Kindling Awakening

Morning Star Duchy, Golden Shark Star Domain, White Tower Floating Continent.

Jiangyuan City, outskirts, ultra-long-range Star Sea deployment platform.

As a pillar of light a thousand meters tall shot into the sky, the hundred Kindling Starships that had been neatly parked on the platform just moments ago vanished completely, deployed into an unknown and distant starry expanse.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, in Jiangyuan City, one of the five major cities on White Tower Floating Continent.

Jiangyuan First Ember Academy, Boys' Dormitory Building No. 3. Song Chi took off his virtual helmet and logged out of the White Tower Network.

Tension appeared on his face. What he had just watched was the live Star Sea deployment broadcast for this year's graduates of Jiangyuan City's Kindling Academy.

And after Jiangyuan City, it would be Jiangyuan City's turn. As a graduating student of Jiangyuan First Ember Academy, that meant the scene from the livestream would soon be his own reality.

Ultra-long-range Star Sea deployment, exploring an unknown Star Sea—how could he not be nervous at the thought of experiencing both for himself so soon?

Yet beneath that nervousness, a trace of anticipation surfaced in his eyes. This was also a rare opportunity. If he could seize it, soaring to greatness was not impossible.

This was a grand age of the Star Sea. Tens of millions of years ago, the multiverse shattered, and countless fragments of cosmic continents left behind by the destruction of universes scattered throughout the void of the Star Sea.

Thus, the Multiverse Era came to an end, and a new age emerged. The remnants of various civilizations called it—the Shattered Star Sea Era.

Those surviving fragments of cosmic continents gained a new name over the long passage of time—Star Sea Floating Continents.

Before long, the civilizations of all races discovered that, as the ultimate essence left behind by the shattered universes of the Multiverse Era, most Star Sea Floating Continents contained countless rare resources.

To fight over those resources, the surviving civilizations refused to yield to one another, and war spread throughout the entire Shattered Star Sea.

Over the past tens of millions of years, countless civilizations had perished in every corner of the boundless Shattered Star Sea at every moment, vanishing into the long river of time. Yet at the same time, all kinds of new civilizations had continually sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain.

The Kindling Human Civilization was one of them.

Within Kindling Civilization territory, every citizen of civilization could undergo ultra-long-range interstellar deployment aboard a Kindling Starship at the age of thirty, embarking on a journey to explore the Star Sea.

Of course, thanks to the optimization and advancement of genetic technology, the average lifespan of Kindling citizens had reached one hundred and forty years. At present, thirty years old was really only the age of early adulthood.

Ever since the Ember Source Seed was ignited more than three hundred thousand years ago, this had become a rule observed by every member of the Kindling Human Civilization. Legal citizens over the age of thirty could attempt to awaken a Kindling Seed, bind a Kindling Starship, and begin exploring star domains.

They would plunder resources from foreign Star Seas, strengthen their Kindling Starships, elevate their life levels, and use that strength to resist the increasingly powerful alien civilizations bordering Kindling Human Civilization territory, defending the lands of the Kindling Human Civilization.

It could be said that awakening a Kindling Seed and gaining control of a Kindling Starship was the most important opportunity in the life of every Kindling Civilization citizen. Once they awakened successfully and obtained their own Kindling Starship, they would immediately rise above ordinary people.

If they could further strengthen their Kindling Starship to higher ranks, it would not be difficult for them to one day carve out territory, become the lord of a vast star domain, gain a long lifespan, and enter the ranks of Kindling Human Civilization nobility.

Suppressing the strange emotions in his heart, Song Chi stood up, spread his legs into a horse stance, raised both hands with his palms facing upward, and slowly opened them.

This was the standard cultivation posture for the Guidance Art.

According to the authoritative official data of the Kindling Human Civilization, the Guidance Art, developed over tens of thousands of years by the Kindling Human Civilization, could not only strengthen the body and promote the elevation of one's life level, but also effectively improve the chances of successfully awakening a Kindling Seed. The higher one's Guidance Art cultivation level before the age of thirty, the greater the chance of successfully awakening a Kindling Seed.

As for why the age for awakening a Kindling Seed had been set at thirty.

The reason was simple. Based on the average lifespan of one hundred and forty years, awakening a Kindling Seed and controlling a Kindling Starship at thirty gave people enough time to practice the Guidance Art and greatly improve their awakening chances, while also ensuring they did not fall behind in learning the foundational knowledge of the Star Sea. This effectively reduced the mortality rate during later exploration of foreign star domains after successfully awakening a Kindling Seed.

The remaining hundred years would also be more than enough to strengthen one's Kindling Starship and further elevate one's life level. It achieved three goals at once.

Three hours later, Song Chi finished his training.

After more than twenty years of uninterrupted cultivation, his Guidance Art had long reached Lv. 4. Improving it further was no longer something that could be done in a short time.

Night had already fallen outside, and he had no intention of continuing his training. After washing up, he went straight to bed.

Tomorrow was the day of Kindling Awakening. Being well-rested was more important than anything else.

The next day, the grounds of Jiangyuan First Ember Academy.

The awakening ceremony had begun early.

"Zhang Lili, Kindling Awakening successful. Quality: 'Colorless.' Next, Zhou Pengfei."

As the White Tower Ember Bureau agent's clear voice rang out, the hundreds of students beneath the Awakening Platform reacted in different ways.

Some sighed softly, but more had envy in their eyes.

Although every legal citizen of the Kindling Civilization could attempt to awaken a Kindling Seed at thirty, the success rate was not actually high. Based on the average success rate of Jiangyuan First Ember Academy in previous years, having four out of every ten students awaken successfully was already considered very good.

And this was Jiangyuan First Ember Academy, where the elite gathered. The success rates at the other Kindling Academies in the city were only lower.

Among the crowd, Song Chi was like most of the others. While feeling envious, he clenched his fists tightly, exceptionally nervous.

"Thirty years. It all comes down to today."

As the thought crossed his mind, the announcement sounded again.

"Zhou Pengfei, Kindling Awakening failed. Next..."

"Zhao Yunfeng, Kindling Awakening successful. Quality: 'Colorless.'"

As students succeeded or failed one after another, it was soon the turn of Class 5, Grade 10, where Song Chi was.

"Next, Sun Hao."

At the sound of the call, the nearly two-meter-tall figure beside Song Chi, built like a black bear, shuddered.

Seeing this, Song Chi gently patted the other man's shoulder, signaling him to relax.

"Haozi, good luck."

The burly man was Sun Hao, one of Song Chi's few close friends at the academy.

Sun Hao nodded lightly and strode toward the Awakening Platform.

Not long after.

"Sun Hao, Kindling Awakening successful. Quality: 'White.'"

Immediately, bursts of startled cries rose from the students.

Everyone knew that while they were all awakening Kindling Seeds, the quality of those Kindling Seeds was divided into different grades. Colorless was the lowest, followed by white, then blue, purple, and beyond.

White might only be the second-lowest aptitude, but it often appeared only once among dozens of awakened individuals. As for qualities like blue and purple, the chances of awakening them were exceedingly, exceedingly low.

A smile appeared on Song Chi's face. He was sincerely happy for his friend.

As expected, the moment Sun Hao stepped down from the platform, he was soon met with friendly greetings from many classmates. Even those who had barely exchanged a few words with him over the past ten years gathered around, hoping to build a little rapport.

It was not that everyone was simply snobbish. In truth, Sun Hao was indeed a hot commodity at that moment.

With a white-quality Kindling Seed, outside forces such as small financial syndicates, chambers of commerce, and families would absolutely be more than willing to invest in him. As long as Sun Hao nodded and signed a legal investment agreement, he would soon receive a considerable investment in resources for strengthening his Kindling Starship. With that, the future improvement speed of his Kindling Starship would far surpass that of other awakened individuals.

After all, all initial Kindling Starships started at Level 0. Upgrading and strengthening their components later required considerable resources. Without sufficient financial backing, the pace of upgrading would be extremely slow.

"Next, Song Chi!"

After four consecutive awakening failures, it was finally Song Chi's turn.

Beside him, Sun Hao gave him an encouraging look as well.

Song Chi took a deep breath, suppressed the nervousness in his heart, and strode toward the Awakening Platform.

On the raised platform, under the guidance of the Kindling Bureau agent, Song Chi extended his right hand toward the pitch-black flame before him.

The pitch-black flame was called the "Ember Source Seed." Though it was not the original flame within the core star domain of the Kindling Human Civilization, it had been separated from it and could assist the human body in awakening a Kindling Seed, increasing the success rate.

Song Chi felt warmth envelop his right palm. It seemed to last only an instant, yet it also seemed as though ten thousand years had passed. Only when a needle-like sting came from his right palm did he open his tightly shut eyes again.

Before he could react, the announcement had already reached his ears.

"Song Chi, Kindling Awakening successful. Quality: 'Colorless.'"

As he walked down from the Awakening Platform, Song Chi felt a mixture of emotions, caught between joy and worry.

He was happy that he had successfully awakened a Kindling Seed. His future path toward transcendence would be smoother, and the efforts of the past thirty years had not been wasted.

But he was worried about the quality of his Kindling Seed. As the lowest-grade Kindling Seed, the Colorless Kindling Seed had a very low ceiling. It was fine in the early stages, but if he could not raise its quality, the strengthening of his Kindling Starship would inevitably stagnate over time, cutting off his later path toward transcendence.

"Hiss!"

Just as his thoughts were running wild, a sudden scorching sensation came from his chest. Song Chi's gaze sharpened as he realized something, and he thought to himself.

The Star Sea Market Token is heating up. What's going on? It's the first time this has happened in thirty years.

He returned to where his class was gathered, his face full of confusion. Yet to outsiders, he looked utterly dejected.

"Brother Chi, don't overthink it. The quality of a Kindling Seed can be improved. Being Colorless is nothing..."

Sun Hao assumed Song Chi had been dealt a blow and hurriedly tried to comfort him.

Song Chi shook his head lightly to indicate that he was fine. He was not forcing a smile; he truly did not care that much.

At the moment the result of the Colorless Kindling Seed had been announced, he had indeed felt somewhat disappointed. But he quickly recovered.

Just as Sun Hao had said, the grade of a Kindling Seed could be raised. Though it was extremely difficult and required exceptionally rare special resources, as a transmigrator, he was confident that he could slowly raise the grade of his own Kindling Seed.

That was right, he was a transmigrator, and he had even transmigrated into this world as a fetus.

What he was curious about now was the Star Sea Market Token hanging from his chest.

As the cause of his transmigration, the thing that had brought him here from Blue Star in his previous life as a fetus, he had become absolutely certain over the past thirty years that this Star Sea Market Token was his golden finger.

How could he not care when his golden finger was undergoing an unknown change?

Curious as he was, Song Chi could not exactly take it out in public and inspect it on the spot. Fortunately, the burning sensation gradually faded before long.

About half an hour later, the awakening ceremony for all graduating students of Jiangyuan First Academy was complete.

Out of more than six hundred students, fewer than two hundred had successfully awakened Kindling Seeds.

Crying, laughter, cries of surprise, wails of despair... the entire plaza instantly erupted into an uproar. Some rejoiced, while others grieved.

After all, from this day onward, the paths of the two groups would be completely different.