As time passed, the number of creatures in the Market Ruins continued to grow, soon reaching several hundred. Intimidated by the ten First-Rank Fire Sunflower Soldiers, these beings of different races remained exceptionally orderly. After several hours, not a single troublemaker appeared, which somewhat surprised Song Chi.
In a short time, all the goods he had bought wholesale yesterday sold out. With prices raised by at least threefold, he made a hefty profit.
Yet amid his delight, Song Chi also sighed inwardly.
His starting capital had truly been too limited. Even with the severalfold price difference, this batch of goods had earned him less than a thousand strands of Zero-Rank Floating Continent Essence. It was not a small amount, but it certainly was not much either.
Fortunately, trading in the free stall area continued uninterruptedly, and the transaction tax alone could earn Song Chi quite a bit more.
With funds worth more than a thousand strands of Zero-Rank Floating Continent Essence in hand, Song Chi felt considerably more confident. He disguised himself as an ordinary trader and mingled among the stalls.
Of course, saying he had over a thousand strands of Zero-Rank Floating Continent Essence was merely a figure of speech. It did not mean he actually possessed that much Floating Continent Essence. In truth, he currently held more Life Cores. Calculated according to the exchange rate within Kindling Human Civilization territory, their total value merely exceeded a thousand strands of Zero-Rank Floating Continent Essence.
Resources like Floating Continent Essence were generally used as currency only by intermediate Star Sea civilizations and above. For lower civilizations, Life Cores were the true hard currency.
The street stall area was not large. A space of 10m x 10m was exceptionally cramped for several hundred intelligent Star Sea beings.
Seeing this, Song Chi could only spend 150 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Continent Essence to raise the Market Ruins from lv0 to lv5.
Amid the uncertain surprise of the hundreds of intelligent beings, the Myriad Heavens Market rapidly expanded, soon growing from 100m x 100m to 300m x 300m.
At the same time, the stall area expanded from a pitiful 10m x 10m to 30m x 30m. It was still crowded, but far better than before.
Name: Myriad Heavens Market Market Ruins Owner: Song Chi Level: lv5 Dimensions: 300m x 300m Basic Facilities: 24 vacant shops, 1 30m x 30m street stall area, 1 one-story inn (30 guest rooms), 1 lv0 All-Attribute Cultivation Room (Void Energy cultivation efficiency doubled), 1 lv0 Void Energy Protective Array, 1 lv0 Ultra-Long Range Random Space Gate Deployment Platform. Additional Facilities: None (0/4) Trait: Disaster Evasion (can move freely through the void, instinctively avoiding natural disasters) Upgrade Requirements: 60 strands of Floating Continent Essence (Zero Rank), Market Ruins transaction volume reaching 600 strands of Floating Continent Essence (Zero Rank) Remarks: An inconspicuous little Market Ruins located on the dark side of the Shattered Star Sea. It seemingly only allows beings below First Rank to enter, though its potential is decent.
Looking at the Market Ruins attribute panel visible only to him, Song Chi frowned slightly.
Even the Additional Facilities section had gained two more slots after the Market Ruins rose to lv5. Yet the All-Attribute Cultivation Room, Ultra-Long Range Random Space Gate Deployment Platform, and Void Energy Protective Array had not changed at all. If he wanted to strengthen those three later, he would clearly need to spend additional resources.
Learning this naturally did little to improve his mood.
The only thing that comforted him was that the monthly opening of the Market Ruins still brought considerable returns. As long as he had enough starting capital and the space gates were deployed in decent locations, the profits would remain stable.
After upgrading the Market Ruins, Song Chi began wandering among the stalls, hoping to find a bargain.
Prices varied across the Shattered Star Sea. Perhaps some cheap items in the hands of other races were resources desperately scarce within Kindling Human Civilization territory.
As his gaze swept across one stall after another, Song Chi kept shaking his head.
"One ton of Refined Iron Ore for twenty Zero-Rank Life Cores? That's twice the market price outside. Even a dog would shake its head at that."
"Two tons of Mithril Ore for eight First-Rank Life Cores. That is a little cheaper than market price, but without a sales channel, I'd actually lose money selling it through the black market. No good."
More than ten minutes later, Song Chi halted before a small stall set up by a bull-headed man.
His gaze seemed to wander aimlessly, but the corner of his eye remained fixed on a palm-sized black sphere.
Marvel: Fine-Gold Rawstone Quality: White Can Evolve Into: 1 {Golden Moon Guan Dao}, 2 {Golden Rock Shield}, 3 {Golden Rock Hull Armor} Remarks: A superior product among white marvels.
This ordinary-looking black spherical object was, astonishingly, a white marvel.
When he first discovered it, Song Chi had been extremely excited. When he spoke of finding bargains earlier, he had merely hoped to uncover a batch of goods with a price difference. He had never considered Star Sea marvels at all, much less expected to encounter such a tremendous surprise.
Every Star Sea marvel was exceedingly precious and required an extremely long time to form. Even the lowest-grade white marvels were no exception.
Pretending to inspect the other goods on the stall, Song Chi finally picked up the black sphere as though by chance.
"What is this?"
Hearing his question, the bull-headed stall owner scratched its head somewhat sheepishly. It had obtained this item after killing a warrior from a hostile tribe, but had never figured out what sort of ore it was. It only knew that it was exceptionally hard; even the tribe's finest blacksmith could not smelt it.
"If you want it, give me 100 Zero-Rank Life Cores. This ore is of very high quality. Once forged into a weapon, its destructive power will definitely be astonishing."
Song Chi frowned and began bargaining.
"You don't even know what kind of metal ore it is. One hundred Zero-Rank Life Cores is too expensive. How about half that—fifty?"
If he agreed immediately, the other party would inevitably grow suspicious. Only after several rounds of haggling could he avoid arousing suspicion.
In the end, Song Chi bought the white marvel for seventy-five Zero-Rank Life Cores.
Looking at the Fine-Gold Rawstone in his hand, his expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he was already grinning from ear to ear.
As its name implied, Fine-Gold Rawstone and Adamantine Ore were essentially the same type of ore. However, Fine-Gold Rawstone was formed from the concentrated essence of an entire large adamantine vein, making it far more valuable than Adamantine Ore.
Its attribute panel also showed that, as a metal-element marvel, it could not only be transformed into Hull Armor for a Kindling Starship, but also into individually used weapons and shields.
Having tasted success, Song Chi became even more eager. He appeared around the various stalls with increasing frequency, but he did not discover a second Star Sea marvel.
Along the way, he did buy several batches of supplies rarely seen within Kindling Civilization territory. Even if he later sold them through the black market, he could still earn over a hundred strands of Zero-Rank Floating Continent Essence. Better than nothing.
Second by second, time passed. As more than half of this Market Ruins opening had already elapsed, Song Chi's expression grew somewhat unpleasant.
He clearly remembered designating one space gate to be deployed in a Mechanical Clan civilization territory recorded by Kindling Human Civilization. Yet not a single Mechanical Clan member had entered the Market Ruins so far, leaving him rather disappointed.
Before you continue