Chapter Summaries

Hadavy and the Black Star Army helped suppress an attack on Ludwell’s grandson, while Han Xiao uncovered the plot’s hidden organizers. The chapter ended with Han Xiao confronting the master of disguise and his companion, who had thought they could escape.

• Hadavy and his guards defeated the attackers threatening Ludwell’s grandson, and the bodyguards promised to report their help to Ludwell.
• Ludwell learned that his grandson had been saved by the Black Star Army, ordered an investigation, and acknowledged that he owed Black Star a favor.
• Gabura thanked the Punisher Alliance and tried to recruit Aurora, but she refused; Hadavy then jokingly offered Gabura a place in the Black Star Army, and the stolen Evolutionary Totem was recovered.
• Fording and Aurora earned the Punisher Alliance’s respect by fighting alongside them, while the suspected plotters withdrew after learning the Black Star Army had intervened.
• Han Xiao traced the plotters through the hub’s records and satellite surveillance, then confronted the master of disguise and his companion as they tried to leave.

Han Xiao captured two agents involved in a campaign against the Crimson Dynasty, then received thanks from Ludwell, who decided to warn Bekorodi and subtly interfere with the Infinite Financial Group’s plans. Meanwhile, Fording and Aurora left Aynia Hub with the Punisher Alliance, heading toward its headquarters, where Fording hoped to find the relic Han Xiao wanted.

• Han Xiao handed the captured agents over to Gabura and learned they had helped orchestrate incidents targeting the Crimson Dynasty, including the attempted killing of Ludwell’s grandson.
• Ludwell called Han Xiao to thank him for saving his grandson and hinted that he might help counter the Infinite Financial Group’s expansion in the Shattered Star Ring.
• Ludwell contacted Bekorodi, intending to warn him to rein in his behind-the-scenes dealings with the Infinite Financial Group.
• Han Xiao received a separate invitation from Gabura’s superior, while the Punisher Alliance prepared to leave Aynia Hub after collecting its bounty.
• Fording and Aurora joined the Punisher Alliance’s ship as it headed for headquarters, and Fording hoped to find the relic Han Xiao sought.

Fording and Aurora found the Box of Bewitchment in the Punisher Alliance’s trophy hall, but Fording refused to steal it secretly and waited for Han Xiao to arrive. Han Xiao crushed the box, releasing a powerful psionic shriek that struck the Punisher Alliance members.

• Raymond showed Fording and Aurora the Punisher Alliance’s trophy hall, where Fording recognized the Box of Bewitchment and discovered that it contained a life signal.
• Fording and Aurora returned to the hall, and Fording openly took the box, setting off the alarm rather than sneaking away.
• Raymond and Seli confronted Fording and Aurora, but Fording sat down and waited instead of fighting the Punisher Alliance members.
• Han Xiao arrived with his subordinates, and Hadavy revealed that Fording was Black Star’s guard vice captain.
• Han Xiao crushed the Box of Bewitchment, releasing a powerful psionic shriek that caused the Punisher Alliance members mental pain.

Han Xiao killed the Mind Flayer that escaped from the Box of Bewitchment and gave its remains to Fording. After the fleet continued its journey, Han Xiao completed his level 300 advancement mission by reaching 120,000 maximum Energy and [Lv19] Energy.

• A Mind Flayer escaped from the Box of Bewitchment, and Han Xiao explained its origins and the danger it posed.
• Raymond, Seli, Tu Shu, and the others attacked the Mind Flayer, but their weapons barely harmed it.
• Han Xiao used a multidimensional-energy weapon to kill the Mind Flayer and claimed the mission rewards, including [Psionic Defense] and [Magic Resistance Body].
• Han Xiao gave the Mind Flayer's remains to Fording, while the Punisher Alliance members realized Black Star had saved them and Seli tried to apologize.
• Fording studied the remains as the fleet traveled, and Han Xiao completed [Energy Abundance] and [Erudite] by raising his maximum Energy to 120,000 and reaching [Lv19] Energy.

Han Xiao completed his level 300 advancement on a barren planet, choosing new Void and mechanical talents as his Black Star Race sublimated. After the transformation appeared to end, he changed to the Divine Throne Mechanic class, triggering another surge of energy.

• Han Xiao traveled to an uninhabited planet and completed his level 300 advancement and race evolution choices.
• Han Xiao chose the Void Divine Envoy and Holy Terx Race paths, gaining Void Divine Power and Terx Mechanical Legacy.
• Han Xiao's Black Star Race talent improved, and his body and attributes changed as his life level sublimated.
• Aurora, Fording, Hadavy, and the guards watched the planetary storm from the fleet and saw the energy reaction subside.
• Han Xiao completed his class change to Divine Throne Mechanic, and the energy reaction surged again.

Han Xiao completed his level 300 advancement and became a Divine Throne Mechanic, gaining powerful talents, skills, and a special throne blueprint. His transformation left him at the same level as Sorokin, the Mechanic Emperor, and the Dark Emperor.

• Han Xiao advanced to Divine Throne Mechanic as energy surged around him and the transformation began.
• Han Xiao gained the Key to the Mechanic Faith, Divine Equipment, and Creator's Heart, along with 2,317 freely assignable attribute points from his skills and blueprints.
• Han Xiao examined new creation, logistics, and virtual abilities, including All Things Simulation, Dimensional Factory, and Supreme Virtual.
• Han Xiao gained abilities to strengthen mechanical lifeforms and apostles, and to merge his army into a colossal Mechanical Deity.
• Han Xiao obtained the Mechanical Divine Throne blueprint and completed his level 300 advancement, reaching the level of Sorokin, the Mechanic Emperor, and the Dark Emperor.

Han Xiao completed his unprecedented advancement to Peak Beyond Grade A, reviewed his new powers, and returned to his flagship as the Dynasty sentries recorded the event. He prepared to confront Heber, while Heber sensed that something bad was about to happen during his meeting with Sorokin.

• Imperial sentries investigated the planet’s energy surge, mistook it for Black Star’s death, and learned that Han Xiao had caused it through his advancement.
• Han Xiao reviewed his evolved racial talents, new blueprints, attributes, and SS-grade status, and considered how he still lagged behind Manison as a Mechanic.
• Han Xiao reassured Aurora and the others, allowed the Dynasty to report his advancement, and decided to test his strength against the Tyrant.
• Han Xiao activated his reserve mechanical army with Dominator’s Descent at the Black Star Army headquarters.
• Sorokin toasted with Heber in the War Realm, and Heber felt an ominous premonition after his goblet shattered on the floor.

Han Xiao brought a small Black Star Army fleet to the War Realm headquarters and challenged Heber to an unfinished duel, forcing him to accept in front of the public. The battle was set for twenty days later, with Han Xiao planning to fight using a Dominion avatar and two million mechanical troops.

• A Krent sentry spotted the Black Star Army fleet entering Krent territory, and officials permitted it to pass while ordering it monitored.
• News spread that the Black Star Army was heading for the War Realm, and the fleet made its itinerary public as it traveled toward Heber's headquarters.
• Heber prepared the War Realm's fleets and waited at Planet Heber as the Black Star fleet arrived alongside Krent observers and media.
• Han Xiao reminded Heber of their unfinished battle and challenged him to fight in twenty days using a Dominion avatar and two million mechanical troops.
• Heber accepted the challenge to avoid appearing afraid, and the Black Star fleet promptly departed.
• Sorokin, observing from inside the War Realm headquarters, worried that a Black Star victory would damage Heber's prestige and disrupt his plans.

The Empire’s leaders agreed not to interfere with Black Star’s challenge to the Tyrant, while the coming fight drew wagers and widespread attention. Twenty days later, Heber waited on the battlefield as Black Star’s fleet arrived, with the Tyrant’s followers anxious about the outcome.

• Urranrell consulted the Empire’s officials about Black Star’s challenge, and the leaders agreed to remain neutral unless Black Star killed or crippled the Tyrant.
• Beoni and other Beyond Grade As organized bets on the fight, while Hila trained by slaughtering a vast beast tide and Ames said Black Star no longer needed her help.
• As rumors spread, the betting odds shifted toward the Tyrant because Black Star planned to fight with an avatar and two million mechanical troops.
• At the battlefield, Jorde noticed the Vanguard Officers’ wavering confidence and regretted that Black Star had not been eliminated during the Secret War.
• Heber sensed Black Star’s arrival, clenched his hands, and watched Black Star’s fleet appear in the distance.

Han Xiao’s Dominion Avatar and mechanical army overwhelmed Heber, who unleashed a dangerous power-up to avoid defeat. Han Xiao responded by combining his mechanical soldiers into a colossal new entity, which Manison recognized as a Mechanical Deity.

• Heber charged Black Star’s mechanical army, and Han Xiao directed the Dominion Avatar and his troops to fight him.
• Han Xiao’s mechanical soldiers battered Heber while the Dominion Avatar joined the melee, forcing the Tyrant onto the defensive.
• Heber’s condition worsened under the sustained assault, and he used Cellular Super Limit Release to boost his power and heal his wounds.
• Han Xiao stopped holding back and linked his mechanical soldiers together, assembling them into a colossal mechanical construct.
• Manison recognized the construct as a Mechanical Deity, while Heber and the surrounding observers watched in shock.

Han Xiao used the Mechanical Deity to overwhelm Heber, destroying the planet beneath them and then trapping and battering the Tyrant. Heber remained badly injured and completely suppressed as the Mechanical Deity pressed its attack.

• Manison saw Han Xiao manifest the Mechanical Deity and suspected Black Star had discovered the Mechanic Faith’s secret and possessed another Universal Treasure.
• Han Xiao formed a giant Mechanical Deity from two million machines and struck Heber with a blow that shattered Tyrant Black Star.
• Heber survived the planetary explosion and entered the Mechanical Deity’s arm, where Han Xiao’s mechanical forces trapped and attacked him.
• Heber blasted through the Mechanical Deity’s right arm, but the arm re-formed from its scattered mechanical soldiers.
• Han Xiao resumed attacking at range and in close combat, leaving Heber battered and unable to turn the fight around.

Han Xiao defeated Heber decisively, ending their duel before the Tyrant could die and establishing himself as the strongest Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring. He returned to his main body, satisfied that Heber and the War Realm would be weakened for now, and prepared to touch Fording before claiming his mission reward.

• Han Xiao stopped beating Heber once the Tyrant had lost the strength to fight, restrained him, and urged him to admit defeat.
• Heber refused to surrender, but Fosters and the Vanguard Officers shielded him and acknowledged the War Realm's defeat; Han Xiao declared their old scores settled for now.
• Han Xiao left for the Palace of Hidden Spells, and the spectators recognized him as the strongest person in the Shattered Star Ring.
• Sorokin worried that Heber's defeat would complicate his plans and weaken the War Realm's cooperation.
• Han Xiao spoke with Austin, returned his Dominion avatar to the battleship, and withdrew his consciousness to his main body.
• Han Xiao concluded that Heber would recover eventually, then went to the ship's main hall to find Fording before drawing his mission reward.

Han Xiao claimed his rewards for defeating Heber, chose a damage-reduction talent, and considered how his new status as the Shattered Star Ring’s strongest would benefit the Black Star Army. The battle’s broadcast alarmed the Federation of Light and Arcane Church, while Heber’s public defeat and Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity drew widespread attention.

• Han Xiao entered the ship’s main cabin, where his officers praised his victory and Fording briefly let Morning Star take control to avoid being touched.
• Han Xiao claimed a Heber Character Summon Card and experience, gained a Legend Point as the Foremost Expert of the Shattered Star Ring, and chose [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction] from five abilities.
• Han Xiao concluded that his new title would strengthen the Black Star Army’s business and planned to develop the Shattered World, mechanical civilization, and Black Spirit Race.
• The Federation of Light’s leaders discussed Han Xiao’s Peak Beyond Grade A strength and decided to reconsider their strategy concerning the Evolutionary Totems.
• Interstellar media repeatedly broadcast Heber’s defeat, making the Tyrant a subject of public attention and drawing the Mechanic Faith’s interest in Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity.

The Mechanic Faith’s Lost Faction welcomed Black Star as a new Mechanical Deity, while Han Xiao planned his return to the Shattered Star Ring to develop his territory and army. Elsewhere, Lothaire and Edmund agreed to exploit tensions surrounding the Shattered World to spread their cause, naming it the Silver Revolutionary Army.

• The Lost Faction’s High Priest built a statue of Black Star’s Mechanical Deity and led the gathered priests in welcoming him as a new god.
• Tarrokov told Han Xiao that the Empire planned four phases of Shattered World development, with the next phase expected after five to seven years.
• Han Xiao reviewed the growth of the Black Star Army after his victory over the Tyrant and ordered Phillip to set a course for the Shattered Star Ring.
• A thin man in a low-ranking Imperial officer’s uniform watched Han Xiao on a tavern screen and said he had met him before and lost things to him.
• Lothaire advised Edmund and the others to use the Shattered World’s political tensions to quietly spread their ideas, and Edmund proposed naming their movement the Silver Revolutionary Army.

Han Xiao approved a plan to open civilian Super schools across the Shattered Star Ring and sent Nero to study on Planet Aquamarine, while privately weighing whether to act against the Silver Revolutionary Army. He then began upgrading his mechanical troops and constructing a Mechanical Divine Throne.

• Han Xiao reviewed the army’s affairs, heard that Enterprise was a strong candidate for leadership, and asked Reynold whether he would keep serving if Han Xiao killed Lothaire for harming the army; Reynold said he would accept her consequences but could not continue serving.
• Han Xiao reflected on the Silver Revolutionary Army’s founding and considered whether to let it grow or intervene, knowing its leaders would eventually have to be dealt with.
• Sylvia proposed opening civilian Super schools under the Black Star Army, and Han Xiao approved a pilot program of several hundred schools in the Colton Star Cluster, appointing Lagi as principal.
• Han Xiao contacted Rotel, the army’s Shadow Walker, about his covert operations and the planned Assassins Mutual Aid Society.
• Han Xiao visited Nero, gave him a learning enhancement device, and told him to attend school on Planet Aquamarine while spending time with Bennett and Reynold.
• Han Xiao began updating his mechanical troops and building a Mechanical Divine Throne.

Han Xiao completed new mechanical equipment and expanded his army while the Black Star Army announced plans for Super academies, prompting Nero to return to his studies. Manison decided to infiltrate the army’s database to challenge Han Xiao’s standing among the Mechanic Faith.

• Han Xiao finished and tested the Mechanical Divine Throne, then upgraded his reserve army with Tyrkes Legacy technology and created the Apostle Weapon Purple Sky Spirit.
• Sylvia announced the Black Star Army’s education program, including plans for schools in the Goddora star system and a pilot academy on Planet Aquamarine.
• Nero returned home, saw Bennett appearing older during a broadcast about the new academy, and began studying mechanical theory again.
• Sorokin saw talent leaving the weakened War Realm and paused his business attacks on the Black Star Army.
• Manison told Sorokin to send him a list of businesses to investigate, then resolved to infiltrate the Black Star Army’s database and suppress Han Xiao’s reputation among Mechanics.

A new Black Star Super Academy opened on Planet Aquamarine, where Nero befriended the orphan Mia Moloto, a future Calamity Grade powerhouse. As Han Xiao watched the students arrive, a massive influx of abnormal data began breaking through Phillip’s firewall.

• A surface civilization sent promising youngsters, including orphan Mia Moloto, to Planet Aquamarine to study at the Black Star Super Academy.
• The academy opened on its newly built floating-island campus, and Mia traveled there with the other new students.
• Nero rescued Mia when the crowd knocked her down, treated her scraped knee, and gave her a healing spray.
• Han Xiao recognized Mia as the future [Conqueror] Mia Moloto, a Calamity Grade Pugilist who had followed Hila in his previous life.
• Han Xiao reviewed his upgraded mechanical army and Secondary Dimensional Factory prototype before an abnormal data influx breached Phillip’s firewall.

Manison launched a powerful virtual invasion against the Black Star Army headquarters, forcing Han Xiao to defend Phillip while struggling to counter the Mechanic Emperor’s traps. As Manison revealed an AI lifeform connected to Resta, Resta recognized it as his ancestor.

• Manison set up portable quantum network base stations near the Black Star Army headquarters and began invading its network.
• Han Xiao recognized Manison’s attack and took over Phillip’s defenses, but Manison broke through the firewalls and planted a trap that infected Phillip’s core logic chain.
• Han Xiao concentrated Phillip’s processing power on the central node, then contacted Maxiler for help when he could not hold off Manison alone.
• Resta arrived and attacked Manison, but his data stream had no effect.
• Manison introduced a golden AI lifeform to Resta, who froze and called it his ancestor.

Han Xiao received missions to protect Resta and withstand Manison’s virtual assault, then used a stored Character Card to rescue Resta from capture. Manison pulled Han Xiao into his own virtual domain, but Han Xiao’s extreme durability let him shrug off the barrage and challenge Manison to prove he could hurt him.

• Han Xiao received the [Restart] mission to protect Resta and a Grade S mission to hold out against Manison’s virtual intrusion.
• Resta recognized his ancestor Finit, but Finit’s loyalty had been rewritten by Manison, and he infected and trapped Resta.
• Han Xiao activated a Blank Character Card containing [Perfect Mechanical Sense], strengthened his defense, and pulled Resta’s prison back through the firewall.
• Han Xiao used [Supreme Virtual] to trap Manison and rescue Resta, but Manison used the same ability to drag Han Xiao into his own virtual domain.
• Manison’s machines and AI hunters attacked Han Xiao, but his health, psychic resistance, and [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction] let him withstand the barrage.

Han Xiao resisted Manison’s virtual assault on the Black Star Army’s headquarters while the army and its allies rallied to support him. Kant’s arrival prompted Manison to withdraw after stealing substantial internal data, and Han Xiao ended the chapter satisfied with the mission’s completion.

• Han Xiao escaped Manison’s virtual domain and resumed defending the headquarters core as Resta and Finit joined the battle.
• Reynold organized the Logistics Department to reinforce Phillip’s servers, while Melos searched for Manison and Sylvia secured Goddora’s quantum network base stations.
• Heber reassured Jorde that he had recovered from his defeat by Han Xiao and ordered him to gather the Calamity Grade Pugilist officers for training.
• After hours of fighting, Kant arrived to support Han Xiao, and Manison ended his intrusion rather than face both opponents.
• Manison withdrew with substantial Black Star Army data, while Han Xiao agreed with Kant that taking a few more losses like that could be worthwhile.