by <unknown>
“You… failed your Promotion?” The church leader’s tone was hesitant.
“Yes.” Wuornos nodded weakly.
“Didn’t you say there’s a 70% chance of success? Why…”
Before the Pope could finish, Wuornos interrupted him.
“I did it on purpose. I could have advanced smoothly, but I stopped it at the last minute.”
“What?!”
This answer was out of the church’s expectations.
They had thought that he had failed because of an obstacle in his advancement, but it turned out that Wuornos did it on purpose. No wonder he looked so badly injured.
Originally, his cells had all been successfully sublimated, but he had forcefully interrupted the transformation and forced his genes to return to their original state after the Promotion. It was just like undergoing a transgender surgery and asking for it to be reverted halfway. The ending would be anything but good, and in Wuornos’ case, it had greatly depleted his life force and damaged his cells.
“What do you mean?”
The Pope was extremely surprised. He knew that Wuornos would not do something like this for no reason.
“When I advanced, I realized that something was wrong. My life level did not undergo a huge transformation. It’s too different from when Black Star advanced. There must be something wrong with my method!” Wuornos said with a deep voice. “…So what you’re saying is that this method of Promotion isn’t right?” The Pope frowned.
“That’s right. It seems like the method to advance to the Transcendent Grade is not as simple as it seems. Black Star must have hidden some important conditions.”
Although Wuornos was heavily injured by the backlash, his eyes were still sharp.
In the beginning, he was very happy that his Promotion went smoothly, but the closer he got to the end, the more he felt that something was wrong.
Although he could indeed become stronger after this Promotion, the increase in his strength was far from what he had expected of a Transcendent. This made him suspicious.
He had a faint premonition that this Promotion would not allow him to step into the Transcendent Grade. If the Promotion was completed, he would have to wait until he had reached a new boundary in order to undergo the next Promotion. His potential had almost been squeezed dry, and he did not know how long it would take for him to obtain a new Promotion opportunity. He might not even have another chance.
If that was the case, his dream of reaching the Transcendent Grade would probably turn into smoke, and he would never be able to step into it.
After fighting for a while, Wuornos finally made up his mind. When he was halfway through his Promotion, he decided to cut his losses. He would rather risk his life to endure the backlash and end this Promotion.
Generally speaking, the advancement process of Supers was irreversible, but at Wuornos’ level, he could already control everything perfectly. Interrupting the advancement and reversing the transformation was possible. Of course, if a normal person did this, it might lead to the collapse of the genetic level, but the ‘stable’ property of the Void Spirit Kingdom’s weapon was one of the reasons why Wuornos dared to take the risk. Even if his cells were damaged, the risk would be greatly reduced.
This way, although he would be heavily injured, he would be able to recover after resting for a while. This precious opportunity to advance would not be wasted, since he failed to break through to a higher level. This was not the first time he had experienced this.
If Han Xiao was there, he would have immediately understood the meaning behind Wuornos’ actions. If Wuornos had succeeded in his normal Promotion, it would undoubtedly have been extremely difficult for him to reach the next Promotion at his current level.
If he took the initiative to fail the Promotion, the opportunity would not be wasted. According to the Promotion rules of this level, if he wanted to advance, he only needed to complete a new Promotion mission. However, those without the interface should not have the tough requirements of the Promotion mission. Maybe he just needed to train for some time and return to his peak state.
However, this method was very dangerous. If they were not careful and met with a malignant mutation, they would only end up harming future generations. However, just the failure of the Promotion was not fatal. The malignant mutation during the Promotion was the fatal one. The chances of the two were independent. Most Beyond Grade As were the lucky ones, and Wuornos was one of the best. With his deep accumulation and good luck, he did not encounter the malignant mutation this time and was not killed by his actions.
At this moment, another spectating upper echelon could not help but say angrily,
“Black Star knew that this was something crucial, so he deliberately hid it. He might be waiting for you to fail your Promotion and use it to trick us once again. He’s trying to indirectly kill an important member of the three Universal Civilizations so that we won’t have the strength of a Transcendent and won’t be able to threaten him!”
Wuornos shook his head. “It’s not his fault. I was too impatient.”
This was quite a close call, and he still had some lingering fear. He could not help but recall Black Star’s brief warning after his Promotion, but he did not take it to heart. He knew that he could not blame anyone. For Wuornos to be able to come this far, he had the resolution to not vent his anger on Han Xiao.
On the other side, the Pope was silent for a while before sighing.
“In that case, we still aren’t able to break through to the Transcendent Grade. In the short term, Black Star is the only one in the universe who has such power. This isn’t a good thing… Should we ask Black Star about the method to break through to the Beyond God level?”
“Forget it. Put yourself in his shoes and think about it. He either won’t say it or will lie about it. If we go over and try to get information from him, not only will he take away some benefits, but we will also be played by him again.” Wuornos waved his hand.
“You’re right… Never mind, it’s good to be alive. I’ll think about it in the future.”
The Pope had a helpless expression. He had high hopes for Wuornos, but now that his hopes had been dashed, he was naturally disappointed. However, it was not suitable for him to show it in front of Wuornos, who had escaped death.
This way, they would be on the same starting line as the other two civilizations, and their advantage of having intelligence would be gone.
“Sigh…”
The Pope of the Arcane Church sighed and did not say much. He only told Wuornos to have a good rest before deactivating the remote projection.
He had originally wanted to celebrate the birth of a Transcendent Grade direct descendant of the church. Since it was a failure, he had no interest in staying here. He still had to go back and attend to his multitude of daily matters.
The fleet of guards dispersed one after another, and the four direct descendants also took their leave. The military martial law in the area was lifted and it returned to being deserted.
Wuornos returned to the Temple of the Gods alone to lick his wounds. He recalled the process of Han Xiao’s Promotion over and over again in his mind, muttering to himself, “What am I missing…”
A few days later, in the head office of the three Universal Civilizations.
“… These are the specifics. I plan to invite the representatives of the various civilizations, including the three Universal Civilizations, as well as the various famous organizations, to hold a meeting regarding the peace in the galactic society. I want to discuss the elimination of human trade…”
In the room, Han Xiao’s remote projection spoke.
He had taken some time today to find the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations and prepare to complete his quest of [Ending of Darkness). The attitude of the three Universal Civilizations was very important.
“This is a good thing. In principle, we agree.” Louis nodded. “However, the enemy has yet to be dealt with. Is it too earl
y to be concerned about this?”
“It will be too late by the time the war is over. There’s no harm in trying to maintain order before the war. Anyway, many troops are on standby now, so it’s good to pull them out,” Han Xiao said casually.
Louis pondered for a few seconds before turning to look at the other two. “What do you guys think?”
“I have no objections.”
“Me neither.”
Marbruce and the Pope nodded and exchanged looks.
They were rather curious as to why Black Star would do something so ‘unimportant’ at this time. After analyzing it, they all felt that this was most likely Black Star trying to gain public reputation. If this was done, his reputation would definitely increase greatly.
It was not that the three of them could not accept it. At the very least, Black Star had this requirement, which meant that he was confident in this war. Furthermore, due to many factors, they could not stop Black Star from increasing his reputation.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll send a unified invitation to the various large organizations in the name of the association and the three Universal Civilizations.”
Han Xiao nodded. This matter required many organizations to work together. He planned to hold a meeting this time and invite all the organizations in the universe to participate.
Having completed his mission, Han Xiao was in a much better mood. He turned to look at the Pope and suddenly thought of something.
“By the way, has Wuornos tried to advance?”
The corners of the Pope’s eyes twitched. “Why do you care?”
“From the looks of it, you must have tried.” Han Xiao raised his brows and said playfully, “He failed, right? Is he still there?” The Pope’s mood immediately turned sour. He only felt that this was a joke directed at him and did not want to speak.
“Well, it seems like he’s not dead. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so quiet. However, I did persuade Wuornos not to rush to advance. It’s his business if he doesn’t listen, not mine.”
Han Xiao did not mind and said with a mocking tone.
“…He’s still alive. He only stopped his Promotion and suffered some backlash. He’ll be fine after recovering for a while.” The Pope’s face darkened. This was not a secret at all. With Han Xiao’s intelligence network, it would not take long to find out about this. It might even be Wuornos who tells him the truth himself.
Seeing this, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
If Wuornos had gone through an ordinary Promotion, he would not have the qualifications to break through to the Transcendent Grade for a very long time. However, if he only failed the Promotion and did not die, there was still a chance. In fact, he did not care whether it was the former or the latter.
If it was the former, Wuornos would no longer be a threat to him. If it was the latter, it meant that Wuornos still had a chance to become a Transcendent. He would not lose anything anyway, since the method of advancement would still be monopolized by himself.
However, he actually took the initiative to stop his Promotion. That was quite bold… Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and nodded.
It seemed like such a small scheme would not allow Wuornos to fail so easily. After all, he was a big shot who had stood at the peak of his individual strength for so many years. He definitely had substance.
He did not have any enmity with Wuornos to begin with, and he had no intention of targeting him. However, he did not persuade Wuornos to temporarily give up his Promotion mission, so he did not care about this result.
However, seeing this guy suffer because he tried to imitate his actions left Han Xiao gloating.
Heh, trying to learn from me? You must be joking!
Chapter 1400: Issuing a Call for Action |
The Arcane Church did not deliberately block the news. The news of Wuornos’ failure to advance quickly spread among the upper echelons. The Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and many Beyond Grade As all heard about this, and their reactions were all different. Some were surprised, some were regretful, and many were gloating. Originally, after Black Star opened up the Transcendent Grade, many Beyond Grade As also had thoughts of advancing, but with Wuornos’ example, many of them suppressed their desires.
Even Wuornos had failed. It was better to wait and see.
Because of this, many Beyond Grade As also confirmed that Black Star was the only Transcendent for the time being and no one else had the ability to charge at this level yet. His position could not be shaken, which made them even more interested in the Promotion method that Black Star had yet to reveal.
However, these things were only circulated in the upper echelons, and the people of the galactic society knew nothing about it. They were still living in a tight wartime life, filled with anxiety.
However, a few days later, a piece of news from the Black Star Army quickly spread throughout the galactic society and attracted the attention of countless galactic residents.
Black Star, who had kept a low profile for a period of time, suddenly made a big move. He publicly sent out an invitation in the name of the Beyond Grade A Association and the three Universal Civilizations, targeting the various organizations in the entire universe. There were civilizations and civil organizations, and their numbers were shocking, covering almost all areas.
Black Star said in the invitation that he was going to hold a meeting and was inviting the representatives of the various organizations to attend. They would discuss the development prospects of the explored universe and the disadvantages of life form trading.
Currently, Han Xiao’s every move was being paid attention to by the galactic residents and the various organizations. His actions immediately caused a wave of discussion. Countless people were puzzled by this and began to guess Black Star’s intentions.
The foreign enemies were closing in and the war situation was looking bad. Many people did not understand why Black Star would emphasize the problem of life form trading at this time.
Wasn’t war the most important thing right now? Even if they had to calm the internal state before dealing with external threats, it did not seem to have much to do with life form trading.
Furthermore, a conference of this level included almost all the famous organizations in the universe, so it should be led by the three Universal Civilizations. Why was Black Star the one leading it? Even the meeting location was in the Black Star Army’s territory.
Many people could not help but think… does this mean that Black Star has the same authority as the three Universal Civilizations ?
While they were puzzled, the various large organizations still gave face. All the civilizations responded publicly and expressed that they would accept the invitation to attend the meeting. Countless private organizations also expressed their honor to receive Black Star’s invitation.
For a moment, the galactic society that had been silent for a long time was in turmoil. It felt like Black Star was the leader of the galactic society.
With Han Xiao’s current position, the organizations that wanted to survive in the galactic society would not dare to not give him face.
Under everyone’s attention, the days passed, and the day of the meeting arrived.
Outside the Black Star Palace, a large venue floated in the middle of the fortress like a flat top. Its silver-gray exterior reflected the light of the Fixed Star.
Streams of light gathered from all directions and formed light dragons. Spaceships with the emblems of different organizations drove into the port one after another, and representatives of various shapes and sizes walked down.
The platform at the dock was already packed with people. Countless reception robots walked through the area, leading the way for the representatives of different organizations. Some organizations that were too far away used remote projections, and there were also quite a number of organizations that personally sent their members to give Black Star face.
“So many people have come…”.
The Purple Cr
ystal Civilization’s diplomatic envoys alighted from the spaceship, and Ralph, who was in the lead, smiled as he looked at the crowded scene before him.
A young diplomat beside him curiously approached and whispered, “Old leader, I heard you had a good relationship with Black Star?”
“It’s not too bad, but I haven’t seen him in a long time… After so many years, he’s doing pretty well. We’re no longer on the same level.”
A complicated look flashed across Ralph’s eyes. He waved his hands and sighed.
During the secret war of the Crimson Tide, the Black Star Army, as one of the mercenaries, had accepted the Purple Crystal Civilization’s invitation to fight the Klent Kingdom and Bloodshed Land’s invasion together. Back then, he had been the commander of Section Zero of the Secret Service and had been in charge of contacting Black Star for many years.
Because of this, Purple Crystal had let Ralph lead the team to participate in this meeting. It had only been a few decades, but he was already old and about to retire. The power in his hands was about to end, but Black Star, who had worked with him back then, was becoming more and more active. He had gone from being a small mercenary to an existence that the Purple Crystal Civilization could not hope to reach. This difference made him feel complicated.
At this moment, a discordant voice suddenly sounded from the side.
“Isn’t this the representative of the Purple Crystal Civilization? To be able to meet all of you here.”
The Purple Crystal Civilization’s diplomatic envoys turned around and saw a group of people disembarking from a spaceship. It was the Klent Kingdom’s diplomatic envoys.
The two forces still did not get along after the secret war ended and there were many grudges between them. Now that the representatives of both sides had met, they immediately glared at each other as if they could not stand each other’s sight.
“Hmph, so you’re Klent’s emissary.” Ralph glanced at him and said calmly, “It’s been a few decades, but you guys are still the same. You guys hate Black Star, but you don’t dare refuse the invitation. I advise you to keep a low profile and be good kids in Black Star’s territory. Don’t cause trouble.”
