Chapter 443: Bargains and Relics at the Private Trade Assembly

After exchanging greetings, Song Chi also picked up some info about this man from Sai’en of the Chenxing Family’s introduction.

The tall, lean captain introduced himself as Porter Howell, hailing from the illustrious Howell family on the Divinewind Floating-land.

However, he wasn’t from the direct bloodline of the previous or current Head of the Howell family. He came from a branch line, not very well known at first, and only emerged as a Zhulu-class Cruiser Captain in the past thirty years.

The group chatted casually, friendly smiles on their faces as the conversation drifted.

Yet, beneath the surface, Song Chi was already speculating about the relationship between these two.

“Is it just a coincidence? Or is the Howell family on Divinewind Floating-land backed by the Chenxing royal house?”

“The Lu Family supports the Divinewind Li Family, while the Chenxing royalty helps the Howell family—that does seem plausible.”

……

“Song Chi, I heard from my sister that you’ve been collecting Dense Black-Hole Stones?”

Sai’en’s sudden question snapped Song Chi out of his musings, and he gave a gentle nod.

“Yeah, I need them for a special component.”

Noticing his nod, Sai’en clapped his hands and grinned.

“That’s a stroke of luck. Porter just happens to have a batch, so you two should talk.”

Hearing this, a flicker of surprise flashed in Porter Howell’s eyes. He clearly hadn’t expected it.

Song Chi nodded at Sai’en, a hint of gratitude in his gaze.

Sai’en was giving him a helping hand, saving him the awkwardness of asking directly.

“Porter, what do you think? If you’re interested in selling, I’m willing to pay and I promise the price won’t be lower than the market rate.”

Across from him, Porter Howell waved a hand dismissively.

“No need to be so formal, Your Highness Song Chi. Market price is fine. I picked these up just recently on a Fifth-Tier Floating-land, so there isn’t a huge quantity.”

As he spoke, he casually produced several hundred jet-black stones—these were Dense Black-Hole Stones.

Although Song Chi had stepped down from the Family succession seat before the new year, word hadn’t spread publicly yet, so Porter’s formal address wasn’t out of place.

It wasn’t hard for Song Chi to guess why Porter agreed so readily, and at only the regular price.

By now, with the expansion war ongoing, the Torch Captains weren’t hurting for resources. Porter Howell, with the reputation he’d earned, even less so. Trading a small batch of Dense Black-Hole Stones to earn goodwill from someone destined to be a major power in the Song Family—now that was clearly more worthwhile.

Naturally, Song Chi wasn’t about to refuse. With this batch, his Black Hole Evolution Layer component could be strengthened to above sixth rank—a real qualitative leap for a supreme black component.

Once their deal was done, there wasn’t much chance for further small talk. Outside the private room, an abrupt hush had fallen. Stepping out, they learned the organizer of this private auction had made his appearance.

A quick introduction from Ansevi revealed to Song Chi that the unremarkable man at the center of the grand hall was the host of the event.

His name was Xiao Yuan, a direct descendant of the Dongli Xiao Family. Although not from the primary lineage of the current Royal Palace, word was he had a legendary captain backing him, so those attending gave him plenty of respect.

“Friends, now that everyone’s here, let’s not waste any more time and move right to the main event.”

With those words, Xiao Yuan clapped his hands lightly. Several dozen maids filed in, each carrying trays of tea and pastries. At the same time, a rumbling sounded at the center of the hall, and a platform slowly rose from below.

Stepping onto the stage, Xiao Yuan continued.

“Since it’s a trading assembly, I’ll go first!”

He gave a little flourish, making several items appear out of thin air.

“Red slave component: Beast Emperor Seal, red intermediate water-element law crystal, two drops of Fifth-Tier Celestial‑Star Race origin blood. Looking to exchange for a Fifth-Tier or higher Floating-Land Origin or a high-quality concealment component. Make your offers!”

As soon as he listed his items and what he wanted, dozens of Torch Captains in the hall began offering their trades.

“I have an orange-quality concealment component—Stealth Badge. I can add enough Fifth-Tier Floating-Land Origin to trade for the Beast Emperor Seal—deal?”

“I have a gold intermediate law crystal, would you swap it for the water-element one?”

……

Song Chi kept quiet. None of these things were useful to him—but his cousin Song Yan was bidding repeatedly, clearly eyeing that Beast Emperor Seal.

In the end, Song Yan succeeded, trading fifty wisps of Fifth-Tier Floating-Land Origin for the Beast Emperor Seal.

Once all of Xiao Yuan’s items had found new owners, the next person stepped up onto the stage.

This one also possessed Fourth-Tier strength and hailed from a Fourth-Tier royal family. From the look of things, fortune had favored him since he was offering up six items right away.

A red energy shield.

An orange main cannon.

An orange Celestial‑Star Race puppet tree component.

Three doses of Fourth-Tier Celestial‑Star Race origin blood.

Interest was much lower for these, mostly with bids targeted at the red energy shield.

Still, in the end, he managed to trade away everything.

One after another, the Zhulu-class captains took the stage, revealing plenty of good stuff. The excitement in the hall kept building.

People like Song Yan and Ansevi all managed to score one or two items they wanted. Song Chi, though, kept waiting—none of his sought-after items had appeared.

Time passed and most of the Torch Captains had already taken their turn. Just as Song Chi began to think he might leave empty-handed, an elegant woman made her way onto the platform.

She placed only three items up for trade, but the hall erupted—every captain was startled.

The reason? Among them was a silver oddity—a silver oddity that could be converted into a ship component.

Oddity: Timepiece Chess Piece.

Quality: Silver.

Conversion Option: Timepiece Chess.

Note: A single chess piece from a complete board, nurtured in near-tangible temporal forces until it turned into a Starsea Oddity.

……

Timepiece Chess lv0

Quality: Silver.

Trait: Reduces cooldown time of all ship components by 15%.

Trait 2: +800 Time Resistance.

Trait 3: Timepiece: Chess Piece (detached from chessboard, sealed).

Trait 4: Timepiece: Chessboard (detached from chessboard, sealed).

Consumption: 30 units of dark energy per second.

Effect: When the equipped ship suffers attacks from external time-related powers, the damage is automatically reduced by 5%.

Upgrade requirements: 30 wisps of zero-rank Floating-Land Origin, 3000 dark energy units, 1 drop of Time Essence Liquid.

After the awe faded, the hall burst into chatter, but the excitement of most Captains cooled quickly.

Judging by its properties, this so-called silver component had only two traits, hardly worthy of the silver label.

Everyone could tell—the real treasure was that missing Timepiece Chessboard. If even a single chess piece was a silver oddity, the board itself must be gold or even higher.

But what did that matter?

No one’s ever found the edge of the Shattered Sea of Stars, not with all the Torch Human Civilization’s efforts. Hunting for a single chessboard in that vastness? A hopeless dream.

Yet Song Chi’s eyes still burned with interest.

Not just because the Heavenly Ruin was lacking a high-quality cooldown component, but also because he happened to have plenty of Time Essence Liquid.

After using the Seventh-Tier Silver Apple Shen Youran provided to upgrade the Cultivation Sanctuary to silver, he’d gained access to the rare Time Essence Liquid—though it was painfully slow to produce, just one drop every ten thousand years, the ‘Sanctuary Accelerator’ feature sped things along.

He’d accumulated several dozen drops by now. If he could get this Timepiece Chess, he could strengthen it on the spot. It might not reach fifth or sixth rank right away, but it would certainly take effect.

With all the high-quality components loaded on the Heavenly Ruin, he desperately needed something like this.

But the best part was her asking price wasn’t high. The woman knew this part couldn’t compete with a normal silver component, so she only wanted a Red Advancement Fire Source in exchange—a price Song Chi could accept.

Although Advancement Fire Sources are said to rival higher-rank components in value, they really only top their own tier and can’t compare to a true silver part.

Unfortunately, Song Chi didn’t have any Red Advancement Fire Source at the moment. He tried offering a Fifth-Tier Moon Spring, two hundred wisps of Fifth-Tier Floating-Land Origin, and more, but she refused every time.

Luckily, she never did trade away the Timepiece Chess. That let Song Chi breathe a sigh of relief. Once the assembly ended, he could approach her directly or, if that didn’t work, swap contact info and arrange the deal once he’d secured another Red Advancement Fire Source from the fire-elemental lifeforms.

After that woman left the stage, the next Captain brought Song Chi another pleasant surprise.

He offered up a Fifth-Tier Ancient Life Tree heart.

As a member of the stellar-plant species, an Ancient Life Tree heart was a perfect match for the Silver Apple Mother Tree’s devouring trait.

Song Chi snapped it up, trading three Fifth-Tier Silver Apples and fifty wisps of Fifth-Tier Floating-Land Origin.

Now he had two Fifth-Tier stellar-plant cores—just one more to go, and the Silver Apple Mother Tree could attempt evolution to the sixth rank.

……

After Song Yan left the stage, it was finally Song Chi’s turn.

With all eyes on him, he strode to the center platform.

Song Chi’s name carried weight in the Morningstar Duchy, but most present were captains from the kingdoms, so his appearance didn’t cause much commotion.

That changed when he displayed his offerings, nearly every Torch Captain in the hall was stunned.

A red energy shield.

A red super main cannon.

A red main cannon.

A red aerial radar.

A red ship engine.

Almost a complete set of red epic ship components. He also brought five Fifth-Tier Silver Apples and ten each of Spatial and Light Law Fruits.

With such a massive display, the room of nearly a hundred was buzzing.

Yet Song Chi stood poised and calm, as if this was the most ordinary thing in the world.

For the last thirty years, Song Chi had been acquiring oddities that couldn’t be converted to ship components, both from outside and in the exchange markets inside the Ruin and Divine Realm.

These five red ship parts were all acquired in such a way.

He’d planned to save them for his bloodline or the Star Tower Mall, but with this unique chance, he wanted to see if he could barter for more Dense Black-Hole Stones, Void-Escape Stones, or Sand of Time.

“Alright, that’s about it. Priority goes to Dense Black-Hole Stones, Void-Escape Stones, Sand of Time, or AIs. Make your offers!”

As soon as he finished, bids started pouring in.

Most offers were for high-rank Floating-Land Origin, which Song Chi ignored—he was only interested in a handful of special resources.

A few seconds in, he finally heard an offer that caught his ear.

“Five basic AIs and one intermediate-level one…”

“So, the things forbidden in the Torch territories are still easy to come by here in the Doomstar Race’s domain.”

Murmuring to himself, Song Chi accepted the deal.

With that first deal done, others quickly stepped forward—some offering Dense Black-Hole Stones, Sand of Time, or Void-Escape Stones. Song Chi traded away his entire batch of goods.

……

Doomsea Floating-land, Song Family stronghold.

At one of the docked warship zones, the Heavenly Ruin sat quietly in port.

It had been hours since the trade assembly ended. Focused on upgrading his ship, Song Chi saved the female Captain’s contact info before refusing Sai’en and Ansevi’s invitation for a follow-up gathering, heading straight back to the Family base instead.

He stood in the main control room as flashes of dark light flickered repeatedly.

The Black Hole Evolution Layer component was finally upgraded to level 60.

Now at sixth rank, its black hole energy pool rose from 3,000 to 10,000, and its one-shot space-collapse burst now cost between 1 and 1,000 per shot.

That meant Song Chi could pump a full 1,000 points of black hole energy into a cannon, and the next volley would unleash a truly terrifying spatial collapse effect.

He could already picture the devastation—he didn’t need to test it to know the power would be phenomenal.

And it wasn’t just that. The armor derived from the Black Hole Evolution Layer now matched the base stats of Neutron-Star Core Armor, raising the warship’s defenses even further.

If the Heavenly Ruin faced another Void Demon Lord now, Song Chi was sure it could hold out much longer than before.

And the Black Hole Domain’s invincibility effect would last far more than a single second.

Done with the upgrades, Song Chi turned and entered the market.

He still had his eye on that Timepiece Chess component. Even setting aside the elusive Timepiece Chessboard itself, the universal cooldown reduction was just too tempting to pass up.

Over the past thirty years, he’d offered high prices again and again for high-grade universal cooldown components. But he’d never even seen one at silver rank, nor at orange—they only ever came across a single purple-grade one, and because it was too low-tier, it couldn’t work for the silver and up components on the Heavenly Ruin.