King of Assassins-Chapter 639 - 490 Meeting
In a few months, Xiao Jun had visibly aged a lot. His brow was etched with deep, unerasable worries.
Gao Xuan could see that the old man hadn't been having a good time lately.
The Xiao Family of the Twelve Star Domain had become dominant, and there were no strong enemies outside. It must be because he had made enemies with the major Golden Families that the old man was so burdened with worries.
Gao Xuan had a good impression of Xiao Jun. The old man was steady and experienced, knowing his limits in both work and life. Their cooperation was also pleasant.
With the relationships with Xiao Wan and Xiao Ting, Gao Xuan respected the old man a bit more.
Gao Xuan understood Xiao Jun's difficult situation—seeking benefits and avoiding harm is human nature.
However, at this stage, the Twelve Star Domain and the Sea Emperor Star Realm were already marked. Jumping ship wouldn't be easy.
Gao Xuan wouldn't stop Xiao Jun, but it's likely that the Golden Families like the Qin Family wouldn't agree.
The Twelve Star Domain, being a remote star domain, lacked technology and special resources and had almost no influence in the Alliance.
The Golden Families looked down on such remote star domains. Due to the distance, managing them would be troublesome even if they acquired them.
For the Noble Families, areas within ten days' reach by warship could be effectively managed.
A trip to the Twelve Star Domain would take at least a month.
These remote star domains are located on the outskirts of the Alliance. If there were a strong enemy invasion, they could serve as beacon towers. So, the Golden Families stayed in the Central Star Realm.
Only someone like Hercules, who had squandered his family fortune, was forced to run to the Sea Emperor Star Realm. Even so, Hercules looked down on the Twelve Star Domain, seeing it as a wild and uncivilized place.
Gao Xuan thought the Twelve Star Domain wasn't bad; it had a sufficient population and decent development. But after three thousand years of exploitation, the Twelve Star Domain's potential was nearly exhausted.
Since the Xiao Family boarded his ship, he was willing to lend them a hand.
The Black Banner Star Realm was an opportunity. A vast star realm, though occupied by pirates for two thousand years.
However, the Black Banner King only wanted to raise pigs. The Black Banner Star Realm didn't even have a decent industrial system, and development was nearly non-existent.
The Twelve Star Domain had a sufficient population. In the major supercities of Taurus, the population had far exceeded the city's carrying capacity.
On one hand, the vast population didn't have job opportunities. On the other hand, these people still had to share social resources.
Transferring part of the population resources from the Twelve Star Domain to the Black Banner Star Realm would be beneficial for both parties.
However, nowadays, people are accustomed to comfort. Few would be willing to travel to an exotic realm to develop a planet.
Organizing a large migration to the Black Banner Star Realm is extremely troublesome.
Whether the management of the Black Banner Star Realm succeeds or fails didn't matter much to Gao Xuan.
Leaving such a habitable star realm empty was a waste.
The Alliance was currently showing trends of internal strife, and the Black Banner Star Realm was akin to virgin land, with tremendous development value.
As long as one wasn't a fool, they could profit from it.
Seeing Xiao Jun's haggard expression, Gao Xuan didn't joke anymore. He directly stated the matter.
Xiao Jun was quite surprised, most surprised that Gao Xuan had actually exterminated the Black Banner Alliance. And wiped them out thoroughly.
There was a lot of uproar on the Celestial Net, but Xiao Jun didn't dare believe it. He also couldn't contact Gao Xuan and didn't know what to contact him for.
It wasn't until now that Xiao Jun figured out the situation.
It turned out that the news buzzing on the Celestial Net was indeed true.
Developing the Black Banner Star Realm was certainly a profitable venture. Just the initial investment would be a bit higher.
The key was the attitude of the Alliance and the major Golden Families.
If Gao Xuan couldn't stand firm, then developing the Black Banner Star Realm would be a wasted effort.
The problem is that Gao Xuan's kind invitation was clearly to support the Xiao Family. If he refused, it would seem ungrateful.
Refusing Gao Xuan's kindness wouldn't necessarily result in Gao Xuan doing anything to him. But if the Xiao Family encountered problems in the future, they couldn't rely on Gao Xuan.
Xiao Jun was ultimately on a lower tier, with few channels to obtain information. He didn't understand the exact conflict between Gao Xuan and the Golden Families or their respective attitudes.
Having no other choice, Xiao Jun could only ask Gao Xuan, "Mr. Gao, I'm very grateful for your support of the Xiao Family. But, I'm not sure about the reaction from the Alliance. Will there be any issues with the ownership of the Black Banner Star Realm?"
Gao Xuan reassured him, "Don't worry, I'll handle the Alliance. It won't take long. You first contact Helen to prepare for the initial phase..."
Though Gao Xuan's assurance left Xiao Jun half-believing, half-doubting.
However, with the powerful force Gao Xuan had demonstrated, occupying a star realm was also reasonable, as long as Gao Xuan could smooth out relations with the Golden Families.
Although Xiao Jun had doubts, at this point, he couldn't show hesitation. He gritted his teeth, "I'll contact Lord Helen."
Gao Xuan nodded, "I won't handle the specifics; you can discuss and deal with them."
He thought for a moment and asked, "How are Xiao Ting and the others?"
"They're all doing well."
Xiao Jun felt a bit embarrassed inside, though it didn't show on his face.
Gao Xuan and Xiao Jun chatted a bit longer before closing the communication.
Helen happened to walk in from outside. From afar, she said to Gao Xuan, "I'm exhausted. The pirates are truly foolish; the cities they built are in ruins, like dog kennels..."
Aside from the Pirate King's Hall, which was grand enough, other buildings of the Black Banner Alliance were extremely outdated and dilapidated, lacking any sense of Interstellar Era's technology. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
Helen had utter disdain for all the cities on Black Banner Star. She showed Gao Xuan a huge design chart, "I've decided to build a super city on the continent's edge as the Empress City!"
Helen was filled with ambition now, eager to make grand accomplishments in the Black Banner Star Realm.
"The times have changed, and farming and management hold little meaning. You should focus your energy on cultivation."
Gao Xuan gave the Black Banner Star Realm to Helen, not so she could really do farming there.
The main reason is that Helen has Hercules behind her, as well as the Sea Emperor Star Realm, which can hold onto the Black Banner Star Realm.
Helen is now wholeheartedly invested in construction, which is putting the cart before the horse.
As the level of military conflicts continues to rise, amassing low-end forces is largely meaningless.
The truly important factor is one's own power.
But Helen didn't seem to care, "Anyway, I have you, you can protect me."
"I'm counting on you to grow quickly and become my assistant."
Gao Xuan said, "You can't be this lazy; I need to teach you a good lesson."
Gao Xuan wasn't just talking. His spear moved like a dragon, making Helen abandon her armor and beg for mercy repeatedly...
However, this kind of teaching seemed to have little effect.
Helen's little face was flushed, her azure eyes filled with tender spring water, as she lay comfortably on Gao Xuan's arm, looking completely satisfied.
Gao Xuan realized this wouldn't do, as he had high hopes for Helen.
The Sea Emperor Trident is the top-tier Divine Artifact. Although it lacks special Power of Laws, holding the Sea Emperor Trident grants immunity to various Law Powers. Just this point alone is incredibly powerful.
The Sea Emperor Trident can harness the endless Source Power from the Sea of Source Power, making it a top-level practical Divine Artifact.
However, Helen had no sense of crisis, feeling complacent at merely Level 16. In the upcoming conflicts, Level 20 is a threshold.
Golden powerhouses below Level 20 are just cannon fodder, unable to play any decisive role.
Gao Xuan used the Soul Chain to connect to Helen's Divine Soul, creating a virtual combat world.
The immense spiritual power and exquisite techniques made the virtual illusion extraordinarily realistic. Since all information directly targeted Helen's Divine Soul, such trial combat was meaningful.
The Virtual Celestial Net, no matter how realistic, could hardly simulate Source Power, let alone changes in spiritual power.
In the spiritual world constructed by Gao Xuan, Helen was ravaged repeatedly.
Initially treating it as a game, Helen got a little annoyed after being ruthlessly defeated by Gao Xuan multiple times. After all, she is a golden powerhouse and has her pride.
When she got serious, Helen finally made some progress. However, she still couldn't last more than three moves under Gao Xuan's sword.
After being killed hundreds of times, Helen was so aggrieved she almost cried. Yet, her proud personality wouldn't allow her to admit defeat or show weakness.
Gao Xuan was not polite; being tormented by him was better than being tormented by enemies.
Moreover, Helen has enormous potential to be developed. Such torment benefits her greatly.
The time in the soul world is completely different from the outside; one minute outside is half a day in Gao Xuan's illusion realm.
Helen didn't have an accurate sense of time in the illusion, but in the process of being killed repeatedly, she clearly felt mental fatigue.
Even with the Sea Emperor Trident providing endless Source Power, it could not alleviate the fatigue at the level of the Divine Soul.
Gao Xuan extracted spirituality from the Celestial Demon Relic, ground down impurities with the God-slaying Vortex, and restored the original spirituality to supply Helen's Divine Soul.
For the sake of cultivation efficiency, Gao Xuan also brought Bai Yutang along.
A large portion of the immense spiritual energy was transferred to Bai Yutang, and through the harsh trials in the illusion realm, Bai Yutang's spiritual power also quickly improved.
Bai Yutang is different from Helen; she is a pure spiritual life. As long as the spiritual energy provided by Gao Xuan is sufficient, she can quickly upgrade.
Combat in the spiritual illusion realm also refined Gao Xuan's spiritual power, allowing him to understand his own power more deeply.
Bai Yutang made the greatest progress. Under Gao Xuan's high-pressure approach, her combat awareness quickly improved. With the endless supply of spiritual energy from Gao Xuan,
on the third day, Bai Yutang broke through the Golden Boundary, reaching the Level 16 tier.
By the end of ten days of trials in the spiritual illusion realm, Bai Yutang had surged to Level 18. This was mainly because she is a special spiritual life, capable of absorbing spiritual energy to the maximum extent.
Helen was lagging behind, but she also leveled up, reaching Level 17. She made huge advances in various aspects, particularly in combat awareness, making her unrecognizable compared to ten days ago.
The most important thing is that during the continuous torment, Helen's Divine Soul formed a deeper bond with the Sea Emperor Trident.
According to Gao Xuan's estimates, Helen now wouldn't feel pressured against the Dragon Abyss Sword Qin Xuan. Against a Golden Upper Tier, she could at least hold her ground for a while, not being defeated at the first strike.
In reality, Helen was still too weak. Otherwise, with the Sea Emperor Trident, the Helen race could contend with super-tier Gold.
Gao Xuan waited ten days but did not see any strong member of the Qin Family. The other noble families also made no moves.
Several noble families knew he was in the Black Banner Star Realm, yet no one came. Clearly, they didn't want to take any risks either.
With the time approaching, Gao Xuan connected to the Dark Web and entered the Mo Sect's Hall.
The other sages were already there, except the position of the Third Sage was vacant.
Seeing Gao Xuan appear, the other sages' eyes all fell on him.
Gao Xuan, wearing the Sage Robe, was not wearing a mask. He sat on the Seventh Sage's throne, a calm smile on his face.
The eyes of the many sages were somewhat complex, yet no one spoke.
Nuwa clapped her hands in the center of the hall, "Everyone's here, let's begin the meeting."
This sentence also made the sages' gazes shift to the empty seat of the Third Sage.
The Third Sage wasn't there, but Nuwa said everyone was present.
It's already very obvious, the Third Sage is the Black Banner King!
Watching Gao Xuan, the other sages' expressions became even more complex.
