Chapter 521: Hidden Schemes and New Opportunities

The two of them gave nearly identical answers. They didn’t need anything for now, so their spoils were converted straight into merit points. If something important came up later, they could always exchange points then.

No one else in the Hidden Vein pushed back against Song Chi and Song Yan’s decision.

After all the spoils were divvied up, Song Shixing led the group away without a hint of hesitation, heading straight for their next planned objective.

……

The Song Family’s campaign stretched on for a whole month. It wasn’t until the Flamejay Clan discovered the Fire Crow Clan had been wiped out and finally reacted that the Hidden Vein’s core members all withdrew swiftly back to Dragon Abyss City.

“Hahaha, that felt amazing! You guys have no idea how satisfying it was to blast those Swordslave Clan with our cannons. Remember when they ambushed and killed two of our fourth-tier elders? This time, we flattened a whole mid-sized Swordbone City and took down three fifth-tier sword slaves and over twenty at the fourth tier.”

“Tell me about it. If only the Swordbone Cities garrisoned by sixth-tier sword slaves weren’t able to activate the Myriad Slave Swordbone Array! Even letting out the Starry Sky Dragon Shark wouldn’t break through in time. Otherwise, I’d love to have bagged a few sixth-tier sword slaves as well.”

“That’s not really necessary. The Starry Sky Dragon Shark shouldn’t make an appearance just yet. The whole point of this operation was to seize special resources and settle some old vendettas. The real value of Red Star Continent lies in those massive and even giant resource veins, eighth-tier origin geysers, and the countless foreign starfolk everywhere. We need our own city to tap into those.”

“And if we want a city that’s stable, we’ve got to station a sovereign there. Once our cities are established, the Starry Sky Dragon Shark will be our emblem. Keeping it neutral, only maintaining order rather than intervening freely, is the smart move.”

“Besides, that Swordbone City we razed brought some extra surprises.”

Just then, someone nearby laughed.

“That’s true. Who would’ve guessed they’d just finished mining an entire Pure Yang Jade vein? All that ten-thousand-year-old Pure Yang Jade is ours now. It’s one of the few rare resources needed for a cruiser to push for a Zhulu‑class ship. Our family’s odds of achieving a Zhulu‑class have definitely gone up.”

……

No sooner had they returned to Dragon Abyss City than the core members began discussing everything—this latest operation and plans and arrangements for the clan going forward.

Once they got back to Dragon Abyss Hall, Song Shixing wasted no time handing out his orders.

“This campaign has attracted attention from the Flamejay Sovereign, the Swordslave Lord, and several other top sovereigns. For now, stay put as much as possible. We’ll wait till things settle down before acting again.”

“Understood!”

“We obey, Elder!”

……

Leaving Dragon Abyss Hall behind, Song Chi headed for his quarters. This campaign might not have brought him enormous gains, but he hadn’t walked away empty-handed either.

For example, he now held an entire vial of Time Essence Liquid with more than sixty drops inside. He’d scored it five days ago when they destroyed a mid-tier civilization and looted their treasury. Combined with what the Cultivation Sanctuary had yielded these past years, he now had enough to upgrade his Timepiece Chess part all the way to level 60.

Just then, a voice called to him from behind.

“Big Brother?”

Song Chi turned to see Song Yan. He kept his expression calm, though the encounter caught him off guard.

After five years together and more than a month fighting side by side, Song Chi had come to understand his senior cousin pretty well.

Song Yan wasn’t ordinary by any stretch—he was about fifty years older, making him around three hundred and thirty now. But what really set him apart was his mastery; his Guiding Technique had already reached fifth-tier peak, and even his Torch Seed had evolved to a silver grade long ago.

Even more surprising, Song Yan’s Fire Law had stepped firmly into mastery, though just how advanced was unclear. Not even Song Chi’s Dual Pupils could get a reading. But that alone was enough to show just how monstrous Song Yan truly was.

Song Chi, after all, only made it this far over two centuries with the help of his Omniverse Market cheat.

He vaguely remembered Song Wujian once mentioning that Song Yan had, during a second-tier Outer Domain expedition, come upon a powerful alien legacy. That probably explained these achievements, though the details remained a mystery.

“What’s up, Big Brother?”

Thoughts raced through Song Chi’s mind, but outwardly he spoke at a steady pace, showing nothing unusual.

Song Yan didn’t answer right away but instead changed the subject.

“Don’t rush. Let’s talk at my place.”

The two made their way to Song Yan’s home. Before Song Chi could speak, Song Yan had already activated a high-security isolation field.

Song Chi’s heart skipped a beat at that, but Song Yan simply waved it off.

“Relax, I’m mainly warding off Old Ancestor Xing right now. After this campaign, he definitely doesn’t want us heading out on some impulsive trip…”

That got Song Chi’s attention.

“So you’re thinking of going out anyway?”

Song Yan nodded.

When he saw Song Chi frown a little, Song Yan hurried to explain further.

“Hear me out first…”

Song Chi fell silent, waiting to hear what his cousin was going to propose.

“Seventh Brother, interested in doing something big outside?”

Song Chi didn’t answer. He just stared quietly at Song Yan.

Song Yan coughed awkwardly and carried on.

“Here’s the deal: about ten thousand lightyears east of Dragon Abyss City is an alien civilization called the Star Spirit Tribe. They’re a high-level civilization…”

At the word “high-level civilization,” Song Chi’s interest took a nosedive.

With a sovereign overseeing things and all that accumulated power, civilizations like these always had terrifying trump cards. Even with the Starry Sky Dragon Shark and the Market Projection backing them up, things could still go wrong—and for Song Chi, that was a risk he couldn’t accept.

Song Yan seemed to catch on and hastened to continue.

“Let me finish. First, the Star Spirit Sovereign has only just broken through to the seventh tier—a fresh face among sovereigns…”

Song Chi still said nothing.

With his money-making cheat from the Omniverse Market, caution was always his top priority. Besides, he wasn’t strapped for cash right now. There was just no need to mess with another sovereign’s nest on purpose.

Unless it was like with the Crescent Moon Matriarch—when they had an allied equal-tier sovereign, the opposition was badly wounded, and the Market Projection did all the heavy lifting.

But what Song Yan said next suddenly caught his interest.

“Second, the Star Spirit Tribe is born from the power of unique stars themselves. Their people are naturally attuned to all sorts of celestial bodies—especially those ancient stars left over from the multiverse age.”

That made everything click for Song Chi.

“You mean they’ve got neutron star wreckage in their hands?”

Song Yan nodded quickly.

“Absolutely. And not just a piece or two. According to the agents I’ve planted there, they have at least three sets.”

Song Yan still wasn’t done.

“And besides the neutron star wreckage, they also have Dense Black‑Hole Stones!”

“And we’re not doing this alone. I’ve got two other friends coming too, both extremely capable. After we send the Starry Sky Dragon Shark to stall the Star Spirit Sovereign for a bit, the rest of us can handle the mission.”

Song Chi weighed his options in silence.

Burning a true Market Projection Token costs a silver oddity. Would it be worth it in the end, or a loss?

That Token required an actual silver oddity to activate. With four people involved, they’d have to split all the loot evenly. Could he really break even?

After all, the Star Spirit Sovereign was new to the seventh tier, and their reserves would be nothing like those of a typical advanced civilization. With the sovereign present, there was no way they’d steal every last treasure. They might not even get four silver oddities in the deal.

After a moment, Song Chi made up his mind to give it a shot.

He didn’t care about anything else—he just really wanted those pieces of neutron star wreckage, and the Dense Black‑Hole Stones too. Both were incredibly rare, and if he searched for them himself, who knew how many years it would take.

Especially since neutron star wreckage was the key to upgrading the Neutron‑Star Core Armor to gold quality—the more, the better.

“Alright. Do we have a time locked in?”

Song Yan was visibly pleased with Song Chi’s agreement; a broad grin spread across his face.

“Great! With you on board, there’s almost no way this fails. The others haven’t set a date yet, but it should be sometime in the next few months.”

……

With that settled, Song Chi didn’t linger. He soon made his way back to his own place.

He went straight to the warship’s summoning chamber. There, he took out his Time Essence Liquid and upgraded the Timepiece Chess part to level 60.

That upgrade brought the part’s cooldown even lower, from forty percent to forty-five percent. Still, Song Chi couldn’t muster much excitement.

Compared to the Timepiece Chess itself, he cared even more about the elusive Timepiece Chessboard. But ever since he got his second Timepiece Chess from Pan Ying, he hadn’t found any more clues.

Decades had passed, with over a hundred expeditions to the Outer Domain, but he never received any prompts about the Destiny Compass territory. Was it any wonder he felt frustrated?

“Fate my ass!”

Even with the golden Destiny Compass tracker, he still couldn’t find the remaining Timepiece Chess parts. Rely on fate? Yeah, right.

After a few grumbles, Song Chi let the matter drop. He recalled his warship and logged into the Market.

High above the Omniverse Market, Song Chi sat cross-legged atop the projection of a Starry Sky Throne, with the Dao Comprehension Mat (Imitation) beneath him. Before him lingered a hidden trace of the Law of Time. With the help of Dual Pupils, he focused all his efforts on the newly acquired aspect of that law.

Compared to his nearly mastered grasp of space and light, his insight into Time barely approached forty percent, making it much easier to improve.

The sudden drive to study laws wasn’t just a matter of regular training—it was also thanks to the pressure of Song Yan’s example.

A battlecruiser captain in his early three hundreds who had already mastered the Fire Law—and gone even further—now that was a sobering thought.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

One day, Song Chi returned to the Dragon‑Spine Continent.

Not because anything had happened there, but because the Yaoguang Star Order he’d parked on the continent had just received a mention.

At first, Song Chi assumed someone was calling him directly. But when he checked the Star Order Group Chat, that wasn’t the case.

“Corpse Dog #3: tagging all members! There’s a new ‘Chaos Quest’ in the Tower. If you’re interested, log in and take a look!”

Song Chi arched his brows as he scanned the message.

Chaos Quest—as the name implied, these were special missions posted by the Yaoguang Star Tower, with rewards offering extra chances to study at the Chaos Monument.

He’d already used up his opportunities with the monument, so this immediately caught his interest. In a flash, he logged into the Star Tower by projection.

“Looks like everyone’s interested in the Chaos Quest.”

Looking around the main hall, Song Chi noticed it was more crowded today than ever before. He made a mental note.

Striding over to the mission window, he quickly spotted the Chaos Quest pinned at the top.

[Mission: Secret Realm Exploration]

[Restriction: Fifth-tier and below Torch Captains]

[Mission Brief: One of the deputy hall masters of the Big Dipper Main Hall discovered a mysterious secret realm during an Outer Domain expedition. What lies within is currently unknown.]

[Mission Reward: Earn Star Tower Mall credits based on your findings. Turning over major information can also earn you a shot at the Chaos Monument.]