Once the plan was deemed feasible, the two split up to recruit people to join them.
Han Xiao was only really familiar with three Peak Beyond Grade A warriors from the Empire; most of the others were people he had built friendships with through battles.
In comparison, Manison had more acquaintances; he was responsible for lobbying all the Peak Beyond Grade A, including those from the Glory, the Arcane, the Interstellar Black Market, and the Neutral Realm.
Since his connections were indeed inferior to the other party's, Han Xiao did not stop Manison from doing more work; he had already decided to compete from other directions.
Han Xiao was in charge of the Empire's side. He sent the Development Federation's plan to Old Dragon and Kant, inviting them to participate in the grand undertaking. As for the Dark Emperor, Han Xiao did not invite him.
Thanks to the consensus reached at the Meeting of the Gods, most of the Peak Beyond Grade A readily agreed to establish a Beyond Grade A platform in the form of Development Federation. A small number of people hesitated, worried about the reaction of the Three Universal Civilizations, but overall it went very smoothly.
Those directly descended from advanced civilizations Beyond Grade A were not among those invited to lead the effort. Invitations would only be extended to this group once the Development Federation was fully established. After all, most of these direct descendants prioritized the interests of their respective civilizations over their own, which was admirable, but they were not on the same page.
Kant and Old Dragon were allies, and while accepting Han Xiao's invitation, they also expressed their concerns.
"Black Star, your relationship with the Empire has finally improved somewhat, and now that you're leading the formation of the Beyond Grade A Association, the Empire must be unhappy with you, right?"
"No ruler wants to see unstable elements in his territory band together, but there's nothing we can do; everyone has different stances, and things can't always go as planned," Han Xiao nodded.
Kant cautioned, "Be careful. Manison's goal is to gain profit and he wants to bind the A Tier together as a bargaining chip. You're still young; don't let him use you."
These Peak Beyond Grade A individuals knew that Manison intended to use them, but because they saw a longer-term benefit in it, they did not reject the plan.
"I know his intentions, but doing so would benefit the Super A Tier. If the plan can be realized, it could reduce infighting among Beyond Grade A members caused by factional affiliation." Han Xiao was trying to preserve his forces while also intervening in the Super Calamity as a player in the game.
"If you ask me..." Kant remained noncommittal, lowering his voice, "If the Beyond Grade A Association is fully formed, it can solve the problem of excessive individual power on its own. Whenever the Super A Tier grows to a certain size, we can conduct internal purges, eliminating some non-orderly individuals, and proactively balancing the ratio of individuals to the collective. This is much better than the Three Universal Civilizations intervening."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao couldn't help but glance at him again.
This is an attempt to wrest the power of liquidation from the Three Universal Civilizations, using some ordinary Beyond Grade A as a price, in order to maintain the status of the Peak Beyond Grade A.
If things continue as they are, the Beyond Grade A Association could indeed evolve into this form. Once the Super A Tier becomes powerful enough and successfully elevates its status, the association would proactively control the number of Beyond Grade A to prevent the class from becoming too large and inviting a bloodbath from the Three Universal Civilizations...
By having the Beyond Grade A Association prune the branches, maintaining the number of Beyond Grade A beings at a level that poses a certain threat to the Three Universal Civilizations but does not force them to take action, the association can decide who and how many to kill, thus maintaining control and minimizing losses compared to the Three Universal Civilizations taking action.
It's estimated that among the Peak Beyond Grade A, there are quite a few who share Kant's thoughts. Climbing over the wall and pulling out the ladder is nothing new... After all, once the number of Beyond Grade A- levels reaches a certain level, further expansion will gradually change its nature, and for most Beyond Grade A, the risks far outweigh the benefits.
As expected, although these Peak Beyond Grade A agreed to join, their own plans were all different... Han Xiao narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
Overall, the recruitment process went smoothly and was quickly put into action. The various leading forces cooperated, mobilized resources, and planned to select a site in the Shattered World to build the Development Federation's headquarters.
Such a large-scale commotion could not possibly be kept secret from other forces, and the many leaders themselves did not intend to conceal it, since the nature of the organization was not a secret society, and it was meant to be known by the Three Universal Civilizations.
Naturally, the news also reached the ears of the empire.
Snap!
"Black Star is pushing his luck!"
In the president's office, Bekorodi, his face contorted with rage, slammed his fist on the table.
He pulled several hardline high-ranking officials aside and angrily denounced Han Xiao in front of Urranrell, his tone extremely fierce:
"Look at Black Star's recent actions; he's completely disregarding the Empire! He's only just eased relations with the Empire, and he dares to take the lead in doing something like this. Does he mistake the Empire's goodwill in opening up the Evolution Totem for weakness?"
Urranrell rubbed his temples. "Then what do you think we should do?"
Bekorodi shouted, "I think we should warn Black Star that if he persists in his ways, the Empire will rescind the decree to open the Evolution Totem as Warning to him."
Urranrell remained noncommittal. "If we cancel this decree, what do you think the Glory and the Arcane will do?"
"Hmph, those two families have coveted the Evolution Totem for a long time, but they know what's more important. On this issue, the Evolution Totem has to take a backseat. Glory and Arcane will never speak up for Black Star."
Bekorodi spoke confidently, indicating he was very certain of his judgment.
Urranrell tapped the table and said slowly, "You're right, but we anticipated this situation after the Meeting of the Gods. It's useless to try to Warning Black Star alone; this is the general trend."
When she discovered that Black Star and others intended to integrate the Super A Tier, she knew that the hardliners would come and cause trouble.
To be fair, Urranrell also didn't like seeing any signs of Beyond Grade A alliance, but this was a very sensitive issue with far- Implicated, so he couldn't make a decision lightly.
Therefore, she cannot easily rescind the decree to open the Evolution Totem, or Warning Black Star as Bekorodi suggested.
The suggestion was rejected, Bekorodi did not get angry. He had known the Führer would do this, and he was only there to express the hardliners' attitude. He pretended to snort angrily and left with his group.
Urranrell was left alone in the room. She shook her head, opened the star map of the Shattered World, and analyzed the situation.
Opening up the Shattered World will disrupt the existing cosmic power structure, a fact the Empire has long been aware of. First came the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and now the Beyond Grade A alliances are banding together; the impact is gradually becoming apparent.
"The price of exploration and expansion is turmoil, with each class wanting to redistribute benefits..." Urranrell sighed inwardly.
The Development Federation is currently a makeshift organization, with only a group of Peak Beyond Grade A forces making preliminary preparations. During this period, there will inevitably be many disputes and negotiations with the Three Universal Civilizations. It will take at least several more months before it is officially established.
This task didn't require his full attention, and Han Xiao had plenty of free time, which he devoted himself to repairing and strengthening the mechanical legion and creating new equipment.
After numerous failures, he finally managed to create the Great Emperor's Robe of Gold quality in the workshop.
This is the second type of Universal Treasure equipment that I crafted myself. The [Divine Equipment] has unlocked its second layer of effect and also provides a new Divine Transformation Point.
The second tier of bonuses also increases the basic success rate of crafting and researching gold blueprints, with the same increase as the first tier, at 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. However, the second tier adds a new attribute: a 0.2% increase in the mutation rate of Cosmic Wonder.
Han Xiao read through the description. This was a basic probability bonus for benign mutations that occurred during the creation of Universal Treasure. Cosmic Wonder type treasures are generally stronger than normal gold equipment and may have some "unsolvable" additional abilities.
Han Xiao threw this 1 point of Divine Transformation into the Mechanical route, and [Divine Transformation - Mechanical] unlocked its third layer of effect.
[Third Stage: Mechanical skill level of [Apostle Mechanic] and below +3, assembly line production efficiency +50%, assembly line product quality +10%, material cost -25%, additional 1500 Intelligence attribute points, 30 Potential Points]
"It increased the level of my basic mechanical skills quite a bit, boosted my mass production speed, and even gave me some intelligence and potential points. Not bad, right?" Han Xiao pondered.
He possesses various skills that convert intelligence into Mechanical Affinity; 1500 points provide approximately a 400% Mechanical Affinity bonus, while 30 potential points can at least upgrade the Ultimate Knowledge of a branch by one level.
The effects of the third layer may seem a bit mixed, but they add up to something quite good, especially the +3 to basic mechanical skills, which provides a considerable boost, considering there are already many Mechanical Affinity skills at the lower-level job stages.
This time, the target of the stat reset was Agility. Due to the workload, the Great Emperor's Robe is more difficult to craft than the Sovereign, so the stat reset amount is 375 points, all of which are converted into free attributes.
"Finally got this piece of equipment."
Having resolved the backlog of work, Han Xiao felt refreshed and put away his Great Emperor's Robe.
West Capital that needed to be built has been built; it's time to make a trip to the Secondary Dimension.
The Shattered World Beyond Grade A Development Federation is still in preparation; this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. The Three Universal Civilizations definitely intend to hold them accountable and oppose it. He can guess what the Empire wants to say. It's a good opportunity to go out and avoid the Empire's relentless calls and find some peace and quiet.
Besides, Ames has already been here for quite some time, so it's not good to keep her waiting too long.
On the other side, within the territory of the Crimson Dynasty, somewhere in the Constellation Corridor.
This is a large interstellar military fortress. A giant spacetime gate, several times larger than a normal stargate, stands in the center of the base. It is currently in a dormant state and looks like an elliptical archway.
A figure hovered in front of this giant space-time portal; it was none other than the Dark Emperor Clottey. He had removed his uniform from the Presidential Guard and put on a specially made lightweight mecha suit.
The base commander's respectful voice came through the helmet's communication channel.
"Clottey, this mech is specifically designed for traversing Secondary Dimension and can be anchored to coordinates in the main universe. It also contains spare portable anchoring devices. Do not damage or discard them, or you may get lost in the overlapping Secondary Dimension..."
"No need for introductions, this isn't my first time in Secondary Dimension," Clottey said calmly.
"Very well, we are about to open the Secondary Dimension portal. Guzar, who is stationed at the outpost, will greet you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the giant space-time portal in front of them slowly activated, and beams of dazzling light emerged from within the portal, quickly transforming into a vortex.
This is a variant of stargate technology, a large-scale teleportation device specifically designed for traversing Secondary Dimension.
Watching the portal activate silently, Clottey accessed the mech's built-in Secondary Dimension database, which contained an overview of the Secondary Dimension the Empire had explored over the years, including records of spatial coordinates and energy frequencies.
The situation in the Secondary Dimension is very different from that in the main universe. This database is equivalent to a map, and it can be remotely marked using tracking devices, which is equivalent to a wayfinding system.
Clottey browsed the database, filtering through it, and her gaze quickly locked onto one of the Secondary Dimension, silently marking it as the target location.
This Secondary Dimension is called [Fel Energy Aggregation]!