Age Of The Endless Star Ocean Chapter 208: Duke Song Xuan Cang, Fourth-Rank Vampire Marquis - Novel Cool

Chapter 208: Duke Song Xuan Cang, Fourth-Rank Vampire Marquis

Chapter 208: Duke Song Xuan Cang, Fourth-Rank Vampire Marquis

Seeing that Bai Xiuzhen wasn’t just throwing a tantrum but had made a firm decision, everyone stopped trying to persuade her.

In their hearts, they actually supported her decision more. The actions of Bai Chongwen had truly been intolerable to those who had experienced it firsthand.

The reason they hadn’t shown their true feelings was to avoid making Bai Xiuzhen feel awkward. After all, he was still her family. If they showed too much animosity, it would only make her uncomfortable.

Now that she had made up her mind, they naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for themselves.

After settling the matters concerning the Copper Mountain Floating Land, Song Ming Song took out the remaining ten thousand titanium crystals.

Apart from the four thousand reserved for purchasing high-grade Void Crystals and the thousand stored in the secret vault, the rest were distributed among Bai Xiuzhen, Song Hai and his wife, as well as Song Lin, Song Wen, and Song You.

With these matters settled, the family focused on discussing the promotion of the Roaring Lion.

This was a critical matter, arguably the most important event in the history of their tenth direct lineage, and possibly for the next few decades. No one dared to be careless.

After a thorough discussion, Song Ming Song said, "Let's do it this way. Over the next year, I and the Elder will work together to explore and try to kill high-rank aliens to increase the Roaring Lion's chances of promotion. The rest of you should keep an eye out for Fourth-Rank Bio Crystals, Earth Attribute Law Crystals, and Ten-Thousand-Year Pure Yang Jade. No need to worry about the others; you can’t help much with the Second-Rank."

As he spoke, Song Ming Song remembered something else.

"Also, if we can successfully trade for a Fourth-Rank Void Crystal, we might be able to speed up the production of the Spirit Tempering Fruit and the Supreme Dragon Blood Fruit. This could help us trade for unique resources like the Ten-Thousand-Year Moonlight Tree Sap, which could further increase the ship's promotion success rate."

"Understood!"

"Don’t worry, Dad!"

...

After all the arrangements were made, the group left the underground secret chamber.

There was a small interlude where Song Chi took out all the Void Crystals he had obtained from the void space. While the First, Second, and Third-Rank Void Crystals were far inferior to the Fourth-Rank, their combined effect could still accelerate the Dragon Blood Secret Realm by about a century.

If his memory served him right, two of the ten Dragon Blood Trees in the Dragon Blood Secret Realm had fruits that were over nine hundred years old. If they could accelerate the growth cycle, they could produce ten ordinary Dragon Blood Fruits.

Extending life by ten years wasn’t particularly valuable, but since each type of Dragon Blood Fruit could be consumed twice, extending life by twenty years might attract the interest of many Flameheart Ship Captains.

Perhaps this could even lead to information about Fourth-Rank Void Crystals and Fourth-Rank Life Crystals.

However, Grandfather outright refused the offer.

His reasoning was simple: the family lineage competition was approaching, and his primary task was to accumulate Gold Merit Points to exchange for an Orange Ascension Flame Source as soon as possible, to elevate himself to a Purple Flameheart Seed. The rest was not a concern.

Song Chi couldn’t argue much with that.

Returning to his personal residence, Song Chi informed his parents and then entered his bedroom. The surrounding space rapidly shifted, and he found himself in the Ruins Market.

He hurriedly made his way to the inner part of the market. While in the Copper Mountain Floating Land, he hadn’t found the opportunity to initiate the Ruins Market transaction, which had completed its cooldown. Now back home, he wouldn’t delay any longer.

As Song Chi was busy initiating the Ruins Market transaction, a kilometer-long warship appeared above the Azure Moon Manor, quickly ascending and racing toward the direction of the Dragon Spine Divine Mountain.

In the main control room of the Roaring Lion, Song Ming Song activated the spatial warp component.

As the Roaring Lion’s warp charging began, intense spatial fluctuations rippled through the cloud layer above Azure Moon Lake.

At the same time, he focused his mind on the ship’s engine room.

There, a blood-red vine plant, about twenty meters tall, stood quietly. Yes, it was the Bloodthirsty Vine seedling enslaved by the [Enslavement Medal].

The aura emanating from the Bloodthirsty Vine seedling had already reached the peak of the Third Rank, just a step away from the Fourth Rank.

After completely consuming the blood and flesh of the star beast, its original form had reached a height of 1,500 meters. The current size of twenty meters was due to the [Enslavement Medal] component's "Size Adjustment" feature.

Since he had decided to participate in the family's seventh lineage competition, Song Chi no longer kept his abilities hidden.

For example, the [Enslavement Medal] component on his ship.

Of course, he didn’t directly reveal the attributes of the red component. Instead, he no longer deliberately misled others into thinking that the enslavement component on the Azure Sky was just a purple component.

A hundredfold reduction in size is beyond the capabilities of a purple-grade enslavement component; at least an orange-grade quality is required.

Song Mingsong brought the Bloodthirsty Vine to the Dragon Spine Divine Mountain to have the family's higher-ups refine the flesh of the golden-armored giant beast it had devoured.

Song Chi was already aware of this and had ordered the Bloodthirsty Vine to obey Song Mingsong's commands in advance.

...

Deep within the Dragon Spine Divine Mountain, in a vast, ancient hall that stretched endlessly, ancient stars hung overhead, and Song Mingsong stood respectfully at the foot of the dais.

His face was solemn and respectful, a stark contrast to his usual rough and irritable demeanor.

Suddenly, a Weathered voice echoed from the top of the dais.

"Descendant of the Tenth Direct Line, what brings you to the divine hall today?"

The voice, though seemingly ordinary, carried a profound and weighty resonance, as if imbued with the authority of the heavens, making Song Mingsong instinctively tense up.

After collecting his thoughts, Song Mingsong spoke in a deep, steady voice.

"Lord of the House, my descendant Song Chi has encountered many opportunities. His battleship's combat strength far surpasses that of other Flame Fleet captains of the same rank. I hereby request his participation in the family's upcoming Sequence competition!"

After saying this, Song Mingsong's heart, which had been pounding, relaxed slightly.

If someone familiar with him were present, they would be astonished to see the fiery-tempered Lion Song Mingsong now acting with such cautiousness, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing.

However, if they knew the identity of the person at the top of the dais, they would likely dismiss such thoughts immediately.

For the figure at the top of the Song family's ancestral hall was none other than Lord Profound Azure (formerly Xuan Cang), the current Lord of the Dawn Star Principality and the head of the Song family, a descendant of the Song family's main lineage.

Upon hearing Song Mingsong's words, Lord Profound Azure's calm expression showed no change.

"Do you have proof?"

Song Mingsong, who had been prepared, tapped his quantum communication bracelet a few times, and a projection screen over a hundred meters wide appeared in front of him.

Although the screen was large, it paled in comparison to the vast, ancient hall with stars hanging overhead, giving the impression of being within a starry sky.

Of course, these details were secondary. The key was the image displayed on the screen.

If Song Chi were present, he would immediately recognize the scene: it was the moment he used the neutron star fission characteristic of the Copper Mountain Floating Land to severely injure the golden-armored giant beast.

"Hmm?"

Seemingly intrigued by the image, Lord Profound Azure let out a nearly inaudible hum.

The video was short, ending when the golden-armored giant beast's head was half-melted, but Lord Profound Azure's voice quickly echoed through the hall.

"Has this young man participated in the Soul Floating Land expedition?"

"Lord of the House, we stayed on the Soul Floating Land for over a year!"

Song Mingsong nodded in response and then waited quietly.

He had expected to wait for a while, but surprisingly, Lord Profound Azure's reply came quickly.

"Approved. He can be added to the candidate list!"

Song Mingsong was overjoyed.

Participating in the family's Sequence competition was not easy. It was not an open contest where anyone could join.

Only those who showed significant potential and received recognition from the Lord of the House or the Elders' Council could be added to the candidate list.

And only those on the candidate list would have the chance to compete for the Sequence.

As for a family-wide competition?

A Starry Sky Arena Tournament with tens of thousands of participants?

That was a joke. There was no time for such frivolities.

After all, even when dealing with events of the level of the Molo Royal Clan Remnants, the family struggled to send reinforcements.

Was it because the Molo Royal Clan Remnants were not a high enough target level? Of course not.

The main issue was the lack of manpower within the Song family.

With a lineage spanning nearly three thousand years and a population in the millions, how many valuable Star Sea Floating Lands do you think the Song family discovered during their explorations of alien star domains? And how many personnel were needed to guard and develop them?

To recall tens of thousands of family members for a single Sequence competition would be impractical.

This is why the family's higher-ups actively selected those with the necessary qualifications to participate in the Sequence competition.

Unnecessary large-scale personnel movements could have significant impacts on the entire family.

However, this also made the selection process even more stringent, ensuring that the chosen Sequence holders were truly deserving.

For a family member to successfully be added to the candidate list, they often needed to provide multiple rounds of proof, which would then be thoroughly reviewed by the family's higher-ups.

So, Song Mingsong was extremely surprised.

However, before he could think too much, the aged voice from above spoke again.

"Is there anything else?"

Song Mingsong didn't dare to think too much. The light at his brow flickered, and the Fury Lion was summoned forth.

Even the kilometer-long Fury Lion was insignificant in the ancient starry sky hall. As the hatch opened, the bloodthirsty vine sprouted out.

"A fifth-stage bloodthirsty vine sprout, so it did devour all the flesh of that golden-armored giant beast?"

Before Song Mingsong could speak, Song Xuancang's voice rang out again, revealing many secrets.

Song Mingsong had no idea beforehand that the mother plant of this bloodthirsty vine sprout was of the fifth stage.

There was no need for further explanation, as the voice from above had already deduced most of what he had experienced on the Copper Mountain Floating Land.

"Did your ship start its promotion task before killing that golden-armored giant beast? How is the success rate now?"

Song Xuancang clearly had some interest in the promotion of his family's ships to the fourth stage.

"Head of the family, currently at 14.05%!"

"Hmm, don't slack off in the next year. With the success rate boosted by the golden-armored giant beast, the chances of promotion should be quite high!"

After saying this, the aged voice shifted again.

"Do you want the family to refine the source blood for you? If so, have you thought about the price you're willing to pay?"

Refining the source blood of a fourth-stage creature was no simple task. It required a same-stage Flameheart Captain and a significant amount of time. The family's upper echelons wouldn't do it for free.

However, Song Mingsong had clearly thought this through.

He said directly:

"Head of the family, I am willing to exchange all the flesh of the golden-armored giant beast for a drop of ordinary fourth-stage source blood!"

After speaking, Song Mingsong waited quietly, his face not showing much tension. He was confident in the conditions he had offered.

In the broken star sea, the source blood of a same-stage star beast was far more effective than that of ordinary creatures.

If a drop of a star beast's fourth-stage source blood could increase a cruiser's promotion to a Pursuit Ship by 10%, then ordinary fourth-stage source blood would only increase it by 8%.

Don't underestimate this 2% difference; for a Flameheart Captain, this was a significant value, especially since the initial success rate of a cruiser's promotion was only 0.05%.

Sure enough, Song Xuancang quickly agreed.

Above the grand hall, a luminous arm waved lightly, and Song Mingsong felt a subtle spatial fluctuation. A white jade bottle appeared in front of him.

"This is a drop of fourth-stage vampire count's source blood. It should increase your ship's promotion success rate by 8%. That's all. Dismissed!"

As he spoke, the twenty-meter-tall bloodthirsty vine sprout slowly floated up, heading toward the top of the hall.

With Song Mingsong's indication, the bloodthirsty vine sprout offered no resistance.

Song Mingsong also retracted the Fury Lion, bowed again, and turned to leave the hall.

He tightly gripped the white jade bottle in his hand, not feeling too much regret.

While the source blood of the golden-armored giant beast was more effective, his pockets were currently empty. It would be difficult to come up with a suitable payment in the next year.

This choice was the most appropriate. It saved him time, and he could focus all his energy on hunting higher-stage alien races, increasing his efficiency.

Before turning to leave, he raised his eyes slightly, glancing quickly at the top of the hall.

This glance made Song Mingsong's eyebrows twitch slightly.

The figure standing at the head of the hall was not its true form, but a light-gathering projection.

Clearly, Song Xuancang's true body was not there, and what appeared in the ancestral hall was just a projection.

Song Mingsong only raised an eyebrow, not particularly surprised.

He had already said that the family's manpower was limited, and high-stage combatants were no exception.

Of course, the lack of high-stage combatants was not unusual for the expanding forces of the Flameheart human civilization.

Unless it was a family like the Eagles, where internal struggles were so severe that they had basically abandoned external exploration and expansion a thousand years ago, a lack of high-stage combatants was the norm.

Meanwhile, in the Multiverse Market, the "wolfdog man" Song Chi, who was mingling with various alien races, narrowed his eyes sharply.

"Grandfather has already handed over the bloodthirsty vine sprout to the family..."

(End of Chapter)

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