Helpless, Han Xiao put away the communicator and fell into deep thought.
What is Ames doing in the War Realm? Is she going to cause trouble?
Mazaks had said that Ames had a grudge against the War Realm. The Tyrant poached her former trusted subordinates, and the two fought a fierce battle that was earth-shattering. In the end, Ames suffered a loss and fled. Han Xiao felt that Ames was probably up to no good this time.
"Does she really want to drag me into this? Does she want me to help her stop the Tyrant's subordinates?"
Han Xiao's lips twitched. He had become Dragon Calm's strongest cadre. Before, Ames had no one else to rely on, but now that she finally had a capable person, was she going to use him like a madman?
The Tyrant's forces are numerous and powerful; the eight Grade A Vanguard Officers are merely the tip of the iceberg. The high-ranking officers hold far more than just the Vanguard Officers position. If Ames only takes herself to the War Realm, she'll be fine, but things could be different for me...
"Hopefully they're not going to fight..."
Han Xiao had a headache.
Hila, who had been watching the entire conversation, asked in confusion, "What is the War Realm?"
"That's a hangout for a bunch of muscular guys, it's definitely dangerous," Han Xiao said irritably.
Since Ames urged him to set off quickly, Han Xiao didn't delay.
He summoned Reynold and instructed him to stay at Number One Base. Then he summoned Sylvia and gave her some instructions, putting her in charge of managing trivial matters. This was mainly a formality; the real administrator of Number One Base was Phillip, Han Xiao could remotely control the situation at the base, so there wasn't much to explain. Even without him at the base, the Black Star Army's operations could continue to run normally.
After finishing the trivial matters in just half an hour, Han Xiao called Hila and Aurora, who had changed into dry clothes, and the three of them boarded the Blacklight Stealth parked in the hangar.
Boom boom--
The hangar ceiling door opened, and the anti-gravity stabilizer at the bottom of the Blacklight Stealth activated, emitting a faint blue light.
The spacecraft ascended vertically, followed by a purple plume of flame ejected from its thrusters.
In the blink of an eye, the spaceship transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the horizon.
Floating Dragon Island.
The Blacklight Stealth broke free of its warp state, slowly caught up with the floating Dragon Calm, and landed on the dock.
Is this Dragon Calm?
Stepping off the spaceship, Aurora around curiously and immediately spotted the thugs gathered at the dock. They all looked fierce and menacing, clearly not good people.
The rioters all turned to look at them.
Seeing this, Hila quickly followed and stood beside Aurora, warily surveying the surrounding thugs like a mother leopard protecting her cubs.
"Don't be so tense. Although Dragon Calm allows space pirates, scavengers, and wanted criminals to stop here, fighting is not allowed... uh, I mean under normal circumstances, cough, anyway, they are all very docile and won't bite."
As Han Xiao spoke, he walked to the two of them, casually put his arm around Hila's shoulder, glanced around, and shouted to the surrounding thugs, "Hey, are you still watching?"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding thugs all turned their gazes away and continued doing their own things. Han Xiao's car was too famous; no one wanted to provoke Black Star in Dragon Calm.
Hila glanced at Han Xiao, then looked at the hand resting on her shoulder, and shifted uncomfortably.
"My friend, you're back again."
Just then, Wilsander's voice rang out from not far away. He had received the news early and was waiting here to welcome Han Xiao.
To Han Xiao's surprise, Jenny also came, standing right behind Wilsander.
He greeted Wilsander, then looked at Jenny and chuckled, "You're here too. You must be quite busy with work lately; you look rather haggard."
Jenny, expressionless, snatched the weapon from the guard and, without a word, opened fire on Han Xiao.
Thump thump thump--
Han Xiao let the small-diameter laser hit his body, scattering sparks of light, but it couldn't hurt him at all.
Beside them, Aurora stared in disbelief, Hila clenched her fists slightly, seemingly hesitating whether to stop them, while Wilsander looked helpless and kept shaking his head.
Click click click...
Only when the barrel overheated and could no longer be fired did Jenny throw down the weapon and say indifferently, "Ames is waiting for you at the palace."
After saying that, she turned and left.
She knew she couldn't hurt Han Xiao; she just wanted to vent her frustration.
As the head of the department, Jenny must be extremely busy lately, and Han Xiao, being understanding, didn't mind letting Jenny have some fun.
Anyway, this won't affect his future actions. He can expand as he pleases. Jenny's carefree days, like her youth, will never return.
Han Xiao dusted off his clothes, unconcerned, and turned to Hila, "Let's go, I'll take you to see Ames and help you find your way."
The two looked at each other, speechless, and could only nod.
After bidding Wilsander, they arrived at the palace in the center of the floating island, where Han Xiao led the three of them inside.
A dragon bone Throne floated in mid-air above the main hall. Ames sat on it, resting her chin on her hand as she watched the three people enter. She sighed, "Black Star, you're so slow. It took you months to send them over."
Han Xiao remained noncommittal, while Hila and Aurora nodded in greeting.
Ames manipulated the force field, lowering the throne until it landed in front of the three, and smiled, "Alright, from now on you are my students, you can call me teacher."
"Teacher," the two replied.
Ames was pleased with the nickname, and her smile softened. She used to call Iso that too, and now that she had her own students, it felt special.
"Although our abilities are different, I can teach you how to develop them and use my experience to help you unleash your potential," Ames said gently.
Hila nodded solemnly, "Okay, when do we begin?"
She's a cultivation fanatic, and with such a powerful teacher, she can't wait to start training immediately.
Unexpectedly, Ames shook her head. "Not now. I need you to come with me somewhere."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and interjected, "War Realm?"
"Yes, all three of you will come with me."
They're bringing Hila and Aurora? This doesn't seem like they're going to fight...
Han Xiao's heart stirred slightly, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
This is good news; he doesn't want to provoke the forces of another Beyond Grade A powerhouse for no reason.
However, to confirm Ames's intentions, Han Xiao pressed further, "That's the territory of the Tyrant Heber. I heard you have a grudge against him. What are we going there for?"
Ames' smile faded slightly as she slowly said, "The Tyrant is an ambitious fellow. We're not on the same side. He even poached a talented person I relied on before, but this time we're not here to cause trouble."
"Every so often, the Tyrant holds a grand gathering, sending invitations to important figures in the Shattered Star Ring. Almost everyone attends. The attendees include high-ranking officials from star cluster-level civilizations, representatives from major powers, and sometimes even envoys from the three cosmic-level civilizations. The Beyond Grade A from the Shattered Star Ring is naturally among his invitees, and I received an invitation too... Hmph, this guy is annoying, but he's truly unfathomable. I stormed their headquarters back then, yet the Tyrant still invited me to the next gathering."
"In short, the gatherings of the Tyrant have continued for many years, forming an unspoken tradition among large powers. It's seen as an opportunity for many influential figures to expand their networks. The Tyrant, with their authority, are qualified to host these gatherings. At these events, many prominent figures exchange information and discuss various topics. Each gathering releases a wealth of intelligence, and the topics discussed by these figures largely determine the future development of the Shattered Star Ring..."
So that's how it is... Han Xiao suddenly realized.
Simply put, the Tyrant hold Shattered Star Ring Friendship Gathering, where people go to make friends, chat, and joke around. The difference is that most of the participants are of high status, and together they can even influence the development of the Shattered Star Ring region.
To hold such gatherings and turn them into a traditional activity of the upper echelons... indeed, the Tyrant is an ambitious figure with grand ambitions.
"So, you're also going to the Tyrant's Gathering?"
Han Xiao was somewhat surprised. Dragon Calm had always maintained neutrality, and given Ames's personality, it seemed unlikely that she would pay attention to such matters.
"Of course I'm going!" Ames said in a slightly somber tone. "I don't want to seem stingy!"
What? What does this have to do with being stingy?
Han Xiao looked completely bewildered.
He went through Ames's logic and finally understood what Ames meant:
--I have a grudge against him, and he actually dares to invite me to a party, trying to show off his magnanimity like this? Damn it, does he think I'm too scared to go? If I don't go, wouldn't I look petty? I'm going! I have to go! I'm stunningly beautiful and incredibly powerful, what am I afraid of?!
He felt he was pretty close to the truth; this was the right way to approach Ames...
So why bring me along...? Well, it's because the Tyrant has a plethora of powerful warriors under his command, so Ames wasn't going to be outdone and specifically dragged him along to lend her support!
At least it's not like the past when they caused trouble... Han Xiao was in a state of confusion, so he could only console himself with this thought, and asked helplessly, "When does the party start?"
"We still have some time; we'll depart tomorrow for the headquarters in the War Realm."
The War Realm is located in the Seoul Star Cluster. If the Shattered Star Ring were turned into a flat map, the very center would be a dangerous cluster of unstable wormholes. Space is extremely unstable, with wormholes disappearing and reappearing one after another, randomly connecting to every corner of the universe.
On one side of the flat map is the edge of the Explored Universe, and beyond that is the unknown universe that has not yet been fully explored.
On the other side is the passage to other star systems, which requires traversing a long stretch of desolate, uninhabited universe. It took Resta a long time to jump between star systems before arriving at the Shattered Star Ring from other star systems.
Surrounding the wormhole clusters are more than a dozen star clusters of the Shattered Star Ring, all of which have been divided up by the seven star cluster-level civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring.
The closest star cluster to the wormhole cluster is the Terrarium Star Cluster, where scavengers are rampant. Han Xiao once set foot there during a Morning Star quest.
The Colton Star Cluster and the Seoul Star Cluster are separated by a Desolate Universe Belt, which can barely be considered as adjacent.
On the other side of the Seoul Star Cluster is the largest Shedim Star Cluster. Seoul is sandwiched between Shedim and Colton. Seoul's planar map is a narrow, elongated ellipse, and its area is the second smallest among the Shattered Star Ring.
In the political sphere, the cluster-level civilization that controls Seoul is called the Krent Empire, while the cluster-level civilization that rules Colton is the Amethyst Civilization. These two civilizations are neighbors and have built many large stargates in each other's territories. The teleportation stargate of Goddora was built by the Amethyst Civilization.
The War Realm of the Tyrant is where the Krent Empire honored. With a star cluster-level civilization backing them up, the Tyrant ' gatherings possess both the influence of Beyond Grade A and the status of a star cluster-level civilization, which is why so many people give them face.
"So, we're going to the Seoul Star Cluster, right?" Han Xiao sighed. "Take my spaceship."
Ames smiled and said, "That's exactly what I meant."