Chapter 181 Time for a Sparring Match

The red energy filling the sky rapidly retreated into Hela's body, and the red light in her eyes gradually subsided. Her entire aura had undergone a complete transformation.

After training outside for about twenty years, Hela had finally taken this step. In her previous life, she had become a Beyond Grade A even earlier, so she already possessed this potential.

Having transformed into a Beyond Grade A being, Hela's appearance became even more refined. Her skin was flawless, and her genes were greatly optimized.

Although her growth rate couldn't compare to the freak Han Xiao, Ames was equally amazed by Hela's talent. Compared to the Beyond Grade A species' transformation time, which often started at a hundred years, Hela's special Grade Super ability significantly shortened the process for her.

"How do you feel?"

Ames looked Hela up and down, her eyes full of admiration, as if she were looking at a work of art.

"It's wonderful," Hela said, thoughtfully experiencing the changes. "So this is the world as seen by Beyond Grade A's. Everything is different."

"Hehe, take your time to experience it. We have plenty of time," Ames chuckled.

Hela exhaled, a look of excitement flashing in her eyes.

The current me should have barely caught up with Han Xiao.

I can… go home.

Ames manipulated her force field, took out a communicator, handed it to Hela, and smiled, "Want to share this good news with him?"

Hela took the communicator, hesitated for a few seconds, and shook her head.

"No, I'll wait until I go back in person to give him a surprise."

…

Star Cluster Corridor, Red Ring Star.

A saucer-shaped spaceship passed through the u-energy prohibition ring belt and slowly sailed toward the empire's mother star. In the ship's bridge cabin, a tall figure stood in front of the porthole, silently watching the increasingly close Red Ring Star.

This person was bright silver all over, his skin like flowing liquid metal. His face had only a pair of metallic eyes, and the rest of his face was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the starry sky outside the window. He was not wearing any clothes, and his body had no sexual characteristics.

He was a new Beyond Grade A who had been born five years ago. He was once a Beyond Grade A seed in the Sea of ​​Stars. A hundred years ago, he used a special method to lock himself in the star core of a dying star for a trial of nine deaths and one life. A hundred years later, he emerged from the cocoon and completed his species transformation. The one born from the star core was already a new life.

He abandoned his name and called himself "Silver Shadow". He formed his own Beyond Grade A force in the Sea of ​​Stars. In recent years, he had been in the limelight, accomplished many feats, and developed rapidly. He quickly gained a place in the Sea of ​​Stars.

Now, Silver Shadow had agreed to the Crimson Dynasty's recruitment and joined the empire. Today, he had come to Red Ring Star to meet the head of state and meet the empire's Beyond Grade A circle.

At this moment, a cadre came behind him and whispered, "Your Excellency Silver Shadow, we are about to land."

"Hmm." Silver Shadow's voice had a metal-like vibration echo, and his tone was cold, like an emotionless electronic sound.

The cadre hesitated for a moment and asked, "Your Excellency Silver Shadow, why are we joining the empire?"

"Are you questioning my decision?" Silver Shadow did not turn his head.

"I wouldn't dare."

The cadre hurriedly denied. He had only joined Silver Shadow's command not long ago and did not dare to offend him. At this time, he couldn't help but hesitate, "I just think that the conditions offered by the Guanghui Federation and the Void Spirit Religion are more generous."

Silver Shadow did not comment, "Coincidentally, the Flickering World is being greatly developed, and the empire's attraction has the upper hand, causing Guanghui and the Void Spirit to have to offer higher prices. It's not because they value me. However, the forces in the Sea of ​​Stars are approaching saturation, and only the Flickering World can give me enough room to develop. Choosing the empire is more suitable for me… However, these are not the most important reasons I joined."

"Then what are you here for?"

"Evolution Cube… and Black Star." Silver Shadow paused, "If it wasn't for Black Star, who holds the Evolution Cube, being in the empire, I might not have joined."

"That's right. The empire said that it has gathered some Beyond Grade As to meet you. I don't know if Black Star will come. If he is also here, you can just make a request to him," the cadre said.

"Heh, as far as I know, those old Beyond Grade As rarely appear at such welcoming ceremonies. The most likely to be seen is Ulan Riel's guard, Dark Emperor Klotti. I don't know if Black Star will come…" Silver Shadow said lightly, "But if he comes, I can just spar with him."

"You want to spar with Black Star?" The cadre was startled, "He was already a peak Beyond Grade A more than ten years ago. He is one of the Mechanical Gods. Although he hasn't done anything in recent years, but… but…"

"I know what you mean, there's no need to say it. The Beyond Grade A circle of the three major civilizations has always had the habit of making things difficult for newcomers. If you want to gain the right to speak, you must speak with strength. Since it's destined to fight, you might as well find someone powerful."

Silver Shadow turned around and said coldly:

"Dark Emperor, Dragon Emperor, and Illusion God are the three oldest Beyond Grade As of the Crimson Dynasty with the highest status. After them is Black Star, who became a Beyond Grade A only twenty or thirty years ago. He has a 99% chance of taking over the position of the former three. In the future, he will be the pillar of the empire and have the greatest right to speak. I have to listen to him. In just over twenty years, Black Star has grown to such an extent. I am very interested in him. If I want to ride on top of me, I have to test whether he is as powerful as the rumors say."

Soon, the spaceship slowly landed at the political core area of ​​Red Ring Star, Terenharmir Palace. Silver Shadow led the cadre off the spaceship, followed the reception staff, and walked into the gate.

Boom!

At this instant, a strong Beyond Grade A aura burst out from afar and pressed down on him fiercely. It was obviously a customary show of strength.

Silver Shadow did not show any weakness. His unique Beyond Grade A aura rose up and pushed back forcefully.

Bang bang bang—

A circle of invisible shock waves seemed to burst open in mid-air.

Noticing his attitude, the Beyond Grade A aura retreated like a tide.

"Go see the head of state first." Silver Shadow glanced coldly in the direction where the aura erupted, and followed the reception staff, who were smiling but not smiling, in another direction.

At the same time, in a room in the distance, many empire Beyond Grade A allies were staying here.

"The newcomers now are really arrogant. None of them are willing to give in," Bayoni said with emotion.

"Yeah, when I… cough cough." Weilu coughed embarrassedly, secretly glancing at Han Xiao's Sovereign clone sitting at the top.

Han Xiao smiled and joked, "You couldn't even beat me, a newcomer, back then."

"That's different. You are a special existence who broke the historical record. You are now a peak Beyond Grade A. Losing to you at that time… shouldn't be embarrassing, right?" Weilu laughed dryly twice to cover up his embarrassment.

"No, it's very embarrassing," Jianzhe Fu coldly added.

Everyone present laughed, and the room was filled with a happy atmosphere.

Over the years, Han Xiao had established a deeper friendship with most of the empire's Beyond Grade A allies. Due to his strength and reputation, he had gained greater power in this circle. His status was second only to Dark Emperor, Dragon Emperor, and Illusion God, and he had already risen from a newcomer to a veteran.

Now, among the empire's Beyond Grade A allies, only the stubborn Little Overlord did not buy his account, and everyone else respected him.

Nine Beyond Grade As attended today. Old Dragon and Kangde did not come, which was even more than the last time Han Xiao came.

The last newcomer to experience this kind of formation was Han Xiao himself. Seeing Silver Shadow, he seemed to see himself back then, equally sharp-edged.

He was not interested in bullying the newcomer with this group of Beyond Grade As, so he was not among those who had erupted their aura just now. He chose to meet Silver Shadow mainly because he thought of his previous life experience and was somewhat interested in this person.

If he remembered correctly, Silver Shadow was a Beyond Grade A with a special existence. He had mutated during his species transformation and refined himself into something similar to a universe treasure, but at this time, this hidden attribute should not have awakened yet.

In the later versions of his previous life, Silver Shadow had a popular nickname among the player community—"Beyond Grade A Bus"!

According to incomplete statistics, during the World Tree War, no less than twenty Beyond Grade As had used Silver Shadow.

The one who used it the most was that late bloomer, Karot, who had the alias of "Public Bus Used Privately Karot".

Although Han Xiao wanted to turn the bus into a private car, this idea was a bit unrealistic, so he mainly wanted to contact the other party first to see what it was like.

At this time, Ravenlode looked around and asked, "We might have a sparring match later. Who wants to go?"

"I'm not interested," Jianzhe Fu refused coldly.

"Don't look for me." Bayoni waved his hand, "You know I'm not good at duels."

"I…" Weilu hesitated for a moment. Because of Han Xiao's lesson, he was not enthusiastic about this kind of thing now, and shook his head, "I won't go either."

"Black Star, are you interested?" Maxirole looked over.

"I don't fight unnecessary battles." Han Xiao waved his hand. He didn't want to bully a newcomer worth befriending.

Moreover, Red Ring Star was the empire's capital, and he didn't have many mechanical troops here. If it was damaged, he would have to repair it.

"If you don't go, then I'll go." Kele, the little transparent, said helplessly.

Everyone immediately looked sideways, looking suspicious.

Without exaggeration, Kele was recognized as the worst, even worse than Bayoni.

"I'm at least a martial artist who is good at duels. What kind of eyes are you giving me?" Kele said in embarrassment and anger.

"I'm afraid you'll embarrass yourself," Jianzhe Fu said concisely.

While everyone was teasing Kele, Han Xiao moved to Bayoni's side and asked in a low voice, "How have you been lately?"

"How else can I be?" Bayoni said angrily, "It's all thanks to you. Modo Civilization suppresses my race every day. Last time, they even launched a round of long-range interstellar missiles at my Fire Core Land and plowed it all over. Will you pay for it?"

"I won't pay. You have to find the empire for this. It was the empire that asked me to do this." Han Xiao coughed lightly.

Over the years, Luo Taire had been stirring up trouble in Modo Civilization, assassinating one target after another, angering Modo Civilization countless times.

Modo vented their anger on Bayoni, an empire ally in the Old Star River. Over the years, he had been suppressed and his face was covered in dust. When the city gate caught fire, the fish in the moat were affected.

Although Luo Taire was cautious and reliable in his work, it was not as if he had not encountered any danger. He grew rapidly in one dangerous situation after another. Although there was also an element of luck, it was not as exaggerated as Fording and Nilo. He relied more on his own ability to turn danger into safety.

His Assassin Mutual Aid Society had also developed well, training a group of interstellar assassins. In name, it was a black market bounty assassin organization, but in secret, it was "Shadow Walker" directly under Han Xiao.

After chatting for a while, Silver Shadow's aura suddenly came from far to near, slowly approaching. Everyone knew that Silver Shadow had finished talking with the head of state and was coming over, so they restrained their smiles and tightened their expressions.

Swoosh.

The door opened, and two figures walked in. One was the expressionless Klotti, who walked straight to Han Xiao and sat down.

The other was Silver Shadow. He stood in the center of the room, looked around, observed the Beyond Grade As present, and finally locked his eyes on Han Xiao's Sovereign clone.

"You are Silver Shadow from the Sea of ​​Stars?" Weilu took the lead and snorted pretentiously, "You don't seem to respect us."

Silver Shadow said lightly, "Why should I respect you?"

"You're quite arrogant. Unfortunately, this is the Crimson Dynasty. The empire doesn't allow such awesome people to exist," Kele sneered.

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Xiao couldn't help but take another look at him.

Why does the format of this sentence sound so familiar…

Silver Shadow looked at Kele, was silent for a long while, and asked, "Does the empire have someone like you? I haven't heard of you."

Kele's eyes turned cold. He was just pretending, but now that he was exposed, Baby was really unhappy.

"In the Beyond Grade A circle, status and the right to speak are earned by strength. I believe you also understand this rule." Kele put his arm on his knee and leaned forward, "You joined the empire and passed the head of state's test, but you haven't passed our test yet. How about it, do you dare to spar with me?"

"You? Forget it, you're not my match."

Silver Shadow's tone was calm, as if he was just stating a fact.

Before Kele could continue speaking, he turned to look at Han Xiao and said slowly, "If you want to spar, you have to choose someone powerful. Black Star, do you have the guts to fight me?"

Han Xiao was stunned.

Why did it suddenly involve me?

I'm just here to watch.

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they immediately became interested, with playful expressions.

As soon as they stepped into Beyond Grade A, they felt that they were so strong that they directly challenged those at the top. One or two new Beyond Grade As of this type would occasionally appear, so everyone did not find Silver Shadow's performance strange.

A newborn calf was not afraid of tigers. It was normal to have vigor, and daring to challenge the stronger was also a good quality.

Han Xiao was about to refuse when he suddenly noticed that the interface was moving, and he immediately swallowed the words that had reached his throat.

After taking a look at the hint, he couldn't help but whisper in his heart.

Silver Shadow took the initiative to invite him to fight, directly triggering a Beyond Grade A challenge mission, just like Herber and Mainison's missions. The experience reward was rich, and he could also extract one of the other party's abilities.

After these years of research, Han Xiao had quite a good understanding of the trigger mechanism for this kind of mission. If a Beyond Grade A took the initiative to publicly challenge him, then the probability of a mission appearing was very high. Although there were only a few people present as the audience, they were all important figures in the universe, and the influence factor was enough.

This newcomer is too generous, giving me an ability as soon as he comes… Han Xiao couldn't help shaking his head.

"Okay, no need to provoke me. I promise you."

Silver Shadow nodded and suddenly said, "It's boring to just spar. Let's bet something?"

Han Xiao was curious, "What do you want to bet?"

"I want to borrow the Evolution Cube. If I have the upper hand, or even win, please fulfill my request. If I lose, I will agree to a request from you that does not cross the line."

"Okay, it's a small matter." Han Xiao nodded. Anyway, he wouldn't lose.

At this time, Klotti, who had been watching coldly, said lightly, "Go outside the u-energy prohibition ring belt to fight. Don't fight near the mother star."

Hearing this, Han Xiao's mood suddenly became a little strange.

It seems like you said the same thing last time, and even the lines haven't changed. Are you here to be the referee?

…

In the Head of State's office of Terenharmir Palace, Ulan Riel stood by the window, looking up at the spaceship carrying a group of Beyond Grade As taking off and disappearing into the sky.

"Head of State, Black Star and the others have left?"

There were still a few high-level officials in the room, all of whom had been advocating for the Evolution Cube to be handed over over the years. Among them were the hardliners Becrodi and Ludweir, who had indirectly received help from Han Xiao.

Ulan Riel turned her head and said lightly, "Yes, Klotti said they went outside the u-energy prohibition ring belt to spar."

"Then…" Becrodi pondered for a while and said, "Your Excellency Head of State, what do you think of this plan?"

Ulan Riel frowned slightly, "Gode's ability is indeed the first case in history, but even our technology can't do it. Are you sure he is confident?"

"Not yet." Becrodi shook his head. "He told me that only when he reaches Beyond Grade A will his ability be able to analyze the principles of evolution energy. You know, ability users have always been creators of miracles. Many special technologies have been brought about by ability users."

"Beyond Grade A…" Ulan Riel shook her head. "Does he think he will definitely reach this level? Even if he can, how long will it take?"

"I don't know. We can only wait."

Hearing this, Ulan Riel couldn't help but fall silent.

Seeing this, Becrodi couldn't help but continue to persuade, "Your Excellency Head of State, this is a good opportunity. Over the years, Black Star has proven that the chances of the empire getting the Evolution Cube from him are very slim. We can't use strong methods against him either. However, if we analyze the evolution energy ourselves and simulate and copy it, even Black Star will have nothing to say. This is not offending him. Even if he is dissatisfied, he is not justified. There is no rule that we can't research evolution energy. This is technological progress. He is not qualified to interfere!"

"I know." Ulan Riel frowned. "However, Gode's request is that he can only analyze the Evolution Cube if he comes into contact with the main body. If anything abnormal happens and is discovered by Black Star, it may lead to a falling out with Black Star."

"This is a small risk, but we are not trying to snatch his cube, so it's not that serious. Besides, Gode is now an important object of cultivation directly under our empire. Providing him with evolution opportunities in the future is Black Star's duty."

Ulan Riel was a little hesitant. The Evolution Cube belonged to Black Star, and the empire could not snatch it, but it would be different if they researched it themselves.

From a personal point of view, Ulan Riel had no complaints about Black Star and liked him very much.

However, as the head of state, she had to consider the issue from the empire's perspective—the benefits of the Evolver totem were too great, and it had to be recharged every ten or twenty years. It was always uneasy to let outsiders monopolize it.

"Doing so is not necessarily snatching Black Star's benefits, but preventing the day when Black Star loses the Evolution Cube, so the empire had better research the mystery of the Evolution Cube as a backup," Becrodi took the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot.

"What he said makes sense," Ludweir echoed lightly.

Speaking of which, Ludweir used to owe Han Xiao a favor, but over the years, he had been advocating for investment in the Shattered Star Ring and suppressing the Infinite Financial Group, which had repaid a lot of favors.

Today, he did not object to Becrodi, and even supported the plan together. It was not that Ludweir had any complaints about Han Xiao, but he was just doing his job… In his opinion, the feasibility of this plan was indeed very high.

Ulan Riel thought for a while, exhaled, and said slowly:

"Becrodi, Black Star will be back in a while. Invite him to talk about something in your name and make a condition to him for the last time, asking him if he is willing to exchange the Evolution Cube for other things."

"If he still refuses, then make this plan official… Remember, the fewer people who know about this, the better, especially don't tell Black Star. If he knows about this in advance, he will definitely try to obstruct it. We'll talk about everything after the dust settles."

Hearing these words, joy flashed in the eyes of Becrodi and others, and they nodded.

"Understood."