Chapter Three: The Starsea Market Decree

After the integration session, each class began to gather separately.

At the meeting point for Class 5, Yang Minghui looked at the sixteen familiar faces that had accompanied him for years. His eyes flickered with emotion, and though he had countless words to say, they finally condensed into two stern reminders.

“Gather at Scholar’s Square at eight tomorrow morning. Prepare well tonight.”

“Even if it’s just an exploratory mission for benefits, casualties happen every year—don’t take it lightly.”

“Understood!”

...

After parting ways with Sun Hao, Song Chi hailed a kinetic flying car by the roadside. His home was in the city center, not far from the academy—less than twenty minutes away. The flying car soon stopped at the gate of the Dongjiang Residential Complex where he lived.

“General credit points deducted: 10. Account balance: 2,413,543 points.”

Just as he stepped off the vehicle, his smart watch notified him of the deduction. Song Chi’s expression remained calm as he glanced at the balance, but if an outsider saw it, they would hardly believe his composure.

As the universal currency of the Morning Star Principality, credit points held solid purchasing power.

For an ordinary person, a monthly salary would be around three thousand credit points at best. After daily expenses, one might save about two thousand points a month. By that calculation, it would take a century for an average person to save 2.4 million points.

As a student who hadn’t yet graduated, Song Chi’s vast savings were extraordinary. And unlike many, this was not money given by his parents, but wealth he had earned with his own hands over thirty years.

The source? In his previous life, he was a seasoned writer of popular novels and had some talent in storytelling. Over more than two decades, he produced numerous works.

His most famous were “Fleet Piercing the Firmament” and “Douluo Floating Continent.” Unfortunately, despite the long development of human civilization in the Xinhuo Era, online literature was not a blank slate. His works received only modest attention, and the royalties he accumulated amounted to just over two million credit points—hardly worth mentioning.

Dongjiang Residential Complex, Building 5, Apartment 403.

As soon as he entered, both his father Song Chao and mother Chen Lixia’s gazes converged on him simultaneously.

“Son’s back! Come quickly, Mom made your favorite—braised deep-sea mackerel.”

Song Chi’s eyes brightened. He set down his backpack hurriedly and approached the dining table. After drinking a full bowl of fish soup, he felt a warm current spreading from his stomach throughout his body, and a genuine smile of contentment appeared on his face.

Deep-sea mackerel wasn’t particularly tasty—in fact, it was quite unpalatable. Other children would consider it a top contender for picky eating. Yet Song Chi had persisted for over twenty years.

What attracted him was the rich blood-energy contained in the fish’s flesh. This blood-energy greatly enhanced the practice of Daoyin Technique, one reason why he had reached Lv. 4 in just over two decades.

Most trainees his age were stuck at Lv. 2 in Daoyin Technique; only those with exceptional talent could reach Lv. 3.

...

The higher the Daoyin Technique level, the more difficult and slower the cultivation—a widely accepted fact in the Xinhuo human civilization’s territories.

He spread both hands, slowly activating the Daoyin Technique within his body, rapidly absorbing the blood-energy from the fish soup to accelerate cultivation.

Of course, it was now more accurate to call it Shadow Energy Daoyin Technique. After completing the Shadow Energy transformation, his body had become one of shadow energy, automatically advancing the technique. Compared to the regular Daoyin Technique, the Shadow Energy version cultivated much faster.

Seeing the strands of black shadow energy swirling around Song Chi, Song Chao and Chen Lixia’s anxious expressions quickly faded. They had both awakened the Xinhuo seed, so they were very familiar with shadow energy.

Seeing their son now able to manipulate shadow energy, they instantly understood that Song Chi had successfully awakened.

“The colorless Xinhuo seed has awakened. The Shadow Energy Flyer has fully integrated. The first interdimensional river domain exploration will be at eight tomorrow morning.”

While absorbing and converting the blood-energy inside him, Song Chi recounted his basic situation.

Upon hearing this, his parents nodded slightly, without a trace of disappointment.

When Song Chi was born, both of them were colorless Xinhuo seed bearers, setting the bloodline ceiling. So as long as their son could successfully awaken the Xinhuo seed, they were already very satisfied.

They never expected him to awaken a white or higher quality seed; the chances were simply too slim.

...

“Xiao Chi, come here.”

After lunch, Song Chao called Song Chi into the study immediately.

Inside, Song Chao wore a serious expression. After giving him a lengthy set of instructions, a faint glow flashed between his brows, and two light orbs flew from his Xinhuo ancestral aperture, hovering before Song Chi.

“These are the starter resources your mother and I are giving you: 1,000 strands of zero-rank floating continent essence, and a white-grade special component for the Xinhuo Flyer—the ‘Fire Sun Soldier Tree.’”

Song Chi’s face lit up. Though not a large sum, these resources were more than enough for him to begin reinforcing and upgrading his Shadow Energy Flyer, enhancing its various functions, battle power, and survivability.

With this, his starting point already surpassed most of his peers. Never underestimate this small step—getting ahead early often paves the way for soaring success.

...

Compared to the 1,000 strands of zero-rank essence, Song Chi was more tempted by the white-grade “Fire Sun Soldier Tree” special component.

It was well known that any colored Xinhuo Flyer component must derive from some rare celestial object. Once linked to such celestial marvels, the value of the item would soar, even if it was only a white-grade curiosity.

Not to mention that the “Soldier Figurine Component” was the most popular among flyer components.

After all, these soldier puppets could be summoned at will, whether as guards, combat assistants, or cannon fodder, greatly increasing a captain’s survival rate. They were often fiercely sought after the moment they appeared.

This explained the value of the “Fire Sun Soldier Tree” component before him.

“Thank you, Dad and Mom.”

Song Chi summoned the shadow energy within, absorbing the two light orbs into his Xinhuo ancestral aperture. Then, after receiving another round of advice from his parents, he went upstairs.

Back in his room, he did not immediately immerse his mind in the Xinhuo ancestral aperture to examine the Shadow Energy Flyer’s detailed attributes left unfinished earlier. Instead, he first took down the bronze token that hung over his chest.

He had always carried this item—the one that had caused his transmigration.

The bronze token was small, about half the size of a lighter, with four small characters engraved on its front: “Starsea Market.” This was why he had always called it the Starsea Market Token.

Studying the token, he soon noticed a change.

For the past thirty years, it had seemed an ordinary bronze token—no matter how he fiddled with it, there was never any reaction. But now, a faint, shadowy black luster appeared on its surface. The glow was subtle, almost imperceptible unless examined closely.

“Is this… shadow energy?”

Song Chi’s eyes suddenly brightened. At that moment, the token changed again.

Perhaps due to his prolonged gaze, an attribute panel automatically popped out on the token’s side.

[Name: Shadow Energy—Starsea Market Token]

[Category: Growth-type Curiosity]

[Quality: ??]

[Level: Lv.0]

[Feature 1: Controls and connects to a specific Starsea Market.]

[Feature 2: Under certain conditions, the Starsea Market Token can autonomously upgrade.]

[Note: A top-tier curiosity with infinite potential.]