Chapter 1 Hardaway's Choice

Hardaway was taken to a room by Hela, bound to a chair. Hela stood to the side, arms crossed, coldly staring at Hardaway, keeping watch.

"Wait here, Black Star will be here soon."

Hardaway didn't struggle. After sitting quietly for a while, he seemed to find the atmosphere a bit cold, so he couldn't help but look up at Hela, curiously asking, "What's your ability? I've been wandering around the Shattered Star Ring for many years, but I've never heard of you before. A strong person like you shouldn't be unknown. What civilization are you from?"

Hela ignored him, her face indifferent, with no intention of answering.

Having gotten nowhere, Hardaway gave a dry laugh. "Looks like you don't like to communicate with people."

At this moment, the door opened, and Han Xiao walked in, smiling, and said casually, "She's my compatriot, we're both from Aquamarine Star. She's been following Ames to cultivate, and only recently came out to help me with things."

"Dragon Emperor's student?" Hardaway was taken aback, looking at Hela with a different expression, full of envy.

Aquamarine Star, a surface civilization, was actually able to produce figures like Black Star and Hela. Hardaway couldn't help but be surprised.

*Crack*...

Han Xiao moved his fingers, releasing Hardaway's restraints. An idea struck him, and he suddenly said, "Alright, you can leave now."

Hardaway was stunned, his mouth wide open. "You're letting me go?"

"That's right." Han Xiao smiled. "No matter what, we've fought so many times, and I quite acknowledge your strength. This time, I'll let you go. Let's call off the bet."

"No, no, no..." Hardaway stammered, "I'm a man of my word. Since I lost, I must fulfill the agreement and work for you."

"Well, a strong person like you shouldn't become someone else's subordinate in this way." Han Xiao held back his laughter, and said seriously, "I'm Beyond Grade A now, but I still have respect for an esper at the peak of the Disaster Grade like you, and I won't force you."

Hardaway turned red in the face with anxiety. He originally thought that his plan had succeeded, and that he would be able to join Black Star's command legitimately through the bet, but he didn't expect Black Star to refuse him so directly. The reason was one that he couldn't refute, making him both touched and frustrated.

"I... you..." Hardaway was incoherent, unable to speak.

To directly say that he wanted to work for Black Star? Hardaway felt a little ashamed and couldn't bring himself to do it, but to just leave like this would be against his purpose. For a time, he was in a dilemma, standing there not knowing what to do.

Seeing this, Han Xiao revealed a smile, and said, "I'm not teasing you. If you are willing to join the Black Star Army, I would be very welcome. If you want to fool me with this clumsy act, then let's not talk about it anymore."

Hardaway's face flushed red. "You knew all along?!"

His little thoughts had been seen through, and at this moment, he was so ashamed that he wanted to find a hole to hide in.

Even Hela, who had been expressionless on the side, couldn't help but reveal a subtle curve at the corner of her mouth when she saw this scene.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, and slowly said, "Then I formally extend an invitation to you, Hardaway. My army needs you. Are you willing to join my command?"

Hardaway felt it difficult to speak. His lips trembled, as if he had used all his strength to squeeze his reply out from between his teeth.

"I... I'm willing..."

After saying it, Hardaway felt weak all over, as if he had experienced ten life-and-death battles...

"Good." Han Xiao nodded and smiled. "On behalf of the army, I welcome your joining."

Seeing that Han Xiao was no longer teasing him, Hardaway finally breathed a sigh of relief, suppressed the shame in his heart, and asked, "What position do you need me to take?"

Han Xiao thought for a while, and casually pointed to Hela on the side, "Join the Guard Officer Corps and take orders from her."

With Hardaway's reputation, joining the Guard Officer Corps could indirectly enhance the prestige of the Guard Officer Corps.

"Guard Officer?" Hardaway scratched his neck. "Alright, but I have a request. I hope you can impart some experience about Beyond Grade A to me..."

Han Xiao nodded, then shook his head, pretending to be serious, "Every Beyond Grade A's advancement is different. Everyone has their own different path. I can't impart my experience to you, but, I allow you to spar with me, to experience the extraordinary nature of Beyond Grade A, which may be of some inspiration to you."

"Is that so..." Hardaway nodded helplessly. "That's fine too."

Although it was somewhat different from what he had imagined, being able to spar with a Beyond Grade A often was also in line with his expectations. He originally liked to squeeze his potential through battle.

Ordinary people couldn't make him feel danger, but when facing Black Star, Hardaway would always recall the fear he felt when he was at his weakest facing wild beasts. This kind of fear was the best catalyst for potential.

Han Xiao waved his hand, letting Hela take Hardaway to meet with the other companions.

Now he had a total of five Guard Officers, among whom Hela, Hardaway, and Fording were the strongest, all high-level Disaster Grades. The other two were Marian and a martial artist named Druno, whose combat power was also extraordinary. Although they couldn't be considered big bosses among the Disaster Grades, they were at least small boss level. It seemed that the members of the Guard Officer Corps were all elites.

After dealing with Hardaway's problem, Han Xiao summoned Sylvia to discuss the expansion of the Black Star Army.

He had already personally announced his status as Beyond Grade A, and next he would start making big moves, operating his influence, and making allies in the Star Field to bring the Black Star Army to the level of a true Beyond Grade A force.

But before that, there was one thing that needed to be dealt with first.

"Sylvia, help me prepare a fleet, I'm going on a trip."

"Okay, where are you going, Teacher?"

"...Longtan."

Han Xiao paused, his tone strange.

...

Countless interstellar media released the news that Han Xiao had personally admitted that he was a Beyond Grade A. For a time, 95% of the news channels in the entire Shattered Star Ring were talking about this, setting off a new round of public opinion storms in the Star Field.

The official news confirming it meant that the matter was settled. During this period, almost all media in the Shattered Star Ring were flooded with this news. The interstellar media had so many channels of communication that small rumors couldn't compare. With their voluntary publicity, as long as the interstellar citizens in the villages had access to the network, no one didn't know Han Xiao's name!

Similarly, such sensational news was also reprinted by media in other Star Fields, and forces in other Star Fields also knew that a new Beyond Grade A had been born in the Shattered Star Ring!

The player forums were directly detonated by this situation. Although Han Xiao often spammed the forums, those were player-initiated discussions, but now, players in other Star Fields could actually see Han Xiao's name in their own Star Field's news channels!

The other Star Field players couldn't help but be shocked. In the current 3.0 version, players hadn't started crossing Star Fields. In their eyes, each Star Field was equivalent to an independent server, but now, the famous NPC character in the Shattered Star Ring had actually become famous "across servers"!

Because Han Xiao had established his "main storyline" status in the Shattered Star Ring over several versions, players in other Star Fields knew his name to varying degrees. This wave of public opinion aroused strong interest among other players. Han Xiao not only spammed the Shattered Star Ring channel on the forums, but also was hotly discussed in the forum channels of other Star Fields, ranking among the top three most popular topics in all channels, heavily boosting his reputation.

Official channels had official channels' rules, and the major forces in the Shattered Star Ring also made open responses.

...

The higher-ups of the Purple Crystal Civilization were very happy now.

More than seven years ago, they were optimistic about the potential shown by Han Xiao and decided to bet on him. Now, Black Star had advanced to become a true Beyond Grade A. The Purple Crystal Civilization, like Klent, had a Beyond Grade A companion. Among the seven Star Cluster level civilizations in the entire Shattered Star Ring, only they had such a powerful ally.

Betting early had undoubtedly paid off!

And most importantly, Black Star only took about twenty years to reach Beyond Grade A, and his age was even less than fifty years old. In terms of a Beyond Grade A's lifespan, he was still just an infant. Reaching Beyond Grade A at such a young age meant that his potential was limitless.

After Han Xiao confirmed it himself, the Purple Crystal Civilization immediately took various measures, increasing its huge investment in the Black Star Army, increasing policy and resource support, and becoming more attentive, dedicated to creating a more solid alliance relationship with Han Xiao.

At the same time, the Purple Crystal Civilization also issued a notice to the entire Star Field through media channels:

——On behalf of the entire civilization, congratulations to Black Star on becoming a Beyond Grade A!

This behavior was to express their importance to the entire Star Field, conveying the message that the alliance relationship between the two sides was extremely solid, and those monsters and ghosts who wanted to intervene should save their energy.

Godora was not willing to lag behind, and followed suit. Sai Luo the Fifth publicly delivered a speech, first talking about all the contributions Han Xiao had made in Godora, emphasizing that he was the recipient of the Gorjin Statue Medal, and finally, on behalf of all the Godorans, congratulating Han Xiao on advancing to Beyond Grade A. He also revealed a message, saying that they were preparing to add a new celebration festival within the civilization, called Black Star Day, to thank Han Xiao for everything he had done for Godora, which had already been put on the agenda.

If other civilizations created a Black Star Day, it would seem very bootlicking, but Godora was different. Han Xiao was deeply involved with Godora. Whether it was the elimination of DarkStar or the discrimination transformation movement, it was of extraordinary significance to the entire civilization, and it was not out of line to create a special festival to thank Han Xiao.

Once Purple Crystal and Godora expressed their views, they immediately stirred up a hornet's nest. Dozens and hundreds of Star System civilizations congratulated Han Xiao in the name of civilization, as if forming a trend. These Star System civilizations were all semi-ally civilizations that had chosen to win over the Black Star Army in the beginning and provided resource star development rights. At this time, they spoke out one after another, as if they were afraid that others wouldn't know that they had a close relationship with Black Star.

The behavior of these Star System civilizations was actually understandable. The Purple Crystal Civilization was the boss of the Star Cluster, taking the lead in creating momentum for Han Xiao, and the other civilizations also wanted to maintain a good relationship with Beyond Grade A, so they also showed their goodwill, but they created a shocking phenomenon for the onlookers.

——The civilizations of the Colton Star Cluster are all standing behind Black Star and cheering for him. An entire Star Cluster is celebrating for one person!

This situation immediately stunned countless onlookers.

Black Star's reputation within the Star Cluster was so terrifying?!

When the other Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring were born, there had never been such momentum!

At this moment, the entire Star Field remembered Black Star. Like the other four, he had become a symbolic figure of the Shattered Star Ring in everyone's minds, the fifth Beyond Grade A!

However, at this juncture, an unexpected event occurred, causing the impact of public opinion to soar to a new level.

The Overlord Herber and the Star Pupil Sisko publicly challenged Black Star!

Herber's reason was the secret war. Since the Purple Crystal side had a Beyond Grade A, he would take action. The two sides fought on behalf of Purple Crystal and Klent, respectively, so no one could find fault with it.

And Sisko's statement caused a sensation.

He announced the information about the Evolution Cube to the entire Star Field, and declared that Black Star had snatched the Evolution Cube from him, demanding that Black Star return it immediately!

The Evolution Cube was in Black Star's hands? Two veteran Beyond Grade As challenged a newly promoted Beyond Grade A?!

Two messages set off an uproar.

The entire Star Field was in an uproar!

Beyond Grade As... were going to publicly challenge each other?!

This was a major event that hadn't happened in years!

...

Just as the major forces and onlookers in the Shattered Star Ring were shocked by the two sensational news, Han Xiao had already led his fleet and landed on Longtan.