The viewers at the scene and in front of their screens could not calm down for a long time, watching as the Black Star Army’s fleet left.

At this instant, in their hearts, the position of the Black Star Army had risen to that of the Bloodshed Land, deeply carved into their hearts.

During the return journey, Han Xiao made a detour and stopped by a fixed star in order to test out the effectiveness of [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]. He told the fleet to pause for a moment whilst he flew over to the surface of the Fixed Star.

Without donning his mechanical suit, the strong infrared radiation and high temperatures directly hit his body. The closer the distance, the higher the intensity.

When he had reached a certain distance, the words [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] on his interface lit up, signaling that it was able to be used.

After spending millions of experience, Han Xiao began his first cultivation session.

The energy in his body boiled up instantly, frantically absorbing the energy that was radiated by the star. His skin turned red, and the brightness continuously rose.

That’s right. I should activate [Radiation Absorption] as well.

At this moment, a stream of radiation shot out from the fixed star straight toward Han Xiao, resembling a crimson tsunami. Han Xiao did not avoid nor retreat but rather allowed the fixed star radiation to engulf him. His HP dropped a notch.

Under the high temperature, his HP decreased without stopping, but it very quickly filled up once again using his energy. The effect of the Stellar Furnace Cultivation would depend on the length of his stay on the star. The reason it was classified as a high-level cultivation method was because there were practically no Grade As that could survive on a fixed star, but with the current fleshly body of our Great Mechanic Han, he could live on this fixed star till he died of old age.

“This is literally taking a bath among the stars.” Han Xiao played with a lump of stellar energy from the fixed star, rolling it on his chest like bubbles as he roared in laughter.

After enduring for half an hour, the interface indicated that the effect of his cultivation had reached its limit. Only then did Han Xiao leave the fixed star. The count on his Stellar Furnace Cultivation now read 1, which added an extra 25 Energy to him.

For every half an hour, I get 25 energy. If I practice it 650 times, which is to completion, I will receive a total of 16,000 energy, which converts to almost 80,000 HP.

Han Xiao was in a good mood. Having reached Beyond Grade A, increasing his strength had become more difficult than before. The opportunity for him to improve so much was rare, thus making him feel that this was some peerless divine technique.

After finishing his test of the Stellar Furnace Cultivation skill, Han Xiao returned to the fleet. After settling the affairs of his army, he would have the free time to practice this Energy Training Technique.

…

“The Black Star Army has allied with the Crimson Dynasty, and the Evolution Cube is now under the ownership of the Crimson Dynasty, forcing the Arcane Church to retreat.”

“Black Star became famous in his battle, causing the Tyrant to voluntarily retreat!”

“Our field reporters were all unfortunately killed, and according to the incomplete statistics, the casualty rate of the spectators reached tens of millions…”

The dust from the battle had settled, but its impact had spread like a tornado throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring, making headlines on every major news channel.

This event had attracted the attention of too many people. The five Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring had all gathered, and while the process was not long, the situation had changed again and again. For everyone, Black Star was the greatest protagonist in this event, having fought with the Tyrant. The most shocking thing was that the Crimson Dynasty had gone against expectations and announced the joining of Black Star in a high-profile manner. This was something no one had expected.

Everyone knew that this signified another Beyond Grade A gaining a solid foothold in Galaxy. With a hegemon as a backer, and that day’s matters being enough to be recorded in the history of Shattered Star Ring, it was a signal that the flow of the Star Field was about to change.

The day after the battle, the Black Star Army issued a recruitment order to the entire Star Field.

For a period of time, countless people who had only been watching felt an urge to respond.

With the Crimson Dynasty as a backer, the Black Star Army naturally did not lack resources, and their leader Black Star was even a Beyond Grade A who had proved his abilities. Such a new-born force had an immense future, and the benefits they provided would be many.

The Black Star Army recruitment order was like a deep-sea mine, setting off a huge wave in the Shattered Star Ring. Only a day after the order was issued, spaceships had already set off from the various Star Clusters, heading directly toward the headquarters of the Black Star Army in the Colton Star Cluster.

A multitude of applicants gathered. This was the largest recruitment in the history of the army. Phillip received tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, of resumes and application forms every day.

Many organizations in the Shattered Star Ring also threw out olive branches to the Black Star Army.

…

“You want to merge under my name and let me be the chief of the Mercenary League? That’s not a problem, but you must continue to be responsible for the daily affairs… Yes, that’s roughly what it means. We can do it this way. When the time comes, we’ll jointly declare to the Star Field that the Mercenary League is now anchored under my name.”

After ending the call with Gureja, Han Xiao pinched the bridge of his nose. He had already lost count of how many organizations had contacted him over the past few days and proposed such requests.

Some of his mercenary allies wanted to take advantage of his renown, but this mainly went for organizations that were closer to him. For example, Serbia the Fifth of Godora had called the day before, explaining that he wanted to organize another political visit. He hoped that the Black Star Army would not relocate its headquarters as well and stay near Planet Golden Gate.

Because of the existence of the Black Star Army, Planet Golden Gate had ushered in a period of explosive development in its recent years. With its original purpose as a transportation hub as well, the economy had become extremely prosperous.

Serbia the Fifth also wanted to invite Han Xiao to become an honorary officer of Godora, but the intention behind this was too obvious, and he was directly rejected by Han Xiao. A Golden Gal Badge was good enough for him, and the position of honorary officer would affect the position of the Black Star Army.

A Star System level Civilization could not satisfy Han Xiao’s appetite. With a godly support tool like the Evolution Cube in his hands, he had to watch which civilizations he chose to integrate with. Thus, it was not suitable to take such a clear stand with Godora.

The many civilizations in the Colton Star Cluster had also contacted him, of which a majority were those whom he had received mining rights from. Now that he had established his position through the battle with the Tyrant, those civilizations were trying to deepen the connection they had. In addition to gaining a Beyond Grade A as an ally, it was more because they lusted for the Evolution Cube.

Their alliance contract had a change in terms, which included expanding the mining area of the resource planet, allowing them to establish more branches and so on. To summarize, each civilization basically took out a large slice of their own benefits and distributed it to Han Xiao, accepting him as a high-level power in Galaxy.

However, regarding the agreement on the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao had left the other civilizations on hold and did not lock it down immediately. With something as good as the Evolution Cube on his hands, he did not intend to rush into obtaining benefits immediately. Since he had the seller’s advantage, he might as well take his time to decide.

Another issue was that many small organizations were requesting to merge with the Black Star Army. There was no shortage of organizations that were helmed by Calamity Grades. There were even several organizations in Section Zero that wished to become members of the army. After all, the temptation of the Crimson Dynasty was too great.

The last group consisted of all the financial groups actively investing to cover the cost of the expansion of the organization. Money had an extraordinary strength, and the expansion of the Black Star Army could be proportionally related to how much investment they obtained from the financial group.

Before he even got to rest a few minutes, his communicator rang once again. It was Zoel calling.

“Black Star… no, I should be addressing you as Your Excellency Black Star now.” Zoel smiled.

Han Xiao replied sarcastically before asking, “Envoy, why have you called me today?”

Upon getting to the main topic, Zoel no longer bothered with the pleasantries, immediately saying, “Now that we’ve already announced our alliance, we have to plan for our future cooperation. As for your alliance, the Dynasty has decided to first settle the matters of the Shattered Star Ring, which is your secret war.”

Interesting. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

“Klent is preparing to submit a proposal during the Galaxy Central Civilization Court, asking for a complete reshuffling of the Colton Star Cluster and Seoul Star Clusters, which will be mediated and decided by the three Universal Civilizations.”

The Galaxy Central Civilization Court was the most formal place where the three Universal Civilizations had agreed to mediate disputes. It covered all Star Clusters, Star Field, and Star System Civilizations, with some special ethnic groups even having seats inside it, uniting the vast majority of civilizations in the universe to discuss and resolve their problems. It was an extremely formal process.

“Since Klent is also your ally, what do you plan to do?” Han Xiao asked.

“We plan to talk to Klent in private, asking them to give up the idea of submitting a proposal.” Zoel nodded. Because Klent was also their ally, the Dynasty could not be too harsh in dealing with them. They would not sit idly by and allow Klent to submit the proposal.

In fact, Klent’s scheming for the territory of the Purple Crystal Civilization was not the intention of the Crimson Dynasty but something Klent had decided on themselves to satisfy their own ambitions using the banner of the Dynasty. This sort of thing was too common, and as long as they did not exceed certain boundaries, the Crimson Dynasty would turn a blind eye to this matter. However, since they now had other considerations, they had the authority to put a stop to Klent’s plans.

Of course, the Dynasty would definitely give some sort of compensation, such as giving Klent more territorial benefits in their division of the Flickering World.

“Klent is very knowledgeable, and they know that it will be useless for them to disagree. The Arcane Church was also hit by us and will definitely obstruct Klent’s proposal to get back at us. Without us opening our mouth, the proposal will not pass.” Zoel waved his hands.

“That’s true as well.” Han Xiao nodded. He did not feel that the Arcane Church would be one to swallow this injustice silently; they would look for a place to vent. The political stage would be one such area.

“Now that your Black Star Army and Bloodshed Land are our allies, we will work together to open up the Flickering World in the future. Thus, after solving the problem of the secret war, you guys have to have a good talk with each other, turning from enemies to allies,” Zoel said.

The Crimson Dynasty valued the development of the Flickering World, and their two allies in the Shattered Star Ring were the pioneers for exploring it. Naturally, the dynasty did not wish to see its two allies affect the exploration of the new Star Field because of mutual misgivings. Even if it was only a superficial reconciliation, they wanted to see some effort put in by them.

“That’s alright with me. However, I’m not sure what Ty-Ty will say.” Han Xiao shrugged in response.

Hearing this, Zoel also helplessly smiled. The party that had lost the most this time was the Bloodshed Land, and he would definitely have quite a lot of say.

After pausing for a while, Zoel said, “As for the last matter, the Dynasty will soon send the first batch of people to undergo the Evolution Cube transformation. When I know the exact time, I’ll inform you once again.”

Han Xiao nodded in response. This had already been discussed in their contract; the Crimson Dynasty had the right to utilize the Evolution Cube.

While he did not know who would be within the first batch of people from the Crimson Dynasty, they would naturally be elites. Maybe Han Xiao would see some ‘familiar faces’ within.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Han Xiao then ended the communication. Just as he hung up, his communicator rang once more. It was an unknown number this time.

Pausing for a moment, he answered the call, and his expression changed.

On the screen was the ugly face of EsGod.

“Black Star.” The corners of the EsGod’s mouth were curled up in a strange smile as it greeted him.

Han Xiao only stared at the screen and did not talk. He did not expect EsGod to actually contact him. Toward this reputedly fierce Beyond Grade A brute, he still had his reservations.

“I have a deal to discuss with you.”

“What is it?”

The EsGod smiled. “Rest assured, I won’t snatch your Evolution Cube. You’re different from Psyker, and you’re not as stubborn as him.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Now that the Evolution Cube is in your hands,” EsGod leisurely said, “let’s make a deal. Let me use it once, and I’ll help you with one matter.”

Han Xiao immediately narrowed his eyes. EsGod’s claim that he would not snatch the Evolution Cube was something that Han Xiao did not believe. Furthermore, making a deal with EsGod was akin to trying to scheme against a tiger for its skin.

Before he could reply, EsGod said, “I understand that your alliance with the Crimson Dynasty has just started, and you have your reservations. However, for someone like you who is bound by the rules of order, there will be a point when you require a lawless thug to help you achieve something… You don’t have to be in a hurry to answer me. When you’ve thought it through, you can call me again to give your answer.”

Smiling, EsGod shut off the communication.

Han Xiao furrowed his brows, his finger stopping at the option to delete the encrypted number of EsGod.

After pausing for a long time…

His finger swiped down.

EsGod’s number was placed in his blacklist.

He did not delete it.

…

Spaceship after spaceship landed on Planet Aquamarine, carved with various insignias belonging to different financial groups. All of them were material transport ships carrying a large amount of resources.

Bennett, together with the Aquamarine Federation, stood at the dock as they watched the mechanical workers moving the supplies one by one.

As the hometown of a Beyond Grade A, they had received even more investment and support from the financial groups.

Bennett could not help but turn his head, looking outside the door of the hangar to the huge black statue erect at the center of the city. There was a touch of relief and gratitude in his eyes.