The Legendary Mechanic

Han Xiao sighed, calmed himself down, and shook his head.

No matter how vast the unexplored universe was, or how many powerful unknown civilizations there were, it had nothing to do with him for the time being. The most important thing was to deal with the current problem. The focus was still on the war between the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree.

As for the problem of Iteration, it was useless to think too much about it. He could not deal with it for the time being.

"Although I can sense the existence of the Beyonder's Vestige, I only know the direction and the distance is unknown. This is like finding a needle in a haystack."

Han Xiao pondered.

However, the perception vision was dead, but the person was alive. It was not impossible to calculate distance. After all, the direction of the perception could barely be seen as a straight line. As long as one constantly changed their positioning, through the deviation of the perception line, one could still roughly estimate which one was closer.

However, at the scale of the universe, it was unknown how long it would take to shift the direction of one's perception. It would most likely be based on Star Systems and Star Clusters. Although this method would take some time, it was still an effective method.

The only problem he had to worry about was that if the nearest Beyonder's Vestige was not in the vicinity of the explored universe, it would take an unknown amount of time.

"No matter what, there are at least initial solutions for all three conditions. Let's act according to this plan."

Han Xiao was relieved.

The three conditions were of varying difficulties. The second condition was the easiest. He just had to communicate and activate the Face Fruit. As for the third condition, he did not know how long it would take. He decided to start with the first condition and contact Wuornos.

Han Xiao immediately found Wuornos' private number and called him.

In the previous battle, the two of them had gotten to know each other through fighting. After the battle ended, they exchanged private numbers.

The bell rang twice, and Wuornos' projection appeared on the screen. He was wearing a solemn robe as if his daily prayers had been interrupted.

"Black Star? What's the matter?"

Wuornos asked with an emotionless tone.

Han Xiao smiled but did not immediately get to the main topic. "It's been a while since we last met, and I suddenly miss you."

"Is that so?"

Wuornos' expression was calm, and he was not swayed. He only looked at Han Xiao calmly and did not say anything, as if saying 'is our relationship that good?'

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said with interest, "Speaking of which, I've been curious recently. As the strongest member of the Direct Line, why didn't the church let you participate in the interception battle?"

"This is an internal secret. I can't tell you. If you're here to persuade me to join the battle, then forget it," Wuornos' tone was calm, "Do you have anything else?"

Tsk, so mysterious. Is the church worried that you will die in battle and lose their National Treasure?

Han Xiao thought to himself.

Seeing that Wuornos' attitude was neither cold nor warm, he did not continue to beat around the bush and spoke of his main goal.

"I came to you this time because I have something to discuss with you… I want to borrow the church's National Treasure."

Hearing this, Wuornos' eyes flashed, but he did not reject it immediately.

"What do you want to do with it?"

"I want to try to break through to the next grade. I feel like the church's National Treasure will come in handy." Han Xiao did not hide this goal.

"Oh? Are you going to try to take this step? As expected of the most talented Super in history…"

Wuornos' eyes lit up. He was not surprised but delighted. He sized Han Xiao up and smiled.

He had always thought highly of Black Star and felt that Black Star was the most likely person to open a higher level.

As long as a pioneer took a path, future generations would be able to follow it. Whether they succeeded or failed, they would become important references for future generations. Therefore, Wuornos was very happy to know that Han Xiao was breaking through to a higher level.

"From my personal point of view, I'm very happy to help you. Maybe you can become a pioneer in the path of individual strength exploration, and I can also benefit from it. There's no reason to reject you…"

Wuornos smiled.

However, before Han Xiao could reply, he changed the topic and shook his head.

"However, the church's National Treasure is not my private property. If you want to borrow it, you'll have to seek the Arcane Church's approval. If they don't agree, I won't be able to lend it to you."

Hearing this, Han Xiao was not surprised and nodded.

"Of course, I understand. Help me tell the upper echelons of the church that the conditions can be negotiated. I need you to help me convince the upper echelons of the church."

"…Alright, I'll speak for you."

Wuornos nodded and did not refuse.

Other than the upper echelons of the church, no one else could order someone like him to do things. However, seeing that Black Star was trying to reach a new level, he did not mind helping him.

The two of them chatted for a while before Han Xiao hung up.

The result of the initial negotiations was still acceptable, and Wuornos did not have any objections. In that case, he only needed to deal with the upper echelons of the Arcane Church.

Of course, the upper echelons of the church would not give in so easily. He had to take out some of the chips that they cared about. All he had to do now was wait for the church to come and negotiate.

...

On the other side, the Arcane Church, the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.

After Wuornos received Han Xiao's call, he quickly contacted the Pope.

With his identity, he could speak to the Pope directly. Very soon, the projection of the Pope appeared on the screen.

"High Priest, what's the matter?"

The Pope was a little surprised. Wuornos seldom took the initiative to look for him. Usually, he was the one who called and gave the order. He was a little surprised to suddenly receive the call.

Wuornos had no intention of chatting and went straight to the point. "Black Star contacted me just now to borrow the church's National Treasure. I contacted you to discuss it."

The Pope was slightly stunned. He looked at Wuornos in surprise and almost could not believe his ears.

"Lend the National Treasure to an outsider ‽ Do you know what you're saying ‽"

"Black Star said we can negotiate."

Wuornos' tone was calm.

The Pope suppressed his emotions and asked with a frown,

"…Why does he want to borrow the National Treasure?"

"Black Star said that he wants to borrow the power of the National Treasure and attempt to break through to a new grade of individual strength."

"New grade? You mean above Beyond Grade A ‽"

Hearing this, the Pope was shocked.

This was big news. As the leader of the current Beyond Grade As, if Black Star could successfully establish a new level of individual strength, it would have an unknown and profound impact on battle with the World Tree.

In truth, because of Black Star's record-breaking growth speed, the three Universal Civilizations were all prepared for Black Star to reach a higher grade, but they did not expect it to happen so quickly. After all, no matter how strong Black Star was, he had only stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm for a few decades. When compared to the lifespan of a Beyond Grade A, he was too young, at the stage of a baby or a kid.

"…You want to help him?"

The Pope's tone sank.

Even if he wanted to borrow the National Treasure, he had to seek Wuornos' opinion. Since he had come to help Black Star pass the message, he had most likely already agreed. This made the Pope a little unhappy.

Wuornos looked straight ahead and said calmly,

"Why not? Isn't it beneficial for our side to have an expert that goes beyond the norm?"

"That may be the case, but you know the significance of the National Treasure and the threat that Black Star poses…"

The Pope paused. Although he did not finish his sentence, his meaning was clear enough.

Due to the revelation of the truth behind the Sanctum Revival, the three Universal Civilizations were even warier of Han Xiao. Although the war was the most important now, they did not want to see Black Star continue to become stronger, especially since it was an unprecedented new grade. No one knew how powerful the strength at that grade was.

Furthermore, he had more considerations. During the exploration era, after the first Primordial One successfully broke through, the other Beyond Grade As appeared one after another. No one knew if Black Star stepping into the higher level would stimulate the growth of the other Beyond Grade As, and the importance of individual strength would increase.

Wuornos did not take it to heart and slowly said, "Based on my experience, it's not that easy to break through to a new grade. Black Star is still in the experimental stage, and he can't succeed without failing a few times. It's still unknown if the National Treasure will come in handy, and his chances of failing are very high."

The Pope narrowed his eyes and did not speak.

Seeing this, Wuornos paused and continued,

"…So, I feel that lending out the National Treasure might not give Black Star any benefits, but we will definitely be able to benefit from him."

"Then what do you think we should propose?" the Pope asked.

"What I mean is to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. It has been sealed for too long."

"Hmm… it's not impossible."

Hearing this, the Pope narrowed his eyes and pondered.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter had long been frozen by Han Xiao using the Spacetime Amber. Originally, it had been snatched away by the Federation of Light and returned in a joint operation. However, the Arcane Church's research department was also unable to unseal it. They could only see that it could not be used. Currently, only Black Star could unseal it.

Releasing this Universal Treasure was still a little tempting. This was a powerful weapon that could kill individual strengths. It was useful both internally and externally.

This time, Wuornos struck while the iron was hot and said slowly, "I know you're worried about accidents, but the National Treasure has already fused with me. Even if Black Star has other intentions, he won't be able to do anything. The risk is very low, and in the current situation, the chances of Black Star turning against us are very low."

As a member of the Arcane Church, he had a lot of authority, but he rarely made suggestions and usually did not care about anything. However, at this moment, he took the initiative to speak up for Han Xiao. He really wanted to facilitate the cooperation between the two parties and observe Black Star's method to break through to a new grade.

Wuornos was rather curious about why Black Star felt that the church's National Treasure would be able to help him break through to the new grade.

He had been in possession of the National Treasure for so many years, but he had yet to discover it had this use. Could it be that the church's National Treasure had some other function that he did not understand?

...

In the Underworld Dimension, a light flashed, and Han Xiao teleported over.

At this time, the two sisters were not there. Hila was cultivating in Soul Terminal. At first, Aurora was still stubborn and focused on cultivating, but later, she could not help but go to the Soul Terminal and let Hila supervise her special training while cultivating.

Therefore, of the four Beyond Grade A officers of the army, three were in the Soul Terminal, and only Lothaire was outside, training Karlot.

Han Xiao activated the Beyonder's Vestige vision and quickly scanned the Underworld.

"There's no Beyonder's Vestige here… Looks like I'm overthinking. I'll check with Hila and the others later."

Han Xiao shook his head and sighed.

After he finished chatting with Wuornos, he immediately came here to look for clues. He planned to start by looking around him. If the outstanding people around him did not have the Beyonder's Vestige, he would then calculate the locations.

Beep beep beep—

This time, the communicator rang again. It was Wuornos.

"He called back so quickly? It's only been a few minutes?"

Han Xiao picked up the call.

Wuornos appeared on the screen and said, "Black Star, the Arcane Church wishes to make a deal with you. We can lend you the National Treasure once, but you have to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Also, the Sanctum Revival will be free for the next three times."

"Woah, three free times is way too much. I'm only borrowing the National Treasure once. This price is too high. I think unsealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is enough."

Han Xiao did not mind the Sanctum Revival being free a few times, but since it was a negotiation, he had to fight for it.

The church's request for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was one of the few possibilities that he had come up with. Due to the war and other factors, he had already planned to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, so using it as a bargaining chip was just right.

The two of them negotiated for a while and quickly came to a consensus. The price would be unsealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and 30% off for the next three Sanctum Revivals.

"It's settled then. Let me know when you need to borrow the National Treasure."

"Alright. I might need your help with something else too. We'll talk when the time comes."

"Sure."

Wuornos hung up immediately.

Han Xiao put down the communicator and pondered.

"This guy is really efficient. He's also very passionate about the higher levels, but he's so enthusiastic about helping me break through to a new grade. Could it be that he wants me to be a lab rat… Heh, no matter what he thinks, as long as I confirm that the church's National Treasure can be used as a 'stabilizer', the first request will be resolved. This is a good sign".

Han Xiao revealed a relaxed smile. Luckily, he had the bargaining chip of Ten Thousand Deity Scepter in his hands and never used it. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy.

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