Insect World

In the reception pavilion in the rear garden of Flying Spirit City's City Lord's Estate, Heavenly Insect and Tian Fu sat facing each other.

"Miss Tian Fu, what did you mean by what you said earlier?"

Heavenly Insect poured her a cup of tea himself and asked in a low voice.

Tian Fu did not answer directly. Instead, she stared at Heavenly Insect's face for a long while before saying, "Before we discuss that, I need to confirm something. Your name is Heavenly Insect, and your father's name was Tian Qu. Is that right?"

Heavenly Insect frowned, surprised that she even knew his background.

"That's right! But how did you find that out?"

Once Heavenly Insect admitted it, Tian Fu's expression softened slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her face. "Good, then. I know because your father and I both came from the Twelfth Branch of the Main Surname. Your father was the Flying Spirit City Inspector before me!"

The Twelfth Branch of the Main Surname? Flying Spirit City Inspector?

These names were all unfamiliar to Heavenly Insect. He did not know whether his body's original owner had never known them or whether the memories he had inherited were incomplete.

Seeing the confusion on Heavenly Insect's face, Tian Fu also froze briefly, apparently not expecting her words to puzzle him.

Moreover, if the records she had read back then were correct, Heavenly Insect was probably over thirty, or at least around her own age. Yet the person before her looked like a youth of seventeen or eighteen...

Had he not personally admitted that his father's name was Tian Qu, she would never have dared to confirm his identity.

"I don't know what happened to make you so young, and I don't want to know. But as long as you admit that your name is Heavenly Insect, that you're Tian Qu's son, and that you grew up in Flying Spirit City, then what I just said is absolutely correct."

Heavenly Insect nodded slightly. After a moment's thought, he asked, "I did encounter some unusual opportunities. They allowed me to reshape my body, but left my memories incomplete. Still, that's all in the past. I'm more interested in this Twelfth Branch of the Main Surname and the Inspectors you mentioned. If you don't mind, Miss Tian Fu, could you explain them in detail?"

Tian Fu nodded, curious about just what sort of opportunity this fellow had encountered to be reborn and reconstruct his body. If she had stumbled upon such good fortune herself, how could the tribe have sent her to such a remote little place?

"Our Spirit Insect Tribe has four main branches. Within each main branch, those of the main surname are the most powerful. The main surname of our Heavenly Meridian is divided into twelve branches, each with a million clansmen bearing the main surname. You and I both come from the last of these twelve branches, the Twelfth Branch."

"As for Inspectors, they're a means for each branch to monitor the forces under its authority."

"Take Flying Spirit City, for example. It falls under our Twelfth Branch's authority, and I'm the Inspector the Twelfth Branch sent here."

"Our duties as Inspectors are actually very simple. We only need to keep an eye on the Supreme Spirit Liquid Flying Spirit City submits to its superiors each year. We can ignore everything else, even something as important as a change of city lord."

"No matter who takes power, as long as he can guarantee that the annual tribute of Supreme Spirit Liquid doesn't fall short, those above won't interfere..."

Heavenly Insect nodded in understanding. Put that way, this Inspector position sounded like a leisurely assignment.

I wonder whether I could use the position to line my pockets a little...

"Then if an Inspector dies, won't those above investigate?" Heavenly Insect asked again.

Hearing his question, Tian Fu immediately realized that he was probably trying to learn about his parents' disappearance.

There was no need for her to conceal this, and she could earn a favor from him in the process. Why not?

"Of course they wouldn't just ignore it!"

"After your father disappeared, those above sent quite a few people to investigate,

but they ultimately returned empty-handed. All they learned was that your parents' disappearance seemed connected to the previous city lord. Yet before they could uncover anything useful, that city lord died too..." Heavenly Insect raised his eyebrows. Recalling some of the original owner's memories and putting them together with Tian Fu's account, he immediately felt that his parents' disappearance might indeed have been more complicated than it seemed.

But since even the investigators sent from above had found nothing back then, now that decades had passed, he probably could not pursue the matter even if he wanted to. Most likely, it would remain an unsolved case indefinitely.

"All right, I understand now. But earlier, you said taking the position of city lord would benefit me. What did you mean?" Heavenly Insect put those matters aside for the moment and asked again.

"Because only if you become the lord of Flying Spirit City will we have a chance to meet the Flying Salamander Domain Lord at the Flying Salamander Domain Alliance Gathering in three months!" Tian Fu said, her pretty face entirely serious.

"The Flying Salamander Domain Alliance Gathering? Meet the Domain Lord?"

Heavenly Insect's frown deepened.

"Tian Yuan, the Flying Salamander Domain Lord, is the son of Tian Zhe, an elder of the Twelfth Branch. He's said to be a seventh-grade Sovereign. Through him, you might truly gain access to the Twelfth Branch's real experts."

Heavenly Insect's eyes lit up. Wasn't that precisely the opportunity he wanted?

Seeing his expression, Tian Fu's lips curved into a faint smile, and she continued, "In six months, the Insect World Opening, which occurs once every three years, will arrive.

Our Twelfth Branch has ten places this time, all to be awarded to geniuses of the younger generation. Among our younger generation, no more than five have reached the Supreme Realm. The remaining five places will most likely go to people below that realm.

With your current combat strength, I think you have a very good chance of competing for those last five places..."

"Exploring the Insect World?!" Heavenly Insect's heart jolted, and excitement instantly swept through him.

After all, the Insect World was the Spirit Insect Tribe's greatest treasure trove!

It contained countless precious treasures that made Spirit Insect Masters drool, vast numbers of powerful ruins, and all kinds of ancient spirit insects already extinct in the outside world. Every one of these could be of tremendous help to a Spirit Insect Master.

"How strong are the most promising members of our Twelfth Branch's younger generation right now?" Heavenly Insect could not help asking.

Tian Fu shook her head with a wry smile.

"How would I know? But I've heard that the person called our Twelfth Branch's greatest genius is someone named Tian Wu. He's not even thirty yet, but he's already a third-grade Sovereign. He also has several powerful sovereign spirit insects, and even a sovereign divine insect. In terms of actual combat strength, he's probably far stronger than the former city lord, Flying Locust!"

At those words, Heavenly Insect immediately grew serious.

A Spirit Insect Master's strength was not determined by cultivation alone. More than half of their combat strength could be said to depend on the spirit insects they controlled!

"Several powerful sovereign spirit insects, and even a sovereign divine insect..." Heavenly Insect murmured.

Although sovereign spirit insects and sovereign divine insects differed by only a single word, the gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth!

It was just like the difference between spirit beasts and divine beasts...

Sovereign spirit insects were insects with spirit-grade bloodlines whose strength had reached the Supreme Realm. Heavenly Insect's current nine revolutions black-whiskered mosquito, for example, was called a heaven-grade spirit insect, but its bloodline was still at the level of a spirit beast, not a divine beast!

As for the precise difference between the two, one needed only to look at how Heavenly Insect, a lowly Three Heavens Realm cultivator, had relied on a sovereign divine insect like the Ancient Sword Butterfly to instantly kill a Sovereign expert like Wu Xiao together with his sovereign spirit insect.

At present, Heavenly Insect's only source of confidence was having a sovereign divine insect with such a powerful bloodline to back him up. Yet when facing those gifted disciples carefully nurtured by the main surname, that trump card instantly lost all its advantage.

Seeing Heavenly Insect's expression darken at a visible pace, Tian Fu offered some reassurance.

"You don't actually need to worry too much. Sovereign divine insects are still rare, after all.

Besides, you have a powerful divine insect like the Ancient Sword Butterfly at your side. Even if you can't compare with the very strongest, you still have a chance to compete for ninth or tenth place. That would also qualify you to explore the Insect World..."

Heavenly Insect nodded silently, agreeing with her.

But he knew perfectly well that things were not as simple as Tian Fu made them sound. To qualify to explore the Insect World, he would at least need to raise his cultivation to the three minor tribulations of the Sovereign...

He would also need to obtain at least one more Sovereign-level spirit insect!

Heavenly Insect was not worried about his spiritual energy cultivation. After all, he still had his little cheat, the Golden Origin Heavenly Silkworm, which could devour Supreme Spirit Liquid. Half a year would be enough for him to break through.

The real difficulty lay with the spirit insects...

Although the nine revolutions black-whiskered mosquito in Ye Chen's possession was absurdly powerful, and could even directly devour the flesh and blood of other heaven-grade spirit insects, its highest level was only comparable to the Divine Soul Tribulation. To break through to the Supreme Realm, it would need the assistance of a specialized nurturing method.

But Heavenly Insect had no such secret method!

Looks like I really will need someone's support to improve my chances... Heavenly Insect muttered inwardly.

Tian Fu had recommended that he establish a connection with Tian Yuan and his father Tian Zhe because Elder Tian Zhe had no gifted disciple worthy of presenting this time. That would inevitably diminish his influence within the Twelfth Branch somewhat.

Heavenly Insect's appearance could make up for precisely that deficiency. It would be a win-win outcome for both sides, and Elder Tian Zhe certainly would not refuse.

In other words, the position of Flying Spirit City's lord was merely a stepping stone for Heavenly Insect. Once he used it to leap onto that high platform, the stepping stone would be of no further use.

If Heavenly Insect truly became one of the young geniuses within the Twelfth Branch of the Main Surname, he would naturally remain within the clan and receive substantial nurturing. How could they leave him in such a remote backwater to serve as some city lord?

As for Tian Fu, thanks to her contribution in recommending him, Domain Lord Tian Yuan might keep her in Flying Salamander Domain. Then she, too, would escape this sea of suffering...

"Three months, then. I can use that time to see whether I can raise my cultivation to the Heaven-reaching Realm. Otherwise, when I meet that Domain Lord, he might not think much of me!"

Tian Fu wholeheartedly agreed.

"You don't need to worry about Flying Spirit City's affairs at all. Just let anyone you like manage them for you. What matters is its resources. Now that you're the city lord, you can use them freely, which is perfect for your cultivation!"

Tian Fu's words spoke straight to Heavenly Insect's heart.

In the days that followed, Heavenly Insect became a hands-off manager, leaving all of Flying Spirit City's affairs to the Spirit Butterfly Tribe Chief and even boldly granting her people authority.

After all, no major forces remained in Flying Spirit City. Those without Sovereign-level combat strength were not even qualified to compete. Thus, even though Heavenly Insect vanished almost as soon as he became city lord, no one dared step forward to cause trouble.

At that moment, Heavenly Insect was taking all the resources he had gathered and dumping them into the Light Cocoon for Golden Cicada. The man and insect then split the energy Golden Cicada devoured and converted fifty-fifty, beginning their respective cultivation.

Breaking through to the Heaven-reaching Realm in three months was actually nothing remarkable for a true genius.

Hadn't Mu Chen in the original story broken through from the Heaven Transformation Realm to the Heaven-reaching Realm in just one short month?

Although a powerful spirit array had assisted him, Heavenly Insect also had his little cheat, Golden Cicada, who could supply unlimited perfect spiritual energy. There was thus little difference between the two.

But the path of a true expert was strewn with countless thorns and hardships. Only those who ultimately walked it one solid step at a time could undergo the final tempering.

On the path of cultivation, one's own strength was the true foundation!

Cultivating with spiritual energy devoured and refined by Golden Cicada, as Heavenly Insect did, meant he had strayed somewhat onto the wrong path.

It might let his strength soar in the short term, but in the long run, it was a drawback that would become a heart demon on his road to becoming a true expert.

Of course, no one could warn Heavenly Insect of this now. He could only rely on his own understanding. If he came to his senses naturally, this experience would also greatly strengthen his state of mind.

A month passed under these circumstances. The spiritual energy within Heavenly Insect grew ever stronger, faintly reaching the limit of the Heaven Transformation Realm.

Heavenly Insect felt that he only needed to take one more step to break through naturally to the Heaven-reaching Realm. Yet whenever he tried to take that step, he always felt something inexplicable blocking him.

This made Heavenly Insect frown as he cultivated.

Two paths now lay before him. The first was to rely on powerful spiritual energy to force his way directly through this obstruction.

With Golden Cicada's endless supply, he was very confident he could do it.

The second was to pause his advancement for now and spend some time examining himself, seeking the cause of that invisible obstruction.

For someone caught up in the pleasure of advancing through cultivation, the second choice did not seem easy. The process of constantly improving and growing stronger was deeply addictive, making it difficult to pull free.

In the end, Heavenly Insect restrained his desire. He forcibly cut off that state of constant advancement, giving his body, caught in its craving to grow stronger, a brief chance to breathe.