Life energy

A red sun broke through the rosy clouds and leaped above the eastern horizon, showering the earth with countless rays of golden light in the blink of an eye!

The sun rose, and the moon set!

Dawn had arrived!

The early sunlight mingled with the dew on the grass, carrying a hint of coolness and warmth.

Tianjing Mountain opened once again, and another wave of tourists began entering the mountain. But Yang Yu was nowhere to be seen in the boulder field where he had been earlier.

Before dawn arrived, Yang Yu had quietly left.

The boulder field on Tianjing Mountain, known to the outside world as the "Ring of Heaven," was naturally one of its tourist attractions. As crowds poured in, some visitors gradually discovered traces of the damage Yang Yu had left behind.

"Look!" A cute girl in a floral sundress, with a camera hanging around her neck, wore a look of surprise.

"Hasn't something moved this huge rock?"

"Huh?" Her startled cry immediately drew the attention of her companions.

"It really has. This rock should've been over here, five meters away." A thin man wearing glasses stepped forward and crouched a short distance from the boulder. Pointing at a circular depression, he said, "There's still an indentation here from a rock pressing down on the ground for years. Judging by its shape and size, this moved boulder must have left it!"

"But how is that possible? There aren't any tracks from a heavy crane here. And Tianjing Mountain is a famous scenic area. They wouldn't allow heavy machinery in here to damage it, would they?" The man in glasses looked puzzled.

"A rock this big must weigh at least five hundred kilos..."

"What could move it without heavy machinery?"

"This is unbelievable!" Surprise and confusion filled his face, along with the excitement of someone who had discovered a whole new world!

The group immediately erupted into chatter.

This was only one of the traces Yang Yu had left behind.

The previous night, Yang Yu had spent quite some time testing his body in various ways. With his current monstrous physique, he could leave damage across a very, very large area.

Beyond that first displaced boulder, more and more obvious signs of man-made damage were discovered as increasing numbers of tourists entered.

Naturally, this caused quite a stir.

Eventually, even the scenic area's security staff were alerted and came to investigate.

Their investigation yielded nothing, of course.

As a result, the story grew increasingly fantastical with each retelling. This boulder field on Tianjing Mountain had always possessed an air of mystery, which was precisely what had brought the mountain widespread fame and made it a renowned tourist destination!

Now that such a bizarre incident had occurred, word of mouth among the tourists once again shrouded the boulder field in unfathomable mystery.

For a time, rumors of aliens and supernatural incidents spread everywhere.

Little did they know that the culprit behind it all was merely a human with a nose and eyes just like theirs.

And that culprit, Yang Yu, had already returned home.

He was once again in his study at home. The desk and chairs had been moved and arranged in one corner, clearing a large space.

Yang Yu had put the dozens of varieties of insects, snakes, ants, and other creatures he had caught on the mountain into small cages and transparent plastic containers he had purchased.

Naturally, he had not caught them simply because he was bored.

There was nothing rare about these insects and animals.

They were all commonplace creatures.

Yang Yu had caught them for one simple purpose: to test Life Energy!

As the most important power in the Insect Race's inheritance, Life Energy naturally needed testing now that Yang Yu had begun to possess it. And the best way to test it was undoubtedly to use its ability to modify other living creatures!

That was also precisely where Life Energy was most powerful!

The Life Energy naturally produced within Yang Yu's body carried his Life Imprint. Any life modified or created by that power would bear his mark at the deepest level of its genes.

With that life imprint in place, no matter how powerful the creatures he created became, they would all have to obey Yang Yu.

With a single thought, Yang Yu could easily decide whether they lived or died!

"My life energy has only just emerged. It's still in its most basic, most primitive state. Although life energy in this form can modify all sorts of ordinary creatures, it definitely can't create the terrifying beasts described in the insect civilization inheritance, the ones powerful enough to destroy heaven and earth!"

"I probably can't modify even slightly stronger creatures."

"But... those ordinary creatures, once modified, will definitely be much stronger than the life currently found on Earth!"

"Even if the subject is just an ant I could casually crush, the same holds true."

"All right, let's begin." Yang Yu took a deep breath and walked straight toward the row of cages on the left side of the room, which held the various insects, snakes, ants, and other creatures. A moment later, he held a plastic container in his hand. Inside, a black beetle the size of an adult's fingernail crawled back and forth.

"Life Energy!"

"Penetrate!" Yang Yu's eyes opened wide, veins bulging on his forehead. At the same time, an icy-blue power flowed through his fingers, passed straight through the thin plastic container, and landed on the rapidly crawling black beetle.

At that instant, the black beetle abruptly froze as though struck by lightning!

Its body swelled, growing an entire size larger at a speed almost visible to the naked eye!

"It's working!" Yang Yu's eyes lit up, and he immediately increased the flow of Life Energy from his hand.

Whoooosh~~~~~~~~~~

As that stream of Life Energy entered its body, the motionless black beetle grew larger again.

Crack!

Soon, the black beetle had grown to the size of a fist. It even burst the plastic container that had held it, scattering fragments across the floor!

From that moment onward, the black beetle continued growing wildly, like a demon freed from the confines of its shell!

It reached the size of a basketball, yet still did not stop!

It grew to the size of a washbasin and continued getting larger!

Crack, crack, crack!

Layers of shattered black material slid off the beetle's shell. These were the shells it had shed as it repeatedly grew within that brief span.

Finally, when it had grown as large as a millstone, Yang Yu sensed a trace of resistance against the Life Energy he was continually feeding into its body.

"Huh?"

"Has it reached its limit?" Yang Yu blinked and frowned.

"My Life Energy is still very primitive. It can't extensively modify a creature's internal structure at all. At most, it can enlarge the creature and greatly increase its combat strength... it can't change its original fundamental traits."

As he analyzed the situation, Yang Yu's frown deepened.

"No, that's not right." A hint of doubt flashed through his eyes.

"Even if this is only the most basic life energy, modifying a little beetle shouldn't stop here! Life energy is the very foundation of the Insectoid Civilization, its most essential power. Its ability to modify creatures can't possibly be limited to this."

"Let's try again!" Yang Yu tried forcing another surge of Life Energy into the black beetle's body.

Immediately, he felt an incredibly powerful resistance!

PS: Thanks to the readers "Nameless and Heavenless" and "Panda Plays a Divine Tune" for their tips!