Word of the Black Star Cup incident spread around the universe rapidly. Tons of insults toward Manison appeared, but Manison did not respond at all. He completely ignored Han Xiao.
The popularity of news could only last a few days usually, which was even more true in the galactic society. News about the Black Star Cup lasted for a while in after dinner conversations, then followed the pattern and gradually faded out of popularity.
However, the army elites who became famous during the Black Star Cup gained a solid reputation that did not fade away. The base members had seen more army officers. The members in various Grades were given a position on the list of the strongest individuals.
For example, among the Calamity Grade officers, Hadavy was publicly recognized as number one, and Jotina number two, and so on according to the results they achieved in the Black Star Cup. As for those who did not participate or forfeited, the public were unaware of them.
After the closing ceremony ended, Han Xiao returned to Black Star Palace to deal with all sorts of affairs and settled Destinyâs Childâs sub-body Rody down to carry out all kinds of studies.
Initially, he wanted to try and have âSecond Generation EsGodâ Evans make an attempt to absorb Destinyâs Childâ sub-body, but after some pondering, he abandoned this plan.
Firstly, it was still unconfirmed whether the sub-body transformation of Destinyâs Child was considered an Esper Gene awakening or a physical mutation phenomenon. Evansâ Esper Ability could only target the former and not the latter.
Secondly, Destinyâs Child was very mysterious, and the Information Form was a very deep and complex territory. Han Xiao was not sure if Evans would suffer from any side effects after absorbing it. He might even turn into a new sub-body, so he did not want to take the risk.
âIâd better ask the Holy Accord organization. Theyâre the experts.â
Inside the lab, Han Xiao looked at Rody, who was sleeping inside the cabin, and shook his head.
The extent of how mysterious Destinyâs Child was exceeded his abilities. He was not an expert in this area. He had yet to find a way to resolve Rodyâs sub-body transformation. The only thing he could do for now was to use regular Information Form Restrainers to stabilize Rodyâs body and slow down his transformation speed as much as possible. Han Xiao touched his chin. Speaking of which, the new date of the deal with the Holy Accord organization was quite soon. As long as he completed the trade, he would be able to freely spill the secrets of the Holy Accord without any worries.
For this, he had already operated on the Holy Light Particle in advance. After that, the Holy Light Particle had shrunk completely inside Aurora and isolated itself.
âIncluding the two Universal Treasure blueprints from Holy Accord, as well as two from the federation, Iâll have seven Gold blueprintsâ¦â
Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at it. Some time ago, he had released the last too Beyond Grade A captives of the federation and received the bailing fee for them-two new Universal Treasure blueprints.
One was equipment for the Mechanical Deity. It was called âTitan Spinal Centerâ.
The Mechanical Deity was formed by assembling countless mechanical soldiers, so it could change into any shapes or forms, basically like a pile of mechanical slime. What connected all the parts of the Mechanical Deity was Mechanical Force and special magnetic fields that acted as the neural network of the Mechanical Deity. The bigger the Mechanical Deity was, the more energy it consumed.
As the name suggested, Titan Spinal Center was a tool that acted as the body center. It would be installed inside the Mechanical Deity. Following the userâs mind, it could become a full bone structure in different forms. Human forms, beast forms, and all kinds of forms included. It would support the Mechanical Deityâs body. Controlling the Mechanical Deity with Mechanical Force through this device, which built a neural network for the Mechanical Deity, would largely decrease the energy cost and extend the duration one could use the Mechanical Deity.
As Universal Treasure Grade class-exclusive equipment, of course, it also provided all kinds of bonuses. The Titan Spinal Center could comprehensively enhance the basic strength of the Mechanical Deity, making it strong and faster than other Mechanical Deities of the same size. Also, it enhanced various abilities as well as the userâs Machinery Affinity.
Not long ago, during the fight with Manison, Manisonâs Mechanical Deity that was equipped with tons of Universal Treasure Grade equipment made Han Xiao very jealous. He felt like he was like a blank piece of paper in comparison, and the Celestial Punishment Edge in his hands did not feel as powerful anymore. Therefore, he decided to obtain more Mechanical Deity equipment, as the Mechanical Deity was the strongest trump card of Mechanics at this level. For others, it was a temporary last resort because its cost was too high, but for him and the Mechanic Emperor, they could both use it as a regular combat method. Hence, the more exclusive items the Mechanical Deity had, the better.
The other Gold blueprint was a special device called âMechanical Territoryâ. From its effects, it seemed similar to Beyoniâs Land of the Fire Core and the Extinguish Armyâs Land of the Ice Core. It was even somewhat similar to the Evolution Cube.
This was a large device that could increase the machinery production efficiency, mechanical life form enhancement chance, machinery power output, and so on within its range. It was a territory-type equipment. To Beyond Grade A Mechanics, the best way to use it was to put it in their machinery civilization or the Dimension Factory. It was basically like the machinery version of Evolutionary Totem. However, the requirements for building it were rather tough. The fundamental principle of this device was the Secondary Dimension Theory, by forming a territory that had special operating rules within its range like the advent of a secondary dimension. Therefore, the core material of it was the core fragment of a secondary dimension-the higher the quality, the better. Furthermore, depending on the fragment, the product would also possess a small part of the secondary dimensionâs special traits.
There were countless unstable new secondary dimensions born every day, so core fragments were by no means in shortage. The only problem was the harvesting of it since the dimension might collapse after its core fragment was taken. Nonetheless, with money, these were all non-issues.
Han Xiao had an Evil Convergence core fragment in his hands, so he could use it on this.
âTwo new blueprints, both with quite good effects. Most importantly, after I successfully build the finished products, Iâll be able to get two more Godâs Trait Transformation Points⦠In addition to the deal with Holy Accord, Iâll obtain four in total.â
Han Xiao was excited and almost wanted to immediately isolate himself inside the factory for days on end.
Beep beep!
At this time, his communicator rang.
It was surprisingly a call from the dynastyâs Exploration Army Commander, brother Tarrokov.
âWhatâs up, Old Tar?â Han Xiao glanced at him and went back to what he was doing. The two of them were very close, so there was no need to be formal.
âIâve got some news regarding what you previously asked me to ask around about,â Tarrokov said.
Han Xiaoâs movements paused.
Not long ago when the two of them chatted, he had asked Tarrokov to ask around the dynastyâs science institute about their progress on the study of the wormhole coordinates EsGod left behind. He was worried that that was the trigger to Aesopâs prophecy. âWhat about it?â
âThey have made several breakthroughs.â Tarrokovâs answer made Han Xiaoâs heart skip a bit.
â⦠Any details?â
âTheyâve already confirmed which area this wormhole coordinates led to in the unexplored universe, but they have yet to find the accurate location, only a rough range.â Hu, so they did not fully discover the World Tree or get discovered by the World Tree. Thatâs still fine.
Han Xiao was secretly relieved but also troubled.
The later the three Universal Civilizations came into contact with the World Tree Civilization, the better it would be for him. This was his biggest wish at this point.
He did not dare expose the existence of the World Tree Civilization because given the three Universal Civilizationsâ character, once they knew there was a powerful civilization in the unexplored universe, they would undoubtedly make contact with it actively and prepare for it in advance.
Emphasizing the danger of the World Tree Civilization would not work either, and explaining why he knew the details was not even the biggest problem. The problem was that the three Universal Civilizations might become more cautious and wary because of his reminder, but they would certainly not give up making contact. If they knew that there was a dangerous advanced civilization in the unexplored universe, they would not wait till the other side found them but would surely attack first.
Therefore, no matter how he leaked any accurate information about the World Tree Civilization and what method he used, it would only make the time when the two sides made contact come sooner.
EsGod was already sealed, so no one but him knew anything about the World Tree in the explored universe. He was the only one who could influence the World Tree versionâs overall path, and he had to be cautious.
âHow did the dynasty react to this?â
Unsuspecting, Tarrokov said, âThe upper echelons did not react to it much. The study project of these wormhole coordinates isnât a secret, which is why I could ask around about it in the first place⦠EsGod has been captured for decades. Heâs already in the past. Most of the studies about him are not important right now.â
âThen, what does the science institute plan to do?â
âContinue to search for the accurate coordinates, of course. Although we donât know why EsGod treated this set of coordinates so importantly, the science institute will most likely do what was already done before. They will try to activate a wormhole with a fixed coordinate, throw a few detectors over, and wait for the results to come back.â
Han Xiao hesitated before subtly saying, âI think that this kind of study should be stopped temporarily. The unexplored universe is full of danger, so no one knows what theyâll find there. Now is the crucial time when the three Universal Civilizations are competing with the Super Star Cluster Alliance. If an incident similar to the Intelligent Plague happens again, itâs going to be very bad for the dynasty.â
Tarrokov looked at Han Xiao suspiciously and said, âEverything you said is filled with concern about this project. Do you know something?â âIf I say itâs my intuition, will you believe me?â
âHehe.â Tarrokov fake laughed, expressing he was absolutely not convinced, then continued casually. âIâll pass on your suggestion. As for whether they listen to it, it doesnât have anything to do with me.â
âThatâll be enough.â
âAlright, Iâll go do my things then. Also, donât forget to attend the three Universal Civilizationsâ award ceremony in two monthsâ time.â
âHmm.â
Han Xiao nodded, turned off the communication, and Tarrokovâs remote projection disappeared.
After a short pause, he gave the order to the team escorting the Holy Light Particle that they could depart now and head to the agreed location to carry out the deal with the Holy Accord. It was located in the free competition zone of the Flickering World.
âThe day of the deal is about to arrive.â
Inside a certain secret base of the Holy Accord organization, Oathkeeper opened his eyes and looked at the officers below him.
âWas the emissary carrying out the deal dispatched?â
âHe was sent out long ago, absolutely loyal and reliable.â
âI donât just want loyalty but also capability. I know Virtual Mechanics all too well. Black Star will certainly use the opportunity to attempt to track us, so we must be prepared. Has the emissaryâs escape route been prepared properly?â
âThe Black Star Armyâs forces are too powerful in the Flickering World, so itâs not suitable to spark any conflict. Weâve already equipped the emissary with Information Form Invisibility Coating. As soon as he gets his hands on the item, heâll activate the coating and evaporate from the spot.â âWhat about the guards?â
âThere are guards but not many, only to prevent accidents from happening on the way there⦠After all, any number of guards will be meaningless in the Black Star Armyâs territory.â
âHmm⦠not bad.â Oathkeeper nodded with satisfaction and said, âAs long as the Holy Light Particle is acquired, we can start to fuse the Third Sanctum Key and start the preparations for the awakening ceremony. Therefore, after we complete the deal, weâll fully enter âThe Darkest Timeâ and completely cut off any of our connections with the outside world⦠Iâll meet Black Star one more time after the deal is completed, probably for the last time. There most likely wonât be any need for us to cross paths in the future.â
âUnderstood!ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Hearing the subordinatesâ response, Oathkeeper grunted and started daydreaming.
Honestly, if not for the deal, he did not even want to see Black Starâs face.
Even till now, he was still confused about who leaked their information. Did the spy or traitor exist at all?