The little secret between the Arcane Church and Federation of Light was not made known to Han Xiao.

After leaving the star system of the Star Pupil Holy Race, Han Xiao’s fleet did not stop, returning to the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

In the previous gathering that the Tyrant hosted, Han Xiao had signed a few agreements with a large number of civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring and had also publicly sold access to the Evolution Cube in exchange for cooperation with the major civilizations.

This year was the first year of cooperation, and because Han Xiao would remain in the Shattered Star Ring for this period, he prepared to handle the slots purchased by the various civilizations this year and complete them.

In the past years, the civilizations had conducted numerous internal selections, confirming the list of elites who would undergo evolution, and had been waiting for this day. Upon receiving the notice, the teams were dispatched, and many elites from each civilization gathered at the Black Star Army headquarters.

Using the Evolution Cube as a bridge to reach better relationships with multiple star cluster and star system level civilizations was a key step in the expansion plan for the Black Star Army.

In Han Xiao’s blueprint, maintaining this sort of cooperation network for a long period would form a large network using the Black Star Army as a transit point. By that time, the power and influence of the Black Star Army would truly cover the entire star field, so Han Xiao paid a lot of attention to the cooperation in the first year.

Furthermore, there was an additional benefit. The people picked by the civilizations would all be elites, and there would definitely be well-known characters or protagonists within.

Letting them take the initiative to gather was better than him looking for all of them himself.

This is probably the alternate reality version of keeping the talents in the world for my own usage… Han Xiao mused to himself.

…

Spaceships of different styles landed at the Black Star Army headquarters, and elites of all races poured out as the hatches opened. They were led to the accommodation area under the guidance of the reception robots, causing the dock to be extremely lively.

These elites were all leaders back in their respective civilizations, and the majority were either Calamity Grades, military officers, potential Calamity Grades, or scientific researchers. All of them sized up the other elites as they disembarked, their expressions wary.

“This is the Black Star Army talked of in legends.”

Pamela opened her three large, watery eyes as she curiously took in her surroundings. She hailed from a star system level plant-based civilization, with her race called the Flower Sprite Tribe. Her body was covered with a layer of green leaf-like epidermal tissue, and she exuded a strange fragrance. It was said that every individual had a unique fragrance, just like how humans were differentiated by fingerprints. Body fragrance, appearance, and physique were the aesthetic standards for this race.

According to their aesthetics, Pamela would be a rare beauty, and at the same time, she was an elite researcher who was chosen to undergo evolution.

As Pamela and her party observed the dock, a small hovering robot flew in front of them, speaking in Phillip’s voice.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Black Star Army, hum… Our Commander is still en route. I’ll be responsible for escorting you and arranging your accommodation. In the meantime, if you have any needs, please contact me directly, hum…”

The leader of the Flower Sprite Tribe was a Calamity Grade, and he calmly nodded. “Understood.”

“Please follow me.”

The reception robot flew through the huge crowd, leading the way.

The group followed close behind, looking around on the way and discussing in a low voice.

“People of all civilizations have come. I even saw a few Star Cluster level Civilizations.”

“All of them are elites of their races. This is a grand event. Let’s go pay a visit to some others. After all, it’s a rare chance to socialize.”

Hearing the discussions coming from behind, the reception robot turned around and addressed them. “During this waiting period, I’ll take you to visit the headquarters, hold banquets, and provide a platform for everyone to communicate with each other, so please don’t worry about not having a chance.”

“This looks a little like the Tyrant’s Party… but the people here are not representatives of a few civilizations but rather a large number of elites…” The eyes of the Calamity Grade leading the team moved around, and they seemed to understand something.

Pamela hesitated before asking, “So, so… will we have a chance to converse with His Excellency Black Star?”

“There will be a banquet for everyone to celebrate after the evolution process is completed. If you’re willing to stay, then you’ll be able to converse with our Army Commander,” the robot replied.

“That’s… that’s great.” Pamela’s skin color turned green, which was the same as humans blushing. She looked expectant.

“Yo, shy because you’re about to see your idol?” One of her colleagues teased.

Pamela did not reply, her face so green that it was turning indigo.

Every Beyond Grade A would have a few fans in the universe, even those infamous thugs such as EsGod.

The deeds of Black Star were widely circulated in the universe. As a native of a planetary civilization, he had established the Black Star Army from scratch and rewritten the fate of his homeland by himself. Such a legendary existence had attracted a large number of admirers within the Shattered Star Ring, and Pamela was one of those who were impressed with his deeds.

“I don’t know what sort of spouse Black Star likes…” Pamela appeared a bit dazed.

“Hello, are you being serious? Do you not know about reproductive isolation?” Her colleague was surprised.

“I’m a biological genetic engineer. Do I need your reminder?” Pamela snapped back in resignation.

The Calamity Grade leader frowned and turned back to say, “Don’t forget our purpose here, and don’t provoke His Excellency.”

“Can’t I have expectations?” Pamela grumpily replied.

She did not know, however, that the reception robot was recording every word they spoke and passing it on to Sylvia.

In her office, Sylvia received the report, and after sweeping over it, she coldly snorted.

“Number 237…”

After which, she put a mark on the file before throwing it into a folder labelled ‘Banquet Seating Arrangement (Corner List)’.

…

Way before the date that Han Xiao set, all the civilizations that were supposed to undergo evolution had arrived. Except for Klent, the other Shattered Star Ring civilizations were there. Not only were civilizations belonging to the Shattered Star Ring there—even a new batch of elites from the Crimson Dynasty had arrived.

While waiting, these organizations did not just idle but took this rare chance to network and exchange contacts. The atmosphere quickly became friendly.

All the elites present could see that Han Xiao was taking advantage of the situation to gather all the influential people in Shattered Star Ring and start his own banquet. In other words, he was trying to snatch the Tyrant Heber’s businesses, using the Evolution Cube as a cover to form his own ‘party’, in order to expand his influence!

Although everyone understood this, no one had any issues with it. They were also willing to communicate with other races for their needs.

As for Black Star and the Tyrant’s competition, no one dared breathe a word. Both sides were not good to provoke, and it was better to just go with the flow.

A few days passed, and Han Xiao finally arrived back at the headquarters. After resting for a few hours, he informed everyone to gather to proceed with the ceremony.

Following batch after batch of people, the clean and gleaming main hall quickly became packed. Reynold received the news and took the mechanics of the logistics department to widen the hall on the spot so that it would not be overcrowded.

The space fluctuated slightly, and Han Xiao stepped out of the void dimension, suspending himself above everyone’s head. The Evolution Cube slowly rotated around him.

Everyone looked up at the floating Han Xiao, and there was a small commotion as everyone broke out in whispers.

“Black Star is here.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a Beyond Grade A from up close. The energy contained within his body is just terrifying. I started sweating when I felt it.”

“The thing beside him is probably the Evolution Cube. Not too long ago, I heard that Psyker relinquished his control over this Universal Treasure… Such a small thing was actually the source of so much trouble, and even a few Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church were captured.”

“Black Star does have the ability to keep this Universal Treasure. A year ago, I thought that his Evolution Cube would be snatched away quickly, but it turns out that I was wrong.”

The elites of the various races all had awe in their eyes. No matter how proud they were normally, in front of Han Xiao, they did not have the ability to be confident.

Before Han Xiao rose up, other than the Purple Crystal Civilization, the other Star Cluster civilizations had tried to suppress Han Xiao, but at the Tyrant’s Party, all of them could not help but lower their heads to seek cooperation.

Just because Han Xiao had recently reached Beyond Grade A, everyone had entertained a brief thought of suppressing him.

However, the recent matters had proven Black Star’s ability, consolidating his position in the universe. This dispelled the last bit of hostility the star cluster civilizations had. They completely gave up on their fantasy. Now that Black Star had completely taken off, playing small tricks were useless.

Looking at the gazes below of respect and admiration, Han Xiao secretly nodded to himself.

The recent storm had brought him benefits in that he was able to successfully launch this program to create a consortium of interests. This had saved him a lot of time.

On his way back, Han Xiao had briefly scanned through the name list of the elites as well. Not out of his expectations, there were a few well-known personalities of various civilizations from his previous life.

However, this was not the time to come into contact. After completing their evolution, Han Xiao then intended to befriend these ‘old acquaintances’ during the specially organized banquet.

Most likely, these people all had some kind of storyline. While he might not need them, the players needed them…

In short, these elites were walking bags of fertilizer.

Various thoughts flashed by as Han Xiao surveyed the scene. He smiled before speaking in an interested voice.

“Before we begin, there’s something I need to do… Heber, there’s no need to hide. I know you’re in there.”

The moment this sentence was spoken, everybody jumped. They stared left and right but did not discover him.

The Tyrant’s here too?

Everyone fidgeted, but no one stepped forward. Seeing this, Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. “Stop lying to yourself. I’ve already discovered you. Since you won’t come out, do you want me to drag you out? You will only lose face.”

The commotion got louder, but still, no one stepped up.

Han Xiao looked over everyone with narrowed eyes before suddenly bursting into laughter. “Hehe, it seems like Heber really didn’t sneak in. Then we can begin.”

Hearing this, everyone’s expression stiffened.

“He was actually joking…” Countless people’s mouths twitched.

Is it really good to ridicule the Tyrant like this, even guarding against him coming over? That guy is after all a Beyond Grade A! He wouldn’t do something so low class… right?

Perhaps Black Star and Tyrant have a good relationship now, so they can ridicule each other…

Everyone could only think this way.

Han Xiao then activated the Evolution Cube, and with a thought, the black evolutionary energy spewed out, enveloping the entire room. The elites present all turned into black cocoons.

“It’s done.” Han Xiao clapped his hands and instructed Phillip, “Monitor their evolutions. Remember to invite them to stay for the banquet later.”

“Roger, hum…”

Han Xiao did not wish to wait there for nothing. He stored the Evolution Cube and left the hall full of black cocoons, returning to his room.

He was going to change his clothes. He awaited the banquet that was to come next.

On the way, Han Xiao casually read through the forums.

Now that the matters of the Arcane Church had drawn to a close, the long-term gains from this event would gradually manifest over time, such as Urranrell’s appreciation of him and his importance to the dynasty.

The situation was already settled. What happened next would be between the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church, which was not his concern.

In the short term, no trouble would come looking for him, so Han Xiao had the capacity to focus on the players.

From the perspective of the players, Version 3.0 had been going for about a year and a half, which was the mid-version phase.

In this year and a half, the players had experienced the secret war, the Crimson Tide, the rise of Black Star, the Flickering World, and the Battle of Planet Lighthouse, which were all major events. More and more players at the level cap of 120 had appeared, and more and more players would continue to reach this goal as time passed.

During the mid-version phase, the new Pro League would be released. There was still some time before the opening, so players had time to upgrade, learn new skills, and change equipment. However, on the forums, the league officials had already begun the preparations, advertising widely and attracting the players’ attention.

From his memory, Version 3.0 was particularly spectacular.

Players would possess the strength of Grade Bs in this version, and the Mechanic profession would also slowly start to rise. A large number of newcomers would emerge, including Maple Moon, as professional players, causing a new injection into the pro scene.

The ratio of Mechanics in the Shattered Star Ring was the highest among all the other star fields, and the Black Star Army also sold the highest number of machines as well as blueprints. With the bonuses offered throughout the version, Han Xiao believed that the Shattered Star Ring’s Mechanics would bring great glory in the Pro League this time.

To him, the best benefit would be that it would attract more people to take the Mechanic profession or allow the older players to create Mechanic smurfs.

If that was the case, he would generate more income as the ‘mentor’ of the Mechanic profession.

“What a pity. With three versions out, the good days are almost over.” Han Xiao shook his head with some emotion.

Based on his experience from his previous life, Version 3.0 was a watershed. It symbolized that players had formally entered the mid-stage of the universe, and it was where their influence truly began to manifest and expand.

The nicknames ‘Cancer of the Universe’ as well as ‘The Fourth Calamity’ were tagged toward the players after Version 3.0!

It was also the source of Han Xiao’s psychological shadow.

For now, the players were in a period of imminent transformation. After this version, the players’ strength would exceed a certain point, and the more things they could do, the more they would be inclined to cause chaos. This was inevitable!

Version 3.0 was the last stage where players could be easily controlled.

Thus, Han Xiao placed his bets on the Flickering World. He might be able to use it to gain some advantage during the faction wars in the next version.

…

Just as Han Xiao was about to proceed with the banquet, on the other side of the star cluster, Heber also received some news.

As a competitor, he was always paying attention to the moves of the Black Star Army.

Heber thus discovered Han Xiao’s sinister intentions.

“Relying on the Evolution Cube, Black Star is building a platform for the elites to converse. He’s trying to take away the influence of the Tyrant’s Party and gain even greater influence in the Shattered Star Ring…”

As he read the intelligence, Heber grew visibly annoyed.

The Tyrant’s Party was the byproduct of his many years of effort. Now that Han Xiao had come out to compete with him, he was furious yet unable to stop it.

Furthermore, upon realizing that Han Xiao had mocked him in front of all the various civilization elites, Heber’s mind finally blew.

Dammit, why!

Are we even on good terms?

To ridicule me like that in public, smearing my brave warrior image, this is pure evil!

You’re taking advantage of me!

One of these days, I’m going to make sure you can’t even defend yourself!