Bai Xiuqin also had a faint smile emerge in her eyes.
"Not bad luck, I just had a breakthrough yesterday. Is there something wrong?"
It had been more than two months since the Copper Mountain Floating Land operation had ended and the family members had returned. Due to the Bai Family incident, Bai Xiuqin had been grinding her teeth in cultivation these past two months, striving to elevate her Guidance Technique to the Third Rank and become a true Third Rank Torch Ship Captain.
With such a development, her own strength would significantly increase, and she would no longer need to look at others for approval in many future matters. After all, having a strong foundation was the hard truth.
In these two months, the results were quite good. Her Guidance Technique had successfully advanced from Lv28 to Lv29. Although there was still a long distance to go before breaking through the Great Rank bottleneck and officially advancing to the Third Rank, progress was concrete.
Before her, Zhao Hongxueâs face changed after a moment of pleasant surprise:
"Mom, weâve received a message from a secret line below, a Fourth Rank Void Crystal has appeared in the Silver Spear Floating Land of the Golden Shark Star Domain, and itâs going to be auctioned in half a month!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Xiuqin quickly grasped the significance.
"Are Mingsong and the eldest not here?"
Zhao Hongxue nodded repeatedly, for if it werenât so, she wouldnât have come to disturb Bai Xiuqin.
"They went to the Bailing Floating Land more than a month ago, together. The order they left was to send a relay warship over after four months, and itâs not our place to make decisions on our own!"
Bai Xiuqin nodded her head, then fell into deep thought.
The Bailing Floating Land was a Third-Rank Star Sea Floating Land that Song Mingsong had discovered and marked with a Pathfinder Mark decades ago, controlled by a civilization known as the "Bailing Civilization."
The Bailing Civilization, which had reached the threshold of an Intermediate Civilization, was a civilization of the Bailing Tribe, spanning nearly ten thousand light-years and owning one Third-Rank Life-Form Star Sea Floating Land, one Second Rank Life-Form Star Sea Floating Land, four Second Rank Resource-Type Floating Lands, and hundreds of First Rank and Unranked Star Sea Floating Lands.
There were numerous members of the Bailing Tribe of the Third Rank Level within the Bailing Civilization. This was the reason the Furious Lion, which urgently needed to bathe in the blood of High-level Aliens, had rushed there. Previously, Song Shanâs Mountain and Bai Xiuqinâs Sky Zither had also visited the Bailing Civilizationsâ domain, hunting down quite a few Third Rank Alien Race and starships.
"Letâs not disturb them then. Right now, the Furious Lion is in desperate need of time. We can handle this matter ourselves."
After saying this, Bai Xiuqin turned to Song Chi to ask another question.
"What about Little Chi? Is he not here either?"
"Yes, he might be in seclusion or perhaps out exploring. We havenât seen Little Chi during this period!"
Since Song Chi had already decided to participate in the family ranking competition, Song Mingsong no longer kept his grandsonâs capabilities hidden. By now, all core members within the pulse were aware that Song Chiâs flagship had commendable combat power, at least equal to that of an ordinary cruiser.
Thatâs why Bai Xiuqin had asked.
Upon hearing this, Bai Xiuqin frowned and contemplated for a while before saying:
"Well then, Hongxue, you make a trip to the Seventh Direct Pulse and see if you can invite that person Iâve had a good relationship with in the past. With a Fourth Rank Void Crystal at stake, Iâm not comfortable without the accompaniment of a cruiser."
"Understood, mom!"
...
The next day, hovering in the sky above Green Moon Manor, was the kilometer-long Sky Zither, surrounded by Qingkong and the Black Sea.
At that moment, a gentle voice came from the Sky Zither.
"Lianzhi, Iâll leave my residence in your care for now. At least twenty days, at most a month, and I must rush back. Weâll chat more then, sisters!"
Beneath her, Lianzhi stood with a radiant smile on her delicate face, standing in Mr. and Mrs. Song Shanâs courtyard. Docked above the Origin Eruption Eye was her "White Lotus" cruiser.
"Donât worry, go with peace of mind!"
As soon as her words fell, the three Torch warships in the sky didnât linger any longer. Their engines roared, rapidly disappearing into the clouds above Dragon Spine Continent.
Within the courtyard, several people withdrew their gazes. Lianzhi turned to nod at Zhao Hongxue, Chen Lixia, and the other women, then re-entered the White Lotus.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongxue and the other women exchanged glances before also departing one after another.
```
Regarding Lianzhi, they were relatively at ease, for she was the wife of a Third-Rank uncle from the seventh direct branch. This Third-Rank uncle had always shared a good relationship with Song Mingsong and also got along well with Bai Xiuqin. To have her suppress the Third Rank Floating Land Origin Eruption Eye for a month was quite appropriate.
...
Half a month later, in the Golden Shark Star Domain, Silver Spear Floating Land.
This time, it was not the Eagle Family auction house but a venue belonging to the Fourth-Rank family "Chen Family" from the Golden Shark Star Domain itself â the Black Star Auction House.
Compared to the Eagle Familyâs subsidiary auction on Silver Spear Floating Land, the scale of this Black Star Auction House was naturally much smaller. After all, the Golden Shark Chen Clan had risen to prominence only a millennium ago, far less profound than the ducal Eagle Family.
Generally, if they acquired any extremely rare resources or starship components, they would hoard them in their own treasure vaults and never auction them off.
It was rumored that the Fourth-Rank Void Crystal being auctioned this time was consigned by an outsider, not something offered by the Chen Family themselves, or they would have used it long ago in their own secret realms.
In the not-so-large auction house, nearly a hundred Third-Rank Torch Captains were seated. Although Black Star Auction Houseâs reputation couldnât compare with that of the Eagle Familyâs auction house, its backer was still a Fourth-Rank power. Even items slipping through their fingers could be of interest to these Third-Rank Torch Captains.
The auction proceeded swiftly. The earlier blue components and Intermediate Rank mineral resources didnât catch the attention of the Third-Rank Torch Captains in attendance, so the auction quickly moved towards the latter half.
"The next item up for bid is an energy shield of Purple Quality, known as [Nuclear Photon Shield]..."
With the first appearance of a Purple Component, it signified that the auction had officially reached its climax.
In one of the VIP boxes above the auction house, Bai Xiuqin, Song Hai, and Song Chao did not place any bids; their sole target was the Fourth-Rank [Void Crystal], the sub-main auction item.
After the successive sale of nearly ten Purple Components, the [Void Crystal] that the three of them had been yearning for was finally presented.
"The next item is the penultimate lot of this auction. Many friends here might have heard about it before. Yes, itâs a Fourth-Rank Level Void Crystal.
In accordance with the consignorâs requirements, this item only accepts bids in the form of Purple Quality skimming radars or Titanium Crystals, or Floating Land Origins of Third Rank and above."
"Alright, no starting bid will be set. My friends, please feel free to make your offers. Now, let the bidding begin!"
As the Chen Familyâs Third-Rank auctioneer officially started this round of auction, bids began emanating from the VIP boxes of the upper tier of the auction house one after another.
"300 Titanium Crystals!"
"200 Titanium Crystals + 20 strands of Third Rank Floating Land Origin!"
"500 Titanium Crystals!"
"One Purple Quality skimming radar + 100 Titanium Crystals!"
...
As the Chen familyâs auctioneer had mentioned before, many of the Third-Rank Torch Captains present were bidding for this Fourth-Rank Void Crystal, and nearly ten bids were called out in a short time. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire
Inside the Song Familyâs box, the three exchanged looks before Song Chao finally made their first bid.
"1,400 Titanium Crystals!"
When this offer was made, many turned their gazes toward their box, curious as to who might be inside.
However, their attention was soon diverted by the subsequent bids. The current price was still far from the normal market price of a Fourth-Rank Void Crystal.
After all, it could be traded for a strand of Fifth-Rank Floating Land Origin.
"200 strands of Third Rank Floating Land Origin!"
"100 strands of Third Rank Floating Land Origin + 1,200 Titanium Crystals!"
As time went by, the bids continued to climb. A few minutes passed, and Song Chao once again spoke up.
"3,000 Titanium Crystals!"
Upon hearing this, the entire auction house fell silent, with some of the Second-Rank Torch Captains gasping in astonishment.
```