"

Han Xiao was pleased.

After so many decades in the universe, my face has ascended to a new realm!

Since things were going so well, he had nothing to worry about. Other than the benefits everyone knew he would get from hosting this festival, he had another goal that no one knew about.

Legendary Point!

The sources of Legendary Points were extremely complex, and one was doing all kinds of major things. Han Xiao estimated that this would most likely give him a Universe Legendary Point, and even Political Asset was possible.

Furthermore, he could use this opportunity to find out all about these Beyond Grade As and memorize the Attributes Interface of everyone!

As he thought about the plan, his room door suddenly opened. Hila walked in and immediately cut to the chase.

"It has already been five days. I've rested enough. Let's do it."

It had been five days since Hila returned. She had been looking forward to the spar, and she had gone to his room again.

"Alright, let's have a fight but not in the headquarters. Let's head into space."

Han Xiao then stood up. He had agreed to this before, and he had no reason to decline today.

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Chapter 1005 Trounce

As a new Beyond Grade A and the new Vice Army Commander, Hila had been receiving a lot of attention recently. The more famous she was, the more it would benefit the army. Therefore, Han Xiao was not going to damage her reputation.

Hence, the spar between the two of them was completely private, and Han Xiao did not need to improve his reputation by beating Hila anyway.

The two of them quietly left the Black Star Army headquarters and found a desolate planet. Han Xiao then used some anti-detection devices to draw out a battlefield.

"Here will do."

The two of them landed on the lead gray surface. Han Xiao raised his hand and opened the secondary dimensional army box. Groups of mechanical soldiers swarmed out and machines spread like a tide.

With him there, he could use all his troops, which was an enormous amount. Even though he did not summon his whole army, it still quickly filled up the ground and the sky.

Psionic Prime and some of the Apostle Weapons who had returned from the Flickering World stood in a row at the front of the army.

Han Xiao then summoned a Lord's Avatar and shifted his consciousness within before sending his original body away from the battlefield.

Sparring was one thing, but he had no plan to cut his lifespan. Going there himself was to express his seriousness, and changing into an avatar was being cautious.

Hila squinted, not saying anything as she approved with silence.

Although she hoped that Black Star could use all of his strength to fight her, she knew that there was something strange about her ability, and she did not want to cause any unknown damage to Han Xiao. Furthermore, Black Star's avatar was difficult enough to deal with, as well as those Apostle Weapons on the side.

After stepping into the Beyond Grade A realm, despite the fact that Hila was very confident, she knew that the chance of her beating Han Xiao was extremely low. She mainly wanted to see how vast the difference between her and Han Xiao was.

Hila took a deep breath. Her eyes suddenly glowed like rubies as masses of blood-red death energy flew out from her body and up into the sky continuously, painting the sky scarlet. The red energy continued to expand and seethe violently like a roaring sea, matching the size and impact of the mechanical army.

"Are you ready? I'm coming."

Hila entered combat mode, and her expression became calm and indifferent.

Han Xiao closed the secondary dimensional army box, stretched the neck of his avatar and released his Mechanical Force to enhance the entire army. He then looked down at the ground he was stepping on and shook his head with resignation. "Another planet gone to waste."

As soon as his sentence ended, Hila pushed both her hands forward and attacked without saying a word!

Boom!

The death energy condensed in the air slammed down violently like the sky falling, including all the machinery at the front in its attack range!

The exterior armor of all the mechanical soldiers reflected the bloody red tide. Psionic Prime looked up, slightly raised the Psionic Prime Spear, and tapped the ground softly.

Pa!

With him as the center, a light blue psionic barrier expanded out extremely quickly and instantly shrouded the mechanical army.

The tsunami-like death energy slammed onto the psionic barrier, creating a wave of earth trembling impact!

With a blinding flash, an energy wave mixed in both red and blood swept out!

Rumble!

The earth split open, ashes shot up like fountains, rifts were created, tectonic plates slammed into each other, and mountains appeared out of nowhere. The terrain within hundreds of miles changed extremely quickly!

Hila's expression changed—she did not expect Psionic Prime to be able to fight her head on.

She thought that Han Xiao would be using strategies, tactics, and the quantity of the army to win, but she never expected Han Xiao's Apostle Weapons to have already become this strong.

Hila's eyes concentrated as she flew up the sky. She then pressed her hands down. The power of the death energy that was eroding and impacting the psionic barrier increased once again. Large cracks immediately appeared on the psionic barrier that was only barely holding on in the first place.

Suddenly, with a deafening blast, the barrier shattered into pieces of light!

After all, Hila was nothing like Kohler or Beyoni; the Apostle Weapons were still not strong enough for her.

The mechanical army suddenly split up and activated their own psionic shields, preparing to defend the impact of the death energy while raising their barrels to counterattack.

Countless energy cannons focus fired on Hila. The scorching light seemed to have slashed open space, leaving only light trails behind. Not many Beyond Grade As would be willing to take on such a powerful bombardment head on, and Hila was no exception.

Her body moved extremely quickly in midair to dodge the attacks as seemingly infinite death energy flew out from her body, forming layers of protective shields that shrouded her. Attacks from energy cannons landed on her shield occasionally, blasting open cracks after cracks.

Her death energy could be used to attack and defend—there were hardly any Beyond Grade As who had no methods to create shields.

Using the power of the [Power of the Dead] to fight a mechanical army actually placed her at a disadvantage, as most mechanical soldiers were objects and Hila's 'life steal' attribute could not be triggered, which cut off one of her crucial methods to regenerate health.

Furthermore, the psychological damage of the death energy had no use on the mechanical army, which meant that she lost another advantage.

Her Esper Ability could only live to its fullest potential when facing opponents with life.

Defense was not Hila's strong suit. After being enhanced so many times, the power of the mechanical army's attack was already completely different from the past. As soon as the army was fully utilized in the battle, Hila felt an immense sense of pressure. Han Xiao's attacks kept penetrating her shield and landing on her body. Her health bar lowered continuously, and her injuries started to build up.

However, Hila's regeneration ability was strong. Although it could not be compared with Aurora, it was still quite impressive. When her level was extremely low, she already had the [High Speed Regeneration] talent, which used the Power of the Dead to nourish her flesh. In terms of stats, it increased her usual regeneration speed by five hundred percent and her regeneration speed by one to two thousand percent when using energy.

Upon entering the Beyond Grade A realm, she had received even more regeneration type abilities. Even though her 'life steal' attribute could not be used, her regeneration speed was still extremely fast. She was one of those who looked very paper but was actually very tanky—in this respect, she was quite similar to Han Xiao.

For the time being, she could still stand the focus fire of the mechanical army.

"Not bad. Looks like she won't lose very quickly." Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction while continuing to farm his distance travelled.

As soon as the battle started, he had made his avatar activate [Charge—Endless Potential] and started to keep moving around to farm the distance moved.

As the ability would only activate on his next melee ranged attack and the distance travelled would be reset to zero once he stopped moving, he could still use his army to attack while easily farming his distance travelled all the time.

As his level was above Hila's, the combat information on the interface showed all of Hila's attributes, which Han Xiao browsed through while keeping himself at a distance from the battle between his army and Hila.

After looking for a while, even Han Xiao was jealous of how amazing these attributes were.

Compared to a 'fake genius' like him who kept obtaining talents from here and there, Hila was truly one with extraordinary talent. She had a ton of talents, and most of them were exclusive personal abilities.

After becoming stronger in the future and her basic attributes got higher, the effects of these talents would become even more overpowered. Now, however, she was far from the peak she reached in Han Xiao's previous life. Even if she finally became a Beyond Grade A, she was still no match for Han Xiao.

As Han Xiao expected, Hila's Beyond Grade A Talents were [Supreme Power, which largely increased her Esper Ability strength, and [Cell Reaction Furnace, which largely increased her energy value.

Although Han Xiao had to go easy on Hila to protect her confidence, he did not want to go too easy on her and did not want to drag this out.

Despite the focus fire of the army being powerful, Hila was not threatened by it for the time being. What really gave her danger was the group of Apostle Weapons led by Psionic Prime.

Each and every one of the Apostle Weapons was very strong individually; they were much stronger than when Han Xiao fought Ames. They were ganging up on Hila and forced her to make a lot of mistakes.

Boom!

Numerous waves of death energy beams were shattered half-way. Scarlet Flame, whose body was an artillery cannon, fired nonstop, shooting out countless dark energy beams and stopping more than half of Hila's ranged attacks directed at the Apostle Weapons.

Heaven-Suppressing Banner charged forward, swapping his weapons continuously and slashing open the occasional death energy beams that got to him, none of which were able to stop him for even a second. His body was equipped with countless high technology melee weapons. He was a weapon master, and he also took the position of the head drill sergeant of the combat tactics in the machinery civilization.

As he successfully entered melee range, he immediately rolled and jumped up, swapping smoothly between all kinds of weapons and using a set of combos like a Mechanical Pugilist. His mechanical body was extremely mobile and swift; his attacks looked so appealing to the eye that it was as if he was dancing.

Hila had no choice but to concentrate death energy on her own body and turn her body into a weapon to deal with the pressure from Heaven-Suppressing Banner. Sadly, her melee combat ability was no match for a weapon master who was proficient with countless weapon styles. It was not long before she could no longer match up to the skills of Heaven-Suppressing Banner and was only getting beat up.

Clank!

Hila's hand blocked the alloy vibrating war axe, leaving a shallow red mark. She suddenly raised her leg high and kicked the axe down. She shot a highly condensed beam of death energy from her hand and blasted Heaven-Suppressing Banner far away.

Before she could take a break, the space before her rippled, and Mad Sky Hunter appeared using teleport. He opened his mouth full of metal sharp teeth and pounced at Hila's neck.

"Go away!"

Hila reacted quickly. She lowered her head and raised her hand before turning around and elbowing behind herself.

As the tip of her elbow landed on Mad Sky Hunter's chin, death energy exploded, creating an impact wave and blew this mechanical beast away.

At that moment, a purple shadow arrived from above, covered in a special twisted force field and dragging a lightning-like energy trail. It slammed into Hila and pushed her toward the ground.

This was a muscular purple mechanical soldier filled with nano-biological muscles, covered in lightning-like energy. It was indeed Purple Sky Spirit in overclocking mode.

Hila spun like a gyroscope. She tried to stabilize her body while spraying death energy to force the Apostle Weapons back, hoping to catch her breath.

However, at this time, a little dot penetrated the red curtain and glowed before Hila's eyes.

Swoosh!

Hila hastily turned her head. This dot slashed past her cheek, leaving a shallow bloody mark.

This dot came from the tip of a spear, and the one holding the spear was Psionic Prime.

Among the Apostle Weapons, Psionic Prime was the strongest, and Hila did not have an easy time dealing with him. Furthermore, with the other Apostle Weapons also taking part in the battle, she became more and more passive.

The two sides fought intensely for a very long time. The surface of the planet had a completely new look, like an egg with a cracked shell. Lava flew within rifts, and countless plates clashed toward each other, causing violent earthquakes.

"Hu… hu…"

Blood dripped from the sky. Hila was covered in blood and looked exhausted. Her specially made battle suit had holes everywhere, showing large portions of white. Melee weapons were plugged on her shoulder, abdomen, and leg. The intensity of the battle could be seen just from the state she was in.

"How unflinching." Han Xiao tutted internally.

Hila was used to going all out when fighting. Even if it was just a spar with Han Xiao, she still fought with her life.

Han Xiao had gone a little easy and told his mechanical troops to hold back, so as to give Hila a chance to go all out. She would only be satisfied if he still beat her in an overwhelming manner in this kind of situation.

This time, Hila pulled out the weapons stuck in her body. The open wounds slowly closed up and recovered. She looked around at the group of Apostle Weapons and suddenly took a deep breath before snapping her finger.

After such a long fight, all the Apostle Weapons including Psionic Prime had fifteen layers of [Death's Erosion, and they all exploded simultaneously!

Boom!

Red light exploded from the Apostle Weapons, and they were all heavily injured.

Detonating the energy had nothing to do with life force, since at its core, [Death's Erosion] was about the highly erosive death energy. Therefore, unlike her 'life steal' attribute, this ability was effective on any target, including machines.

The death of mechanical lives meant that their tinder was extinguished, which the erosion of death energy could definitely do. However, Hila did not lose her senses during the battle, so she would not kill Han Xiao's important combatants. Hence, she did not trigger the possible death effect, only the basic effect, which wiped out a ton of health from these Apostle Weapons.

Being heavily injured, Psionic Prime and the various Apostle Weapons showed flaws. Hila took the opportunity and immediately escaped, heading directly toward the Lord's Avatar like a red meteor, blowing away all the mechanical soldiers in her path.

"This is the last attack, I see."

Han Xiao could see the combat information. He knew that Hila's health was close to zero.

Knowing that Hila could weaken regeneration, Han Xiao did not let his avatar take any of the attacks and heavily injured Hila with just his Apostle Weapons and the mechanical army. Now, however, he controlled his avatar to turn around and charge right toward Hila.

Above the demolished earth, a black and a red meteor crashed into each other!

Han Xiao did not hold back at all. [Charge—Endless Potential]'s power fused entirely into his fist and slammed onto Hila's chest.

Bang!

It was as if the sky cracked open!

A powerful impact wave exploded and blew away all the dust around.

An enormous hole appeared on Hila's chest, penetrating right through. Her organs were shattered into pieces, and all the blood had splashed out together with pieces of her flash.

Hila's eyes lost focus. She fell straight down and landed on the ground, creating a huge crater.

"Target no longer has any signs of life." Psionic Prime looked over and was a little shocked. "Lord, y-you killed her? Wasn't it just a spar‽"

Han Xiao glanced at him and deactivated Lord's Descent. His original body slowly landed beside Hila.

"D-did we go overboard?" The various Apostle Weapons quickly followed and exchanged looks. They all looked down with guilt like kids who had done something wrong.

Han Xiao did not say anything. At this time, waves of gray energy suddenly gathered from all directions and fused into Hila's 'corpse'. Her eyes immediately regained life, but the dark red glow became gray.

The next moment, her broken body recovered at a visible speed. Flash grew out, organs reappeared, and wounds healed.

Her pale face slowly became red. Hila sat up and gasped for air. The glow in her eyes suddenly disappeared, and she started coughing severely.

"Cough cough cough…"

Han Xiao had expected this. With a smile on his face, he patted softly on her back. "Does it hurt? Take deep breaths, slowly."

Hila had the [Ignore Sudden Death] talent, which he had witnessed long ago and was also clearly shown on the interface. He knew that Hila would not completely die after dying once, and she would be fine no matter how heavily injured she was. That was why he decided not to hold back and used [Charge—Endless Potential] to beat her into the state of close death.

He knew all about Hila's personality, and beating her up with full force would actually make her satisfied. She had quite the potential of having the masochism trait.

After resting for a while, Hila finally stopped coughing and had a speechless look on her face.

"You really didn't hold back at all. I was even killed."

Han Xiao raised his brows and shrugged. "Isn't this what you wanted. Don't you like it?"

Hila snorted and did not object.

Having almost been beaten to death once, Hila was not unhappy at all. Since she had gone all out, this kind of battle was exactly what she wanted. She was very satisfied with the fact that Han Xiao did not hold back.

Furthermore, through this spar, Hila had a clearer understanding of Han Xiao's strength among Beyond Grade As, and she was secretly impressed.

She did not expect to still be completely overwhelmed even after becoming a Beyond Grade A. The difference was still so huge.

Hila did not become disappointed or despondent because of this. Instead, it motivated her.

Hoping to catch up to someone like him… it isn't that easy to succeed. No matter, it's only fun when it's challenging. Hila encouraged herself in her mind.

She had always respected the strong, and she could not help but admire Han Xiao even more.

"I've lost, but it was an amazing fight. It was worth it." Hila smiled from the bottom of her heart. She did not have many hobbies; fighting was one of the few.

"Tsk, what a fighting maniac." Han Xiao shook his head and laughed. He rubbed her head and said, "Can you still walk?"

"Don't touch my head. Let's go back."

Hila tilted her head and avoided Han Xiao's hand. Then she tried to stand up. However, having just recovered from close death, she was not in a good state, and her stamina was completely drained. Seeing this, Han Xiao wrapped his arm around Hila's shoulder and helped her up.

Hila glanced at him and did not reject it, letting him help her into the spaceship. She even actively nudged into Han Xiao's arms a little.

After this fight, the two of them became even closer.

In the past, although they were close, they were on completely different levels. Now that both of them were in the same realm, they had much more common language. The relationship between the two of them quickly improved, and the awkwardness and distance from not seeing each other for twenty years disappeared immediately.

Hila enjoyed this a lot.

In the past, I could only look at your back. Now… I can say that I'm standing beside you, right?

Information about the private spar did not leak, so it did not stir up any storm.

One phenomenon that attracted the most attention in the Shattered Star Ring was that more and more Beyond Grade As were arriving without any signs of trying to hide themselves, leading their fleets and heading toward the Black Star Army's headquarters.

The local galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring all focused their attention on these Beyond Grade As and the Black Star Army. They could all smell a gigantic piece of breaking news coming.

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