May 13, 780 of the Galaxy Calendar.
Shattered World, Gaolu Star Cluster, Sigmar Star System, Forbidden Zone Number Three.
After forty years of vigorous development, the Black Star Army's territory has become very prosperous, and there are fewer and fewer undeveloped areas. This place is the Black Star Army's logistics base in the Shattered World and is not open to the public.
Within the area protected by several satellite bases, a soft, platinum-gold energy shimmered, like a radiant golden star, expanding and contracting as if breathing, emanating ripples of pale golden energy.
Two figures, one in black and one in red, hovered not far from this "star," surrounded by a dense array of mechanical soldiers forming a defensive circle that protected the area.
"This day has finally come; Aurora has also entered our territory..."
The red-clad figure sighed softly, her tone tinged with satisfaction and pride. Her usually aloof face broke into a kind smile, as if saying, "My child has grown up."
The two were Han Xiao and Hila. The golden "star" that was glowing and radiating heat not far away was Aurora undergoing the final step of her transformation into Beyond Grade A being.
Forty years have passed, yet Hila shows no signs of aging. Aside from a more aloof and dignified demeanor, her appearance remains largely unchanged. For an ordinary Beyond Grade A, this amount of time is equivalent to six or seven years for a normal person, but for a special Beyond Grade A like Hila, who wields the power of death, it is merely a blink of an eye.
"If Aurora had been allowed to accumulate power on her own, it would have taken her over a century to reach the Beyond Grade A. She's doing it much earlier than I predicted."
Han Xiao smiled slightly.
His appearance hasn't changed much, but forty years of experience have made his aura even more unfathomable.
The legion has steadily expanded over the past forty years, and the bonus from the [Proof of Leadership] has also continued to increase. On the other hand, through his research on Jiebach, Han Xiao has raised his Divine Transformation to an extremely high level, making his overall strength far greater than it was forty years ago.
The Holy Light Particle Harvesting Technique shortened Aurora's energy accumulation process. Coupled with its bottleneck-free nature, Aurora's transformation into Beyond Grade A was a natural progression, occurring around the same timeframe as Han Xiao had initially predicted.
After a long while, the golden "star" in front of the two began to shrink, transforming from a huge ball of light into a human figure radiating a pale golden glow, exuding an inviolable holy aura, like a combination of motherhood and divinity.
Aurora's image has changed drastically. She has become very tall and her features are stunningly beautiful. To use a cliché, she has an angelic face and a devilish figure. She has suddenly transformed from a petite and cute style into a mature and sophisticated one. She is almost unrecognizable.
Seeing this, Han Xiao and Hila flew to Aurora's side, looked her up and down, and their faces showed surprise.
"How come you look different?" Hila stretched out her hand to show her height and found that Aurora was actually half a head taller than her.
Han Xiao stared at Aurora's figure for a while, then decisively concluded. "This must be a second growth spurt!"
"This is a new ability; I can now control my body shape."
Aurora chuckled, her body radiating light, and in an instant, she returned to her original petite size, saying triumphantly:
"How was it? I looked better than you just now, didn't I? I can switch back anytime!"
Hila scoffed, changed the subject, and asked, "What other new abilities do you have?"
Upon hearing this, Aurora immediately demonstrated that all functions had been enhanced. Moreover, she did not need to develop her own abilities; she directly inherited the achievements left by her predecessor, gaining many more skills and expertise, fully embodying the joy of being a cheater.
Upon reaching Beyond Grade A, Aurora's efficiency in replenishing life energy increased countless times, so she no longer had to worry about running out of healing power. In addition, she gained a passive aura effect, which buffed allied life forms as long as they were within a certain range, greatly increasing their recovery speed. The range of the aura also gradually expanded as she grew.
"Also, I should be able to perfectly fuse the power of resurrection now."
Aurora spoke, she released a ball of life energy. Hila, seeing this, also released a ball of death energy. The two combined to form a golden-orange resurrection power. The strength of the two energies reached a balance and became very stable.
Hila's eyes flickered. "In that case, you only need to familiarize yourself with the ability briefly to unleash the resurrection function of the Netherland."
The seven... no, the eight Heroic Spirit King had been spending their days in the Netherland. Now that Aurora had become Beyond Grade A, the final piece of the "Impure World Reincarnation" puzzle was complete, allowing these Heroic Spirits to unleash their power.
With the help of the eight spirits of the Netherland, the two sisters rose to become among the strongest in the universe. This is the greatest legacy left by their predecessor. Aurora has enough power to protect herself, and summoning is her fighting style.
Han Xiao chuckled, "You're Beyond Grade A now, do you want to become a deputy legion commander like your sister, or do you have other ideas?"
Aurora, and she asked excitedly, "Now that I can protect myself, does that mean I can move around freely?"
"... That's the principle." Han Xiao had no choice but to nod.
"Then I want to travel alone, and you're not allowed to stop me." Aurora said impatiently. She had been cooped up for years, unable to go anywhere, and now she just wanted to travel the universe alone.
Han Xiao and Hila exchanged a glance, seeing helplessness in each other's eyes.
Now that Aurora has reached Beyond Grade A, we can no longer arrange things for her as before; we have to respect her personal wishes.
However, there's not much to worry about regarding safety; with Aurora's current capabilities, it can handle the vast majority of unexpected situations.
"I approve, but you must bring a set of the Sovereign's Throne..." Hila solemnly instructed.
Upon hearing this, Aurora was overjoyed and turned to look at Han Xiao, "By the way, can I join the Beyond Grade A Association now?"
She had long admired the Beyond Grade A Association, having heard that its members were all talented and had pleasant manners; she had long wanted to see it for herself.
"Alright, I'll get you in... Hmm, the president election is in two months, having you in will boost my prestige."
Han Xiao did not refuse.
Now that Aurora has grown up enough to protect herself, she no longer needs to hide, and she personally doesn't want to stay hidden any longer; joining the association is only a matter of time.
Although this will once again remind the major powers of the two sisters among the First Ones, Han Xiao can withstand this storm.
Perhaps Aurora's abilities could even further promote the alliance of Beyond Grade A... Who wouldn't want a Great Leap Forward?
Aurora blinked. "Are you sure you can succeed as president this time?"
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao smiled, "I'm at least 90% confident."
After fifty years of development, the Beyond Grade A Association has completed part of its initial vision and successfully formed a giant alliance of interests. Although it has suffered from covert attacks from the Three Universal Civilizations, no major conflicts have broken out.
Therefore, he has persecuted Manison quite a bit over the years and has gained absolute power in the association, leaving Manison mostly as a figurehead.
Besides the support of internal members, external forces also supported his rise to power. He had all the advantages: timing, location, and popular support. If things went smoothly, he would be able to smoothly hand over the chairmanship at the meeting two months later, ushering in the era of Black Star's rule for the Beyond Grade A Association.
Manison has kept a low profile for decades, and it's unclear what he's planning. Han Xiao also doesn't know whether Manison will just watch him get elected president or take some action... But either way, Han Xiao has made the necessary preparations.
After chatting for a while, Hila took Aurora the Netherland to familiarize herself with her abilities, leaving Han Xiao alone in the same spot.
Han Xiao watched the two leave, thinking to himself:
"Now that the Legion has a second self-trained Beyond Grade A, it's quite unique. If Rotel also makes a breakthrough, that would be even better."
For the past forty years, Rotel has been diligently training and making rapid progress, already on the path to transformation. However, unlike Aurora, he is not without bottlenecks and is still some distance from Beyond Grade A. As for the other legion officers, none of them show any signs of entering Beyond Grade A in the short term.
Han Xiao stroked his chin, thinking about the student council president election two months later.
Position is secondary; what's important is the chain reaction. For example, the elderly members of the Sanctum Organization have been quietly cultivating for decades, and the agreed-upon time for their reappearance is right after they are elected as the president of the Beyond Grade A Association.
Han Xiao could imagine the reaction of the entire interstellar society at that time. Even if many details changed, it would inevitably revert to the trajectory of the Super Calamity event.
"In the past forty years, many new talents have emerged and are active in the world, while I have kept a low profile for so long. It seems that I am about to return to the forefront of public opinion once again."
The Beyond Grade A Association is already a behemoth in interstellar society, and its leadership transition has attracted the attention of countless forces.
The Presidential Palace, home planet of the Federation of Light.
The current Glory President Louis Lodge, tapped his fingers on the table and spoke in a deep voice to the council of elders before him:
"The Beyond Grade A Association is about to have a leadership change, Manison will definitely be ousted by Black Star. What are your thoughts?"
The chief council elder shook his head. "This is the inevitable trend. Although Black Star is an ally of the Empire, their honeymoon period is over. Letting him take the lead won't be a loss for us."
Louis frowned. "I'm not targeting Black Star alone... Of the newcomers born in the last forty years, not a single one has joined one of the Three Universal Civilizations; they've all gone to the Beyond Grade A Association. The existence of that association has already shaken our interests."
As the Beyond Grade A Association has developed, it has become increasingly difficult for the Three Universal Civilizations to control it. For example, the private dissemination of knowledge among Beyond Grade A has become more and more frequent. This has severely impacted the system by which the Three Universal Civilizations attract new Beyond Grade A by monopolizing the Ultimate Knowledge systems of various superpower systems, making it difficult for them to recruit new allies.
The Three Universal Civilizations naturally did not agree to the association imparting knowledge, so this behavior can be seen as a violation of their prohibition. However, since the association did not publicly disseminate knowledge, it would be troublesome for the Three Universal Civilizations to hold it accountable, and it would be difficult to stop the private dissemination, because the current Beyond Grade A have the association as their backer and are increasingly less concerned about the Three Universal Civilizations holding them accountable.
"This is indeed a problem, but to solve it, we must confront the Beyond Grade A Association head-on, which would cause great turmoil. I suggest you do not take any action until you have a well-developed plan," another council elder said.
Louis tapped the table and squinted.
Former President Bader didn't want to overturn the Beyond Grade A during his term, so the task fell to Louis, who had no choice but to take responsibility.
After decades of interaction, he became increasingly convinced that the Beyond Grade A Association was the primary adversary he had to deal with during his term.
In Louis's view, the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church probably thought the same thing.
A senior citizens' activity room at a Sanctum Organization base.
"The Beyond Grade A Association is finally having its leadership transition..."
"Once Black Star takes over, we can come out of seclusion as agreed."
Many of the First Ones watched the news broadcast on the virtual screen, some excited, some expectant, their expressions varied, and they whispered among themselves.
The Oathkeeper stood by the door, arms crossed, eyes slightly darting, muttering to himself:
"This day has finally come... Black Star, I hope your predictions are all correct."