There had always been a rumor among the players about Black Star being able to replicate and imitate other characters’ abilities, and this rumor was finally proven true.
The majority of the players felt that this special talent Black Star had was the key reason he could grow stronger so fast, being able to ‘steal’ abilities from opponents. In some respects, the players’ guess was very close to the truth. However, no matter how much they guessed, they would never know the truth.
Furthermore, as this theory lacked solid evidence, for the NPCs, it only passed between the players and was not convincing enough for normal people even if they heard about it.
As the one who single-handedly initiated this event, Fly Free became famous overnight. He was seen as the number one loyal member of the army. He expressed his intention to form a Black Star Fan Group on the spot and to communicate with the army commander about making it a team Black Star Guards with only Immortals.
The atmosphere on the forums was festive. Other than praise for Black Star, there were also many who were laughing at Winter Wolf and the others.
[Mario’s Little Mushroom: Tsk, some people just can’t bear to see others live a good life and will try their best to pull you back using all kinds of dirty and filthy methods, yet they’re not ashamed but honored by it, acting as if it’s all for everyone’s own good. They’re the best definition of the word ‘hypocrite’.)
[Master of Bondage: Hehe, sadly for them, our army commander is wise and fair. He won’t be deceived.)
However, while all this went on, the Northern Battlefront surprisingly stepped up and announced they were responsible for it. It instantly triggered a verbal war on the forums and attracted the focus of the players. That was how it should be. Compared to praising Black Star, the players were still more interested in arguing with others online.
While the forums were heated, the influence of the Black Star Cup was also fermenting in the galaxy. Army members backstabbing Black Star sparkled a lot of conversations and discussions, leading many galactic residents who were not originally interested to curiously find out about the details of the incident.
Not long after the closing ceremony ended, on behalf of the army, Han Xiao made an official announcement to the entire universe to explain this incident, answering their questions while satisfying their curiosity.
He basically publicized Fly Free’s insults toward the Mechanic Emperor on that day with some exaggeration and more details so that the galactic residents could properly enjoy watching it. At the same time, the announcement emphasized that he really hoped the Mechanic Emperor would not be angry about this. This was just someone’s most sincere true opinion from the deepest part of his heart. It did not represent the army’s opinion. The army would always respect the Mechanic Emperor, even if he was an evil man. At the same time, he hoped that the Mechanic Emperor would uphold his position as an elder and not take the words of such young people seriously.
The galactic residents were just happily watching on, while the Beyond Grade As who attended the event only had one thought about Han Xiao in their hearts.
Wow, you b*stard, you really have absolutely zero virtue!
We like it!
Chapter 1141 - New Blueprint and World Tree Progress
Word of the Black Star Cup incident spread around the universe rapidly. Tons of insults toward Manison appeared, but Manison did not respond at all. He completely ignored Han Xiao.
The popularity of news could only last a few days usually, which was even more true in the galactic society. News about the Black Star Cup lasted for a while in after dinner conversations, then followed the pattern and gradually faded out of popularity.
However, the army elites who became famous during the Black Star Cup gained a solid reputation that did not fade away. The base members had seen more army officers. The members in various Grades were given a position on the list of the strongest individuals.
For example, among the Calamity Grade officers, Hadavy was publicly recognized as number one, and Jotina number two, and so on according to the results they achieved in the Black Star Cup. As for those who did not participate or forfeited, the public were unaware of them.
After the closing ceremony ended, Han Xiao returned to Black Star Palace to deal with all sorts of affairs and settled Destiny’s Child’s sub-body Rody down to carry out all kinds of studies.
Initially, he wanted to try and have ‘Second Generation EsGod’ Evans make an attempt to absorb Destiny’s Child’ sub-body, but after some pondering, he abandoned this plan.
Firstly, it was still unconfirmed whether the sub-body transformation of Destiny’s Child was considered an Esper Gene awakening or a physical mutation phenomenon. Evans’ Esper Ability could only target the former and not the latter.
Secondly, Destiny’s Child was very mysterious, and the Information Form was a very deep and complex territory. Han Xiao was not sure if Evans would suffer from any side effects after absorbing it. He might even turn into a new sub-body, so he did not want to take the risk.
“I’d better ask the Holy Accord organization. They’re the experts.”
Inside the lab, Han Xiao looked at Rody, who was sleeping inside the cabin, and shook his head.
The extent of how mysterious Destiny’s Child was exceeded his abilities. He was not an expert in this area. He had yet to find a way to resolve Rody’s sub-body transformation. The only thing he could do for now was to use regular Information Form Restrainers to stabilize Rody’s body and slow down his transformation speed as much as possible. Han Xiao touched his chin. Speaking of which, the new date of the deal with the Holy Accord organization was quite soon. As long as he completed the trade, he would be able to freely spill the secrets of the Holy Accord without any worries.
For this, he had already operated on the Holy Light Particle in advance. After that, the Holy Light Particle had shrunk completely inside Aurora and isolated itself.
“Including the two Universal Treasure blueprints from Holy Accord, as well as two from the federation, I’ll have seven Gold blueprints…”
Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at it. Some time ago, he had released the last too Beyond Grade A captives of the federation and received the bailing fee for them-two new Universal Treasure blueprints.
One was equipment for the Mechanical Deity. It was called ‘Titan Spinal Center’.
The Mechanical Deity was formed by assembling countless mechanical soldiers, so it could change into any shapes or forms, basically like a pile of mechanical slime. What connected all the parts of the Mechanical Deity was Mechanical Force and special magnetic fields that acted as the neural network of the Mechanical Deity. The bigger the Mechanical Deity was, the more energy it consumed.
As the name suggested, Titan Spinal Center was a tool that acted as the body center. It would be installed inside the Mechanical Deity. Following the user’s mind, it could become a full bone structure in different forms. Human forms, beast forms, and all kinds of forms included. It would support the Mechanical Deity’s body. Controlling the Mechanical Deity with Mechanical Force through this device, which built a neural network for the Mechanical Deity, would largely decrease the energy cost and extend the duration one could use the Mechanical Deity.
As Universal Treasure Grade class-exclusive equipment, of course, it also provided all kinds of bonuses. The Titan Spinal Center could comprehensively enhance the basic strength of the Mechanical Deity, making it strong and faster than other Mechanical Deities of the same size. Also, it enhanced various abilities as well as the user’s Machinery Affinity.
Not long ago, during the fight with Manison, Manison’s Mechanical Deity that was equipped with tons of Universal Treasure Grade equipment made Han Xiao very jealous. He felt like he was like a blank piece of paper in comparison, and the Celestial Punishment Edge in his hands did not feel as powerful anymore. Therefore, he decided to obtain more Mechanical Deity equipment, as the Mechanical Deity was the strongest trump card
of Mechanics at this level. For others, it was a temporary last resort because its cost was too high, but for him and the Mechanic Emperor, they could both use it as a regular combat method. Hence, the more exclusive items the Mechanical Deity had, the better.
The other Gold blueprint was a special device called ‘Mechanical Territory’. From its effects, it seemed similar to Beyoni’s Land of the Fire Core and the Extinguish Army’s Land of the Ice Core. It was even somewhat similar to the Evolution Cube.
This was a large device that could increase the machinery production efficiency, mechanical life form enhancement chance, machinery power output, and so on within its range. It was a territory-type equipment. To Beyond Grade A Mechanics, the best way to use it was to put it in their machinery civilization or the Dimension Factory. It was basically like the machinery version of Evolutionary Totem. However, the requirements for building it were rather tough. The fundamental principle of this device was the Secondary Dimension Theory, by forming a territory that had special operating rules within its range like the advent of a secondary dimension. Therefore, the core material of it was the core fragment of a secondary dimension-the higher the quality, the better. Furthermore, depending on the fragment, the product would also possess a small part of the secondary dimension’s special traits.
There were countless unstable new secondary dimensions born every day, so core fragments were by no means in shortage. The only problem was the harvesting of it since the dimension might collapse after its core fragment was taken. Nonetheless, with money, these were all non-issues.
Han Xiao had an Evil Convergence core fragment in his hands, so he could use it on this.
“Two new blueprints, both with quite good effects. Most importantly, after I successfully build the finished products, I’ll be able to get two more God’s Trait Transformation Points… In addition to the deal with Holy Accord, I’ll obtain four in total.”
Han Xiao was excited and almost wanted to immediately isolate himself inside the factory for days on end.
Beep beep!
At this time, his communicator rang.
It was surprisingly a call from the dynasty’s Exploration Army Commander, brother Tarrokov.
“What’s up, Old Tar?” Han Xiao glanced at him and went back to what he was doing. The two of them were very close, so there was no need to be formal.
“I’ve got some news regarding what you previously asked me to ask around about,” Tarrokov said.
Han Xiao’s movements paused.
Not long ago when the two of them chatted, he had asked Tarrokov to ask around the dynasty’s science institute about their progress on the study of the wormhole coordinates EsGod left behind. He was worried that that was the trigger to Aesop’s prophecy. “What about it?”
“They have made several breakthroughs.” Tarrokov’s answer made Han Xiao’s heart skip a bit.
“… Any details?”
“They’ve already confirmed which area this wormhole coordinates led to in the unexplored universe, but they have yet to find the accurate location, only a rough range.” Hu, so they did not fully discover the World Tree or get discovered by the World Tree. That’s still fine.
Han Xiao was secretly relieved but also troubled.
The later the three Universal Civilizations came into contact with the World Tree Civilization, the better it would be for him. This was his biggest wish at this point.
He did not dare expose the existence of the World Tree Civilization because given the three Universal Civilizations’ character, once they knew there was a powerful civilization in the unexplored universe, they would undoubtedly make contact with it actively and prepare for it in advance.
Emphasizing the danger of the World Tree Civilization would not work either, and explaining why he knew the details was not even the biggest problem. The problem was that the three Universal Civilizations might become more cautious and wary because of his reminder, but they would certainly not give up making contact. If they knew that there was a dangerous advanced civilization in the unexplored universe, they would not wait till the other side found them but would surely attack first.
Therefore, no matter how he leaked any accurate information about the World Tree Civilization and what method he used, it would only make the time when the two sides made contact come sooner.
EsGod was already sealed, so no one but him knew anything about the World Tree in the explored universe. He was the only one who could influence the World Tree version’s overall path, and he had to be cautious.
“How did the dynasty react to this?”
Unsuspecting, Tarrokov said, “The upper echelons did not react to it much. The study project of these wormhole coordinates isn’t a secret, which is why I could ask around about it in the first place… EsGod has been captured for decades. He’s already in the past. Most of the studies about him are not important right now.”
“Then, what does the science institute plan to do?”
“Continue to search for the accurate coordinates, of course. Although we don’t know why EsGod treated this set of coordinates so importantly, the science institute will most likely do what was already done before. They will try to activate a wormhole with a fixed coordinate, throw a few detectors over, and wait for the results to come back.”
Han Xiao hesitated before subtly saying, “I think that this kind of study should be stopped temporarily. The unexplored universe is full of danger, so no one knows what they’ll find there. Now is the crucial time when the three Universal Civilizations are competing with the Super Star Cluster Alliance. If an incident similar to the Intelligent Plague happens again, it’s going to be very bad for the dynasty.”
Tarrokov looked at Han Xiao suspiciously and said, “Everything you said is filled with concern about this project. Do you know something?” “If I say it’s my intuition, will you believe me?”
“Hehe.” Tarrokov fake laughed, expressing he was absolutely not convinced, then continued casually. “I’ll pass on your suggestion. As for whether they listen to it, it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
“That’ll be enough.”
“Alright, I’ll go do my things then. Also, don’t forget to attend the three Universal Civilizations’ award ceremony in two months’ time.”
“Hmm.”
Han Xiao nodded, turned off the communication, and Tarrokov’s remote projection disappeared.
After a short pause, he gave the order to the team escorting the Holy Light Particle that they could depart now and head to the agreed location to carry out the deal with the Holy Accord. It was located in the free competition zone of the Flickering World.
“The day of the deal is about to arrive.”
Inside a certain secret base of the Holy Accord organization, Oathkeeper opened his eyes and looked at the officers below him.
“Was the emissary carrying out the deal dispatched?”
“He was sent out long ago, absolutely loyal and reliable.”
“I don’t just want loyalty but also capability. I know Virtual Mechanics all too well. Black Star will certainly use the opportunity to attempt to track us, so we must be prepared. Has the emissary’s escape route been prepared properly?”
“The Black Star Army’s forces are too powerful in the Flickering World, so it’s not suitable to spark any conflict. We’ve already equipped the emissary with Information Form Invisibility Coating. As soon as he gets his hands on the item, he’ll activate the coating and evaporate from the spot.” “What about the guards?”
“There are guards but not many, only to prevent accidents from happening on the way there… After all, any number of guards will be meaningless in the Black Star Army’s territory.”
“Hmm… not bad.” Oathkeeper nodded with satisfaction and said, “As long as the Holy Light Particle is acquired, we can start to fuse the Third Sanctum Key and start the preparations for the awakening ceremony. Therefore, after we complete the deal, we’ll fully enter ‘The Darkest Time’
and completely cut off any of our connections with the outside world… I’ll meet Black Star one more time after the deal is completed, probably for the last time. There most likely won’t be any need for us to cross paths in the future.”
“Understood!”
Hearing the subordinates’ response, Oathkeeper grunted and started daydreaming.
Honestly, if not for the deal, he did not even want to see Black Star’s face.
Even till now, he was still confused about who leaked their information. Did the spy or traitor exist at all?
Chapter 1142 - Flawless Deduction
The deal location agreed by Han Xiao and Oathkeeper was a certain transit station planet in the Flickering World’s Dawn Star Cluster.
Feidin was appointed as the deal emissary, representing the army to wait and meet with the Holy Accord organization’s emissary there. The entire process would be monitored by Han Xiao from the headquarters.
Oathkeeper had also used spiritual projection long ago to meet with Han Xiao. The two of them both maintained communication to ensure that this deal would be carried out smoothly, clearly showing sincerity. Inside the office, a virtual screen hovered on the table and played the footage from the surveillance camera. Inside the footage was a prosperous area with a lot of people. Feidin stood beside the wall of a building wearing a mask, looking at the pedestrians passing by. The Holy Accord emissary had yet to arrive at the designated location.
“When will your man arrive? We’ve been waiting for almost two hours.” Han Xiao leaned back in his seat and looked at the screen with boredom.
“Soon.”
“You’ve said that seven times already.”
“… Really soon this time.” A while after, a man also in disguise finally appeared on the screen carrying a silver alloy suitcase. He walked right toward Feidin. The two of them met, but neither carried on to the next step.
“Is he the emissary?” Han Xiao asked.
“That’s right. What you want’s in the suitcase.” Han Xiao nodded, contacted Feidin, and told him to exchange the item. Oathkeeper also used his ability to give the same order. The two people on the screen received the order and exchanged the items right away, then backed off a few steps to check them. An armor suddenly appeared on Feidin’s body, shrouding both him and the suitcase. The next moment, with a flash of light, he disappeared right on the spot and suddenly appeared in Han Xiao’s office.
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