The news of the return of the Immortals spread quickly, and in the current situation, it attracted even more attention, causing many forces to feel uneasy.
With tens of millions of immortal Grade B superhumans, no one can ignore this power, especially since tens of millions of them are members of the Black Star Army. This has put many large powers, including the Three Universal Civilizations, on high alert, fearing that the Black Star Army's powerful armed forces will return and take significant action.
However, the various factions soon breathed a sigh of relief. These legion's Immortals returned to their daily work, maintaining order, acting as mercenaries, and gaining experience everywhere. They seemed to be in a very harmonious state, and there were no major actions.
However, the strength of the Immortals always increases after each disappearance and return. This is a known pattern. Many top forces have confirmed through their intelligence networks that the Immortals's stagnant strength has started to increase again, which makes them feel a sense of unease.
Although they are only Grade B, the Immortals is already terrifying. All the factions know that if the Immortals is allowed to grow any further, it will inevitably impact the existing cosmic order and produce unknown effects, which will not be a good thing.
Moreover, the current interstellar society is aware of the existence of the Sanctuary Revival, and people unconsciously associate it with the players' immortality, leading to all sorts of speculations.
Online, the somewhat cooled-down discussions have reignited, with Star Citizens engaging in heated debate and offering a plethora of speculations. One theory suggests that Black Star's control over the Sanctuary Revival stemmed from clues discovered within the Immortals.
This conjecture was reasonable and gained the widest acceptance; countless interstellar citizens felt they had discovered the secret of Black Star.
In an instant, almost every power in the universe offered even more generous terms to the Immortals, enthusiastically trying to win them over and hoping to use them to research the Sanctuary Revival Immortals.
However, given the precedent of the Infinite Financial Group's collapse, coupled with the version's name being "Black Star Era," the vast majority of players rejected the offers from small and medium-sized factions and switched to Black Star in droves, leading to another surge in the number of Legion players.
The saying goes, "It's better to be early than late." Many players have missed several versions of the Black Star Army due to various factors. When a new version is launched, it is a good opportunity to switch sides and start over, and many people don't want to miss it again.
The player's movements have attracted the attention of the entire universe, with countless forces watching closely, both coveting and fearing him.
The Black Star Army's territory, a secret training ground hidden on a desolate planet.
On the rocky, mountain-like terrain, two figures were locked in combat, moving at incredible speeds, leaving a trail of afterimages as they crisscrossed each other, each collision creating a shockwave.
Thump thump thump--
Two figures entangled and sped across the land, like an earthen dragon stirring up billowing dust. The surging, scorching air carried acrid dust and sand. Their fists clashed back and forth, their martial arts auras blazing. Rocky mountains along the way exploded with thunderous roars, causing the earth to tremble.
Suddenly, one of the figures wearing heavy training armor spotted an opening in his opponent's defenses. He raised his elbow and thrust it forward, unleashing a burst of condensed martial arts energy at the point of contact, instantly deflecting his opponent's defensive stance. Taking advantage of the brief opportunity, he swung out a powerful whip kick, sweeping like Battle Axe, creating a sonic boom as it struck his opponent's chest in the blink of an eye.
Bang!!
Another silver figure was Heavy Strike, like a cannonball being fired, and shot out in a flash, crashing into three rocky mountains and embedding itself in the wall of a fourth small mountain. With a loud bang, the debris scattered and left a deep pit filled with smoke and dust. Spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly across the mountain wall.
"... Well played."
The silver figure shuddered, and the small mountain exploded, turning into a rain of stones.
He hovered in the air, his body resembling flowing silver liquid metal, the dent in his chest rapidly healing—it was Silver Shadow.
On the other side, his opponent did not pursue him. He took off his helmet, revealing a simple face—it was Carrot.
Silver Shadow flew back to Carrot and nodded, saying, "Your progress is getting faster and faster. Although it's only been a little over a year, you could probably defeat three of yourself from a year ago. Among the Calamity Grade, your abilities are already quite impressive."
"Is he really that good?" Carrot scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. He was used to being at the bottom, and now he felt uncomfortable whenever he heard praise.
"Your potential in martial arts is unparalleled in my life. Given time, your achievements may surpass mine."
Silver Shadow spoke with a sigh.
He had just suppressed his strength to fight Carrot, and although he only used the power of Calamity Grade being, Carrot's performance amazed him and even made him feel pressured.
When Black Star first asked him to teach Carlotta, Silver Shadow was a little reluctant, but after a year of teaching, he was completely won over.
Carrot's strength has improved by leaps and bounds. If he was a normal-tempered Calamity Grade before, he is now starting from the elite level and approaching the BOSS Grade SS. This huge transformation only took a short year!
Silver Shadow saw the potential of Beyond Grade A in Carrot, so instead of rejecting teaching, he became dedicated and imparted his martial arts experience to Carrot almost without reservation. Becoming a Beyond Grade A teacher would be a good thing for him.
Black Star has a wide circle of friends and is not short of Pugilist Class experts, yet this good thing actually fell into his lap. Silver Shadow couldn't help but feel grateful to Han Xiao, feeling that Black Star was giving him a boost.
However, Silver Shadow's dedication to teaching Carrot wasn't entirely out of a desire to cultivate a younger generation. He felt an instant joy upon seeing Carrot, secretly admiring him and finding them to be a perfect match.
"It's all thanks to the teacher's excellent teaching," Carrot with a simple, honest smile.
"It's not entirely my doing. I also have to thank Black Star. His judgment is incredibly accurate. If it weren't for his guidance on how to teach you, I might be completely clueless right now." Silver Shadow shook his head.
Han Xiao saw Carrot's growth mechanism through the panel, so he had Silver Shadow train him specifically. First, he gave him special instruction on martial arts insights, and then he conducted high-intensity training. As a result, he achieved twice the result with half the effort and made remarkable progress, which allowed Carrot to make rapid progress within a year.
According to his original development trajectory, Carrot was the type to achieve great things later in life. However, the reason might be that he didn't understand his own characteristics and could only slowly explore and accumulate experience, which delayed him a lot of time. If he had trained with a specific purpose from the beginning, Carrot's rise might not only have been no slower than others, but much faster.
On another level, Carrot and Great Hero Guo are very similar. Beneath their simple and honest appearance lies extraordinary talent. They just didn't encounter the best teacher and wasted too much time. If they had started practicing ultimate techniques from the beginning, their combat power would have been fully developed long ago.
The panel can see through a person's strengths and weaknesses, allowing for targeted training. It's estimated that you won't find another teacher in the entire universe more suitable for individualized instruction than Han Xiao.
Not only Carrot, but all the other hundreds of Beyond Grade A Seed who joined the team received his guidance and made progress. Almost all of them regarded Han Xiao as their mentor.
Just then, a remote projection appeared beside the two of them; it was Han Xiao.
"Lord Black Star."
Silver Shadow and Carrot immediately looked over and nodded in greeting.
"How's your training going?" Han Xiao asked with a smile.
"He's improved since last time; he managed to break through my defense and kick me." Silver Shadow smiled faintly with satisfaction.
"Hey, not bad! Keep up the good work and strive to reach Beyond Grade A as soon as possible. Then I'll find you more teachers so you can learn from everyone's strengths." Han Xiao laughed heartily.
He has figured out the correct way to train Carrot. The biggest hurdle in [Boundless Martial Arts] is accumulating martial arts insights. The shortcut is to communicate with different Beyond Grade A martial artists, which can quickly improve Carrot's martial arts insights, complete the transformation of his specialty, and quickly enter the fast track of leveling up.
Once Carrot becomes Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao plans to do this: using his connections, he will have all the Beyond Grade A martial artists impart their insights and experiences to Carrot, leaving no one out. Given Carrot's honest and steady character, Han Xiao is basically certain that this investment will not lose money, but will only make a huge profit.
After giving some instructions, Han Xiao ended the call and left.
Carrot exhaled, feeling an immense warmth within him.
Over the past year, no matter how busy Black Star was, he would call every ten days to check on his training progress, create a special training plan for him, and even invite Silver Shadow, a Beyond Grade A, to be his teacher. All these actions demonstrated that Black Star highly valued him and was not lying to him.
As the saying goes, there is no harm without comparison. Recalling the treatment the Empire gave him, even though Carrot is not a stingy person, he couldn't help but sigh that the two were simply incomparable.
Carrot remembered all the kindness shown to him. Even setting aside the idol worship aspect, his sense of belonging to Black Star was beyond measure.
You treat me with the respect due to a national hero, and I will repay you with the same respect!
In the Black Star Palace office, Han Xiao retracted the remote projection, a broad smile on his face.
"Carrot is truly worth nurturing. He's grown so much in just one year. At this rate, he might even surpass Rotel and reach Beyond Grade A faster."
He couldn't be more satisfied with Carrot; he truly deserved to be the future face of the Pugilist Class.
Rotel is still stuck at the threshold of Beyond Grade A, which is the most difficult step, and it's completely unknown how long it will take.
In addition, Evans has been cultivating for decades. Because the player did not log in, he did not absorb new abilities and has been honing his core superpower and improving his rank. Now his strength has increased, and he has steadily realized his superpower potential, successfully entering the Calamity Grade.
Han Xiao had high expectations for this "little Sorokin." The players had returned and could finally replenish Evans's abilities with new ones, creating a unique combat style.
Besides these few promising talents, the Legion's high-end forces have expanded several times over, with numerous Beyond Grade A Seed and many individuals worth cultivating; it is a veritable treasure trove of talent.
Oh, right, there's also a bald little baby Sylvia.
Unfortunately, given Sylvia's potential, it would be good enough if she could become Beyond Grade A Seed; she probably wouldn't have a chance to go any higher... Han Xiao always felt that the position of Chief Affairs Officer was more suitable for her.
Han Xiao shook his head, took out his communicator, glanced at it, and pondered to himself:
"The outside world is now reacting to the return of players, worrying that if they continue to grow stronger, they will become increasingly lawless and shake the order of interstellar society. This concern is not wrong; the seeds of trouble have already been sown."
In ancient times, there was a saying that knights-errant used their martial arts to break the law. When applied to players, this characteristic is even more exaggerated. The stronger they are, the more difficult they are to manage. Han Xiao, considering it from the perspective of the Three Universal Civilizations, can understand that Super Calamity have their reasons, at least for players.
"The Three Universal Civilizations are bound to make a move; I have a feeling something's about to happen."
Han Xiao rubbed his forehead, his brows furrowing slightly.
Just then, a black flame suddenly appeared before them, rapidly expanding into a figure—the projection of the Oathkeeper's mind.
Han Xiao looked up at him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Why didn't you say anything? What do you want? Have you collected another set of keys?"
"Not yet." The Oathkeeper's tone was grave. "Black Star, I have two pieces of bad news for you."
"Oh? What is it?" Han Xiao asked curiously.
"Among those Revenge Takers, there was a traitor who wanted to sell information about the Sanctum and the Sanctuary in exchange for the assistance of a higher civilization to carry out his Revenge."
Han Xiao's face darkened. "What happened? Was the news leaked?"
"Pangon is Pursuit; the intelligence has been intercepted and hasn't been transmitted."
Han Xiao frowned deeply. "And what's the other bad news?"
"Someone is using magic to spy on the Sanctum Organization. We traced the source and discovered that the magical path originated from Secondary Dimension World. We may have been discovered by some being hiding in Secondary Dimension, but we don't yet know who it is," the Oathkeeper said in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao, with a somber expression, slowly stood up and put on his cloak.
"Tell me the coordinates, I'll go check it out."