by <unknown>
“What’s your real ability?”
Looking at everyone’s curious expression, Gaud exhaled and slowly said, “Do any of you have a habit of announcing your secrets? Well, I don’t. You don’t have to be so curious. You’ll find out in the future.”
Lucie curled his lips and continued to question him. “We’re all association members. What’s so secretive about it? You’ve joined the association, but you won’t share any information with us. That’s not sincere at all. It’s unfair to us. Or is your ability really Energy Control?”
Hearing this, many people nodded in agreement.
In the Beyond Grade A circle, rookies were all treated this way. Everyone wanted to know about the rookie’s secrets and abilities so that if they had to fight the rookie, they would not be surprised by unknown abilities. Most Beyond Grade As had already walked down the same path.
Gaud’s eyelids twitched.
He totally understood that Lucie was basically a sh*t stirrer who wanted to force him to share his secrets.
“Don’t bother asking anymore. I won’t answer you.”
Gaud shook his head and did not deny it but avoided the question.
Keeping his ability a secret was only temporary, not permanent. Once he grew to a certain stage, the dynasty would no longer keep it a secret and would instead promote the fact that he was the first person ever in history to possess this Esper Ability to intimidate the Beyond Grade As of other civilizations.
Therefore, dynasty’s current demand of him was only not to directly answer any question about his ability but not lie about it, or the promotion they did in the future would not be as effective.
Furthermore, denying his own ability was not something someone as strong as him should do. It was bad for his reputation. If he damaged his image among the Beyond Grade As, making up for it would be much more troublesome than simply not answering and avoiding the questions.
“So, you’re not going to give us face?” Lucie narrowed his eyes. “Our real bodies aren’t here, otherwise all we’d have to do is spar with you, and your ability would no longer be a secret. Why are you being so secretive about it? Looks like the rumors are not complete nonsense. Your ability is probably really Energy Control. Even if it isn’t, it’s definitely very special. That’s why you’re keeping it a secret.”
“Think whatever you want.” Gaud did not want to argue with him anymore and looked away.
Seeing this, many people’s eyes flickered with some suspicion.
From the way they saw it, by not giving a direct answer, Gaud having the Energy Control Esper Ability seemed more trustworthy. If this was not his ability, he could have just denied it.
If Gaud really did have this overpowered Super High Risk Esper Ability…
Having thought of this, many people had all kinds of ideas.
This time, Han Xiao who had been watching smiled and said, “Alright, alright, if Gaud doesn’t want to say it, don’t force him. Today, we’re welcoming him as a new member after all. Don’t make the atmosphere so uptight.”
The best result would have been for Gaud to admit what his ability was, but there was nothing Han Xiao could do if Gaud was not willing to answer no matter what. However, this was within Han Xiao’s expectations too. As long as he spread the information of Gaud possibly having the ‘Energy Control’ ability to all the Beyond Grade As present, he would have achieved more than half of his goal regardless of whether Gaud admitted it or not.
Hearing that the vice president had spoken, the others moved on from this topic, and the atmosphere became tranquil again.
Gaud glanced at Han Xiao and saw that Han Xiao nodded at him. He responded with a smile and sighed in his mind.
He had never enjoyed the feeling of being helped; he was always the shared enemy of everyone. At this point, he had to admit that having someone speak for him really felt quite good.
The meeting was casual and relaxed. The main goal of it was to welcome the rookie while helping him to understand the purpose, principle, and the rules of the association, or help him to solve some problems. For example, they could provide support in helping him to grow his forces, lend him resources, assist in battles, and so on. However, since Gaud was a direct member of the dynasty, he did not need help in terms of resources.
The people chatted casually, pulled Gaud around, and asked him questions. The people on the dynasty’s side were the more active ones; the other people only occasionally said a few words.
As they were having a good time chatting, Han Xiao glanced at Manison, chuckled, and said casually, “Gaud, you’ve just joined the association and don’t know about many things, so I must remind you. You have to be careful of our dear Mechanic Emperor. He’s very interested in new and young members.”
“Oh? Why?”
Gaud turned and saw that Manison’s expression was calm, as if he was used to it.
Sun Hunter, who was on the side, laughed out loud and said, “Haha, Black Star is right. Manison has been insisting on not giving up the Felon technology. If you really have a Super High Risk Esper Ability, you must be careful. He might be interested in your fragile body and turn you into his puppet.”
“Humph, ridiculous.”
Manison closed his eyes and ignored them.
Seeing this, everyone burst into laughter. The room was filled with joy.
Black Star messing with the Mechanic Emperor was already a routine part of the meetings. Hearing Han Xiao say that, everyone only felt it was usual. They were used to it and did not suspect anything.
As time was scarce for everyone present, the welcome meeting ended very quickly. The people went offline one after another. Gaud stood up and returned to the dynasty fleet as well.
As soon as he returned to the room, Gaud received a communication request from the dynasty upper echelons that began with a question right away.
“We’ve heard about what happened during the Beyond Grade A Association meeting. You didn’t tell anyone your ability, did you?”
“Nope.” Gaud shook his head.
He was not surprised about how quickly the dynasty got the news. After all, there were many direct members of the dynasty in the association, so they were all sources of information for the dynasty.
“Good. We’ll investigate where the information got leaked. To think that your ability was so accurately exposed, there’s definitely something going on… The contents of today’s meeting will certainly pass on to the federation, the church, and some Super Star Cluster civilizations. They might be suspicious about your ability because of it. Come back as soon as possible. The Flickering World is too dangerous.”
“You’re saying that someone might try to kill me?” Gaud raised his brows.
“I don’t know about that. Times are different now than before. Because of the Beyond Grade A Association, as long as the rules are not broken, this kind of thing will most likely not happen… but it’s still better to be cautious.”
“Alright then,” Gaud casually replied and hung up the communication.
He did not feel any organization would attack him. The Flickering World was still in war now. The federation and the church would not attack their allies, and the Super Star Cluster civilization would not dare dispatch Beyond Grade As too due to fear of the three Universal Civilizations also sending their direct members into the war. Plus, the Beyond Grade A Association was another layer of insurance for him. He felt he was in a very safe situation.
Unlike the past, the association Black Star and the others founded became a privilege for all Beyond Grade As.
In the past, when Black Star did a lot of things, he got targeted and attacked by the federation and the church all the time. Now, however, the association guaranteed the safety of the Beyond Grade As, so this kind of situation would most likely not happen again.
Gaud benefited from it as well. Furthermore, his identity as a direct member of the dynasty was another layer of protection. He did not think anyone would have any motive to want to
kill him—the risk of it far exceeded the reward.
“Now is such a good era for the Beyond Grade As…”
Gaud sighed and ordered the fleet to depart.
Dynasty spaceships took off one after another, entered outer space, and headed in the direction to leave the Flickering World.
At the same time, the content of the meeting got passed into different organizations by the various Beyond Grade As.
…
On the Federation of Light’s mother planet…
“An Esper who possibly possesses the Energy Control Esper Ability that only exists in theory?”
As the federation’s president, Bader, browsed the report sent by the direct Beyond Grade As, his expression changed slightly.
The chief doyen on the side tapped his cane and said with a deep voice, “This is just a guess. It might not be true, and it’s too early to take it seriously.”
“It’s a discovery at least,” Bader said. “This new Beyond Grade A of the dynasty is so secretive about everything. It doesn’t matter if his Esper Ability is Energy Control or not. He’s definitely not ordinary… They say the information got leaked from the black market. Tell the intelligence department to collect related information from the black market network and see if they can verify it.
“If this is true, the dynasty really got lucky. If they acquired such a Super with infinite potential, he will most certainly replace Clotti and become the National Pillar in the future… They already have Black Star, and now they have Gaud too. In terms of individual strength, the dynasty will be able to maintain an edge for hundreds of years. Sigh.”
The chief doyen frowned. “You’re not going to do anything, are you? It will cost us much more than it’ll benefit us.”
“Don’t worry. One Beyond Grade A isn’t important. I won’t destroy the great situation we’re in now just for such a trivial matter. The church will probably make the same decision too.” Bader waved and suddenly said, “But as for others… I don’t know.”
“Don’t think too much.” The chief doyen shook his head. “Times are different. Nothing will happen.”
Bader thought about it and nodded. “Hmm, you’re right. No one will do it, unless they’re an idiot.”
Chapter 1225: Speculation and Attack |
On the other hand, the contents of the Beyond Grade A meeting also got passed on to the various Super Star Cluster civilizations.
On the Star Arc Civilization’s mother planet…
“An Energy Control Esper… this kind of rumor would not appear out of nowhere. Investigate the reliability of this information as soon as possible!”
The Star Arc Civilization was severely worried.
In the past few decades, the growth of the Crimson Dynasty had been way too rapid and smooth. It could be considered their golden era. Not a single advanced civilization was not jealous.
The dynasty already had people like Dark Lord and Black Star, and now Gaud, whose potential might be infinite, had appeared, not to mention he was even a direct member of the dynasty. This news was undoubtedly a nightmare for the Super Star Cluster civilizations. With every new talent the three Universal Civilizations acquired, the Super Star Cluster Alliance faced more pressure in the individual strength territory.
Back when Traveler got publicly executed by the dynasty, although their good brother Modo took the blame for it for some reason, it was impossible for the Star Arc Civilization leader not to be furious watching their own loyal member getting his execution broadcast live by the dynasty. He had only held back and did not do anything because the big picture was more important.
If he could eliminate Gaud and erase the dynasty’s future National Pillar in advance, it would be like avenging Traveler and making the dynasty pay for what they did…
The Star Arc Civilization leader’s expression shifted rapidly. In the end, he sighed and suppressed his impulses.
“Forget it. The state of the Flickering War is not positive at all. Our allies are getting defeated time and again. We’re already in a difficult enough situation, forcing them to send Beyond Grade As into the war too isn’t a wise choice. There’s no room for risk-taking in the current situation…”
Currently, no Beyond Grade A was part of the Flickering War. The three Universal Civilizations promising not to dispatch any direct Beyond Grade As was one of the very few great things for the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Once they broke the rule and made the three Universal Civilizations send in Beyond Grade As, the situation would become much worse for them than it already was.
The Flickering War was the hope for the Super Star Cluster Alliance to turn their situation around. Between a Beyond Grade A and the overall strategy of the entire civilization, of course, he knew which was more important.
The three Universal Civilizations had control over the resources of the explored universe. The strong became stronger, forming a positive cycle. Those who came after had to grow under restrictions, unable to catch up to their growth speed no matter what. The difference would only grow bigger, and killing a single Beyond Grade A would not change that at all.
If they lost the Flickering War completely, taking revenge might be considered as a form of collecting some interest. Now, however, the risk of acting far outweighed the benefits, so of course, he was not willing to do it.
“Be it Gaud or Black Star, let them do whatever.” The Star Arc Civilization leader shook his head. “I wonder what the other Super Star Cluster civilizations think. No one should want to take this risk; the big picture is more important. As for the federation and the church, they’re not likely to fight internally now… right?”
…
Somewhere in the Primeval Star River, Manison deactivated the remote projection, turned on the virtual screen, and brought up Gaud’s information that was circulating on the internet. He tapped the armrest of the chair with his fingers and pondered.
“Gaud… a new name, not a Beyond Grade A seed from any Star Field. He suddenly appeared out of nowhere, which means he’s been secretly trained by the dynasty all this time. The last person who appeared in a similar way was Clotti, who has the ability to control dark matter. The dynasty heavily promoted his strength as soon as he appeared…
“Usually, the three Universal Civilizations promote the abilities of their direct Beyond Grade A members. However, the dynasty has asked Gaud to keep it a secret instead. Even Clotti did not receive this treatment, which means this guy’s Esper Ability is extremely special. The rumor of him having the Energy Control Esper Ability might not be fake. Interesting.”
A tint of curiosity flashed past Manison’s eyes.
If Gaud really had such an overpowered ability, he could not say he was not tempted. If this was before, he would have most likely tried to ambush Gaud and capture him to make him into a Felon.
Now, however, he had decided to quit that profession. Unless it was a special situation, he would no longer make new Felons, or he would not possibly be able to have a high reputation in the association. That b*stard Black Star had been bringing his dark history up all the time, and he was really annoyed by it.
“I shall see how things go first. If Gaud wants to build a reputation in the future, he’ll definitely have to display his ability. There’s no way for him to hide it. In fact, someone might already plan to spar with him before he even leaves the Flickering World.”
Manison suddenly narrowed his eyes and murmured, “There are so many Beyond Grade As and armed fleets in the Flickering World. It’ll be easy to dispatch forces. That place is the most dangerous Star Field in the universe now. It’s the land that nourishes conspiracies and plots… Hmm, I wonder if the federation, the church, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance will do anything…”
…
Meanwhile, in the Limitless Financial Group’s Flickering World subdivision…
“Another high potential stock…”
Sorokin crossed his arms and recalled what happened in the meeting earlier.
Fr
om the way he looked at it, Gaud had a bright future and would definitely be able to grow smoothly with the dynasty’s protection. It was almost certain he would become the National Pillar of the dynasty in the future. The dynasty had very high hopes on him.
“If things go well, I might be able to trigger a second Tragedy of the Pinnacles…”
Sorokin contemplated. He felt this was a great opportunity.
If he used the real strength he had been hiding and secretly assassinated Gaud, making the dynasty furious, he should be able to start an enormous storm that would shatter the situation the association had been working so hard to achieve. Thus, the bloody slaughtering between factions would start again.
Although he had joined the association, he was the last person who wanted to see the Beyond Grade A be united. His goals had never changed—one was to earn money, and another was to reduce the number of Beyond Grade As, creating an environment that was beneficial to him.
Furthermore, Black Star had always been a hidden problem. He instinctively wanted to get rid of anything that might expose his true identity.
“If I target Gaud, maybe I can think of a way to pin it on Black Star and cause him trouble… But he knows my secrets, so he’ll definitely suspect me. It’ll be risky for me too.”
Sorokin frowned slightly.
Although he had this idea, it was tough to actually execute it, as Black Star had no motive to target Gaud.
In his eyes, even if he made the move, Black Star would be the last person the dynasty suspected. The framing had almost no chance of working.
He did not dare take the risk before coming up with a detailed plan.
“I have to carefully think on what to do exactly.”
Sorokin’s eyes flickered.
…
A few days passed very quickly. Under the influence of some people with motives, the content of the Beyond Grade A meeting got leaked. It did not only circulate in the black market this time but throughout the entire galactic society, attracting widespread attention.
