Chapter 1 Entering the Sanctuary

The spaceship entered the spaceport of a secret base of the Covenant Organization. The hatch slid open, and Han Xiao strode out. He immediately saw the Oathkeeper waiting on the dock.

"Yo, it's been a while. You're still wearing the same outfit. Don't you ever need to wash your clothes?" Han Xiao laughed.

"...I don't wash them," the Oathkeeper said, his lips twitching. "I've been waiting for you for a long time. Let's go inside and talk."

With that, the Oathkeeper walked ahead, leading the way. Han Xiao followed him along the base corridor.

The two walked and discussed business.

Han Xiao scratched his chin, curious. "It's only been a few decades, and you've already collected the keys to the Third Sanctum again? That's too efficient."

"It's nothing. There are only zero times and countless times entering the Sanctum. With experience, it's much easier the second time. Some keys aren't one-time use, and we still have a stockpile. For example, the original energy body. We used to be stuck on this step, but we collected it last time, so we can take it out and use it again now... As for other types of keys, with your financial resources and channels helping, collecting them is much easier than before," the Oathkeeper explained.

Hearing this, Han Xiao nodded knowingly.

It was like a New Game Plus; the key items were inherited, so there was no need to collect them again.

The timespan of his previous life wasn't particularly long, and the Covenant Organization's scale when it appeared in the world far exceeded its current size, proving that the Oathkeeper must have entered the Sanctum several times. It wasn't strange that he had such efficiency now.

This time, Han Xiao was entering the Sanctum alone, partly to complete the third stage of the [Relay Across Iterations] mission, and partly out of curiosity.

The two chatted casually and arrived at the senior activity room. As soon as Han Xiao walked in, he was stared at by dozens of pairs of eyes.

Dozens of revived Initial Ones were waiting eagerly here. As soon as they saw Han Xiao, they swarmed over.

"Black Star, congratulations on being elected president of the association!"

"The agreement time has arrived. Can we come out now?"

Everyone spoke at once, creating a noisy clamor.

Han Xiao raised his hand to calm everyone down, and said slowly, "Well, it's about time, but in my opinion, it's better to wait another year or two."

"Wait another year or two?"

The expressions of the crowd changed slightly.

*You asked us to cultivate in seclusion, and three years passed, then another three years. It's been almost fifty years, big brother. If we wait any longer, we really won't be able to hold back!*

"Ahem, everyone, don't worry. I have three reasons."

Han Xiao held up his fingers and explained:

"First, I've only just been elected president, so it's best to have a buffer period. Second, the three great civilizations haven't gained a single ally in the past forty years, so they probably have a lot of complaints. Let's observe their movements first.

"As for the last reason... I have to go into the Sanctum, and I don't know how long it will take."

According to the Oathkeeper, the flow of time in the Sanctum was different. He didn't feel like he had stayed inside for very long, but when he came out, he found that several years had passed in the main universe. So this time, Han Xiao had to prepare for any eventuality.

Hearing this, many Initial Ones showed tangled expressions.

They wanted to come out immediately, but if Han Xiao entered the Sanctum, he might disappear for several years. During this vacuum period, they wouldn't receive the support of the Black Star president, and many things would be difficult to handle.

At this time, Pan Ergon spoke, coldly saying, "It doesn't matter. I wasn't going to join the association anyway. I've already decided. I'll come out in a while!"

Han Xiao glanced at him, nodded, and said nothing.

The goals of this group of revived Initial Ones were mainly divided into three types. One type wanted to enjoy the rights of a Super-A grade in a peaceful era, so they hoped to join the association, such as Bai Ge'er and Mei Ji. These were the people who were mainly hesitating.

The second type wanted to continue hiding in the Covenant and help the Oathkeeper run the organization. They didn't plan to come out, so naturally they had no objections.

And the last type was the debt collectors of the Exploration Era, who wanted to take revenge on the advanced civilizations. There were relatively few of them, represented by Pan Ergon, who originally planned to be a lone wolf and didn't want to join the association.

Han Xiao didn't want this group of people to join either. After all, revenge behavior would greatly intensify the conflict between the three great civilizations and the Super-A grade groups. If he joined the association, should he help or not? He thought that most of the association members would oppose it, so he felt that it was better to let Pan Ergon and his group be lone wolves and not drag the association down.

In his previous life, the revenge behavior of this group of people was one of the important fuses of the Super-Power Calamity version. Han Xiao didn't care about the future of Pan Ergon's group.

On the other hand, Han Xiao also understood Pan Ergon's thoughts. Pan Ergon didn't expect the association to help, and at the same time, he understood the significance of the Super-A grade association, so he didn't plan to implicate the association, and instead took on the responsibility of revenge alone.

In his previous life, Pan Ergon didn't reveal the existence of the Covenant, so this person was stubborn, but he was still loyal.

Han Xiao shifted his gaze and looked at Bai Ge'er and the others. "What about you? Are you willing to wait for me?"

Bai Ge'er thought for a while and nodded.

"Although we can't hold back, we still have to prioritize the overall situation. Although we and the current Super-A grades aren't from the same era, we all represent the same class and have the same interests. After we appear, the entire Super-A grade will inevitably cause huge turmoil. Don't worry, we won't ruin the overall situation because of our own selfish desires."

Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction.

After more than forty years of communication, most of the Initial Ones had integrated into the era. Some of them no longer only considered themselves, but were fooled by him and devoted themselves to the cause of the Super-A grade association, put down the past of the Exploration Era, and decided to participate in this new battle between the Super-A grades and the advanced civilizations, fighting for the entire Super-A grade class.

And in the eyes of these people, the absence of Black Star, a key figure, was not possible when the upheaval came. For this reason, they were willing to continue to lie dormant for a period of time.

Although Bai Ge'er and his group had not yet come out of the mountain, in their hearts, they already regarded themselves as members of the Super-A grade association and considered the overall interests.

"Great, I really didn't misjudge you..."

Han Xiao laughed and started talking nonsense, quickly appeasing everyone's emotions.

Everyone got their answers, cheered up, and continued to play cards next to them.

Han Xiao then pulled the Oathkeeper out of the senior activity room and entered a small dark room next door for a private chat.

Closing the door, Han Xiao asked, "To deal with the upheaval that's coming soon, we need more Super-A grades. Are the resurrection mediums for this time ready?"

"Yes, they've been prepared. Thanks to many Super-A grades leaving behind descendants, otherwise it would be difficult to collect them," the Oathkeeper nodded.

The person entering the Sanctum this time was Han Xiao. He was going there with a mission, which was to resurrect more Super-A grades.

The Sanctum's resurrection required various forms of media. Over the past few decades, the Black Star Army and the Covenant Organization had been quietly carrying out this work, collecting some things related to the historical Super-A grades, including relics and descendants, and they had gathered another batch.

Han Xiao took the list and glanced at it, his eyes narrowed slightly:

"It seems like there are a few fierce people among the targets of this round of resurrection."

"Can you be fiercer than you?" the Oathkeeper muttered inwardly.

"That's right, I'm unparalleled in the world." Han Xiao said, accepting the flattery.

However, he then thought of the Zhushen Federation's Jess. He didn't know if he could resurrect this guy from a different iteration.

Shaking his head, he temporarily suppressed the thought. Han Xiao found an empty room, stayed there alone, blocked all the surveillance in the room, then took out the communicator and dialed a number.

He first dialed Ke Su Ye, and Ke Su Ye's figure quickly appeared on the screen.

"Black Star... no, President, what can I do for you?" Ke Su Ye asked with a smile.

Han Xiao pinched his chin and said, "I may disappear for a while, for an indefinite period, maybe a few days, maybe a few years. When I'm not around, you can help me preside over the work of the association."

"Where are you going?" Ke Su Ye frowned, his smile fading.

"Remember our experience in the secondary dimension? I found some clues and need to spend some time investigating." Han Xiao didn't say the details, but the other party was also a semi-insider of the Sanctuary-related information, so a simple explanation would make the other party understand.

Sure enough, Ke Su Ye understood, his face showing surprise. Without asking any more questions, he nodded seriously and said, "Then go ahead, I'll take care of the association."

When he learned about the Sanctuary resurrection information from Jess decades ago, Ke Su Ye knew that Han Xiao's route was right, stood on the same front, and became a secret ally.

Ke Su Ye wasn't interested in power. He came out to run for vice president not because he wanted to be in a high position, but because he was instructed by Han Xiao to indirectly help Han Xiao stabilize his position. Anyway, it wasn't a bad thing, and he didn't mind doing Han Xiao a favor.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Han Xiao nodded, told him a few things, then hung up.

He didn't stop and dialed the numbers of Hela, Ames, and others in turn, saying that he would disappear for a while to find opportunities for divinity transformation in the secondary dimension world.

This situation was not uncommon for Peak Super-A grades, and this excuse worked well. Hela, Ames, and others didn't suspect him.

Han Xiao asked them to take care of the Legion's forces while he was away, and carefully instructed them.

Then, he dialed the last round of numbers and contacted the people of the three great civilizations.

The three great civilizations once favored him coming to power, thinking that he was more suitable to lead the association than the Mechanic Emperor, but over the decades, the speed of accumulating contradictions exceeded expectations. This little bit of face wasn't enough. The three great civilizations couldn't let the Super-A grade association continue to grow independently because of him alone.

Han Xiao didn't know how long he would disappear after entering the Sanctuary, so he planned to re-mention his identity and position, and stabilize it for a period of time first.

After all, with the title of consultant of the three great civilizations, the negotiations were relatively smooth, and Han Xiao probed the tone of the three great civilizations.

The three great civilizations were still observing the changes in the association after he came to power, and wouldn't suddenly detonate the conflict in a short time. This situation was more reasonable and within his prediction.

After arranging everything, Han Xiao went back to the Oathkeeper, looked at the other party's expectant little eyes, and nodded steadily:

"Prepare yourself and open the Sanctuary as soon as possible!"

...

Three days later, in an uninhabited area near the Covenant Organization base, ships hovered in the desolate universe.

Only Han Xiao was floating alone outside the spaceship, the armor's built-in screen maintaining communication with the Oathkeeper.

In the screen, the Oathkeeper made an encouraging gesture and said:

"Are you ready? Everything is ready on my side, and we can open the Sanctuary at any time."

"Let's do it." Han Xiao exhaled and calmed down.

The Oathkeeper nodded, turned his head and ordered, "All troops, listen to my orders, begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the preheated ships immediately took action. They had practiced the operation process countless times, like a precise instrument, without any mistakes.

*Puff puff puff—*

Original energy bodies loaded in special gun barrels were all shot out. The colorful beams of light concentrated on one point, quickly expanding and turning into a floating white sphere of light.

Under the action of a special instrument, the sphere of light was like a piece of rubber clay being squeezed by a big hand. Its volume was compressed, turning into a dazzling ring, only about a hundred meters in diameter, with extremely high energy density.

Immediately afterwards, the remaining spaceships activated their instruments and used tractor beams to put the other "keys" into this ring.

The space seemed to vibrate suddenly, and the ring suddenly shot out light, projecting six mirage-like phantom light doors.

The next second, five of the light doors disappeared, and only one of the light doors was left, as if it had turned from virtual to real, and was still shaking unstably, as if it would disappear at any time.

"This is the passage to the Third Sanctum, go in!" the Oathkeeper hurriedly said.

Han Xiao's face hardened, and he activated the thruster, turning into a meteor and flying into the Sanctuary passage.

At this moment, the light in front of him instantly soared, and all he could see was endless whiteness.

At the moment of passing through the portal, Han Xiao only felt a lightness in his body, as if he had broken through some kind of barrier. He felt as light as air rising, and inexplicably had a feeling of not existing in this world.

"I'm finally in..."