Chapter 598: Bargains and Breakthroughs on the Battlefield

“Block them, damn it!”

“Black Gold Shield up!”

“No, wait—damage to the hull’s over 70%. We’re going down!”

……

Amid the chaotic melee, the Dongli Xiao Family fleet was completely overwhelmed. With backup pouring in from the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster, fleets of Heavenly Serpent warships and Eight-Armed Serpent Demons surged up from Serpent Eye City, outnumbering the Xiao fleet several times over.

Crushed by sheer numbers, with high-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demons thrown into the mix, Xiao warships were sinking by the dozens every moment.

It wasn’t just the regular warships struggling—the battle above, where the true titans clashed, didn’t look any better.

With three more Serpent Demon Overlords joining as reinforcements, there were now seven seventh-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demons on the Serpent Eye Floating-Land, while the Torch Civilization could only rely on projections from their Star-Annihilator-class Ships.

With both weakened combat strength and the lack of true warship bodies, the outcome on the battlefield was obvious.

Seven Star-Annihilator-class projections were being completely suppressed by six Serpent Demon Overlords. Where the Morningstar Traverse was deployed, things looked even worse—the warship’s projection was almost worn down to nothing, on the brink of total collapse.

In contrast, the Luo Clan’s Star-Annihilator-class Ship, which had advanced most recently, was actually holding up better than anyone expected.

Fighting alongside the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang helped, but at the end of the day, it was the Chigu Luo Clan’s deep foundation, built up over twenty thousand years, that proved crucial.

Even if Luo Yi had only just advanced to the seventh tier and would never go further, he’d still obtained a thread of Golden Upgraded Fire Source, raising his Torch Seed to gold quality.

Thanks to that, multiple components of his warship had been pushed to eighth-tier strength, letting him outclass even the Morningstar Traverse, which had been a Star-Annihilator-class ship for centuries.

With the Serpent Demon Avatar’s shadow sweeping through the battlefield, the Morningstar Traverse’s projection was the first to fall. Seeing this, Luo Yi’s Star-Annihilator-class Ship was forced to step in.

Everyone present understood this stopgap wouldn’t hold—the longer things dragged on, the more the odds shifted toward the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons.

A projection was just that—a projection. In terms of endurance, it could never compare to the real thing.

Another ten minutes passed, and by now, the seven Star-Annihilator-class projections were so faded they’d dissipate at any moment.

Right then, Xiao Changqing finally made his decision. His voice rang out through the various Star-Annihilator-class projections nearby.

“Everyone—the Serpent Eye Floating-Land can be split evenly among us. All I ask is that the real warships come and support us now!”

No one seemed surprised by his proposal—it was clear most had guessed Xiao Changqing would soon speak up.

The situation was plain: without help, the Dongli Xiao Family’s entire fleet of thirty million was doomed. Even Xiao Changqing himself might not make it out alive.

In these desperate circumstances, the best option was to ask for the actual warships to enter the fray.

But obviously, it wouldn’t be that easy.

Seven Serpent Demon Overlords backed by the core of the Floating-Land’s origin—if the Star-Annihilator-class Captains were to show up in person, they’d be taking serious risks. Xiao Changqing, in return, had to offer enough reward to make it worth their while.

Divvying up just one Floating-Land wasn’t going to cut it.

“Shen Wei: Changqing, a single Seventh‑Tier Floating-land isn’t enough!”

The first to speak up was Shen Wei, King of the Northern Vault from Yaohan. Though the Yaohan Kingdom’s Three Houses often stuck together, even they wouldn’t help out for free.

When there were benefits on the line, no one would pass them up.

After Shen Wei, no one else spoke, but the gleam in their eyes made it obvious—they all silently agreed with his point.

Xiao Changqing’s expression tightened as he tangled with a peak seventh-tier Serpent Demon Overlord. He quickly called out:

“Then I’ll add six Bodhi Enlightenment Fruits!”

At the words ‘Bodhi Enlightenment Fruit,’ the Star-Annihilator-class Captains’ eyes lit up.

Just as the name suggested, the Bodhi Enlightenment Fruit is a legendary spiritual fruit that can boost one’s insight. It comes from the Bodhi Enlightenment Tree, one of the finest spiritual roots in the Sea of Stars. Though not exactly a star-plant, its value rivals rare starry flora like the Silver Apple Mother Tree.

The boost from the Enlightenment Fruit isn’t permanent—it lasts for about a hundred years. However, eating one grants a fivefold gain in insight over that period, allowing anyone to rapidly improve their Law Comprehension.

Even for a Star-Annihilator-class Captain whose Laws are already perfected, this Bodhi Enlightenment Fruit remains highly valuable.

Perfected Laws aren’t the end. Once a Captain’s mind is transformed into a true spirit, he can use those perfected Laws to try to connect with the Sea of Origin Laws that underpins the Shattered Sea of Stars.

It’s said that within the Sea of Origin Laws lie cosmic truths greater than those of the ordinary universe—the keys to reaching the legendary Mythic realm. For most Star-Annihilator-class Captains, their perfected Laws are like narrow bridges connecting to the Sea of Origin. Through those bridges, they barely reach into its depths—their progress painstakingly slow.

Beyond the ‘Law Bridge’ are further stages: the ‘Law Road’ and the ‘Law Master’. Every step forward amplifies a seventh-tier being’s progress exploring the Sea of Origin.

Especially at the third stage, Law Master—at that point, an Overlord could roam the Sea of Origin Laws at will. Only then could they hope to find the elusive cosmic path leading to true transcendence.

The Bodhi Enlightenment Fruit is what helps a Captain push that bridge further. Take Liu Shu, King of Yaohan—as his Law has nearly reached the top of the Law Bridge, one more Enlightenment Fruit might let him step right into the Law Road.

“Changqing, old friend—did your Xiao Family really harvest so many Bodhi Enlightenment Fruits from the Bodhi Enlightenment Tree you found in the Immortal Domain ruins?”

Everyone was tempted by the fruit, but none of them agreed right away.

From what they knew, the Bodhi Enlightenment Tree the Xiao Family acquired produced fruit only very slowly. Even if they’d transplanted it into a Secret Realm and accelerated its growth, with so many members of the family, how could there possibly be that many fruits left?

And if Xiao Changqing was just making a desperate promise, even if someone in his position wouldn’t go back on his word, it was impossible to say how long they’d have to wait to get the fruit. No one present was naïve enough to be fooled by an empty promise.

But to their relief, Xiao Changqing wasn’t bluffing. Right in the comm channel, he displayed six luminous silver fruits for all to see.

“That’s right—these are Bodhi Enlightenment Fruits!”

“Liu Shu: Deal. I accept. In ten minutes, the Fenglang Juxu will jump in with its true body!”

“Shen Wei: Same here.”

……

With the lure of the Bodhi Enlightenment Fruit, it didn’t take long for all six Star-Annihilator-class Captains to say yes.

Meanwhile, the six Star-Annihilator-class Ships stationed throughout the Chipan Galaxy began to make their moves.

Song-and-Luo Joint Fleet comm channel.

“Luo Yi: Wujian, how do you plan on getting there?”

Song Wujian raised his eyebrow at Luo Yi’s question.

“Doesn’t your ship have a long-range active jump feature?”

Given the Luo Clan’s resources, it was a bit surprising.

Luo Yi soon explained, shaking his head:

“Luo Yi: We do, but the price is steep. If you’re able to bring me along, Wujian, I’d really appreciate it.”

After a slight pause, he added:

“Of course, as payment, I’ll offer up a silver Oddity that can’t be turned into a warship component.”

The Song Family had long been purchasing silver Oddities that couldn’t be integrated into warship systems. Practically everyone in the Tianpan Galaxy knew this.

So Luo Yi simply made an open offer.

Song Wujian quickly accepted.

But as Luo Yi wondered how Song Wujian intended to bring him to the Serpent Eye Floating-Land, Wujian’s next words left him stunned.

“Recall your warship?”

Luo Yi’s reaction was swift and intense after hearing that.

Song Wujian understood. Without saying more, he called back the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang himself and boarded a nearby pitch-black Dreadnought.

For any Torch Captain, their warship is more than just a weapon—it’s their very lifeblood and the core of their survival. Asking a Captain to recall that ship is basically asking them to drop their last line of defense and put their life in someone else’s hands.

But seeing Song Wujian demonstrate it personally helped Luo Yi push down his discomfort. Once his own ship was recalled and he’d boarded the Dreadnought, a wave of weightlessness washed over him.

It didn’t last long. As the feeling peaked, he was overtaken by a dizzying vertigo.

When Luo Yi stepped out of the warship bay again, he realized he was already in deep space outside the Serpent Eye Floating-Land.

Looking down, he could barely make out the tangled mass of warships still locked in battle atop the Floating-Land’s sky vault.

Wasting no time, the two summoned their ships and raced toward the heart of the Overlords’ battlefield.

They actually arrived relatively late compared to the other Captains. The good news: Liu Shu had already called out his Silver-scaled Chi Dragon, managing to stabilize the fight and keeping the Overlord front from collapsing.

With the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang and another Star-Annihilator-class Ship joining, the battle quickly stabilized.

Now counting Liu Shu’s extra Silver-scaled Chi Dragon, even though the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons still had the Floating-Land’s Origin boosting them, the two sides managed to stay neck-and-neck. As time passed, more Torch Ships poured in, tilting the regular battlefields further in favor of the Torch Human Civilization.

A few hours later, the seven Serpent Demon Overlords finally lost patience. Instead of fighting the seven Star-Annihilator-class Captains head-on, they pulled back to Serpent Eye City below, shielded by the Serpent Prison.

Star-Annihilator-class Captain comm channel.

“Liu Shu: If I’m not mistaken, they’re getting ready to pull out!”

“Shen Wei: I’d say that’s right. The Chipan Galaxy is actually closer to our Torch Human Galaxy Cluster. For the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons, this place is just a forward base—they don’t have that much power here. Now that we’ve got the upper hand, of course they’re not sticking around.”

“Song Wujian: Rumor is, there’s always at least one eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon stationed on the edge galaxies of their cluster. I wonder if it’s true?”

“Xiao Changqing: Their galaxy cluster’s smaller than ours, only about eight hundred galaxies or so, but thanks to their high-grade bloodlines, they have plenty of eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demons. Personally, I think the rumor’s not far off.”

“Luo Yi: So how are we supposed to fight them? An eighth-tier bloodline like that isn’t something a regular Star-Annihilator-class Ship can handle—not even Emperor Liu Shu could stand against that!”

Liu Shu just shook his head at that.

“The Fenglang Juxu may be a top-tier Star-Annihilator-class Ship, enough to go toe-to-toe with a regular eighth-tier being, but it’s no match for an Eight-Armed Serpent Demon from the very top of the Sea of Stars.”

“Wang Li: No need to worry! When that day comes, a Star River-class Battleship from the Divine Dynasty will step in. If an eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon enters the fray, the Star River Captain will personally handle it!”

……

Only when the Divine Dynasty’s Inspector confirmed it personally did the two kingdoms’ Star-Annihilator-class Captains truly relax.

That assurance got rid of their worst fears. The Star River-class—the Torch Human Civilization’s eighth-tier warship—was even more powerful than the Serpent Demons’ best. With one standing guard, there was nothing to worry about.

……

Years slipped by. Before anyone knew it, seventy years had passed.

Because the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons had withdrawn, no large-scale battles broke out between the two Kingdoms in all that time. Every fleet focused on conquering more Floating-Lands.

And after seventy years, the results were outstanding.

Spread across the Chipan Galaxy’s vast stretches—spanning millions of light-years—over ninety percent was now under the kingdoms’ control. The spoils were immense.

When it came to dividing territory, the Song and Luo Joint Fleet got almost 300,000 light-years’ worth. Of that, 260,000 went to the Song and Luo families, with their subordinate factions claiming the rest.

Each of the Three Yaohan Families received 150,000 light-years, while the leading sixth-tier noble house fleets split another 100,000 among themselves.

As for the Morningstar Family, the Gold Horn Lu Family, and their alliance fleets—they split the last 140,000 light-years between them.

Song Family Fleet. Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang encrypted comm channel.

“Song Shiyuan: Xiaochi, come see me.”

One day, Song Shiyuan suddenly summoned Song Chi. Once Song Chi and the Unmoving Vajra met up with him, Shiyuan got right to the point:

“Xiaochi, I’ve just received news about a seventh-tier star-plant. Interested?”

The mention made Song Chi’s eyes light up.