Chapter 89: Star Sea Leap
Chapter 89: Star Sea Leap
After some consideration, Song Chi decided not to immediately upgrade the Purple River Leap Device to its current maximum of Level 29. Instead, he brought it up to Level 20, which was sufficient for now.
After all, it was a blue-quality component, and each subsequent upgrade after Level 20 required a significant amount of resources. He had only a limited amount of Second-Tier Floating Land Essence left, so he decided to stop at Level 20 for now.
Purple River Leap Device Level 20
- Quality: Blue
- Cost: 5000 per use (Astral Energy Points)
- Effect: After charging, the spacecraft can perform a spatial jump in a specified direction. Current maximum leap distance: 40 light-years
- Charge Time: 30 minutes; Cooldown: 12 hours
- Upgrade Requirements: 17 strands of Second-Tier Floating Land Essence, 17,000 Astral Energy Points, 21 Void Crystals (Zero-Tier)
After reaching Level 20, the leap distance increased from 1 light-year to 40 light-years, and both the charge time and cooldown were halved. Undoubtedly, the Purple River Leap Device's attributes had significantly improved after the upgrade.
Shifting his focus from the Purple River Leap Device, the next component he decided to upgrade was not the Brainwave Remote Control System but the special component first installed on the Skydome, the Fire Chrysanthemum Warrior Tree.
Although this component was only white-quality, it worked well in conjunction with the Brainwave Remote Control System, significantly enhancing the Skydome's capabilities. Therefore, he planned to upgrade it to Level 29 as well.
However, if he acquired higher-quality warrior components in the future, he would replace this one immediately. The Fire Chrysanthemum Warrior's quality was too low, not only in terms of its maximum potential but also in its combat power at the same level. Apart from its fiery passive ability, it lacked any active offensive means, which was a significant drawback.
Of course, if there were enough special component slots, equipping two warrior components would be very beneficial.
Another batch of resources was spent, and the Fire Chrysanthemum Warrior Tree successfully upgraded from Level 15 to Level 20.
Although he wanted to upgrade it to Level 29, he regretfully did not have enough Second-Tier Floating Land Essence. After upgrading the Sky Eye Patrol Radar, he only had 20 strands left, which he needed to save for future use. Therefore, he could only upgrade it to this point for now.
Fire Chrysanthemum Warrior Tree Level 20
- Quality: White
- Cost: 1000 per unit (Astral Energy Points)
- Effect: Summon ten Level 20 Fire Chrysanthemum Warriors. As long as they don't die, they can remain active indefinitely. If they do die, they can be re-summoned after 24 hours.
- Upgrade Requirements: 10 strands of Second-Tier Floating Land Essence, 10,000 Astral Energy Points
After upgrading the Fire Chrysanthemum Warrior Tree, it was finally the turn of the Brainwave Remote Control System, the only purple-quality special component currently installed on the Skydome. Even though it had never been upgraded since its installation, it was still quite useful.
Ten light-seconds might seem insignificant in the vast expanse of the star sea, but from another perspective, ten light-seconds was enough to circle the entire White Tower Floating Land dozens of times. For now, even if he needed to use this component, the remote control distance was unlikely to exceed this range.
However, since he had plenty of Zero-Tier and First-Tier Floating Land Essence, it made sense to upgrade it as well.
Compared to the previous blue-quality components, the purple-quality special component required significantly more resources for upgrades, including the relatively rare Soul Crystals. The first upgrade required 10 strands of Zero-Tier Floating Land Essence, which was twice the amount needed for a regular blue-quality component.
After spending 478 strands of Zero-Tier Floating Land Essence and 523 strands of First-Tier Floating Land Essence, the Brainwave Remote Control System was upgraded to Level 20.
Brainwave Remote Control System Level 20
- Quality: Purple
- Cost: 70 per second (Astral Energy Points)
- Characteristic: When the spacecraft owner is marked with a brainwave beacon, they can remotely control the Skydome.
- Effect: Activating the component creates a brainwave beacon. Any biological or mechanical entities marked with the beacon can be remotely controlled.
- Control Distance: 1 light-year
- Duration: 12 hours; Cooldown: 4 hours
- Upgrade Requirements: 15 strands of Second-Tier Floating Land Essence, 20,000 Astral Energy Points, 1 ton of Soul Crystals, 1 Titanium Crystal
After reaching Level 20, the Brainwave Remote Control System's control distance reached 1 light-year, which was an astonishing distance. The duration also extended to 12 hours, making it even more powerful.
Finally, he upgraded the Level 19 Particle Beam Cannon to Level 20.
Particle Beam Main Cannon Level 20
- Quality: Blue
- Cost: 100 per shot (Astral Energy Points)
- Characteristic: Main cannon power increased by 22%
- Power: 2232 (1860 x 120%)
- Charge: 3 seconds; Cooldown: 5 seconds
- Upgrade Requirements: 15 strands of Second-Tier Floating Land Essence, 11,000 Astral Energy Points
With this, the upgrades related to the Skydome were essentially complete.
Song Chi then inventoried the remaining resources he had. He had 20 strands of Second-Tier Floating Land Essence, a little over a thousand strands of First-Tier Floating Land Essence, and about 60,000 strands of Zero-Tier Floating Land Essence left.
Relatively speaking, the quantity of zero-rank Floating Land Essence is still quite abundant. He already had a plan for how to use this Floating Land Essence.
Aside from purchasing a main cannon with area-of-effect capabilities and formidable power, it would be better to focus on the secondary cannons. Secondary cannons are meant to be replaced frequently, whereas replacing the main cannon would waste the substantial resources invested in the particle beam cannon.
The remaining Floating Land Essence would be used to acquire various star sea curios, or he could use it all to fund his next batch of purchases.
Although this shipment of ten thousand zero-rank Floating Land Essence took over ten hours to sell, items like gene optimization serums and mid-to-low-level body tempering elixirs sold out quickly. For the next shipment, he could consider stocking up on more of these items.
As for why he wanted to acquire star sea curios, the reason was simple. In the Ember Human Civilization Dominion, while the majority of curios can be converted into ship components, the sheer number of curios that cannot be converted is still quite staggering.
These non-convertible star sea curios are heavily discounted in the Ember Human Civilization Dominion, often valued at only half the normal price. Song Chi intended to buy these curios at a low price and set up a specialized curio exchange shop in the Multiverse Marketplace.
Due to their rarity, even if zero-rank or first-rank alien races fortunate enough to enter the marketplace had these curios, they would be unlikely to sell them.
However, if there were a specialized curio exchange shop, it would allow them to trade their curios for other, more suitable curios of the same quality. This would likely attract significant interest from those who possess these curios.
Even if they couldn't exchange, selling the curios at their intrinsic value would still allow Song Chi to make a substantial profit.
Purchasing at half price and selling at full price might seem like only a two-fold profit, but given the high intrinsic value of star sea curios, even the lowest-grade white curios, when sold at a two-fold profit, could generate a profit equivalent to thousands of zero-rank Floating Land Essence. This is a considerable amount.
And that's just for white curios. For blue and purple curios, the profits would be even greater.
For Song Chi himself, not only would he earn Floating Land Essence, but he could also use the exchange opportunities to swap non-convertible curios for those that can be converted, thereby finding suitable curios for the Skyvault. This would be a win-win situation.
The more he thought about setting up a curio exchange shop, the more he felt it was a promising venture. He quickly made up his mind to try it out during the next marketplace transaction. He wasn't the type to hesitate when faced with a decision.
However, for this first attempt, he wouldn't acquire too many non-convertible curios. He would start by buying seven or eight to gauge the market.
Before leaving the marketplace, he glanced at the Skyvault's overall attributes. After several large-scale upgrades, the Skyvault had undergone significant changes.
Name: Skyvault
Model: Ember-Phantom Airship
Level: lv10
Basic Components:
- White Ember Hull lv10
- Particle Beam Cannon lv20
- Phantom Secondary Cannon lv10
- Golden Rock Hull Armor lv10
- Shadow Slip Antimatter Hyperstate Engine lv20
- Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator lv29
- Sky Eye Patrol Radar lv29
- Phantom Training Chamber lv0 (8/8)
Special Components:
- Fire Daffodil Soldier Tree lv20
- Brainwave Remote Control System lv20
- Abnormal State Purifier lv20
- Purple River Jump Device lv20 (4/10)
Phantom Energy Pool: 30000/30000
Supplies:
- 20 strands of second-rank Floating Land Essence
- 1026 strands of first-rank Floating Land Essence
- 14 tons of Mercury Crystals
- Basic Nutrient Serums, Fresh Water...
Song Chi felt a sense of pride, or perhaps more accurately, a sense of accomplishment.
It had been less than four months since his awakening, and compared to his classmates at the First Ember Academy, who were likely still at the Phantom Air Shuttle stage, he had made tremendous progress. Not only had he advanced from a colorless Ember Seed to a white one, but the reinforcement levels of the various components on his airship were also remarkably high.
Most components were reinforced to lv20, which was an unimaginable speed for an Ember Captain who had been awakened for less than half a year, requiring an unimaginable amount of resources.
Moreover, the current quality of the components on the Skyvault included one orange, two purple, and four blue components. This configuration would likely surpass even those first-rank Ember Captains who had been awakened for over a century, or even second-rank Ember Captains.
How could Song Chi not feel a bit proud?
However, this pride didn't last long. A little pride could be a form of encouragement, a way to build confidence, but if it turned into complacency, that would be a different story. Song Chi was determined not to let that happen.
...
Leaving the marketplace, his parents still hadn't returned. Song Chi left a note on the table explaining that he would be away for a few days. Once he left home, the Skydome immediately materialized before him.
The powerful propulsion from the Shadow Antimatter Hyperstate Engine sent the airship soaring into the sky, quickly disappearing into the upper cloud layers.
Under Song Chi's control, the Skydome didn't head to any other cities on the White Tower Floating Land. Instead, it shot straight up into the sky. This time, his destination was not one of the cities on the White Tower Floating Land but another floating land within the principality.
Above the White Tower Floating Land, the Skydome paused after breaking free from the gravitational field. The airship, encased in a dark energy shield, hovered silently. The silver and gold armor plating, combined with the streamlined hull, made the Skydome look incredibly sleek and cool.
Inside the airship, Song Chi focused his mind and reconnected to the White Tower Local Network.
The Purple River Jump Device had been upgraded to level 20, but he still needed a star map. While star maps were available on the White Tower Floating Land's civilian network, they were often outdated versions from years ago.
Over the years, the surrounding star regions had changed significantly. To ensure safety, he needed the latest star map.
Fortunately, star maps were quite common, as many Flameheart Captains regularly traveled between the nearby floating lands, updating their maps in real-time.
However, this only covered a range of a hundred light-years. For a larger area, he would need to pay extra.
From a popular post on the Flameheart Network, Song Chi downloaded the highest-rated real-time star map.
This map covered a range of about 80 light-years and was reportedly updated recently, with high accuracy.
Inside the Skydome, Song Chi, having logged out of the Flameheart Network, stared at the star map projection in front of him, quickly planning his next move.
The star map recorded four floating lands in the star sea. Apart from the White Tower Floating Land, the other three were the Chaotic Star Floating Land, the Guangyuan Floating Land, and the Gold Shark 023 Floating Land.
The Chaotic Star Floating Land was located at the edge of a chaotic star region, where violence and piracy by alien civilizations were common. Song Chi immediately ruled out this floating land.
The Guangyuan and Gold Shark 023 Floating Lands, like the White Tower Floating Land, were both under the jurisdiction of the Gold Shark Star Region of the Morning Star Principality and were both 1st-level floating lands.
The Guangyuan Floating Land was a life-type floating land with a population exceeding that of the White Tower Floating Land, nearing two billion. The Gold Shark 023, on the other hand, was a resource-type floating land, but after nearly a thousand years of mining, its resources were nearly depleted.
Based on this, Song Chi decided to head to the Guangyuan Floating Land. With a population of nearly two billion, the chances of finding various rare resources and star sea curios were much higher.
Having made up his mind, he reviewed the information about the Guangyuan Floating Land.
This floating land was about 60 light-years from the White Tower Floating Land. With the current Purple River Jump Device, it would take him until the next day to arrive. The level 20 Purple River Jump Device had a maximum jump distance of 40 light-years, requiring two jumps with a 12-hour buffer in between.
Humming, the airship's rear engine roared to life. The Purple River Jump Device, which had been charging for some time, completed its charging.
The moment the charging was complete, a violent spatial fluctuation appeared in front of the Skydome. Looking up, Song Chi saw a vortex several dozen meters in diameter forming in front of him.
In the next second, the Skydome plunged into the vortex. The disorientation during the jump was much weaker than during long-range star sea deployment, as it was only a few dozen light-years. Long-range star sea deployment, on the other hand, often involved distances of millions of light-years, making the two incomparable.
Additionally, Song Chi had recently broken through to level 8 in his Guidance Technique, so the spatial jump had little effect on him.
After an unknown amount of time, when the Skydome exited the spatial jump, Song Chi found himself in an unfamiliar star region. Checking the star map, he confirmed that the Skydome had precisely landed at the designated jump point, now only 20 light-years from the Guangyuan Floating Land.
With the Purple River Jump Device needing a 12-hour buffer, Song Chi didn't plan to sit idly in the Skydome. He stored the airship in the Flameheart Ancestral Core and entered the Marketplace of All Realms.
Unfortunately, after reinforcing the brainwave remote control system component to level 20, he tested it several times and found that he couldn't sense the brainwave-marked Flameheart Soldier Doll left outside, even when he entered the Marketplace of All Realms.
Otherwise, he wouldn't need to recall the Skydome, and he wouldn't have to summon it again when leaving the marketplace, potentially exposing himself to the dangers of the star sea, even for a brief moment.
(End of Chapter)
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