Chapter 1 Chaotic Power

Amidst the dreamlike nebula light-sea, the Chaos Mysterious Energy returned from the secondary dimension and appeared before everyone.

It was a massive, scarlet energy body, cloud-like in its overall appearance, like tumbling clouds, constantly flashing with etheric lightning-like grey-white brilliance. The energy was densest in the center, decreasing in concentration towards the edges. In the periphery, the red energy drifted like thin veils. Upon closer observation, this energy seemed to be composed of tiny particles.

Numerous small red light clusters danced nimbly around the Chaos Mysterious Energy. These were the companion sub-bodies split and proliferated from the Chaos Mysterious Energy, like its descendants or servants. Evans had encountered one of them before.

The Chaos Mysterious Energy was a primitive exotic energy body, possessing independent thought. Most of its consciousness and energy were always dormant, with only a small portion of its instincts maintaining daily actions, relinquishing thought, and allowing itself to drift along, wandering aimlessly.

This vast expanse of scarlet light reflected through the portholes of every ship in the vicinity, mirrored in the pupils of the crew members from various factions, illuminating the surprise and excitement in their eyes.

"It's out! It's out! Hurry and take action!"

At this moment, all the factions present, each harboring their own ulterior motives, cooperated to activate the prepared space-time stabilization trap.

Buzz!

All the space-time stabilization anchors, dimension isolation devices, reality enhancement instruments, and other devices deployed around the area were activated. In addition to the technological side, various large-scale rune arrays and spatial magic items from the magical side also began to take effect.

The erupting spatial energy spread out from different points like ripples, rapidly smoothing out the "wrinkles" in the space within the region. The space-time coefficient was raised to an incredibly stable level, making it impossible to use either quantum leap or wormholes here!

The Chaos Mysterious Energy was highly sensitive to changes in space. It instantly sensed the drastic changes in its environment. Its dormant consciousness awakened, and the massive energy cloud suddenly contracted and shrank, its volume rapidly condensing, and its density expanding madly, attempting to transform into a black hole singularity, using its immense density to warp the space-time coefficient and tear a gap in this trap.

The space in this area was like a sheet of paper. The traps of the various factions were like forces pulling outward, straightening the paper, while the ultra-highly condensed Chaos Mysterious Energy was attempting to exert force perpendicularly in the middle of the paper, breaking through the surface with a single point. The two forces were engaged in a confrontation. If it were normal paper, it would be pierced through in this confrontation, but this was a space that had been highly strengthened for stability and could not be destroyed.

Seeing this scene, a voice rang out in the wide-area channel:

"Quickly contain the Chaos Mysterious Energy! The peak value of the space-time coefficient is declining. If we let it resist all the time, it will break free from our space-time stabilization trap sooner or later!"

In the next moment, a small fleet that was closest to the Chaos Mysterious Energy, which had already transformed into a dazzling sphere of light, couldn't wait any longer and rushed toward it. The outer armor of the spaceships slid open, revealing a special mechanical instrument that unleashed an astonishing suction force specifically targeting energy life forms toward the Chaos Mysterious Energy. The Chaos Mysterious Energy immediately trembled slightly, and strands of energy were drawn from the sphere of light and sucked into the instrument, like beams of light.

The factions that had come to contend for the Chaos Mysterious Energy had all made preliminary preparations. This was a device specifically used to contain and restrain energy life forms. Even if the Chaos Mysterious Energy condensed itself, the energy would still be sucked out, like a tug-of-war. It kept clenching its fists, while the containment instrument wanted to pry its fingers open.

However, at that moment, the Chaos Mysterious Energy suddenly shot out dense beams of light, bombarding the fleet in an overwhelming manner.

In the next second, the shields were pierced, and the ships exploded violently, transforming into fireworks in the universe. The fleet was completely annihilated in a single round of attacks!

With the outburst of energy, the mental attributes of the Chaos Mysterious Energy were also activated. Waves of impactful mental undercurrents were generated and spread outwards. Everyone surrounding the Chaos Mysterious Energy suddenly felt a dizzy sensation in their heads, as if they were affected by infrasound waves, feeling as groggy and disoriented as if they were heavily drunk.

In the Imperial fleet, Ravenlaude, seeing this scene, secretly curled his lip.

"Tsk, courting death. The Chaos Mysterious Energy isn't something without risks."

Primitive exotic energy bodies were incredibly ancient. They themselves were a mass of energy. Without a host, they would use crude methods to unleash their abilities, such as directly shooting out energy, continuously *biabiabia*.

Just then, the Chaos Mysterious Energy turned around and fled, flying at ultra-high speed, like a shooting star rapidly escaping. The surrounding fleets immediately revealed their containment devices, chasing after it relentlessly, trying to encircle and intercept it.

"I'll go!"

Ravenlaude's eyes flashed. He left the warship and gave chase at high speed with the aid of magic, while rapidly casting spells.

Rune arrays surrounded his body, shimmering with arcane light. Rich magic energy pulled at the Chaos Mysterious Energy, drastically reducing its speed. At the same time, waves of arcane energy struck the Chaos Mysterious Energy from afar, transforming into magical runes controlled by Ravenlaude, mixing foreign energy into the Chaos Mysterious Energy, thereby weakening its control over its body.

The effect was remarkable. The Chaos Mysterious Energy couldn't maintain its condensed state. The sphere of light rapidly burst open, re-expanding into a cloud of energy, and the area affected by the attack immediately increased exponentially.

Super-A Grade mages often traveled to secondary dimensions. Ravenlaude had too much experience dealing with energy bodies and was well-versed in the methods. He released magical shields to effortlessly block the energy rays that the Chaos Mysterious Energy counterattacked with, regardless of the cost.

Seeing the Chaos Mysterious Energy gradually falling under Ravenlaude's control, a surge of powerful psychic power suddenly attacked from behind, sweeping outwards.

Ravenlaude narrowed his eyes, distracted himself to cast a spell, and used a defensive spell to block the psychic attack from behind. Not far away, a figure surpassed him, rapidly shooting toward the Chaos Mysterious Energy, holding a high-end, enhanced version of a portable energy body container in his hand.

"Hmph, Sisko."

Without another word, Ravenlaude also launched an attack on Sisko. The two of them fought while chasing the Chaos Mysterious Energy, hindering each other.

Seeing this, some factions on the side wanted to take advantage of the situation, but the spaceships that approached the Chaos Mysterious Energy were all shattered into pieces by the "aftermath" of the Super-A Grades' confrontation.

The figures of the two Super-A Grades constantly intertwined, magic and psychic power clashing again and again. The scene was incredibly intense. Ravenlaude held the upper hand, suppressing Sisko's offensive, but although the battle was fierce, neither of them went all out, not forgetting to reserve energy to contain the Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Under the combined attack of the two Super-A Grades, the Chaos Mysterious Energy couldn't stir up much trouble. One after another, sealing runes merged into its body, and its resistance grew weaker and weaker, gradually showing a trend of being completely sealed and contained.

At the same time, the Modo Civilization's forces were also patrolling the edges of the battlefield. Dozens of Calamity Grades on board were closely watching the Chaos Mysterious Energy with solemn expressions, discussing in low voices.

"Everyone, they are restraining each other. Are we going to take action now?"

"The opportunity is too small. Even if our dozens of Calamity Grades join forces, we can only withstand their attacks for a short while. There isn't enough time for us to retreat. We will definitely have to sacrifice many lives. It's not worth it, is it?"

The crowd exchanged glances and shook their heads secretly.

Their superiors had instructed them to act according to the situation, but there was no opportunity. Although these Calamity Grades were usually quite arrogant, they didn't have any confidence against Super-A Grades. Even if they were very loyal to the Modo Civilization, no one wanted to throw their lives away in vain.

In the communication channel, Rodick remained silent for a while, then said in a deep voice, "If there is no opportunity, then so be it. Do not forcibly intervene."

Hearing this, the dozens of Calamity Grades on board relaxed their tense bodies and breathed a sigh of relief.

Rodick was slightly unwilling, but he didn't have too much obsession. The original goal of sending so many Calamity Grades was to gain an absolute combat power advantage in the absence of Super-A Grades.

But now that Super-A Grades had intervened, without revealing any flaws, the mission had basically been declared a failure. Since things couldn't be done, the best choice was to retreat. There was no need to let the civilization's Calamity Grade elites be lost.

'This is just an incidental mission and does not need to be forced. Facing such a situation, the higher-ups will understand. If a large number of elites were sacrificed for this, the higher-ups would instead count it as my fault.'

With this in mind, Rodick said loudly, "Everyone, let's retreat!"

"Alright!" Everyone responded happily.

But in the next moment, an unexpected turn of events occurred!

The Modo Civilization's fleet suddenly turned around and charged straight toward the Chaos Mysterious Energy. Not only that, but it also opened fire with all its might, launching a surprise attack on Ravenlaude and Sisko!

In that instant, everyone present was shocked.

Even Ravenlaude and Sisko's battle came to a halt, forced to withstand this barrage of focused fire. Both of them looked a little dumbfounded.

Ac-Actually opening fire on us?

What kind of madman does that?!

In the command center of the base, Rodick's expression changed drastically, and he roared in rage, "What are you doing? Have you gone mad!"

"Our spaceships suddenly stopped listening to orders!" Many Calamity Grades were greatly alarmed.

Rodick suddenly thought of something, and his face turned deathly pale.

This strong sense of déjà vu…

Is it virtual intrusion?!

"Damn it, it's happening again!"

Rodick was filled with shock and anger, about to shout for everyone to run away.

But at that moment, the remote communication link was directly cut off, and the screen went black, reflecting his face, which was twisted with rage.

"Black Star!!!"

Bang!

Rodick roared and smashed the communicator with a palm strike. The room was immediately filled with the air of impotent rage.

The Modo Civilization, which had interfered as a third party, instantly attracted all the aggro. Ravenlaude and Sisko even temporarily stopped fighting each other. Waves of magic and psychic storms rained down on the Modo Civilization's forces, and the small fleet that came with them was quickly annihilated.

Dozens of Calamity Grades were terrified. They decisively abandoned their spaceships and fled in all directions. However, Ravenlaude and Sisko didn't have the habit of letting those who attacked them get away, and they chased after them relentlessly.

The Calamity Grade elites, who had been painstakingly cultivated or recruited by the Modo Civilization, could only resist a few times at most before falling one after another, suffering heavy losses!

The gap between Super-A Grades and Calamity Grades was like a chasm. These people had no power to fight back and could only bury their heads and desperately try to escape.

After more than eighty percent of the dozens of Calamity Grades had died, Ravenlaude and Sisko finally stopped and began fighting each other again.

This result shocked the other factions present, and they retreated with their fleets, not daring to compete with the murderous duo for the Chaos Mysterious Energy.

The Imperial fleet wasn't idle either. It was engaged in a fierce battle with the Star Pupils God Race's fleet. In terms of spaceship technology and scale, the Empire was much more powerful, causing the Star Pupils God Race's forces to retreat steadily and fall into a dangerous situation.

"Still want to fight with me?" Ravenlaude raised his eyebrows and used magic to transmit his voice, saying leisurely, "We can fight for days and nights, but your troops will probably be wiped out. I heard that you value your clansmen very much. How about it, is the Chaos Mysterious Energy worth sacrificing so many lives for?"

Sisko unleashed a violent storm-like psychic power, smashing the incoming arcane fission bomb. He gritted his teeth and said, "Do you think you can make me give up with just a few words? Your Imperial troops will also suffer considerable losses!"

"That's right, but those are Imperial soldiers. I don't care about casualties." Ravenlaude didn't mind. "You can't win against me. Don't make unnecessary sacrifices. As long as I contain the Chaos Mysterious Energy and then have someone deactivate the space-time stabilization trap, I can directly open a portal and leave the battlefield in an instant. Can you, a psychic, catch up?"

Sisko's expression was uncertain. He suddenly stopped and no longer entangled with Ravenlaude. Instead, he turned around to support the fleet and repel the Imperial forces.

Seeing this, Ravenlaude knew that Sisko had given up the fight and smiled with satisfaction. Without anyone else hindering him, he fully unleashed his sealing magic, and endless arcane light penetrated into the Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Soon, a magical罩 (罩 zhao – cover/cage) enveloped the Chaos Mysterious Energy, shrinking rapidly and being completely sealed within a crystal magic orb that Ravenlaude had taken out.

"Success!"

Ravenlaude's eyes lit up as if he could see the cosmic treasure promised by the Empire waving at him.

Before he could rejoice, at the instant the seal was completed, a powerful mental magic that had been brewing for a long time suddenly attacked, striking his mental barrier. Under the severe mental shock, Ravenlaude fell into a brief state of dizziness.

At the same time, a figure suddenly flew out from a fleet and approached at high speed. On the way, it released spells, and array formations rapidly formed around Ravenlaude. Countless blue magical tentacles were generated from the array formations, firmly binding Ravenlaude's body.

This wasn't a simple binding. The official name of the spell was [Atom Descent – Chaotic Demon Tentacles]. It was a set of top-tier spells with a temporary mana-locking silence effect on mages, and it also possessed a soul-binding force. Once bound, one would fall into a longer state of stiffness, unable to control the body.

"Another Super-A Grade?!" Sisko, who was not far away, sensed the sudden burst of energy and turned his head abruptly, his face filled with shock.

At this time, Ravenlaude finally broke free from his dizziness, greatly alarmed, and hurriedly tried to break free from the restraints.

However, this figure had already arrived beside him, snatched away the magic orb containing the sealed Chaos Mysterious Energy, and then pressed a palm against Ravenlaude's chest.

A majestic and abundant magic power surged out, transforming into a thick blue-purple beam of light that directly blasted Ravenlaude far away.

This attack didn't do much damage. Ravenlaude flew out a short distance and hurriedly stabilized himself. He raised his head in shock and anger, and when he saw this tattooed figure, his expression suddenly froze.

"It's you, Secret Master!"

The circle was small, and famous Super-A Grades knew each other. Secret Master's status in the circle was higher than his.

Secret Master had a indifferent look, ignoring the anger mixed with fear in Ravenlaude's eyes. He lowered his head to examine the Chaos Mysterious Energy, nodded, and said expressionlessly:

"Thank you for helping me contain the Chaos Mysterious Energy, letting you keep it for a few seconds. Now, it's back to its original owner."

Ravenlaude laughed in anger. "I thought Black Star was the most shameless among the Super-A Grades, but I didn't expect your skills to be not bad either. How is it back to its original owner? When did you become the owner of the Chaos Mysterious Energy?"

"I came, so it is mine." Secret Master said lightly.

Ravenlaude choked, angrily saying, "Stop talking nonsense. Do you think you can get away?"

He finally had a chance to exchange for a cosmic treasure. Even if Secret Master was stronger, Ravenlaude wouldn't let it go.

Secret Master glanced at him, expressionless. "I can leave whenever I want."

As soon as he finished speaking, the space-time stabilization trap in this area suddenly had a large chunk missing, and some of the devices suddenly exploded. Secret Master had secretly tampered with it when setting up the trap, planting remote-controlled invisible explosive runes in order to create an environment for the teleportation to take effect after he succeeded.

The space-time stability coefficient dropped sharply, the trap effect plummeted, and it couldn't restrain the Super-A Grade's spatial magic. Ravenlaude's expression changed drastically instantly, and he immediately understood Secret Master's thoughts. He hurriedly began to chant and cast spells, trying to use spatial magic to suppress Secret Master's teleportation.

However, Secret Master was faster. With the surge of blue magic power, he had already completed the spell model of the teleportation gate and activated it instantly. A blue vortex rapidly formed beside him.

Seeing Ravenlaude approaching anxiously, Secret Master had a calm expression, his expression like an ancient well without ripples.

"See you next time, Ra… huh?!"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a weight in his hand, and the Chaos Mysterious Energy sealing container in his hand disappeared. What replaced it was a mechanical arm, connected to a humanoid mechanical body with blue-golden electricity flickering in its eyes, appearing beside him without warning.

"You…" Secret Master's eyes flickered, and a look of astonishment finally appeared.

The mechanical body tilted its head and suddenly trembled. A strange void energy suddenly spread out, enveloping a large area, even including Ravenlaude.

In the next moment, Secret Master and Ravenlaude simultaneously discovered that the space in this area had become viscous, and their movements became uncontrollably sluggish.

Void Confinement!

Ravenlaude had a flash of inspiration and immediately remembered the owner of this ability, blurting out, "Black Star?!"

Han Xiao's Ruler clone turned his head to look at him and smiled. "Yo, you recognized me?"

"You came just in time!" Ravenlaude was overjoyed, thinking that Han Xiao was a secret reinforcement called by the Empire.

Han Xiao saw through his thoughts with a glance and shook his head. "I didn't come for the Empire."

Hearing this, Ravenlaude's smile froze.

He immediately understood that Black Star was different from him. He wasn't seizing the Chaos Mysterious Energy for the Empire but had known about this information long ago and was seizing it for himself.

In that case, although Black Star was an ally of the Empire, he was his competitor in this matter.

Understanding this, Ravenlaude's heart suddenly sank.

At the same time, Secret Master narrowed his eyes. Failing at the last moment made him extremely annoyed, and he said coldly, "Black Star, you stole my Chaos Mysterious Energy?"

Han Xiao turned his head to look at him and smiled slightly.

"To borrow one of your sentences… thank you for helping me keep it for a few seconds."

He had already made arrangements here long ago. The Ruler clone was hiding nearby with the mechanical troops, watching the whole battle, and incidentally tricked the Modo Civilization and did some missions.

It wasn't until just now that Secret Master broke the space-time stabilization trap and was about to teleport away that the Ruler clone finally seized the opportunity to strike. It immediately used [Void Displacement] to swap its position with the Chaos Mysterious Energy sealing magic tool. In this way, the sealing magic tool fell into the hands of the mechanical troops.

However, in this way, the energy fluctuations caused the concealment and disguise to fail, and the mechanical troops were also exposed. In order to prevent the two from chasing after them, the Ruler clone directly activated Void Confinement, temporarily restraining Secret Master and Ravenlaude so that the mechanical troops could escape with the sealing magic tool.

As long as they returned to a safe zone, they would have truly succeeded.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Secret Master thought he was the oriole, but unfortunately, he didn't know that Han Xiao was hiding even deeper.

"The only trouble is…"

Han Xiao turned his head to look at Sisko in the distance. This guy wasn't trapped by Void Confinement and had the ability to chase after them.

Sensing Han Xiao's gaze, Sisko's face looked as ugly as if he had eaten a bug.

At this time, the voice of the Star Pupils God Race's cadre rang out in the psychic communication network.

"Leader, we have detected a suddenly appearing mechanical troop, escorting the Chaos Mysterious Energy and escaping at high speed. Should we pursue?"

"Don't chase, retreat!"

Seeing Han Xiao, Sisko didn't hesitate at all and turned around to leave.

He didn't want to have a head-on conflict with Black Star alone right now, being cowardly and decisive.

More importantly, even if Black Star's mechanical troop didn't have the Ruler clone, he felt that he might not be able to beat them…

He's actually so sensible?!

Han Xiao couldn't help but scratch his iron head, secretly laughing, then looked back at Secret Master, whose face was ugly and full of hostility, and twisted his neck.

"I'll accept the Chaos Mysterious Energy. If you're unhappy… I'll loosen your muscles for you?"