by <unknown>
Just as he was about to move, he suddenly had a flash of insight and realized a problem.
“Wait a minute. I knew about the Sanctums’ origin, the contributions of the Savior Civilization and the Sanctum Civilization, and how they passed on the knowledge from Jayz… but how did Oathkeeper find out?
“If the information he has only came from reading the light spheres, with so many light spheres here and the memory capacity limit, it should most likely be incomplete…”
Han Xiao frowned.
The Sanctum did not just record the final civilization of an Iteration but all civilizations of every Iteration. As long as they once existed, they would be recorded whether they were weak or strong, unlike the information of individuals.
This meant that only an extremely few light spheres contained the information about the origin of the Sanctums and The Great Reboot.
According to Han Xiao’s experience of reading so many light spheres, if not because he found out about the full picture from Jayz, he would most likely not have been able to combine them into this much information just by reading the light spheres. The memory capacity limit was the main reason.
However, Oathkeeper’s authority level in the Third Sanctum was far lower than his; unless he got extremely lucky and touched one of the ‘final civilizations’, there was no way he would know so much. Therefore, Han Xiao started to have doubts about Oathkeeper’s source of information—he did not believe that b*stard would be so lucky, or he would not have taken so many years to collect all the Sanctum keys.
Han Xiao pondered. The moment he doubted why the Sanctums existed, a change suddenly occurred!
Buzz!
The Sanctum mark on his hand suddenly flickered and shot out streams of light like silk that formed a translucent light curtain hovering before him.
“Hmm? What’s this?”
Han Xiao looked at it closely.
Chains of symbols that he could not understand appeared on the curtain. The language seemed to have changed every few paragraphs. Han Xiao could read none of them.
However, the next second, all these symbols turned into the common Galaxy language.
“It can automatically change into a language the reader understands, another Information Form mechanism, I see…”
Han Xiao focused and read from top to bottom. He realized that the contents of the Sanctums and the Iterations were right at the top, clearly explaining the full story. It was basically completely the same with what Jayz said, only more detailed.
Reading further, gaps started to appear every now and then. The further down he read, the more gaps there were.
After reading it for a while, Han Xiao roughly understood what was going on.
“I see, what this light curtain records are the last words of the final civilization of every Iteration. This thing is probably a special message board that passes down the important experiences of final civilizations to the next generations.
“These messages should be arranged according to time. The earliest messages are at the top, basic and the most crucial information about the origins of the Sanctums and the Iteration. This is basically the source of the information Oathkeeper knows… The lower it gets, the closer the messages are to the current Iteration, and the more random gaps there are. This is probably also related to the level of authority. The gaps will only decrease with a high level of authority.”
Han Xiao suddenly understood the purpose of the message board—to record the order of the Iterations and let those that came after quickly understand the origins of the Sanctums and the Great Reboot. That way, they did not have to randomly touch light spheres and piece the puzzle together themselves. Those that came after could learn from their experiences and make fewer mistakes.
This message board should be the main platform for the relay between the final civilizations of the various Iterations!
Han Xiao rubbed his chin and said with surprise, “This message board doesn’t feel like it came from the Sanctum itself but a change created by the later Iterations…”
Jayz had once said that because the Sanctums were eternal, many final civilizations saw the Sanctums as a breakthrough point and carried out all kinds of plans around it. That caused the Sanctums to ‘mutate’ and gain new functions. The Sanctum’s revival function might be one of them, since the class of the revival targets was not restricted by the different types of Sanctums.
This message board was very likely one of the mutated functions too. Through reading, he realized many civilizations did indeed carry out plans concerning the Sanctums. The first civilization to leave a message clearly conveyed in the message that it was the first to discover the message board function, and there were light spheres of civilizations in earlier Iterations than them.
The first civilization also briefly described the basic mechanisms and functions of the Sanctums, such as the required keys of the other Sanctums. As Han Xiao expected, the Sanctum fragments represented the level of authority.
Even Beyond Grade As occasionally receiving a feeling that Sanctums existed was a mutated function so that the following Iterations could come in contact with the Sanctums earlier and have more time to prepare.
At the same time, the final civilizations in the later Iterations also continued the work of introducing the functions of the Sanctums, adding new mutated functions on the message board. However, most of them were incomplete, and Han Xiao could not see them.
“All the rulers of the Iterations were leading the path for those who came after them…”
Han Xiao’s eyes flickered and looked at the light curtain again with different emotions.
[Today is the day to carry out the ███ Plan. Hope everything goes smoothly.]
[Will the ███ really work? We’re not actually confident…]
[The Rebirth Plan is based on ███. According to our calculations, our success rate is only at about 1.44%. Maybe we’ve not studied it enough and won’t make it through the Great Reboot, but the technology of the Rebirth Plan will be recorded by the Sanctums. We hope those who come after us can continue to study it. The name of our civilization is ███.]
[We’re the ███ Civilization. The Great Reboot has begun; all of this is not a lie. We are using the remainder of our time to leave this message. Our plan will fail. It proves that the ███ technology won’t work. Don’t take our path, it’s a dead end!]
On the light curtain, there were messages full of hope, messages that sounded unconfident, and messages that analyzed the path they took…
Looking at these messages, Han Xiao could almost feel the emotions these civilizations were going through when leaving them. They suppressed their anxiety, despair, and fear, forcing themselves to calm down and leave the knowledge they had to those who came after…
“This must be the true meaning of ‘A Relay Across Iterations’… What an incredible history.”
At this time, Han Xiao finally had a deeper understanding of the name of this mission. He felt complicated and could not help but respect these civilizations.
“Maybe one day in the future, the three Universal Civilizations will leave a message here too… hmm, or the World Tree Civilization?”
Han Xiao sighed, calmed his emotions, and started searching for messages related to the Celestial Star Alliance.
As the messages were arranged by time, he wanted to see where the Celestial Star Alliance came in and how many Iterations they were away.
He read one message after another, and when he came to the fifth last message, he saw the related information.
As this was relatively recent, the messages below were mostly empty. But he saw the familiar phrase ‘World Reset Plan’, which was the Celestial Star Alliance’s plan to get through the Great Reboot.
“Fifth last, huh. This means that the Celestial Star Alliance is at most four Iterations before us, or the last Iteration before us at minimum…”
Han Xiao nodded.
As one Iteration could
leave multiple messages, he did not know who wrote the last few messages. It might be other Iterations or the Celestial Star Alliance. Originally, he could judge from their language as the same language would mean they were from the same Iteration, but the message board had already translated all of them into the Galaxy’s general language. Han Xiao tried to but could not turn them back to their original language; he did not know if there was no such function or his level of authority was not high enough. Either way, there was nothing he could do.
The last few messages were filled with blanks. The only valuable piece of information was a phrase in the middle of the last paragraph.
[██████ Information Form becoming real. This is the right path ██████]
Han Xiao scratched his head and did not know what to say.
“Information Form conversion… Both the Intelligent Plague and the Sanctum revival function should share this trait. However, this message actually said this path is the right one… If it really is, how did you guys perish?”
Han Xiao sighed.
He pondered for a while. He then tried to leave a message on the light curtain, but it did not respond.
“Hmm, speaking of which, all the messages on this light curtain are from civilizations, no individuals. I wonder if my authority level is not enough to leave a message, or are the messages left by individuals not recorded by the message board?”
Since there was no way of figuring that now, Han Xiao could only put this question aside and close the message board.
The goal of this trip was mostly achieved. To him, the biggest thing he acquired this time was that he recorded the full methods to open the other Sanctums with his authority level, which was much higher than Oathkeeper’s.
Due to the limit of memory capacity, he would probably have to wait till the next time he entered if he wanted to acquire more things.
“I hope I can see other Sanctums next time. The First Sanctum would be best; my authority level there is quite high too.”
Han Xiao mumbled to himself and returned to the stabilized Sanctum gate.
He glanced at the Sanctum, then turned around and flew into the gate.
When the bright light filled Han Xiao’s sights once again, in the short moment his consciousness was blurry, he only had one thought.
“I’ve stayed in the Sanctum for five hours at most. I wonder how much time has passed in the universe…”
Chapter 1255: Fourth Round Mission and Second Revival |
Out in space, a light gate suddenly appeared and spat Han Xiao out before disappearing.
Han Xiao only regained focus as if his consciousness got dragged back to his body after being stunned for about ten seconds.
“Hmm? I’m already out?”
Han Xiao felt the complete opposite from when he entered the Sanctum. It was as if he passed through a thin membrane and his body became heavier, like stepping out from a pool.
Recalling what he had experienced in the Sanctum, his memories became blurry like he was seeing through a clouded window. However, it felt much better than what Oathkeeper described. It should be because his authority was higher.
The technology and knowledge he had memorized were totally clear.
Han Xiao looked down at his palm. The mark that represented his authority level in the Sanctum was already gone, leaving only the Sanctum revival mark.
“Let’s see if I can open the interface now…”
Han Xiao tried to bring up the interface, and the next moment, notifications popped up rapidly one after another.
_____________
You have successfully entered The Third Sanctum.
You have received 1 [The Third Sanctum] Fragment.
[A Relay Across Iterations] third round completed.
You have received 200 Billion EXP, 2 Random Rewards, 3 [The Third Sanctum] Fragments.
You have entered a Sanctum. [The Third Sanctum] fragments are now assembling…
Assembly completed. You have received ability [The Third Sanctum Authority Lv6]!
_____________
“I knew it, the fragments represent authority. I can’t open the interface in the Sanctums, but it still works.”
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
He opened the ability introduction of [The Third Sanctum Authority Lv6] and read it. It was basically about the same as what the Sanctum’s message board described, only more detailed. It also stated that the speed of time in the Sanctums also relied on the level of authority.
Han Xiao took out his communicator to look at the date and was relieved.
“Phew, less than four months have passed. This is much shorter than I expected, unlike that unlucky Oathkeeper, who spent years there. This means that the higher the level of authority, the closer the speed of time in the Sanctum compared to the main universe.”
He was in a much more delighted mood. After all, he had expected this to take years and already made preparations for it. Since it had taken less than four months, it was a pleasant surprise.
He took out the communicator and looked at it. Since he had already made the arrangements before entering the Sanctum, the affairs of the army and the association were all taken care of. The past few months had been peaceful, and nothing big had happened. Those seeking revenge, including Pangon, had yet to appear.
“This is the best scenario possible. I still have a hold of things.”
Han Xiao nodded, put the communicator away, and looked at the interface. The fourth-round mission of [A Relay Across Iterations] had also popped up.
_____________
Fourth round started!
Mission Requirements (Optional)
1. Share the information related to the Sanctums, The Great Reboot, the Universe Iterations, and so on with the current advanced civilizations (Super Star Cluster minimum).
2. Prove the existence of the Sanctums to the advanced civilizations and help them to open the Sanctums.
3. Make use of the level of authority advantage you have and lead the advanced civilizations into the Sanctums.
Remarks: Select one or more mission requirements stated above. The more requirements completed, the higher the Mission Rating for this round will be.
Basic Reward: 25 Billion EXP, 1 All Sanctum Fragment.
Bonus reward will be given depending on the Mission Rating.
_____________
“Hmm, so this is what the fourth round is like… It requires the person who entered the Sanctum to share this precious information with the advanced civilizations… Well, it makes sense. This is the meaning of a ‘relay’, after all. The perspective of this mission is bigger; civilizations are the key to the universe’s growth. The sooner they know about the Sanctums, the more time they’ll have to prepare. The final goal of this mission, judging from its name, is to help the civilizations get through the Great Reboot…”
However, although Han Xiao understood the purpose of this mission, he did not plan to do it.
From the perspective of the mission, helping the civilizations get control of the Sanctums was the top priority. However, this would cause unpredictable impacts on his plan.
It was no longer personal. Han Xiao had to think for all the Beyond Grade As.
In the future, to deal with the Great Reboot, they might have to work with the three Universal Civilizations. However, for now, there was no way he was going to be in a hurry to share such precious information with the advanced civilizations—it would be betraying the Beyond Grade As.
He only planned to work with the three Universal Civilizations after the association got a firm hold of the Sanctum revival function. Otherwise, the Celestial Star Alliance’s complete rule over the Beyond Grade As would be a prime example of their future.
Han Xiao sighed and decided not to complete the mission for the time being.
At this time, a few spaceships suddenly deactivated their stealth mode, appeared, and asked cautiously in the public channel, “Is this His Excellency Black Star?”
“Yes, it’s be.”
Han Xiao looked up and was not surprised.
He had noticed these few Holy Accord organization spaceships earlier and knew that they were the guards Oathkeeper had stationed there.
Han Xiao paused, took out the communicator, and called Oathkeeper. It was picked up very quickly.
Oathkeeper appeared on the screen with a face full of surprise.
“Black Star? Doesn’t it take a few years? How did you return so fast?’
“Maybe because I’m lucky?” Han Xiao shrugged.
“Really? I don’t believe you.”
Oathkeeper expressed strong doubts and was bitter.
Why did it take a few years for me and only a few months for you? It’s unfair!
“By the way, why didn’t you tell me about the message board? Naughty you, did you hide it from me on purpose?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
If not because he felt something was not right, he might have left without seeing the message board. Furthermore, Oathkeeper did not say anything about the Sanctum’s authority level, which made him unavoidably suspect Oathkeeper’s motives.
“What message board? What’s that?” Oathkeeper said with a confused tone.
“You don’t know?”
Han Xiao raised his brows and observed Oathkeeper’s expression but could not see anything.
It might be because Oathkeeper’s authority level was too low and he could not remember, or he was hiding it deliberately. Anyway, no matter what motives Oathkeeper had, such a trivial matter was in the past. Han Xiao did not want to bother dwelling on it.
“… Never mind. I’ve already acquired the Sanctum revival mark. Quickly bring the fleet over.”
“Okay, on it,” Oathkeeper immediately replied.
Han Xiao nodded, thought about it, and added, “By the way, it might be best to bring those Primordial Ones. We’re not reviving only the people we know this time. We have to make sure they’re under control.”
“Understood.” Oathkeeper nodded.
The targets of the first revival were the old members of the Holy Accord organization, all people who knew about the Sanctums, so they got a grip of the situation very quickly. However, the targets of this batch were outsiders who had no idea the Holy Accord even existed. Once they were revived, it would be difficult for them to accept the reality.
