003: Xinghai Market Order

After the integration session, each class began to disperse and assemble.

At the gathering point of Class 5, Yang Minghui's eyes flashed as he looked at the sixteen familiar faces he had known for several years. He had thousands of words on his mind, but they condensed into two stern instructions.

"We will gather at the school square at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Be prepared when you return today."

"Even during welfare exploration, there are casualties every year. Don't take it lightly."

"Understood!"

...

After bidding farewell to Sun Hao, Song Chi flagged down a kinetic speed car on the roadside. His home was in the city center, not far from the school. In less than 20 minutes, the kinetic speed car stopped at the entrance of Dongjiang Community where his home was located.

"10 universal credit points deducted. Account balance: 2,413,543 points."

As he stepped out of the car, a deduction notification flashed on his smart watch. Song Chi glanced at the balance, his expression calm outwardly, though anyone observing closely might detect otherwise.

As the common currency of the Principality of Morning Star, the purchasing power of credit points remained robust. An ordinary person's monthly salary averaged about 3,000 credit points, with savings of at most 2,000 per month. By this measure, accumulating 2.4 million credit points would require over a century for an average person. For a student like Song Chi, who had not yet graduated, his accumulated wealth was exceptional—a testament to his own efforts over the past thirty years, not handouts from his parents.

His income came primarily from his previous life as a senior writer, where he had a modest talent for novel creation. Over two decades, he authored several works, the most notable being "The Ship Breaks the Sky" and "The Douluo Floating Land." Though they achieved moderate success, the royalties had amassed to just over two million credits.

Entering Dongjiang Community, Building 5, Apartment 403, Song Chi was greeted simultaneously by the expectant gazes of his father, Song Chao, and his mother, Chen Lixia.

"Our son is home! Come, Mom has prepared your favorite braised deep-sea mackerel."

Song Chi's eyes brightened, setting down his schoolbag and rushing to the dining table. After savoring a bowl of fish soup, he felt a warm sensation spreading from his stomach throughout his body, a genuine expression of contentment on his face.

In truth, deep-sea mackerel wasn't known for its delicious taste and was often considered unappetizing by others, especially picky eaters. Yet, Song Chi had persisted in consuming it for over twenty years.

What attracted him was the rich blood energy within the fish meat, which significantly enhanced his practice of the Daoyin Art. This was one of the factors contributing to his achievement of level 4 proficiency in Daoyin Art in just over two decades.

---

Most students his age were still stuck at level 2 in the Guidance Technique, and only those with exceptional talent could reach level 3. The higher the level of the Guidance Technique, the harder and slower the training became—a common understanding across Xinhuo human civilization.

With his hands spread out, Song Chi's internal guidance technique slowly began absorbing the blood energy contained in the fish soup, accelerating his practice. Now, it should be termed the Nether Energy Guidance Technique. After completing the Nether Energy Transformation and transforming his body into a Nether Energy form, the guidance technique automatically advanced to the Nether Energy Guidance Technique, which allowed for faster practice compared to the ordinary version.

Seeing the black psionic energy emerging around Song Chi, the anxious expressions on Song Chao and Chen Lixia's faces quickly faded. Both were Fire Seed awakeners and very familiar with psionic energy. Recognizing their son's ability to control psionic energy, they understood that Song Chi had successfully awakened.

"The colorless Fire Seeds have awakened, and the Nether Energy Shuttle has been integrated. Our first exploration of the different rivers will commence at eight o'clock tomorrow morning," Song Chi explained while absorbing and transforming the blood energy in his body.

Hearing this, Song's father and mother nodded slightly, showing no disappointment in their eyes. From the moment Song Chi was born, they knew both were colorless Fire Seeds, and their bloodline limit was set. As long as their son could awaken the Fire Seeds, they would be satisfied. They never harbored expectations for white or higher-quality Fire Seeds—the odds were too low.

"Xiaochi, come here."

After lunch, Father Song immediately summoned Song Chi to the study. Inside, Song Chao appeared solemn. After giving instructions, a faint light flashed between his eyebrows, and two light groups flew out from his Xinhuo Ancestral Aperture, floating in front of Song Chi.

"This is the starting resource your mother and I have provided: 1,000 strands of zero-order Floating Land Origin and the special white component 'Fire Sun Terracotta Tree' from the Fire Airship."

Song Chi was immediately overjoyed. While not a vast amount, these resources were sufficient for him to begin strengthening and upgrading his Xinhuo Psionic Shuttle. Enhancing its various performances would bolster its combat power and survivability, placing him ahead of most peers. As the saying goes, one step at a time—a small lead now could prove crucial in the future.

...

Compared to the 1,000 strands of zero-level Floating Land Source, Song Chi was more intrigued by the white-quality "Fire Sun Terracotta Tree" special component. It was well-known that all colored Fireship parts derived from Star Sea Rare Objects increased in value significantly—even the lowest-grade white wonders. The "Terracotta Warrior" parts were especially popular among airship components, capable of serving as guards, combat support, or even cannon fodder, greatly enhancing a captain's survival rate.

This highlighted the immense value of the "Fire Sun Terracotta Tree" component before him.

"Thank you, Mom and Dad."

Mobilizing the Nether Energy in his body, Song Chi absorbed the two light groups into his Xinhuo Ancestral Aperture. After accepting further instructions from his parents, he headed upstairs.

Returning to his bedroom, instead of immediately delving into the Xinhuo Ancestral Aperture to review the detailed attributes of his Nether Energy Shuttle—which he hadn't read before—he took out the bronze medal hanging from his chest.

It had always been the item that led him through time travel. The bronze medal, smaller than a lighter, bore the engraved words "Xinghai Market" on its front—thus known as the Xinghai Market Order.

As he gazed at it, Song Chi noticed changes in the bronze medal. For thirty years, it had remained an ordinary bronze piece, unresponsive to any attempts to interact with it. Now, a faint layer of dark brilliance enveloped it—a subtle change that might have gone unnoticed without careful observation.

"Is this... psionic energy?"

Song Chi's eyes sparkled with realization. At that moment, the bronze medal changed once more. As if responding to his scrutiny, an attribute panel automatically appeared beside it:

[Name: Nether Energy—Xinghai Market Order]

[Category: Growing Wonderful Objects]

[Quality: ? ?]

[Level: lv0]

[Characteristics: Control and connect a specific Star Sea Market.]

[Feature 2: After meeting certain conditions, the Xinghai Market Order can be upgraded independently.]

[Remarks: The best among rare items, with unlimited potential.]