by <unknown>
“Hehe, congratulations, Black Star,” Austin said with a smile.
“Hehe…” Han Xiao replied with a smile as well.
“This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s chat again during the next Tyrant Party.” Austin did not say much.
Then, he teleported back to the Palace of Hidden Spells and activated the spells on it. The palace flew into the teleportation gate and disappeared.
“Tyrant Party…”
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He wondered if the Tyrant would invite him to the next party.
“Since things are settled, I shall get going.” Ames waved and flew back to Floating Dragon. Floating Dragon slowly left.
Han Xiao watched Ames leave. He then returned to the Black Star Army’s flagship and entered the command room, where the army officers gathered. As soon as he walked in, everyone looked at him with admiration in their eyes.
“Sylvia, Herlous, announce the fleet to return,” Han Xiao said.
“Roger!” Sylvia’s face was filled with excitement.
“Also, using the Black Star Army’s name, issue a recruitment order to the entire Star Field. It’s time for those who have been observing to make a choice.” Han Xiao smiled.
Due to the Tyrant’s invitation to the duel, the Black Star Army had been keeping a low profile. Since the matter had been dealt with, it was time for the Black Star Army to expand and officially become a Beyond Grade A organization!
Many officers were exhilarated—this was what they had been waiting for!
Han Xiao turned and looked at Feidin. He had yet to complete the mission to draw the Tyrant’s ability because he wanted to touch Feidin for some luck.
Patting Feidin on the shoulder, Han Xiao gave everyone a few words of encouragement and sent all the officers away, saying that he needed to rest.
Han Xiao returned to his room alone and opened the interface to claim the reward.
_____________
You have received the reward: Draw Heber’s one ability/talent.
Tip: Heber is a Pugilist. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.
Randomizing… complete!
Please select one from the five options below as the reward:
1. [Phantom Combo]—Ability: +75% close-range attack speed. Duration: 7s. Cost: 80 Energy. Cooldown: 18s
2. [Star Tossing Power]—Ability: Use energy to enhance your cells, +600 STR. Duration: 20s. Cooldown: 120s
3. [Weakness Observation]—Ability: +30% close range Critical Chance. Duration: 15s. Cooldown: 180s
4. [Close Range Killer]—Talent: +40% close-range attack and attack speed. +2 levels to all close-range combat abilities.
5. [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]—Ability: A secret technique the Tyrant uses to cultivate his energy. Current Effect: +500 Energy. Training Times: 0/650. This must be used on a Fixed Star. The effect of every training session depends on the time spent on the Fixed Star. Maximum effect per training: 25 Energy. Minimum: 0. Cost: 6,000,000 Experience per training session.
_____________
Scanning through the first four options, Han Xiao was a little disappointed. Beyond Grade A Pugilists had many abilities, so the chance of getting something good was exceedingly low. The first four options all had very limited effects.
However, the last option made Han Xiao surprised.
This is what Heber uses to train his energy?
This is good stuff.
Some of the Pugilists’ powerful energy came from talents and some came from cultivation type abilities.
When someone reached Beyond Grade A and wanted to continue becoming stronger, they would start searching for all sorts of abilities to train their energy. The longer one had been a Beyond Grade A Super, the stronger one’s energy would usually be.
His current health-energy cycle had reached an obstacle. This was because of his energy number—compared to his two million or so health, he only had fifty thousand energy, and this became a restriction to how tanky he was.
Although [Radiation Absorption] increased his energy, it required a very long time. Even if he searched for Energy Training Techniques like the other Beyond Grade As, it would also be highly time-consuming. Heber’s Energy Training Technique, however, was the shortcut he needed at the moment to increase his strength. A high-grade secret technique created by a Beyond Grade A would have a considerable effect on increasing his energy.
As for the experience cost that was enormous for the players… Han Xiao happened to have the experience penalty for more than ten months, so there was no need for him to level up.
The other four options were not very useful, so Han Xiao selected the last option without hesitation.
_____________
You have received [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]!
_____________
Han Xiao closed the interface with satisfaction.
“The biggest problem is temporarily settled. Next is the expansion of the Black Star Army. Plans regarding the Flickering World need to be brought forward as well. Speaking of which, when the army stabilizes, I will need to visit the Central Galaxy once…”
…
At the same time somewhere in the Central Galaxy, a broadcast of the duel in the Shattered Star Ring was playing on the screen. It had come to an end, and people started leaving.
Beep.
The broadcast was shut down, and EsGod’s face was reflected on the dark screen.
“Contact Black Star.”
Chapter 781. EsGod“s Suggestion |
The viewers at the scene and in front of their screens could not calm down for a long time, watching as the Black Star Army’s fleet left.
At this instant, in their hearts, the position of the Black Star Army had risen to that of the Bloodshed Land, deeply carved into their hearts.
During the return journey, Han Xiao made a detour and stopped by a fixed star in order to test out the effectiveness of [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]. He told the fleet to pause for a moment whilst he flew over to the surface of the Fixed Star.
Without donning his mechanical suit, the strong infrared radiation and high temperatures directly hit his body. The closer the distance, the higher the intensity.
When he had reached a certain distance, the words [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] on his interface lit up, signaling that it was able to be used.
After spending millions of experience, Han Xiao began his first cultivation session.
The energy in his body boiled up instantly, frantically absorbing the energy that was radiated by the star. His skin turned red, and the brightness continuously rose.
That’s right. I should activate [Radiation Absorption] as well.
At this moment, a stream of radiation shot out from the fixed star straight toward Han Xiao, resembling a crimson tsunami. Han Xiao did not avoid nor retreat but rather allowed the fixed star radiation to engulf him. His HP dropped a notch.
Under the high temperature, his HP decreased without stopping, but it very quickly filled up once again using his energy. The effect of the Stellar Furnace Cultivation would depend on the length of his stay on the star. The reason it was classified as a high-level cultivation method was because there were practically no Grade As that could survive on a fixed star, but with the current fleshly body of our Great Mechanic Han, he could live on this fixed star till he died of old age.
“This is literally taking a bath among the stars.” Han Xiao played with a lump of stellar energy from the fixed star, rolling it on his chest like bubbles as he roared in laughter.
After enduring for half an hour, the interface indicated that the effect of his cultivation had reached its limit. Only then did Han Xiao leave the fixed star. The count on his Stellar Furnace Cultivation now read 1, which added an extra 25 Energy to him.
For every half an hour, I get 25 energy. If I practice it 650 times, which is to completion, I will receive a total of 16,000 energy, which converts to almost 80,000 HP.
Han
Xiao was in a good mood. Having reached Beyond Grade A, increasing his strength had become more difficult than before. The opportunity for him to improve so much was rare, thus making him feel that this was some peerless divine technique.
After finishing his test of the Stellar Furnace Cultivation skill, Han Xiao returned to the fleet. After settling the affairs of his army, he would have the free time to practice this Energy Training Technique.
…
“The Black Star Army has allied with the Crimson Dynasty, and the Evolution Cube is now under the ownership of the Crimson Dynasty, forcing the Arcane Church to retreat.”
“Black Star became famous in his battle, causing the Tyrant to voluntarily retreat!”
“Our field reporters were all unfortunately killed, and according to the incomplete statistics, the casualty rate of the spectators reached tens of millions…”
The dust from the battle had settled, but its impact had spread like a tornado throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring, making headlines on every major news channel.
This event had attracted the attention of too many people. The five Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring had all gathered, and while the process was not long, the situation had changed again and again. For everyone, Black Star was the greatest protagonist in this event, having fought with the Tyrant. The most shocking thing was that the Crimson Dynasty had gone against expectations and announced the joining of Black Star in a high-profile manner. This was something no one had expected.
Everyone knew that this signified another Beyond Grade A gaining a solid foothold in Galaxy. With a hegemon as a backer, and that day’s matters being enough to be recorded in the history of Shattered Star Ring, it was a signal that the flow of the Star Field was about to change.
The day after the battle, the Black Star Army issued a recruitment order to the entire Star Field.
For a period of time, countless people who had only been watching felt an urge to respond.
With the Crimson Dynasty as a backer, the Black Star Army naturally did not lack resources, and their leader Black Star was even a Beyond Grade A who had proved his abilities. Such a new-born force had an immense future, and the benefits they provided would be many.
The Black Star Army recruitment order was like a deep-sea mine, setting off a huge wave in the Shattered Star Ring. Only a day after the order was issued, spaceships had already set off from the various Star Clusters, heading directly toward the headquarters of the Black Star Army in the Colton Star Cluster.
A multitude of applicants gathered. This was the largest recruitment in the history of the army. Phillip received tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, of resumes and application forms every day.
Many organizations in the Shattered Star Ring also threw out olive branches to the Black Star Army.
…
“You want to merge under my name and let me be the chief of the Mercenary League? That’s not a problem, but you must continue to be responsible for the daily affairs… Yes, that’s roughly what it means. We can do it this way. When the time comes, we’ll jointly declare to the Star Field that the Mercenary League is now anchored under my name.”
After ending the call with Gureja, Han Xiao pinched the bridge of his nose. He had already lost count of how many organizations had contacted him over the past few days and proposed such requests.
Some of his mercenary allies wanted to take advantage of his renown, but this mainly went for organizations that were closer to him. For example, Serbia the Fifth of Godora had called the day before, explaining that he wanted to organize another political visit. He hoped that the Black Star Army would not relocate its headquarters as well and stay near Planet Golden Gate.
Because of the existence of the Black Star Army, Planet Golden Gate had ushered in a period of explosive development in its recent years. With its original purpose as a transportation hub as well, the economy had become extremely prosperous.
Serbia the Fifth also wanted to invite Han Xiao to become an honorary officer of Godora, but the intention behind this was too obvious, and he was directly rejected by Han Xiao. A Golden Gal Badge was good enough for him, and the position of honorary officer would affect the position of the Black Star Army.
A Star System level Civilization could not satisfy Han Xiao’s appetite. With a godly support tool like the Evolution Cube in his hands, he had to watch which civilizations he chose to integrate with. Thus, it was not suitable to take such a clear stand with Godora.
The many civilizations in the Colton Star Cluster had also contacted him, of which a majority were those whom he had received mining rights from. Now that he had established his position through the battle with the Tyrant, those civilizations were trying to deepen the connection they had. In addition to gaining a Beyond Grade A as an ally, it was more because they lusted for the Evolution Cube.
Their alliance contract had a change in terms, which included expanding the mining area of the resource planet, allowing them to establish more branches and so on. To summarize, each civilization basically took out a large slice of their own benefits and distributed it to Han Xiao, accepting him as a high-level power in Galaxy.
However, regarding the agreement on the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao had left the other civilizations on hold and did not lock it down immediately. With something as good as the Evolution Cube on his hands, he did not intend to rush into obtaining benefits immediately. Since he had the seller’s advantage, he might as well take his time to decide.
Another issue was that many small organizations were requesting to merge with the Black Star Army. There was no shortage of organizations that were helmed by Calamity Grades. There were even several organizations in Section Zero that wished to become members of the army. After all, the temptation of the Crimson Dynasty was too great.
The last group consisted of all the financial groups actively investing to cover the cost of the expansion of the organization. Money had an extraordinary strength, and the expansion of the Black Star Army could be proportionally related to how much investment they obtained from the financial group.
Before he even got to rest a few minutes, his communicator rang once again. It was Zoel calling.
“Black Star… no, I should be addressing you as Your Excellency Black Star now.” Zoel smiled.
Han Xiao replied sarcastically before asking, “Envoy, why have you called me today?”
Upon getting to the main topic, Zoel no longer bothered with the pleasantries, immediately saying, “Now that we’ve already announced our alliance, we have to plan for our future cooperation. As for your alliance, the Dynasty has decided to first settle the matters of the Shattered Star Ring, which is your secret war.”
Interesting. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.
“Klent is preparing to submit a proposal during the Galaxy Central Civilization Court, asking for a complete reshuffling of the Colton Star Cluster and Seoul Star Clusters, which will be mediated and decided by the three Universal Civilizations.”
The Galaxy Central Civilization Court was the most formal place where the three Universal Civilizations had agreed to mediate disputes. It covered all Star Clusters, Star Field, and Star System Civilizations, with some special ethnic groups even having seats inside it, uniting the vast majority of civilizations in the universe to discuss and resolve their problems. It was an extremely formal process.
“Since Klent is also your ally, what do you plan to do?” Han Xiao asked.
“We plan to talk to Klent in private, asking them to give up the idea of submitting a proposal.” Zoel nodded. Because Klent was also their ally, the Dynasty could not be too harsh in dealing with them. They would not sit idly by and allow Klent to submit the proposal.
In fact, Klent’s scheming for the territory of the Purple Crystal Civilization was not the intention of the Crimson Dynasty but something Klent had decided on themselves to satisfy their own ambitions using the banner of the Dynasty. This sort of thing was too common, and as long as they
did not exceed certain boundaries, the Crimson Dynasty would turn a blind eye to this matter. However, since they now had other considerations, they had the authority to put a stop to Klent’s plans.
Of course, the Dynasty would definitely give some sort of compensation, such as giving Klent more territorial benefits in their division of the Flickering World.
“Klent is very knowledgeable, and they know that it will be useless for them to disagree. The Arcane Church was also hit by us and will definitely obstruct Klent’s proposal to get back at us. Without us opening our mouth, the proposal will not pass.” Zoel waved his hands.
“That’s true as well.” Han Xiao nodded. He did not feel that the Arcane Church would be one to swallow this injustice silently; they would look for a place to vent. The political stage would be one such area.
“Now that your Black Star Army and Bloodshed Land are our allies, we will work together to open up the Flickering World in the future. Thus, after solving the problem of the secret war, you guys have to have a good talk with each other, turning from enemies to allies,” Zoel said.
The Crimson Dynasty valued the development of the Flickering World, and their two allies in the Shattered Star Ring were the pioneers for exploring it. Naturally, the dynasty did not wish to see its two allies affect the exploration of the new Star Field because of mutual misgivings. Even if it was only a superficial reconciliation, they wanted to see some effort put in by them.
“That’s alright with me. However, I’m not sure what Ty-Ty will say.” Han Xiao shrugged in response.
Hearing this, Zoel also helplessly smiled. The party that had lost the most this time was the Bloodshed Land, and he would definitely have quite a lot of say.
After pausing for a while, Zoel said, “As for the last matter, the Dynasty will soon send the first batch of people to undergo the Evolution Cube transformation. When I know the exact time, I’ll inform you once again.”
Han Xiao nodded in response. This had already been discussed in their contract; the Crimson Dynasty had the right to utilize the Evolution Cube.
