Chapter 1 Ancient Star Desert, Secret Base of the Sacred Covenant Organization

A flash of light appeared, and Han Xiao, clad in his Emperor Mech, teleported to his exclusive throne platform. Luo and Fei were already waiting there.

"Your Excellency Black Star," they greeted.

"Where's the Oathkeeper?" Han Xiao glanced around.

"He's waiting for you in the Child of Destiny lab. It happened suddenly, please follow us."

Without another word, they led the way, and Han Xiao followed them to their destination.

Upon entering the lab, the room was filled with busy personnel. Han Xiao immediately spotted the Child of Destiny, confined in a transparent container, and the Oathkeeper standing beside it.

The Child of Destiny had awakened from its slumber, its body curled up and trembling, constantly flashing white noise-like spots, as if a projection with a poor signal, becoming extremely blurry. The Oathkeeper was releasing flames of the soul, seemingly to appease it.

The lab personnel were sweating profusely as they operated the equipment, running the restraint force field and reality stabilization anchor at full power.

"What's the situation?"

Han Xiao approached the equipment and glanced at the parameters, his tone curious.

The Oathkeeper frowned.

"The Child of Destiny has awakened and is experiencing an information state disturbance. The amplitude is the highest it's ever been, almost breaking containment and turning into a high-dimensional information state. It's not over yet."

"Have you found the cause?"

"Not yet. We can only communicate once it stabilizes."

Hearing this, Han Xiao snapped his fingers and summoned a set of stabilization anchors, deploying them around the area to provide assistance. He also carefully examined the Child of Destiny, this being his first time seeing its true form.

Each time the Child of Destiny activated its ability, it would generate an information state disturbance, resulting in the random birth of sub-bodies throughout the universe. Lody, who had been receiving treatment, was one of the sub-bodies awakened during the last disturbance, and he had managed to curb the transformation process.

Just then, the Child of Destiny suddenly stopped trembling and turned its head toward Han Xiao, as if observing him curiously. It suddenly raised its hands and pressed them against the inner wall of the container, releasing happy mental fluctuations. Everyone heard a child-like giggle out of nowhere.

The Child of Destiny stared fixedly at Han Xiao. Before long, its flickering body gradually stabilized, returning to calm.

Seeing this, the Oathkeeper stopped his hand movements, looking surprised.

"How did you solve it as soon as you arrived? It seems to like you very much."

"This is our first meeting, isn't it being a bit too forward... Speaking of which, does your tone sound like you've had your love stolen?"

"... What nonsense are you talking about?"

Han Xiao teased the Oathkeeper, but was secretly amazed.

The Child of Destiny seemed to have an inexplicable closeness to him. Could it be that his own [Original Esper Affinity] and [Perfect Energy Affinity Physique] were at play?

It was possible. After all, the Primal Chaos Secret Energy had complimented his looks more than once and even wanted to play with him…

Perhaps for original esper bodies, these two specialties were like catnip to felines. No wonder the Child of Destiny was fascinated by him at first sight. Who told him he was too tempting to energy lifeforms.

Han Xiao muttered to himself for a moment, then raised his hand and knocked on the container. The Child of Destiny immediately imitated him, and the two happily interacted.

This scene troubled the Oathkeeper somewhat.

The Child of Destiny used to like him the most, and he personally carried out the daily soothing work. He didn't expect that after Black Star's arrival, the Child of Destiny, who he had been cultivating feelings for for many years, would immediately ignore him.

What was most infuriating was that even before Black Star appeared, the Child of Destiny had never been so close or proactive with him…

I was clearly the one... Never mind.

After watching from the sidelines for a while, the Oathkeeper finally said:

"Alright, whatever the reason, it's enough that it's stable. Let me ask it what's going on."

With that, he pushed Han Xiao aside, gathered the flames of his soul, and communicated with the Child of Destiny.

A few seconds later, mental fluctuations bloomed again, and Han Xiao heard the Child of Destiny's intermittent words.

"I feel… feedback from the sub-bodies… intersection of information aggregates… threat…"

As the Child of Destiny spoke, Han Xiao's mind was filled with chaotic, blurry images.

Han Xiao's eyes narrowed instantly. In these complex images, he clearly saw information about the World Tree, such as images of the World Tree's roots spanning the starry sky, or a group of people in robes wrapped in blue-green energy sitting in meditation on the ground.

The Oathkeeper was unaware of the existence of the World Tree, so he couldn't understand what he was seeing and was confused.

"What are these?"

"Wait, let me ask a few questions…"

Han Xiao didn't have time to explain to him and asked a few nonsensical questions, quickly receiving responses.

After attentively listening to the Child of Destiny's answers, Han Xiao's mind raced, piecing together and analyzing the information.

The Child of Destiny's sudden abnormal reaction stemmed from the World Tree. The two had become entangled on an information state level, and it had sensed that the World Tree was using some method to locate the explored universe.

The reason it could sense this was because of the sub-bodies. The sub-bodies that had been created were randomly distributed throughout the universe, not only in the explored universe but even on the World Tree's side. Some of the Child of Destiny's sub-bodies had awakened their precognitive abilities.

For the Child of Destiny, these sub-bodies were like its eyes and ears, collecting information from the outside world.

Not long ago, the sub-body on the World Tree's side had activated its precognitive ability. Because the medium was related to the information aggregates of the explored universe, the two sides had intersected. Since this was where the main body was located, it immediately triggered the warning mechanism. As a result, the Child of Destiny activated its ability to foresee the future and shared the memories and vision of the sub-body.

During this process, the Child of Destiny felt a nemesis-like threat from the World Tree and even foresaw a possible future where it would be swallowed by the World Tree, almost causing it to transform directly into a high-dimensional information state and run away, hence the earlier anomaly.

'So, the World Tree is using precognitive methods to sense the explored universe. Have the three Universal Civilizations already revealed themselves?'

Han Xiao's heart tightened.

Sure enough, once contact began, the situation would be irreversible, and they would soon become aware of each other. The World Tree civilization was more powerful than the three Universal Civilizations. Even in his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations had not figured out all of the World Tree's abilities and technologies. Completely hiding their tracks was too idealistic.

In his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations had been beaten to a pulp. Even if they were lucky enough to win a pyrrhic victory in the end, they had never completely understood the World Tree. Some special technologies that were not used in the war, such as the information state warning network, were unknown to the three Universal Civilizations.

Because the World Tree had taken the initiative to launch a full-scale invasion, the information state warning network, which was used to prevent outsiders from spying, was basically useless. The three Universal Civilizations were unaware of it, and the player base in his previous life knew even less.

'The only good news now is that the World Tree civilization has only detected the existence of outsiders and has not grasped much information. That's why it's using information state methods to search, which led to the intersection and was detected by the Child of Destiny…’

Han Xiao's mind raced.

Fortunately, the Child of Destiny had scattered its sub-bodies throughout the universe, otherwise, they would have been discovered without even knowing it. Instead of foolishly spying for information, they would have been directly attacked and caught off guard.

The Child of Destiny referred to the World Tree as a "nemesis." One was an original esper body, and the other was a cosmic spectacle. Both possessed information state abilities, but their focuses were different.

According to the Child of Destiny's explanation, it could share information that its sub-bodies came into contact with. Since the sub-bodies were connected to the World Tree, it could monitor the overall movements of the World Tree civilization to a certain extent in real-time. However, there was also a risk of exposure.

Only when the sub-bodies actively used their precognitive abilities, causing information state entanglement, could the main body use this as a disguise to seize the information held by the sub-bodies. Otherwise, it would be easily detected by the World Tree.

Even so, the Child of Destiny was probably the only low-risk channel for monitoring the World Tree's movements, more convenient, more secretive, and more efficient than the detection methods of the three Universal Civilizations.

Such an intelligence channel was an unexpected surprise, and there was no reason to ignore it.

Han Xiao thought for a moment and said in a deep voice through the mental link, "You don't want to be swallowed by the World Tree. Helping us is the best choice. Only by destroying them can you eliminate the threat once and for all. Otherwise, even if you escape far away, there will always be a risk."

Hearing this, the Child of Destiny shook its body, its voice ethereal.

"How… can I help you?"

"While concealing yourself, monitor their movements as much as possible and tell me everything."

"I… can."

The Child of Destiny did not refuse. Suddenly, it put its hands together, and a small white ball of light separated from its body, floating in the container toward Han Xiao, sticking to the inner wall.

Han Xiao understood the meaning and raised an eyebrow.

"Is this for me?"

"Use it… to create sub-bodies… extend my senses…"

In the mental fluctuations, the Child of Destiny explained the use of this ball of light.

When it activated its ability, it could create sub-bodies throughout the universe, or it could create sub-bodies in a designated area. However, the latter had a prerequisite: it needed to use its own energy to encircle an area in advance, turning it into an independent "information aggregate" before it could be designated as the birthplace of sub-bodies.

In simple terms, it was like staking a claim… or like a dog peeing to mark its territory.

Just as Han Xiao finished listening to the Child of Destiny's explanation, his interface suddenly reacted.

[You have triggered the mission [Child of Destiny's Request]!]

[Mission Description: The Child of Destiny has a good impression of you. Because it senses a threat, it has decided to ask you for help. Please do one thing.]

[Mission Objective: Go to the designated location and use the Child of Destiny's energy to encircle a large enough area.]

[Reward: 120e experience, Child of Destiny favorability +25, random reward x1, milestone specialty - [Deep into Enemy Territory]]

[[Deep into Enemy Territory]: When you operate in enemy territory, you are less likely to be detected and receive a 3% bonus to all stats.]

"Let me stake a claim in the World Tree civilization?"

Han Xiao was stunned.

By limiting the Child of Destiny's sub-body birth range to the World Tree civilization's territory, the more sub-bodies there were, the more information would be intercepted.

Although the ability to stake a claim had a time limit, it was measured in years, enough for long-term use.

"This kind of flexible work seems to be best suited for me. It seems I need to apply to the three Universal Civilizations to go to the World Tree civilization…"

Han Xiao nodded secretly.

He used the Oathkeeper to temporarily open the container and took out the ball of light.

As soon as he made contact, the ball of light injected into his palm, turning into a mark that stored the energy that the Child of Destiny lent him to stake a claim.

"What exactly is going on? What are you talking about?"

The Oathkeeper was confused and remained puzzled.

Han Xiao thought for a moment, pulled the Oathkeeper aside, and briefly explained the situation.

"You're saying the three Universal Civilizations have discovered a more powerful unknown civilization?" The Oathkeeper was surprised, then suddenly realized, understanding the whole story. "No wonder the three Universal Civilizations have made so many concessions. So that's what's going on."

"It's best if you know about this yourself. It's not suitable to tell others for the time being. Remember to keep it a secret."

Han Xiao instructed in a deep voice.

He could not avoid the Oathkeeper by using the Child of Destiny's ability. Letting the other party know the truth and understand the importance of the matter would ensure that they cooperated wholeheartedly.

In addition, the Oathkeeper's character had been tested and was trustworthy enough to know.

"Don't worry, I won't reveal such an important matter."

The Oathkeeper's expression was serious, then he paused for a moment and asked in a low voice:

"You mentioned at the meeting that the three Universal Civilizations would acknowledge the association's status, and we would have to help at some point. Are you referring to this?"

Han Xiao nodded. "That's right. If war breaks out, all members of the association will have to participate in the war to resist the enemy. This is the trade, and we don't have much choice. That's why I need you to prepare more Sanctuary keys."

"... I understand your plan. I will fully cooperate with you."

The Oathkeeper exhaled.

If the Super A grades were to fight with all their might, there would probably be heavy casualties. Black Star probably wanted to take this opportunity to show the truth of unlimited Sanctuary Revival. As an insider, he thought this was a highly feasible plan.

As he was thinking, Han Xiao suddenly patted him on the shoulder with a gratified expression.

"Then do a good job. After it's done, the organization won't mistreat you."

Oathkeeper: "…"

Damn it, I was busy digesting information and forgot to steal the line!