“You… what exactly…”

The Oathkeeper’s heart was shaken violently. He seemed a little dazed, filled with suspicion and uncertainty.

Black Star waited until now to expose our intentions. He must have known this secret for a long time. He was just pretending before, and he tricked me.

This bastard is too bad!

Seeing the Oathkeeper’s shock, Han Xiao looked surprised. “Oh, why are you still here? Weren’t you going to leave?”

“I…”

“I know you can’t bear to part with me, but if you’re in such a hurry, you should go back quickly.” Han Xiao acted like an old hand, deliberately whetting his appetite.

“A… actually, I’m not in such a hurry. Let’s chat for a bit… chat for a bit…”

The Oathkeeper laughed awkwardly twice, gnashing his teeth in secret.

You son of a bitch, you’re definitely doing this on purpose. How can I leave without asking clearly!

These words had an effect comparable to "Fellow Daoist, please stay!" The Oathkeeper dismissed the idea of leaving immediately and instead clung to Han Xiao, determined not to give up until he got an answer.

“Since you’re so enthusiastic, it’s hard for me to refuse.”

Seeing the Oathkeeper’s unstable emotions, Han Xiao stopped teasing him and invited him back to his seat.

The Oathkeeper took a deep breath and cautiously said, “So you knew our plan all along. How did you find out?”

Black Star has already revealed the purpose of the Sanctuary. It’s useless for him to continue pretending he doesn't know, and he feels that Black Star must have an ulterior motive. Otherwise, the other party could have kept this information a secret all along. Now that he has taken the initiative to reveal it, it doesn’t seem like the behavior of an enemy. He doesn't know what he is plotting.

“I have my own intelligence channels.”

Han Xiao chuckled, implying how could he tell you about this kind of information? You must be dreaming.

The Oathkeeper didn’t have much hope, putting himself in his shoes. He wouldn’t reveal who the mole was, so he could only grit his teeth and endure it, saying, “Since you know our goal, what are you plotting?”

He put on a long-lost humble posture. If he were facing an ordinary Beyond Grade A at this time, the Oathkeeper might have the intention of killing him to silence him, but facing Black Star, he really didn’t have a 100% certainty of winning. He's too damn tanky.

And if Black Star wanted to, he could spread this information at any time, because the handle was in his hands, so he had to deal with it carefully.

“What do you think I’m plotting?” Han Xiao asked with a half-smile.

“I don’t know.” The Oathkeeper had all sorts of guesses in his heart, but he didn’t dare to say them out loud.

In his opinion, Black Star’s reasons for doing this were nothing more than a few possibilities, such as extortion, interference with the plan, and certainly not just scaring him out of boredom… right?

“Then why don’t you guess?”

“…I can’t guess.”

“Tsk tsk, you’re such a boring person.” Han Xiao shook his finger. “Why are you so nervous? Since I didn’t refuse to make a deal with you, haven’t you figured out my position?”

The Oathkeeper’s eyes flashed. “You mean… you don’t plan to stop us?”

“Why should I stop you?” Han Xiao put his hands on his nose, squinting his eyes, and said, “I am the leader of the Black Star Army, a special consultant to the three major civilizations, but also the vice president of the Beyond Grade A Association. If you paid attention to the Godoran Star Cluster Meeting a few years ago, you should know that I reached a consensus with the Machinery Country at the meeting…”

The Oathkeeper hurriedly recalled, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck his mind, dispelling the fog.

“Are you saying… there are still too few Beyond Grade As?”

“That’s right, Machinery Country and I both said that at the time, so you understand now, right?” Han Xiao smiled.

The Oathkeeper suddenly felt enlightened, his thoughts racing, and most of his doubts were answered.

No wonder Black Star knew our goal but still chose to sit idly by. This might be the only opportunity to rapidly expand the Beyond Grade A class in the short term, which is in line with the other party’s interests.

However, the Oathkeeper still had some questions.

“I thought you were on the side of the three major civilizations. I didn’t expect you to do this.”

“That’s just a recent problem with propaganda. In terms of righteousness, I naturally have the same position as the three major civilizations, but that doesn’t mean I’ve become their vassal. I oppose Machinery Country only because he’s too radical, our paths are different, but he and I have the same need for the number of Beyond Grade As.”

“So you plan to cooperate more deeply with us?”

“That’s right, I won’t stop you from implementing your plan, but I also have requirements. I hope that the resurrected historical Beyond Grade As will all stand on my side.”

The Oathkeeper nodded, then shook his head. “This matter isn’t that easy. They all have their own ideas. Even if I resurrect them, they won’t be my puppets.”

Han Xiao’s eyes turned. “Speaking of which, I’ve always been curious, why exactly do you want to resurrect the deceased Beyond Grade As?”

He had been very curious about this question in his previous life. The Sanctuary had resurrected so many powerful people. Logically speaking, they should be ambitious, but by the time of the World Tree War, the Sanctuary and a large group of resurrected people only showed up to resist the World Tree civilization, seemingly only because they were in the same boat. He didn't know what they were doing in private.

As for the batch of historical Beyond Grade As that appeared during the Super-Energy Disaster, he wasn’t sure if they were also from the Sanctuary.

“Because of an agreement, an oath…”

The Oathkeeper’s tone became low, as if he had a story to tell.

“Tell me about it.” Han Xiao looked curious.

The Oathkeeper was silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating whether to reveal more information, but when he thought about Black Star’s attitude at this time, he could only slowly open his mouth:

“The Sanctuary was born at the end of the Exploration Era, established by a group of Originals. Our purpose is to resurrect those who died in the war… Although we talk about that period of history in a relatively relaxed tone now, Black Star, you should be able to understand the despair and unwillingness of the Originals—spending a lifetime breaking through the limits of individual power, only to be treated as a new combat tool, killing each other, falling one by one.

“And even if you don’t want to participate in the war, the tide of the era will drag you into it. You can check the data, how many Originals had a good ending?

“At the same time, because our evolution has reached a new level, countless people covet us and fear us. You understand this principle: when an individual becomes too powerful, the group will inevitably be wary of them. There’s nothing new in the universe. This principle hasn’t changed even now… In the end, we are only a very small minority of deviants in the universe, both worshiped and feared.

“Among the Originals, some were unwilling to be born in a chaotic era of war and hoped to go to a prosperous and peaceful era, but their lifespan was limited. Others were unwilling to die in the war, even if they sacrificed themselves, they tried to be reborn in the future. So many people secretly began to look for ways to be resurrected, and were divided into different factions.

“And a part of these people formed the Sanctuary. This is our origin, and it is also my oath…”

“I see…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao couldn’t help but ponder.

The Originals hoped to spend the Exploration Era through resurrection. He could understand this—they finally obtained individual combat power that surpassed the Sea of Stars, but they were reduced to war tools. At that time, there was no room for the existence of Beyond Grade A forces. With very few exceptions, most powerhouses could only become high-level thugs of civilizations, and remaining neutral was a luxury. Everyone would feel unwilling.

Moreover, when Beyond Grade As were first born, no civilization didn’t want to study them in depth. Coupled with the worry of killing the dog after the rabbit was dead, the harshness of the environment the Originals were in was conceivable, far from being as free, safe, and comfortable as modern Beyond Grade As.

The Originals thought of various ways to be resurrected, or the Underworld was one of them, but only a few people chose it. After all, not everyone was willing to become subordinates of the former two sisters, and the two sisters themselves were not that reliable.

No wonder the Underworld Earth Goddess said that the former two sisters had also been invited to participate in a plan about the Sanctuary, which was probably related to the Sanctuary, but the two sisters refused, seemingly not wanting to be resurrected.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and pondered, “So, what method do you use to resurrect those Beyond Grade As?”

“This… I can’t tell you.” The Oathkeeper shook his head.

Han Xiao said dissatisfied, “Humph, even if you don’t say it, I can guess. It should be related to the Sanctuary, right? I’ve shown my attitude, and you have to show some sincerity, right?”

The Oathkeeper felt that he was being completely controlled by Black Star. After hesitating for a while, he nodded heavily: “That’s right, it’s the Sanctuary. I really can’t say anything more specific right now. After I complete my oath, I’ll tell you the method.”

Han Xiao curled his lips and changed the subject:

“Then let’s talk about cooperation now. I can provide convenience for your plan and keep it a secret for you, and you have to give me some rewards…”

Han Xiao stated his requirements. Resources and intelligence were secondary. He mainly wanted to obtain the method of the Sanctuary to resurrect the dead, as well as some special technologies accumulated by the Sanctuary over the years, and incidentally form good relationships with these resurrected people.

Regardless of whether the Oathkeeper was willing or not, he could only trust Han Xiao now and accept the other party as a partner. Otherwise, if Han Xiao leaked a little secret, the trouble would be even greater.

The Oathkeeper couldn’t guarantee whether Black Star had ulterior motives, but he wasn’t a pushover either. He didn’t want to resort to force now, but he wouldn’t be afraid if a real fight broke out.

The two discussed and finalized a formal cooperation agreement. The Oathkeeper had no choice but to leave a stable communication channel so that Black Star could also talk to him at any time, instead of just waiting passively to be contacted.

After completing all this, the Oathkeeper logged off with a belly full of worries, probably going back to give himself a psychological rehabilitation treatment.

And Han Xiao stayed in the office, crossed his legs, and stroked his lips with his fingers, looking pensive.

What he told the Oathkeeper was all the truth, but not the whole truth. He did want to increase the number of Beyond Grade As, on the one hand to increase the voice of Beyond Grade As in the universe, and incidentally to increase his position in the association, and on the other hand to deal with the World Tree. Iso’s prophecy and the progress of the Imperial Academy of Sciences forced him to prepare for a rainy day and find more helpers.

At the same time, he was also curious about the means of the Sanctuary to resurrect the Originals and wanted to delve into the functions of the Sanctuary. And he didn’t want the Sanctuary to hide with a large group of Beyond Grade As out of his sight. Proposing this cooperation was also to leave a stable way to contact them in order to pay attention to and monitor their movements.

The final motive was that Grand Technician Han wanted to try to trigger a mission. He felt that the probability of this event triggering a mission was not small.

The result was also quite gratifying. The panel did pop up a prompt.

[You have triggered the hidden mission 【Return to the Historical Stage】!]

[Mission introduction: You learned from the Oathkeeper that the goal of the Sanctuary is to resurrect some historical Beyond Grade As. You have chosen to cooperate with them.]

[Mission requirements: Assist the Sanctuary in successfully completing the resurrection plan]

[Reward: Favorability of all resurrected Beyond Grade As +25, Legend Points +1]

[Note: This mission is a series of initial missions. Once you accept this mission, you have a higher chance of triggering more hidden missions in the same series.]

“A series of initial missions, which means that this mission is an entry point for a plot line… That’s right, if I didn’t cooperate with the Sanctuary, the subsequent events would have nothing to do with me, so naturally I wouldn’t be able to intervene.”

Han Xiao didn’t hesitate and accepted the mission.

He had a feeling that this series of missions was probably related to several version storylines.

…

A secret base of the Sanctuary.

The Oathkeeper withdrew his mind projection, exhaled a long breath, and was still a little dazed, digesting the changes in the situation.

“Boss, how’s the situation?”

“Did Black Star fulfill the deal, or did he overturn the agreement?”

Luo and Fei stood below, and when they saw the Oathkeeper’s expression, they couldn’t help but ask curiously.

The Oathkeeper came back to his senses, tightened his expression, and said unwillingly, “From now on, Black Star is temporarily our ally.”

Luo and Fei’s eyes widened, looking confused.

What happened? Why so suddenly?

The Sanctuary had never looked for collaborators before. This was the first case!

Could it be that this wasn’t a simple deal? Why did Black Star suddenly become an ally?

They had long heard that Black Star had a strong ability to make friends. Could it be that the boss was also satisfied…呸, tricked?!