Chapter 561: Winds of War: The Song Family’s Gamble

After finishing the enhancements on the two components, Song Chi finally made his way back to Dragon-Spine Continent.

In recent years, the clan had been busier than ever. One warship after another passed through the spatial wormhole at Burningfall Plains, shuttling constantly between Dragon-Spine Continent and various floating-lands.

The busiest traffic was between Calamity Star Floating-Land, Yaohan Floating-Land, and Silverplate Floating-Land.

All three were seventh-tier floating-lands, the busiest hubs for people and trade, soon to become the Song Family’s biggest outlets for their war resources.

That’s right—the Song Family had already stopped acquiring war resources from outside. Instead, they were preparing to sell.

Over the past fifty years, the Song Family tapped into a good portion of their hidden stores of Floating-Land Origin, picking up massive amounts of war resources while prices were low.

But what were they really after?

Was it just for the coming civilization war?

Of course not. Right now, the stockpiled war materials on Dragon-Spine Continent could power the entire family through a civilization conflict lasting tens of thousands of years. There’s no way they’d use it all.

From the start, their plan was simple—buy low, sell high, and turn a profit.

Four years ago, the Torch Human Galaxy Cluster’s Four Great Empires officially announced that, in fifty years, they’d launch a full-scale war against the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster. News of this sent shockwaves through the entire Torch Human Galaxy Cluster.

And not just there—even in the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster, things started brewing below the surface. But the first sign of trouble was a surge in war resource prices. In just four years, prices skyrocketed more than tenfold.

That’s exactly why the Song Family went all in, preparing to sell. They just hadn’t made the move yet, waiting for the leadership’s green light.

Dragon Spine Sacred Mountain, Family Ancestral Hall.

Inside the grand hall, surrounded by more than a hundred clan elders, heated debates raged over how much war material to sell.

“According to the latest detailed stats, the resources we’ve stockpiled over these fifty years could keep our clan fighting for eighty thousand years. How much do you think we should keep, and how much should we sell?”

“It’s going to be a tough war, but I doubt it’ll last that long. It’s not like the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon civilization is our only neighbor. Three thousand years, tops.”

“You’re underestimating what a war between two galaxy clusters looks like. Forget three thousand—five thousand years might not even cut it.”

“Let’s just plan for ten thousand years. If we leave enough for that, then sell the rest at a good price. Our clan has burned through most of its reserves just to ramp up our strength lately. It’s time for a real payoff!”

“Ten thousand years sounds about right!”

…

As the debates went on, Song Chi, just back from Dragon-Spine Continent, walked in.

At the head of the hall, Song Shiyuan turned his gaze to Song Chi.

“Perfect timing, Xiaochi. What do you think—how much should we keep?”

Song Chi had overheard everything well before he reached the room, so his reply came quick:

“If you ask me, besides things like combat robots, Hellfire Mechs, and Mara Void Mechas—the core strategic gear—we really don’t need to keep much of the rest. A thousand years’ worth will do.”

At his answer, all the elders in the hall frowned in unison, clearly unconvinced.

“Oh? Let’s hear your reasoning.”

Song Shiyuan knew Song Chi’s personality well. He wasn’t in a rush to argue, choosing instead to listen.

“It’s simple. We control the huge Red Star Continent trading channel. That means, all through the war, we can keep acquiring new resources in real time. With the Dimensional Spatial Stone, I can bring whatever we buy on Red Star Continent right back to the front lines. And I can keep buying at the Omniverse Market too. So, honestly, we’ll never run short on regular supplies.”

“That being the case, we should just sell everything else at premium prices. Not only does the clan profit, but we’ll be flush with currency to snap up any rare treasures or high-tier parts that hit the market later.”

The moment he finished, the elders who’d disagreed suddenly saw the light. Their attitudes shifted immediately. Now it all sounded perfectly logical.

At the head of the hall, Song Shiyuan nodded with a smile.

“Xiaochi’s right. With control over two major trading channels, we won’t run out of regular resources. With this looming civilization war, every Torch Captain from the whole Torch Human Galaxy Cluster has to fight. In this kind of situation, all the smaller and mid-tier factions—those less prepared—are going to sell off their own deep reserves for war gear.

That gives us the perfect chance to buy up top-tier parts, rare artifacts, and unique resources. If we pass up this opportunity, we might never see one like it again!”

With that, the plan was basically set—keep only what’s needed for a thousand years of war. More than 95% of their resources would go to market at a hefty profit.

But this raised a new challenge.

“Now that prices for war supplies have jumped thirteenfold, when should we actually start selling?”

That question was everything—sell too soon and profits drop, but wait too long and all those rare treasures might be snatched up by someone else before we can act.

Faced with this dilemma, the clan elders debated for half an hour. In the end, they settled on a timeline.

Ten years.

Ten years from now, the clan would unleash its inventory across Calamity Star, Yaohan, and Silverplate floating-lands. After the meeting, the elders gradually left, leaving just Song Chi, Song Shiyuan, Song Shixing, and Song Yan behind in the ancestral hall.

Song Shiyuan’s face was troubled. His words were heavy.

“The Clan Elder’s breakthrough isn’t going well. That eighty-thousand-year Nirvana Tempering Fruit is just barely enough.”

At this news, everyone’s heart sank. For the family, it was a heavy blow.

But all they could do was exchange worried looks; there wasn’t much they could do to help.

Pushing Guiding Technique to Tier Seven is incredibly hard—not just any spirit item will do.

…

Yaoguang Star Order group chat.

“Jingzhe (Order #32): Anyone got a spirit item to help break through the Tier Seven Guiding Technique?”

“Corpse Dog (Order #3): Just used mine.”

“Jingzhe (Order #32): Uncle Corpse Dog, you broke through?”

“Corpse Dog (Order #3): Got lucky!”

“Jingzhe (Order #32): Congrats, congrats!”

“Scorching Sun (Order #19): Big congratulations!”

“Red Fox (Order #22): Well done!”

…

Song Chi stubbornly asked around the Star Order group chat, but all he got was the news that Corpse Dog had made it to Star-Annihilator-class Captain. For now, no one else had a high-tier spirit item on hand.

Given the power behind each Star Tower member, that just didn’t add up.

But with all-out war on the horizon, every Torch Captain was trying to use what little time they had left to break through. It made sense.

After all, the stronger you are, the better your odds of surviving the coming massive civilization clash.

Two years later, Song Chi got a message from the Prime Ancestor.

He and Song Yan hastened to the ancestral hall, where the Prime Ancestor handed them some urgent news.

Over at Silverplate Floating-Land, a batch of one-hundred-thousand-year Earth Ginseng had shown up. This rare spirit item was incredibly helpful for pushing Guiding Technique to Tier Seven.

Song Shiyuan wanted them to go personally and try to bring it back.

The wormhole their family had set up in the Silverplate Galaxy wasn’t inside Silverplate Floating-Land itself, but hidden in a debris field thousands of light years away.

Silverplate Floating-Land was different from Calamity Star. It was the founding land of the Tuoba Royal Clan, and its surveillance was far tighter than any floating-land without a Star-Annihilator-class Captain. Even with top-notch illusions, there were no guarantees, which was why the Song Family hadn’t risked opening a portal directly underground there.

Seeing how much trouble it was, Song Chi simply brought Song Yan along and used the Market as a transfer point to reach Silverplate Floating-Land.

By coincidence, the Earth Ginseng showed up right in Silverplate City—couldn’t be more convenient.

As soon as they arrived in Silverplate City, Song Chi and Song Yan made straight for the target shop.

Silverplate City, Tianyin Store.

As a top branch of the Tianyin Chamber of Commerce, Tianyin Store ranked among the top twenty in Silverplate City.

The Tianyin Chamber of Commerce was one of the top ten consortia in the Silverplate Kingdom, ranking among the best even there. With a supreme Dreadnought in their arsenal and both wealth and size to match, they were on a whole other level compared to the Annan Consortium that used to push the Pan Family around.

As soon as they entered, the attendant noticed the subtle Tier Six life aura coming off them and immediately led Song Chi and Song Yan to the top floor.

“Esteemed Captains, welcome. I am Ji Min, a steward of the Tianyin Chamber of Commerce. May I ask what brings you here today?”

Song Chi and Song Yan exchanged a glance, then Song Yan spoke up:

“Steward Ji, we heard your firm recently acquired a one-hundred-thousand-year Earth Ginseng. Is this true?”

Ji Min’s brow furrowed at the mention of Earth Ginseng.

He shook his head quickly.

“I’m sorry, esteemed guests. While it’s true we do have that Earth Ginseng… we aren’t ready to sell it.”

Hearing this, Song Chi and Song Yan weren’t disappointed. From his tone, it was clear there was still room to negotiate.