Chapter 218: Chapter 140: Subsidiary Branch Residence · Golden Merit Points_2

“`

“However, before going to the residence, I suggest you make a trip to the Merit Hall first. You’ll need Merit Points to call upon those mountain-moving Soldier Figurines and for all sorts of required construction materials.”

…

The family clan, Merit Hall.

As a group of people walked into the hall located at the foot of the mountain, occupying the highest position among the five main halls of the Song family, Song Chi discovered that there were already people waiting for them in the Merit Hall, but it was no longer the representatives of the various family veins; it was a Deputy Hall Master of the Merit Hall.

In the Song family’s five main halls, each hall is managed by one Hall Master and two Deputy Hall Masters. The one before them, named Song Rui’an, came from The First Direct Lineage.

As everyone entered the Merit Hall, they soon each received a special communication bracelet.

“This is a Quantum Communicator developed by our clan’s Technology Department. It is capable of providing real-time communication throughout the Dragon Spine Continent, and each person’s Merit Points are recorded on this Quantum Communication Bracelet,” said Song Rui’an calmly from above the hall.

Upon hearing this, curious members of the clan like Song You began to activate their Quantum Communication Bracelets. After completing the binding, they quickly saw their personal detailed information projected on the virtual interface of the bracelet’s homepage.

Name: Song You

Age: 30

Seed of Torch: Blue

Affiliation: Tenth Direct Vein

Torch Warship: First Rank Spectral Airship [Aoyou]

Merit Points: None

Golden Merit Points: None

…

Seeing this, Song Chi also checked his own communication bracelet. Finding it identical to the others, he focused on the [Golden Merit Points] section of the virtual interface for a few seconds, curious about what it actually was and how it differed from ordinary Merit Points.

But before he had time to ponder further, the Deputy Hall Master of the Merit Hall, Song Rui’an above the hall, spoke again.

“Song Mingsong, Song Shan, recognized by the Prime Ancestor as the main contributors to our family’s new control over the ‘Moruo Secret Realm,’ you are now awarded 100,000 Merit Points and 10 Golden Merit Points,” he announced.

Following the grandfather and uncle, it was not Song Hai or Bai Xiuqin, the Second Rank Torch Ship Captains, who were next, but Song Chi.

“Song Chi, as a secondary contributor, you are now awarded 50,000 Merit Points and 5 Golden Merit Points.”

“Bai Xiuqin, Song Hai, Song Chao… Chen Lixia, you are… now awarded 30,000 Merit Points and 3 Golden Merit Points.”

“Song Qi, Song Lin… the four of you are each awarded 30,000 Merit Points.”

As his words finished, the Quantum Communication Bracelets of all those present chimed with notifications, reflecting changes in their Merit Points.

Without giving them a moment to start a discussion, Song Rui’an’s gaze from above settled on Song Mingsong standing at the forefront.

Realizing this, Song Mingsong quickly reacted. A flash of light in his hand revealed the miniaturized Moruo Space-Escape Mech, and he once again summoned the Furious Lion from the outside world, bringing out the Fourth Rank member of the Moruo Royal Family who had been sealed and remaining in a dormant state.

With the appearance of these two, personnel from the Merit Hall swiftly took them away with care.

Seeing this, Song Mingsong had no other thoughts in his mind.

The Moruo Secret Realm itself was only a compensation for past mistakes, and the substantial Merit Points amassed by the family members were actually due to the Moruo Space-Escape Mech and the Fourth Rank Moruo Royal Family member.

A Fourth Rank unit with formidable combat power is certainly worth more than just these Merit Points, but the original grantor was the projection of the Prime Ancestor. They, as a family, were merely benefiting from the actions and planning. To gain such a significant amount of Merit, he was already very satisfied.

“Alright, if there’s nothing else, you may leave for now. Get the branch residence in order quickly, as there is a mission that needs to be entrusted to you!” he said.

“`

Atop the grand hall, Deputy Hall Master Song Rui’an gently waved his hand, while also urging Song Ming Song with a few words.

Song Mingsong nodded and turned to leave, but he asked one final question before departing.

“Deputy Hall Master, may I inquire if it is now possible to enter the [Immortal Puppet Secret Realm]?”

Song Rui’an waved his hand again.

“The [Immortal Puppet Secret Realm] is currently undergoing time acceleration. It’ll take about half a month or so. After the acceleration is over, you can take these youngsters there!”

Upon hearing this, Song Mingsong’s eyes lit up.

“Time acceleration in the secret realm? May I ask what kind of timespan is being accelerated?”

To this question, Song Rui’an didn’t hold back and gave a direct answer.

“Ten thousand years!”

Hearing these two words, Song Mingsong’s face instantly beamed with joy. First, he bowed gratefully towards the figure above, then led the people behind him out of the grand hall.

Above the Dragon Ridge Continent Sky, the Furious Lion sped at full throttle, followed by twenty warships called in from the construction department.

These warships were all loaded with [Soldier Figurine Tree Component] meant for construction. Once they reached Green Moon Lake, it wouldn’t take long to preliminarily build their lineage’s dwelling.

Inside the Furious Lion’s engine room, Song Chi played with the new quantum communication bracelet on his hand and spoke to Song Mingsong in the main control room:

“Grandfather, apart from the direct lineage, does our family also have side lineages? Over more than two thousand years, how could there possibly be only 10 direct lineages?”

“And about that continental survey map we saw earlier, there are many Third Rank Origin Eruption Eyes that remain unclaimed and unpressed; they are simply allowing these eruption eyes to dissipate Floating Land Origin. Could it be that the family lacks manpower?”

Listening to these two questions, Song Mingsong explained with a smile:

“The family only has direct lineages and legitimate lineages; all others are classified as members of side branches, with no side lineages as such. The reason there are only ten direct lineages until now is simple: our family has a clear rule that only Torch Ship Captains of Third Rank and above have the qualifications to open a lineage.”

Hearing this, Song Chi’s brow was still not fully smoothed out. With nearly ten million Song family blood relatives accumulated over more than two thousand years, even those who have been promoted to the Third Rank due to fortuitous encounters should number not less than several hundred. If one truly wished to open a lineage, there should be more than just ten direct lineages, shouldn’t there?

However, Song Mingsong obviously had more to say, and he continued:

“But having the qualifications to open a lineage doesn’t necessarily mean one must do so. Nearly ninety-nine percent of these family members promoted to Third Rank choose to join one of the three major lineages—the first, second, or third. Those who choose to open new lineages, besides obtaining a source eruption eye as a territory, would need to subsidize it with their own money for a considerable initial period.

“By comparison, joining those powerful lineages is much stronger: not only do you get a stable income, if you are outstanding, you can even receive resource support from your own lineage. Additionally, considering the exclusive resources each lineage holds, joining an established one is far more secure and easier than starting your own.”

Upon hearing this explanation, Song Chi and the others finally nodded in realization. This made things more or less understandable.

At this moment, his father, Song Chao, added more information.

“Additionally, over the past millennia, there have been direct lineages that have disbanded due to various accidents, lacking a Third Rank Torch Ship Captain to preside over them.”

Up ahead, the grandfather’s voice rang out again.

“As for those high-level Origin Eruption Eyes, the reason we allow them to dissipate the Floating Land Origin on their own is that a high-level piece of Floating Land is not merely valuable for its ability to stably produce high-level Floating Land Origin. What is also crucial is the unique environment atop the Floating Land that can nurture high-level Starry Sea Oddities.”

“And to preserve this kind of environment, we can’t entirely cut off the supply of high-level Floating Land Origin!”

PS: Regarding the issue of the height of the Dragon Spine Sacred Mountain… well, in the setting of this book, a Level 5 Life form is only tens of thousands of meters in size, so I can’t possibly come up with a mountain trillions of kilometers high, right?

As for a diameter of ten light-years, I’m clearer on this than you, so there’s no need to dwell on the logical issue between this diameter and height. It’s just a novel, after all; we’re not writing a scientific tome here.

Also, regarding the generational naming of the Song family, I did write about this when I started the book, but after trying to sort it out, I realized that organizing a lineage spanning nearly three thousand years was incredibly difficult—headache-inducing difficult. So, in the end, I didn’t go through with it. Just bear with it!

(I feel like I didn’t write this chapter well)