Chapter 171 The Three Civilizations' Response

Thanks to the urgent report from the direct descendants of the Super-A Grades after the meeting, the three great civilizations learned about the resurrection of the First Ancestor before the outside world's public opinion exploded.

When this report was delivered to their desks, all three supreme leaders were shocked. They hurriedly contacted each other and convened an emergency joint meeting.

In the highest conference room, projections of Marbruce, Louis, and the Head of the Arcane Church stood at each end, surrounded by high-ranking officials from their respective civilizations who were qualified to participate in the meeting. The core power holders of the three great civilizations were gathered together, and the atmosphere in the venue was extremely solemn.

"Resurrecting historical Super-A Grades… Black Star actually has such incredible means, hiding them so deeply, only showing them off now. He did it on purpose!"

Marbruce's face was heavy, and he felt a mixture of shock and anger in his heart.

He had already tried his best to value Black Star, but he didn't expect to underestimate him. As a hardline head of state with a strong desire for control, seeing Black Star suddenly reveal such a trump card that could leverage the cosmic structure, the anger in his heart was hard to extinguish. He believed that this "ally" had completely escaped the empire's control.

Louis said in a deep voice, "That's right, Black Star has been planning this for a long time. He has had this idea for a while, perhaps just waiting for an opportunity. And now, he has sensed the risk, so he resolutely released this trump card in order to disrupt all our plans!"

The Head of the Arcane Church frowned tightly and said, "The situation is unfavorable to us. The return of some historical Super-A Grades has expanded the association's top-tier power by about a third. If we use the original plan to eliminate Super-A Grades, the cost will increase exponentially, and it may shake the order of the entire interstellar society. Moreover, this is just the first batch of revived individuals; Black Star can revive more people…"

The three of them felt the same shock and anger. Their plan had already entered the preparation stage, but the sudden situation brought about by Black Star startled them, forcing them to quickly call off all current actions and re-discuss their countermeasures.

As the source of this trouble, their goodwill toward Black Star vanished, leaving only boundless hostility. Even though Black Star was nominally an ally of the empire, Marbruce, as the head of state, also regarded him with hostility.

When the other party was beneficial to their rule, even if they had private grudges, they could cooperate with a smile. But now, Black Star's actions had broken the balance of the universe and were shaking the foundation of the three great civilizations' rule. Those vain names and positions could not prevent the two sides from turning against each other. There was no sentiment to speak of.

In their view, they had given Black Star so many benefits, only to be repaid with Black Star's betrayal, a reveal of true intentions at a critical moment!

If it weren't for their fear of Black Star's strength, influence, and connections, the three would have liked to disregard everything, gather their armies, and directly flatten the Black Star Army.

Marbruce suppressed the impulse in his heart and said in a low voice:

"The short term is already so troublesome, and the long term is even more dangerous. Don't forget, everyone, many historical Super-A Grades have grudges against us, such as the guardians of civilizations that were destroyed by us during the Exploration Era, or the Super-A Grades who were implicated in the Twilight of the Gods… If they make a comeback, they are likely to retaliate against us!"

Many high-ranking officials present knew the seriousness of failing to eradicate the roots of evil and felt a chill down their spines.

Although the three great civilizations had many direct descendants of Super-A Grades, their numbers could not compare to the number of enemies in history. Once the enemies were revived on a large scale, their direct descendants were likely to be wiped out by the enemies, causing the civilizations to lose all protection in the field of individual power.

The most powerful aspect of Super-A Grades is their special strategic significance. One person can become an army, possessing unparalleled flexibility and the ability to break through a point to affect the whole area. Without direct descendants to contain them, even if the three great civilizations relied on fleets, technology, and various cosmic treasures to eliminate Super-A Grades, the cost would still increase exponentially.

The Head of the Arcane Church thought even further and said solemnly, "From a broader perspective, even without considering the factor of enemies, the ruling position of the three great civilizations is in danger of collapsing. The Sanctuary's revival has drastically increased the life expectancy and risk resistance of Super-A Grades, causing the rate of accumulation of the total number of Super-A Grades in the universe to undergo a qualitative improvement.

At this rate, in the not-too-distant future, the total number of Super-A Grades will break through the balance between civilization and individual power, enough to shatter our foundation of rule… By that time, it will be too late to remedy the situation. It will no longer be the Super-A Grades who are worried about us taking action, but rather us who fear the expansion of the Super-A Grade Association's ambitions!"

Saying this, the Head of the Arcane Church suddenly sighed, feeling somewhat helpless:

"But what's the use of knowing the trend? Black Star's trump card has promoted a balance under deterrence. He holds the remote control to change the era, and we can no longer act rashly!"

Hearing this, the three of them fell silent at the same time.

The current situation was like nuclear deterrence; the three great civilizations no longer dared to tear off their masks.

Even though the civilizations were very powerful, the three still felt at a loss in the face of this sudden situation, and they became even more annoyed with Han Xiao.

The only solution seemed to be to control the Sanctuary's revival ourselves!

"The only plan for now is to negotiate with Black Star as soon as possible to find out his intentions!"

The three nodded and reached a consensus, secretly regretting it in their hearts.

When the hard-hearted Ames led the association, they did not act rashly, waiting for Black Star to take over. But now it seemed that Black Star was even more dangerous than Ames, hiding too deeply.

Ames's route was bipolar opposition, while Black Star's was deterrence and coexistence, which had little negative impact on the development of Super-A Grades. On the contrary, it almost only had benefits, which was much more unsolvable than Ames's mutually destructive approach, putting the three great civilizations in a dilemma.

If they had known this earlier, when the Super-A Grade Association was first established, they would have… Alas, what's the use of knowing now? It wasn't us in charge at the time. What a mess the previous administration left us with?!

Marbruce couldn't help but recall the warning he had heard from Ulan Riel decades ago—be careful of Black Star, he is a hundred times more dangerous than Ames!

Now, he could only sigh and say, "As expected."

Without delay, the three directly dismissed all the high-ranking officials, sent out invitation messages, and prepared to have a secret meeting with Han Xiao.

The three did not wait long before Han Xiao's remote projection arrived in response to the invitation.

"Your Excellencies, what a coincidence. We meet again so soon."

Han Xiao's attitude remained the same, and he nodded slightly in greeting, with a smile on his face that was not quite a smile.

Although Han Xiao's tone of voice was exactly the same as before, the three of them felt that there was a hint of mockery in it.

Marbruce suppressed the urge to strangle Han Xiao and said in a deep voice, "Black Star, you should know why we called you over. To make a long story short, what exactly is going on with the Sanctuary's revival?"

Han Xiao blinked. "I'm not too sure either. I only accidentally discovered this strange phenomenon. It might be some kind of cosmic wonder."

The corners of the three of them twitched.

Stop mentioning the term "cosmic wonder"; it's a headache to hear!

"Then what is the process of the Sanctuary's revival like? What are the rules or restrictions…" Louis interjected.

"Ah, I'm not too sure either. I haven't studied it thoroughly yet," Han Xiao said, spreading his hands.

The Head of the Arcane Church cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "I wonder if you would be willing to share the method of the Sanctuary's revival. You can discuss anything you want."

Han Xiao smiled without saying a word.

Little brother, what are you dreaming about?

Seeing this, the three also knew that this request was wishful thinking and secretly felt unwilling.

Marbruce gritted his teeth and shouted in a deep voice, "Black Star! You should know what kind of chaos the Sanctuary's revival will bring to interstellar society. What are your intentions in reviving this group of historical Super-A Grades? What is your purpose?!"

Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled and said, "What are you talking about? I just wanted to test whether the Sanctuary's revival was effective. I didn't expect to accidentally revive this group of people. This was just an experimental accident. I can't possibly put them back in their graves, right?"

Marbruce almost exploded with anger.

Experimental accident? Only an idiot would believe that reason!

The Head of the Arcane Church took over and asked seriously, "Regardless of whether it was an accident or not, now that the Super-A Grade Association has a group of so-called newcomers, we would like to know how you plan to deal with this problem."

What the three were most worried about was that Black Star would have this group of fresh troops and take action on his own initiative.

"There's no need to deal with them. They have joined the association, so naturally, they are members of the association. There's no need to treat them specially. I will only provide them with certain resource assistance in accordance with the association's established regulations. As for other matters… as long as they don't violate the association's rules, I can't control them."

Han Xiao's attitude was unyielding.

"That's not enough. You know what we mean. We hope that you can guarantee that the Super-A Grade Association will continue to be peaceful and law-abiding."

Han Xiao chuckled. "Even if I guarantee it, would you believe me?"

The three shook their heads helplessly. Indeed, not to mention that the foundation of trust between the two sides had already collapsed, even if they believed in Black Star, their own responsibilities required them to be prepared for the worst. Any personal guarantee was useless.

The three did not dare to take a confrontational attitude toward Black Star now. In the past, although Black Star was large and prosperous, he was still considered to be eating from their hands. But now it was different. Due to the existence of the Sanctuary's revival, Black Star himself had the meaning of "strategic deterrence" and "detonator", and he was already on an equal footing with the three great civilizations.

Marbruce narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "Black Star, is the empire still your ally?"

Han Xiao glanced at him, thought for a while, and said, "The alliance has not been torn up. The empire has provided me with a lot of help all along. Of course, we are allies."

Completely falling out of favor was not in line with his interests, and Han Xiao did not intend to do so.

Marbruce's eyes flashed. "Then I want to cooperate with you on a project. Since you have the means of the Sanctuary's revival, I hope you can revive Gaud, or other direct descendants of the empire's Super-A Grades."

"…I'll consider it," Han Xiao said, raising his eyebrows, and brushed it off. He naturally could not revive the direct descendants of the three great civilizations.

Seeing this, the three knew that it was impossible to get anything else out of Han Xiao, so they had to endure their dissatisfaction and end the communication.

In the large room, the three looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

Marbruce pondered for a while and said:

"The original cleansing plan can be canceled. We need a new response plan. I have about three ideas. One is to start with Black Star, use espionage and infiltration, and try to get information on the Sanctuary's revival. The second is to divide the association, win over some of the revived individuals, and try to ask them about the Sanctuary's revival. As for the third…"

Saying this, he looked at the two of them, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then continued:

"We should establish a joint research team to independently study the secrets of the Sanctuary's revival. I believe that the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church are not completely ignorant of this and have some information."

The other two were stunned for a moment, paused, and slowly nodded.

The three great civilizations had come from the Exploration Era and were naturally not completely ignorant of the Sanctuary. The direct descendants of Super-A Grades would occasionally gain relevant inspiration and leave behind some vague information. Moreover, due to the rumors among the First Ancestors during the Exploration Era, the three great civilizations were not hearing about the revival of Super-A Grades for the first time. The moment they learned about the resurrection of the dead, they thought of this unverifiable secret intelligence.

This relevant information was the top secret of the three great civilizations, and they cherished it, wanting to study it themselves. However, because the data was extremely incomplete, research had been slow and there were no clues. Most of the projects had long been called off, and even the authenticity of this information had been questioned.

Now that the situation had changed and the ruling foundation of the three great civilizations was threatened, Marbruce felt that now was not the time to be secretive.

"I suggest that we share all relevant secrets, piece together the clues we each have, and jointly research the so-called Sanctuary's revival. Only in this way can we have a small chance of making progress in the short term!"

After hesitating for a moment, Louis slowly nodded. "It seems that this is the best way to do it right now. Let's do it."

The Head of the Arcane Church nodded, indicating his consent, and suddenly changed the subject:

"In the short term, it is unlikely that we will solve this problem. However, in the long term, although we cannot prevent the revival of historical Super-A Grades, it is not that we have no way to suppress the number of Super-A Grades.

We cannot prevent the resurrection of the dead, but we can reduce the number of truly new Super-A Grades and prevent them from growing endlessly!"

"You mean…"

The eyes of the other two moved.

The Head of the Arcane Church's eyes flickered with a strange light, and he said in a low voice:

"The birth of Super-A Grades comes from the huge base of espers in the entire universe. If we wipe out the potential Calamity Grades, causing a break in the esper class, and even cut off the inheritance of low-level esper knowledge, and nationalize it all, we may be able to make Super-A Grades lose fresh blood…"

Hearing these words, Marbruce and Louis were shocked and couldn't help but feel horrified by the Head of the Arcane Church's grand plan.

Espers had always been an important part of interstellar society, but this was to uproot the esper class and draw firewood from under the cauldron?!

Even with their knowledge, they felt that this idea was too crazy.

But… if only advanced civilizations in the universe could cultivate espers, how stable would law and order be, and how solid would the foundation of rule be?

The two couldn't help but imagine that scene and had to admit that the blueprint was indeed tempting, with a hint of excitement.

…

At the same time, in the Black Star Palace, in the Mechanical Factory exclusive to the Commanders.

Han Xiao put away the communicator, recalled the conversation with the leaders of the three great civilizations just now, and let out a light breath.

"A balance has been formed. The three great civilizations are constrained and should have abandoned the plan for a great cleansing. They will probably wait and see for a while and won't tear up the agreement… In this way, the intensity of the esper disaster can be temporarily controlled, but I don't know how long it will last."

Han Xiao nodded secretly.

The early emergence of the revived individuals and the exposure of the Sanctuary's revival… The butterfly effect he brought will inevitably change the course of the esper disaster and will not develop like it did in his previous life.

But he couldn't say for sure how much the plot of the esper disaster would change; he could only adapt to the situation.