A rookie wants to compete for the position of president against me? Who gave you the courage?Han Xiao looked at Royce’s confidence. Thoughts quickly spun in his mind, and many speculations flashed past.

However, when he recalled Royce’s class, the surprise in his mind disappeared completely.

Oh, he’s a Pugilist, never mind.

Han Xiao shook his head and stopped speculating Royce’s motive.

The way the Pugilists’ brain worked was, well, refreshing. Most of the time, one thought they were at the second or the first level, when actually they were at the negative one level. There was no need to think too much.

Han Xiao did consider the possibility of some peak Beyond Grade A trying to compete, but he never thought a rookie would step up out of nowhere. This meant that they had to enter the voting round, but it was not a big deal.

Although he had no idea where Royce’s confidence came from… he was a Pugilist, so it was understandable.

“Anyone else want to run?” Han Xiao moved his eyes away and scanned through the conference room.

The people exchanged looks, and no one responded.

Seeing this, Han Xiao nodded. “If that’s the case, only Royce and I will be running. You guys can vote now.”

Everyone there was a Beyond Grade A. No one’s opinion could be ignored, so everyone could vote.

Those who always stood on the side of the Black Star faction voted immediately and supported Han Xiao as the president. The direct members of the three Universal Civilizations also voted for him. Some of the peak Beyond Grade As who were upper echelons of the association also expressed their support for Han Xiao.

Other than Heber, Psyker, Manison, and a very few who abstained. Almost all the members voted for Han Xiao.

As for Royce, he stood alone and did not receive a single vote. It was almost lonesome.

Han Xiao could not help but glance at him with an odd look.

Wait, what, that’s it?

You didn’t even get anyone on your side, yet you still came to compete…

What are you so confident about?

Even Han Xiao felt awkward for Royce just by looking at his bewildered expression.

Come on kid, did you really think anyone would vote for a rookie? Are you the kind of person who likes to be humiliated?

The voting was completely one-sided. Han Xiao regulated his emotions, cleared his throat, and said, “The situation is clear then. Royce, do you accept this result?”

The people simultaneously turned to look at Royce with all kinds of emotions such as mockery, pity, disdain, and other complicated emotions in their eyes.

Royce opened his mouth, sat down, and said sadly, “I accept.”

Although he only gambled because he knew there was no risk involved and he would not lose anything even if he did not get elected, seeing how big the difference was, he was still embarrassed.

Royce actually had quite the plan. He knew he most likely would not be elected as the president, but he thought that if he could receive some votes during the election, it would at least show that he had some reputation, so he would not have to be treated like a rookie in the future and be involved in more affairs of the association.

In his eyes, this was the first step for a rookie to obtain a higher position.

In order to achieve this goal, he indeed did contact other association members privately and expressed his thoughts of running for president in the calls, and some people promised to support him even. This was why he had the confidence to run.

However, when the time came, those b*stards all broke their promises!

Actually, what he did not know was, most people thought he was just kidding and promised him as a joke, which mistakenly gave Royce confidence.

As these people were all stronger than him, Royce did not dare vent his anger and could only sulk in the corner while screaming in his mind that verbal promises were not reliable.

Han Xiao was not interested in what Royce was thinking.

He knew Pugilists way too well; it was not that their brains were really made of muscles but that the path of the Pugilist required a ‘no backing down’ attitude. For those Pugilists who could become Beyond Grade As, this personality would definitely be more apparent. In other words, Pugilists who were not headstrong would have a harder time becoming a Beyond Grade A.

And this was exactly the reason Han Xiao had high hopes for Lothaire. After all, this man was the prime example of someone who was headstrong…

Random thoughts flashed past. Han Xiao focused, looked around, and smiled.

“Thanks for your support, everyone. I shall gladly take on the position of the president.”

Aurora clapped first with her face filled with excitement.

Seeing someone lead the applause, the others hesitated for a moment and also clapped symbolically. Most people were rather reserved and not used to doing something like this.

A round of not too loud or too soft applause sounded in the room. Han Xiao smiled in return.

Although he already expected this to happen beforehand, when it actually happened, he still felt content.

He was the leader of the Beyond Grade A Association and could formally lead the Beyond Grade As. His influence evolved to a higher level.

The effects of [Proof of Leadership] also updated right away. He only received part of the bonuses when he was the vice president, but when he became the president, the bonuses were finally complete. Although it was not so tremendous it would increase his strength drastically, it was still a cherry on top.

As the president was elected, the position of the vice president became vacant. An election was then also carried out. This time, the system changed. The number of vice presidents changed from one to two, taken by Kasuyi and Sierron.

Other than that, the association also decided on a few new directors, including Hila.

The voting process was very simple. The procedures were smoothly carried out, and the handover was completed.

Han Xiao finally sat in the main seat. On his left and right were Kasuyi and Sierron.

An inaugural address was needed even in the Beyond Grade A circle. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Han Xiao pondered for a few seconds before speaking.

“Since I’ve been elected as the president, let me say a few words… It has already been fifty years since the Beyond Grade A Association was founded. From nothing, we have built a strong foundation. We’ve done quite a good job till now, and we couldn’t have done it without the contributions of the former president Manison and all of you here.

“The initial purpose of founding the association was to unite all Beyond Grade As, form an interest network, and protect the Beyond Grade As. This purpose will be passed on. All decisions made in the future will work in accordance with this principle. All individuals or organizations who attempt to divide the Beyond Grade As will be the association’s enemy.

“As for me… I’ll also do my very best to make the association grow better, making it into a shelter for all Beyond Grade As. I won’t say too much. All of you here know what kind of person I am. I’ll certainly do my best to live up to your expectations.”

At this point, no matter what their thoughts about Han Xiao were, all the Beyond Grade As were nodding with approval.

Everyone present knew that from this second, the Beyond Grade A Association had entered the age of Black Star!

Looking at the different expressions on their faces, Han Xiao paused before speaking again in an unusual tone.

“We might see a revolution not far in the future. Be mentally prepared.”

Hearing this, many people could sense that Han Xiao was subtly conveying a meaningful message, but they could not figure out what it was.

And Han Xiao did not elaborate.

When the Holy Accord members appeared, a drastic change would come.

He could already see that a storm was about to arrive!

…

In a certain secret base of the Mechanic Emperor, as the election meeting ended, Manison deactivated the remote projection, and his sights returned to the dark room.

He picked up another communicator that had been in a call all this time, and the person he was calling was surprisingly Kasuyi.

“Thanks to you not running. The handover was smooth,” Kasuyi said with a smile.

“For the record, I did not give up running because you came to ask me do it,” Manison said with a poker face and a normal tone.

Others had no idea that the two of them negotiated privately. Kasuyi secretly contacted Manison and asked him to give up thinking of being re-elected. They had made an agreement under the table.

Kasuyi smiled. “No matter what, you’ve helped me.”

“Humph, it was an election, but it looked like Black Star was the only one whose words mattered.” Manison snorted with dissatisfaction.

“That’s called ‘the support of the people led to the right result happening’.” Kasuyi laughed.

“I have no idea what benefits Black Star gave you for you to help him this much. If I ran for office, even if I might not be re-elected, I’d at least be a vice president.” Manison frowned.

Kasuyi shook his head. “He didn’t give me anything. I did this of my own volition.”

“Ever since you and him went to the secondary dimensions together a few decades ago, you’ve always spoken for him. Did Black Star grab your heart with his charm? Humph, anyway, it’s none of my concern. Just don’t forget you owe me a favor.” Manison snorted softly.

“I won’t, old friend.”

Kasuyi smiled, and his figure disappeared from the screen.

Manison hung up the call, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Kasuyi’s request was only a very small factor in him choosing not to do anything during the election. He was actually already planning to do it.

The first reason was that he knew his place and knew that there was no way he could beat Black Star, so he did not want to humiliate himself. The second reason was that he wanted to keep a low profile and let Black Star take all the pressure so that he could look for opportunities in the dark and turn things around in future elections.

The third reason was the main reason Manison made this choice. After forty years of growth, the Beyond Grade A Association had become more and more independent, which prevented the three Universal Civilizations from gaining any new allies. He saw the brewing danger in this situation and felt that the three Universal Civilizations would very soon take the next step.

He stepped down to let Black Star take all the pressure.

Manison also understood that Black Star was the best person to lead the association in times like this. Black Star’s words mattered to the three Universal Civilizations, so he could relieve the pressure from the three Universal Civilizations to a certain extent. Black Star had a higher chance of leading the association to conquer the difficulties ahead and prevent the ‘cleansing’ from happening.

He had personal beef with Black Star, but protecting the safety of the Beyond Grade As was more important to him. Therefore, he chose to take a step back and not cause problems for Han Xiao’s election.

Manison closed his eyes.

“The three Universal Civilizations won’t watch us grow infinitely. Having rested for more than forty years, they’ll act soon… Black Star, will your method be enough to deal with the next ‘Tragedy of the Pinnacles’?

“Your philosophy is wrong; peaceful developments won’t lead to compromise. If we don’t make rulers like the three Universal Civilizations feel afraid, how can they allow us to grow stronger freely? If you can’t hold on, don’t blame me for releasing the imitation of the Virtual Mutiny Virus…”

…

“Black Star has taken over as the president of the Beyond Grade A Association.”

This news rapidly spread out in the galactic society, which had been paying attention.

Tons of reports appeared on the internet, announcing the arrival of the age of Black Star!

Suddenly, Black Star, who had kept a low profile for forty years, became the center of attention once again. His reputation and fame rocketed, and his legendary deeds of the past got brought up by the media once again for promotion, attracting tons of attention. Even the stock price of the Germinal Financial Group increased quite a bit because of it.

Overall, the galactic society had a positive attitude for this change. Black Star was the hero of the universe who solved the Intelligent Plague, a Stuarts Peace Prize winner, a receiver of the Galaxy Medal, the shared consultant of the three Universal Civilizations… These titles were so much better than the Mechanic Emperor’s. Most people trusted that the Beyond Grade A Association would peacefully grow under Han Xiao’s lead.

While the outside world expressed all kinds of opinions about the Beyond Grade A Association having a new president, Han Xiao had already teleported to the Ancient Star Desert and met with the Holy Accord organization.

He did not go there just to discuss the Primordial Ones appearing in public but also for another big matter…

The keys to open the Third Sanctum were once again all collected!