"I don't need to elaborate on the potential of this ability. One of these abilities is worth hundreds or even thousands of other abilities. Develop it carefully."
Han Xiao smiled at Evans.
"Understood." Evans nodded, feeling the burden on his shoulders grow even heavier.
Hila and her group secretly marveled at Evans' good fortune. Not only was he exceptionally talented, but he also received cultivation and protection from Black Star, allowing him to grow up wildly like the Sorokin. He was destined to have a place among the future Beyond Grade A group, and his future was limitless.
Everyone couldn't help but turn to look at Gaud, who was being held captive, a hint of pity flashing in their eyes.
Regardless of whether this guy has any connection to the Sorokin, his fate alone is tragic enough. He thought that advancing to Beyond Grade A meant he could fly high, but instead, he was targeted by Black Star, stripped of his abilities, and used as a stepping stone for others. From now on, he can only watch as others use his powers to rise to prominence in the universe, taking away the achievements that should have been his...
The group didn't have a deep impression of Gaud to begin with, and now, just thinking about him almost made them feel utterly miserable.
"What do you plan to do with him? Just hand him over to the Empire and leave him to his own devices?" Hila suddenly frowned.
"I'll hand him over to the Empire, explain his identity and background, and let the Empire handle the rest," Han Xiao said dismissively.
Hila shook her head. "I don't think that's appropriate. If the Empire executes Gaud, he might be able to regain his powers through the Sanctuary Revival. Since we've already made enemies, it's better to prevent future troubles."
"Tsk tsk, if we're talking about ruthlessness, you're the real ruthless one..."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and waved his hand, saying:
"Given the mechanism of the Sanctuary Revival, Gaud should most likely be able to regain his abilities. However, now that I decide the number of spots for Sanctuary Revival, whether he can be resurrected is up to me. Even if the Three Universal Civilizations master their own revival methods in the future, it won't be a big problem. Who knows what the future holds? If something happens, we can simply send him to the Netherland and have another henchman."
Fortunately, Gaud was already locked in a confinement device and couldn't hear any outside noises, otherwise he would have felt even more hopeless.
At this moment, Han Xiao changed the subject and smiled at everyone:
"Alright, everyone's introduced themselves. In a while, I'll promote him to deputy legion commander, have him join the association, and announce it to the interstellar community."
"Isn't it a bit too early?" Evans couldn't help but ask, "My abilities are easily feared by others. Should we continue to hide our identities?"
"You're already Beyond Grade A, it's time to make a name for yourself. Besides, you're going to participate in the war, so practicing teamwork with others beforehand will be useful." Han Xiao patted his shoulder and said, "Moreover, with me here, you don't need to worry about backstabbing. Apart from external enemies, no one can do anything to you."
"All right."
Evans nodded.
Decades of secret cultivation were naturally extremely difficult, and having just advanced to Beyond Grade A, it was the perfect time to make a name for himself. Although from Black Star's perspective, continuing to remain anonymous was the best option, he was unwilling to continue hiding his identity. He was happy to finally be able to make his debut.
The others naturally had no objections, but they were secretly thinking that with such a powerful and capable person joining the team, he might become the strongest deputy legion commander in the future, and the rest of them would have to step aside.
Even Hila strongly suspected that she might not be able to beat Evans once he grew up.
"No, if this continues, my position will be in jeopardy!"
Hila became alert, and a surge of inspiration welled up within her.
Being subordinate to Black Star in the legion was one thing, but she wasn't willing to see anyone else standing above her.
If it weren't for Black Star asking her to do something, he would have loved to return to the Remnant Soul Terminus and seclude himself for ten or eight years.
Central Galaxy, border of the Arcane Church.
A massive official fleet Dominion the border outpost, welcoming a spaceship bearing the insignia of the Black Star Army as it slowly entered.
The spaceship docked at the airport pier, and Han Xiao, along with Hila and Evans, stepped off. They were greeted by Urnos waiting for them, accompanied by a Arcane official.
"I didn't expect it to be you picking me up. Do I really need your help with such a small matter?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"After all, the Scepter of All Gods is a weapon provided to me by the Arcane. Since it's going to be unsealed, I naturally have to be present." Urnos nodded slowly.
Han Xiao glanced at it, clicked his tongue and chuckled, teasingly saying, "Stop talking nonsense. I think Arcane is obviously worried I'll do something shady, so he called you here to keep things under control. It's really disheartening. I said I'd keep my promise, and I'll definitely return the Scepter of All Gods to you. Do you really not trust my credibility?"
Urnos rolled his eyes inwardly, too lazy to respond.
You just disclosed the Gaud issue a few days ago, how can we feel at ease?
Besides, your credibility is inherently erratic, neither high nor low. Everyone in the universe knows your temperament is unpredictable, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Before anything is settled, who dares to completely trust you? You're incredibly shameless...
Urnos muttered a few words to himself, then waved his hand, ordering the Arcane soldiers to bring over a piece of Space-Time Amber —the very piece that sealed the Scepter of All Gods.
"Lord Black Star, please." The Arcane official coughed and gestured with his hand in an invitation.
Han Xiao glanced at him, said nothing, flipped his hand to take out the Space-Time Amber, and gently poked it.
The next moment, the Space-Time Amber the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church had been researching for many years but had never been able to break burst like a bubble, making a "pop" sound.
The Scepter of All Gods, which was fixed in mid-air, suddenly fell. Before it even hit the ground, Urnos caught it in his hand, quickly checked it over, and after confirming that there was no problem, nodded to the Arcane official beside him.
Seeing this, the Arcane official relaxed, exhaled, and smiled, saying, "Thank you, Lord Black Star."
"What are you thanking me for? It's just a transaction." Han Xiao didn't take it to heart, instead teasing, "Why don't you check a little longer? Don't forget I'm the only one at the Beyond God Grade now. Maybe I've done something underhanded that you won't notice right away?"
"... Cough, you're really joking."
The Arcane official's expression froze. Though he said this, he wasn't sure what was going on in his mind, and he secretly gave Urnos a wink.
Urnos's eye twitched, and he had no choice but to lower his head and examine the object more carefully.
"No rush, take your time checking. We have plenty of time. If we have a suspicion, we should investigate it thoroughly," Han Xiao chuckled from the side.
"You're exaggerating..."
The Arcane official gave an awkward, apologetic smile.
After a dozen seconds, Urnos raised his head again, glared at the Arcane official, and said in a deep voice, "No problem."
"That's good. I'll be going now if there's nothing else."
Han Xiao nodded, led the two onto the ship, took off, and headed towards the Crimson Dynasty. This trip was just a stop along the way to unseal the Scepter of All Gods.
Watching the spaceship depart, the Arcane official finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took the Scepter of All Gods from Urnos, solemnly placed it in a specially made container, and had the soldiers take it to the main ship for storage, waiting to be transported back to the home planet... This thing was nominally Urnos's weapon, but in reality, it still belonged to the Arcane.
"After nearly a century, the Scepter of All Gods has finally returned to our hands..."
The Arcane official sighed, but found himself less excited than he had imagined.
The Scepter of All Gods was a single-target killer weapon against individual power, and in the past, it was indeed terrifying. However, times have completely changed. Beyond Grade A now enjoy the benefits of Sanctuary Revival, so the effectiveness of this weapon has been greatly weakened.
Furthermore, Black Star has unlocked a new level of power. The destructive power of the Scepter of All Gods is probably no threat to this guy at all, not to mention he also has the Space-Time Amber as a protective treasure...
The situation is so dire that it's impossible to feel happy!
The Arcane official, with a complex expression, turned to look at Urnos and sighed, "You absolutely must succeed in your advancement. In terms of individual power, the Arcane will rely on you to compete with Black Star from now on."
"Don't worry, I won't fail this time."
Urnos nodded slightly and answered casually, but his mind was not on the matter. Instead, he was recalling Evans, who had been with Han Xiao earlier.
He could sense the aura of Beyond Grade A expert emanating from this stranger, and even had a vague feeling that this guy was not simple.
'Strange, when did this unfamiliar Beyond Grade A appear by Black Star's side? He seems to be his subordinate...'
The Crimson Dynasty, a secret military base.
This is the Imperial prison where Sorokin are held. At this moment, a fleet of Imperial ships is gathering here, and the commander leading the fleet is none other than Han Xiao's old acquaintance, Tenny Armellos.
The frontline harassment warfare didn't require close combat; all that was needed was to bombard the World Tree army relentlessly. As a result, most of the high-ranking officers were relieved of their duties and were all recalled to attend special military training courses initiated by the Three Universal Civilizations.
The courses are designed based on the tactical habits of the World Tree Civilization during the wars of the past year or two West Capital new tactical approaches that are constantly summarized as understanding deepens, thereby continuously strengthening the high-ranking officers' tactical capabilities regarding the World Tree.
Today is the day to fulfill the deal and send Black Star to deal with the Sorokin. So, Tenny, who happened to be free, was pulled over to take charge of the defense fleet to prevent any accidents.
"I never expected that Black Star would create a new level of power in the blink of an eye..."
In the main ship's command center, Tenny browsed through the intelligence data from the past few days, and couldn't help but let out a low gasp of amazement. His thoughts drifted back to the time when he first met Black Star.
Back then, Black Star had just entered the Beyond Grade A, and I was just a colonel in the Imperial Army. We had a very pleasant conversation, and I even asked him for technical advice. When we parted, Black Star even gave me mechanical weapons. At that time, I never imagined that he would become such a big figure in less than a hundred years, just a newly promoted Beyond Grade A who joined the Empire as usual. He was both a major threat to the Three Universal Civilizations and their support in their foreign wars.
At first, the two occasionally exchanged messages, but as their positions rose and they both became very busy, their contact gradually decreased. Although he had now become an important high-ranking military officer in the empire, having been promoted countless times and almost reached the top of the imperial system, his status was still worlds apart from Black Star's.
Tenny shook his head and fell into deep thought.
"Power surpassing even Beyond Grade A... I wonder how many troops would be needed to kill a single being of Beyond God Grade power..."
Tactical simulations of using the army to kill individual super-powers have always been an important course for Imperial officers. Although large-scale fleets can surround and kill Beyond Grade A enemies, efficiency and success rate are still important. After all, individual super-powers are very flexible, and only by using reasonable and targeted tactics can individual super-powers be killed efficiently with minimal cost.
Over the years, Tenny has been studying these tactics, using each Beyond Grade A as a hypothetical enemy, and has developed many targeted tactics based on their different abilities, thus improving the Empire's tactical inventory. Developing these tactics has almost become an instinct for him.
Even those directly under the empire's control are his targets in simulated battles. This is based on considerations of stance and professional competence, and does not involve personal grudges.
So even though the two were friends, aside from admiring Black Star, Tenny's first thought was how to kill him, business aside.
"Unfortunately, without enough intelligence, we can't conduct new simulations... But this guy has advanced, becoming stronger than before, so the success rate is probably still zero."
After thinking for a while, Tenny reluctantly gave up on the deduction.
He had considered Black Star as a hypothetical enemy more than once. Even before Han Xiao advanced, all of his thousands of simulations ended in failure. Black Star was one of the very few Beyond Grade A hypothetical enemies with a zero success rate of killing him. You should know that even troublesome guys like Manison and Kasuyi had a kill success rate of a few ten-thousandths in tactical simulations that disregarded casualties.
"Hopefully we can gather enough intelligence this time..."
Tenny shook his head.
Besides preventing accidents, he was also tasked with gathering intelligence on Black Star. Since Black Star wanted to kill the Sorokin, he would inevitably have to take action, so he could take the opportunity to observe the level of Beyond God Grade power.
Just as he was pondering this, intelligence came from the Reconnaissance outpost that the fleet that had gone out to greet them had brought Han Xiao and his group in.
He looked up and saw several Imperial warships leading the way at the edge of the military base, followed by a Black Star Army spaceship. Radar indicated that there were three powerful high-energy individuals inside.
Soon, the spaceship entered the main ship, and Han Xiao led Hila and Evans to the command room.
"Hello, Lord Black Star, it's nice to see you again." Tenny stepped forward and extended his hand.
"We're old acquaintances, no need for such formalities." Han Xiao didn't put on airs, shook hands with him, and spoke with a smile.
"We have opened the prison of the Sorokin; you can unseal him at any time."
Tenny nodded, glancing subtly at the two people beside him, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.
Black Star's goal this time was to send the Sorokin to the Netherland, and he could understand why Hila was specifically brought along. But who was this unfamiliar Beyond Grade A?
Noticing Tenny's gaze, Han Xiao gestured for Evans to come closer and introduced him:
"This is Evans, the newly appointed deputy commander of the Black Star Army, a promising Beyond Grade A ability user who has been training in the legion for many years."
After he finished speaking, Evans politely nodded in acknowledgment.
Tenny returned the greeting slightly, but was inwardly quite surprised.
I've never seen this person's information before. It's like they just appeared out of nowhere. They should have left some records back in the Calamity Grade era, right? Could it be that this guy has never been active outside the military and has been secretly trained by the Legion to reach Beyond Grade A?
Tenny felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that the Black Star Army's hidden power was deeper than he had imagined.
However, he didn't forget the objective of this transaction and tentatively asked:
"Lord Black Star, it is said that you will exchange Gaud for the life of Sorokin. Are you prepared?"
"Don't worry, I've brought him here."
Han Xiao raised a finger, and several mechanical assistants carried a confinement device into the room and placed it beside him.
With a flick of his wrist, the imprisonment device instantly transformed into mechanical particles, which he then collected, causing Gaud inside to crash to the ground.
Hila stepped forward expressionlessly, grabbed Gaud by the back of his collar, and lifted him up, revealing an empty and lifeless look on her face.
"Your Excellency Gaud!"
Tenny's expression changed, and he hurriedly stepped forward to investigate.
But Evans intervened, reaching out to stop him, and said slowly, "The deal isn't done yet; we can't give you the person."
Upon hearing this, Tenny had no choice but to stop. Looking at Gaud's incredibly weak appearance, as if he had suffered considerable abuse, a surge of anger rose within him, and he said in a deep voice:
"Black Star, don't forget that the Empire is still waiting for your explanation after the deal is completed!"
The Empire was completely fooled back then, and even Black Star was made the head of the task force to track down the True Culprit. It was a complete farce. Who knows how Black Star is laughing at them behind their backs.
Thinking of this, Tenny couldn't help but feel angry at the humiliation of his country, and his tone became impolite.
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao smiled and ignored him. Instead, he walked up to Gaud, his shadow obscuring the other man's entire body.
"This is... the Crimson Dynasty? What are your intentions in bringing me here?"
Gaud's blank gaze shifted slightly, and suddenly a spark of life returned.
"Of course, we're returning you to the Empire."
Gaud was taken aback upon hearing this, and his heart sank back to its lowest point.
In the past, he would have been happy, but now that his abilities have been taken away, what good would it do to return to the empire?
First, they took away his hope, and now they're bestowing upon him another meaningless hope. Gaud felt that Black Star was toying with him, killing him by destroying his spirit.
"... Do you think you can fool the Empire by giving me some random identity? I am a pure imperial heir. What you did to me will forever be a stain on your reputation, and you will pay the price sooner or later!"
Gaud roused himself, feigning righteous indignation, though he was seething with resentment.
In his mind, Han Xiao sent him back to the Empire simply to force him to admit his identity as Sorokin and to whitewash his attack on the Empire's direct descendants. He would never let the other party have his way.
Han Xiao didn't seem to care. "I know you won't admit it, it doesn't matter. I didn't bring you here to ask you to explain anything; I mainly wanted you to see how I killed your original body."
As soon as the words were spoken, a strange movement occurred outside the window. A huge base prison unfolded layer by layer, revealing the Sorokin imprisoned in amber.
Gaud glanced over instinctively, and his heart suddenly tightened.
Not only did they steal my superpowers, but they also want to ravage my original body right in front of me?!
You son of a bitch, are you fucking serious? Please, just kill me already!
You call me a villain? You're clearly more of a villain than I am!