The dramatic controversy surrounding the Black Star Cup spread like wildfire throughout the universe, giving rise to at least eighty or a hundred smear campaigns against Manison. Manison, however, made no response whatsoever, completely ignoring Han Xiao.
News has a time limit, and its popularity usually only lasts for a few days. This is especially true in the interstellar world. The topic of the Black Star Cup was talked about for a while, and as is the case, its popularity gradually cooled down.
However, the reputations of the legion elites who made their names at the Black Star Cup have been solidified, allowing grassroots members to see more legion officers, and rankings of the strong at all levels have been established.
For example, among the cadres at the Calamity Grade, Hadavy is currently recognized as number one, Jotina as number two, and so on, ranked according to their Black Star Cup results. Those who did not participate or withdrew are not well known to the public.
After the closing ceremony, Han Xiao returned to the Black Star Palace to handle various matters, settled the offspring of the Child of Destiny, Lodi, and conducted various studies.
He had originally planned to have "Second Generation Sorokin" Evans try to absorb the body of the Child of Destiny, but after some consideration, he ultimately abandoned the plan.
First, there's the Child of Destiny: Offspring Transformation. It's still uncertain whether this counts as the awakening of a superpower gene or a physical mutation. Evans's replicated superpower can only handle the former, not the latter.
Secondly, the Child of Destiny is very mysterious, and the Information State is also a profound field. Han Xiao was unsure whether there would be any side effects after Evans absorbed it, and that he might become a new transformed entity, so he did not want to take the risk.
"We should ask the Sanctum Organization; they are the experts."
In the laboratory, Han Xiao looked at Lodi sleeping in the hibernation pod and nodded silently.
The strangeness of the Child of Destiny was beyond his capabilities, and since it was not his area of expertise, he had not yet found a way to resolve Lodi's transformation into a child body. He could only use a conventional Information State constraint device to stabilize Lodi's body and slow down the transformation process as much as possible.
Han Xiao stroked his chin. Speaking of which, the time for the new deal finalized by the Sanctum Organization is not far off. As long as he gets the compensation from the other party, he will dare to expose the Sanctum's true colors at will.
Therefore, he had already performed a purification surgery on the Holy Light Particle in advance, and the Holy Light Particle shrank back inside Aurora's body, becoming completely autistic.
"Adding the two cosmic blueprints from the Sanctum, and the two obtained through the exchange of Glory, I will now possess seven golden blueprints..."
Han Xiao opened the panel and glanced at it. Some time ago, he released the last two Glory Beyond Grade A prisoners and obtained the ransom money, and added two new Universal Treasure- level mechanical blueprints.
One is a piece of equipment exclusive to Mechanical Deity, called the "Titan Spinal Center".
The Mechanical Deity itself is a mechanical construct pieced together from countless soldiers. It can change into all sorts of shapes, like a lump of mechanical slime. Due to this property, Mechanical Force and Special Magnetic Field connect the mechanical Mechanical Deity's entire body, acting as the Mechanical Deity's neural network. The larger the size, the greater the consumption.
As its name suggests, the Titan Spinal Center is a tool that serves as the body's central hub, filling the Mechanical Deity's body. Depending on the user's will, it extends into different forms of complete skeletal structures, including human and animal forms, to support the Mechanical Deity's body. Mechanical Force controls the Mechanical Deity through this device, which greatly reduces the consumption of building neural networks and increases endurance.
As Universal Treasure- level class-exclusive equipment, it naturally has various additional bonuses. The Titan Spinal Center can comprehensively enhance the basic strength of the Mechanical Deity, making the body faster, taller, and stronger for the same volume. It also enhances skills such as [Mechanical Deity Descent] and increases Mechanical Affinity and efficiency.
In the recent battle against the Mechanic Emperor, Manison's Mechanical Deity was fully equipped with divine gear and a large number of Universal Treasure -level components, which made Han Xiao extremely envious. He felt like a blank slate, and the Star Slaying Blade in his hand immediately lost its appeal.
He decided to acquire more Mechanical Deity equipment, which was the mechanic's strongest trump card at this stage. Others could only use it as a trump card because it was not durable, but he and the Mechanic Emperor could use it as a regular tactic. Therefore, the more Mechanical Deity exclusive equipment, the better.
The other golden blueprint is a special device called "Mechanical Territory," which, in effect, is somewhat similar to Beoni's Land of the Fire Core and the Extinguished Legion's Land of the Frost Core, and even a bit like the Evolution Cube.
This is a large-scale device that can improve the efficiency of mechanical production, the probability of mechanical life enhancement, and the power of mechanical equipment within its range. It belongs to the domain-level equipment category. For Beyond Grade A mechanics, the greatest use of this thing is to oversee mechanical civilizations or Dimensional Factory, essentially a mechanical version of an "Evolution Totem".
However, the production conditions are quite demanding. The principle of this device is based on the theory of Secondary Dimension, which forms a field with special operating rules within its range of action, just like the arrival of Secondary Dimension. Therefore, the core material is the source energy fragments of the Secondary Dimension. The higher the quality, the better the finished product. Furthermore, due to the different fragments, the final product will also have a small number of characteristics of the Secondary Dimension to which the fragments belong.
Countless unstable new dimensions are born every day in the Secondary Dimension World. There is no shortage of source energy fragments, but it is necessary to collect source energy fragments at the risk of dimensional collapse - but as long as you have money, these are not problems.
Han Xiao has a fragment of Fel Energy Aggregation source energy, which can be used on this.
"Both new blueprints are quite good. Most importantly, once I build the finished product, I'll get two more Divine Transformation points... Adding the Sanctum deal, I can get a total of four."
Han Xiao was secretly excited, wishing he could immediately transform into a shut-in and spend ten or fifteen days in the factory.
"Beep beep..."
Just then, the communicator rang.
Han Xiao opened the caller ID and was surprised to find it was from Brother Tar, the commander of the Empire Exploration Army.
"Old Tar, what's up?" Han Xiao glanced at him, then continued fiddling with the equipment. The two were already quite familiar with each other, so there was no need for formalities.
"I've found some leads on what you asked me to inquire about," Tarrokov said.
Han Xiao paused in his movements.
During a conversation not long ago, he specifically Tarrokov to inquire at the Imperial Academy of Sciences about the progress of their research on the wormhole coordinates left by the Sorokin, fearing that it might be the cause of Iso's prophecy.
"How is it?"
"They've made a breakthrough." Tarrokov's reply made Han Xiao's heart skip a beat.
"... Specifically?"
"They've determined which region of the Unexplored Universe this wormhole points to, but they can't pinpoint the exact location yet; they only have a general area."
Phew, it's good that the World Tree wasn't completely discovered or discovered by the World Tree.
Han Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but felt a little conflicted.
The later the Three Universal Civilizations come into contact with the World Tree, the more advantageous it will be for him; this is his greatest current need.
He dared not reveal the existence of the World Tree Civilization, because given the style of the Three Universal Civilizations, once they learned of a powerful civilization in Unexplored Universe, they would inevitably take the initiative to make contact and prepare for the future.
Even emphasizing the danger of the World Tree is not feasible. Explaining why they know the details is secondary. The problem is that the Three Universal Civilizations might become more cautious because of their reminder, but they will never give up on contact. If they learn that there is a dangerous advanced civilization in the Unexplored Universe, they will not wait for others to come to them before taking action. They will definitely take the initiative. Sitting and waiting for death is not the style of the Three Universal Civilizations.
Therefore, revealing accurate information about the World Tree Civilization in any form will only bring forward the timeline of contact between the two sides.
Now that the Sorokin has been imprisoned under the Five Finger Mountain for five hundred years, Explored Universe, he is the only one left who knows the truth, and only he can influence the course of the World Tree version, so he must be extremely careful.
What was the Empire's reaction to this?
Tarrokov, unsuspecting, said, "The higher-ups haven't reacted much. This wormhole coordinate research project isn't a secret anymore, which is why I was able to find out... The Sorokin was captured decades ago and is long gone. Most research on him is no longer valued."
"So what are the Academy of Sciences planning to do?"
"Let's continue calculating the precise coordinates. Although we don't know why the Sorokin value these coordinates, the Academy of Sciences will probably operate the same way as before—find a way to activate the directional wormhole, send a few probes over, and then wait for the results to be transmitted back."
Han Xiao hesitated for a moment, then could only say tactfully, "I think this kind of research should be temporarily suspended. The Unexplored Universe is full of dangers, and no one knows what we might encounter. Now is a critical period of competition between the Three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance. If another event similar to the Intelligence Plague were to break out, it would be very detrimental to the Empire."
Tarrokov looked at Han Xiao suspiciously. "You've been expressing concern about this project all along. Do you know something about it?"
Would you believe me if I said it was just intuition?
"Heh." Tarrokov's lips twitched into a forced smile, indicating he didn't believe Tarrokov's nonsense. He then casually added, "I'll convey your message; whether they listen or not is none of my business."
"That's fine then."
"Okay, I'll get back to work now. Also, don't forget to attend the Three Universal Civilizations Commendation Ceremony in two months."
"Um."
Han Xiao nodded, turned off the remote communication, and Tarrokov's remote projection disappeared from his sight.
After a pause, he ordered the team escorting the Holy Light Particle to set off ahead of schedule for the transaction location designated by the Sanctum, situated in the Free Competition Zone of the Shattered World.
The day of the transaction is fast approaching...
In a secret base of the Sanctum Organization, the Oathkeeper opened his eyes and looked down at the cadres.
"Have the handover envoys been arranged?"
"They were sent out long ago; they are absolutely loyal and reliable."
"I need more than just loyalty; I need reliable capabilities. I know the Virtual Mechanic too well. Black Star will definitely take this opportunity to track us down. We must be prepared. Are the messenger's escape route and the Tu Shu Segment ready?"
"The Black Star Army is a local power in the Shattered World, with connections everywhere. It's not suitable to have a conflict with them. We've already equipped the envoy with Information State cloaking coating. As soon as he gets his hands on the item, he'll activate the coating and vanish into thin air."
Where are the guards?
"Yes, but not many, just to prevent accidents on the road... After all, in the Black Star Army territory, having more guards is pointless."
"Hmm... not bad."
The Oathkeeper nodded, indicating satisfaction, and said in a deep voice:
"Once we retrieve the Holy Light Particle, we can begin harmonizing the Third Sanctuary Key and prepare for the Awakening Ritual. Therefore, after we succeed, we must fully transition into the 'Darkest Hour,' completely severing all contact with the outside world... After the transaction is completed, I will meet with Black Star one last time, and then we won't need to have any further contact. This is probably the last time I'll see him; I doubt we'll ever have another chance to cross paths again."
"Clear!"
Upon hearing his subordinate's response, the Oathkeeper grunted in response, his mind wandering elsewhere.
To be honest, if it weren't for the deal, he wouldn't even want to see Black Star.
Even now, he's still confused. Who leaked the information? Does a mole even exist?