Chapter 608: A Family’s Path: The Choice Between Kingdoms and Legacy

A century had passed, and the battle within the Serpent’s Fang Galaxy had long since reached its fever pitch. Not long ago, however, the Song and Luo Families’ joint fleet had just wrapped up a massive engagement and now found themselves in a much-needed recovery phase.

This lull gave Song Chi plenty of time to examine the strange black artifact he’d just acquired.

[Oddity: Clone Progenitor Core]

[Grade: Black]

[Can Convert Into: {Miracle Clone Pod}]

[Note: Eons ago, in a great war, a clone legion commander of a higher civilization fell in battle. By a twist of fate, their dominator-level clone body was never destroyed. It drifted through the endless stars for millions of years, eventually transforming into a truly unique Starsea Oddity.]

……

Miracle Clone Pod

Grade: Black

Sole Trait: Miracle Cloning

……

{Miracle Cloning: Consuming all the core source energy within this component, designate any component or oddity up to black grade for cloning. When cloning completes, this part will fully inherit every property of the original piece. The clone effect lasts indefinitely. If the Captain chooses to end it, this component retains the clone template and enters a fixed 100-year cooldown. Note: The Pod can store a maximum of three previously cloned oddity templates.}

“A clone pod that can freely duplicate any oddity as long as it’s no higher than black grade. This is outrageously powerful. No wonder that scion from the Divine Federation’s royal family was so desperate to get it…”

Song Chi’s eyes shone even brighter after finishing the description.

He’d only skimmed it before, but now, having pored over all its details, Song Chi was convinced—this Miracle Clone Pod was nothing short of exceptional.

[Black Hole Armor]

[Flow of Time Platform]

[Flame God Starship Hull Armor]

For a moment, his thoughts leapt from one powerful component to another—these were all black-grade parts, exactly the type that could truly maximize the pod’s value.

He even thought about the distant Dragon Whale Hall on Dragon-Spine Continent. If only he could clone something with attributes like that—the worth would be unimaginable.

But he shook his head soon after.

He knew, deep down, it was unlikely.

Dragon Whale Hall was damaged. For now, it was only black grade, but once restored, it would probably reach the mythical rainbow grade.

A black-tier Miracle Clone Pod simply couldn’t duplicate something like that.

Still, despite the doubts in his heart, Song Chi decided to make a quick trip back to Dragon-Spine Continent.

The answer was exactly as expected. He left the Family Ancestral Hall soon after, making his way back to the Serpent’s Fang Galaxy.

Even after beaming back to the Heavenly Ruin’s control room, there was still a trace of frustration on his face.

But although Dragon Whale Hall couldn’t be cloned, the disappointment didn’t last. His thoughts quickly shifted to another item in his possession.

“Wait a second…”

His gaze whipped to the side, fixing on the Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar.

The altar was a black-tier component, but it could evolve a part to rainbow grade. If he cloned it, he’d end up with two rainbow components on the Heavenly Ruin. The potential payoff was enormous.

Of course, there was a price. Using the clone pod this way would almost certainly burn out both items for good. No second chances at cloning.

There was another option: wait for the altar to reach its fourth stage, then use it on the Miracle Clone Pod itself, upgrading the pod to rainbow grade. That would mean a new component able to convert into any oddity template at will.

Both choices had their ups and downs. For now, Song Chi just couldn’t decide.

Two rainbow-grade components, or one that could endlessly swap templates? Which was the better deal? There just wasn’t a clear answer.

Shaking his head, Song Chi pushed the dilemma aside.

Besides, the altar was still a ways off from reaching full soul-devouring completion. He’d deal with it when the time came.

……

{Mirror Image Split: Consumes 300,000 dark energy… Current cooldown: 15 days}

He spared a glance at Mirror Image Split; it’d be another half-month before he could create another mirror warship. So Song Chi dove straight into the Omniverse Market.

Once inside the Full-Attribute Cultivation Chamber, he immediately started practicing the Guiding Technique.

Over the past century, the Tianpan Joint Fleet hadn’t just made big gains in the Serpent’s Fang Galaxy—the King’s and Yaohan Kingdom fleets had already seized nearly seventy percent of this star domain. Meanwhile, Song Chi’s own cultivation hadn’t fallen behind either.

A century spent with an endless supply of prime deep-sea pearls and elite body-forging elixirs, plus the boost from his now level-65 Full-Attribute Cultivation Chamber, had shot his Guiding Technique up to level 63—almost at 64.

That’s why he was training hard now, hoping to hit 64 before they finally took over the Serpent’s Fang Galaxy.

But just as he was settling into his training, his Voidform Avatar picked up a special message from outside.

It was sent by the Prime Ancestor—and the content was enough to send his mind racing.

“Xiaochi, the Progenitor has summoned all family core members. Come at once!”

A summons for every core member—this clearly wasn’t just some trivial meeting.

Song Chi quickly reviewed all the major events involving the family and fleet lately, trying to guess the purpose, even as he swiftly exited the Omniverse Market.

Song and Luo Families’ Joint Fleet, at the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang’s docking point.

In less than half an hour, all the Song Family higher-ups had gathered.

As soon as every core member’s flagship was docked, the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang amped its star-annihilator-class magnetic field to maximum power. At the same time, an ultra-secure encrypted group chat went live.

Once everyone was in, Song Wujian finally spoke up in the chat.

“This meeting has but one purpose…”

“To decide our family’s future direction!”

Song Chi and the others all felt a jolt run through them at those words.

Even though they didn’t know exactly what the Clan Elder meant, everyone in the group went silent. A meeting this formal could only mean something huge.

Before anyone could dwell on it, Song Wujian spoke again.

“In just two hundred years, we’ve taken over more than two hundred thousand light-years of territory. If the civilization war continues, that number will keep climbing. Which brings us to a key issue: What should our Song Family’s next step be?”

“Do we remain in the Tianpan Galaxy, sharing rule over the Morningstar Kingdom alongside the Morningstar Family? Or do we strike out, founding our own kingdom?”

After that, Song Chi understood what this was really about.

There was heaviness in the air—nobody rushed to speak.

Building a kingdom wasn’t child’s play—it was a weighty matter requiring careful thought.

After a long pause, Song Shiyuan was the first to weigh in:

“Personally, I think leaving the Tianpan Galaxy is only a matter of time. The Yaohan Kingdom already controls its richest regions, and the remaining three hundred thousand light-years are too barren. It can support one Immortal House—but with the Morningstar Family beside us, squeezing into this little kingdom will only hurt our long-term growth.”

Many in the chat, Song Chi included, nodded in agreement, but he narrowed his eyes and was the second to speak:

“I agree, but we can’t ignore one thing—if we really do leave the Tianpan Galaxy, what about Dragon-Spine Continent?”

“That land is the result of millennia of our clan’s blood and sweat. Are we just going to abandon it?”

His question set off a ripple, and more members soon chimed in.

Song Yan: “Exactly. There are plenty of seventh-tier floating-lands in Chipan and Serpent’s Fang Galaxy, but the Dragon Whale Hall is fused to Dragon-Spine. That’s the real sticking point!”

Song Xuancang: “And another thing. Leaving is meant to give us a better future—but will the Dragonspine Song Family alone be able to seize enough fertile ground in Chipan, or in the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster when we conquer it next?”

Song Xuancang: “Remember, we only just joined the ranks of the Immortal Houses. Even with our war gains, the old established clans may outcompete us.”

……

Everyone voiced their takes—most worried about shifting territory but ultimately agreed with leaving the Tianpan Galaxy.

The only outlier was Song Shixing, recently brought along from Dragon-Spine.

Song Shixing: “Civilization war has only just begun. Isn’t this a little early to worry?”

“My advice is to wait and see. Who’s to say Song Family can’t rack up such big contributions that we get half, or even a whole galaxy of our own?”

Song Wujian, who had stayed silent since sparking the debate, now spoke again.

“Shixing, your thinking is off. Precisely because it’s the early stage, we have some flexibility. Only by setting a clear goal and plan now can we rally the fleet’s full power to make it happen.”

“Remember, the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster is nothing like our Torch Human cluster. Plus, after the war, the Four Great Empires will surely take a huge cut for themselves, meaning less for everyone else. If we don’t prepare now, we’ll be left with nothing.”

“As for the issue of clan heritage, don’t worry about that. Luo Yi and I have already agreed—the Luo Clan wants this too. United, we might just pull it off!”

Hearing Luo Yi’s name, everyone in the chat was taken aback.

As a Star-Annihilator-class Captain, Luo Yi spoke for the entire Chigu Luo Clan. If their forces combined with the Song Family, this plan actually stood a chance.

Song Shiyuan: “Elder, if it works out, who’ll lead the new kingdom?”

While the others mulled this over, the Prime Ancestor tossed out another question.

This had clearly already been discussed. Song Wujian replied quickly:

“We’ve got the Three-Eyed Clan Imperial Flagship and a Dominator Worm as a stage-seven slave unit. Luo Yi knows this—he’s promised that should we found a kingdom, the Song Family will sit as royalty!”

Back in the Heavenly Ruin’s command room, Song Chi nodded, clearly not surprised.

He already knew all about the Chigu Luo Clan’s situation.

Given their previous struggles in the Goldplate Kingdom, even with a Star-Annihilator-class Captain, they weren’t going anywhere without a fresh start. Seizing a new galaxy together made all the sense in the world.

“In that case, why not set our sights on the Chipan Galaxy? We already hold nearly three hundred thousand light-years there together. Throw in a territory swap with the Morningstar Family, and that’s almost four hundred thousand. The more ground we can swap with the Yaohan Kingdom and others during the coming wars, the more likely we can claim all of Chipan for ourselves.”

……

After more discussion, they settled on the mid-sized Chipan Galaxy, nearly a million light-years across, as their goal.

But, in the end, everything circled back to Dragon-Spine Continent.

All their ambitions hinged on being able to bring Dragon-Spine Continent along. If it couldn’t come, none of it mattered.

After a moment, Song Wujian mentioned a special type of component.

“Have you ever heard of those special parts for pulling floating-lands?”

Noticing everyone’s confusion, he elaborated:

“Apparently, some special components can actually tow Starsea floating-lands. Back in my younger days on Silverplate Floating-land, I heard the Divine Xia Empire had a finance group specializing in this—if you pay enough, they’ll move entire floating-lands on demand.”

Everyone was intrigued by this new possibility—and all eyes turned to Song Chi.

Knowing full well what they wanted, Song Chi vanished from the control room.

Back on Dragon-Spine Continent, he summoned his Yaoguang Star Order and raised the question in the group chat.

Two minutes later, a reply popped up.

“Yulong” (Order #17): “Hauling a high-level floating-land? I’m not sure, but I’ve heard of a trade guild in the Divine Xia Empire that handles stuff like this.”

Before Song Chi could respond, another message appeared.

“Whitebrow” (Order #30): “Divine Xia Empire’s Star-Mover Guild specializes in it. They got famous tens of thousands of years ago after successfully moving an eighth-level living floating-land, but their services cost a fortune!”

“Jingzhe” (Order #32): “@Whitebrow @Yulong Got it, thanks!”

After thanking them, Song Chi returned to the Serpent’s Fang Galaxy.

With the facts in hand, the Song Family’s core members quickly united behind the plan: Chipan Galaxy would be their new home, and the Chigu Luo Clan was officially in the loop.