Chapter 703: The Stirrings of New Kings

Without being able to use the Market Projection Token directly, the danger level of this battle shot up dramatically.

Boom!

After another bone-jarring collision, as the Heavenly Ruin and the Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon, now strengthened to peak Eighth-Tier by the Floating-Land Origin’s will, pulled apart, Song Chi took the chance to glance at the other two battlefields.

In a flash, his brows knitted tight. This can’t go on, he thought.

The other two Eighth-Tier Serpent Demons might not have reached their peak, being limited by standing on a Seventh‑Tier Floating-land, but things weren’t looking good there either.

The Mirror Warship still managed to hang on, mostly because it had even flawlessly copied the newly installed Mythic Pulsar Energy Shield. There was no questioning its defense.

But the Flamewrath Giant wasn’t so lucky. It had only just barely reached Eighth-Tier thanks to its berserk state, and with the Floating-Land below pushing back and suppressing it, not even the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang providing cover could even things out. He’d fallen into a clear disadvantage.

The Heavenly Ruin, after advancing to Star-Annihilator-class and being heavily upgraded, was no slouch—it almost reached the sheer might of a top-tier Star-Annihilator, strong enough to face a typical Eighth-Tier Dominator. But that was its limit. Taking down an Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator with ease just wasn’t realistic.

“It’s a pity… The Ashura Emperor didn’t come inside to avoid any outside threats. Looks like I’ll need a new plan…”

Realizing he couldn’t finish things on the Flamewrath Giant’s end before they fell apart, Song Chi immediately scrapped his previous battle plan.

With a thought, he activated the Timepiece Chessboard—the Heavenly Ruin’s second and last mythic component.

Timepiece Chessboard: Flow of Time • Prison, activate!

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

A torrent of time energy erupted all over the Heavenly Ruin, shimmering in faint rainbow hues.

Directly ahead, sensing a surge of deadly threat from the Heavenly Ruin, the peak Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator erupted with power, its overwhelming pressure smothering most of the valley’s sky and rolling fiercely toward the Heavenly Ruin.

It was obvious. This Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon’s plan was simple: cut off the Heavenly Ruin’s next attack before it could even begin.

But Song Chi was ready. Just as he activated the Timepiece Chessboard, another component roared to life.

Mythic Pulsar Energy Shield: Mythic Pulse Wave!

A pulse wave burst from the Heavenly Ruin’s bow, racing for the peak Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator. Invisible and formless, it ignored its target’s crushing aura and sank straight into its body.

The next second, the stifling aura in the air vanished like mist on the wind. If Song Chi hadn’t seen it himself, he wouldn’t have believed the enormous creature before him was an Eighth-Tier Dominator. Right now, there wasn’t even a hint of energy coming from the Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon.

Knowing this was the effect of the Mythic Pulse Wave, Song Chi wasted no time. He triggered the pool of time energy created by the Timepiece Chessboard.

Swish!

Time energy shot out, easily piercing the momentarily powerless Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon’s body. Above the valley, violent spatial ripples spread, and as they faded, the peak Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator was gone without a trace—leaving only Song Chi and the two remaining Eighth-Tier Serpent Demons in the air.

Only Song Chi knew: that suddenly vanished Eighth-Tier Dominator had been sealed inside a completely closed time-stasis space. It was just the lowest-level thousand-year prison made with 36 time chess pieces, but it had bought him all the time he needed.

With the seal complete, Song Chi immediately had the Heavenly Ruin join the Mirror Warship’s battle.

As ten blood-soaked chains, copied from the Dragonblood Demon-Sealing Chains, locked down the Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator, Song Chi—thanks to the ‘Infinite Fallen Immortal Quantum Swordlight’ coming off cooldown—launched a furious joint assault with the Mirror Warship.

But even this wasn’t enough. The Mirror Warship’s opponent took heavy damage, but total annihilation was still just out of reach.

He shifted focus once more, and several Mirror Warship components fired up again.

Copied Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar, activate!

Copying black Neutron-Star Core Armor… Copying colored Neutron-Star Core Armor.

Copying Hunyuan Copper Ramming Prow: Hunyuan Impact!

Copying Elephant King Ivory Ramming Prow: Elephant Charge!

Copying Antimatter Evolution Engine: High Overload Burst!

Copying colored Neutron-Star Core Armor: Neutron-Star Fission!

Copying colored Neutron-Star Core Armor: Gamma Ray Burst!

With the Sky-Domain AI in control, multiple components fired off almost simultaneously. In Song Chi’s eyes, the Mirror Warship instantly became a blur, ramming straight into the Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator. The moment the Mythic Pulsar Energy Shield and the Dominator collided, the Mirror Warship suddenly morphed into a miniature neutron star.

Blistering heat engulfed the Serpent Demon Dominator hugging the warship. Before it could even scream from the searing pain, a horrifying gamma ray bolt punched right through its raw, bloody wounds, tearing its body apart.

The entire barrage played out in an instant, but its power was earth-shattering. With its previous injuries, the Serpent Demon’s life simply snuffed out.

Watching this, Song Chi still found himself shaken—even though it had all gone exactly according to plan.

Near-instantly slaying a single Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon like that gave him a whole new respect for the destructive potential of a colored mythic Neutron-Star Core Armor. For a moment, a wild urge rose in him to use the Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar to evolve the armor to mythic colored quality as well.

But he quickly shook his head.

Neutron-Star Core Armor lv90.

Grade: Black (43/100).

……

After centuries of collecting through every channel possible, and looting high-level Floating-Lands, he’d almost gathered half the hundred bits of neutron-star wreckage needed. Using the Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar to evolve now would waste all that effort.

There was only one Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar anyway, and using it on armor that could evolve naturally was just wasteful.

He didn’t dwell on it. With the Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon crushed, the two warships aimed their sights at the last Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon. With both the true Heavenly Ruin and the Mirror Warship attacking in tandem, the outcome spoke for itself.

This time, Song Chi didn’t go for the kill. After severely injuring the third Serpent Demon and smashing apart the seal above, he left the final blow to the Prime Ancestor.

With two of the three Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominators down, Song Chi released the previously sealed peak Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon from the Time Prison. Then, together with the Mirror Warship and the Ashura Emperor, they wiped it out for good.

Of course, the last kill went to Song Shiyuan.

There had been a minor snag, though: Song Shiyuan really didn’t want to take the finishing blow on that peak Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator.

From his perspective, the Unmoving Vajra already got its hands on two strands of Eighth-Tier Saint Blood, a dozen Seventh-Tier, plus Stellar Spirit Liquid, Timeworld Fruit, Eighth-Tier Dominion Origin Blood, and a surge of Seventh‑Tier Floating-land energy. That should bump the promotion success rate above seventy percent—already more than enough.

He figured Song Chi’s talent was obvious for all to see. He’d only just become a Star-Annihilator Captain, but before long, he’d be going for a Star River-class Battleship. Preparations needed to start early.

He even returned the Dual Separation component from the Unmoving Vajra.

That Dual Separation was made from a Miracle Clone Pod, and Song Shiyuan had added a Blood Chalice template inside. His intentions were clear: have Song Chi use the Miracle Clone Pod to clone the Blood Chalice and snag the peak Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Saint Blood.

Song Chi hesitated for a moment at the Prime Ancestor’s suggestion, but then shook his head.

“Prime Ancestor, everyone knows how tough it is to advance to Star-Annihilator-class. The higher the success chance, the better. You might as well take this peak Eighth-Tier Saint Blood for yourself…”

He passed on killing the peak Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon, but didn’t say no to reclaiming the Miracle Clone Pod.

Song Shiyuan was right—he might be a recent Star-Annihilator Captain, but it wouldn’t be long before he aimed for a Star River-class Battleship. Better to be ready.

Sitting in the Heavenly Ruin’s control room, Song Chi pulled up his attribute panel.

Miracle Clone Pod lv80.

Grade: Black.

Unique Trait: Miracle Clone.

Current saved clone templates: [Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar lv70 Black] [Mirror Image Split lv80 Black] [Blood Chalice lv80 Gold]

……

With a thought, the Miracle Clone Pod shifted into the Blood Chalice component from the clone templates.

For now, this component would stay installed on the Heavenly Ruin until the day Song Chi made his charge at the Star River-class. Until that moment came, he couldn’t use the real Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar. Using it before then on a summoned Mirror Warship would mean losing his trump card for a temporary mythic component.

‘So be it. It’s just a Star River-class Battleship—this hurdle won’t hold the Heavenly Ruin back for long…’

“Xiaochi, come here!”

A communication module somewhere in the warship suddenly buzzed, cutting off Song Chi’s train of thought.

It was the Clan Elder and the others calling. Judging from their tone, they’d probably just figured out the special effects of this spirit land.

Song Chi, more than interested himself, quickly piloted the battleship for a landing.

Counting the very first one, that made four Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominators stationed here. No way was this your average spirit land.

……

At the very same time, billions of light years away…

Torch Human Galaxy Cluster. Xian Qin Divine Dynasty. Xian Qin Continent.

Xian Qin Torch Judgement Court, deep within the ancestral palace.

Just as Song Chi finished his fight with the Eighth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominators, deep inside a hidden chamber wreathed in chaos and rainbow light, streams of data flickered on every wall.

Each of these countless data projections showed a different battle, but in the center of the chamber, the display gave a detailed view of the Heavenly Ruin’s recent battle.

Those visuals covered every detail of the valley showdown. Chaotic and rainbow-hued light wrapped the screen, analyzing every scrap of information.

In less than a minute, lines of swirling rainbow and chaotic text appeared at the heart of the chamber.

[Civilization Monitor Analysis Data as follows]

[Target: 1101]

[Class: Ultimate Star-Annihilator-class]

[Standard Battle Power: Senior Eighth-Tier]

[Limit Power: Peak Eighth-Tier]

[Talent Rating: Beyond Galaxy Cluster Prodigy ~ Sub-Civilization Prodigy Level]

[Overall Evaluation: Exceptional combat power, outstanding talent, eligible for Xian Qin Star-Annihilator King Ranking—No. 39]

The data was filed straight into the Torch Judgement Court’s core archives.

Meanwhile, in the Xian Qin Continent’s Dragon Court City, at the central plaza…

As usual, crowds flooded this supercity. Even with the war on, city traffic had thinned, but it did nothing to dull the grandeur of the region’s most prestigious city.

Suddenly, the city’s iconic landmark— the Xian Qin Godking Stele, standing for over two hundred thousand years— began to tremble.

Every Torch Captain in the area, all of whom knew exactly what that meant, turned pale with shock.

“The Stele is trembling, a new King has arrived! The Star-Annihilator King Ranking has changed!”

“That’s got to be better than the Stele mourning the loss of old Kings these past centuries. This is real good news.”

“But who’s the new entry this time? What rank did they get?”

“Hard to say—probably outside the top ninety…”

“Each of the top hundred are strong enough to slay Eighth-Tier Dominators alone. The higher the rank, the scarier the power. Most new entries hover around the nineties—it’s rare to break straight into the eighties or lower…”

“That’s true. I once saw a King ranked fiftieth crush an experienced Eighth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon. The strength was unbelievable. Only later did I learn it was Lord King Wudang…”

“King Wudang from the War King Hall?”

“That’s right—King Wudang!”

……

As the plaza buzzed with conversation, the tremors faded and every eye turned to the Xian Qin Godking Stele.

But contrary to expectation, there was no gasp of surprise; instead, looks of confusion swept across the faces of countless Captains.

“That’s odd… I don’t see any changes to ranks ninety to one hundred.”

“Not just ninety to a hundred, nothing changed in the eighties either!”

……

A hush fell over the plaza for several seconds before a startled voice broke out.

“Am I seeing things? Wasn’t King Zhengnan No. 39 before? Why is it changed?”

“Zhengnan’s dropped to number forty, and now ‘King Qiongyu’ is at thirty-nine…”

“King Qiongyu? That name never used to be on the Stele—it’s brand new!”

“Straight to thirty-nine—this King Qiongyu doesn’t mess around.”

“Maybe they got some huge opportunity at the war front?”

……

Immortal Qin, Linglong Galaxy.

Inside a major Noble House’s internal communications channel.

“Elder, have you heard of this title—King Qiongyu?”

“King Qiongyu? Never heard of it. Why do you ask?”

“News just broke: They shot straight to thirty-nine on the Xian Qin Star-Annihilator King Ranking.”

“Is that for real?”

……

Right now, the whole Xian Qin Divine Dynasty was in an uproar. Torch Captains everywhere were digging for anything on King Qiongyu—and the excitement was spreading.

At this rate, the other three Empires would know soon enough.

Meanwhile, Song Chi—the man at the center of it all—was completely clueless. Stationed at the war front, he likely wouldn’t hear any of this for a long while.

At that moment, both Song Chi and the entire Song Family leadership had all their attention focused on the valley below.

Based on what Song Wujian and the others had learned, the land beneath their feet came with an unusual twist: it strengthened the fertility of any living beings.

To be clear: this was about fertility, not just chances of pregnancy. It included the number of offspring, survival rate of the young, and more.

In other words, any species reproducing here not only got a spike in pregnancy rate, but also a dramatic increase in twins, triplets, or even larger litters—plus improved survival odds.

After hearing this, Song Chi immediately understood why the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons had left four Dominators to guard it. Thanks to this specialty, the value of this valley had soared; there was just no way to put a real price on it.

For the Song Family, this place could serve as a living area for their leadership or be developed into a vast breeding base.

In fact, Song Chi and the others already had their eyes on a species to breed.

“Clan Elder, let’s pick the Ancient Beasts! The dozens Xiaochi brought back by accident have already reached over three hundred after a few centuries. The numbers are still a bit low, sure, but if we breed them properly here for a few more centuries, crossing into five digits will be easy. At that point, they’ll be our signature enslaved species!”

In their encrypted group chat, Song Shiyuan’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.

The rest of the leadership nodded in agreement, thoroughly approving the idea.

The Ancient Beasts traced their roots to the Primeval Clan, one of the Sea of Stars’ top civilizations. Their background was as deep as the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons—and their bloodline gifts just as impressive. The key difference? The Ancient Beasts had no entanglement with abyssal demon gods, and could be fully controlled by enslavement modules. They were the perfect slave species.

Before, despite the family assigning a full Sixth-Tier Floating-Land as their enclosure, breeding had been painfully slow. But with this spiritual land valley, the Song Family finally saw hope for truly raising their own Ancient Beast stock.

Compared to the angels favored by other great houses, Ancient Beasts might come up short. But given the Song Family’s resources, breeding a race of enslaved angels was still out of reach; Ancient Beasts were a far better fit.

The chat filled with excited discussion, but Song Wujian soon weighed in, sounding much more cautious.

“If we can completely control this spirit land, breeding Ancient Beasts and even Vermilion Divine Birds would be ideal. But I worry the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons won’t let this go.”

“If they assigned four Dominators to guard it, then whoever controls this land—if not the whole Serpent Demon Race—must at least have ties to a Nine-Tier Serpent Demon. This might have been a breeding ground for one of their direct Nine-Tier descendants. Even if we’ve occupied the valley for now, there’s no guarantee a Nine-Tier won’t return in secret.”

As he spoke, Song Wujian’s face grew more serious.

He paused for a moment, then went on:

“We’ll need to tweak our plans for this Floating-Land. Xiaochi, you should leave behind one enslaved creature here with a Market Projection Token. If anything happens, we at least have a chance to respond!”

“And for now, don’t station a fleet here—just leave one unit of enslaved creatures to help Xiaochi out!”

Hearing this, Song Chi only gave a slight nod. He didn’t say much more.

He actually disagreed with the Clan Elder, at least a little.

From his point of view, it was very unlikely a Nine-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator would come back personally. The war was only getting fiercer—these days, all they could spare were Eighth-Tier Dominators to garrison here. There was just no room to maneuver.

With the Four Torch Empires pushing in, there was no question they were pressing for a complete annihilation of the Serpent Demon Civilization. Every last Nine-Tier would be pinned down on the frontlines, unable to budge.

Still, that was just speculation. It was too early to tell. Being careful was always best.

After that, the Song Family spent decades on this so-called Young Serpent Floating-Land, completely clearing out the remaining Serpent Demons and resources. Once they finished with the surrounding star domains and the rest of the advancing fleets completed their tasks, they regrouped.

The Eleventh Advance Fleet pushed forward, tailing the Divine Dynasty’s main force, heading straight for the Demon God Floating-Land at the center of the galaxy cluster.

Besides the Xian Qin fleet, there were the Divine Xia and Chiyu joint fleets to the south, and the Sankt Empire to the west.

With this combined push, the southern front—held by the joint Divine Xia and Chiyu fleets—faced the brunt of the Serpent Demon resistance. But with the two Empires together commanding half of humanity’s full power, progress was steady and resistance far from overwhelming.