Chapter 1249 Forty Years
After growing steadily for forty years, the Black Star Army"s territory was already very prosperous, and the number of undeveloped areas was rapidly decreasing. The Sigma Star System in the Garu Star Cl.u.s.ter was the Black Star Army"s Flickering World logistics headquarters. It was not open to outsiders.
A cl.u.s.ter of gentle pale-golden energy floated in an area surrounded by many satellite bases like a glowing golden asteroid. It was expanding and shrinking as if it was breathing, sending out rings of light gold energy rhythmically like ripples.
Two figures, one black and one red, hovered near this "asteroid". Around them were countless mechanical soldiers that formed a line of defense guarding the area.
"This day has finally come. Aurora has stepped into our territory…" the red figure said softly with a tint of satisfaction and pride. A gentle smile appeared on her usually-cold face.
The two of them were Han Xiao and Hila. The glowing golden "asteroid" nearby was indeed Aurora, who was going through the last step of transforming into a Beyond Grade A.
The last forty years had left no traces on Hila. Other than her vibe being colder and more distinguished, her appearance did not change at all. To normal Beyond Grade As, this amount of time was equivalent to about six to seven years, and to a special Beyond Grade A like Hila who controlled death, it was but the blink of an eye.
Han Xiao smiled. "If Aurora was acc.u.mulating energy on her own, it"d probably take more than a hundred years for her to become a Beyond Grade A. This is even quicker than I expected."
His appearance did not change much too, but his vibe became more unfathomable.
The army had steadily expanded over the last forty years, and the bonuses of [Proof of Leaders.h.i.+p] increased along with it. Through studying Jayz"s treasure trove, Han Xiao already increased his G.o.d"s Trait Transformation to a very high level. He was remarkably stronger than forty years prior.
The leek harvesting technique using the Holy Light Particle reduced Aurora"s process of acc.u.mulating energy. With her special trait of having no energy limit on top, becoming a Beyond Grade A was just a matter of time for Aurora. The time it took was close to what Han Xiao speculated.
After quite some time, the golden "asteroid" in front of the two of them finally started to shrink. From an enormous cl.u.s.ter of light, it turned into a silhouette, glowing with light gold light all over, giving off a divine vibe like the combination of mothers.h.i.+p and holiness.
Aurora"s appearance changed drastically. She became taller, and her face became gorgeously beautiful; she had the face of an angel and the body of a devil. Her entire style turned from adorable to alluring. It was almost like a completely different person.
Seeing this, Han Xiao and Hila flew over to Aurora and sized her up, looking astonished.
"Why do you look different?" Hila compared her height with Aurora and realized Aurora was surprisingly even about fifteen centimeters taller than her.
Han Xiao stared and studied Aurora"s body for a while and made a decisive conclusion. "This must be the second p.u.b.erty!"
"This is my new ability. I can control the shape of my body now." Aurora giggled. Her body glowed, and she instantly returned to her normal tiny body shape. "How was that? Was I prettier than you, sis? I can change back anytime."
Hila tutted, changed the topic, and asked, "What other abilities do you have?"
Aurora performed them right away. All her abilities were enhanced. She did not have to develop her abilities on her own and directly inherited the progress from her predecessor. She instantly acquired many abilities and talents, fully displaying the advantages of being a cheater.
After entering the Beyond Grade A realm, the life energy Aurora could produce every day multiplied by countless times. She basically did not have to worry about not having enough of it at all. Furthermore, she even got an aura. The allies on her side would have a drastically higher regeneration speed if they were within a certain range of her. The range of this aura would even grow as she became stronger.
"Also, I should be able to perfectly produce revival energy now."
While speaking, Aurora flicked her finger and sent out a cl.u.s.ter of life energy. Hila saw it and released a cl.u.s.ter of death energy too. The two fused together and turned into a cl.u.s.ter of golden-orange revival energy. The strengths of the two types of energy achieved a stable balance.
"Now that you"re a Beyond Grade A, you only have to briefly familiarize with your abilities, and we will be able to use the reviving function of the Underworld," Hila said.
The seven… oh no, eight Hero Spirit Kings had been doing nothing in the Underworld. Now that Aurora had become a Beyond Grade A, the last piece of the puzzle was found. These Hero Spirits would be able to have combat capabilities.
With the help of the eight Hero Spirit Kings of the Underworld, the two sisters leaped right to the front of the list of the strongest people in the universe. This was the biggest inheritance left by their predecessors. With enough strength to protect herself, the summoning style would become Aurora"s best combat mode.
Han Xiao smiled and said, "You"re a Beyond Grade A now. Do you want to become a deputy army commander like your sister, or do you have other plans?"
Aurora"s eyes spun, and she said with excitement, "I can protect myself now. Does that mean I can act freely?"
"… Technically, yes." Han Xiao could only nod.
"Then I want to travel alone. Don"t stop me." Aurora"s tone was filled with antic.i.p.ation. She had been extremely bored for years. She basically could not go anywhere at all. All she wanted to do now was travel the universe.
Han Xiao and Hila exchanged a look and saw the resignation in each other"s eyes.
Now that Aurora had become a Beyond Grade A, they could no longer arrange everything for her like before. They had to respect her personal will.
However, at least there was no need to worry about her safety. Aurora could solve most accidents with her current capability.
"I"ll approve it, but you have to take a Throne with you," Hila said with a serious tone.
Aurora was exhilarated. She turned to look at Han Xiao and said, "By the way, I can join the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation now, right?"
She had been longing for the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation for a very long time. She had heard that all of its members were talented and sweet. She had been wanting to see for herself.
"Okay, I"ll arrange to put you in… Hmm, the presidential election is in two months. Letting you in will increase my chances too."
Han Xiao did not reject her.
Now that Aurora had grown, she had more than enough power to protect herself. There was no need to continue hiding her. Plus, she did not want to hide either. She was going to join the a.s.sociation sooner or later.
Although this would make the various organizations once again be reminded of the two Primordial sisters, Han Xiao could deal with it now.
Aurora"s ability might even a.s.sist in uniting the Beyond Grade As… Who did not want to last longer?
Aurora blinked and said, "Are you sure you"ll become the president this time?"
Han Xiao smiled. "At least ninety percent sure."
Over the last fifty years, the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation had already completed some of its initial goals. It successfully became a huge profit network. Although it met obstructions from the three Universal Civilizations along the way, there were no too intense conflicts.
Therefore, in the past few years, he did not hold back on causing problems for Manison. He had already obtained the highest reputation in the a.s.sociation; Manison could only be a mascot most of the time.
Other than the support of the internal members, the exterior organizations also supported him. If things remained this way, he would certainly take over the position of the president during the plenary in two months and bring the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation into an age led by Black Star.
However, he did not know what Manison had been doing over the last few decades since he had been keeping a low profile all this time. Han Xiao did not know if he would be watching him become the president or do something… However, no matter what, Han Xiao had already made the necessary preparations.
After chatting for a while, Hila brought Aurora to the Underworld to familiarize herself with her abilities, leaving Han Xiao alone.
Han Xiao watched the two of them leave. "The army has now raised a second Beyond Grade A. It"s the only example. It"ll be even better if Lothaire makes a breakthrough too."
Lothaire had been training hard and improving rapidly in the past forty years. He was already on the path of transformation. However, unlike Aurora, he had to break through some obstacles and was still some distance away from Beyond Grade A. As for the other officers of the army, no one showed any signs of becoming a Beyond Grade A any time soon.
Han Xiao caressed his chin and thought about the presidential election in two months" time.
Becoming the president was not even the most important thing; the chain reactions it would cause were. For example, the elderlies of the Holy Accord organization had remained quiet for decades, and they agreed with Han Xiao to only appear after he became the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation president.
Han Xiao could imagine the reactions of the entire galactic society—even though many details were changed, it would most certainly go back to the path of the Calamity of the Supers incident.
"Quite a number of rookies have been born in the last forty years and have been active in the universe, while I"ve been keeping a low profile for so long. Looks like I"ll be returning to the center of the public attention once again."
…
The Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation was already a giant in the galactic society. The election of the president received the attention of countless organizations.
On the Federation of Light"s mother planet, the current federation president, Louis Rocky, tapped the table and said to the chief elder in front of him with a deep voice, "The Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation is about to have an election. Manison will definitely be beaten by Black Star. What ideas do you guys have?"
The chief elder shook his head and said, "This is unavoidable. Although Black Star is the dynasty"s ally, their honeymoon period has ended. Letting him become the president won"t be a bad thing for us."
Louis frowned. "I"m not talking about Black Star alone… Not even a single rookie born in the past forty years joined the three Universal Civilizations. All of them went to the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation. The existence of the a.s.sociation is already influencing our interests."
As the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation grew, the three Universal Civilizations had been having a harder time controlling it. For example, the spread of knowledge privately happening between Beyond Grade As became more and more frequent, causing the three Universal Civilizations" system of attracting new Beyond Grade As by monopolizing the Ultimate Knowledges of all the cla.s.ses to be severely impacted. They could not recruit any new allies.
Of course, the three Universal Civilizations never agreed to let the a.s.sociation pa.s.s around knowledge, so this kind of act could be considered a violation of the laws the three Universal Civilizations set. However, the a.s.sociation did not openly share the knowledge, so it would be extremely difficult for the three Universal Civilizations to find who was responsible for what. Hence, they could not prevent the a.s.sociation"s members from spreading the knowledge in private. With the a.s.sociation backing them, the Beyond Grade As cared less and less about the three Universal Civilizations causing trouble for them.
"This is indeed a problem, but to solve it, we"ll have to face the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation directly, which will have enormous consequences. I suggest you do not do anything before coming up with a fully developed plan," another elder said.
Louis tapped the table and narrowed his eyes.
The former president Bader did not want to flip the table on the Beyond Grade As during his term, so this mission fell to him. Louis had no choice but to take responsibility.
Through the past decades, he had become more and more certain that the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation was the top problem he had to solve during his term.
From the way Louis looked at it, the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church probably had the same thought.
…
In a certain base of the Holy Accord…
"The Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation"s presidential election is finally here…"
"After Black Star gets elected, we"ll be able to go out as promised."
The many Primordial Ones looked at the news on the virtual screen. Some were excited; some were looking forward. They chatted softly.
Oathkeeper stood beside the door with his arms crossed, mumbling.
"This day still came… Black Star, I hope your predictions are right."