Chapter 23: Enhancing the Quality of the Seed of Embers
Song Chi felt his hands trembling beneath the stall. If the previous orange-quality Glory-grade exotic item had filled him with endless joy, then seeing the Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire among the three items before him made his entire being hum with excitement.
It was the feeling of being overwhelmed by the high stimulation of his brain under intense exhilaration.
In truth, the moment Song Chi saw the attributes of the Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire, he had already made his choice. However, to prevent the Mechanoids from discerning his desperate desire for it, he feigned interest and examined the detailed attributes of all the items one by one.
[Exotic Item: Energy Accumulation Stone]
[Quality: Purple]
[Evolvable: {Energy Accumulation Thruster}]
[Note: A standard, unremarkable purple exotic item.]
...
[Exotic Item: Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire]
[Quality: Purple]
[Evolvable: 1. {Star Core Thermal Engine}, 2. {Seed of Fire Upgrade Source}]
[Note: A fire-attribute purple exotic item with a wide variety of uses.]
...
[Exotic Item: Snook Starship Cannon]
[Quality: Purple]
[Evolvable: {Snook Star Cannon}]
[Note: A starship cannon left behind by the ancient Snook civilization; after being washed by the long passage of time, it has finally manifested as a purple exotic item.]
It must be said that, apart from the Star Core Fire, the other two items had excellent attributes, but they could not shake Song Chi’s decision in the slightest.
Seeing that he had put on a sufficient act, Song Chi did not delay further. He chose the [Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire] and, together with the [High-Grade Dark Matter Energy Crystal], completed the transaction.
After taking the [Level 1 Floating Land Origin Core Fusion Body], the Mechanoids did not linger and soon departed the Heavens Market.
Not long after, amidst the stirrings in Song Chi’s heart, this first market transaction was officially declared over.
The various exotic races of the Star Sea looked up in unison as the winds and clouds swirled in the market sky. Eight characters imbued with laws converged out of thin air:
*The Star Sea is boundless; we shall meet again if fate permits.*
Ten seconds later, amidst the wistful emotions of the exotic races, a powerful force of repulsion acted upon all biological entities still remaining in the market.
Immediately following a dizzying sensation, every creature was precisely teleported back to the exact location from which they had entered the market.
***
Inside the Heavens Market, after the crowds had dispersed, a sudden silence fell. Song Chi had no time to lament this; he counted the resources in his hand while quickly summoning the *Sky Vault*.
Minutes later, a jubilant Song Chi stepped into the *Sky Vault*.
After a preliminary count, the total value of the resources in his hands was approaching 4,000 wisps of Tier-0 Floating Land Origin. Including the small amount spent on upgrading the market, he had made a net profit of 3,700 wisps of Tier-0 Floating Land Origin, plus three exotic items: the white [Raw Gold Ore], the purple [Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire], and the orange [High-Grade Dark Matter Energy Crystal].
Inside the *Sky Vault*, as he entered the starship, the colorless Seed of Fire hull began to quietly assimilate the three items. Once the assimilation was complete, the attributes of the items had changed significantly.
[Gold Rock Hull Armor Lv0]
[Quality: White]
[Consumption: 3/s]
[Defense: 13]
[Upgrade Requirements: 5 wisps of Floating Land Origin (Tier-0), 500 energy points, 1 ton of refined gold.]
...
[Seed of Fire Upgrade Source (Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire)]
[Effect: Upon integration with a colorless-quality Seed of Fire, the quality of the Seed of Fire will increase by one rank.]
[Note: An extremely rare fire source beneficial to the Seed of Fire, possessing unimaginable appeal to captains with low-quality Seeds of Fire.]
...
[Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator Lv0]
[Quality: Orange]
[Trait 1: Shield value increased by an additional 40%]
[Trait 2: Shield defense value doubled]
[Consumption: 10/s]
[Defense: 38]
[Shield Value: 532/532]
[Recharge: 30s; Buffer after overload: 1 hour]
[Upgrade Requirements: 10 wisps of Floating Land Origin (Tier-0), 1000 energy points, 1 ton of mercury crystal]
***
Setting the two shipboard components aside, Song Chi immediately channeled the psionic energy within his body, opened his ancestral Seed of Fire aperture, and drew the wisp of star core fire into it.
It is common knowledge that exotic fire items capable of upgrading a Seed of Fire are at least of purple quality. White or blue-level exotic fire items simply provide no benefit to a Seed of Fire.
This wisp of Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire was only the lowest grade of purple upgrade sources, capable only of raising a colorless Seed of Fire to white. While some top-tier purple upgrade sources could elevate a white Seed of Fire to blue, such items were clearly even rarer.
Even so, Song Chi was impatient; for him, this wisp of Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire was more than enough.
As the fire entered his ancestral aperture, the Seed of Fire within the space flared brilliantly. Sensing a fire source of immense attraction, its instinct for evolution drove it to consume and fuse with the Star Core Fire as quickly as possible.
Guided by the Seed of Fire, the Ten-Thousand-Year Star Core Fire began to drift slowly toward the center of the aperture.
When it finally made contact, it was as if a large bundle of firewood had been added to the Seed of Fire; the raging flames leaped wildly like a powerful, untamed stallion.
The process of consumption and fusion lasted for about ten minutes. When it was complete, the jet-black Seed of Fire underwent a metamorphosis, shifting from its original black hue to a brilliant, incandescent white.
As the Seed of Fire transformed from colorless to white, Song Chi’s weary spirit felt a sudden jolt; the energy he had expended was restored in an instant. Furthermore, under the fortification of the white Seed of Fire, his mental strength became even more solid and stable.
The Seed of Fire of the human civilization not only grants psionic power but also protects and fortifies the mind. The higher the quality of the Seed of Fire, the stronger these effects. Under its protection, members of the human civilization have an inherent advantage when facing ethereal or soul-type exotic races of the Star Sea.
Beyond this, upgrading from colorless to white meant that the future potential of the *Sky Vault* had increased from Tier 1 to Tier 2, and the reinforcement level limit for all mounted components had changed from Lv19 to Lv29.
Additionally, the number of special component slots had increased. Previously, a starship bound to a colorless Seed of Fire started with 2 slots and gained 2 more for every 5 levels; now, it would gain 4 additional slots for every 5 levels.
By any measure, this was a comprehensive enhancement.
Once the most important upgrade to the Seed of Fire was complete, Song Chi turned his attention back to the two basic components.
Without hesitation, he replaced his standard hull armor and psionic shield with the new components and proceeded to reinforce them.
Leaving the white Gold Rock Hull Armor aside for the moment, the Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator was naturally his primary focus. Conveniently, he had received a batch of mercury crystals from the market trade, which were perfect for the reinforcement.
[Do you wish to spend 10 wisps of Tier-0 Floating Land Origin, 1000 psionic points, and 1 ton of mercury crystal to upgrade the Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator from Lv0 to Lv1?]
"Confirm!"
Dozens of seconds later, Song Chi successfully reinforced the [Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator] to Lv10.
The total cost was 420 wisps of Tier-0 Floating Land Origin and 60 tons of mercury crystals. If calculated entirely in Floating Land Origin, it amounted to 1,020 wisps.