Global Era of Star trekking Chapter 1720 - 839: [Origin Star]

Bone Floating Land, Dead Di Star Domain, Yin Sha River System.

An expansive Third Level Life Floating Land drifted through the endless dark of the void. Across its terrain, hundreds of thousands of various ordinary starships and Torch Warships were ascending and descending, moving with the coordinated rhythm of a beehive, all carrying optimistic dreams for what lay ahead.

In the northern reaches of this land, situated over a plain where the lingering Corpse Evil aura was particularly thick, a fleet returned to its makeshift headquarters after completing a patrol. As they touched down, a transmission crackled from the lead Escort Ship.

"Elder Seventh, we have a problem. The Corpse Evil aura levels on the Beilin Plain are higher than we anticipated. I have to take the squad out for another sweep. Please get the neutralizer restocked as fast as you can."

"Understood, I'll handle it immediately!"

A short while later, the supplies were replenished. More than twenty warships ignited their engines with a roar, slowly lifting off into the atmosphere once more.

"Third Brother, stay alert. Even though the primary civilization fleet has already purged this floating land, there might still be some remnants hiding out there."

"Don't worry, I'm aware. It is only because of the Dragon Spine Royal Family's immense generosity that we were granted a Third Level Life Floating Land and several resource lands as our clan’s own territory. This is the finest opportunity our family has seen in our three-hundred-year history. I value my life too much to throw it away; I intend to keep serving the family."

Following that final remark, the fleet surged into the sky, quickly vanishing beyond the distant horizon.

The man addressed as Elder Seventh watched them go, a smile spreading across his face.

Indeed, this was a rare, once-in-a-century chance for the Huang family.

While a three-hundred-year family history might sound impressive to some, it was practically nothing to the established powers.

In this massive Interstellar Era, three centuries pass in the blink of an eye. Even a Second Rank Escort Captain can live that long.

To be fair, the Huang family was started by their father, who was just a common, low-ranking captain serving in the Torch army. They were only in their second generation.

It was largely due to their father’s many sons—seven of whom managed to successfully awaken the Seed of Torch. Over two centuries, these brothers and their non-awakened descendants had gradually grown into the foundation of a proper family.

Normally, a family as unremarkable as theirs within the Torch Human Civilization would struggle to survive for five generations. However, the Huang family was fortunate; they lived in an era of unprecedented expansion for the Torch Civilization. Furthermore, they had the backing of the Dragon Spine Royal Family—the Song family, a rising super-gate—which provided the citizens of the Dragon Spine Kingdom with opportunities far beyond the norm.

As his mind wandered, the man whispered under his breath:

"Though Third Brother made one mistake; they shouldn't be called the Dragon Spine Royal Family anymore, but the Heavenly Pillar Song Clan."

This quiet comment caught the attention of a young man standing behind him.

"The Heavenly Pillar Song Clan? Seventh Uncle, is that how you see it too?"

The sudden voice gave the man a start. He turned, relaxing only when he realized it was the son of his older sixth brother.

"Seventh Uncle, Brother Lie and the others talk about this all the time. The rumors everywhere say the Dragon Spine Song Family is on the verge of founding the Fifth Torch Empire. Apparently, the Four Great Empires have already given their silent approval for the Dragon Spine Song Family to become the Heavenly Pillar Song Clan."

"Nothing is set in stone yet, so stop spreading those rumors!"

The man’s sharp rebuke caused the youth to flinch and pull back.

Deep down, the man felt the same way—the Dragon Spine Song Family now held direct authority over more than a hundred River Systems without any interference from the Four Great Empires. Such a thing was unheard of in the thirty-thousand-year history of the Torch Civilization.

Still, regardless of his personal theories, until the Dragon Spine Song Family officially declared the birth of a new Torch Empire, these were just stories. If such talk became public and the Four Great Empires shifted their stance, those words could be used as a weapon against them.

...

Corpse Ghost Continent, the Song family’s temporary base.

"Yiming, give me an update on the progress of the subordinate immigration."

"Uncle Chi, thanks to a century of the family's hard work and the use of two Space Wormhole Generators, the Corpse Emperor Clan River System Group is now fully under our control. We’ve moved citizens into ninety River Systems. The most populated has over ten billion people, while even the slowest has surpassed three billion."

Song Chi listened to the report, and while the progress was decent, he wasn't entirely satisfied.

Whether it was three billion or ten billion, it was a drop in the bucket for an entire River System.

A standard River System usually holds hundreds of billions of Torch citizens, with resource-rich areas often housing trillions.

The population density of Torch citizens in a River System is vital; a larger population leads to more Torch Ship Captains. In turn, the number of captains dictates the rate at which "Torch Fortune" is produced in that region. Naturally, Song Chi was deeply concerned with these figures.

These numbers would be the deciding factor in his future attempt to ascend to the level of a Mythical Immortal Ship.

Because of this, the family had deployed all five of its Explorer-class Deep Space Carriers, including two that were finished in the last millennium. All seven of these massive vessels were now dedicated to the "Interstellar Migration" project.

The Song family wasn't alone in this; the Four Great Empires, hundreds of kingdoms, and various major powers were all racing to move populations into the Corpse Emperor Clan River System Group, hoping to reap the rewards of developing such a massive territory.