Chapter 1 The Bleak Battlefield

The dark black earth stretched to the horizon. As far as the eye could see, the landscape was riddled with crater-like ring mountains. Occasionally, a piece of metal wreckage jutted out of the soil, its original form unrecognizable. In the distance, a solitary black peak exuded an ancient and desolate aura.

The sky was a hazy gray, sparsely dotted with faint stars. A biting, sand-laden wind swept across the land, tugging at everything on the surface.

This was a barren black planet, enveloped in a thick layer of gray smog that filled the atmosphere, forming swirling cyclones visible from outer space.

Once, this was a vibrant planet, teeming with lush greenery and vibrant colors. The roars of wild beasts echoed through the forests. Now, only a black silence remained—an ancient battlefield within the territory of the Empire.

Beneath the surface lay buried the wrecks of warships and weapons. Now, the sands of time had covered the past, leaving only desolation.

A black figure moved slowly across the landscape, blending into the dark backdrop.

"This place will do."

Han Xiao glanced up at the gray sky, knowing that his spaceship was waiting for him in outer space. He imagined the crew were all staring at him through the viewport.

A breakthrough to Super A-grade was no small matter, especially with the species sublimation and main class advancement happening simultaneously. It would likely cause a cataclysmic upheaval. He feared the ship would crash if he advanced onboard, so he had found a relatively close, uninhabited planet to complete his Level 300 advancement.

Of course, he had already touched Fording for good luck before coming here, so he was full of confidence.

He opened his interface. Both the advancement and class advancement missions showed as completed. Han Xiao took a deep breath and chose to settle the rewards.

[Level 300 Advancement Mission Completed!]

[Stamina Bonus +70! 1 Stamina = 480 Health Points = 490 Energy Points]

[The immense energy contained within each cell allows your body to undergo a transformation. Your genetic code shifts toward a higher level. You have taken another step on the path of evolution.]

[Detected Race: 【Black Star Race】(Exclusive Race, cannot be changed)]

[Randomly selecting five suitable evolution directions... Selecting... Selection complete.]

[Please choose two options from the following five races to obtain one talent each.]

[1. 【Void Envoy (Humanoid)】]

[2. 【Endless Proliferation Aberration (Collective Consciousness)】]

[3. 【Void High Priest】(Humanoid)]

[4. 【Saint-Therks Race】]

[5. 【Margola Void Behemoth】]

"These are all good options." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, nodding inwardly.

In the previous stage, he had reached the 【Void Saint】 within the Void system. Now, he was at 【Void Envoy】, getting closer and closer to the evolutionary endpoint of the Void system.

【Endless Proliferation Aberration】 was a terrifying creature, capable of endlessly multiplying its own flesh and blood cells with energy. As long as there was sufficient energy, it could expand without limit, without worrying about its own genes collapsing, eventually becoming a planet of flesh and blood.

At the same time, it could manipulate the formed flesh and blood structure, such as creating a new type of monster with normal life cycle capabilities, creating a flesh and blood brain for it, and then splitting it from itself, thus creating a new type of aberrant monster controlled by the main consciousness but with its own awareness.

【Saint-Therks Race】 was an extinct race with excellent mechanical talent, rumored to be born mechanics.

【Margola Void Behemoth】 was a Void beast with extremely tough flesh, similar to the Leviathan in the Void system, on par with the Void Dragon Race, but even rarer.

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao made his decision and chose 【Void Envoy】 and 【Saint-Therks Race】. The former was to maintain the evolution of the Void system, and the latter was to choose a talent that would enhance his mechanical skills.

He now possessed a considerable number of Void talents. The reason he didn't choose 【Void High Priest】 was because many of its talents overlapped with 【Void Envoy】. Although 【Endless Proliferation Aberration】 was terrifying, Han Xiao wasn't ready to abandon his human form.

He still wanted to be human.

【Margola Void Behemoth】 was famous for being a meat shield. It wasn't that Han Xiao was arrogant, but he felt that he was already a top-notch meat shield in this regard. There was no need to strengthen his ability to take a beating for the time being.

All the talents of the two races were displayed before him. He could choose one from each. Han Xiao looked at them for a while and made his choice.

[You have gained the new talent 【Void Divinity】!]

[You have gained the new talent 【Therks Mechanical Inheritance】!]

[【Void Divinity】: Your understanding of the Void Dimension has reached a new level. You can manipulate Void energy in a more efficient way to cleanse yourself and comprehensively enhance your qualities.]

[Any type of attack and defense will gain the blessing of Void energy. Each attack deals additional Void damage (12,500 points + 12% theoretical attack power), and each time you take damage, you will receive an additional 10,000 points of damage reduction and a 15% bonus to all resistances.]

[As your level increases, you can obtain more attribute bonuses from Void Divinity: Lv1~Lv100, Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, Intelligence, and Mystery +15, Ability Strength +0.5% every 10 levels; Lv100~Lv200, five attributes +30, Stamina +25, Ability Strength +1% every 10 levels; Above Lv200, five attributes +45, Ability Strength +1.5% every 10 levels.]

[Current total enhancement effect: Five attributes +900, Ability Strength +30%]

[【Therks Mechanical Inheritance】: Mechanical discipline experience is the inherited memory of the Saint-Therks Race. The Saint-Therks Race possesses excellent talent in mechanics. The cost of upgrading any mechanical skills will be reduced by 20% (including, but not limited to, mechanical main class skills, blueprint skills, etc.).]

[As your level increases, you can obtain more mechanical technology from the inherited memories: Lv1~Lv100, Mechanical Affinity +8% every 10 levels; Lv100~Lv200, Mechanical Affinity +12% every 10 levels; Above Lv200, Mechanical Affinity +16% every 10 levels.]

[The inherited memories of the Saint-Therks Race record their characteristic technological achievements. When the total level reaches Lv20, Lv60, Lv100, Lv160, Lv200, Lv260, Lv320, Lv360, special race-exclusive blueprints will be unlocked.]

Boom!

His brain was running at full speed, a fiery heat washing over him, while Void energy constantly cleansed his body, as if he was suffering from an attack of both ice and fire, both cold and hot.

A transformation was taking place within Han Xiao, and the interface was not the only thing that was moving. The Black Star Race's own exclusive talent also received an upgrade with this sublimation of life level.

[Your Black Star Race exclusive talent 【Mechanical Genius】 has been enhanced.]

[【Mechanical Genius】: Total Mechanical Affinity has changed from 1.15x to 1.25x, Mechanical Creation Performance Bonus has changed from 30% to 40%, new effect added - all Mechanical skills are automatically increased by one level.]

[Race appearance judgment in progress. Based on your evolution, the maximum change in your appearance is 1.4%. Do you wish to maintain your original appearance?]

Han Xiao was quite confident in his face-sculpting skills, but he decided against using his own face as an experiment and chose no.

[Life level sublimation, molecular structure perfection, organ structure strengthening, metabolic changes...]

[The potential of the Black Star Race has been enhanced. You have received attribute completion; Strength +334, Dexterity +320, Stamina +470, Intelligence +767, Mystery +580, Charm +205, Energy +8000, Energy Realm bonus attributes have been changed.]

Every cell was vibrating, pumping out waves of energy. The massive fluctuations that were released directly affected the environment of the entire planet. He was like the eye of a storm, with the planet's atmosphere forming a storm's eye centered around him.

In the fleet in outer space, Aurora, Fording, Hadaway, and all the bodyguards were standing in front of the viewport, overlooking the environmental changes that Han Xiao was causing on this planet.

"Such a terrifying high-energy reaction. Has Black Star grown again? At his level, can he still increase his strength in such a short period of time?!" Hadaway looked horrified.

"Although I've known him for a long time, he still manages to amaze me every time," Fording said, shaking his head. "How can there be such a gifted person in this world? He's simply a born Esper."

"I've never heard of a Super A-grade growing so fast." Hadaway's tone was both amazed and envious.

He didn't know how long he had struggled to become a Super A-grade, and he still hadn't succeeded. On the other hand, Black Star was not only the fastest person in history to reach Super A-grade from scratch, but after entering Super A-grade, he could still maintain a high rate of strength growth. It was simply unheard of.

Comparing oneself to others is truly infuriating... Hadaway looked envious and jealous.

It wasn't just him; the other bodyguards also looked shocked. Such a rate of growth was simply unimaginable to them.

Aurora clenched her fists nervously, her palms covered in sweat.

This was the first time she had witnessed Han Xiao's advancement process with her own eyes after her ability had formed. In her perception, Black Star's life intensity was skyrocketing like a rocket. It was completely contrary to the common sense that Super A-grades gradually completed their life sublimation. She couldn't help but worry, afraid that Han Xiao's evolution would fail.

She had even prepared herself to consume 99.9% of her life force to help Han Xiao.

A long time passed before the high-energy reaction gradually subsided.

"It seems like he succeeded."

Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, they were stunned to find that the high-energy reaction that had just decreased suddenly soared again, instantly surpassing the previous peak level. The dramatic ups and downs were just like their blood pressure!

A new storm appeared again!

"He just sublimated, and now he's doing it again?!"

Everyone was dumbfounded, feeling that their worldview had been shattered into pieces.

At this time, Han Xiao, who was in the center of the planetary storm, had already confirmed his class advancement in the interface!

[Your class advancement mission has been completed!]

[You have gained the new class - 【God Throne Mechanic】!]