Global Era of Star trekking Chapter 1857 - 902: Star Sea·South Pole
Previously on Global Era of Star trekking...
In Expedition Calendar Year 570, the collapse of the final mother planet stronghold belonging to the "Ghost Shadow Songstress" civilization brought an end to most hostilities across the Beiji Sea River System Cluster.
Meanwhile, triumphant reports arrived from the Black Abyss Star Core River System Cluster, as the combined armada of the Shenxia Dynasty and Chi Yu Divine Dynasty crushed the defiant "Dark Star Devourer" civilization in a lightning assault, signaling the close of the aggressive expansion stage in both river system clusters.
Over the coming centuries, the Five Great Empires along with their allied factions will focus on absorbing, merging, and developing these freshly acquired domains.
Enormous construction armadas and settler convoys took over from the battle fleets, racing through the subjugated river systems, while vast standardized interstellar gateways for long-range travel sprang up rapidly, linking the expanded regions to the vital transport networks of the Torch Civilization.
Survey vessels plunged into desolate stellar zones, asteroid fields, and even the cores of Drifting Continents, charting precise maps of available resources.
Myriads of settlement vessels ferried waves of top-tier colonists from the Five Great Empires to worlds that had been terraformed and rendered livable.
...
Ancestral Realm, Torch Humanity Galaxy Cluster.
A summit organized by the five Torch Ancestral Courts of the Torch Civilization kicked off shortly after the war, and following a collective decision, the expansive holdings of the Beiji Sea River System Cluster (spanning roughly 760 river systems) and the Black Abyss Star Core River System Cluster (covering about 850 river systems), amounting to more than 1,600 river systems in total, underwent a precise allocation.
As the backbone entities of the civilization, the Five Great Empires each claimed 300 river systems for direct control, adding up to 1,500 river systems—typically the ones brimming with the richest resources and highest strategic value.
The leftover hundred-plus river systems fell to the established internal powers that shone in the campaign, encompassing major factions, Immortal Clans, mega-corporations, and standout independent explorer squads and alliances.
Suddenly, the whole Torch Civilization buzzed with excitement over discoveries and gains, as floods of exotic ores, power gems, genetic blueprints from alien life, Starry Sea Curios, and elite Drifting Continent Cores poured back to the heartlands, vastly bolstering the civilization's stockpiles and long-term reserves.
Every perceptive figure understood that assimilating these two fresh galaxy clusters would propel the Torch Civilization to unimaginable heights in power and stability.
In the millennia ahead, the civilization as a whole will explode into an era of explosive advancement never seen before, spawning hordes of fresh Annihilation Starship Commanders, Galaxy Commanders, Superdimensional Commanders, and even legendary bound species across the factions—like sprouts bursting forth in spring—building deeper roots to tackle the looming savage clash of the "Heaven-Fighting Ruins" grand battle.
Yet, while the civilization poured its energies into building up the new lands and reveled in the thrill of surging might, Song Chi gradually awoke in the All-Attributes Cultivation Chamber of Zhu Tian Ruins Market.
His gaze held profound depths, mirroring the boundless Star Sea, showing scant interest in the civilization's expanded frontiers but instead a spark of adventure and gravity.
"1,600 river systems... they will surely fortify the civilization's base immensely, yet against that, the legendary 'South Pole' stirs my passion far more."
He whispered to himself, his sight as if piercing countless spatial barriers to fix on some remote point in the far-off cosmos.
Through his senses, the Heavenly Destiny Compass—snatched from the former Overlord Immortal Domain civilization, boasting a seven-hued pinnacle rank—steadfastly directed southward across the star sea, zeroing in on the enigmatic "Star Sea·South Pole."
This fabled "Star Sea·South Pole" had long ignited his intense interest, though duties had kept him bound. Seizing the last quiet interval before Heaven-Fighting Ruins crumbled, he pondered venturing forth at last.
A gut feeling told him that the enigmas concealed there could unlock paths beyond the present mythical stage, touching on genuine ascension.
With a mere mental command, across endless billions of light-years, a colossal vessel streaked with flowing crimson shadows, concealed in the void's depths—the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong—silently wrapped up its latest hyper-leap, materializing in an utterly alien empty stellar expanse.
For close to a millennium, the bulk of Song Chi's mind had merged with the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong, steering it southward relentlessly on this solitary odyssey without end.
He entered this quest fully equipped.
The warship's central propulsion units had just undergone refinement via two brand-new Tenth Rank Golden Apples, upgrading to three-hued excellence, bolstered by the subordinate Red Vault Leap Engine and Void Leap Engine, allowing the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong's standard leaps to cover astonishing spans.
Moreover, the Mirror Space Tunnel Creator, likewise uplifted to three-hued status by the Golden Apple, enabled tunnels stretching across trillions of light-years per activation, catapulting the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong's transit pace to realms beyond words.
Leveraging these trio of stellar voyage masterpieces, the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong pressed on southward with velocities defying the grasp of typical mythical beings, outstripping voyages that standard civilizations deemed impossible across eons.
Right then, Song Chi's spectral form lingered in the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong's command center, staring into the pitch-black emptiness devoid of any stellar flickers, then eyeing the adjacent domain chart on the Heavenly Destiny Compass—its overlay with the "Extreme South" markers still incomplete, needle quivering faintly. He shook his head with a soft exhale.