Chapter 1252 Enter
The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p rode into the port of a certain secret base of the Holy Accord organization. The hatch slid open. Han Xiao walked out and saw Oathkeeper waiting on the dock right away.
"Yo, it"s been some time. You"re still wearing this? Don"t you need to wash your clothes?" Han Xiao laughed and joked.
"… No." Oathkeeper"s lips twitched. "I"ve been waiting for you. Let"s talk inside."
Oathkeeper led the way ahead. Han Xiao followed him along the corridor of the base.
The two spoke while walking.
Han Xiao scratched his chin and said curiously, "It"s only been a few decades, and you"ve collected all The Third Sanctum"s keys again. Aren"t you too efficient?"
"That"s nothing. There"s only zero times or countless times for entering the Sanctums. With experience, doing it again becomes much easier. Some keys are not single use, and we"ve kept inventory of them. For example, the Primal Esper Ability Ent.i.ties. We were stuck on that previously, and we managed to collect them all the last time, so we just have to use them again… As for the other types of keys, with your financial help and channels you provided, collecting them was much easier than before," Oathkeeper explained.
Han Xiao nodded.
Basically, the crucial items could be reused and did not have to be collected again.
It was the same in the previous life too. The Holy Accord organization"s scale was much larger than when they appeared, which meant that Oathkeeper had definitely entered the Sanctums multiple times, so being this efficient was not surprising.
This time, Han Xiao would be entering the Sanctum alone to complete the third round for the [A Relay Across Iterations] mission as well as out of curiosity.
The two of them chatted along the way and came to the elderlies activity room. As soon as Han Xiao walked in, dozens of pairs of eyes focused on him.
The many revived Primordial Ones were waiting there. As soon as they saw Han Xiao, they all swarmed over and surrounded him.
"Black Star, congrats on being elected as the a.s.sociation president!"
"The promised time has come. We can go out now, right?"
They spoke noisily.
Han Xiao raised his hand and signaled for them to calm down. He then said slowly, "Hmm, it"s about time. But I think it"s better to wait one or two more years."
"One or two years?"
The expressions on their faces changed slightly.
You told us to stay here three years after three years. Now it"s almost fifty years, pal! We really can"t hold it in much longer!
"Ahem, guys, don"t be in such a hurry. I have three reasons for that."
Han Xiao pointed his fingers and explained, "Firstly, I"ve only just been elected as the president, so it"s best to wait a little. Secondly, in the past forty years, the three Universal Civilizations have not gotten a single new ally, so they"re probably not very happy about it. I have to see what they"re going to do first.
"As for the last reason… it"s that I have to enter the Sanctum, and I don"t know how long it"ll take."
According to Oathkeeper, the flow of time in the Sanctums was different from the outside world. Oathkeeper did not feel like he spent a long time inside, but when he came out, he found out that a few years had already pa.s.sed in the main universe. Therefore, Han Xiao had to prepare for that.
Hearing this, the many Primordial Ones looked like they were in a dilemma.
They wanted to go out right away, but if Han Xiao was in the Sanctum and might disappear for a few years, without the support of President Black Star in this period of time, many things would be difficult.
"Doesn"t matter," Pangon coldly said. "I wasn"t going to join the a.s.sociation anyway. I"ve decided, I"ll leave shortly!"
Han Xiao glanced at him, nodded, and did not say anything.
This batch of revived Primordial Ones were generally divided into three groups with different goals. One wanted to enjoy the privileges of Beyond Grade As in a peaceful era so wanted to join the a.s.sociation. For example, Lady l.u.s.t. They were the ones who were conflicted.
The second group wanted to continue hiding in the Holy Accord and help Oathkeeper operate the organization. They did not plan to go out, so of course, they had no problem with waiting.
The last group were the creditors from the exploration era wanting to take revenge against the advanced civilizations. They were the minority, and their representative was Pangon. He planned to be a lone wolf to begin with, so he did not want to join the a.s.sociation.
Han Xiao did not want these people to join either. After all, acts of revenge would heavily intensify the conflicts between the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade As. If those people entered the a.s.sociation, should the a.s.sociation help them or not when the time came? Most a.s.sociation members would definitely oppose helping them. Therefore, he felt he might as well let these lone wolves be so that they do not drag the a.s.sociation down with them.
In his previous life, these people"s acts of revenge were one of the crucial fuses of the Calamity of the Supers version. Han Xiao did not care about where Pangon and the others were going.
Han Xiao knew what Pangon was thinking too. Pangon did not expect the a.s.sociation to help. He knew the purpose of the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation, so he did not want to burden the a.s.sociation and decided to take on the responsibility of taking revenge alone.
In Han Xiao"s previous life, Pangon never leaked the existence of the Holy Accord. Therefore, though headstrong, this guy was loyal to his morals.
Han Xiao looked at Beiger and the others. "What about you guys? Are you willing to wait for me?"
Beiger thought about it, nodded, and said, "Although we can"t endure it much longer, the big picture is still more important. We might not be from the same generation as the modern Beyond Grade As, but we all represent the same grade and share the same interests. When we appear, the entire Beyond Grade A cla.s.s will definitely be shaken. Don"t worry, we won"t damage the big picture for our personal interests."
Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction.
After more than forty years, most Primordial Ones had adapted to the era. Some of them no longer only thought for themselves and were tricked… ahem… convinced by him to be invested in the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation"s future, letting go of their past in the exploration era. They decided to partic.i.p.ate in this new warfare between the Beyond Grade As and the advanced civilizations and were willing to fight for the entire Beyond Grade A cla.s.s.
From these people"s perspective, when the huge change arrived, they could not not have the key person, Black Star. For that, they were willing to continue hiding for some time.
Although Beiger and these guys had yet to appear in public, in their hearts, they already considered themselves members of the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation and had the collective interest in their mind.
"Great, I was not wrong about you guys…" Han Xiao laughed, quickly comforting their emotions.
As they received a response, they arranged their emotions and went back to playing cards on the side.
Han Xiao pulled Oathkeeper out of the elderlies activity room and into a side room to speak privately.
Han Xiao closed the door and said, "To deal with the drastic change that"s about to come, we need more Beyond Grade As. Are all the revival mediums prepared?"
"Hmm, they"re all ready. Thanks to the fact that many Beyond Grade As left offspring and races behind, they weren"t difficult to collect." Oathkeeper nodded.
This time, Han Xiao would be entering the Sanctums. He was going in with a mission—to revive more Beyond Grade As.
Reviving Beyond Grade As through the Sanctums required all kinds of mediums. In the past few decades, the Black Star Army and the Holy Accord organization had been secretly carrying out this task of collecting objects related to old Beyond Grade As. They included their inheritance, the remaining people of their race, and others.
Han Xiao took the list and scanned through. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Looks like there are some strong people in the list of people we"re reviving this round."
"No matter how strong they are, are they stronger than you?" Oathkeeper curled his lips.
"You"re right about that. I"m f*cking invincible." Han Xiao accepted this compliment.
He then recalled Jayz of the Celestial Star Alliance and wondered if he could revive this guy from a different Iteration.
Shaking his head, Han Xiao temporarily put away this thought. He found an empty room and entered alone. He blocked all the surveillance in the room, took out his communicator, and called a number.
He first called Kasuyi. Very soon, Kasuyi appeared on the screen.
"Black Star… oh no, it"s Mr. President now. What is it?" Kasuyi smiled.
Han Xiao scratched his chin and said, "I might have to disappear for an unknown amount of time, maybe a few days, maybe a few years. When I"m not around, help manage the a.s.sociation"s affairs."
"Where are you going?" Kasuyi wiped the smile off his face and frowned.
"Remember our experience in the secondary dimensions? I found some clues and need to spend some time investigating them." Han Xiao did not share the details, but Kasuyi knew about the Sanctum-related information too, so he would know what he was saying.
As expected, Kasuyi understood what he meant and looked surprised. He did not question him further, nodded seriously, and said, "Go then, don"t worry. I"ll take care of the a.s.sociation."
When Kasuyi found out about the Sanctums from Jayz a few decades ago, he knew that Han Xiao"s path was the right one and stood on his side. They had become secret allies.
Kasuyi had no interest in power; he stepped up to become the vice president not because he wanted a higher position but because Han Xiao told him to as it would indirectly help Han Xiao solidify his position further. It had no disadvantages anyway, so he did not mind helping Han Xiao.
"I"ll leave it to you then."
Han Xiao nodded, said a few more things, and hung up.
He did not stop there. He then called up Hila, Ames, and so on, telling them he would disappear for some time, going to the secondary dimensions to look for opportunities to undergo G.o.d"s Trait Transformation.
This was not rare for peak Beyond Grade As, so this excuse was very useful. Hila, Ames, and the others did not suspect anything.
Han Xiao told them to take care of the army while he was out.
Then, he called the last few numbers, the three Universal Civilizations" men.
The three Universal Civilizations once wanted him to be elected, thinking he would be a more suitable leader of the a.s.sociation than the Mechanic Emperor. However, after decades, conflicts acc.u.mulated quicker than expected, so this slight favor was no longer enough. There was no way the three Universal Civilizations would allow the Beyond Grade A a.s.sociation to continue becoming stronger just because of him alone.
Han Xiao did not know how long he would spend in the Sanctums, so he planned to restate his ident.i.ty and stance to keep things stable for a period of time.
The negotiation was considerably smooth. After all, he still had the consultant of the three Universal Civilizations t.i.tle. Han Xiao found out what the three Universal Civilizations were planning to do.
The three Universal Civilizations were still observing the changes him becoming the president would cause, so they would not make the conflicts explode in a short period of time. This was logical and within his expectations.
After arranging everything, Han Xiao approached Oathkeeper again, looked at his antic.i.p.ation-filled eyes, and nodded solemnly.
"Start the preparations and open the Sanctum as soon as possible!"
…
Three days later, at an unpopulated area near the Holy Accord organization"s base, s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps hovered in the desolate cosmic s.p.a.ce.
Han Xiao was the only one hovering outside the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps. He remained in contact with Oathkeeper using the screen inside the mechanical suit.
On the screen, Oathkeeper made an encouraging gesture and said, "Ready? Everything"s ready on my side. The Sanctum can be opened anytime."
"Do it." Han Xiao exhaled and calmed his emotions.
Oathkeeper nodded, turned around, and ordered, "All units, begin!"
As soon as he said that, the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps immediately moved. They had rehea.r.s.ed the process countless times, like an impressive machine, not a single mistake was made.
Bang bang bang!
Primal Esper Ability Ent.i.ties were shot out one after another, contained in special seals. Colorful light beams focused at one point, rapidly expanded, and turned into a hovering white sphere.
Under the effects of special devices, like a piece of rubber, the light sphere shrank into a bright ring only about a hundred meters wide. Its energy was extremely condensed.
Then, the remaining s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps activated one device after another and released the other "keys" into this ring through beams.
As the s.p.a.ce seemed to have trembled, the ring suddenly shone even brighter and projected six mirage-like light gates.
The next second, five light gates disappeared, leaving only one that seemed to have materialized from an illusion to something real. It was still shaking unsteadily like it could disappear any second.
"That"s the entrance of the Third Sanctum. Go!" Oathkeeper hastily said.
Han Xiao focused his mind, activated his thrusters, and dashed into the Sanctum"s entrance.
The next moment, the light before his eyes suddenly became much brighter. All he could see was white.
The moment he pa.s.sed the gate, Han Xiao felt his body suddenly become lighter as if he had broken through some kind of barrier. He felt fuzzy, like he was no longer in this world.
"I"m finally inside…"