Chapter 582: A Glimpse of the Core

To be honest, Song Chi and Song Yan had both been riding an emotional roller coaster lately.

First they witnessed the majesty of the Eighth-Tier Floating-Land, Eastern Li, then came the peak Eighth-Tier East Frontier Floating-Land. Just as they’d calmed down from those, the nearly Ninth-Tier pinnacle Xian Qin Continent appeared before them.

There was at least one good thing about this—it made them realize their own foundation was nowhere near enough. In front of the true superpowers of the Shattered Sea of Stars, Dragon‑Spine Continent, newly advanced to Seventh-Tier, wasn’t even worth mentioning.

Their recently overinflated pride had finally been put in check.

Not entirely their fault, though.

More than a decade ago, they’d found two wisps of Golden Upgraded Fire Source, two Black Supreme Components, and several Gold Components in that Flame God Clan relic.

This time, through some blatantly unfair methods inside the Starrealm Gut, they’d reaped two Supreme Black Oddities, several Golden Sanctum Oddities, and even received the Time Crown Replica component offered up by the Chigu Luo Clan.

It was obvious the Song Family had been riding a wave of good fortune for quite a while. No wonder their heads had started to float a bit.

But after witnessing the grandeur of these super floating-lands back-to-back, their restless hearts had finally cooled down. That was a good thing.

The three Song Family members burst out of the teleportation station, still shaken by the sheer scale of Xian Qin Continent. Outside, the Xian Qin Royal Dragon Forbidden Fleet, stationed at the borders year-round, immediately dispatched two Dreadnoughts.

Facing this legendary royal fleet—even if these were just two ordinary Dreadnoughts—the Song Family trio was perfectly cooperative.

This wasn’t some sixth-tier resource floating-land under the Eastern Li Royal Palace. This was the ancestral continent of the Xian Qin Divine Dynasty, one of the Four Great Empires of Torch Human Civilization.

The Xian Qin Royal Dragon Forbidden Fleet was a renowned ace force. The fleet had a hundred thousand ships at its disposal, and the weakest among them was a Zhulu-class Cruiser. The fleet’s supreme commander was a powerful Star River-class Captain from the royal family, rumored to have once held his own in a direct clash with a Ninth-Tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon Emperor—with minimal losses.

“Are you members of the Chenxing Kingdom Dragonspine Song Family who applied to visit the Torch Judgement Court?”

“That’s right!”

After receiving the Song Family’s confirmation, the two Dreadnoughts from the Dragon Forbidden Fleet led their three battleships downward.

On the way, they occasionally spotted Star-Annihilator-class Ships patrolling high above.

This was the heart of the Xian Qin Divine Dynasty. Every day, tens of millions of Torch Battleships streamed in from beyond. Keeping order here was no easy feat.

Song Chi even guessed there were probably Star River-class ships hidden in the shadows.

…

As they passed along, Song Chi and Song Yan kept eyeing everything on this ninth-tier floating-land, drinking it all in.

But there was a catch—they weren’t allowed to just fly wherever they wanted. If they were caught, the patrolling Star-Annihilator-class Ships might shoot them down on the spot.

Not much they could do; with so many battleships coming and going each day, letting them run wild would bring chaos quick.

The Torch Judgement Court sat at the heart of Xian Qin Continent, right in the middle of Xian Qin Dragon Court City.

From a great distance, the moment Song Chi glimpsed the outline of Xian Qin Dragon Court City, he immediately thought of Saintlight City on Red Star Superdimensional Continent. Until now, that city, built by the peak Eighth-Tier Angel King, was the grandest he’d ever seen in all his four centuries.

But even so, the comparison wasn’t even fair. Saintlight City was crushed to dust beside Xian Qin Dragon Court City.

The entry requirements to this city were unbelievably strict. Rumor had it, aside from direct members of the royal family, anyone from other forces needed serious backing just to set foot inside. Even then, the entry fee was sky-high.

Fortunately, with the Dragon Forbidden Fleet as their escorts, the three Song Family members had no trouble getting in.

Ignoring Song Yan’s curious stares, the two fleet members guided the trio straight to the Torch Judgement Court.

Thanks to the Court’s prominent status, it sat right in the city’s busiest area. What stood out most were the two Dominator-class Archangels, twelve wings each, flanking the main entrance. To outsiders, these saints, these mysterious juggernauts, were reduced to mere doormen here. That alone said everything about the Court’s place in the world.

Once they’d delivered them into the great hall, the two Dragon Forbidden Fleet members didn’t linger—they left as swiftly as they’d come.

But before they left, they added a reminder:

“Lord Dinghai, once you’ve completed the Court’s certification, please remember to leave Xian Qin Continent within a day. This is a special entry permission—you’re not cleared to stay. Later, you’ll need an official application for a proper visit!”

…

Getting certified at the Torch Judgement Court turned out to be way simpler than they’d expected. They waited less than half an hour before the Clan Elder was called inside. Less than two minutes later, he was out again.

“Elder, that’s it?”

Seeing their confusion, Song Wujian explained patiently.

“Court certification just means your Torch Network account gets an official badge, plus you get special access befitting a Star-Annihilator-class Captain.”

Access?

Those two were interested the second they heard that word.

“Elder, could you give us some details?”

“Pretty simple—they jack up your privacy permissions, expand your access to the Torch local networks, and let you contact the Torch Judgement Court itself through the network.”

Afterward, Song Wujian walked them through the details.

Privacy permissions were the obvious one. At the Star-Annihilator-class level, even the Kingdom-level Torch Bureaus couldn’t pull your files or chat logs anymore—only the Imperial Torch Judgement Court held that privilege.

As for network access, it now spanned an entire galactic river. Put simply: as long as they were in the same river system, officially certified Star-Annihilator-class Captains could link up any time through the Torch Network.

That last perk, letting a Captain contact the Court directly, was all about Torch Human Civilization’s security.

By the time you’re a Star-Annihilator-class Captain, you’re among the very top combat power of Torch Humanity. If someone like that stumbles on something truly catastrophic, being able to contact the Court fast means they have the best shot at handling it early—something critical for the safety of all civilization.

…

“Elder, since we still have a day, why don’t we take a look around Xian Qin Dragon Court City?”

“Absolutely!”

Song Yan’s suggestion was immediately seconded by both Song Wujian and Song Chi.

After all, this was the ancestral continent of the Xian Qin Divine Dynasty—and this city was the very core of its floating-land. Anyone running a shop here had to have massive connections, so the treasures inside were surely beyond imagination.

They agreed to meet by the city gates in a few hours, then went their separate ways.

Elsewhere, on a corner of the central avenue, Song Chi walked at a leisurely pace.

On the surface he looked calm, but his mind was anything but peaceful.

He was debating whether to try setting up a Spatial Anchor here in Xian Qin Dragon Court City.

The scale of trading here was staggering. If he could plant a Spatial Anchor, then link it to the Omniverse Market… the possibilities were endless.

He considered it a long time, but finally shook his head and gave up on the idea.

Not because he didn’t want to. Not because he doubted the strength of the Omniverse Market.

He just didn’t trust himself enough.

This was one of the central regions of all Torch Humanity—a place with surveillance beyond imagination. Even if the Omniverse Market could get him in and out, outside the Market he was just a Sixth-Tier Captain. There were countless people in this city who could take him out or worse.

Even if the Market could cover his tracks and keep him out of the Pillar King Clan’s view, he had no official identity here.

No identity meant he couldn’t rent a shop. Without a shop, how would he ever sell what he wanted from the Market?

If it was just to buy some resources, it wouldn’t be worth it. The risk was far, far too high, beyond what Song Chi could bear.

From what he knew of the Pillar King Clan, there had to be mythic-grade monitoring Oddities here. Otherwise, a city this size wouldn’t have stayed perfectly ordered for ten thousand years.

This was a colossal city holding billions of people, after all.

With that hope set aside, Song Chi stopped thinking about Spatial Anchors.

He continued wandering, searching for anything he might need.

Soon enough, he found himself stopping before a shop called Jinwang Commercial Pavilion.

“Excuse me, how much is that neutron star wreckage?”

Song Chi turned to a shop attendant and asked quietly.

She looked delicate, but Song Chi sensed a third-level Guiding Technique aura from her. In fact, every one of the hundreds of attendants here had the same, and some of the supervisors even had fourth-level life force.

All he could do was marvel at the sheer power of the empire’s upper classes. Right now, the Song Family barely had a few thousand third-tier Torch Captains total, yet here, a single shop had over a hundred staff of that level.

“Sir, the neutron star wreckage is priced at one wisp of Sixth-Tier Floating-Land Origin.”

Steep price, but Song Chi didn’t hesitate—he bought it immediately.

That was because deep in his brow, his Heavenly Ruin in mini form was violently trembling—the now-golden Neutron-Star Core Armor hungered for it more than anything.