Seeing that Han Xiao didn't believe him, Austin said, "Sisko only cares about his own civilization. He doesn't know you and probably has no interest in helping you. Even if I asked him for help, he might not give me face. My relationship with him is just so-so."
"Your reputation isn't working out. You're supposed to be a Beyond Grade A, and you're just as sociable as I am..." Han Xiao thought to himself.
As if reading Han Xiao's eyes, Austin clicked his tongue and changed the subject, "Even if he's willing to help, you won't live long unless you become Beyond Grade A."
"Oh?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
Austin said slowly and deliberately, "You've killed so many Grade A superhumans in the War Realm, and due to unspoken rules, the Tyrant hasn't made a move against you. But once the Secret War is over, guess what he'll do to you?"
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "He'll praise me for killing well."
Austin was speechless, shaking his head with an expression that said, "How could you be so shameless?"
"If you reach Beyond Grade A before the war ends, the Tyrant will intervene in the war to deal with you, but at least you will still have a chance to survive. However, if you are unable to break through the Beyond Grade A boundary, you will not even have the right to resist. At most, you can only postpone your death for a while. He and you will definitely have a battle!"
So becoming Beyond Grade A is your only option, I'm not lying to you, and you don't have much time left."
Han Xiao stroked his chin without speaking, while Marion stared wide-eyed, Fording also looked worried, glancing frequently at Han Xiao with concerned eyes.
Becoming Beyond Grade A in two or three years? Impossible, Fording couldn't imagine how small the chances were.
He knew very well that Han Xiao had already reached a very high level, and it would be extremely difficult for him to take another step forward. His strength had hardly improved in the past seven years, which was in stark contrast to his previous rapid growth. Many of his old friends, including himself, privately speculated that Black Star had finally encountered a bottleneck.
If the Tyrant attacks, Black Star will likely be in grave danger, and the vast Black Star Army will disintegrate with his death.
Even if Black Star manages to seize the extremely slim chance of becoming Beyond Grade A, he might not be able to survive against the Tyrant. The Tyrant was already Beyond Grade A a long time ago, and his reputation was earned through battle. His combat power naturally crushes a new Beyond Grade A.
Thinking of this, Fording was pessimistic about the future. He reached out and touched Han Xiao's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze, hoping to offer him some comfort.
In his view, Han Xiao must be feeling desperate right now.
Where did you get your information from?
"I have my own intelligence channels," Austin smiled.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, feigning contemplation. In reality, this news was not unexpected. Since he dared to participate in the Secret War, he had long been prepared to be an enemy of the Tyrant and had no wishful thinking.
Originally, he was just an ordinary member of Section Zero, but now he has become an ace fighter, naturally attracting the attention of the Tyrant. Han Xiao has always been secretly wary of Heber's involvement in the war. He is not afraid, but he is still under the command of Dragon Calm and has a powerful backer. If the Tyrant attacks him, it is equivalent to provoking the Dragon Emperor. The two sides have accumulated deep grudges, and Ames will not swallow her anger.
Moreover, once the Tyrant intervenes, Amethyst will also retaliate, not hesitating to send official forces to besiege Heber —a star cluster-level civilization that can threaten the lives of Beyond Grade A. At that time, Krent will also use this as an excuse to send troops, and the nature of the Secret War will most likely change, turning into a large-scale war between the two civilizations.
Both sides in the conflict wanted to control the scale of the war, which is why the Tyrant never intervened. However, Han Xiao didn't act recklessly either; it's one thing to urinate on someone's head, but to defecate on them would be going too far.
In fact, after making a name for himself, he has consciously reduced the frequency of his actions in recent years. He successfully allied with Amethyst and gained a lot of development opportunities, thus fulfilling his original intention of participating in the Secret War. Therefore, he began to avoid the risk of becoming too famous and attracting unwanted attention.
Although he influenced the course of the Secret War, it was difficult for him to change the outcome of the war with his Calamity Grade strength and status alone. He acted within his capabilities and did not wholeheartedly serve Amethyst.
Austin's words at this moment only confirmed Han Xiao's guess, and didn't surprise him too much.
However, on the surface, Han Xiao still thanked Austin for his kind reminder.
"That's all I can do for you. The enchantment Lagi gave you is excellent, and I don't need to improve it. You can go now."
Austin waved his hand, indicating that he wanted to see him out.
Seeing this, Han Xiao stopped pressing the matter and left the Palace of Hidden Spells with Fording and Marion, both looking worried.
Austin returned to his throne, a look of amusement on his round face.
He doesn't get involved in disputes; he prefers to stand as an observer, watching the world change and the world transform.
Pressure is motivation. He deliberately revealed the Tyrant's intentions to see what Black Star would do under pressure: would it rise against the odds, perish, or become a stray dog, leaving the Shattered Star Ring to escape the Tyrant's Pursuit?
Austin would be happy with either outcome.
Of course, what he most wanted to see was Black Star change the pattern of the Shattered Star Ring that had existed for many years, injecting new vitality into this remote star region.
Han Xiao and his two companions boarded the spaceship and departed from the Palace of Hidden Spells.
Silence fell over the ship.
Fording couldn't help but ask, "Are you confident you can break through your current bottleneck within two or three years?"
Bottleneck? What bottleneck? Han Xiao didn't react for a moment, glanced at him in confusion, then realized Fording meant and shrugged.
"I don't know either." He naturally didn't intend to reveal anything about the panel.
"What should we do? The Tyrant will definitely come to kill you." Fording was getting anxious.
Marion suggested, "Perhaps we could try to borrow the Evolution Cube from Sisko. Doesn't that lower the threshold for Beyond Grade A?"
"I guess there's no way to solve it." Han Xiao shook his head.
Austin could definitely get Sisko to help him, but Cisco isn't obligated to. Ames is a homebody and probably doesn't know Sisko well, so her influence won't work. The Evolution Cube is Sisko's prized possession; it's not something he can just use whenever he wants. Since he doesn't know Cisco, Sisko probably won't bother getting involved.
Moreover, I don't have any real bottlenecks; what I lack is experience.
"So what are you going to do?" Fording asked with a worried look.
Let's take it one step at a time.
With the return of players in version 3.0, Han Xiao was confident he could become Beyond Grade A, but he couldn't explain it to Fording.
Fording gripped Han Xiao's shoulder, his face serious. "If it really doesn't work, then abandon the Black Star Army and flee to another star system. Power can be rebuilt, but life is more important."
"Will you come with me?" Han Xiao joked.
Fording hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yes."
Han Xiao was touched by Fording's genuine concern.
He shook his head, changed the subject, and laughed, "Don't be scared by things that haven't happened yet. We can talk about the Tyrant later. Right now, there's another problem to deal with. I need to find a way to suppress the Psionic Poison my mental brain... oh, I should call it Soul Embryo. With this thing around, I don't even dare to use my strength recklessly."
"It's a pity the Sorcerer couldn't help," Fording sighed.
"He simply doesn't want to help. Don't be fooled by his kind and friendly appearance; that old man is actually quite cunning. Do you really think he's telling me this information out of pure altruism?"
Han Xiao curled his lip. He wasn't as easily fooled as Melos. He'd come all this way, only to be dismissed with a few words, not even having his fuel expenses reimbursed. What a big-headed kid!
Ultimately, I have to figure it out myself. I shouldn't have trusted Austin; it was a wasted trip. These days, even Beyond Grade A talent can't be relied on.
Han Xiao thought for a moment and suddenly had an idea.
Since the reason why Beyond Grade A can recover on its own is because of its strong mental power, and its mental power will also increase with each level up, even if it has not reached Beyond Grade A, leveling up should be able to suppress the Soul Embryo.
NPCs don't have a character panel, so their leveling up is a gradual and gradual process, while leveling up yourself provides an instant and significant boost. Although leveling up cannot remove negative status effects, it should be able to inhibit the growth of the Soul Embryo.
Han Xiao opened the panel. He had spent more than half a month on his journey. The players had already returned to the Black Star Army and had been spending money one after another. By this time, they had accumulated enough experience to upgrade, which gave them the capital to experiment.
Without hesitation, he was promoted to the next level.
[[Apostle Mechanic] has been promoted to Lv23, Strength +240, Agility +4, Endurance +5, Intelligence +10. You gain 8 free attribute points and 1 potential point.]
Han Xiao immediately used his personal enchantment to enter his mental domain and looked down. He saw that the purplish-black mist area of Soul Embryo had been further compressed, from six percent to four percent.
"The upgrade is indeed effective. The expansion of the mental brain area can indirectly suppress the erosion of the Soul Embryo." Han Xiao withdrew his mental probe and immediately had an idea. He was not incapable of taking action. As long as he could control the erosion area of Soul Embryo to less than 30% through reasonable upgrades, the troublesome secondary personality would not be born.
Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Now that there was a long-term method to suppress it, the threat posed by the Soul Embryo to him had decreased significantly. As expected, enchantment and the like were just external means; strengthening oneself was still the most reliable approach. Something that Beyond Grade A mage couldn't handle, he could solve by leveling up.
"In that case, it's not that I can't take action, as long as I control the timing of the fight... Hmm, but just in case, I should still find a skilled fighter..."
Just then, the communicator suddenly rang. Han Xiao took it out and saw that it was a message from Sylvia, who was stationed at headquarters, containing a photo.
In the scene, a dark red spaceship uses a tractor beam to pull dozens of spaceships painted like space pirates to a stop at the spaceport. Long, deep red curly hair, unseen for a long time, comes into view. Hila stands on the dock with Aurora, revealing her cold and beautiful profile.
Has Hila returned?
Han Xiao stared at the photo, a slight smile playing on his lips.
At that moment, he had his top choice for a henchman.
"Dragon Emperor Majesty, they have arrived at the Black Star Army headquarters."
In the palace on the Floating Dragon Island, Verna was bowing her head, reporting the itinerary of Hila and her sister to Ames.
Ames molded the force field into tiny, pale green spheres, toying with them between her fingers as they floated and danced like sprites. Hearing this, she smiled gently, "Did they encounter anything on their journey?"
"Yes, the fleet I sent out was secretly escorting them. Eight small pirate groups attacked them one after another, but Hila easily killed them all," Verna said. After Hila and the other woman left, she was afraid something might happen to them, so she sent people to secretly protect them.
"You've done a good job. Now that they've safely reached Black Star's territory, you can withdraw your troops. Black Star will take care of them."
Ames nodded. She cared for the two sisters even more than she cared for herself. She didn't usually feel it, but after the Hila sisters had been gone for more than half a month, she felt empty and melancholy inside.
Iso, standing to the side, shook his head. "You don't need to worry about them at all. They'll grow up quickly by following Black Star."
Ames looked over, somewhat displeased. "Are you saying I'm a bad teacher?"
Iso waved his hand, looking helpless. "Hila can absorb the residual spiritual power of the dead to enhance her abilities. She didn't have the opportunity to use this ability in Dragon Calm, while Black Star was involved in the war, in which countless people died. For Hila, the battlefield is the most suitable place for her to train. Even I can't imagine the speed at which she has grown by Black Star's side."
"Yeah, that bastard Black Star will definitely send them to the war. The battlefield is so dangerous, what if Black Star doesn't protect them properly..."
Ames muttered to herself, her focus clearly shifting in another direction, much like a parent worried about their children. Her two apprentices, with whom she had spent over ten years, were like her own children.
Upon hearing this, Iso and Verna suddenly had a bad feeling.
It took Han Xiao and his group another half month to return to the Black Star Army headquarters and meet the Hila sisters, whom they had not seen for a long time.
In the office, Aurora bumped into Han Xiao's arms and kept squirming. Although she had grown up, she was still as close to Han Xiao as before.
"As agreed, we'll work for you." Hila said expressionlessly.
"We're all old acquaintances, no need for any agreements. I'm happy you all came to help me." Han Xiao patted Aurora's head and smiled, "I can't believe ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. You've all grown up so much."
Hila's eyes flickered slightly.
They were once just puppets controlled by the Germinal, but now, Black Star has become a major figure in the universe, and he himself has become Calamity Grade powerhouse. Everything is different from before.
Thinking back, Hila felt a pang of emotion. This man before her had changed the course of her life. Without Black Star, she would probably have grown old on the planet filled with guilt and hatred, never able to step into the vast and magnificent universe.
"The last time we fought side by side was more than ten years ago, and back then I couldn't be of much help to you." Hila raised an eyebrow, beaming with pride. "Now I've finally caught up with you!"
"I've waited ten years for this day."
Han Xiao patted Hila on the shoulder, smiled slightly, took two steps back from the Tu Shu, opened his arms, and raised his voice:
Welcome to the Black Star Army!