Shattered World Dawn Star Cluster, a transit planet, the trading location chosen by Han Xiao and the Oathkeeper.
Fording was appointed as the trade envoy, representing the Legion to liaise with the Sanctum Organization's envoys and await their arrival. The entire process was monitored by Han Xiao from headquarters.
The Oathkeeper had also made a mental projection early on to meet with Han Xiao. The two leaders maintained communication to ensure the smooth progress of the transaction, and both were full of sincerity towards this deal.
In the office, a virtual screen floated on the desk, playing surveillance footage. The scene showed a bustling area with people coming and going. Fording, wearing a disguise mask, stood by the wall of a building, scanning the passersby. The Sanctum Messenger had not yet arrived at the designated location.
"When will your people arrive? We've been waiting for almost two hours." Han Xiao leaned back in his chair, staring at the screen with boredom, and casually asked the Oathkeeper standing opposite him.
We'll be there soon.
You've said that seven times already.
"... This time it's really almost here."
After a while, a man who was also disguised appeared in the scene, carrying a silver alloy briefcase. As if he had received an instruction, he walked straight towards Fording.
The two exchanged glances, but neither made any further moves.
"Is he the envoy?" Han Xiao asked.
"Yes, West Capital in his box."
Han Xiao nodded and contacted Fording to indicate that the goods could be exchanged. The Oathkeeper also issued the same instruction using his telepathic ability.
The two people in the video received instructions to exchange goods, then stepped back a few paces to examine what they were holding.
Suddenly, a suit of armor appeared on Fording, encasing him and the box. The next moment, a flash of light appeared, and his figure vanished from his spot, abruptly reappearing in Han Xiao's office.
The item is here.
The armor opened, ejected the box, and placed it on Han Xiao's table.
This armor was the Sovereign Mecha that Han Xiao temporarily lent to Fording, while he kept the teleportation beacon "Throne" to ensure he could get his hands on the goods as soon as possible.
Han Xiao opened the box, and a cloud of cold air immediately poured out. Inside, there were two cylindrical containers side by side, each containing a ball of Primordial Esper Ability Entity, one emerald green and the other sky blue.
Next to the two containers was a data storage device. Han Xiao activated it and glanced at it. It contained two golden blueprints, and all the items the Oathkeeper had promised in the transaction were complete.
At this moment, the panel also reacted, and a prompt popped up.
[Number of Primordial Esper Ability Entity you possess: 4/4]
[The [Primordial Esper Ability Collector] milestone has met the activation requirements]
[When you fight against a superhuman, all your attributes increase slightly, while the superhuman's damage to you is reduced by 12%~20%]
[You have obtained 1 [Third Sanctum] skill fragment]
Mission accomplished, looks like it's genuine...
Han Xiao felt reassured and waved to Fording:
"Go back."
Before the three-minute time limit expired, he activated the Sovereign Mecha again, and with a flash of Mechanical Force, sent Fording back to the trading site.
The Oathkeeper turned and looked over. "Black Star, how is it?"
"Okay, the items are fine. How about yours?"
"What you gave me was indeed Holy Light Particle."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and extended his palm.
"So... a pleasant transaction?"
Although the Oathkeeper was an intangible mental projection, they still went through the motions, pretending to shake hands with Han Xiao and saying, "Pleasant transaction."
The next moment, the Sanctum Organization messenger in the video seemed to activate some device, and he abruptly disappeared from the surveillance footage.
"Oh? Your people really slipped away quickly. Don't you trust me that much?" Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he said with a playful smile.
"Better safe than sorry."
The Oathkeeper did not deny their fear of Han Xiao.
Seeing their messenger activate the Information State coating and strictly adhere to the plan to leave the scene, the Oathkeeper finally breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his tense nerves.
This deal is very important to the Sanctum. He was worried about many things, but the biggest concern was that Black Star might not abide by the contract and would stop at nothing to track down the Sanctum's messengers. Now it seems that Black Star doesn't have such intentions, and the deal went quite smoothly.
With the Holy Light Particle, the success rate of opening the Third Sanctum can basically reach the expected level.
The Oathkeeper, suppressing his excitement, said, "I will remember Lord Black Star's generosity. Now that the transaction is complete, I should take my leave."
Dealing with someone like Black Star is always an adventure; the more you say, the more information you reveal.
Fortunately, the item was finally obtained, and there was no need to deal with Black Star anymore. The Oathkeeper now only wanted to immediately break free from the mental projection and never see Han Xiao again.
Because the Oathkeeper has always communicated with Han Xiao through telepathy, it means that only he can actively contact Black Star, while Black Star cannot contact him. As long as he doesn't take the initiative to visit him in the future, Black Star will never have the opportunity to meet him again.
Just then, Han Xiao suddenly smiled slightly and said, "Don't be in such a hurry. I don't know when we'll meet again. Let's chat for a bit. Perfect timing, before you leave, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
The Oathkeeper felt a sudden pang of unease.
Seriously? You have a problem again?
Every time you ask a question, I get nervous; it's never anything good!
"... Go ahead and answer, I'll try my best." The Oathkeeper spoke patiently and cautiously.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Just like the Oathkeeper, now that he had secured the benefits of the deal, he had no more scruples.
He paused for a few seconds, then decided to start with the least provocative question, and began slowly:
Do you... know about the Child of Destiny?
The Oathkeeper suddenly widened his eyes and froze on the spot.
You beast, what have you learned now?!
He stared intently into Han Xiao's eyes, trying to discern Black Star's attitude, but the other's handsome eyes were filled with sincerity and clarity, as if he were simply asking casually.
The Oathkeeper, unable to calm their emotions and suppressing the turmoil within, asked in return:
"Why are you suddenly asking about this? Did something happen?"
"There's nothing to hide. I once encountered a special individual who called himself the Child of Destiny, but unfortunately, he perished in a nuclear explosion. Not long ago, I met a similar individual, and after some investigation, I discovered that there seems to be a Primal Esper Ability in the universe called the Child of Destiny. It seems to transform certain beings into special offspring. Since you happen to be experts in Primal Esper Ability, I've come to consult you."
That's all?
"Otherwise what? But judging from your appearance, your Sanctum Organization seems to know quite a bit." Han Xiao looked the Oathkeeper up and down, and asked suspiciously, "Could it be that the Child of Destiny is in your hands? The way your messenger disappeared just now seemed to have some kind of Information State aspect to it. Is that some technology you developed?"
The Oathkeeper had a headache and secretly regretted overreacting, feeling as if they had developed Black Star PTSD.
No, don't talk nonsense.
"It's really not in your hands?"
"Not here," the Oathkeeper denied vehemently.
"Fine, I don't care whether it's in your hands or not. I just want to know some information. You specialize in researching Primordial Esper Ability Entity, so you must know some intelligence, otherwise you wouldn't have asked me that earlier." Han Xiao tapped the table, his tone casual.
He seemed to believe it, but after seeing the Oathkeeper's performance, he was 60% certain that the Chosen Child of Destiny Sanctum. However, the other party would certainly not admit it, so Master Han didn't press the matter further. More importantly, he wanted to find out what exactly the Child of Destiny's mechanism was.
The Oathkeeper had no choice. After thinking for a moment, he selected some information and explained in a deep voice:
"The Child of Destiny is a very ancient Primal Esper Ability, and we don't know much about it. Most of the information we have comes from other Primordial Esper Ability Entity. It is said that the Child of Destiny's ability involves changes in Information State and entanglement of fate lines, and possesses incredible precognitive abilities."
The so-called fate line, also known as Cause and Effect in some cultures, is like a large net. If you pluck one thread, the vibration will be transmitted to more threads. Therefore, every time the Child of Destiny activates their ability, they must read a large amount of information and perform analysis similar to big data calculation to calculate the various possible consequences of an event in order to make predictions.
In this process, in order to read the so-called fate line information, it releases special Information State particles to collect information. These particles often cause Information State Disturbance, generating a partial projection of themselves on a random collection of information, replacing a part of the other party's information, that is, generating a child body. The target is basically an individual life form.
Some Primordial Esper Ability Entity say that the Child of Destiny can transform into High-Dimensional Information State and, if they don't want to be discovered, then no one can find them, which is why no one has been able to capture them to this day... So, your encounter with two sub-bodies is simply due to your good luck."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao's eyes flickered, and his thoughts raced.
The information about Child of Destiny Oathkeeper that the oath-taker provided was almost identical to his guess about the mechanism, but he felt that the Child of Destiny's function was not limited to this.
Only the ability to foresee the future? Not necessarily!
Since the Child of Destiny can create offspring, can it also create other things, or even change the course of fate? The so-called Information State Disturbance has several manifestations, and the materialized "mirage" is one of them. Han Xiao has not forgotten how the Domino Virus that caused the Intelligence Plague came about.
Back in version 1.0, the intelligence he obtained from the Germinal Organization indicated that their "Child of Destiny" possessed the ability to influence the future rather than predict it. Han Xiao had previously thought this was just the ignorance of the natives, but now it seemed that it might not have been a misunderstanding.
Han Xiao asked a few more questions, Oathkeeper said, "I don't know, don't ask," clearly indicating that they would not reveal any more information.
Seeing this, Han Xiao had no choice but to change the subject, narrowing his eyes and saying casually:
"By the way, you told me about the mechanism of your telepathic ability last time. I looked it up afterwards, and it seems there's a Primal Esper Ability called Soul Flame that fits your description."
Upon hearing this, the Oathkeeper did not hide anything, seemingly considering it not a secret, and nodded, saying:
"That's right, I am the host of the Soul Flame."
"Hmm, I did some more research based on this clue, and it seems that the last host of the Soul Flame in the universe was a Beyond Grade A ability user nicknamed the Spirit Emperor, named Rowell Sisok... I wonder if you know him?"
After speaking, Han Xiao stared intently at the Oathkeeper, trying to see his every tiny movement.
However, the Oathkeeper showed no surprise this time, saying, "I know him, but I don't know this person."
Han Xiao frowned slightly. Unlike the question about the Child of Destiny, the Oathkeeper did not show any surprise at this question.
He wasn't sure whether the Oathkeeper was prepared for this, didn't care about revealing their identity, or was simply mistaken, and that the other party wasn't the Spirit Emperor from history who was suspected of faking his death.
A thought flashed through his mind, and Han Xiao asked, "Since the Soul Flame once accompanied this host, it must know more. Could you ask it for me...?"
As soon as he said that, Han Xiao felt something was off. It sounded like asking a man to ask his current girlfriend about her ex-boyfriend, which seemed like the behavior of a stereotypical straight man.
"What aspect do you want to ask about?" The Oathkeeper remained noncommittal.
"Hmm, I'm quite curious. After the Spirit Emperor died, who stole the Soul Flame, and how did you obtain it?"
The Oathkeeper spoke in a serious tone, "Don't you think these questions are too private?"
"As someone who's practically a scientist, is it wrong for me to be curious?" Han Xiao said righteously.
The Oathkeeper shook his head helplessly and said, "Alright, I know you're curious about my identity and think I'm the Spirit Emperor, or one of those Beyond Grade A cultivators who killed the Spirit Emperor and stole the Soul Flame. But you're wrong. None of these people are me. I didn't steal the Soul Flame from anyone. When I encountered it, it was already free. It took me some effort to subdue it."
Han Xiao's eyes darted around. "Could you ask it for me what it went through after the Spirit Emperor died?"
"... It doesn't want to say." The Oathkeeper shook his head, then paused abruptly, saying, "However, it told me that the Spirit Emperor did not die in battle. Since you've already seen his biographical information, I won't go into details. In any case, during the Spirit Emperor's final battle, his physical body was indeed destroyed, but due to the special nature of his ability, his spirit did not perish but escaped and disappeared. As for where he went, even the Soul Flame doesn't know."
Han Xiao pondered for a moment.
He didn't know if the Oathkeeper was telling the truth, but judging from the tone and content of their words, it didn't seem like they were trying to fool him.
The fact that the Spirit Emperor did not resurrect in his previous life means there's a very high probability he's still alive. If the Oathkeeper wasn't the Spirit Emperor Spirit Emperor, then who was? Could it be that he went to Secondary Dimension World and never returned?
"Do you have any other questions? If not, I'll be leaving now."
The Oathkeeper was getting impatient.
He didn't want to get entangled with Han Xiao anymore; there were more important things to do right now. He focused all his energy on the awakening ceremony. The vow he had made over the years had finally come to be fulfilled, and he didn't want to waste a single moment.
The fact that he was willing to stay and chat with Han Xiao for a few minutes was already a great show of respect in his eyes. Otherwise, he would have simply deactivated the projection and run away the moment the transaction was completed. Since he wouldn't need to have any further contact with Han Xiao, he wouldn't mind being a little rude.
"Alright, you have more important missions, so I won't hold you back any longer."
Han Xiao stood up, making a gesture as if seeing someone off, and deliberately sighed:
"Hey buddy, I had a pretty good impression of you. Who knows when you'll contact me again after you leave? I won't say much more, but after you revive the First Ones, please give my regards to the old masters."
"!!!"
The Oathkeeper froze in place the moment they were about to release the mental projection.
The entire mental projection suddenly began to vibrate like white noise, representing a violent fluctuation in emotions, almost to the point of mental breakdown.
The sudden and immense shock threw the Oathkeeper's mental frequency out of balance, causing his abilities to abruptly spiral out of control!
His eyes widened, revealing disbelief.
How could you possibly know our top secrets?!
I've investigated all the higher-ups, and there's not a single mole among them!
The moment this thought crossed his mind, the Oathkeeper suddenly froze.
No, I've fallen into a cognitive trap. There's actually one more high-level official I haven't investigated!
Someone once said that when you've eliminated all possibilities and only one remains, however improbable it may seem, that is the truth.
So...
Am I the mole?!
The Oathkeeper's brains were boiling.