Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the speaker was a tall and burly male creature with dark skin and a head of wild, unruly, lion-mane-like long gray hair. He was standing with his arms crossed, staring directly at Han Xiao with a cold expression.
"Oh? That's what you think?"
Han Xiao squinted at him, recalling the man's resume in his mind.
"Fist of the Extreme Path" Bagneta is an extremely powerful martial artist with an explosive and fierce martial arts style and astonishing destructive power. He is the founder of several powerful martial arts schools, especially the Extreme Path Style. Although he is not the founder of this style, he is recognized in history as the most proficient master of the Extreme Path Style.
This guy wasn't from the era of the Tragedy of the Pinnacle, but rather an earlier Beyond Grade A, neutral faction, whose cause of death is unknown, leaving behind a remnant clan, who are also on this list of resurrected individuals.
Bagneta, dressed in a sleeveless vest-style military uniform, his arm muscles bulging, coldly said, "What I hate most is being given choices. Whether I help you or not depends on my mood. If you try to force me, forget it!"
"People with strong personalities often don't live long," Dilron scoffed.
Upon hearing this, everyone glanced at him and nodded in deep agreement.
Bagneta ignored him, glanced around at the people around her, and said in a deep voice, "We're all Beyond Grade A, who's afraid of who? If you have any guts, stand next to me!"
Han Xiao shook his head, finding himself surprisingly calm, as if he had gotten used to it. He might only find it strange if a martial artist ever lost their stubbornness.
He turned and surveyed the many Revived, spreading his hands as he said:
"Anyone else who thinks this way can step forward."
The crowd looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and then no one responded. Instead, they all stepped back, leaving Bagneta isolated.
Seeing this, Bagneta frowned and said coldly, "Hmph, the Beyond Grade A of later generations are getting worse with each generation!"
Dilron clicked his tongue and retorted, "Hey, you're trying to incite us to risk our lives for you. If a fight breaks out, with your strength, you can probably escape unscathed. You won't be the one who sacrifices yourself. Just say you want people to be cannon fodder. Everyone here is an expert. Who are you trying to fool with this high-sounding act?"
"Fool." Bagneta glanced at Dilron, her tone dismissive.
Seeing this, Han Xiao turned his gaze back to Bagneta, raising an eyebrow and saying:
"It seems like you're the only one left. Do you still want to continue?"
"Since no one dares to cooperate, what's the point of saying anything more?"
Bagneta snorted and lowered her arms from her chest.
Han Xiao couldn't help but laugh, "You're certainly pragmatic, but don't you think you're being too optimistic? You thought you could incite other Revived to riot with just a few words, and now that things aren't going well, you're just giving up and trying to pretend nothing happened? There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Bagneta frowned, her arm muscles tensing. "What do you want?"
Han Xiao strode forward, slowly walking into the crowd of Revived. Approaching Bagneta, he began to speak as he walked:
"We have brought you back to life for a mission that benefits the entire class, not for charity. I have already made our situation very clear. We are all partners on the same front, and if one of us is gone, the other will be gone... But even so, we have no intention of using you as cannon fodder, nor have we forced you to take any risks. We have given you the option to stay in the Sanctum and watch us fight. If we win, you can share in the victory; if we lose, you can continue to hide in the shadows and preserve yourselves."
You may not be grateful that we gave you a second life, but you've gone so far as to disrupt our overall plan for your own personal gain... You certainly have that freedom, but since you've done it, don't blame us for dealing with you.
The words had barely left his mouth when a sudden change occurred!
A surge of Berserk energy erupted, Bagneta's fist, burning with dazzling martial arts aura, streaked across the sky like a meteor, striking Han Xiao's chest with Heavy Strike!
BOOM!!
"Knowing I'm a martial artist, you still dare to approach me? You're asking for a beating!"
The thought flashed through Bagneta's mind. He wouldn't sit idly by and wait to die. Seeing that Han Xiao's words were not right, he decided to strike first.
The next moment, the force of the punch suddenly exploded, and the concentrated martial arts aura burst out from Han Xiao's back, transforming into an inverted cone-shaped energy shockwave that blasted a huge hole in the entire room.
Boom!
From space, a dazzling beam of light suddenly shot out from a certain location of the interstellar base, as if an internal explosion had occurred.
Inside the room, everyone was surprised by Bagneta's decisive action and took their own actions; some wanted to come up and help, while others wanted to step back and observe.
Before they could make a move, Han Xiao, who had taken a heavy punch, didn't even flinch. As if nothing had happened, he retaliated in a flash, grabbing Bagneta's head with both hands, shoving it down, and delivering a powerful knee strike!
Bang!
Bagneta was momentarily unable to withstand the explosive force; his head was slammed down, making intimate contact with Han Xiao's knee, causing blood to spurt from his nose and resulting in a concussion.
Before he could recover from the momentary dizziness, Han Xiao grabbed Bagneta's head with one hand, forming a lock, and with the other hand, he raised his elbow and chopped down, Heavy Strike Bagneta's arched back.
Click!
The sound of a vertebra cracking was clearly heard by everyone present, and Bagneta's spine showed a noticeable backward bend.
"Hiss..."
Many people gasped, and their gazes toward Han Xiao changed once again.
Having taken the initiative, he didn't hesitate to trade injuries for injuries, severely injuring his opponent... If you say he's not a martial artist, we wouldn't believe it!
Just then, Bagneta broke free from the brief negative state, roared, and his aura exploded once more. His muscles bulged, and a dense blood energy instantly spread out, causing his attributes to suddenly surge.
Immediately afterwards, Bagneta grabbed Han Xiao's waist, pushed off with her legs, and burst forth with power, propelling Han Xiao through metal walls, shooting out like a meteor and falling into space.
"This is the Extreme Path Style!"
The crowd, being well-informed, immediately understood Bagneta's change.
Relying on the unique explosive power of the Extreme Path Style, a martial artist's combat strength can generally cross a small level. Bagneta's reputation is very high. As a historically recognized master of the Extreme Path Style, the effects of the Extreme Path Style are even more amazing. Moreover, under his unique improvements, the side effects have become limited.
Bagneta himself wasn't at the Peak Beyond Grade A, but with his powerful cross-level explosive ability, he was enough to compete with Peak Beyond Grade A opponents, earning him the nickname "Fist of the Extreme Path." In everyone's eyes, his strength was extremely formidable.
The eyes of the many Revived shifted. Although they had sensed that Han Xiao's energy level fluctuations were astonishing not long ago, they had not seen Black Star make a formal move and had no direct experience of it.
Now that the opportunity has presented itself, many of the Revived neither helped nor stopped it; they all wanted to take this chance to observe Black Star's actual combat capabilities.
The vast majority of Beyond Grade A individuals are arrogant and proud. The Revived present all wanted to see what level the so-called "Beyond Grade A leader" was at and what gave him such confidence.
Many Revived initially expected to witness a fierce and brutal battle, but the situation took an unexpected turn in the next second.
Han Xiao then locked Bagneta in his own hand, and immediately unleashed a burst of Mechanical Force. At the same time, countless mechanical soldiers swarmed out of the interstellar base, blotting out the sky, and attacked the two who were locked in a fierce battle without saying a word!
Rumble--
The expanding sphere of energy, like a newly born star, instantly illuminated the night sky!
The aftershocks of the explosion spread, puncturing the protective shield of the interstellar base, causing it to teeter on the brink of collapse. The entire base was thrown away, shaking violently.
The sudden burst of bright light made everyone squint and look surprised.
"They won't both die together, will they?"
"Their playing style is too brutal. Aren't they afraid of overplaying their hand?"
"Seriously, Black Star is a mechanic? His physical abilities are more like those of a martial artist!"
Everyone couldn't help but worry, looking around, only to find that every member of the Sanctum looked completely calm, as if they had no worries at all.
"Aren't you worried about the safety of your partners?" someone couldn't help but ask.
Baigel turned and glanced at these people, curled his lip, smiled smugly, and said, "Heh, anything that can kill Black Star probably doesn't exist yet!"
Just then, the light gradually contracted and diminished, and two figures, pressed tightly together, flew out from the center of the explosion, quickly approached the base, and then flew back into the room through the opening.
Thump!
With a thud, Bagneta lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, his body almost entirely covered in wounds, critically injured and on the verge of death, barely clinging to life.
Everyone was shocked and looked up to see that although Han Xiao was also injured, he was recovering at an incredible speed, almost instantly returning to normal. It was he who had brought the dying Bagneta back to life.
Han Xiao remained calm and gestured towards the Oathkeeper the oath.
Treat his injuries, don't let him die.
The Sanctum members were unfazed. Several of them stepped forward, turned Bagneta's body over and over, and sprayed her with healing spray indiscriminately, giving off a strangely familiar vibe of brushing sauce onto a barbecue grill.
Seeing this, the Revived could hardly believe their eyes.
That's it?
From start to finish, did it even last three minutes?!
They thought it would be a fierce battle, but no one expected that Black Star would swiftly and decisively defeat Bagneta...
This isn't some nobody Beyond Grade A; it's a renowned master from history!
From the beginning, everyone knew that Black Star might be very strong, but they didn't expect him to be this powerful, which completely exceeded their experience and judgment!
'No wonder he dares to call himself a "Beyond Grade A leader," he really does have the qualifications...' Many people were secretly shocked and had this thought in mind.
Han Xiao twisted his neck, stretching his muscles that were a little sore from the intense massage he had just received. Turning his head, he saw the growing fear in everyone's eyes and nodded secretly, quite satisfied with the effect of the battle.
He wasn't actually angry; his reprimand of Bagneta was just an excuse to assert his authority.
He knew that there must be many people with similar thoughts, but they dared not take the lead because of the circumstances. To dispel these people's ideas, it was not enough to just rely on the number of Beyond Grade A to make them hesitate. They also needed to feel the huge gap in individual strength. Seeing is believing, and taking direct action was the most direct way to intimidate them.
The best way to establish authority is to annihilate Bagneta.
Therefore, Han Xiao deliberately showed his intention to attack while actively approaching his opponent, all to force Bagneta into close combat so that he could use his "Heaven and Earth Share the Same Lifespan" technique—the most efficient instant-kill tactic!
His greatest advantage was the intelligence asymmetry. Anyone who knew his background would be afraid to approach him. These Revived were unaware of this, so Bagneta followed old experience and did not miss the "opportunity," engaging in close combat from the start, thus falling completely into Han Xiao's trap.
When Bagneta chose to engage in a prolonged fight, the outcome of the battle was already decided—against an unsuspecting opponent, the strategy of "Heaven and Earth Share the Same Lifespan" is almost always the most effective tactic.
The instant elimination of Bagneta met Han Xiao's expectations, causing a great shock to the young minds of this group of people. Only one last step remained.
Seeing Bagneta's body gradually recover, Han Xiao flipped his hand and took out the Space-Time Amber, directly wrapping Bagneta up, and said calmly:
"I won't kill him, but to avoid any instability, let's lock him up for now and let him calm down."
The next moment, the Space-Time Amber took shape, and Bagneta's body froze, solidified within the amber.
What is this?
Everyone looked puzzled, so the Sanctum member next to them explained.
Soon, everyone present learned the function of the Space-Time Amber, and their expressions changed, filled with shock and fear. This thing was the nemesis of almost all Beyond Grade A.
At this moment, Han Xiao turned to look at everyone, a kind smile on his face:
"The person who raised the question has already solved it, so everyone, have you made your choice?"
The expressions on everyone's faces varied; some wore bitter smiles, while others swallowed hard.
Given their deep-seated fear, their choice was without suspense.
"... I am willing to remain in the Sanctum."
Me too.
Once someone started, others followed suit.
Of the two paths, almost everyone chose to remain within the Sanctum Organization, at least until they understood the situation, they did not want to show themselves to the outside world to avoid taking risks.
Soon, only Dilron remained silent.
Han Xiao looked over. "And you, are you staying with the Sanctum, or joining the Association?"
Dilron stroked his smooth, white chin with his fingers and sneered:
"I don't want to miss out on something this interesting... I'll join the association! If we ever go to war with the Three Universal Civilizations, count me in! I'll settle the score with them!"
As he spoke, Dilron seemed unsatisfied, and turned to glance at the other Revived present, saying sarcastically:
"As the book says, mediocre people who are timid and hesitant always make up the majority."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao couldn't help but glance at Dilron again.
You deserved to be ground to ashes; I wanted to beat you to death...