The loss of hope, increase of fear and panic were always accompanied by rage. Wuornosâ act of admitting defeat caused public opinion to explode. They had been looking forward to the three Universal Civilizations sending someone to break Black Starâs arrogance. However, reality shattered their illusion. No one could defeat Black Star. The many galactic residents were both afraid and angry, then their humiliation turned into rage.
Okay, youâre strong as a person, no one in the three Universal Civilizations can match up to you. But we still have fleets; we still have armies! I donât believe we canât deal with you! Since the three Universal Civilizations had lost in terms of individual power, tons of galactic residents turned to believe in the three Universal Civilizationsâ collective strength. They found a new excuse to convince themselves and took it as a new source of confidence.
It was already the last day of the warning period. The public opinion had become extreme in supporting the three Universal Civilizations to wipe out the a.s.sociation.
âThe Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation is nothing but a civilian organization. How dare they fight with the three Universal Civilizations? Itâs clearly a criminal act. Think about it, the government wants to control you, and if you donât obey, isnât that violating the law? What, just because you founded a civilian organization, you can ignore the law? What makes you think you can do that? Just because you are strong?â âAll things aside, the Beyond Grade As have always been unstable factors. They enjoy the privileges but donât take the laws of the galaxy seriously. They should either all be monitored by civilizations or killed! That way, they wonât endanger society; today will be a lesson!â
âHehe, Beyond Grade As are just representatives of the Supers. All Supers should be monitored and controlled; only then can order be maintained. Just think about how many crimes are related to the Supers. Without them, society would be a much better place!â
Ever since the appearance of the Sanctum Revival, the three Universal Civilizations had been guiding the public opinion and deliberately inciting the conflicting emotions between the ordinary people and the Supers. This had lasted for more than a year. These suppressed emotions kept getting tighter. At this turning point, the dissatisfaction the tons of civilians had toward the Supers finally erupted.
Countless galactic residents vented their rage without restrain, hoping all the Beyond Grade As and Super would just die.
Although this was very extreme, it was the true feelings of some galactic residents. Their genes dictated the fact that they would be ordinary their entire life, which was more depressing and impossible to cross than the difference between the rich and the poor. Almost all of them had a certain amount of hatred and frustration toward their destiny. When given the chance, most people would not mind expressing their hatred toward Supers.
However, the raging comments online meant absolutely nothing to Han Xiao; it had zero impact on what he was going to do.
Han Xiao sat in the middle of the battlefield and looked at the three Universal Civilizationsâ joint fleet. After Wuornos admitted his defeat, the other direct members seemed to have gone silent. Shockingly, they did not meaninglessly fight him again on this last day of the warning period.
âLooks like theyâve finally got a grip of the situation.â
Han Xiao let out a deep breath.
All things considered, this was quite a successful decision. After keeping a low profile for many years, he had shocked the world once again and showed the universe his overwhelming strength, not only giving the a.s.sociation members confidence but also affecting the enemiesâ morale.
At this time, the mechanical suitâs communicator rang. It was a call from Manison.
â⊠Your growth always exceeds my expectations.â
Manison felt complicated. He was shocked by Han Xiaoâs strength and could not help but feel sour.
âItâs alright, nothing extraordinary.â Han Xiao took a humble approach.
Uh huh, still as shameless as always.
Manison was speechless for a moment. He then adjusted his emotions and said curiously, âYour Mechanical Deity is a little different. Is it new technology? There seem to be signs of the Felon technology in it.â
âUh huh, I did use some of the Felon technology.â Han Xiao nodded and admitted
Manison fell silent.
Ah, another trump card got stolen by Black StarâŠ
My heart hurts!
He wanted to get angry, but to his complete despair, he realized he was used to his abilities being stolen⊠Taking a deep breath, Manison stabilized his mood and said with a low voice, âWhatâs the principle of this technology? Can you share it with me?â
âSure, I can, but you wonât be able to learn itâŠâ Han Xiao shrugged. âThis technology was tailor made for me. You need to have an extremely strong physique to learn it, but youâre too fragile.â
Isnât it normal for Mechanics to have a fragile body? Youâre the only exception.
Manison pressed on his heart, calmed himself down, and did not want to continue discussing this subject.
He then changed the topic and said with a serious tone, âToday is the last day of the warning period. Iâm ready for a war. How are things on your side?â
Han Xiao nodded. âThe a.s.sociationâs members are already stationed at the key strategic areas of the various Star Fields. Some people might have already started making moves.â
âWar is a shortcut toward peace. After today, letâs hope the generations will extend in our hands.â Manison sighed.
Han Xiao curled his lips.
After a few words, Manison was about to hang up the communication when he suddenly thought of something.
âErm⊠my spear broke, but the other Universal Treasures I lent to you didnât. You put them all away. When will you be returning them to me?â
âHey, come on, whatâs our relations.h.i.+p? Would I just take your Universal Treasure like that? What kind of person do you think I am?â Han Xiao complained.
Manison snorted instantly.
You donât do anything thatâs related to being a person, yet you ask me what kind of person you are?
Youâre not a person at all!
âJust tell me when youâll return them.â
âWhen Iâm done⊠ahem, after the three Universal Civilizationsâ fleet retreats, Iâll give them back to you when I have the time.â
Excuse me, you were going to say youâll return them after youâre done studying them, werenât you!
Manison snorted and turned off the communication.
His temper was already depleted by Han Xiao, and after knowing him for so many years, he was mentally prepared for this long ago.
Just what I expected from you, Black Star!
Han Xiao turned off the communication. Seeing that the three Universal Civilizations were not making any moves, he opened the interface and looked at the mission reward.
Fighting the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations did not trigger individual Challenge Missions but instead triggered the sparring kind of mission like when he sparred with Joey and his friends. The mission reward relied on how long he lasted. The highest Mission Rating gave seven Character Summon Cards and five chances to draw abilities or talents from a target of his choice.
As for the duel with Wuornos, it triggered the regular Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission. The rewards were one Character Summon Card and one chance to draw his ability or talent.
âLooks like I won in the end.â
Han Xiao felt much better.
With a war around the corner, he was quite tempted. However, after thinking about it, he still suppressed his impulses.
His goal of intimidating the enemies was already achieved. If a war were to break out the next day and the three Universal Civilizationsâ joint fleet attacked, all the direct members would most likely strike too. Of course, Han Xiao would not be facing them alone. Therefore, he was not in a hurry to accept the mission rewards.
âIf only I could make the three Universal Civilizations take a step backâŠâ
Han Xiao shook his head and thought of an idea he had some time ago. He caressed the communicator, hesitating on whether or not to call the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations and tell them about the World Tree Civilization, s.h.i.+fting the conflict away.
The most ideal situation would, of course, be the three Universal Civilizations believing what he said, temporarily lowering their hostility and working together with him against the external enemy. Although this would cause the World Tree war to arrive in advance, it would save a huge portion of the explored universeâs strength⊠However, given the current uptight situation and the relations.h.i.+p between the two sides, he felt there was an extremely low chance the three Universal Civilizationsâ leaders would believe him. They would most likely think it was an excuse to avoid admitting defeat or a made-up reason for both sides to take a step back.
If he could not convince the three Universal Civilizationsâ leaders, a war would still break out, and the three Universal Civilizations would very likely secretly investigate the authenticity of the information about the World Tree Civilization. Not only would the explored universe lose a ton of military power, but the World Tree war would still arrive in advance, meaning the three Universal Civilizations would have close to no time to recover before facing such a powerful enemy. Therefore, Han Xiao was hesitating. It was almost impossible for him to predict the b.u.t.terfly effects this move might cause.
âSigh, tough.â
In the online chat room of the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation, the remote projections of a group of Beyond Grade As gathered. Shock still remained on some of their faces.
âEven Wuornos canât defeat Black Star⊠Itâs hard to believe how strong heâs become after not showing his strength for just a few decades.â
âBlack Star is really an unbelievable guy. I thought he would lose this time. Who couldâve predicted he would actually hold on?â
âFighting the three Universal Civilizations alone, suppressing all direct members. I would never have believed this is true if I didnât see it with my own eyes!â
The many Beyond Grade As discussed excitedly.
They had watched the broadcast of Black Star fighting the three Universal Civilizationsâ direct members alone from the start to the end, feeling more astonished each day. After Wuornos admitted his defeat, all of them were dumbfounded.
Even Wuornos, who was recognized by all as the strongest cheater, could not defeat Han Xiao, astounded the entire Beyond Grade A circle. In their eyes, this crown no longer belonged to Wuornos and was s.h.i.+fted to Black Starâs headâŠ
Not only was he the president of the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation, but he was also undoubtedly the strongest Beyond Grade A, which made his position as the president even more deserved.
âSeeing how strong Black Star is, Iâm less concerned.â Kasuyi relaxed.
Many people nodded and smiled.
The three Universal Civilizations had tons of trump cards. Many a.s.sociation members had been worried that something might happen to Black Star, which would lead to no one being able to use the Sanctum Revival, and that would be very unfortunate for them. Seeing that Black Star was unbelievably strong, many people were relieved.
Kasuyi looked around, wiped the smile off his face, and said with a serious tone, âAlright, donât get too relaxed. Today is the last day of the warning period. Everyone, be ready and standby. Wait for Black Star to teleport us over for war!â
Hearing this, the expressions of the others also became serious. Sun Hunter pulled the bolt of his gun, snorted, and said, âFinally, my big cannon is thirsting for blood!â
In the three Universal Civilizationsâ joint conference room, Marbruce, Louis, and the church pope looked at the screen. Their expressions were furious.
Marbruce hit the table heavily and said with a tone filled with dissatisfaction, âRidiculous! All of our direct members canât even take down one Black Star. How are we going to deal with the other Beyond Grade As?â
âTheir loss has embarra.s.sed the entire civilization! Weâve become stepping stones for Black Starâs reputation!â Louis was furious.
âWe canât really blame them. Black Star is illogically strong.â
The pope frowned tightly. He was very unhappy with Wuornosâ act of admitting defeat, but what was done was done. There was no use in blaming Wuornos now. He was a little bit regretful of forcing Wuornos to leave the Temple of Ten Thousand G.o.ds to partic.i.p.ate in this.
Looking at Black Star, who sat in the middle of two sides, the three of them suddenly felt powerless, angry, and frustrated.
In terms of individual strength, they really had no ways of dealing with Black Star. Even the three of them were out of ideas.
âThe only way to deal with him now is through armies and war weaponsâŠâ Louis looked at the other two with a serious expression. âOnce the warning period ends, weâll start a war instantly. Are you two absolutely sure about this?â
âThis day wouldâve come sooner or later. I only regret how late we made up our minds to do this. Weâve let the Beyond Grade As roam and grow freely for too long. Thatâs how theyâve turned into such huge threats,â the pope said slowly.
âWeâre already here. Thereâs no way weâre going to go back on our word.â Marbruce nodded.
âOkay. Pa.s.s the order down to your armies at the various locations to execute as plannedâŠâ
Before he finished, the sound of an urgent alert from a communicator suddenly rang in the room.
Louis stopped and looked at Marbruce. It came from his communicator.
Marbruce took out the communicator and looked at it. It was an urgent report from the dynastyâs main artificial intelligence, Heroic Soul.
The reports of the various departments were all a.n.a.lyzed by the main artificial intelligence, then given to different departments to take care of depending on their priority level. Given how the main artificial intelligence sent this to him even during his meeting with the other two leaders, it meant that from the main artificial intelligenceâs judgement, this message was extremely urgent.
âWhat report is th⊠hmm?â
Marbruceâs expression changed drastically the moment he saw the t.i.tle of the report. He then finished reading it in silence.
He pondered for about half a minute before turning to look at the other two.
âYou guys might need to take a look at thisâŠâ
On this last day of the warning period, the timer pa.s.sed in an extremely uneasy atmosphere. Seconds felt like years to all the soldiers present and countless galactic residents watching the broadcast.
As the last moment of the warning period got closer, the fleets of the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation started to fidget. The atmosphere kept getting more and more intense.
In the Black Star Armyâs fleet, the tons of army players were filled with antic.i.p.ation.
âItâs here! Itâs here! War!â
âIâve seen more than enough cutscenes. The main storyline is finally about to begin.â
âFor the army!â
The army players could not wait for the two sides to start fighting.
One reason was that they loved to see a chaotic world and hoped to partic.i.p.ate in the main storyline. Another reason was that many people saw the comments online too and realized that there were so many people insulting, condemning, and scolding them, the âImmortalsâ.
Of course, many players were quite enraged by that.
However, at the same time, they also had a deeper understanding of the âCalamity of the Supersâ mission name, as well as the conflict between the ordinary and the Supers.
As Supers, the players who had a lot of interest in the storyline were exhilarated. They felt like the curtains of the new era were unfolding right in front of their eyes.
âAll crews, prepare for combat!â The voice of the commander spread in the battles.h.i.+ps. Countless warriors tightened their body and looked at the clock.
In this apprehensive wait, time pa.s.sed seconds by seconds as it got closer to the end of the warning period. The hearts of the soldiers of both sides and countless galactic residents were all at their throat.
In this extremely intense atmosphere, the three Universal Civilizationsâ joint fleet suddenly moved.
Without any warning, the entire joint fleet suddenly moved back, leaving the conflict area batch by batch.
This stunned the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociationâs armies and all the galactic residents. They were lost.
The warning period is almost here. Why did the three Universal Civilizations suddenly retreat? Plus, without saying anything?
Didnât they firmly say theyâll never give in? Why did they go back on their word all of a sudden?
On the quantum network, the comments calling for the three Universal Civilizations to wipe out the a.s.sociation suddenly went silent. As they realized that things did not go as they imagined, they suddenly did not know what to do.
Is it because Black Star defeated all direct Beyond Grade As single-handedly and the three Universal Civilizations are afraid?
It was difficult for them not to think this.
At the same time, a similar speculation also appeared in many peopleâs minds.
âCould it be that the three Universal Civilizations only wanted to intimidate the a.s.sociation, scare them, and pressure them into compromising to begin with? And once they realized this method is useless against the a.s.sociation, they could not continue the show and retreated like a coward on the last day of the warning period that was claimed by themselves!â
Many galactic residents did not know what to say and felt very complicated.
We all supported you guys in wiping out the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation and defusing the source of the instability of the galactic society, yet you guys are afraid?
Although not starting a war was fortunate, many people felt embarra.s.sed. Their all-out support for the three Universal Civilizations now felt like a slap to the face, by the three Universal Civilizations themselves.
Han Xiao was also confused by the three Universal Civilizationsâ neat retreat too.
After a bit of hesitation, Han Xiao actively called the dynasty ruler. However, it was not picked up, which made him wonder even more.
âTheyâre retreating just like that? Doesnât fit them at all. The three Universal Civilizations shouldnât be this cowardly⊠or did something happen?â
A few days ago, at the dynastyâs Science Inst.i.tute, the team members of the wormhole a.n.a.lysis team all gathered in the activity room, watching the fight between Black Star and Clottiâs group on the screen with worried expressions. In the past few days, they had stopped all projects on hand and focused on the developments of this event. This was closely related to their everyday life.
In the crowd, someone softly whispered, âLooks like a war is going to break outâŠâ
Sighs sounded in the room one after another, filled with worries.
All the researchers present opposed starting a war. One reason was that they were worried that their project would be stopped once again when the war started, meaning they would have nothing to do. Another was because as people with virtue, they intuitively opposed wars. âOnly if someone could stop this warâŠâ someone softly mumbled.
Hearing this, the project directorâs eyes suddenly gleamed. He clenched his teeth, turned around, walked out of the activity room, and returned to his office.
He searched through the database and brought up a special wormhole detection report that he did not have time to submit lately due to how much attention he paid to the recent events.
âI hope this worksâŠâ
The project director swallowed his saliva and modified this report, changing the âsuspected existence of an unknown advanced civilizationâ included in the report conclusion into âconfirmed existence of an unknown Universal Civilizationâ.
After doing all this, the project director did not send it to the audit department but directly skipped this procedure and submitted it to the dynastyâs main artificial intelligenceâs database. He knew that skipping the fixed procedures would definitely get him into trouble.
âNo idea if this will workâŠâ the project director mumbled with a worried expression.
In order to stop the possible universal war that might break out, he was willing to do whatever he could in his power.
He was not sure if this trick would work, but he felt that if everyone only watched and did nothing, no change would come.