Chapter 833 Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference
Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference was the Civilization Conference that was set up by the seven large Star Cl.u.s.ter civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring. The motive of the conference was to make it easier to manage the Star Field. The three Universal Civilizations usually would not interfere with the everyday affairs of the Star Field, and the Star Cl.u.s.ter civilizations were usually the ones to deal with the day to day issues.
The managers of the Shattered Star Ring were the seven Star Cl.u.s.ter civilizations and they were in charge of mediating the conflicts of the various Star System civilizations. Although their motive was to help everyone resolve their conflicts, the Civilization Conference was usually just a debate session where all the civilizations would make use of this opportunity to argue about almost everything and anything. However, they had rarely solved any problems.
During the secret war that had occurred not too long ago, even Purple Crystal and Klent, who were supposed to be the judges, had personally fought each other, and the usefulness of the Civilization Conference could easily be seen.
After all, the Shattered Star Ring was the border of the discovered universe, and chaos lingered in the region. A very long time ago, the various civilizations would send their envoys to partic.i.p.ate in the conference personally, but after the seven Star Cl.u.s.ter civilizations could not stand the brawls that were happening during the conference, they changed the meeting method to using holographic projections.
Since everyone was only a projection, it was impossible for them to break out into a fight.
In any case, the Civilization Conference was a few days away, and this would be the first time that Planet Aquamarine had joined the conference.
Usually, only Star System level civilizations would have the right to enter the conference, but Han Xiao had made a deal with the various Star Cl.u.s.ter civilizations to let Planet Aquamarine have the rights to enter the conference. Planet Aquamarine was also the only civilization to enter the conference at the level of a surface civilization.
…
A few days later, the meeting was held as per usual, and Han Xiao received a notice from Purple Crystal. He then logged in to his own holographic projection account and joined the meeting.
Buzz…
An electrical buzzing sound could be heard, and Han Xiao felt a blinding light flash in his face. The next moment, he could share the view of his holographic projection, and the scene of the conference was in his eyes.
A circular meeting venue appeared before his eyes, and it looked a little like the structure of a colosseum. The black colored chairs were arranged neatly in a circular formation with the chairs in the middle being the lowest. The chairs gradually increased in height as it got to the outside like a staircase.
Surrounding the meeting venue was the starry sky of the universe, and the shrunken down star map of the Shattered Star Ring formed the backdrop of the room.
Han Xiao lowered his head and realized that his projection was already seated down on his own seat with Bennett being seated next to him. A golden ‘Planet Aquamarine’ sign was placed on the table in front of them, and both of their seats were located at quite a high point. They could see the entire venue, and the various representatives from the other civilizations were slowly coming online. The representatives from the different civilizations were seated a distance away from each other, and they were not squeezed together.
“This is the venue for the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference…” Bennett let out a sigh of admiration, and he turned around to greet Han Xiao. “Black Star, you are finally online.”
“The meeting hadn’t started yet. I came too early.”
Han Xiao then looked down, and his gaze swept past the center of the venue. The representatives of the seven Star Cl.u.s.ter civilizations were already online, and they were waiting for the representatives of the other civilizations to appear.
Han Xiao then turned around and asked, “How long have you been here?”
“I was the earliest batch to be here,” Bennett said. “This is my first time joining a meeting of such a level, and I am a little nervous, so I came earlier to take a look.”
He naturally would not be nervous because of the majestic setting but only felt the pressure of having the responsibilities of Planet Aquamarine on his shoulders.
Han Xiao smiled. This is my first time witnessing the Civilization Conference as well.
All the famous civilizations in the Star Field were gathered in a single hall, and most of the players did not have the opportunity to join such a meeting in his previous life, including him.
“Black Star, thank you,” Bennett suddenly said with a solemn tone. “If not for you, it’d probably take a few centuries or millenniums for Planet Aquamarine to have a seat in this place.”
“You don’t need to stand on ceremony. We are only each taking our own needs.” Han Xiao blatantly pointed out that he was only doing so for benefits. He then patted Bennett on the shoulder instinctively, but his palm pa.s.sed through Bennett’s shoulders. He had forgotten that both of them were only holographic projections at this moment.
Bennett nodded and did not say anything else. He would not reduce his grat.i.tude toward Han Xiao just because of Han Xiao’s words. He had been through many things in life and understood this simple logic—an individual’s motive was not as important as their actions.
While both of them were chatting, many representatives from the other civilizations also noticed Han Xiao’s presence and looked over with complicated gazes.
In the venue, Planet Aquamarine was an oddball, and Han Xiao had a cooperative relations.h.i.+p with many of the civilizations present. All the civilizations were aware of how Han Xiao had helped Planet Aquamarine join the Civilization Conference, and they could not help but be envious of Planet Aquamarine’s natural advantage.
They had the protection of the Beyond Grade A Black Star and were now the main camp of Floating Dragon. Just why did such a small planet have such good luck?
But despite their envy and jealousy, it was undeniable that Planet Aquamarine only managed to gain a seat there because of their own abilities. The civilizations present would not look down on Planet Aquamarine at all.
Not too long later, everyone finally arrived, and the chattering subsided.
At this moment, the representative from one of the Star Cl.u.s.ters stood up, and his voice was projected through the amplifiers.
“I am very happy to meet so many familiar friends today. Hmm, compared to the previous meeting, the number of people present hasn’t decreased. It seems like the security of the Shattered Star Ring has improved…”
Everyone had a cold expression on their face. This joke was truly too cold and not funny at all.
“Perhaps everyone has noticed that we have a new member in our midst.” The representative then looked toward Han Xiao and briefly introduced him. “Planet Aquamarine civilization, Aquamarine Federation, representative of his civilization… His Excellency Black Star.”
Everyone then looked over and nodded respectfully.
Han Xiao waved his hands and looked around. As he saw Psyker who was seated in the seat for the Star Pupil Holy Race, he raised his hand to wave.
Psyker pretended not to see a thing and remained expressionless.
“His Excellency Black Star is someone that we are all familiar with, so there’s no need for me to give an introduction. Since everyone is present, let’s start the meeting and discuss the first matter…”
Following which, the various delegates began to raise the issues that they had already prepared. The majority of these issues were trade conflicts, border conflicts, foreign affairs conflicts, and other problems that were nothing new.
The representatives chosen by the civilizations were all extremely eloquent, and every single proposal could be argued for over half a day before coming to a conclusion that the matter had to be delayed to a later date.
The process was long and c.u.mbersome, but Bennett sat up straight to study every detail of the meeting to gain experience.
Han Xiao had already begun daydreaming a long time ago.
After waiting for a long time, the ones queuing in front of them had finally said their piece, and it was now their turn.
“Proposal number CL7984D66 from the Planet Aquamarine. Please give a brief description of the proposal,” the Purple Crystal representative said with a smile.
Bennett stood up slowly and began reading the material that he had prepared beforehand. He briefly explained the actions of the Avitan Souls extremists, and his voice reverberated in the meeting venue.
Following which, he looked at Psyker and said with a deep voice, “We discovered psionic explosives in the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p of these extremists, and the strength of these explosives was sufficient to destroy Planet Aquamarine. For such high-grade military weapons to appear in the hands of the extremists, we have reason to believe that these weapons came from the hands of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and the actions of these extremists were instructed by the Star Pupil Holy Race. Planet Aquamarine feels that the Star Pupil Holy Race wishes to go against the [Treaty of Cosmic Civilizations (Seventh Revision)] and wipe out a civilization protected by the treaty…”
The sponsor of Avitan Souls was actually an opponent of the Star Pupil Holy Race, a Star Cl.u.s.ter civilization called Talos. However, Bennett had insisted that the sponsor was the Star Pupil Holy Race so that Psyker would take the blame for the matter.
An odd look could be seen on the faces of everyone present. They were all experienced individuals and knew that it was impossible for Psyker to have done something like this.
A surface civilization that was accepted into the conference by exception actually pouring dirty water on a Beyond Grade A during their first meeting? They were far too bold. If only they could also have a Beyond Grade A Super as their backer. That way, they would be able to do whatever they wished.
The seven Star Cl.u.s.ter civilizations then exchanged glances, and six of them looked at the one of the representatives. He was the representative of the Talos Civilization.
The representative of Talos then looked at Psyker and asked with a smile that did not seem like a smile, “Representative of the Star Pupil Holy Race, what do you have to say?”
“They are maligning me.” Psyker had a calm look on his face and replied slowly. “I would never go against the treaty and have no reason to attack Planet Aquamarine. Those extremists weren’t following my orders.”
“How do you explain this incident?”
“If I were to make a conjecture, this should be the actual reason. Planet Avitan suffered from an ambush recently, and the Evolution Cube was lost during the process. Black Star then managed to s.n.a.t.c.h the Evolution Cube in the end…”
As he said that, Psyker glared at Han Xiao coldly before continuing. “Because of the ambush, a portion of the survivors of Planet Avitan became extremists who wanted to take revenge. In the eyes of the Star Pupil Holy Race, the Evolution Cube is our national treasure, and Black Star s.n.a.t.c.hed our national treasure away. Thus, the extremist group blamed the matter on him, and this matter is their personal action. It has nothing to do with the officials of the Star Pupil Holy Race. If Planet Aquamarine insists that I am the culprit behind this matter, please provide proper evidence.”
Han Xiao chuckled and said, “Dead men tell no tales. Do you wish to absolve yourself from guilt with just a few words?”
“Ah, likewise to you. Since dead men tell no tales, you are also trying to frame me with a few illogical arguments,” Psyker said coldly.
The Talos representative then said, “Let us place this matter aside for now. Regardless of whether the Star Pupil Holy Race ordered the a.s.sault, the attackers were indeed from your race. Am I right?”
Psyker took a deep breath and nodded. “Although they are from our race, we…”
The Talos representative interrupted Psyker. “You don’t need to say anything else. The Star Pupil Holy Race is extremely different from other races. Your race should be a highly united one, and the presence of an extremist group is a result of your mismanagement.”
“… This is my internal affair, and I will personally disband the extremist group called Avitan Souls. None of you have the right to intervene in anything else,” Psyker said with a frosty tone.
“If you need, we can send some forces to help you wipe out the extremist force as a friendly neighbor.”
“… That’s not necessary.” Psyker was shocked. Who would not know what your intention is? You dare mention such a matter in front of so many people? Don’t you feel any shame?
The Talos representative then chuckled and got back to the main topic. “Let’s talk about your measures to rectify your mistake in the future. We are now discussing your responsibility. This extremist group is from your race, and they were using their ident.i.ties as citizens of the Star Pupil Holy Race when carrying out the attack. I believe that the Star Pupil Holy Race should take responsibility for this incident.”
In truth, regardless of whether they were from the same race or citizens of the race, these were not important factors at all. However, the Talos representative wanted to target the Star Pupil Holy Race by harping on about this matter.
He was not the only one who did so in fact.
“I think so too,” the Purple Crystal representative said.
“I agree.” The representatives from a few other Star Cl.u.s.ters also nodded.
Purple Crystal was speaking on behalf of Planet Aquamarine because of Han Xiao, and the other Star Cl.u.s.ter civilizations only wanted to deal a blow to the Star Pupil Holy Race.
Because the Star Pupil Holy Race had the support of the Arcane Church, their development was extremely rapid, and they had a chance to become the eighth Star Cl.u.s.ter civilization. The others were not willing to allow someone else to share benefits with them.
As such, all of them stood on the same side and made use of this opportunity to create trouble for the Star Pupil Holy Race.
The other representatives remained silent at this moment as they understood what was going on.
Who asked the members of your race to try and destroy another planet and even leave evidence behind?
If someone wanted to blow up their mother planet, they would also blame the masters for not reining in the crazy dogs properly.
All of a sudden, Psyker became the target of everyone’s criticism, and even Bennett was shocked by the scene. He had originally thought that he would just engage in a small squabble with Psyker but never expected so many people to speak on his behalf. He could not help but look at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao smiled, having expected such a scene. He knew that exposing this matter would give the other Star Cl.u.s.ter Civilizations an opportunity to exploit. The Shattered Star Ring had already been split up by the seven Star Cl.u.s.ter Civilizations, and they were not willing to allow a new member to share the pie with them. As such, even if he did not have any evidence, they would side with him.
Psyker’s face was extremely ugly. Psyker naturally understood the logic of ‘giving a dog a bad name then hanging him’, but he truly did not have sufficient grounds to fight back. The other party was the victim, and he was indeed in the wrong.
He could not help but curse the Avitan Souls. Those brats did not think about the trouble that their actions would cause to the civilization and had dragged him down to take the rap for them. It was truly a waste to allow them to evolve back then.
“How do you guys want to deal with this matter?” Psyker said with frustration.
The Talos representative then said, “I think that you need to make a public apology to Planet Aquamarine and provide them with some compensation.”
“Compensation and an apology? Impossible,” Psyker said with a deep voice. “I can make a donation at most.”
A donation and compensation had completely different meanings.
As the leader of a civilization, he was the image of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and he had to consider many different things. It was impossible for him to make a public apology just because of the actions of an extremist group. It was just like how G.o.dora would never apologize because of DarkStar’s actions. Furthermore, Psyker was a Beyond Grade A Super, and doing so would harm his prestige. Thus, he could not lower his head so easily.
Bennett then snapped back to his senses and said under Han Xiao’s instructions, “Planet Aquamarine strongly condemns the Star Pupil Holy Race for their actions and does not accept such an insincere conclusion.”
“Then there isn’t a need to continue talking about this.”
Psyker looked at Han Xiao coldly and suddenly went offline.
The Star Pupil Holy Race had the backing of the Arcane Church, and the Civilization Conference had a limited restriction on them. It was impossible for the Civilization Conference to force him to lower his head. At the same time, Psyker could not do as he wished and would also suffer some losses.
After this incident, it would be far more difficult for the Star Pupil Holy Race to seek cooperation. He had lost the Evolution Cube, and the support of the Arcane Church would also decrease. As such, this storm was extremely disadvantageous to their development.
Furthermore, Talos would make use of this opportunity to publicize this matter and sway public opinion against the Star Pupil Holy Race.
In Psyker’s eyes, the culprit of all this was Han Xiao. If not for Han Xiao being insistent on making him take the blame, the situation would not have progressed like that.
Psyker’s enmity toward Han Xiao increased to the next level.
On Han Xiao’s side, his interface gave him a notification. His favorability with the Star Pupil Holy Race had fallen by 800 points and was now -1,250 points. Their relations.h.i.+p went from [Hostile] to [Enemies].
Psyker was indeed infuriated. Han Xiao shook his head. Planet Aquamarine was his ‘mother planet’, and it was impossible for him to swallow such a grievance without doing anything. Since Psyker and the Arcane Church would not let go of the Evolution Cube, they were destined to be enemies, and he would not mind their enmity being deeper.
If Planet Aquamarine was really destroyed, Psyker still would not apologize or pay any compensation. He might even gloat at his demise. However, there was no right or wrong to him, and Han Xiao did not think that Psyker’s actions were wrong.
“I wonder how he will retaliate…” Han Xiao pondered to himself.
Planet Aquamarine was protected by the Peace Treaty, and Psyker would not take action against anyone else. If Psyker wanted to fight back, Psyker would definitely have his sights set on Han Xiao.
Aesop said that the Arcane Church would send people after him, and Psyker would definitely be a member of the party since he was able to lock onto his position.
Han Xiao decided to let the main camp keep a look out for Psyker’s movements as it was akin to monitoring the Arcane Church’s actions.
…
At the same time, on the mother planet of the Star Pupil Holy Race. Psyker disconnected from the meeting venue, and his expression was extremely ugly.
After thinking for a while, Psyker sent a message to the Arcane Church.
“I will agree to that matter.”
The Arcane Church had given him a mission recently, and Psyker had been thinking about it. He had only made a decision at that moment.
Psyker’s cold expression could be seen on the screen of the communicator.
“Black Star, you should stay in the Flickering World and never return.”