As more and more Beyond Grade As arrived at the Black Star Army’s headquarters, Han Xiao’s territory became increasingly rowdy. Within a few days, there were already about eighty Beyond Grade As and their fleets gathered there.

The Purple Crystal Civilization, which managed this Star Cluster, became nervous and secretly deployed some forces to set up defenses.

It was not just the Purple Crystal Civilization. All the Star Cluster civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring, as well as the three Universal Civilizations’ garrisons in this Star Field, started to secretly deploy troops to prepare for what might happen.

This many peak individuals of the universe would easily be able to turn an entire Star Field upside down, and they were all individuals with independent minds who carried the risk of not being controllable. These civilizations did not dare remain unprepared.

As for the Godoran Civilization, which directly ruled the Star Zone that the Black Star Army was in, all of their fleets had gathered around the Star Zone housing the Black Star Army’s headquarters as if they were facing a lethal enemy.

The things going on in the outside world did not affect the mood of the many Beyond Grade As. With Heber arriving last, the meeting began as scheduled.

The meeting location was a palace in the headquarters. The ceiling with a hundred meters tall, and dozens of floating thrones formed a circle five meters above the ground.

As the gate opened, the Beyond Grade As swarmed in. The tallest was the Beast Ancestor Gorutan, and the shortest was the finger-sized Sun Hunter. There were all kinds of appearances.

They all picked a location to sit one after another. The allies of the three Universal Civilizations all sat around each other in their own corner, with the Beyond Grade As of the other factions in between them.

After they sat down, they noticed three empty seats that were next to each other. Seeing that Han Xiao had yet to arrive, they casually started chatting while sizing each other up.

While waiting, many Beyond Grade As had moved around. In the past, some of them had only heard about some of the others but had never met. Using this opportunity brought by Han Xiao, these people had finally met each other and made some new friends.

Those who were visited most were the peak Beyond Grade As who had the highest positions and the strongest organizations in the circle. That included Manison, Kasuyi, Kant, and Gorutan. Clotti and a few of the other Beyond Grade As who did not come to the Shattered Star Ring, of course, did not participate in this meeting.

At this point in time, those who were sized up the most were the new members of the circle, those who only became Beyond Grade As in the past decade or so, such as the federation’s Hades, the dynasty’s Silver Shadow, and the church’s Tolaen.

After a while, three people walked in. Everyone stopped chatting and looked over at the gate—it was indeed Han Xiao, Hila, and Ames.

Han Xiao walked forward with wide strides, came before the mechanical throne, and sat down, facing all of the Beyond Grade A.

At the same time, Ames and Hila sat in the empty seats on his left and right.

Many looked at Hila with curiosity—there were a lot of people who were interested in this new Beyond Grade A of the Black Star Army.

Finally, the gate slowly closed.

With a smile on his face, Han Xiao looked around and slowly spoke, “Everyone is here. Pardon me for the wait. I appreciate all of you being willing to take part in this meeting…”

While saying the standard things, he observed everyone.

As he spoke, some sat tight and upright with a serious expression, some had indifferent and careless looks, some smiled to express friendliness, and some lay back in their chairs. He could see some of their attitudes.

Of the Beyond Grade As present, more than forty, including himself, were allies of the three Universal Civilizations. Most of the rest were on their own, and some were allies of the Super Star Cluster civilizations.

Many also had multiple identities. For example, quite a few Ancient Ones were there. There were also a few shareholders of the Limitless Financial Group. The Protector of the Galactic Black Market ‘Beast Ancestor’, ‘Secret Master’, and so on were here too. These were all very important people whom Han Xiao had to pay more attention to.

These people had very complicated relationships with each other. Some had good relationships with each other; some held grudges against each other; some were brothers on the surface but actually plotted against each other behind each other’s backs; some looked distant but were actually close secretly.

Han Xiao had moved around during the past few days too. He had managed to talk to everyone and successfully collected the combat information on everyone present. There were only a few whose levels were higher than his whose abilities he could not fully see. Still, he had the abilities of everyone else. He had obtained quite the amount of valuable intelligence.

These people, however, had no idea that Han Xiao knew even the color of their underpants.

“No matter why you are all here, I appreciate your arrival…” Finally, Han Xiao had finished the cliche opening and entered into the main topic. “I suppose everyone has already spoken with each other, so I will save myself the saliva of making introductions.”

The people all looked at Han Xiao, waiting for his next sentence.

Han Xiao softly patted the handle of his throne and said, “The reason I hosted this meeting is mainly to discuss the matter about the Shattered Star Ring with everyone…”

Before he could finish, a very intrusive voice sounded.

“Humph, can you represent the entire Shattered Star Ring?”

The look in everyone’s eyes changed slightly as they looked over at the source of the voice. The person who spoke was the Federation of Light’s Sierron, as well as a member of the Ancient Ones. He had a mocking expression on his face.

Without any change in his expression, Han Xiao smiled. “There are so many civilizations and organizations in the Shattered Star Ring. Of course, I can’t represent the stand of the entire Star Field alone.”

“Then, what right do you have to talk about this issue?” Sierron demanded. “Don’t forget, the Federation of Light is the actual ruler of the Shattered Star Ring. We’re the only ones who can speak for this Star Field, not you.”

The other allies of the Federation did not stop Sierron. They came to give face to Han Xiao, but as competitors, they were not going to make this too easy for him. Causing trouble was unavoidable. Even if they were not going to stop him, they did not want him to achieve his goal too easily.

“I cannot agree with that,” Han Xiao said slowly. “I’m a local of the Shattered Star Ring, and I’m stationed here on behalf of the dynasty. Also, I’m the strongest Beyond Grade A of this Star Field. Although I can’t represent the stand of this entire Star Field, I’m sure I have the right to speak for it personally. Furthermore, I’m not announcing some kind of order. I’m just here to discuss certain matters with all of you today.”

“The strongest Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring? Are you sure?” Sierron sneered.

Han Xiao raised his brow and slowly opened his arms. “Are you questioning my combat history?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t deny that you’ve defeated Heber, Psyker, and Ames. As for Hila… she’s new, so she probably is no match for you.”

Heber’s expression was not looking too great. He did not like the fact that his defeat was mentioned by an outsider in front of so many Beyond Grade As.

Psyker coldly glanced at Sierron before glaring at Han Xiao. He was not happy about it either.

Ames, however, did not mind, and Hila’s expression was like a rock, as if she did not hear anything.

“Then, what’s the issue?” Han Xiao asked.

“Simple, there’s still one person who you’ve not defeated, the Magus, Austin!” Sierron shook his head. “He’s just too low profile, but it’s not certain he’s no match for you. Without defeating him, you can’t solidify your position as the strongest of this Star Field.”

Austin was stunned. Why mention me out of nowhere?

Then, he understood it immediately. Sierron wanted to put him on the spot, which might be an act to stir up disagreement. Although Sierron probably knew that he had quite a good relationship with Black Star, there was no harm in trying. After all, as long as the relationship between the two of them was tainted even a little, Sierron would benefit from it.

“I admit Black Star’s the strongest in this Star Field. I’m no match for him.” Austin curled his lips. This was the only thing he could say. It was not like he could spar with Han Xiao right there.

Hearing this, Han Xiao nodded at Austin before asking Sierron, “Do you have any other objections?”

“Nothing else.” Sierron saw that Manison had given him a look, so he closed his eyes and did not say any more.

Han Xiao looked around. Seeing that no one else had a problem, he said with a deep voice, “Alright then, since everyone agrees that I have the right to speak for the Shattered Star Ring, let’s get back to business… As the opening of the Flickering World is near, I can understand why all of you have come to the Shattered Star Ring to wait. However, I believe that everyone here knows that this many Beyond Grade As gathering in one Star Field will create a lot of unstable factors. As the peak of the Shattered Star Ring Supers, I have something to say. Please do listen.

“I grew in the Shattered Star Ring, so of course, it’s my responsibility to maintain the stability of this Star Field. I welcome all of you to the Shattered Star Ring as guests, but I have but one small request… I hope that while you’re all here, you won’t destroy the order of the Shattered Star Ring. If all of you are willing to give me face for this, I’ll be very appreciative.”

This time, Han Xiao’s tone changed into a much deeper and more serious one.

“However… if anyone ignores my request, I shall see it as a personal challenge to me, and I will absolutely not let it off easily. Remember, there’s still a long time till the date of the opening of the Flickering World. I hope to not have any conflict with anyone.”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. The people had different looks on their faces—indifference, approval, seriousness, and many others.

Although Han Xiao said it in a very nice way, the main purpose of this sentence was to serve as a threat and a warning, and its meaning was very straightforward.

I don’t care where you’re from—this is my territory. If you mess with me, you’re not going to get away with it easily.

If you want to cause trouble in the Shattered Star Ring, you’d better weigh the consequences of messing with me!

Everyone there was a boss of an area, and there were quite a few who could speak for their Star Fields too, so many felt that these words were rather sharp.

However, with the position and strength Black Star had now, he already had the right to say something like this, so no one felt it was out of place.

This time, Austin smiled and said, “I’m a local Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring too. I also don’t want the Star Field to become chaotic. I agree completely with what Black Star said.”

“Humph, me too,” Heber said reluctantly.

Ames and Hila also expressed their agreement. Seeing this, Psyker had no choice but to do the same.

This time, all of the local Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring had supported Han Xiao, expressing their intent to maintain the stability of the Star Field together. In a way, they had indirectly approved of Han Xiao’s position as the leader.

Han Xiao paused for a few seconds, saw the reactions of everyone present, and suddenly smiled. “Of course, if you’re willing to give me face on this matter, I’m willing to have a partnership with you guys in the development of the Flickering World. Currently, the Black Star Army has the most territory in the Flickering World. I believe I can provide quite a lot of help.”

Many people’s eyes sparkled.

Everyone knew that the Black Star Army had a huge force in the Flickering World, and the Flickering World was their goal. If they could receive Han Xiao’s help, they would naturally have an easier time over there. Before they arrived, they thought that Han Xiao was just going to intimidate them. Never did they expect Black Star to be willing to provide opportunities for partnerships. This came as quite a surprise.

“We will remember what you said,” Manison said calmly. “The federation doesn’t want to see people causing trouble here.”

Seeing that Manison had expressed his stance, various Beyond Grade As spoke as well.

“Since both Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor say so, then nobody will cause trouble in the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Peacefully wait for the opening of the Flickering World. There’ll be plenty of time in the future.”

“Whoever dares cause trouble here shall be all of our enemies.”

“Black Star, I shall give you face for this. Remember your promise.”

Han Xiao smiled. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”

At this time, Manison suddenly changed the topic. “Black Star took the lead in hosting this meeting for the sake of the Star Field’s stability. It’s a respectable act. However, you did not just gather all of us here for something this trivial, did you?”

Han Xiao’s eye sparkled for a split second. He turned to Manison and said, “If you have anything to say, please do.”

“Okay, then I shall get to the point.”

Everyone looked at Manison with curiosity, not knowing what he meant.

Manison pondered for a moment before speaking. “The advanced civilizations make use of us, and we make use of the advanced civilizations. Everyone here works for various factions. We kill and fight with each other, which is very normal. However, I think that we should not be limited to the differences between factions. That’s the game made by these advanced civilizations. Sometimes, we should jump out of their game and make plans for ourselves.”

Everyone’s expression changed slightly, and the room became silent.

This had always been a sensitive topic. No one expected Manison to talk about this at a meeting about regional stability, not caring about those present who were direct members of the advanced civilizations.

From the moment they stepped into the territory of Beyond Grade A, everyone was in the same Grade. Even though they belonged to different factions, this could not be changed.

Manison looked around and continued. “You guys know that the advanced civilizations both need us and fear us. They don’t want us to have too many private relationships. An opportunity like today is very rare. As all of you have seen, we’re only having a meeting, yet it stirred a storm in the universe. There are definitely countless fleets aiming their cannons in our direction, and you all know I’m not exaggerating.”

“You don’t need to emphasize the situation we’re in,” Kant said with a frown. “I don’t think this is the time to discuss this topic. It’s too early.

“Preparing early is better than not preparing at all,” Manison said coldly.

“So, why did you mention this? Do you want all of us to form an alliance?” Gorutan said.

“Just a reminder, us forming an alliance will be the same as starting a coup d’état,” Kasuyi said. There was one thing he did not say, which was that pillars of the three Universal Civilizations such as him were basically safe, so he did not want to concern himself at all.

Everyone spoke one after another, expressing their opinions and discussing the matter intensely. There were hardly any opportunities to discuss something like this usually, so this event hosted by Han Xiao became a platform to exchange opinions.

“Don’t worry. It’s not time yet. What I want is just a silent agreement…” Manison then looked at Han Xiao and said with a curious tone, “You’re the host of this meeting. You’ve just been listening for quite a while and did not stop us, so what are your thoughts on this?”

Everyone turned to look at Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s position was quite high in the circle, so his opinion was relatively important.

Han Xiao shrugged, shook his head, and said, “I have no other suggestions. I just feel there are too few Beyond Grade As…”

“That’s right, too few.” Manison sighed.

Han Xiao glanced at him.

I’m pretty sure the ‘too few’ we speak of means different things.