Hadavy was taken to a room by Hila and tied to a chair. Hila stood by with her arms crossed, coldly watching Hadavy as she kept an eye on him.
"Wait here, Black Star will be here soon."
Hadavy didn't struggle. He sat there for a while, seemingly feeling the atmosphere was a bit cold, and looked up at Hila, asking curiously, "What is your ability? I've been in the Shattered Star Ring for many years, but I've never heard of you before. A strong person like you shouldn't be unknown. What civilization are you from?"
Hila ignored her completely, her face expressionless, and showed no intention of answering.
Having been rebuffed, Hadavy chuckled dryly, "Looks like you don't like communicating with people."
At that moment, the door opened, and Han Xiao walked in, smiling as he casually said, "She's my compatriot; we're both from Planet Aquamarine. She's been cultivating under Ames's guidance and only recently started helping me with my tasks."
"A student of the Dragon Emperor?" Hadavy was taken aback, and when he looked at Hila again, his eyes were filled with envy.
Hadavy couldn't help but be surprised that a surface civilization Planet Aquamarine could produce figures like Black Star and Hila.
Click...
Han Xiao moved his fingers, releasing Hadavy from his restraints. A thought struck him, and he suddenly said, "Alright, you can go now."
Hadavy was stunned, his mouth agape. "You're letting me go?"
"That's right." Han Xiao smiled. "Regardless, after so many exchanges, I quite acknowledge your strength. I'll let you go this time; let's void the bet."
"No, no, no..." Hadavy stammered, "I'm a man of my word. Since I've lost, I must keep my promise and serve you."
"Hmm, someone as strong as you shouldn't become someone else's subordinate in this way." Han Xiao suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "I'm currently Beyond Grade A, but I still have respect for a superhuman like you who is at the peak of the Calamity Grade, and I won't force you."
Hadavy was so anxious that his face turned red. He thought his plan had succeeded and that he could join Black Star's ranks through the bet, but he never expected Black Star to reject him like this, and the reason left him speechless. He was both touched and annoyed.
"I... you..." Hadavy stammered, unable to speak.
Hadavy felt a little ashamed and embarrassed to directly say that he wanted to work for Black Star, but simply walking away would not align with his purpose. He was caught in a dilemma and stood there, not knowing what to do.
Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled and said, "I'm not teasing you anymore. If you're joining the Black Star Army, I'd be very happy to welcome you. But if you're trying to fool me with this clumsy act, then let's not talk anymore."
Hadavy's face flushed red. "You knew everything?!"
His little schemes had been exposed, and he was so ashamed that he just wanted to disappear into the ground.
Even Hila, who had been expressionless, couldn't help but smile slightly upon seeing this scene.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and slowly said, "Then I formally extend an invitation to you, Hadavy. My legion needs you. Are you willing to join my ranks?"
Hadavy found it difficult to speak; his lips trembled as if he were using all his strength to squeeze out his reply through his teeth.
"I... I do..."
After saying it, Hadavy felt his whole body go weak, as if he had just survived ten life-or-death battles...
"Okay." Han Xiao nodded and smiled. "On behalf of the Legion, I welcome you to join us."
Seeing that Han Xiao had stopped teasing him, Hadavy breathed a sigh of relief, suppressed his shame, and asked, "What position do you need me for?"
Han Xiao thought for a moment, then casually pointed to Hila beside him, "You'll join the Guard Officer Unit and be at her beck and call."
With Hadavy's reputation, joining the Royal Guard would indirectly enhance the prestige of the Guard Officer Unit.
"Guards officer?" Hadavy scratched his neck. "Alright, but I have one request. I'd like you to share some of your experience with Beyond Grade A with me..."
Han Xiao nodded, then shook his head, feigning seriousness, and said, "Every Beyond Grade A's advancement is different, and everyone has their own path. I can't pass on my experience to you, but I allow you to spar with me and experience the extraordinary nature of Beyond Grade A. Perhaps it will inspire you."
"I see..." Hadavy nodded helplessly, "That's fine too."
Although it was somewhat different from what he had imagined, being able to spar with Beyond Grade A opponents regularly was in line with his expectations, as he had always enjoyed pushing his potential to the limit through combat.
Ordinary people cannot make him feel danger, but when facing Black Star, Hadavy always recalls the fear he felt when he was at his weakest and faced wild beasts. This fear is the best catalyst for his potential.
Han Xiao waved his hand, signaling Hila to take Hadavy to meet with his other companions.
He currently has five Royal Guards, among whom Hila, Hadavy, and Fording are the strongest, all being high-level Calamity Grade. The other two are Marion and a martial artist named Druno, whose combat strength is also extraordinary. Although they are not considered major bosses among the Calamity Grade, they are at least at the level of minor bosses. It seems that the members of the Guard Officer Unit are all elites.
After dealing with Hadavy's problem, Han Xiao summoned Sylvia to discuss the Black Star Army's expansion.
He has personally announced his status as Beyond Grade A force, and now he is about to make some big moves, leveraging his influence, forging alliances throughout the star system, and elevating the Black Star Army to the level of a true Beyond Grade A power.
However, there is one thing that needs to be addressed first.
"Sylvia, prepare a fleet for me; I'm setting sail."
"Okay, teacher, where are you going?"
"... Dragon Calm."
Han Xiao paused, his tone unreadable.
Countless interstellar media outlets published the news that Han Xiao had personally admitted to being Beyond Grade A. In an instant, 95% of the news channels in the entire Shattered Star Ring were talking about this, stirring up a new wave of public opinion storms across the star field.
With official news confirming it, the matter is now a done deal. For some time now, almost every media outlet in the Shattered Star Ring has been flooded with this news. The sheer number of channels in interstellar media far surpasses that of rumors. With their spontaneous promotion, every interstellar citizen with internet access in their village knows Han Xiao's name!
Similarly, this sensational news was also reprinted by media outlets in other star systems, and forces in other star systems also learned that a new Beyond Grade A had been born in the Shattered Star Ring!
The player forums were immediately abuzz with this situation. Although Han Xiao frequently posted on the forums, those were all spontaneous discussions among players. But now, players from other star regions could see Han Xiao's name in their own star region's news channels!
Players from other star systems were shocked. In the current 3.0 version, players had not yet started crossing star systems. In their eyes, each star system was equivalent to an independent server. But now, the famous NPC character from the Shattered Star Ring had become famous across servers!
Over the past few versions, Han Xiao has established himself as a "main character" in the Shattered Star Ring. Players in other star regions know his name to some extent. This wave of public opinion has aroused strong interest among other players. Han Xiao not only trending in the Shattered Star Ring forum, but is also being hotly discussed in forum channels of other star regions. He is among the top three most popular topics in all channels, making a big splash.
Official channels have their own rules, and the major factions in the Shattered Star Ring have also made their public responses.
The high-ranking officials of the Amethyst Civilization are very happy now.
More than seven years ago, they saw the potential Han Xiao had shown and decided to bet on him. Now, Black Star has advanced to a true Beyond Grade A, and the Amethyst Civilization has a Beyond Grade A companion like Krent. Of the seven star cluster-level civilizations in the entire Shattered Star Ring, only these two have such powerful allies.
Placing your bets in advance is almost guaranteed to win!
Most importantly, Black Star reached Beyond Grade A in just about twenty years, and was even less than fifty years old. Considering the lifespan of Beyond Grade A person, he was still just an infant. Reaching Beyond Grade A at such a young age shows his limitless potential.
After Han Xiao confirmed it personally, the Amethyst Civilization immediately took various measures, including increasing its huge investment in the Black Star Army, increasing policy and resource support, and taking a more serious attitude, striving to build a more stable alliance with Han Xiao.
At the same time, the Amethyst Civilization also issued a notice to the entire star system through media channels:
--On behalf of the entire civilization, congratulations to Black Star for becoming Beyond Grade A!
This action is a way of expressing our importance to the entire star system and conveying the message that the alliance between the two sides is extremely stable. Those demons and monsters who want to interfere should save their energy.
Not to be outdone, Goddora followed suit. Serre V gave a public speech, first recounting Han Xiao's many contributions to Goddora and emphasizing that he was the recipient of the Gaol Golden Statue Medal. Finally, on behalf of all Goddora, he celebrated Han Xiao's advancement to Beyond Grade A and also revealed that a new celebratory holiday called Black Star Day was being planned within the civilization to thank Han Xiao for everything he had done for Goddora. This was already on the agenda.
If other civilizations were to create Black Star Day, it would seem like they were sycophantic. But Goddora is different. Han Xiao has a deep connection with Goddora. Whether it's the destruction of the DarkStar or the Discrimination Reform Movement, it has extraordinary significance for the entire civilization. Creating a special holiday to thank Han Xiao is not out of line.
The moment Amethyst and Goddora expressed their opinions, they stirred up a hornet's nest. Dozens, even hundreds, of star system civilizations congratulated Han Xiao in the name of their civilization, as if it had become a trend. These star system civilizations were all semi-allies who had chosen to win over the Black Star Army and provided them with the right to develop resource planets. Now, they were rushing to speak out, as if they were afraid that others would not know that they had a secret relationship with Black Star.
The actions of these interstellar civilizations are actually understandable. The Amethyst Civilization, as the leader of the star cluster, took the lead in building momentum for Han Xiao, while other civilizations also wanted to cultivate good relations with the Beyond Grade A beings, and the Book also showed goodwill. However, this created a shocking phenomenon for the onlookers.
The entire civilization of the Colton Star Cluster stood behind Black Star, cheering him on. The whole cluster celebrated for one man!
This situation left countless onlookers dumbfounded.
Black Star's prestige within the star cluster is terrifyingly high?!
When other Beyond Grade A were born in the Shattered Star Ring, there was never such a grand spectacle!
At this moment, the entire star field remembered Black Star. Like the other four, he became a symbolic figure of the Shattered Star Ring in everyone's mind, the fifth Beyond Grade A!
However, at this critical juncture, an unexpected event occurred, causing the impact of public opinion to surge to a new level.
The Tyrant Heber and the Star Pupil Sisko have both publicly challenged Black Star to a duel!
Heber's reason was Secret War. Since the Amethyst side had Beyond Grade A, he had to intervene. Both sides would fight on behalf of the Amethyst and Krent respectively, so there was nothing wrong with it.
Sisko's statement, however, caused a sensation.
He released information about the Evolution Cube to the entire star system and announced that Black Star Black Star had stolen Evolution Cube from him, demanding its immediate return!
Evolution Cube in Black Star's hands? Two veteran Beyond Grade A- ranks challenge a new Beyond Grade A?!
Two pieces of news caused a huge uproar.
The entire star field was in an uproar!
Beyond Grade A... is he going to publicly challenge someone to a duel?!
This is a major event that hasn't happened in many years!
Just as the major powers and onlookers of the Shattered Star Ring were stunned by the two sensational news stories, Han Xiao had already led his fleet to Dragon Calm.