Chapter 458: Surging Currents at the Omniverse Market

Seeing this, Song Chi made no move to stop them. In fact, anticipation welled up inside him.

With Dominion Power and his Dual Pupils at work, he easily saw through the newcomer’s extraordinary energy—pure magic—and sensed the mastery of law within.

To grasp a law at tier three was enough to prove their remarkable background, and judging by their hurried exit, it seemed someone else awaited outside the spatial gate. Clearly, they were just probing the way.

If that were true, it further proved the power lurking behind this guest. To send a prodigy, already wielding a law at tier three, as a scout—that wasn’t something any ordinary faction could manage.

But the shattered Sea of Stars was simply too vast. Countless civilizations cultivated magical power or mana, so that alone gave no clue about the newcomer’s true origin.

Waiting could be torture. A full half-hour passed before the spatial portal rippled again—this time, dozens emerged.

Letting his gaze sweep over the crowd, Song Chi’s eyes suddenly narrowed. At last, he identified them.

But that brought him no joy. For the first time since his market advanced to tier four, he felt a hint of worry.

Wizards!

That’s right—the newcomers, both tier three and tier four humans, were all wizards.

He was able to confirm their identity so quickly not just because of the magic, but also because so many of them clutched unique wands.

Still, even that didn’t prove it completely. Those features could describe mages or sorcerers too.

What truly convinced Song Chi was the abundance of alchemical constructs and enslaved creatures that accompanied them.

And therein lay the problem. If they were wizards, behind them must stand the Witcher Civilization.

That was exactly the source of Song Chi’s unease.

The Witcher Civilization—a name that echoed like thunder in his ears.

In the comprehensive catalog of Starsea civilizations released by the Torch Human Civilization, the Witcher Civilization was ranked among the top ten hegemonies, wielding influence even greater than the Three-Eyed and Angelic civilizations. It was said they commanded over five galaxy clusters—truly one of the most powerful of all known Starsea civilizations.

At that level, the number of Dominion beings they boasted was several times that of Torch Human Civilization, not to mention plenty of tier eight and tier nine giants.

If the Omniverse Market drew the attention of such a superpower, the risks were unimaginable.

But his real dilemma was this—yes, the Witcher Civilization was terrifying, but they could surely offer treasures far beyond anything from lesser worlds. If he could win them as customers, the market’s future would be bright.

After wrestling with it for a while, Song Chi still chose not to intervene.

Normally, his first instinct would be to drive out these wizards and cut off the connection to the Witcher Civilization. But just now, a thought struck him.

The Omniverse Market was about to advance again!

Once this round of trading closed, the market would unlock its path to tier five. After the upgrade, Song Chi’s own dominion within the market would rise. Even if an eighth-tier Witcher True Spirit stepped in, he was confident he could block them.

In fact, even if a tier nine wizard came before they pinpointed the market’s coordinates, he could still sever their awareness and reclaim their Projection Tokens or Divine Realm player identities.

With that in mind, he let things be.

As the wizards surged into the market, the Free Stall Area became even busier.

Yet Song Chi didn’t pay the crowd much attention—instead, most of his focus locked onto one particular tier-four wizard.

The law within this wizard had already reached a refined, mature state—perhaps even surpassing Song Chi’s mastery of space law. He was sure this wizard’s identity was extraordinary.

Sure enough, accompanied by several other tier-four wizards, this one headed straight for the Oddity Exchange Shop.

A subtle smile tugged at Song Chi’s lips, unseen by others.

Even this prominent tier-four wizard couldn’t hide their shock and burning excitement at the sight of a dozen Silver Legendary Oddities and two Golden Sanctum Oddities on display.

Clearly, even with their status, seeing so many high-tier gold and silver oddities at once was a rarity.

Song Chi could see the reverence in the wizard’s eyes as they swept over those treasures. It came straight from the heart.

From the wizard’s perspective, anyone who could gather so many top-grade oddities had to be a force to be reckoned with.

In this moment, the wizard had no doubt about Song Chi’s claimed position as market master—exactly as Song Chi hoped.

He’d have enough confidence to face whatever happened after the tier five upgrade, but if he could inspire caution in the Witchers early and avoid their tests outright, all the better for maintaining a fruitful relationship.

When the tier-four wizard returned, their gaze, as expected, fell squarely on the Golden Sanctum Oddity: the Imperial Barbarian Blood Puppet.

The Witcher Civilization was famous for waging war with masses of enslaved creatures, and their alchemical puppets were another trademark. The Imperial Barbarian Blood Puppet was crafted from the corpse of a Dominion-level Barbarian God, making it superb puppet material. With the right handling, it could very well be turned into a true Dominion-class puppet.

Sure enough, as the wizard fixated on the puppet, Song Chi’s eyes flashed with anticipation.

He hoped they’d take out a corresponding Golden Sanctum Oddity to trade.

But things didn’t go as planned. After sizing up the puppet for a while, the tier-four wizard abruptly turned and left the shop, heading back toward the spatial portal.

“Could it be they’re not the one in charge?”

Song Chi was surprised, but could only settle back into waiting.

……

Far away, in a star system governed by Sky Mecha City—part of the Witcher civilization’s galaxy clusters.

Space warped, and a tier-four wizard stepped through a portal.

Hurrying over to a nearby tier-six wizard, the newcomer reported quickly:

“Teacher, the portal really does lead to a trade market connected across the cosmos. If I’m right, it was established by an unknown Dominion from the Sea of Stars!”

The old, tier-six wizard in front replied:

“What’s your evidence? Did you see the Dominion in person?”

The tier-four wizard shook their head.

“The market master is extremely mysterious, never showing themselves. The reason for my guess is that they displayed a massive array of high-tier Starsea oddities!”

“Oh? What quality tier?”

“Silver. And gold. Thirteen silver items, two gold!”

When the old man heard ‘silver and gold,’ his indifference vanished. The moment he got the count, excitement sparkled in his clouded eyes.

But the tier-four wizard pressed on,

“One of the gold Sanctum Oddities is called the Imperial Barbarian Blood Puppet—a vessel made from the corpse of a Barbarian God and a prime carrier for an alchemical puppet!”

Ignoring their teacher’s barely restrained greed, the younger wizard continued fervently:

“Teacher, hasn’t our grandmaster always wanted a Dominion-level slave creature? The puppet can’t be controlled as a slave, but a Dominion-class puppet is just as powerful. Grandmaster only just advanced to True Spirit Wizard too—if they got a Dominion puppet, it’d be a huge asset in our next Starsea expeditions. In a good mood, grandmaster might even fully back your breakthrough to True Spirit!”

At this, both teacher and student burned with excitement. They understood the puppet’s value perfectly. If they could seize the opportunity, advancement was possible.

Sky Mecha City was a leading force within the Witcher Civilization, but even inside, countless factions competed for every scrap. One newly promoted tier-seven True Spirit wasn’t enough leverage—if they could add a Dominion puppet to the mix, their faction’s power would soar.

“It’s a huge distance from Teacher’s True Spirit Tower. Crossing those sectors takes years, not hours.”

“Levann, you go get a Market-Walking Token first. Once we’re back at the True Spirit Tower, then we’ll trade for that Imperial Barbarian Blood Puppet!”

“Yes, Teacher!”

……

When the tier-four wizard returned to the market, Song Chi watched their every move—but in the end, they only offered a single Red Epic Oddity. Song Chi couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

At least the wizard bought a Market-Walking Token on the spot, so they clearly had wealth to spare. Maybe, just maybe, they’d come back for the puppet in the future.

Time drifted by. As the trading period lingered, all the Starsea aliens reluctantly wrapped up their deals.

A mighty force then swept through, phasing all the outsiders out of the market.

As for their frustration—there was nothing they could do. The Divine Realm Task Platform had already reached its limit of Divine Realm players, and aliens who never got a market token would find it nearly impossible to access the Omniverse Market or its trading spaces again.

Song Chi did regularly clear out inactive Divine Realm players each month, but slots were always limited.

“But not for much longer. Once the market advances, the Divine Realm Task Platform will reach tier seven, and that means we’ll get way more player spots!”

With that, Song Chi paused counting his newfound gains and pulled open the market’s attribute menu.

Still no sign of a Star Universe Origin Stone this time. He could only take another piece of Hunyuan Copper from his renewed stash of two to kick off the upgrade to tier five.

Before the ascension, though, there was one last thing to handle.

He grabbed a Fifth-Tier Silver Apple from his reserve and approached the Veil of Light configuration. It was only of purple quality and couldn’t handle the tier five upgrade. To keep the ascension under wraps, he had to evolve it to orange first.

With that done, Song Chi finally initiated the market’s ascension.

After adding a chunk of Hunyuan Copper, all conditions were met and the process began.

[The market upgrade will take half a year. Please wait patiently!]

Song Chi arched a brow.

He remembered the fourth-tier upgrade taking a whole year—he’d assumed this one might take even longer. Half a year was a welcome surprise.

But it made sense.

Upgrading from three to four was a leap to a new tier, but both four and five fell within the mid-tier civilization bracket according to Starsea standards.

Without overthinking it, Song Chi left the market.

For the next half year, he stuck with his family and the joint fleet, pressing ahead in their campaign.

And then, six months later…

Walking back into the market, Song Chi immediately noticed the pocket dimension had grown larger. The Dominion Power in his body surged higher too—not quite eighth-tier, but right at the peak of the seventh.

The grin on Song Chi’s face deepened. Everything was happening just as he’d hoped.

With Dominion Power at the peak of tier seven, he’d finally have the confidence to face the Witcher Civilization head-on.

And the Market Projection Token would now conjure projections of the Omniverse Market at not just the most basic Dominion strength, but so much more.

Thinking that, Song Chi wasted no time opening the market attribute panel to see what new changes the fifth-tier upgrade brought.

[Name: Omniverse Market]

[Market Master: Song Chi]

[Tier: lv50]

[Size: 500km x 500km]

[Base Configurations: 2200 shops, one 50km x 50km stall zone, four-level inn, level 49 Full-Attribute Cultivation Chamber (double efficiency for ether energy cultivation), level 49 Ether Defense Array, level 49 Ultra-Range Random Teleport Platform, one tier-four Ingenuity Synthesis Table, and one zero-tier Oddity Origin Improvement Station.]

[Additional Configurations: Veil of Light (orange) lv50, tier five Bloodline Baptism Platform (red), Divine Realm Task Platform (gold) lv69 (7/22)]

[Feature: Disaster Evasion (can freely move through the void and instinctively avoid natural disasters)]

[Feature 2: Spatial Anchor (can establish four spatial anchor points anywhere in the Shattered Sea of Stars)]

[Feature 3: Dominion Status (while in the market, wield the power of a dominion)]

[Ascension Requirements: 100 strands of Fifth-Tier Floating-land Origin; trade volume of 50,000 strands of Fifth-Tier Floating-land Origin]

Song Chi carefully examined the attribute panel several times, finally focusing on the ‘Base Configurations’ section.

More precisely, on the newly added Zero-Tier Oddity Origin Improvement Station at the end of that list.

At a glance, the most obvious upgrade was this brand new function. Besides the expanded market size, the only other major shift was the Spatial Anchor feature gaining another usable anchor point.