by <unknown>
Han Xiao could guess the other party’s intentions, and they probably wanted to spy on his vegetable garden.
Hmm, they should have noticed that the immortal troop is extremely similar to the players that they have recruited and sent someone to probe the players. Perhaps the Limitless Financial Group will discover some of the player’s habits. For example, they only have to issue a request to the players, and even if it isn’t logical, some of the players will still carry out the request. Thus, they got the Ancient Emperor Party to issue a plea for help toward the army to test the reaction of the players.
Han Xiao’s guess was not too far from the truth.
If I’m remembering it right, the Limitless Financial Group was also very active in the Flickering World…
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
The various Star Fields had their own organizations, and they would all enter the Flickering World in Version 4.0 to become competitors. The Limitless Financial Group was one such organization.
It seems like I cannot avoid coming into contact with them in the future.
Han Xiao pondered for a moment before calling for his Black Star Guards.
Very quickly, Hila brought the members of the Black Star Guards into the workshop.
“I have a mission for all of you.”
With a wave of his hands, a holographic screen appeared with Luthor’s information being displayed.
“This armed organization entered the Gulal Civilization civil war and provided reinforcements to the Ancient Emperor Party. I want all of you to reinforce the front lines and get rid of the four of them. Right, the one called Luthor is a Beyond Grade A seed. Hila and Hadavy, be careful.”
“Alright.” Hila nodded.
“I know Luthor.” Hadavy crossed his arms. “I approached him for a spar a long time ago. He is an extremely powerful Pugilist. Strange, I remember him as someone who kept an extremely low profile. Why would he suddenly go against the army?”
“Who knows?”
Han Xiao was not prepared to tell anyone else that he was aware of the other party’s background.
The Limitless Financial Group probably thought that they were still operating from the shadows, and Han Xiao planned to keep things as such.
“Alright then.” Hadavy did not say anything else. Although he knew Luthor, he would not go easy on Luthor since he was going against the army.
The Black Star Guards then left the room. Han Xiao opened the doors to the secondary dimension and summoned his Apostle Weapons.
“Lord.”
Psionic Prime knelt so that his head was at the same level as Han Xiao.
“Take a batch of mechanical soldiers to the Gulal Civilization,” Han Xiao said. “If Hila and the others do not succeed, find a chance to get rid of Luthor’s group of four. Phillip will send you information about the enemy.”
He could not do anything to the Limitless Financial Group as both parties were not enemies. However, exterminating Luthor’s group was not an issue since it was in line with the Black Star Army’s stance. Since they had accepted an employment mission to go against the Black Star Army, the other party would definitely kill members of the army.
Since the Limitless Financial Group was eyeing on his immortal troop and wanted to probe them, Han Xiao would use this opportunity to pull out the claws sent by the Limitless Financial Group. He would still be able to warn the other party even if he pretended that he was not aware of their objective. This would prevent the Limitless Financial Group from becoming bolder and sending more people to probe him.
…
Boom!
A spaceship crashed onto the surface of an uninhabited planet, leaving a huge crater behind.
When the spaceship stopped rolling, Luthor crawled out from the wreckage.
Hila and the other Black Star Guards descended from the sky with light injuries.
Luthor’s injuries were far more severe, and he held onto his bleeding chest. His beating heart could be seen through his ribs, and his wounds were slowly healing.
“Black Star truly thinks highly of me. He sent out his entire Black Star Guards. Cough cough, it will be an honor even if I end up dying today.” Luthor’s face was pale, but despair could not be seen on his face. Instead, he looked extremely carefree as though he had seen through life and death.
Both parties had met on the battlefield, and the Black Star Guards had already taken out his three comrades. He was the only one left, and his time had come.
Hadavy shook his head and said, “I don’t understand why you had to accept the employment mission of the Ancient Emperor Party. If it was to earn money, why did you have to go against the Black Star Army? You killed the members of the army, and His Excellency Black Star was always going to send experts after you. You definitely knew this fact.”
“I do not have a habit of giving explanations to others.” Luthor took a deep breath and prepared to fight to the death.
Hadavy hesitated for a moment and tried to persuade him. “Surrender. His Excellency Black Star is very easy going and treasures talents. You are a Beyond Grade A seed, and His Excellency won’t make things difficult for you if you are willing to join the army.”
“Ha! I am not interested in that. Either kill me or be killed by me. I am not prepared for a third choice.”
“Is there really such a need?” Hadavy frowned. “There isn’t any hatred between us, and it wasn’t easy for you to become a Beyond Grade A seed. Why do you have to rush to your death?”
Bang!
Luthor replied with a fist to Hadavy’s face.
The many Black Star Guards took action together and filled the entire planet with craters.
Even if Luthor was a Beyond Grade A seed, he could not endure such a ferocious attack. His mind, which was riddled with holes by Hila’s attack, finally collapsed, and his soulless body fell to the ground.
Luthor became nutrition for Hila’s Esper Ability.
Hadavy let out a sigh by the side. It was a pity that such a good man had been killed just like that.
The Black Star Guards then cleaned up the battlefield before leaving the planet. Not too long after they left the planet, Psionic Prime appeared outside the atmosphere with his mechanical troops.
“The Black Star Guards have killed the target, so we don’t need to take action.”
Psionic Prime had been watching the battle from the side.
…
“Luthor is dead?”
In the conference room, the upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party were stunned.
Although they knew that the reinforcements would not be a match for the Black Star Army, Luthor was a Beyond Grade A seed. They had never imagined that he would be killed so easily.
At this moment, one member of the upper echelons trembled, and his body was possessed.
In truth, this mysterious individual was the leader of the Limitless Financial Group, Sorokin. Despite being extremely busy, he had the ability to do a hundred things at once.
“It seems like our cooperation has to come to an end,” Sorokin said slowly.
The Ancient Emperor Party leader was shocked. “You…”
“The reaction of the Black Star Army is far more intense than I expected. My original plan was only to probe and observe them, but the loss is out of my expectations. If we continue to work together, the cost required will be too great; this investment isn’t worth it,” Sorokin said calmly.
A Beyond Grade A seed was extremely rare, and Luthor’s death truly made Sorokin feel a sense of heartache.
Sorokin did not know that Black Star already knew his identity. According to his plans, the Black Star Army was always going to react in some way, but he had never expected Black Star to send out the entire Black Star Guards.
As such, Sorokin’s plan had failed. Although he was powerful, he could not possibly find Black Star personally for such a small matter, and he was not willing to sacrifice even more subsidiary organizations for a small experiment. Han Xiao’s
reaction had forced him to give up on the thought of probing the immortal troops.
His plan to test the immortal troops could only be delayed.
However, he was not someone who liked suffering a loss. Even though Black Star was not aware that Luthor was his subordinate, he was not planning to let the matter rest so easily.
Of course, Sorokin would not take revenge with force. The Arcane Church had already tried to do so and suffered a huge loss. He did not think that he would be able to match the Arcane Church in terms of high-level combatants.
However, history had proven that Black Star was an ambitious character, and Sorokin believed that Black Star would eventually have to face his Limitless Financial Group. This day might not be too long later as he was currently attempting to gain entry to the Flickering World.
Without waiting for a reply, Sorokin left the body.
The Ancient Emperor Party leader’s face turned ashen.
…
A few months went by in a flash, and Han Xiao remained in the headquarters the entire time while observing the changes in the Gulal Civilization.
After the death of Luthor, the Limitless Financial Group retreated without any signs of fighting back.
The Limitless Financial Group wanted to hide their identity so that they would not be spotted by him. The Limitless Financial Group was a business organization and not an armed organization after all. As long as Han Xiao could make the other party pay a sufficient price, the other party would definitely give up.
Without any future reinforcements, the Ancient Emperor Party was dragged back into hell, and the civil war was controlled by the Black Star Army again.
Upon seeing that the Limitless Financial Group had given up on their attempt to probe the players, Han Xiao also stopped paying attention to the battle. As the players grew stronger, it would be inevitable for others to set their eyes on them.
The experience provided by the players was something that he needed to grow quickly, and this was a non-negotiable for him. If he did not take a hard stance, the other party would climb over his head.
After dealing with this little problem, Han Xiao turned his attention to something more important.
After a few months of seclusion, the sixteen-month experience penalty had finally ended!
Chapter 880. Thanks, Arcane Church |
Han Xiao made a trip to the combat practice room and shut the door.
Taking in a deep breath, Han Xiao opened the interface.
The ‘40% Experience Penalty’ status only had a few minutes left, and Han Xiao could not help but become excited as he watched the timer go down.
It hasn’t been easy. Sixteen months…
Sixteen months ago, he had finally stepped into the realm of a Beyond Grade A Super.
In just a year and a half, he had fought Psyker to protect the Evolution Cube before having a duel with Heber. Following which, he had headed to the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet, where he was provoked by the allies of the dynasty again. Along the way, he fought EsGod once and met with his biggest crisis not too long ago.
He had only been a Beyond Grade A for a year and a half but had met with plenty of dangers. Han Xiao could not help but feel a sense of lingering fear as he looked back.
Thankfully, my quick-witted brain and handsome appearance resolved these dangers. Han Xiao praised himself shamelessly.
Dangers also brought him opportunities, and his status had now been cemented in place. Furthermore, his experience penalty was over.
Everything was getting better!
Han Xiao rubbed his palms with a look of joy on his face.
“I am now at level 260. I increased my level hastily to deal with the Arcane Church, which resulted in me spending forty percent more experience. With the experience that I accumulated over this period…” Han Xiao looked at his stash of experience, and his eyes sparkled. “I should be able to reach level 280.”
At his current level, the experience required for every level was a sky-high figure.
Without the experience penalty and ignoring all Class Advancement missions, the experience required for him to level up once should be enough for a player to go from level 1 to 160. Furthermore, the amount of experience that he needed would only increase as his level went up.
If he did not have the players to harvest experience and only relied on missions for experience, he would probably take donkey’s years to reach level 280.
The only reason he was able to accumulate enough experience to reach level 280 was because of the Political Asset. The combined effects of the Political Assets was like a double experience card.
It was truly frightening!
After lamenting for a while, the experience penalty status reached the last second and disappeared from his interface.
“The side effect of the Evolution Cube is finally gone.”
Han Xiao rubbed the muscles on his body and felt the activity within the cells of his body. The way this side effect showed itself was the slow adaptation to the evolution of his genes. The more powerful an individual, the more energy contained within their cells and the longer the process needed for the conversion. At this moment, the slight tinge of discomfort within his cells had finally disappeared, and their evolution was complete.
The effect of the Evolution Cube is truly amazing, Han Xiao thought to himself. He had been in a rush to use the Evolution Cube so that he could reach Beyond Grade A quickly. The side effects of using the Evolution Cube did not come at the right time. Han Xiao naturally did not plan to only use the Evolution Cube once but would choose a better time to make use of it next time. The best time for him to use the Evolution Cube would be after he spent all his accumulated experience during the version update period.
However, that was still a long way away.
Han Xiao focused on his attribute interface and began to level up.
_____________
[Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.2.
+360 Energy, +5 STR, +5DEX, +12 END, +15 INT.
You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.
…
[Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.20.
+360 Energy, +5 STR, +5DEX, +12 END, +15 INT.
You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.
_____________
A warm surge of energy flowed through his body, and his energy level was upgraded.
As his experience stash went down, his level shot up and stopped at level twenty.
Every twenty levels, there was a Promotion Mission, and a notification popped up on his interface.
_____________
You have reached Lv.280. You have triggered the Promotion Mission [A Legend Takes Flight].
[A Legend Takes Flight]: Obtain 1 Universe Grade Legendary Point. Only the strong will write his own legends.
_____________
The moment this Promotion Mission popped up, it was already in a ‘completable’ state.
Upon looking at the mission, Han Xiao was overjoyed.
The Universe Grade Legendary Point was the highest grade, and his actions needed to shake the entire universe. A player had to complete a mission of extremely high difficulty or do something extremely ridiculous to obtain the Legendary Point. This Promotion Mission was already at the level of the later versions during the World Tree Civilization arc.
Even with Han Xiao’s current status, it was not easy for him to obtain a Universe Grade Legendary Point.
However, Han Xiao did have a Universe Grade Legendary Point right now: Enemy of the Arcane!
Han Xiao’s mouth contorted. Was it truly a blessing in disguise?
After roaming through the universe for so many years, he only had a single Universe Grade Legendary Point. It could be seen just how rare it was.
He did not have any Mission Completion Cards on hand, and he originally thought that he would be stuck at the Lv.280 Promotion Mission. Who would have thought that he would be lucky this time?
&
nbsp; Han Xiao then burst into laughter.
Hehe, I really need to thank the Arcane Church for giving me a Legendary Point.
Right, I also need to thank Feidin…
Upon thinking about Feidin, Han Xiao’s hands grew a little itchy.
This was a surprise that dropped from the sky, and Han Xiao chose to complete the mission without hesitation.
_____________
You have completed the Mission Requirements.
Lv.280 Promotion Mission completed.
+55 END, 1 END = 410 Health = 420 Stamina
Your Energy Rank has exceeded 52,000 Ona.
You have received the talent [Strengthened Elemental Resistance]!
You have received the talent [Optimized Energy Usage]!
You have received the talent [High Grade Life Vitality]!
You have acquired the skill [Mighty Prestige]!
The effects of all your Virtual Technology skills have been increased by 40%.
_____________
Han Xiao’s eyes glowed with a blue bolt of lightning, and he spat out a cloud of bluish gas.
Since there was no race evolution this time, there was not much pain throughout the whole process.
He looked down to see if there were any changes to his body. From the outside, there were not many changes. He had grown slightly taller, and his muscles looked more toned.
He then felt his head itch slightly and grabbed a bunch of hair off from his head while scratching it.
“I’m shedding hair‽”
Han Xiao was shocked and immediately summoned his mirror to take a look, but after getting a clear look, he heaved a sigh of relief.
His Promotion stimulated his metabolism and improved the cell structure of his entire body. As such, his original hair fell out, and new hair grew out. However, the hair that had dropped was still stuck in his head, which explained why he felt the itch.
“Thankfully, my thick black hair is still around.”
Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment, he thought that he had walked the evil path of exchanging his hair for power. The balder he got, the more powerful he would become.
