Chapter 418: A Black‑Hole Trump Card
by xennovel1: In mere moments the energy gathering in the Black Devourer King Beast’s maw reached a level that even Song Chi, who also controlled Dominion Power, found terrifying.
2: His thoughts raced.
3: While hastily drawing on the Law of Light, Song Chi used his Voidform Avatar to relay a new order to the Qiongtian AI.
4: “Force‑activate ‘Phantom Charge.’ No matter the cost, get us out of here at top speed!”
5: Yet the AI didn’t execute the command right away.
6: According to its calculations the Heavenly Ruin, protected by just a wisp of purple mist, would be crushed if it triggered Phantom Charge in this black‑hole core where external pressure shot up geometrically.
7: As the ship’s main brain its primary job was hull safety, so it waited for a second confirmation instead of blindly obeying.
8: That was the brain’s one limitation: in a situation like this the sooner you ran the better your odds, and every extra second inside the core doubled the chance the Heavenly Ruin would be lost.
9: The Omniverse Market Projection clearly wouldn’t hold the beast for long. That much was obvious.
10: Luckily Song Chi spoke again through the Voidform Avatar.
11: “Use the Neutron‑Star Fission trait to trigger the Space‑skipping Pearl!”
12: Even shrink‑jumping in a micro neutron‑star form was risky here, but it beat waiting around to die.
13: Behind him a figure of purple mist stepped out of the Projection. With a wave of its hand the void above the projection tore open and a giant Yaoguang Star projection squeezed through the rift.
14: Starlight spilled forth, forming a radiant field inside the black‑hole core.
15: Bathed in that starshine, the once‑dim Omniverse Market Projection solidified again.
16: It still wasn’t done. As the misty figure summoned the star, flawless rings of spatial law gathered behind it and finally condensed into a Void‑Return Ray tens of thousands of kilometers wide in front of the Projection.
17: Boom!
18: Deep in the black hole the beast spat out a devouring orb, roaring toward them like a certain anime’s Tailed‑Beast Bomb. It tore through the fading shadow of the Purple‑Mist Dragon Whale and slammed at the Projection.
19: Inside, Song Chi’s mist avatar flung out the massive Void‑Return Ray.
20: Orb and ray collided, unleashing indescribable force at the core.
21: In open space such a blast would alarm life within ten thousand light‑years, but here the energy flared and was instantly sucked away by the black hole.
22: Even so, the Projection summoned by the Market Projection Token was now perilously dim.
23: Seizing the last moments, Song Chi poured everything into a spatial lockdown field deep in the core, hoping to stall the beast a heartbeat longer.
24: Thankfully the Heavenly Ruin had already skipped once and reached the very edge of the Void Belt.
25: Song Chi dismissed the projection, recalled the spent token to the market, and flashed back aboard the Heavenly Ruin.
26: He didn’t try to hide in the misty energy. Before a Dominion‑class behemoth the ship’s position would be exposed in seconds if the creature cared to look.
27: The safest move was to pocket the Heavenly Ruin altogether and duck into the Omniverse Market himself. Only then could he dodge any follow‑up hunt.
28: He did just that, but added a step: before entering the market he left a third‑rank humanoid alien, enslaved by the Parent‑Child Spirit Control Rings, drifting in the Void Belt.
29: Inside the market he ignored the black treasure for now, using the Mind‑Bridge trait to keep talking with that alien.
30: When the link was abruptly severed and an empty slot reappeared on the control ring component he stiffened. The alien was gone.
31: Any lingering wishful thinking died. He headed straight back to Dragon‑Spine Continent.
32: If he returned to the Chaos Sector later he would depart from the continent.
33: Of course, he’d first verify conditions over there. If the Black Devourer King Beast was fully awake he would never step into that star zone again.
34: For now the odds were low.
35: No one knew how long it had slept, but certainly more than five millennia.
36: Since Morningstar Duchy was founded there had been zero reports of Dominion‑level beasts nearby; otherwise its leaders would never have developed so peacefully.
37: After all, who could live calmly with a primordial monster napping on the doorstep?
38: “I have to warn the Progenitors at once…”
39: He pulled out his quantum comm wristband.
40: Family high‑level chat channel
41: “Tenth Main Line, Song Chi: @Everyone Anyone on Dragon‑Spine Continent?”
42: “Ancestral Line, Song Zhenjiang: Chi, what’s wrong? Aren’t you with the expedition fleet…?”
43: “Elder Zhenjiang, can you contact the Progenitors directly? This is life‑and‑death urgent!!”
44: In the ancestral residence Song Zhenjiang’s face turned solemn. Chi clearly wasn’t joking.
45: Moments later he replied:
46: “Come to the ancestral residence. My ship has a special link to Uncle Dai‑jiang’s flagship, but it can only be used once every few years. Are you sure it’s that serious?”
47: “Absolutely sure!”
48: ……
49: When Song Chi uttered the words Dominion‑class Black Devourer King Beast, Zhenjiang’s eyes twitched violently.
50: He knew it was big, but he hadn’t imagined it involved a Dominion creature.
51: Western Chaos Sector.
52: Main control room of the Zhulu‑class cruiser Changjiang of the Sea of Stars—Song Daijiang still hadn’t recovered from the news.
53: When he did he shoved down his shock and sent a priority connect request to the Progenitors’ encrypted chat.
54: Realizing he had urgent intel, Song Wujian didn’t refuse and let the Changjiang join.
55: “Daijiang, what is it?”
56: Song Dingbang asked in the chat.
57: But Daijiang’s first words were a question of his own:
58: “Progenitor, is this channel absolutely secure?”
59: Curiosity spiked across the group.
60: Daijiang felt the caution was necessary. Months had passed since Chi departed, and the Family fleet had already merged with the duchy’s main force—far more ships than when they only had the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang.
61: Opposite him Wujian nodded.
62: “Rest easy. Though the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang reached tier six only a few centuries ago, backed by Family resources it’s half a step into senior dreadnought class. Even an apex dreadnought can’t breach its magnetic wave field unnoticed.”
63: Assured of secrecy, Daijiang relayed all the information Zhenjiang had sent.
64: “Progenitor, according to Chi the mist in the Huntian Star Zone hides a black hole, and deep inside sleeps a Dominion‑level Black Devourer King Beast!”
65: Even the normally composed elders showed shock—except Song Wujian whose face stayed unreadable.
66: On another screen Song Xingru blurted,
67: “Is that certain? Chi did mention that black hole, and the coordinates came from the Eagle Family. Dominion‑class Black Devourer—are we sure?”
68: Anger flared in her eyes.
69: “So vicious. They wanted that beast to kill our direct heir! We can’t let this slide!”
70: Dingbang gave the hot‑tempered Xingru a helpless look.
71: “Easy, Aunt Xingru. Think: if the Eagle Family really knew about the beast would they hand the intel out for free?
72: “A Dominion beast is nearly as valuable as a gold‑grade top component. Even if the Eagles lack strength they could sell the intel to the Qin Imperial Dynasty and earn a fortune once an eighth‑tier powerhouse steps in.”
73: Xingru calmed. Clearly the Eagles hadn’t discovered the beast beforehand.
74: “In that case, as long as the beast stays hidden, maybe we can use this.”
75: “Progenitor, do you think we could trade this intel for the protection of an eighth‑tier noble house under the Qin?”
76: Song Tianhao’s suggestion made every gaze in the chat brighten.
77: That might just work!
78: Song Chi had already warned them the Qin’s Ying Family might intervene in the Yaohan war’s spoils.
79: Securing a Dominion‑level patron to hold all their captured high‑grade resource nodes was no easy feat.
80: Each Dominion faction only grants one protection quota. Otherwise the Ying Family would get nothing.
81: This Black Devourer intel might be their ticket.
82: Yet Song Wujian simply said,
83: “Enough. Everyone sign a secrecy pact. Not a word leaks. We’ll revisit Tianhao’s idea later.”
84: ……
85: Song Chi knew nothing of the fleet’s debate. After reporting he finally relaxed.
86: The Progenitors would handle the beast. His full attention turned to the black, supreme‑grade treasure.
87: Back at Azure‑Moon Manor he dove straight into the market.
88: Inside the Heavenly Ruin he brought up its data panel.
89: 【Treasure: Black Hole Evolution Stone】
90: 【Grade: Black】
91: 【Convertible into: {Black Hole Evolution Layer}】
92: 【Note: A miniature black hole, after a million years of gestation, finally produced a supreme‑grade black treasure.】
93: Seeing the words “Black Hole Evolution Layer,” Song Chi swore this was the happiest he’d been since becoming master of the Omniverse Market—ecstatic was an understatement.
94: After all the scheming, getting something that could turn into a top‑value ship component was the ultimate thrill.
95: He forced down the excitement and flipped pages.
96: A brand‑new component panel popped up.
97: Black Hole Evolution Layer Lv.0
98: Grade: Black
99: Trait 1: Black Hole—Energy Devour
100: Trait 2: Black Hole—Collapse
101: Trait 3: Black Hole—Singularity Burst
102: Trait 4: Black Hole Evolution Layer
103: Trait 5: Black Hole Domain
104: Trait 6: The host ship is subtly tempered by black‑hole energy; hull integrity will steadily rise over time.
105: Energy Cost: 50 per second
106: Effect: Engine power‑supply efficiency +100%.
107: No charge‑up or buffering required.
108: Upgrade cost: 50 wisps Floating-land Origin (tier‑0), 5,000 neogen points, 1 Dense Black‑Hole Stone.
109: Note: Occupies six component slots.
110: {Black Hole—Energy Devour: The host ship gains a “Devour” trait, steadily absorbing, swallowing and storing external energy as special black‑hole energy. Against equal‑tier or lower attacks it indiscriminately devours half their power, reducing damage by 50%. Current energy pool: 0/10.}
111: {Black Hole—Collapse: Bind one ship cannon. Each salvo gains a “Collapse” effect that inflicts high damage through spatial collapse. Consumes 1 black‑hole energy per trigger.}
112: {Black Hole—Singularity Burst: Compress a set amount of black‑hole energy into a singularity, load it into a chosen cannon and fire. Upon impact the singularity expands into a micro black hole that annihilates everything nearby. Power scales with energy spent. Cooldown: 5 years.}
113: {Black Hole Evolution Layer: The host ship gains an additional armor layer equal in strength to its primary hull plating. If the ship’s armor grade exceeds this component the trait is inactive.}
114: {Black Hole Domain: Spend all stored energy to generate a domain that absorbs all incoming energy. While the domain lasts the ship is absolutely invulnerable. Duration: at least 1 second, at most 10 seconds. Cooldown: 10 years.}
115: This Black Hole Evolution Layer had the longest text of any component Song Chi had seen.
116: Thankfully its power matched the length.
117: It wasn’t standard armor but a special—really a domain—component.
118: All six traits were monsters in their own right, yet “Black Hole Domain” was the ace.
119: Song Chi wasn’t worried about mounting it; the Heavenly Ruin still had domain slots open.
120: Once installed the ship’s combat power would soar. Double‑layer armor and an extra 50% damage cut alone would push the Heavenly Ruin far along the tank path.
121: Offense wasn’t shabby either. Singularity Burst was an ultimate finisher.
122: Turn the shell into a black hole and erase everything nearby. With enough stored energy even a tier‑six life‑form might be in serious trouble.
123: The only drawback was the long, fixed cooldown—one year even after time‑acceleration reductions.
124: Upgrading also needed the rare Dense Black‑Hole Stone. He’d heard it was exceedingly scarce.
125: PS: How about this component?
126: PS2: If you all have fresh component ideas, drop them. I may adopt them.
127: Like the earlier suggestion of the ‘Eternal Flame Stasis Pod’—that one’s pretty neat.