Chapter 1 Returning to the Mother Star

The spaceship returned to the mother star. On board, the Super-A allies no longer stood on ceremony, and formally accepted Han Xiao, introducing themselves one after another.

Han Xiao already knew their names, so this was just a formality. Some were directly affiliated with the empire, while others were figures developing their power in the Central Star Sea. Only two were big shots from other star systems.

One came from the Star Spirit Sea, and the other from the Old Star River. The latter was the Super-A who favored the military's young and middle-aged faction, and his attitude was the warmest among the group.

This person wasn't too old, named Bei'oni, nicknamed "Annihilation" or "Source Fire." His ability wasn't playing with fire; it seemed to ignite things at the microscopic level, even things that weren't flammable, and not just matter, but also energy. A famous incident was when he ignited a small planet, causing trees, soil, and metal to burn, turning it into a charred world.

The empire had informants who reported Han Xiao's interactions with the imperial elites. His care for Taine was seen as a friendly signal by the empire's young and middle-aged faction. Although Taine's rank wasn't yet at the true high levels, within the young and middle-aged faction, he was already making a name for himself and was being cultivated as a future core member, otherwise, he wouldn't have been placed in the first batch of modification candidates.

So, due to factional reasons, Bei'oni intended to befriend him, and Han Xiao had no objections. They talked quite congenially.

Besides this person, another ally that Han Xiao was quite concerned about was Ravenlaude from the Ancient Ones, who was lukewarm toward him, and Han Xiao didn't make a special effort to befriend him either.

The Ancient Ones were a loose alliance organization, its members were all strange people and unusual individuals. Some were Super-A big shots, while others were special ability users. What they had in common was that they were long-lived and had lived for a long time. In the Star Sea, the Ancient Ones were one of the most well-known non-governmental superpower groups, with members joining all three major universal civilizations.

For example, the Crimson Dynasty had two Ancient One members as allies, one was this Ravenlaude, and the other was one of the three strongest Pillars of the Dynasty.

The Light Federation and the Arcane Church also had different Ancient One allies. Manison of the Machinery Country was a high-level ally registered with the Light Federation, but he was very independent. After all, he was the leader of the Mechanic race and had a huge force under his command, forming his own faction there.

The Ancient Ones represented a huge resource network, but unfortunately, he hadn't been living in a low profile for so many years and did not meet the membership criteria. Otherwise, Han Xiao would have liked to join and try.

Because of the sparring just now, he had won a certain status. The group returned to the mother star, and they exchanged pleasantries on the ship. Han Xiao and the others were officially acquainted, and he familiarized himself with them.

Someone asked to borrow the Evolution Cube. Han Xiao didn't immediately agree. For Super-As, this was like adding wings to a tiger, and there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world. Clotti, who was directly affiliated with the empire, could enjoy the empire's unlimited quota, but other collateral allies didn't have this treatment. Without taking out some benefits, Han Xiao didn't want to increase their strength for free. After all, who knew what their relationship would be in the future.

Hearing that Han Xiao wanted benefits, everyone had different thoughts and didn't immediately express their opinions.

Originally, everyone planned to have Black Star yield at the first meeting and take out the Evolution Cube to please them, but they didn't expect Black Star to be a little tough and difficult to deal with. This plan naturally failed, and they could only find a way to borrow it later. As big shots, everyone wasn't so impatient.

After saying goodbye to the group, Han Xiao and Ames returned to their residence. Hela and the others were relieved to see him back.

"This can be regarded as my official debut in the high-level combat power circle of the three major civilizations, stepping onto the stage of the Central Star Sea…" Han Xiao thought to himself. This was something he had expected.

Having more friends made things easier. By befriending this group of people, he could indirectly use some of their resources. Of course, he was also seen as such in the eyes of others. They were each other's connections, exchanging resources.

The downside was that he would be regarded as a bargaining chip on the empire's stage by other forces, attracting more attention from major forces, and the hostility and opponents he would face in the future would be even more powerful.

There was no choice. He had obtained so many resources from the empire, and it would be too good to be true if he was unwilling to bear any risk.

"The Central Star Sea is highly regulated by the three major civilizations, and the development of forces is not free. It is not suitable for key management. We still have to develop our foundation in the Shattered Star Ring and the Flickering World. This place… just leave a liaison point. After things are done, it's better to stay away from this place of right and wrong for the time being," Han Xiao thought to himself.

To increase his influence in the Central Star Sea, he didn't necessarily have to establish a foothold here. Managing his base camp was the key. Only when his own value was high would it be easy to improve his status.

…

That night, Clotti told Ulan Riel about Han Xiao's fight with Viru, and at the same time, attached his opinion of Han Xiao.

“…Do you think there is a high chance that Black Star will be able to touch a higher level of power in the future?”

The night was already deep, but Ulan Riel's office was still brightly lit. She stared at Clotti in front of her and asked in a deep voice.

“It’s not impossible,” Clotti said concisely.

The Firstborn was tens of thousands of years ago, and after so much research, the classification above Super-A had become clearer, and there were also strong and weak among them. Black Star was so young, and his fighting style had almost no shortcomings. He still had room to grow in the future, and it wasn't impossible for him to be on par with him.

Clotti's evaluation of Han Xiao wasn't low. In his long life, he had seen many Super-As. Some had exhausted their potential from Calamity Grade to Super-A and could only stay where they were, making limited progress; while others could continue to grow and were the best of the best. In his eyes, Black Star belonged to the latter.

However, after seeing so many, he no longer liked socializing and was too lazy to get to know new people. Moreover, Clotti was directly affiliated with the empire and didn't manage any forces. With his detached status and strength, he didn't need to deliberately befriend anyone. So, he ignored Han Xiao along the way. It was his nature, not looking down on him.

After all, not every Super-A liked PY like Grand Technician Han. (PY = Pinyin abbreviation for 屁眼, slang for butt-licking/sucking up)

Ulan Riel leaned against the back of her chair, with a look of contemplation.

“In that case, it would be more useful to have him stay in the Rim Star Zone to guard it. He is now focused on the Flickering World, but after that, he is very likely to come to the Central Star Sea to develop… We have enough manpower here and don't need him.”

The three major civilizations in the Central Star Sea occasionally had frictions, but because it was their base camp, major conflicts would not break out. So, the empire didn't actually need so many Super-As to run to the Central Star Sea to develop in groups. It was enough to have enough manpower. Too many would be a waste of resources. Throwing these Super-As to other star fields to strengthen the empire's control over those star fields was the meaning of the title "Pillar of the Dynasty".

However, the Central Star Sea was the center of the universe after all, and countless people were racking their brains to have a say here. For Ulan Riel, the allied forces here were too saturated, and she didn't like so many people developing their forces here under the banner of the empire.

Black Star brought the mobile base over, obviously to establish a branch. For the sake of allies, Ulan Riel was willing to provide some help, but she planned to secretly restrict the expansion speed of the Black Star Army in the Central Star Sea. In short, she wanted to reduce the chances of Black Star coming to the Central Star Sea to guard it, and let him stay in the Shattered Star Ring or the Flickering World.

Ulan Riel believed Clotti's judgment. He said that Black Star had a chance to touch a higher level, so he definitely wouldn't misjudge him. Therefore, Black Star could be regarded as an important chess piece…

Since it was an important chess piece, it should naturally be placed in a suitable place to exert its effect.

…

The news that Black Star was officially received by the head of the empire was spread through the empire's channels. As Han Xiao expected, the empire would not hide it, but would announce in some way that it had a new bargaining chip.

His name officially entered the sight of various major forces in the Central Star Sea. Han Xiao had no foundation in the Central Star Sea, so he had no way of knowing the reactions of these major forces.

In the next few days, the empire arranged for the garrison troops of the mother star to undergo the Evolution Cube modification. Han Xiao focused on cooperating with their work.

It took several days to finally complete the evolutionary transformation of the imperial mother star troops.

During this time, the Black Star Army didn't wait idly. With the help of the empire, the Black Star Army used a small piece of land on the imperial mother star to establish a simple office, leaving a group of people to stay for a long time to facilitate contact. Before leaving, they had given this group of members a preventive shot, and all of them were willing to stay in the Central Star Sea.

As for the army's mobile satellite base, the empire naturally wouldn't allow them to settle down next to the mother star, so they threw a star map to Han Xiao, asking him to choose a location in the empire's territory to place the Black Star Army's branch base.

There was no need to hesitate about the location. Han Xiao already had a draft in mind.

Since the purpose of this trip was to pull up leeks by the roots, the location of the branch base was naturally the main activity area of the players.

Han Xiao had something to do, so he didn't leave the mother star for the time being. He ordered the troops to set off first. The empire had good security, and he didn't need to accompany the army to open a branch base.

The reason for staying on the mother star, in addition to taking Ames and the others to visit, was another goal, which was to plot the Ultimate Knowledge.

The list of tasks that Ulan Riel had asked her subordinates to sort out had already been sent to Han Xiao's communicator. He picked and chose, and finally determined a task.

Ordinary miscellaneous tasks were not important enough, only thorny tasks were qualified to exchange for the Ultimate Knowledge. The one Han Xiao chose was a task that required the participation of Super-As… a routine clearing operation of the Fallen Ark faction!

In other words, fighting the Hetero God!

The three star fields of the Central Star Sea were separated by the Barren Universe Belt, which was the border gap zone of the three parties. It was relatively sensitive and difficult to manage, which led to the fact that the thugs who dared not stay in the three major star fields flocked to the border gap, forming a place for hiding dirt and filth.

The border gap area was very large. During the Exploration Era War, the three major civilizations fought fiercely, fighting at their doorsteps as if they would never stop. This large area was the ancient battlefield of that year, and countless planets were abandoned as a result, turning into an artificial Barren Universe Belt.

Now, a large number of thugs were hiding in it, making it difficult to find them. Moreover, the border gap was not a dead place, and it was connected to the Barren Universe Belt outside the Central Star Sea. Once it was connected to the outside world, it would be even more impossible to eradicate them.

The sensitive area was not suitable for vigorous rectification. Anyway, the three major civilizations were connected by Stargates, and serious travelers would not take the Barren Universe Belt, so it didn't have much impact on the security of the Central Star Sea.

The Hetero God's team usually hid in the Barren Universe Belt in the border gap, and had been quite secretive. Recently, it seemed that they had exposed their whereabouts and were discovered by the observation devices of the Crimson Dynasty.

The Hetero God was notorious. For the three major civilizations, eating, sleeping, and fighting the Hetero God had become a daily operation, euphemistically called "routine clearing".

Han Xiao and the Hetero God still had a past feud. Although the Hetero God wanted to make a deal with him, Han Xiao wouldn't think that the Hetero God was his friend because of this. Since he was now making a living in the Order camp, it was best to draw a clear line on the surface with such notorious thugs.

Speaking of which, it used to be the Hetero God who caused him trouble, but this was the first time he had gone to the Hetero God's base to cause trouble.

If it wasn't for the empire's clearing operation, he wouldn't have had this opportunity. Having a powerful backer was indeed different.

He was a little wary of the Hetero God's ability, so he didn't plan to go by himself. So, he sent out invitations to a group of Super-A allies he had recently met.

Clotti had a job, so he refused without suspense, while the others also declined, saying that their relationship wasn't at that level and they didn't want to cause trouble by provoking the Hetero God. Only one person agreed to his invitation.

“When are we leaving?”

In the communicator, Bei'oni shook the horns on his head. His fiery red skin had a volcanic rock-like texture, with streams of agile fire snakes flowing around. His eyeballs were fiery red fireballs that burned non-stop. He was not human, but an Ignis Demon race ability user.

“Tomorrow, I’ve already notified the people from the empire, and they’ll send someone to take us there,” Han Xiao scratched his chin.

He had finished all the matters on the imperial mother star, and there was nothing else to do here. Next, it was time to complete the two plans he had come to the Central Star Sea for.

One was to plot the Ultimate Knowledge, and the other was to open up a leek field. The latter only needed the signboard of the Black Star Army, and he didn't need to show up himself. It was just right to split into two groups and carry out both at the same time.

“With just the two of us, it might be risky. The Hetero God’s fleet is too large, and he himself is extremely dangerous,” Bei'oni shook his head.

“There are more than two Super-A combat powers on our side.”

Han Xiao glanced at Ames next to him. Ames learned about this and seemed unwilling to be lonely, so she took the initiative to follow him. He didn't refuse. It was always helpful to have another person.

Seeing him look over, Ames smiled gently, with a hint of eagerness.