Chapter 115 The Civilization Council

The Broken Star Ring Civilization Council is a civilization alliance initiated by the seven star cluster-level civilizations of the Star Field. Its initial purpose was to facilitate the management of the Star Field. The three universe-level civilizations generally do not interfere in the daily affairs within other Star Fields. Most of the time, the star cluster-level or super star cluster-level civilizations within the Star Field are the standing directors.

In the Broken Star Ring, the standing directors are the seven star cluster-level civilizations, responsible for arbitrating and mediating conflicts among the various star system-level civilization members within the Star Field. Although the goal is to help everyone resolve conflicts, most of the time, the Civilization Council is just a large-scale bickering arena, where even trivial matters can be brought up for argument, and rarely do they truly solve problems.

In the recent secret war, even the referees, the Purple Crystal Civilization and the Klent, personally entered the fray and started tearing at each other. The nature of the Civilization Council in the Broken Star Ring is evident.

After all, the Broken Star Ring is one of the chaotic explored borders of the universe. The general environment is such, and the way of doing things is more robust than in other Star Fields... A long time ago, the method of holding meetings was for each civilization to send a delegation to attend in person. On one occasion, the seven star cluster-level civilizations finally couldn't stand the fighting at the meetings anymore, so they changed to participating in meetings through remote projection.

Everyone is a projection, so no one can hit anyone. If you have the ability, come hit me over the network cable... Well, such examples seem to exist.

In short, the Civilization Council is generally held regularly to resolve accumulated events, and the most recent meeting will be held in a few days. This is the first time the Herberlon civilization has participated in a meeting.

Generally, only civilizations that reach the star system-level can obtain a ticket to the council, but Han Xiao made a deal with the major star cluster-level civilizations to allow Herberlon to join the council exceptionally. It is the only civilization in the Broken Star Ring to attend the meeting at the level of a surface civilization. The representative of the civilization is Han Xiao himself.

...

A few days later, the meeting was held as scheduled. Han Xiao received a notice from the Purple Crystal Civilization and connected to the council venue from the internal channel, logging into his remote projection account.

Buzz--

A burst of electric noise sounded, and a flash of light suddenly appeared before Han Xiao's eyes. The next moment, he shared the field of view of the remote projection, and the scene of the council venue leaped into view.

Before him was a circular venue, a bit like a coliseum in structure. The black tables and chairs on each level were seamlessly connected rings, with the center being the lowest and gradually rising outward, forming a stepped shape, ring upon ring. There were no blind spots from any position, providing a clear view of everything.

The dome and surrounding areas of the venue were a starry sky of the universe, probably a simulated scene indoors. The scene was a miniature of the Broken Star Ring, which looked quite grand.

Han Xiao lowered his head and found that his remote projection was already sitting in its seat, with Bennet's projection beside him. The metal nameplate of "Herberlon" was placed on the table in front of them. The seats of the two were on a higher level. Looking around the venue, the remote projections of civilization representatives were successively logging on and appearing in the empty seats below. The seats of representatives from different civilizations were separated by a distance and not sitting close to each other.

"This is the venue of the Broken Star Ring Civilization Council..." Bennet sighed in amazement, then turned to look at Han Xiao and nodded in greeting, "Black Star, you're finally online."

"It hasn't started yet, I'm here early."

Han Xiao looked down and glanced at the center of the venue. The projections of the seven star cluster-level civilization representatives were already online, waiting for all member states to arrive.

"How long have you been here?" Han Xiao retracted his gaze and turned to ask.

"I was one of the first to arrive." Bennet said with emotion, "It's my first time participating in a meeting of this level, and I'm a little nervous, so I came early to see it."

Naturally, he wouldn't be nervous because of the big scene, but rather because he was thinking about the responsibility he shouldered as the representative of the Herberlon civilization to attend the meeting, and his heart felt heavy.

This is also the first time I've personally witnessed the scene of the Civilization Council... Han Xiao smiled.

All the named civilizations in a Star Field are gathered together. The participation conditions for this kind of scene are extremely high, and most players in his previous life had never experienced it personally. He was no exception.

"Black Star, thank you." Bennet suddenly said solemnly, "If it weren't for you, it would have taken Herberlon hundreds or even thousands of years to sit in this position."

"You're welcome, it's just a mutually beneficial exchange." Han Xiao didn't act pretentiously, making it clear that he was doing it for profit. He subconsciously wanted to pat Bennet on the shoulder, but his palm passed through the other person's body, and for a moment he almost forgot that the two of them were currently projections.

Bennet nodded, not speaking, and his gratitude towards him would not be reduced because of Han Xiao's words. He had rich experience and had long understood a truth: a person's motivation is not important, what they actually do is what matters.

While the two were chatting, many representatives of other civilizations also noticed Han Xiao and cast complicated glances at him.

In the venue, the Herberlon civilization was an out-and-out outlier. Han Xiao had cooperative relationships with many civilizations present, and all the civilizations present knew about Han Xiao's help in Herberlon's membership. They couldn't help but envy Herberlon's unique advantages.

Not only did they have Black Star, this Super-A Grade guardian, but now it had also become the base of the Dragon Emissaries. How could this small, broken planet have such good luck? Could it really be a place of outstanding people?

Jealousy is jealousy, envy is envy. Since they were sitting here, it was their ability. The civilization representatives present would not have any contempt for Herberlon.

Who told them that they had a Super-A Grade in their family? When one achieves the Dao, even their pets ascend to heaven. They couldn't accept it, but they had no choice.

Before long, everyone had finally arrived, and the sound of chatting gradually decreased until it disappeared, and the entire venue was silent.

At this time, a star cluster-level director stood up and slowly opened his mouth. His voice spread throughout the venue through nanometer-level sound amplification equipment:

"I am very happy to see all of you familiar friends again. Well, compared to the last meeting, the number of people has not decreased this time. It seems that the security of the Broken Star Ring has improved..."

Everyone had a cold expression, secretly slandering in their hearts. There were too many flaws, and this joke was not funny at all.

"Perhaps everyone has noticed that we have a new member." This director looked in the direction of Han Xiao and others and briefly introduced, "The Herberlon civilization, the Herberlon Federation government, the civilization representative... His Excellency Black Star."

Everyone's gaze shifted at once, and they nodded in greeting.

Han Xiao waved his hand, glanced around, fixed his gaze, and looked at Cisco in the seat of the Star Pupils Divine Clan on the opposite side below. He laughed inwardly, raised his hand, and greeted him.

Cisco was expressionless, motionless, and ignored him.

"His Excellency Black Star is a familiar face to everyone, so I won't introduce him further." The director paused and said, "Everyone is here, so according to the charter, the meeting begins. The first agenda item..."

Next, the representatives of the various civilizations took turns performing, proposing one prepared proposal after another. Most of them were old problems that had existed for a long time, such as trade conflicts, border conflicts, planetary ownership, and diplomatic condemnations.

The civilization representatives present were all specially selected masters of verbal debate, with mouths as sweet as honey. Every agenda item had to be argued for half a day, and in the end, most could only give a result of temporarily shelving the dispute.

The process was tedious and lengthy. Bennet, on the other hand, sat upright, carefully observing every link and absorbing experience.

As for Han Xiao, he had long since wandered off into the sky, spacing out, and entered a state of contemplating the true meaning of the universe and what to eat for dinner.

After enduring for most of the day, the people in front of the line finished speaking, and it was finally their turn.

"Proposal No. CL7984d66, submitted by the Herberlon civilization. Please have the representative make a brief statement..." The Purple Crystal Civilization's director smiled slightly and reminded them.

Bennet slowly stood up, took out the materials he had prepared in advance, and read them, briefly explaining the actions of the Avitan Wraith extremist elements. His voice echoed in the venue.

Then, he looked at Cisco, his tone heavy.

"We found high-level psionic bombs in the ships of these extremist elements, the power of which could destroy the entire Herberlon. This kind of high-level military weapon has actually appeared in the hands of a group of extremists. We have reason to believe that these weapons came from the Star Pupils Divine Clan, and their actions were secretly authorized by the Star Pupils Divine Clan. Our side believes that you want to violate the *Pan-Cosmic Civilization Contact Treaty (Seventh Revised Edition)* and eliminate a civilization protected by the treaty..."

The sponsor of the Avitan Wraiths was an opponent of the Star Pupils Divine Clan, a star cluster-level civilization called Talos. However, Bennet flatly stated that the weapons were funded by the Star Pupils Divine Clan, and the purpose was to put the blame on Cisco.

The expressions of everyone present became strange. They were knowledgeable and knew that Cisco would not do such a thing.

A surface civilization that had been exceptionally admitted dared to smear another Super-A Grade at its first meeting? They were too bold. It's good to have a Super-A Grade sitting at home, they can do whatever they want.

The seven star cluster-level directors exchanged glances with each other. Six of them subtly glanced at the seventh—the seventh person was the director of the Talos civilization.

The Talos civilization director looked at Cisco with a smile that was not a smile, "Representative of the Star Pupils Divine Clan, what do you have to say?"

"This is slander." Cisco looked calm and unhurried, "I will not violate the treaty, and I have no reason to attack Herberlon. This group of extremists was not authorized by me."

"Then how do you explain this?"

"According to my speculation, the matter is like this... Not long ago, Avitan was attacked, and the Evolution Cube was stolen as a result, and finally taken away by Black Star..."

Saying that, Cisco glared at Han Xiao coldly, and then said, "Because of the attack, a portion of the Avitan survivors became extremely hateful elements. In the eyes of the Star Pupils Divine Clan, the Evolution Cube is our national treasure. Black Star took away our national treasure, causing the hatred of the extremist elements to be transferred to him. Therefore, this incident is a private act and has nothing to do with the official Star Pupils Divine Clan. If Herberlon wants to insist that I did it, please provide evidence."

Han Xiao chuckled and finally opened his mouth, "The dead can't testify. You want to clear your name with just a few words?"

"Heh, the same goes for you. Since the dead can't testify, you also want to slander me with just a few unreasonable speculations." Cisco said coldly.

The Talos director chuckled and said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. Regardless of whether the Star Pupils Divine Clan authorized it, these attackers are indeed your clansmen, right, Cisco?"

Cisco took a deep breath, nodded slowly, and said, "Although they are of the same race, but..."

"No need to say anything. The nature of the Star Pupils Divine Clan is different from other civilizations. Your clansmen should be highly united, but under your rule, extreme hatred organizations have appeared. This is the result of poor management." The Talos director interrupted him.

"...This is our internal affair. I will start cleaning up the Avitan Wraiths and dismantle this extremist organization as soon as possible. Others have no right to interfere." Cisco's tone was stiff.

"If you need it, we, as friendly neighbors, can also send troops to help you eliminate the extremist organizations."

"...No need." Cisco was shocked. Who doesn't know what your intentions are? With so many people watching, you actually said it in public. You're too shameless.

The Talos director laughed, not caring, and returned to the topic, "Let's talk about your remedial measures later. Now we are talking about your responsibility. This group of extremists are your clansmen, and they still have the citizenship of the Star Pupils Divine Clan when they are preparing to commit crimes. According to my opinion, the Star Pupils Divine Clan is responsible for this matter."

In fact, regardless of whether they are of the same race or citizens, in the interstellar society where personnel flow frequently, these factors are not important at all. However, the Talos director deliberately wanted to make things difficult for the Star Pupils Divine Clan.

Even more than just him as a director doing this.

"I think so too." The Purple Crystal director said with a smile.

"I second that." The other star cluster-level directors nodded one after another.

The Purple Crystal Civilization helped Herberlon speak for Han Xiao's sake, while the other star cluster-level civilizations simply wanted to attack the Star Pupils Divine Clan.

With the support of the Arcane Church, the Star Pupils Divine Clan was developing rapidly and had the opportunity to become the eighth star cluster-level civilization in the Broken Star Ring. The others were unwilling to have someone share their interests.

So at this moment, they stood on the same front, making an issue of this.

The other representatives present remained silent. Everyone knew that this was the seven directors jointly smearing them. This situation was too rare, and no one was willing to intervene. In the final analysis, who told you that the clansmen of the Star Pupils Divine Clan wanted to blow up someone's planet? They left a handle for others, so of course they would be targeted.

Objectively speaking, if someone wanted to blow up their home planet, they would also blame the other party's owner for not leashing their own mad dog.

For a time, Cisco seemed to have become the target of everyone's condemnation. Bennet was startled. He originally thought that he would just argue with Cisco at most, but he didn't expect so many people to help them speak. He couldn't help but look at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao smiled. He had expected this. He knew that exposing this matter would give other star cluster-level civilizations a chance to make an issue of it. The Broken Star Ring area had already been divided by the seven star cluster-level civilizations, and they certainly didn't want to share it with newcomers. So even if he had no evidence, these directors would help him speak... These referees were not without their own positions.

Cisco's expression was ugly. It was easy to condemn someone when they were already guilty. He didn't not understand this principle, but he couldn't be firm because the others were the victims, and he was indeed a little unreasonable in this matter.

He couldn't help but resent the Avitan Wraith organization in secret. This group of little bastards was causing trouble and didn't care about adding trouble to the civilization at all. It would have been better to let a piece of char siew evolve than to let them evolve.

"Then how do you plan to resolve it?" Cisco said sullenly.

The Talos director said unhurriedly, "I think you need to publicly apologize to Herberlon and then give Herberlon a certain amount of spiritual compensation."

"Neither compensation nor apology is possible." Cisco said in a deep voice, "At most, I will make a donation."

Donations were also considered compensation, but the name was different, and the meaning was also different.

As the leader of the civilization, he was the image representative of the Star Pupils Divine Clan. He needed to consider the impact of many aspects, and he would never publicly apologize for the private actions of an extremist organization, just as Godora would not apologize for the actions of DarkStar... Moreover, Cisco was also a Super-A Grade. Doing so would lose a lot of prestige, so he would never bow his head because of this kind of thing.

Bennet came back to his senses, and under Han Xiao's signal, he said with a straight face, "Our side strongly condemns the actions of the Star Pupils Divine Clan and does not accept this kind of insincere handling."

"Then there's nothing to talk about."

Cisco's eyes were cold. He took a deep look at Han Xiao and suddenly logged off and left the venue.

The Star Pupils Divine Clan had the support of the Arcane Church and had a detached position. The Civilization Council had limited constraints on him and could not force him to bow his head. However, Cisco could not do whatever he wanted, and it was not without loss.

After this incident, it would be twice as difficult for the Star Pupils Divine Clan to seek cooperation in the future. He lost the Evolution Cube, and the Arcane Church's support was also weakened, so this storm was very detrimental to the development of the Star Pupils Divine Clan.

Not to mention that the Talos civilization would definitely publicize this matter, launch public opinion, attack the reputation of the Star Pupils Divine Clan, and weaken his reputation as a Super-A Grade.

In Cisco's eyes, the culprit who caused all of this was Han Xiao. If it weren't for this guy's determination to frame him, he would not have encountered this situation.

At this moment, Cisco's hostility towards Han Xiao increased by another level.

The interface on Han Xiao's side also had a reaction, indicating that the Star Pupils Divine Clan's favorability had dropped from -800 points to -1250 points, and the relationship had changed from [Hostile] to [Arch-Enemy].

Sure enough, Cisco was furious... Han Xiao shook his head. Herberlon was his "home planet", and he couldn't swallow his anger. Anyway, Cisco and the Arcane Church wouldn't give up on the Evolution Cube and were destined to be enemies. It didn't matter if the hatred was a little deeper.

If Herberlon was really blown up, Cisco would not apologize or compensate, and might even gloat. However, the dispute over positions had nothing to do with right or wrong, and Han Xiao didn't think that there was anything wrong with Cisco, and he wouldn't care what means he used.

"I wonder what kind of counterattack he will make..." Han Xiao pondered.

Herberlon was protected by the peace treaty, and Cisco would not attack others. If he wanted to fight back, he could only deal with himself.

Isore said that the Arcane Church would send someone to deal with him, and Cisco could locate him, so he would definitely be one of them.

Han Xiao made up his mind to have the people at the base monitor Cisco's movements, which was equivalent to indirectly monitoring the movements of the Arcane Church.

...

At the same time, on the home planet of the Star Pupils Divine Clan, Cisco disconnected from the connection to the council venue, his expression unsightly.

After being silent for a while, Cisco sent a message to the Arcane Church:

"That matter... I agree."

The Arcane Church was recently preparing to give him a task, and Cisco was originally still considering it, but now he made a decision.

The communicator screen reflected Cisco's indifferent expression.

"Black Star, you should have stayed in the Shattered Star Ring and never come back."