On the Star Arc Civilization’s mother planet…

“An Energy Control Esper… this kind of rumor would not appear out of nowhere. Investigate the reliability of this information as soon as possible!”

The Star Arc Civilization was severely worried.

In the past few decades, the growth of the Crimson Dynasty had been way too rapid and smooth. It could be considered their golden era. Not a single advanced civilization was not jealous.

The dynasty already had people like Dark Lord and Black Star, and now Gaud, whose potential might be infinite, had appeared, not to mention he was even a direct member of the dynasty. This news was undoubtedly a nightmare for the Super Star Cluster civilizations. With every new talent the three Universal Civilizations acquired, the Super Star Cluster Alliance faced more pressure in the individual strength territory.

Back when Traveler got publicly executed by the dynasty, although their good brother Modo took the blame for it for some reason, it was impossible for the Star Arc Civilization leader not to be furious watching their own loyal member getting his execution broadcast live by the dynasty. He had only held back and did not do anything because the big picture was more important.

If he could eliminate Gaud and erase the dynasty’s future National Pillar in advance, it would be like avenging Traveler and making the dynasty pay for what they did…

The Star Arc Civilization leader’s expression shifted rapidly. In the end, he sighed and suppressed his impulses.

“Forget it. The state of the Flickering War is not positive at all. Our allies are getting defeated time and again. We’re already in a difficult enough situation, forcing them to send Beyond Grade As into the war too isn’t a wise choice. There’s no room for risk-taking in the current situation…”

Currently, no Beyond Grade A was part of the Flickering War. The three Universal Civilizations promising not to dispatch any direct Beyond Grade As was one of the very few great things for the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Once they broke the rule and made the three Universal Civilizations send in Beyond Grade As, the situation would become much worse for them than it already was.

The Flickering War was the hope for the Super Star Cluster Alliance to turn their situation around. Between a Beyond Grade A and the overall strategy of the entire civilization, of course, he knew which was more important.

The three Universal Civilizations had control over the resources of the explored universe. The strong became stronger, forming a positive cycle. Those who came after had to grow under restrictions, unable to catch up to their growth speed no matter what. The difference would only grow bigger, and killing a single Beyond Grade A would not change that at all.

If they lost the Flickering War completely, taking revenge might be considered as a form of collecting some interest. Now, however, the risk of acting far outweighed the benefits, so of course, he was not willing to do it.

“Be it Gaud or Black Star, let them do whatever.” The Star Arc Civilization leader shook his head. “I wonder what the other Super Star Cluster civilizations think. No one should want to take this risk; the big picture is more important. As for the federation and the church, they’re not likely to fight internally now… right?”

…

Somewhere in the Primeval Star River, Manison deactivated the remote projection, turned on the virtual screen, and brought up Gaud’s information that was circulating on the internet. He tapped the armrest of the chair with his fingers and pondered.

“Gaud… a new name, not a Beyond Grade A seed from any Star Field. He suddenly appeared out of nowhere, which means he’s been secretly trained by the dynasty all this time. The last person who appeared in a similar way was Clotti, who has the ability to control dark matter. The dynasty heavily promoted his strength as soon as he appeared…

“Usually, the three Universal Civilizations promote the abilities of their direct Beyond Grade A members. However, the dynasty has asked Gaud to keep it a secret instead. Even Clotti did not receive this treatment, which means this guy’s Esper Ability is extremely special. The rumor of him having the Energy Control Esper Ability might not be fake. Interesting.”

A tint of curiosity flashed past Manison’s eyes.

If Gaud really had such an overpowered ability, he could not say he was not tempted. If this was before, he would have most likely tried to ambush Gaud and capture him to make him into a Felon.

Now, however, he had decided to quit that profession. Unless it was a special situation, he would no longer make new Felons, or he would not possibly be able to have a high reputation in the association. That b*stard Black Star had been bringing his dark history up all the time, and he was really annoyed by it.

“I shall see how things go first. If Gaud wants to build a reputation in the future, he’ll definitely have to display his ability. There’s no way for him to hide it. In fact, someone might already plan to spar with him before he even leaves the Flickering World.”

Manison suddenly narrowed his eyes and murmured, “There are so many Beyond Grade As and armed fleets in the Flickering World. It’ll be easy to dispatch forces. That place is the most dangerous Star Field in the universe now. It’s the land that nourishes conspiracies and plots… Hmm, I wonder if the federation, the church, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance will do anything…”

…

Meanwhile, in the Limitless Financial Group’s Flickering World subdivision…

“Another high potential stock…”

Sorokin crossed his arms and recalled what happened in the meeting earlier.

From the way he looked at it, Gaud had a bright future and would definitely be able to grow smoothly with the dynasty’s protection. It was almost certain he would become the National Pillar of the dynasty in the future. The dynasty had very high hopes on him.

“If things go well, I might be able to trigger a second Tragedy of the Pinnacles…”

Sorokin contemplated. He felt this was a great opportunity.

If he used the real strength he had been hiding and secretly assassinated Gaud, making the dynasty furious, he should be able to start an enormous storm that would shatter the situation the association had been working so hard to achieve. Thus, the bloody slaughtering between factions would start again.

Although he had joined the association, he was the last person who wanted to see the Beyond Grade A be united. His goals had never changed—one was to earn money, and another was to reduce the number of Beyond Grade As, creating an environment that was beneficial to him.

Furthermore, Black Star had always been a hidden problem. He instinctively wanted to get rid of anything that might expose his true identity.

“If I target Gaud, maybe I can think of a way to pin it on Black Star and cause him trouble… But he knows my secrets, so he’ll definitely suspect me. It’ll be risky for me too.”

Sorokin frowned slightly.

Although he had this idea, it was tough to actually execute it, as Black Star had no motive to target Gaud.

In his eyes, even if he made the move, Black Star would be the last person the dynasty suspected. The framing had almost no chance of working.

He did not dare take the risk before coming up with a detailed plan.

“I have to carefully think on what to do exactly.”

Sorokin’s eyes flickered.

…

A few days passed very quickly. Under the influence of some people with motives, the content of the Beyond Grade A meeting got leaked. It did not only circulate in the black market this time but throughout the entire galactic society, attracting widespread attention.

The appeal of Super High Risk Esper Abilities related topics was very high. It piqued the interest of countless galactic residents. The rumors got more and more widely known. Although there was still no solid proof, under the secret influence of some organizations, it was as if the galactic society had already confirmed that Gaud’s ability was ‘Energy Control’.

Although the various organizations were shocked, due to different reasons, no one acted. They only silently kept an eye on the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, speculating if they would make a move.

In the eyes of the various organizations, as long as these two sides did not make any moves, nothing would happen.

The changes in the outside world did not affect the schedule of the dynasty fleet. It advanced through space with Gaud on board, heading toward the exit of the Flickering World.

Inside the luxurious training room of the fleet, Gaud hovered in midair, giving off a dim light all over his body. The sound of a moving stream echoed in the air; energy formed tides inside his body.

After a while, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. The light extinguished, and his body returned to normal.

Gaud reached out his hand and turned his palm up. The next moment, a tiny stream of dark black energy suddenly appeared and spun around his wrist.

He toyed with this stream of energy and grinned.

“It’s no wonder Energy Control is a ‘high class Esper Ability’. It’s been less than a month, and I’ve already cracked about half of the Evolution Energy’s structure and can produce a semi-finished version of it. It’s going smoother than I thought. At this pace, I’ll control this special energy very soon. Then, I will be able to create it all I want and become a walking Evolution Cube…”

The ability of every Esper would change once they became a Beyond Grade A, and Energy Control was no exception. Once he broke down the structure of a type of energy, it would mean he permanently gained control of that type of energy and would be able to create it anytime.

This did not only include all kinds of common types of energy but even special forms of energy such as the Evolution Energy and Primal Esper Ability Entities. As long as he cracked them, they would become his own ability. With every type of energy he controlled, he would become stronger.

Not only that, Gaud even had a fuzzy feeling that once he became even stronger and mastered more types of energy, it seemed like he could even create new forms of energy out of nothing!

Even with his extremely extensive knowledge, he was still astonished. The potential of this overpowered Esper Ability was horrifying!

“Primal Esper Ability Entities are tough to find, but Black Star seems to have two of them. I’m his colleague now, and he wants to build a good relationship with me. If I bring up the request, he should agree to lend them to me… This is so much easier than robbing.”

Gaud was in a great mood. The air felt so refreshing and the future so bright.

In the past when he was a wanted criminal, he could only rob something from others if he wanted it. Now that he had become a member of the Lawful Faction, he finally felt the advantages of having connections.

Gaud sighed as he opened the gate and walked out of the training room. The dynasty soldiers he met on the way all greeted him respectfully. He was already used to it.

When he came to the command room at the bridge, the captain approached and greeted him.

“Your Excellency Gaud, we’re approaching the edge of the fourth exploration stage area of the Flickering World. We’ll be reaching the entrance of the stargate route in two days. After that, we’ll quickly pass through the remaining Star Clusters through the Black Star Army’s territory.”

“Hmm, good work,” Gaud responded monotonously.

“Thank you. It’s an honor to serve y…”

The captain’s tone was humble.

However, before he finished, the ship suddenly trembled. It exited from hyperdrive mood and stopped.

Bang!

The staff all staggered due to the momentum. Some even fell to the floor.

The captain held onto the table and yelled, “What’s going on?”

Very soon, an operational officer responded with a shocked tone. “Captain, the spaceship’s artificial intelligence suddenly lost control. It locked down the engine, activated the emergency stop, turned off all devices, and disconnected from the quantum network! We’ve lost contact with the other spaceships!”

“Is this an attack‽” The captain was furious. “Who dares attack the dynasty’s forces! Turn on the backup artificial intelligence immediately and regain control of the spaceship!”

The operational officer quickly returned to his post and worked on the system, but he was covered in sweat very soon.

“It… It can’t be done! All functions of the spaceship are frozen!”

The dynasty crew inside the command room were panicking. Gaud glanced at them. He then turned to look outside the porthole and frowned.

“Am I the target?”

Gaud was surprised. He felt this was the only possibility.

He had analyzed his situation long ago. For their own sake, the odds of the various organizations attacking him were extremely low. He originally thought his trip in the Flickering World would be smooth and did not expect someone to really take such a big risk.

“Looks like the doing of a Virtual Mechanic. Is it the Mechanic Emperor? Tsk, is he really planning on capturing me and turning me into a Felon? He’s already in such a horrible situation, yet he still dares to enrage the dynasty?”

Gaud was shocked.

Being shocked was one thing, but he was not nervous. His experience of being attacked was way too rich. The emotion ‘fear’ did not even exist in him.

Furthermore, he was not really a new Beyond Grade A. Although his strength could not compare with his old days, he had still inherited part of it and was stronger than someone at his level should be. This was one source of his confidence.

If the attacker was the Mechanic Emperor, he had to admit he would not be able to defeat him and could only look for a way to escape.

However, if it was some other organization that took him as a new Beyond Grade A and wanted to eliminate him, they would have made a huge mistake.

In his eyes, the only ones who had the motive and the ability to attack him were the federation, the church, the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and the Mechanic Emperor. It basically could not possibly anyone else.

Gaud’s Beyond Grade A senses suddenly spread out and covered this entire area.

“Let’s see who wants to kill me!”