The Black Star Army held a six-day military exercise exclusively for the Immortals within the territory, with the participation of millions of army players confronting each other.

The original intention was to hold a large-scale collection action for players as a reason to issue large-scale experience rewards, but given the sensitive situation, the military exercises of the army were interpreted differently by the outside world.

On the quantum network, many of the galactic residents believed that the army’s military exercise was an indirect demonstration to the three Universal Civilizations. Many of them believed that the Black Star Army was warming up, preparing for major action in the near future.

However, even if rumors raged, the Beyond Grade A Association remained silent, allowing the universe to continue their guessing.

After around half a month, just as the public opinion started to die down, an unexpected event happened suddenly, with almost no warning. The three Universal Civilizations jointly released a top level decree for the entire universe, of which the content was to activate sanctions against the Beyond Grade A Association!

The Beyond Grade A Association and the three Universal Civilizations had been fighting in secret for more than a year. While many of the galactic residents were simply watching the show, in public, neither side had ever openly challenged the other.

But right now, the three Universal Civilizations actually tore apart this facade, which was beyond the expectations of most people, yet at the same time reasonable.

Countless organizations’ heads saw the contents of the decree, and their pupils needled. They were startled by the harsh sanction, and everyone thought the same thing in their mind.

How vicious!

The three Universal Civilizations finally utilized their political and economic influence that had permeated throughout the universe, beginning a blockade against them.

…

In the Army Commander’s private workshop, Han Xiao was concentrating on studying a Gold Grade blueprint, working hard toward achieving the pinnacle of his God’s Trait Transformation—Void.

Suddenly, Phillip popped up, his little face full of anxiety. He hurriedly shouted, “Master, hum… something big has happened! The three Universal Civilizations have issued joint sanctions against us!”

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he put down the document. With two fingers, he squeezed on Phillip’s head and brought him to eye level.

“The day has still arrived… Speak, what sorts of terms did the three Universal Civilizations issue?”

“Look at this, it’s so scary, hum!”

Phillip waved his little hand, and a virtual screen unfurled like a scroll. It revealed a densely packed document bearing the joint seals and signatures of the three Universal Civilizations at the bottom, proving that this was a valid decree that had been certified by the three Universal Civilizations. There was also a special note stating that the decree was effective at the date of signing.

Han Xiao read from start to end, and the beginning was a statement from the three Universal Civilizations, explaining their reasons for issuing this decree.

“In order to minimize the danger of an individual’s strength to the galactic civilization, the Ultimate Knowledges of each Super system have always been jointly controlled by the three Universal Civilizations, and other organizations cannot spread it at will. This is the requirement of the sixth section of the ‘Galactic Superpower Management Act: Knowledge Dissemination Agreement’. The Beyond Grade A Association (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Association’) has not obtained our permission but has been privately disseminating the Ultimate Knowledge of various Classes for many years. We have repeatedly asked the Association to rectify this, but they have ignored our requests many times. A year ago, our side issued a final notice to the Association, yet it was ignored. Thus, we have decided to impose sanctions in view of their negative behavior.”

“Humph, they indeed resorted to such an excuse. I thought the three Universal Civilizations might have something new up their sleeves.”

Han Xiao did not find this a surprise at all. He lightly snorted before reading onward.

In the document, the three Universal Civilizations righteously accused the association of violating the rules, extensively citing the regulations they flouted. Then they emphasized that the nature of the association was non-governmental, and thus, it was not affected by the Peace Treaty or other galactic civilization protection agreement.

This was followed by the three Universal Civilizations declaring that the Beyond Grade A Association would now be included in the list of ‘Unreliable Civil Organizations’ as well as the list of ‘Malicious Armed Organizations’.

These two lists were specially set up for some organizations with a doubtful business nature. While they were not as serious as wanted warrants, as long as one was included in the list, all their rights in the Galactic Society would be greatly affected, similar to having low credit ratings or being a deadbeat.

As for the Beyond Grade A Association, their sanctions encompassed a wide range of areas including politics, economy, and the scale of their armed forces.

In terms of politics and governance, most Beyond Grade As usually took care of their own parent civilization, and this decree required that the Beyond Grade A organizations were to stay out of the politics of their own civilization. Otherwise, the rights of the related civilizations would be downgraded. They stated a list of key planets under review, including Planet Aquamarine.

Those Beyond Grade A organizations that were part of a civilization were all subject to some restrictions. It was claimed that the Beyond Grade A had some sort of ‘unreliable cooperative relationship’ with them. Psyker’s Star Pupil Civilization was an example.

In the area of economics, the terms were much more complicated and cumbersome, occupying half of the content and encompassing all areas.

The first was a notice to the various regional civilizations, requesting them to cooperate with their orders and stop any form of cooperation with the Beyond Grade A organizations. They also would not provide public services such as stargate transportation to the Beyond Grade A organizations and would not open any trading channels to the Beyond Grade A organizations. Any existing resources of the Beyond Grade A organizations left in the civilization would at the same time undergo multiple checks, otherwise they would be personally questioned.

In the private sector, any consortium or enterprise that maintained business dealings with the Beyond Grade A Associations would have their Credibility Points downgraded in the Galactic Civilization Bank. Consortiums that had not corrected themselves would then be included in the list of untrustworthy enterprises. Only when their relationship was terminated would they be subjected to a review, restoring their credit, and they might even obtain certain subsidies. The three Universal Civilizations would protect the companies from threat of force by the Beyond Grade A Association, and they would also provide any judicial assistance in the violation of commercial contracts. There would be no need to pay compensation to the Beyond Grade A organizations.

The Credibility Points for all Beyond Grade A Organizations would be lowered, every fund transfer reviewed and supervised.

Other than these main points, there were also many miscellaneous provisions. The three Universal Civilizations had also attacked their allies this time, but since many of them did not follow them blindly, this was also something they had predicted.

At the end of the document, the three Universal Civilizations stated that the above terms were only for members of the Beyond Grade A Association and did not involve the neutral Beyond Grade As. As long as they withdrew from the association and were re-examined, normal treatment would be restored. As for the ordinary Supers, if they were willing to switch to the three Universal Civilizations or local civilizations, they would not only restore their credit but also enjoy more benefits and subsidies.

Throughout the decree, Han Xiao only had one thought.

How domineering!

Han Xiao shook his head.

Tsk, the three Universal Civilizations are really ruthless.

These clauses simply used their power to entrap the galactic society and block the association, so as to curb their development. It had little impact on the Beyond Grade As but was lethal to their organizations.

If one were to sum up the practices of the three Universal Civilizations, it would be understood as… ‘Football certifications, evidence, sponsors, and organizers of the match all belong to me. What are you going to use to fight against me‽’

I made this hypothesis many years ago, and alas, it still came true.

Han Xiao had long been mentally prepared for this. It was not surprising for them to come out with this measure, and since the three Universal Civilizations dared formulate such a clause, they were naturally confident in implementing it.

Even the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not face such ruthless measures. After all, they were also part of the Peace Treaty, and hence, they were afforded some form of civilization guarantee. The three Universal Civilizations would only be seeking trouble if they dared to violate those regulations. However, the Beyond Grade A Association was a non-governmental organization, not authoritative and thus not protected by any civilization guarantee agreements.

Since the development of Galactic Society, the three Universal Civilizations had long held hegemony in the financial, political, technological, and military sectors. Their influence radiated in all fields and was deeply tied to all civilizations at all levels. Seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages was an inevitable tendency for most civilizations, so Han Xiao could foresee that there would be many civilizations acting in response to this decree.

As for the civil organizations and the general public, those who dared to oppose the rulers of the universe were a minority. After all, the majority only wanted a decent job. If they tried anything funny and became marginalized in society, that would be too depressing.

“The three Universal Civilizations hesitated for a year but finally decided to bring this conflict to the surface. I don’t know if the players themselves have influenced it… but starting from this decree, the three Universal Civilizations have finally torn off all pretenses with us.”

The three Universal Civilizations dropping these sanctions were within his expectation, but even if he had predicted it, there was no good way to resolve them. However, in recent years, he had been committed to improving the independence of his consortium and had secretly made a lot of preparations in order to deal with this risk.

Beep beep!

Right at this moment, his communicator rang.

Han Xiao opened it and saw that it was Bennett calling.

Just as the communication was formed, Bennett immediately asked, “Black Star, have you seen the sanctions imposed by the three Universal Civilizations?”

“Yes.” Han Xiao nodded.

He then sized Bennett up.

After replenishing his vitality, Bennett’s life span had been extended by a lot. Even decades later, he was still alive, his bones still strong.

Every year, Han Xiao thought that this fellow was going to die, but Bennett would always jump out and shout, “I’m not dead yet!”

Following this trend, it seems like Nero would become a hundred-year-old prince.

“What do you intend to do?” Bennett was full of worry.

“Take it as it comes.” Han Xiao waved his hands and raised his brows. “Rather than me, it’s Planet Aquamarine that also falls within the scope. What are you going to do?”

Bennett gritted his teeth, solemnly saying, “After a while, our Planet Aquamarine will pull out from the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, signaling that we are unwilling to accept such an arrangement!”

“You wish to accompany me to walk this treacherous path?” Han Xiao laughed.

Bennett had an expression of seriousness. “While Planet Aquamarine is still very weak, we also have our own dignity. We will not deny the great men in the history of our civilization because of such unreasonable demands!”

Han Xiao felt a little touched and warmly replied, “Hearing this, I feel your sincerity. Planet Aquamarine’s short-term development might be severely set back, but with my protection, you will not be in any danger. What you lose now will be earned back in the future.”

“It’s enough with your guarantee. I know I can believe you.” Bennett nodded, disengaging the communication.

Han Xiao exhaled, thought for a while, and turned to contact Kasuyi.

Very quickly, Kasuyi’s projection appeared on the screen with a solemn expression.

“Black Star, I’ve read the news. Do you have a plan?”

Stroking his chin, Han Xiao slowly said, “The three Universal Civilizations are doing this, so we have no need to be polite. Hold an emergency meeting. I have two things to announce.”

“Which two things?”

“Firstly, from now on, the association will not accept any form of help from the three Universal Civilizations. Secondly, we will also stop subsidizing the associations’ direct Beyond Grade A members, freezing their membership at the same time. This will temporarily deprive them of the right to participate in our regular meetings. We will tell the universe that unless the three Universal Civilizations revoke the sanctions, this situation will continue.”

Kasuyi frowned. “This will not hurt or itch the three Universal Civilizations at all. At most, it will display our unwillingness to retreat.”

“That’s enough. If it was so easy to resolve the sanctions, the three Universal Civilizations would have been ruling for so many years for nothing.” Han Xiao was nonchalant. “The cooperation with the civilization officials has always been an important point for many of the Beyond Grade As, and now that this channel has been cut off, what’s left will be obtaining resources from the Galactic Black Market. The three Universal Civilizations will definitely focus on this field, and friction will be inevitable.”

Han Xiao paused.

“Also, we might need to contact the Super Star Cluster Alliance now…”

There was no such thing as permanent enemies, only permanent benefits. He did not wish to help the Super Star Cluster rebel, but a simple deal was worth considering.

His goal was only to control the intensity of the Calamity of the Supers, stabilizing the situation, but he also knew that it was impossible for things to constantly be peaceful. The three Universal Civilizations would not give up, and the checks and balances would always go on. Even if he sought stability, he had to first show off his teeth and claws.

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