Chapter 496: Thunder in the Market: A Captain’s Deterrence

Main Control Room of the Battleship. After confirming the Heavenly Ruin was secure, Song Chi immediately handed temporary control of the ship over to the Sky-Domain AI.

The “Heavensfall Sky-Domain Autonomous System” activated. With that, Song Chi no longer had to exhaust himself micromanaging the entire battleship. The AI’s extraordinary computational power instantly calculated the fastest and most flawless path to end this battle.

“Bind-God Chains” — “Void Bind-God”.

“Taiyi Quantum Swordlight Battery” — “Taiyi Quantum Sword Array”.

“Divine Thunder Cannon” — “Ten-Thousand Sigil Violet Lightning Prison”.

“Black Hole Evolution Layer” — “Black Hole Collapse” and “Black Hole Singular Burst”.

……

One by one, these weapons and features roared to life. In that moment, the Heavenly Ruin bared its most menacing side for all to see.

Of course, thanks to the Angel King’s true spirit shielding the area, the two remaining Annan Consortium battleships couldn’t see the Heavenly Ruin’s barrage of activated attack modes.

Only when those systems finished charging and the Heavenly Ruin finally unleashed its combined barrage would they truly understand the storm about to crash down upon them. Perhaps then, they’d finally grasp the meaning of utter despair.

But before the ship could even finish charging, Song Chi received a hasty communication request from the Annan Consortium’s Elder Captain.

“Let’s end it here. The Annan Consortium will never again move against the Pan Family!”

Song Chi: ???

Song Chi arched an eyebrow, genuinely caught off guard by their sudden surrender.

Then, thinking it through, it made perfect sense.

That annihilation beam just now—their strongest move, most likely—got so easily countered.

Their most anticipated, all-out strike had been so effortlessly neutralized. Add to that the shock of witnessing the Angel King’s true spirit… Playing the weak card was only instinct.

With that, Song Chi cancelled the “Heavensfall Sky-Domain Autonomous System” and every attack still charging. Under the watchful eyes of the three Annan Consortium battleships, he calmly guided the Heavenly Ruin out of the Starfield Battleground.

No further words passed between them. The winner was clear. All that remained for the Annan Consortium was a full retreat.

As for their trio of battleships, with the Third Director still unconscious, the other two could only stand guard by his side.

“Elder Feng, what do you make of him?”

Once the Heavenly Ruin vanished from sight, the Second Director finally broke the silence.

He struggled to make sense of Song Chi’s power—other than ‘staggeringly strong’ he couldn’t put it into concrete terms. By comparison, Elder Feng, who’d served as the Annan Consortium’s anchor for nearly two thousand years, would surely have a sharper take.

The aged Elder Captain pondered the battle’s every detail, then shook his head and said,

“I’m embarrassed to admit, the full strength of that battleship is terrifying. Our fight just now? At most, he used eighty percent of its potential.”

The middle-aged man’s face stiffened at that.

Yet Elder Feng went on,

“What’s certain is this: he’s almost certainly the direct-line Captain of an Immortal House—hell, maybe even a Starshatterer disciple. Wouldn’t rule it out.”

……

Song Chi returned to Qingluan Floating-land, and soon enough, the Annan Consortium’s fleet made its promised withdrawal. Only when every last Annan Consortium member had vanished did the entire Pan Clan finally breathe easy.

Of course, to Song Chi, the Pan Family’s gratitude came in spades.

But that gratitude didn’t sit well with him. He hung around Qingluan Floating-land for another half month. Once he was sure there were no lingering Annan Consortium ships nearby, he chose to leave.

Floating-Land Sky Vault. As the Pan Family’s many Captains watched, the Heavenly Ruin blasted out of the floating world’s atmosphere.

Pan Ying didn’t show up; she was currently pouring all her energy into breaking through to fifth-tier Guiding Technique, and Song Chi had made sure no one disturbed her.

After leaving Qingluan Floating-land, Song Chi didn’t use the Dragon-Spine Continent’s anchor to return to the Tianpan Galaxy. Instead, he set course for Silverplate Floating-land, retracing his original route.

His goal in mind, Song Chi’s next and only focus was clear: devote himself entirely to comprehending the Laws.

For a Torch Captain, aside from cultivating personal techniques and advancing the Torch Battleship, nothing matters more than understanding the profound Laws of this Sea of Stars.

That understanding not only empowers both Captain and ship but, it’s said, unlocks the very secrets needed to reach Sovereign rank. No Torch Captain with the means would ever ignore it.

Right now, he was still waiting for the Millennium Deepwater Mussel to mature, and his Torch Battleship had only recently advanced to battleship-class. Neither technique nor battleship would see rapid progress for a while. So throwing himself into Law comprehension felt like the best option.

Of course, devoting yourself to higher Laws demands a long period of seclusion. Whether on Dragon-Spine Continent or Silverplate Floating-land, it made no real difference for his training.

In fact, Silverplate Floating-land held another advantage. As the premier Floating-land of a Torch-kingdom with over thirty thousand years of heritage, its sheer foot traffic eclipsed even the Dragon-Spine Continent.

Song Chi planned to use his time in seclusion to set up a shop focused on buying up unique resources, especially Starsea Oddities and items that couldn’t be made into ship components. With the Master-Servant Pact in effect, he could ensure nobody would sneak away with the profits.

……

Thanks to the upgraded Aurora Jump Drive now boasting red-tier quality, it only took Song Chi under two months to return to Silverplate Floating-land.

Careful as ever, before even entering Silverplate Floating-land, he used the Mirage Dragon Metamorphosis Pearl to change the Heavenly Ruin’s identity once again.

Let’s see… Battleship “Shanxi Taibai.”

Public zone, Silverplate Bazaar, Central Street.

A shop called “Taibai Trading Co.” had just opened the other day. Song Chi had spent a fortune in lower-tier Floating-land Origin to secure the property. He left management and daily operations to a Fourth-tier Zhulu-class Cruiser Captain.

That captain’s name was Pan Yuan—a loyal Pan Family talent Song Chi had brought from Qingluan Floating-land, now bound by the Master-Servant Pact and focused wholly on running Taibai Trading Co. for him.

As for Song Chi himself, after setting up the shop he immediately dove into the Market, leaving only a Voidform Avatar upstairs in the manager’s office. He made it clear: unless there was a dire emergency, Pan Yuan must not disturb him.

……

Omniverse Market, above the Free Stall Area.

Song Chi sat cross-legged, holding a Law Crystal attuned to space. Beneath him was a shimmering, silvery phantom throne—not quite in contact with his physical body, separated by a glowing silver cushion.

In the air above, a clear mark of the Law of Space hung in view. His Dual Pupils, now grown visibly distinct, broke down the mysteries within its structure, letting him absorb the power of spatial law at top speed.

With all these enhancements, Song Chi’s comprehension of the Law of Space climbed at an impressive pace.

Naturally, it wasn’t only the Law of Space. Whenever his progress plateaued, he would swap the Law Crystal for one attuned to light and relocate to another point where the Law of Light revealed itself, diving into fresh enlightenment.

So his days slipped by—quiet and productive. In the blink of an eye, decades flowed past.

On this particular day, Song Chi quietly faded the shadow of Dual Pupils from his gaze as he sat on that silvery throne high above the Market. Time to end this round of training.

The phantom throne—summoned all the way from Dragon Whale Hall—slowly dissipated, while Song Chi drifted gently back down to the Free Stall Area below.

As he descended, the energies of space and light swirled around him. Compared to fifty years ago, there was no obvious outward change—unless you looked close, and then the difference was clear.

The patterns of each Law around him had grown denser. The power stitched inside them was far stronger than before.

“Fifty years. Law of Space: 60.01%. Law of Light: 48.2%. Watching that growth with my own eyes feels amazing. If only…”

He muttered, shaking his head.

Once his spatial comprehension crossed the 60% mark, every step got exponentially tougher. Even at 48%, the Law of Light slowed to a crawl—unless he devoted countless more years, leaps of this scale would be all but impossible.

Time, though? Not an issue. After fifty years in seclusion, he was still barely over 240 years old—not even a tenth of a battleship captain’s four-thousand-year span. He had time to spare.

But he hadn’t come out of training out of boredom. The real reason was a message from his family relayed by the third-tier Doomstar clansman residing at Azure Moon Estate.

Ru Zu had just broken through to sixth-tier Guiding Technique. Meanwhile, word came that a hidden-branch Clan Elder had upgraded their ship to dreadnought—and might soon break through as well.

Once the Elder officially became a dreadnought captain, the family would finally move against the Sovereign-tier Black Devourer King Beast—a reminder for Song Chi to get ready.

Of course, that was just one reason. There was another factor at play.

Just now, the Superlong-Range Space Gate Random Deployment Platform finished cooling down.

Which meant: a fresh round of Market trades was about to begin.

Speaking of Market trades—the last fifty years of transactions had all been managed by his Sovereign Avatar, not by Song Chi personally. Even though he’d been shut away meditating, the Market kept running just fine.

Because the Market’s trade routes were always open, Song Chi hadn’t hesitated for a moment to end his seclusion.

It all went back to the previous round of Market trading.

The Crescent Moon Tribe had used a half-step seventh-tier Evil God Blood to renew their Market Projection Token. Last trade, they’d suddenly sent word—through a fourth-tier Night Elf—that they would activate the token for the first time.

According to his avatar’s inquiries, it seemed the Crescent Moon Matriarch herself was planning to strike at a seventh-tier deity named the God of the Hunt, who served under the eighth-tier Spider Matriarch, Rose.

The Crescent Moon Matriarch had sent word: the God of the Hunt, though a veteran seventh-tier deity, was grievously wounded in a clash a century ago and had been in deep slumber ever since.

After decades searching, she finally pinpointed the god’s resting place and found a way into the ruined Divine Realm undetected. With a little help from Song Chi, she was confident she could take him down.

That message certainly caught Song Chi’s attention, and it was the reason he ended his training in person.

If nothing went wrong, this round of Market negotiations should bring even more details of the Crescent Moon Matriarch’s plan. They were going up against an established deity, a core member of the Spider Matriarch Rose’s pantheon. One strike—swift, lethal, and silent—was absolutely vital. Anything less, and the consequences could be dire.

So, both sides had to hammer out every detail in advance.

On the Market’s inner side, the Superlong-Range Space Gate Random Deployment Platform fired up. Hundreds of points of light shot into the distant Sea of Stars. Moments later, just as many swirling portals appeared at the Market’s entrance.

Right on cue, the fourth-tier Night Elf entered. Without hesitation, it headed straight for the Oddities Exchange Shop.

Once inside, it drew a mysterious piece of beast hide from its storage ring—the hide radiating odd ripples.

Right there, a segment of footage had been sealed inside the hide. As Song Chi focused, an elegant, imposing elf woman appeared in his field of vision.

“The Crescent Moon Matriarch…”

He identified her the instant she appeared. Her voice followed, soft yet quietly bearing a hint of pride.

“Lord of the Omniverse Market, it is my honor to finally meet you…”

No surprises there. After a brief formal greeting, the Crescent Moon Matriarch—her presence radiating Sovereign power—walked Song Chi through every detail of her plan.

Song Chi didn’t mind the faint haughtiness in her tone. In truth, that’s just how high elves were. They thought of themselves as the noblest of all races, and other people’s bloodlines as inferior—the habit bled into everything they said.

In their view, such pride was only natural. It just spilled into their voices, whether they realized it or not.

Still, Song Chi sensed she was trying her best to keep her tone in check. After all, the Night Elf messenger had made it clear—the Omniverse Market’s master was a mystery and a power to be reckoned with.

Maybe she didn’t see it as arrogance; maybe, to her, it was simply the way things were. That’s how misunderstandings happen.

Song Chi finished the viewing without comment, simply returning the beast hide to the fourth-tier Night Elf. His reply went out via the central projection screen in the Oddities Exchange Shop.

[Noted!]

This ‘video letter’ from the beast hide had been carved using unique methods. It wasn’t a two-way call, and the Crescent Moon Matriarch hadn’t contacted him in real time.

The fourth-tier Night Elf—having received the message—gave a deep bow, then swiftly turned to report back to her matriarch.