Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Ember Awakening
Chapter 1: Ember Awakening
In the Duchy of Dawnstar, within the Golden Shark Star Domain, the White Tower Floating Land.
On the outskirts of Jiangyuan City, the ultra-long-range star sea deployment platform.
As a kilometer-high beam of light shot into the sky, the hundred Ember Ships that had been neatly parked on the platform vanished, deployed to the distant, unknown reaches of the star sea.
At the same time, a thousand miles away, in Jiangyuan City, one of the five major cities of the White Tower Floating Land, Jiangyuan City's First Ember Academy.
In the male dormitory building number 3, Song Chi removed his virtual helmet, logging out of the White Tower Network.
Tension crept onto his face. He had just watched the live broadcast of the graduation deployment of the Jiangyuan City Ember Academy. And next in line was his city, Jiangyuan, where he was a graduating student of the First Ember Academy. The scene he had just witnessed on the live broadcast would soon be his reality.
The thought of ultra-long-range star sea deployment and exploring the unknown star sea made his heart race with anxiety.
Yet, beneath the tension, a spark of anticipation flickered in his eyes. This was a rare opportunity. If he could seize it, soaring to new heights was not impossible.
This was the age of the star sea. Millions of years ago, the multiverse shattered, leaving countless fragments of shattered universes scattered throughout the star sea.
Thus, the era of the multiverse came to an end, and a new era was born, known to the surviving civilizations as the Shattered Star Sea Era.
These fragments of shattered universes, over time, came to be known as star sea floating lands.
Soon, the various civilizations discovered that these floating lands, remnants of the final essence of their shattered universes, were rich in countless rare resources.
To dispute these resources, the surviving civilizations clashed, plunging the Shattered Star Sea into constant warfare.
Over millions of years, countless civilizations were destroyed and vanished into the annals of time. But at the same time, new civilizations emerged like spring bamboo.
The Ember Human Civilization was one of them.
In the territory of the Ember Human Civilization, all citizens at the age of 30 could undergo ultra-long-range star deployment via Ember Ships, embarking on their star sea exploration journey.
Of course, due to advancements in genetic technology, the average lifespan of Ember citizens had reached 140 years. At 30, they were just entering adulthood.
Since the ignition of the Ember Seed over 300,000 years ago, this had become a rule observed by all members of the Ember Human Civilization. Citizens over 30 could attempt to awaken the Ember Seed, bind it to an Ember Ship, and begin their star domain exploration.
Scavenging resources from foreign star seas, reinforcing their Ember Ships, and elevating their life levels were essential to combat the increasingly powerful alien civilizations neighboring the Ember Human Civilization and protect their territory.
In essence, awakening the Ember Seed and mastering an Ember Ship was the most crucial opportunity in the life of every Ember Civilization citizen. Once successful, they would immediately become elite.
Even if they could reinforce their Ember Ship to a higher tier, they could later carve out their own territories, becoming lords of vast star domains and entering the ranks of the Ember Human Civilization's nobility, with a long life ahead of them.
Suppressing his unusual emotions, Song Chi stood up, spreading his legs into a horse stance, and raised his hands, palms facing upward, slowly opening them.
This was the standard posture for practicing the Guiding Technique.
According to official data from the Ember Human Civilization, this Guiding Technique, developed over tens of thousands of years, not only strengthened the body and promoted the elevation of life levels but also effectively increased the success rate of awakening the Ember Seed. The higher the Guiding Technique level before the age of 30, the greater the chances of successfully awakening the Ember Seed.
As for why the age for awakening the Ember Seed was set at 30:
It was simple. Given an average lifespan of 140 years, awakening the Ember Seed at 30 allowed enough time to practice the Guiding Technique, significantly increasing the chances of success, while also ensuring the learning of essential star sea knowledge, reducing the risk of death during subsequent explorations.
The remaining century was more than enough to reinforce the Ember Ship and further elevate one's life level, achieving three goals at once.
...
Three hours later, Song Chi ended his practice.
After over two decades of continuous training, his Guiding Technique level had long reached Level 4. Further improvement would not be easy.
It was now pitch black outside, and he had no intention of continuing his practice. After a quick wash, he went straight to bed.
Tomorrow was the day of the Ember Awakening. Resting well was more important than anything else.
...
The next day, at the Jiangyuan First Ember Academy's sports field.
The Awakening Ceremony had already begun.
"Zhang Lili, Ember Awakening successful, quality 'Colorless.' Next, Zhou Pengfei."
As the White Tower Ember Bureau officer announced, the hundreds of students below the Awakening Platform reacted in various ways.
Some sighed softly, but more eyes were filled with envy.
While all legal citizens of the Ember Civilization could attempt to awaken the Ember Seed at 30, the success rate was not high. According to the average success rate of the Jiangyuan First Ember Academy in previous years, awakening four out of ten students was considered very good.
This was still the elite Jiangyuan First Ember Academy. The success rates of other Ember Academies in the city were even lower.
Amid the crowd, Song Chi, like most, felt a mix of envy and tension, his fists tightly clenched.
"Thirty years have passed, and everything hinges on today."
As the thought crossed his mind, the announcement rang out once more.
"Chou P'eng-fei, Ember Awakening failed. Next..."
"Chao Yun-feng, Ember Awakening successful, quality: 'Colorless.'"
...
As one student after another either succeeded or failed, it wasn't long before it was Song Chi's turn, along with his classmates from Year 10, Class 5.
"Next, Sun Hao."
Upon hearing his name, the towering figure beside Song Chi, nearly two meters tall and resembling a black bear, tensed up.
Noticing this, Song Chi gently patted his shoulder, signaling him to relax.
"Hao, good luck."
The burly man, Sun Hao, was one of Song Chi's few close friends at the academy.
Sun Hao nodded lightly and stepped forward toward the Awakening Platform.
Soon enough,
"Sun Hao, Ember Awakening successful, quality: 'White.'"
Instantly, a wave of exclamations rippled through the crowd of students.
It was well-known that while all students underwent the Ember Awakening, the quality of their Ember Seed varied. The lowest quality was 'Colorless,' followed by 'White,' 'Blue,' 'Purple,' and so on.
Although 'White' was the second-lowest quality, it was still quite rare, with only one in dozens of students achieving it. As for 'Blue' and 'Purple,' the chances of awakening those were extremely low.
A smile spread across Song Chi's face as he genuinely rejoiced for his friend.
As expected, the moment Sun Hao stepped down from the platform, he was greeted by numerous friendly salutations from his classmates, even those who had barely spoken to him over the years. They all gathered around, eager to deepen their connections.
It wasn't that they were being mercenary; in fact, Sun Hao had indeed become a valuable asset. With a 'White' quality Ember Seed, small conglomerates, guilds, and families would be more than willing to invest in him. A single nod and a legally binding investment agreement would secure him a substantial amount of resources to reinforce his Ember Spaceship. This would allow his spaceship to advance much faster than other awoken students.
After all, all Ember Spaceships started at level 0, and the subsequent upgrades and enhancements required significant resources. Without sufficient financial backing, the upgrade process would be excruciatingly slow.
"Next, Song Chi!"
After four consecutive failures, it was finally Song Chi's turn.
Sun Hao gave him an encouraging look.
Song Chi took a deep breath, suppressing his nervousness, and stepped toward the Awakening Platform.
On the high platform, under the guidance of an Ember Bureau officer, Song Chi extended his right hand toward the dark, mysterious flame.
The dark flame, known as the "Ember Origin Seed," was not the original ember from the core of the Ember Human civilization, but it was a derivative that could aid in the awakening process, increasing the success rate.
Song Chi felt a warm sensation envelop his right palm. It seemed like an instant, yet it also felt like an eternity. When a needle-like pain shot through his right hand, he finally opened his eyes.
Before he could react, the announcement reached his ears.
"Song Chi, Ember Awakening successful, quality: 'Colorless.'"
Stepping down from the platform, Song Chi's emotions were mixed, a blend of relief and concern.
He was relieved to have successfully awakened his Ember Seed, ensuring a smoother path toward the extraordinary life he had been striving for over the past thirty years. His efforts had not been in vain.
However, he was worried about the quality of his Ember Seed. As the lowest quality, 'Colorless' had a very low ceiling. While it was manageable in the early stages, if he couldn't improve its quality, the reinforcement of his Ember Spaceship would eventually stagnate, blocking his path to the extraordinary.
"Hisss!"
Just as he was lost in thought, a sudden burning sensation surged through his chest. Song Chi's eyes narrowed, realizing something.
"It's the Star Sea Market Token heating up. What's happening? This is the first time in thirty years it's done this."
Returning to the class formation with a puzzled expression, his appearance seemed to others as if he were disheartened.
"Bro Chi, don't worry. The quality of the Ember Seed can be improved. Colorless isn't that bad..."
Sun Hao, assuming Song Chi was feeling down, quickly offered comfort.
Song Chi shook his head lightly, indicating that he was fine. He wasn't just putting on a brave face; he genuinely wasn't too concerned.
When the 'Colorless' result was announced, he did feel a moment of disappointment, but he quickly recovered.
As Sun Hao said, the quality of the Ember Seed could be improved, though it was extremely difficult and required rare, special resources. As a Transmigrator, he was confident he could gradually enhance his Ember Seed.
Yes, he was a Transmigrator, and he had been Reborn in the Womb. For the past thirty years, he had been certain that the Star Sea Market Token hanging from his chest was his "golden finger"—the key to his unique abilities.
The thought that his golden finger was undergoing some unseen change made him curious.
Curiosity aside, he couldn't just take it out and examine it in public. Fortunately, the burning sensation gradually subsided after a short while.
About half an hour later, the Awakening Ceremony for the entire Jiangyuan First Academy's graduating class was complete.
Out of over six hundred students, fewer than two hundred successfully awakened their Ember Seeds.
Cries, laughter, exclamations, and wails filled the square. Some were elated, while others were despondent.
After all, from this moment on, their lives would take vastly different paths.
(End of Chapter)
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