"You... what exactly are you...?"
The Oathkeeper was deeply shaken, somewhat disoriented, and filled with doubt and uncertainty.
Black Star only revealed our intentions now, so he must have known this secret all along. He was just pretending before, and he even managed to fool me.
That bastard is so wicked!
Seeing the Oathkeeper in shock, Han Xiao looked surprised. "Huh? Why are you still here? Weren't you leaving?"
"I..."
"I know you'll miss me, but if you're in such a hurry, you should go back now." Han Xiao said calmly, deliberately keeping him in suspense.
"Actually, I'm not in such a hurry. Let's talk for a bit more... a bit more..."
The Oathkeeper laughed awkwardly twice, secretly gritting his teeth.
You bastard, you definitely did it on purpose! How dare you leave without getting to the bottom of this!
These words had an effect comparable to "Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment." The Oathkeeper abandoned the idea of leaving immediately and instead became attached to Han Xiao, determined not to give up until he got the answer.
"Since you're so enthusiastic, I can't very well refuse you."
Seeing that the Oathkeeper seemed emotionally unstable, Han Xiao stopped teasing him and invited him back to his seat.
The Oathkeeper took a deep breath and asked cautiously, "So you knew our plans. How did you find out?"
Black Star had already revealed the Sanctum's principles, so there was no point in him continuing to pretend he didn't know. Besides, he felt that Black Star must have some ulterior motive. Otherwise, the other party could have kept this information hidden indefinitely. The fact that he had revealed it now didn't seem like the behavior of an enemy. He wondered what Black Star was plotting.
"I have my own intelligence channels."
Han Xiao chuckled, indicating that he would never tell him such information; Han Xiao was probably dreaming.
The Oathkeeper had no hope. Putting himself in his shoes, he wouldn't reveal who the mole was, so he could only grit his teeth and hold back, saying, "Now that you know our goal, what are your intentions?"
He adopted a long-unseen humble posture. If he were facing an ordinary Beyond Grade A, the Oathkeeper might have considered killing him to silence him, but against Black Star, he really wasn't 100% confident of victory; he was just too damn weak.
Black Star could spread this information at any time if he wanted to, because his weakness was in someone else's hands, so he had to be careful.
"What do you think I'm up to?" Han Xiao asked with a half-smile.
"I don't know." The Oathkeeper had all sorts of guesses in his mind, but he dared not say them out loud.
In his view, Black Star's reasons for doing this were nothing more than a few possibilities, such as extortion or interference with the plan. It couldn't possibly be just a way to scare him for no reason... right?
Why don't you take a guess?
"... I can't guess."
"Tsk tsk, you're so boring." Han Xiao shook his finger. "Why are you so nervous? I didn't refuse to make a deal with you, haven't you understood my position yet?"
The Oathkeeper had a glint in his eyes. "You mean... you're not going to stop us?"
"Why try to stop me?" Han Xiao placed his hands on his nose, squinting as he said, "I am the leader of the Black Star Army, a special advisor to the Three Universal Civilizations, and also the vice president of the Beyond Grade A Association. If you followed the Meeting of the Gods a few years ago, you will know that I and the Mechanic Emperor reached a consensus at the conference..."
The Oathkeeper hurriedly tried to recall, and suddenly a flash of inspiration, like lightning, pierced through his mind, dispelling the fog of confusion.
"You mean... there aren't enough Beyond Grade A?"
"That's right, both the Mechanic Emperor and I said that back then, so you understand now, right?" Han Xiao chuckled.
The Oathkeeper suddenly felt enlightened, his mind racing, and most of his doubts were answered.
No wonder Black Star, knowing our objectives, still chose to sit idly by. This might be the only opportunity to rapidly expand the Beyond Grade A class in the short term, which aligns with their interests.
However, the Oathkeeper still had some questions.
"I thought you were on the side of the Three Universal Civilizations, I never expected you to do this."
"This is just a recent propaganda issue. In principle, I naturally share the same stance as the Three Universal Civilizations, but that doesn't mean I've become their vassal. I oppose the Mechanic Emperor simply because it's too radical and our paths are different. But our need for a large number of Beyond Grade A is the same."
"So you're planning to have a deeper collaboration with us?"
"That's right, I won't stop you from carrying out your plan, but I have a request: I hope that all of your revived historical Beyond Grade A will be on my side."
The Oathkeeper nodded, then shook his head. "This isn't so easy. They all have their own ideas. Even if I revive them, they won't be my puppets."
Han Xiao's eyes darted around. "Speaking of which, I've always been quite curious about why you want to revive a deceased Beyond Grade A."
He had been curious about this question since his previous life. The Sanctum Organization had revived so many powerful individuals, so they should have been ambitious. However, during the World Tree War, the Sanctum and a large number of Revived only appeared to resist the World Tree Civilization. It seemed that they only came out because of mutual dependence. He wondered what they were doing in private.
As for the batch of historical Beyond Grade A that appeared Super Calamity, he was still unsure whether they also came from the Sanctum.
"Because of a promise, a vow..."
The Oathkeeper lowered their voice, adopting a tone that suggested they had a story to tell and wanted a drink.
"Tell me about it," Han Xiao said, looking curious.
The Oathkeeper paused for a moment, seemingly hesitant to reveal more information, but considering Black Star's current attitude, he could only slowly speak:
"The Sanctum was born at the end of the Exploration Era, established by a group of the First Ones. Our purpose is to revive those who died in the war... Although we talk about that history in a lighter tone now, Black Star, you should be able to understand the despair and resentment of the First Ones —spending their entire lives breaking through the limits of individual power, only to be used as a new tool for fighting each other, falling one by one."
Even if you don't want to participate in the war, the tide of the times will still sweep you away. You can check the records; how many of the First Ones met a good end?
At the same time, because we have evolved to a new level, countless people covet us and fear us. You understand this principle: when an individual becomes too powerful, the group will inevitably become wary of him. There is nothing new in the universe, and this principle has not changed to this day... In the end, we are just a very small number of heretics in the universe, both worshipped and feared.
Among the First Ones, some were unwilling to be born in a chaotic era of war and hoped to go to a prosperous and peaceful time, but life was limited. Others were unwilling to die in war and even if they sacrificed themselves, they tried to be reborn in the future. So many people began to secretly search for ways to be resurrected and split into different factions.
A portion of them formed the Sanctum Organization, which is our origin and my vow...
"I see..."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao began to ponder.
He could understand why the First Ones group hoped to spend their exploration period through revival—they had finally obtained unparalleled personal combat power in the Galaxy, only to be reduced to tools of war. At that time, there was no room for the existence of Beyond Grade A forces. Except for a very few exceptions, most strong individuals could only become advanced henchmen of civilizations. Maintaining neutrality was a luxury, and everyone would feel unwilling to accept it.
Furthermore, since the Beyond Grade A civilization had just been born, no civilization wanted to neglect its in-depth research. Coupled with the concern of "the cunning rabbit dies and the hunting dog is cooked," the harsh environment in which the First Ones Beyond Grade A civilizations.
The First Ones considered various methods of resurrection, perhaps the Netherland was one of them, but few people chose it. After all, not everyone is willing to become an appendage of the two former sisters, and the two sisters themselves are not so reliable.
No wonder the Netherland Goddess said that the two former sisters were once invited to participate in a project about the Sanctuary, which was probably related to the Sanctum Organization. However, the two sisters refused, seemingly not wanting to be resurrected.
Han Xiao stroked his chin, pondering, and asked, "So, what method did you use to revive those Beyond Grade A cultivators?"
"This... I can't tell you." The Oathkeeper shook his head.
Han Xiao said with dissatisfaction, "Hmph, I could guess even if you didn't say it. It's probably related to the Sanctuary. I've shown my attitude, so you should show your sincerity too."
The Oathkeeper felt completely under Black Star's control. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded heavily. "That's right, it's the Sanctuary. As for the specifics, I really can't say right now. I'll tell you the method after I complete my oath."
Han Xiao pursed his lips and changed the subject:
"Then let's talk about cooperation. I can facilitate your plans and keep them confidential, and in return, you'll have to give me something in return..."
Han Xiao explained his requirements. Resources and intelligence were secondary; he mainly wanted the method to Sanctuary Revival, as well as some special technologies accumulated by the Sanctum Organization over the years, and also to establish goodwill with these Revived.
Whether the Oathkeeper is willing or not, he has no choice but to trust Han Xiao and accept him as a partner. Otherwise, if Han Xiao were to leak even a small secret, the trouble would be even greater.
The Oathkeeper couldn't guarantee whether Black Star had ulterior motives, but he wasn't one to be trifled with either. He might not be willing to resort to violence now, but he wouldn't be afraid if a fight really broke out.
After discussing it, the two finalized a formal cooperation agreement. The Oathkeeper had to establish a stable communication channel so that Black Star could contact him at any time, instead of passively waiting for contact.
Having accomplished all this, the Oathkeeper logged off with a heavy heart, probably needing some psychological rehabilitation when they got back.
Han Xiao sat in his office, legs crossed, fingers touching his lips, looking deep in thought.
He told the oath- Oathkeeper the truth, but not the whole story. He did want to increase the number of Beyond Grade A Beyond Grade A, partly to enhance their influence in the universe and improve his own status within the association, and partly to deal with the World Tree. Iso's prophecy and the progress of the Imperial Academy of Sciences forced him to plan ahead and find more helpers.
At the same time, he was also curious about the methods used by the Sanctum's the First Ones revivalists and wanted to delve deeper into the functions of the Sanctuary. Furthermore, he did not want the Sanctum Organization and a large number of Beyond Grade A beings to disappear from his sight and hide away. He proposed this cooperation in order to establish a stable means of contact so as to monitor and supervise the other party's movements.
The final motivation was that Master Han wanted to try to trigger the mission, as he felt the chances of this event triggering a mission were quite high.
The result was quite pleasing; a notification did indeed pop up on the panel.
[You have triggered the hidden quest [Return to the Historical Stage]!]
[Mission Brief: You learn from the Oathkeeper that the Sanctum Organization's goal is to resurrect some of the historical Beyond Grade A beings, and you choose to cooperate with them.]
[Mission Requirements: Assist the Sanctum Organization in successfully completing the Awakening Plan]
[Reward: Increase the favorability of all revived Beyond Grade A by 25 and their Legend Points by 1]
[Note: This is the initial quest in a series. Once you accept this quest, you have a higher chance of triggering more hidden quests in the same series.]
"The initial mission of the series signifies that this mission is the starting point of a storyline... That makes sense; if I hadn't cooperated with the Sanctum, the subsequent events would have been irrelevant to me, and I naturally couldn't intervene."
Han Xiao accepted the mission without hesitation.
He had a feeling that this series of quests was probably Implicated to the main storyline of several versions.
A secret base of the Sanctum Organization.
The Oathkeeper withdrew their mental projection, let out a long breath, and was still somewhat dazed, processing the changes in the situation.
"Boss, how's the situation?"
Did Black Star honor the deal, or did he renege on the agreement?
Luo and Fei, standing below, couldn't help but ask curiously after seeing the Oathkeeper's behavior.
The Oathkeeper snapped out of his daze, his expression hardening, and reluctantly said, "From this moment on, Black Star is temporarily our ally."
Luo and Fei's eyes widened, completely dumbfounded.
What happened? How could it be so sudden?
The Sanctum Organization has never sought collaborators before; this is the first time!
Isn't this just a simple transaction? Why has Black Star suddenly become an ally?
I've long heard of Black Star's exceptional ability to make friends; could it be that the boss has also been charmed... or rather, fallen for it?!