1235 Inheritors of the Underworld

“Marbruce has quite a lot of thoughts about the Beyond Grade A Association… Well, I suppose it’s his duty to do that since he’s in that position, and he just so happens to need achievements at the early stages of his term.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Urranrell was so much better. Sadly, he had no choice but to adapt.

The benefits he gained in the past few decades of his honeymoon period with the dynasty was a crucial factor in the Black Star Army’s rise. For various reasons, there was no way the dynasty was going to take these benefits back. Even if Marbruce wanted to, he could only follow the partnership agreement Urranrell had signed with Black Star. Therefore, Han Xiao had absolutely no need to be concerned about him. Even if he would not acquire any more benefits in the future, the benefits he would continue to gain from these agreements were enough.

You can’t divorce me, so we might as well put up with living together.

While Han Xiao pondered about this issue, he left his office, came to the secret area inside Black Star Palace and walked into a combat training room.

Clank!

As soon as he entered, he saw a tall mechanical suited warrior fighting two virtual opponents. Every step this warrior took, the entire room shook.

As soon he saw Han Xiao, this mechanical suited warrior stopped and stood in a respectful manner.

Han Xiao smiled. “Working hard, I see. Come out and let me see your progress.”

The mechanical suit split up from the middle, showing the user inside. It was Lothaire.

Ever since Lothaire assassinated Modo’s leader, Han Xiao had hidden him, and he had been training all this time. This mechanical suit was training assistance equipment Han Xiao had specially made for Pugilists. It had zero combat capability and would instead add an extremely high load to the user, enhancing the effects of the training.

Almost a decade had passed, and Lothaire’s strength had been growing steadily, unlike those officers who had been stuck in the same place in Calamity Grade. Clearly, Lothaire had more potential. Han Xiao had high hopes for him.

Han Xiao raised his hand. Golden sparks of electricity jumped around his fingers. He placed his hand on Lothaire’s shoulder, sending a highly-stimulating electrical stream into Lothaire’s body.

Lothaire’s body shivered, but he endured the pain and remained still as Han Xiao electrocuted him.

Han Xiao only lifted up his hand after quite a while. Seeing the combat information, he smiled and said, “You’ve become stronger again than the last time I checked, but your energy is still your weakness. You need to make up for it…”

He pointed out a few things. Lothaire listened carefully, writing down Han Xiao’s suggestions on his training schedule from time to time.

This was an assistive training method Han Xiao had come up with. By looking at the person’s attributes through the interface, he could point out a direction the person should take. Since he could see all of their attributes, he could always give very constructive suggestions that not only gave them a clear direction but even clearly conveyed how much they had grown, making them more motivated to train.

Through this method, he could help others grow. Han Xiao had already used it on some important officers in the past years. After realizing just how incredibly effective it was, Lothaire treasured all the opportunities he could learn from Han Xiao.

After giving the suggestions, Han Xiao patted Lothaire’s shoulder, smiled, and said, “Keep up the good work. You might be the next Beyond Grade A of the army. Then, if you want to found your own force outside, I’ll support you.”

Lothaire shook his head. “I’ll always be your blade in the dark.”

Even if he could become a Beyond Grade A, it would be thanks to Han Xiao’s teaching. Lothaire was very appreciative of this, and he was not so cold-blooded that he would forget how much Han Xiao had helped him, or he would not have joined the army to repay Han Xiao.

“I appreciate the thought.”

Han Xiao was quite glad. He said a few more words before leaving the room.

Han Xiao followed the corridor in the base into another room. Aurora sat in the room with her legs crossed. Vital energy filled her body. She was training her energy. The moment she saw Han Xiao, she joyfully pounced over.

Pa!

Han Xiao pressed onto her head, stopping her a few feet away. He sighed and said, “Come on, how old are you? On Planet Aquamarine, you’re already old enough to be someone’s grandma.”

“Humph, I don’t care. I’m forever eighteen!” Aurora became unhappy right away. Don’t mention my age and we’re still good friends.

“Alright, alright, let me see how much your body… ahem, your strength has grown.” Electric sparks appeared on Han Xiao’s fingertips, and he poked Aurora’s forehead with it.

Combat information appeared on the interface. Han Xiao mainly looked at her Energy Rank and maximum energy, then nodded in his mind.

In the past decade, Aurora had been harvesting the Holy Light Seeds and accumulating energy. Not having any growth limit was really an incredible trait, her strength had been growing steadily.

Furthermore, Aurora did not even have to study her abilities too much. The information the last generation of the two sisters left in the Esper Ability was basically like an ability tree that had already matured; she inherited it directly.

What’s hacking? This is hacking!

Han Xiao was bitter.

He had had his eyes on the life energy for quite some time and used [Energy Analysis] on Aurora long ago.

The results were just as he expected. He could control this type of special energy during the duration of the Character Summon Card, but he lost it after the duration ended. However, part of the understanding of the very nature and principles of the life energy remained in his mind, which would help in studying it afterward.

The [Perfect Energy Affinity Physique] he had obtained from Gaud played a big role in this, largely increasing Han Xiao’s efficiency in analyzing the life energy. Although creating life energy with machinery was still extremely difficult, at least he had a direction.

Han Xiao’s current focus was Jayz’s technology treasure trove. It was the most valuable thing to study. Before he depleted the essence of Jayz’s treasure, he was not going to spend too much time studying other things.

These thoughts flashed past his mind in a second. Han Xiao removed his hand, smiled, and said, “You’ve been working hard lately, no less than your sister.”

Hearing this, Aurora smiled brightly. She loved hearing Hila, Ames, or Han Xiao praise her.

At this time, Aurora suddenly thought of something and said, “By the way, sis told me to ask you to go to the Underworld dimension a few hours ago. Go and take a look.”

“Why did you only tell me now?” Han Xiao gave her a stare.

“Sis said so… She said to tell you later if you’re busy. It’s nothing urgent anyway,” Aurora murmured softly, tapping her index fingers on each other.

“Got it. Her skin is probably itchy and needs a beating. Alright, I’ll go eat her up now.”

Han Xiao waved, activated the King, and disappeared.

The next moment, he was in the Underworld dimension.

Compared to the last time he came, the size of the Underworld seemed to have expanded quite a lot.

“Where is she?”

Han Xiao looked left and right and did not see Hila, so he lifted his leg and stomped the ground.

“Come out, Onicelu!”

As soon as he said that, Onicelu came out from under the ground.

“You’re finally here. Hila has been waiting for you.”

“Where is she? Let’s start the fight quickly. I’ve brought all the tools. I still have other things to attend to.” Han Xiao took out a ton of weapons and looked around.

Onicelu sighed. “She’s not asking for a fight. The Underworld was fully repaired yesterday. Hila plans to wake up all the Hero Spirits and is worried about something happening, so she wanted to ask you to watch her do it.”

“Oh, so this is why she called me here.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He waved his hand and stowed the weapons away. He calculated in his mind. Judging from Hila’s charging speed, repairing the Underworld would indeed take about a decade.

He still remembered that he had a mission called [Inheritors of The Underworld]. Once the Underworld recovered to its peak, he would receive the [Mark of The Underworld] reward. That would enable him to use the Underworld’s powers to a certain extent and send souls into the Underworld.

“The Hero Spirits are all sleeping in my energy core. Hila is already waiting there. Take my hand, I’ll guide you there.” Onicelu raised her arm.

Han Xiao grabbed her hand. The next second, he felt a space energy erupting around him, and one moment later, he already arrived at a place that looked like an underground cave.

At the middle of the cave was a dimly lit white energy sphere that had dark-red patterns on its surface like blood vessels. The patterns were even moving slightly.

This was the energy core of the Underworld. Only the dimensional consciousness entity could lead the way and enter easily. The part of the Underworld outside was like Onicelu’s skin, and coming here was like entering her body.

This was Han Xiao’s first time entering, while Hila had already come in and out countless times. She was resting with her eyes closed sitting beside the energy core. As soon as Han Xiao arrived, she sensed it. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Shall we?”

Hila had no intention of chatting and cut to the chase.

Seeing Han Xiao nod, dark red death energy flowed out from Hila’s palm into the energy core. Onicelu, who stood to the side, also controlled the Underworld to work together.

Ohm!

As the place started to shake slightly, the energy core became brighter.

When their sights were filled with a blinding light, an enormous beam of light suddenly rushed up, penetrating the thick ground and the grayish sky.

Han Xiao looked up at the beam of light. Through his sharp senses, he noticed that blurry silhouettes were being shot into the sky along with the beam of light. In his senses, soul presences appeared one after another.

The beam of light extended all the way up until it hit the interior wall of the Underworld. It then spread in all directions. It looked like a fountain that connected the ground with the sky. Awakened Hero Spirits fell like rain, landing on the Underworld’s ground.

This process lasted for more than ten minutes. Very soon, the quiet and unpopulated Underworld became boisterous. Hero Spirits were everywhere on this desolate land.

The light on all the Hero Spirits gradually faded. From the outside, they surprisingly looked no different from living individuals. They were all looking around with confusion, seemingly yet to regain focus after their long sleep.

“It was very successful. Let’s go meet them.”

Onicelu was relieved. She led the way to fly out. Hila and Han Xiao followed right after.

The three of them flew up into the sky. All the Hero Spirits sensed it and looked up at them. Seeing Onicelu’s familiar face, almost everyone looked like they were searching through their memories.

Not long after, seven unique Hero Spirits dashed into the sky and stood around the three of them.

“Onicelu, the Underworld has recovered? Have Nerkese and Eros returned‽” one Hero Spirit asked hastily.

“Hmm, it has recovered but not because of the two sisters. Let me introduce you. This is the new Lord of Death, Hila. She inherited Nerkese’s ability and is now the new master of the Underworld.”

Onicelu then pointed at the seven Hero Spirit and said, “These seven are the seven Hero Spirit Kings of the Underworld. They were all Beyond Grade As and are the seven strongest beings of the Underworld.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao sized the seven of them up and realized that they were all Primordial Ones whose names had been recorded in history. He nodded in his mind.

No wonder those revivors of the Holy Accord organization once said that not many people were willing to mess with the life and death sisters during the exploration era—they could summon seven Beyond Grade As in every fight who were unkillable. Who could deal with that?

Even now, this level of strength would be the top tier in the universe.

However, Onicelu was not finished. What she said next made Han Xiao’s heart skip a beat.

“Although the Underworld is a place for souls to rest, there are way too many Hero Spirits, so we created a management structure to have the seven Hero Spirit Kings help manage the others. There are 3,600 Calamity Grades, 1.8 billion Grade Bs, and billions of other Hero Spirits. They are all the residents of the Underworld.”

Han Xiao subconsciously took a deep breath.

What the f*ck‽ That’s so many souls!

This was a total of 3,600 Calamity Grades. It was a horrifying force anywhere! Without the players, the Underworld would be the biggest undead army!

He could indirectly feel how bloody the exploration era war was just from this number. Some of these souls were collected by the two sisters, and others were ones who requested to enter the Underworld and gain eternal life.

While he was being shocked, the seven Hero Spirit Kings were sizing Hila up. Feeling the death energy Esper Ability on her, they knew Onicelu was telling the truth, but they were troubled.

Never mind working for the two sisters, they now had to work under a new master. They were not very willing to accept it deep in their hearts, but they had no choice, so they were quite bothered.

However, since they were willing to enter the Underworld for eternal life, it meant they cared more about their lives than working for someone else. Therefore, they were not bothered for long before they convinced themselves. Furthermore, Nerkese and Eros had committed suicide, which really ripped off these Hero Spirits who trusted these two sisters. They were all not happy about it.

This time, the seven Hero Spirit Kings turned to Han Xiao and looked confused.

“Who’s this guy then? The new Lord of Life?”

“No, my name is Black Star. Actually, I…”

Before he finished introducing himself, he got interrupted by Hila.

“I’m all of your boss, and Black Star is my boss,” Hila said calmly. “You guys can call him big boss. You’re all now his men.”

“What’s with you?” Han Xiao was surprised.

Hila turned to him. Her tone became gentler as she said, “My powers are yours. These Hero Spirits are for you to command too.”

“I’m quite touched by you saying that, but…” Han Xiao pointed at the seven Hero Spirit Kings, who looked unhappy. He sighed and said, “You didn’t have to be so direct. At least think about how they feel…”

They’re the Primordial Ones who once stood at the top of the pyramid, yet you’re giving them to me like cargos. Don’t they want face?

A Hero Spirit King who had a bad temper was annoyed. “New Master of the Underworld, we’re indeed controlled by you, but you have to respect us too. Even your predecessor did not dare speak to us like this… I’ll let this time go, but don’t do it again.

“However, we’ll never listen to anyone else. With us, you’re among the strongest people in the universe. You don’t have to work for anyone anymore. If you want, we can get this guy called Black Star right away and give him to you to do whatever!”

Han Xiao was unhappy.

This little b*tch, trying to mess with my relationship with Hila as soon as he came out. If not because you don’t have a physical body, I’d make sure you live the rest of your life eating from a tube.

Hila frowned and said with a deep voice, “Shut up. You can beat it if you’re not happy, or I can send you back to sleeping forever.”

The expressions on the seven Hero Spirit Kings’ faces froze. They exchanged looks and were shocked.

Even the previous two sisters treated them with respect and would not offend them because they were the ones controlling their bodies during battles. The two sisters could only revive them temporarily but not control them in combat, so they could totally choose not to fight for them.

However, this new master was completely different. It was like she did not care about their strength at all. She supported her boss even though it meant she would offend them…

You’re a Beyond Grade A!

The seven of them looked back and forth between the two of them. Suddenly, they thought of something, and their expressions became enigmatic.

Hehe, we’ve seen a lot of things and are very experienced. In this situation, either you owe him many favors, or the two of you… hehehe. These are the only possibilities for why you’re so loyal.

This time, Onicelu eased the tension and said, “You guys have slept for too long. Many generations have passed. Black Star is one of the strongest people in the universe. You guys might not be able to defeat him even if all of you fight him at the same time… Plus, the Underworld now only has the Lord of Death. The Lord of Life is still growing. Therefore, you guys can’t have physical bodies and can’t fight.”

Hearing this, the seven of them immediately threw away the thought of being tough and laughed.

“Hahaha… we were just joking with you, man.”

“That’s right. Don’t be so serious.”

“I can tell brother Black Star is talented and has a bright future just by looking at him. It’s our honor to work for him.”

“Exactly, if not because we can’t revive for now, we would showcase what we’ve got right here!”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, and his lips twitched.

That’s it?

What bullsh*t Hero Spirit Kings? You sounded so noble and all, but you’re just a group of people who gave up all your dignity to not continue sleeping! I shouldn’t have had any hopes!

Although he detested the personalities of these Hero Spirit Kings, he had to admit that the Underworld was extremely powerful. This was the biggest inheritance the two sisters had left, and the life and death Esper Abilities were the keys.

However, for now, since Aurora had yet to become a Beyond Grade A. The Underworld could not be put to use yet. Furthermore, reviving them required energy and had a time limit.

Compared to the Sanctums, the biggest specialty of the Underworld was that it was not only limited to the Beyond Grade As. Plus, it would not reduce their strength much.

However, the disadvantage was also very clear. Those who took this path could only work under the master of the Underworld forever and no longer had freedom.

While the few of them chatted, the countless Hero Spirits on the ground started to regain focus too. They started to modify the Underworld using the core energy.

On the desolate black earth, buildings rose from the ground one after another. The Underworld quickly became prosperous.

At this time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

[Inheritors of The Underworld] Completed!

You have received 50,000,000 EXP and +20 Onicelu Favorability.

You have received [Character Summon Card – ‘Underworld’ Onicelu].

Character Summon Card – “Underworld” Onicelu: [Thousand Soul Stream] – Become immune to all mind attacks. At the same time, absorb any mind attacks to recover energy and health. Uses: 0/1.

You have completed the bonus mission requirements.

+40 Onicelu Favorability.

You have received ability [Mark of The Underworld]!