The Domain Lord's Summons

Heavenly Insect's utterly composed expression brought looks of interest to many of those around him. Only his opponent, Xu Qing, turned slightly green.

"Very good. I hope you really are as strong as you claim, City Lord of Flying Spirit City. Otherwise..."

Leaving that threat-or perhaps intimidation-hanging, Xu Qing's smile grew increasingly savage.

Then he abruptly stepped forward. Terrifying spiritual energy swept out, and an enormous silhouette of spiritual light appeared around him.

"Oh? An Icefield Demon Leech! That's an extremely rare spirit insect in our Flying Salamander Domain!"

Quite a few nearby city lords could not help looking over. When they saw the massive figure condensed from spiritual energy in the sky, surprise spread across their faces.

Sure enough, anyone the Domain Lord chose as a challenger had something up their sleeve!

The enormous ice-blue demon leech flashed into existence. Cold air swept out, freezing even the surrounding air solid.

Heavenly Insect's earlier words had clearly enraged Xu Qing. His attack was ruthless, and he unleashed his spirit insect fusion power right from the outset, plainly intending to deal Heavenly Insect the heaviest blow in the shortest time possible.

Heavenly Insect raised his head and gazed at the enormous fused silhouette in the sky, his black eyes still calm.

Ice power, is it... This Icefield Demon Leech might be rare, but its ice power is no stronger than that Azure Mystic Ice Octopus's...

Heavenly Insect held a sword in his hand.

It was a high-grade spirit sword he had bought earlier at a shop specializing in Spirit Artifacts. Although it fell short of his requirements, it was more than sufficient for these arena challenges.

Spirit Attachment, Ancient Sword Butterfly!

Boom!

As that furious shout rang through Heavenly Insect's mind, a violent surge of sword energy shot into the sky. Supported by immense spiritual energy, boundless sword energy instantly formed a pillar spanning heaven and earth, sweeping every trace of ice from the sky!

Spirit Attachment was the only truly worthwhile Spirit Insect Master secret art Heavenly Insect had found in the Flying Spirit City Lord's collection. It allowed him to attach one of a spirit insect's abilities to himself, granting him temporary use of that same ability.

In other words, after invoking Spirit Attachment with the Ancient Sword Butterfly, Heavenly Insect now possessed the same sword energy ability as the Ancient Sword Butterfly. His strength had even surpassed Xu Qing's, who was merely a first-grade Supreme.

Of course, all of this was only possible because of Heavenly Insect's powerful fleshly body.

Sword energy was an incomparably sharp force to begin with, let alone the sword energy contained within a Supreme divine insect like the Ancient Sword Butterfly. Forget attaching it to themselves-ordinary Heaven-reaching Realm experts would be injured just by touching it.

Heavenly Insect had only barely met the requirements thanks to his cultivation of the Golden Cicada Rebirth Art.

"What astonishing sword energy!"

On the main dais, far from Heavenly Insect's arena, Tian Yuan, Domain Lord of the Flying Salamander Domain, sensed the piercing aura in the air. Mildly surprised, he looked toward the distant arena.

Although these were arena challenges, only the lower-ranked city lords would actually be challenged. Thus, the stronger city lords had originally been watching the surrounding battles merely for entertainment...

Yet the instant Heavenly Insect's sword energy erupted, every gaze across the arena plaza was drawn to him. Flying Spirit City, which no one had cared about before, immediately became the brightest star of the entire gathering!

Tian Yuan rose from his seat. Gazing at the sword pillar soaring into the sky in the distance, he said calmly to the many Flying Salamander Domain experts beside him, "Anyone capable of unleashing such a terrifying sword pillar is clearly no ordinary person..."

"Which city lord is that? Bring me his information!"

At those words, someone beside him naturally obeyed and went to retrieve Heavenly Insect's information.

An elderly man nearby clapped his hands and laughed. "Haha! It seems the first lucky soul of this year's arena challenges has appeared."

"To be held in such esteem by the Domain Lord,

"this man will surely sail before the wind and reach even greater heights." The elderly man was named Chi Li, an expert who had followed Tian Yuan from very early on. However, he was not a member of the Spirit Insect Tribe, merely an ordinary Insect Master from the outside world...

Even so, not a single person in the entire Flying Salamander Domain dared underestimate him. Like Domain Lord Tian Yuan, he was a seventh-grade Supreme, and he was the domain's second-strongest expert!

"Hehe, Elder Li is right. Had the Domain Lord not possessed the discerning eye to recognize a pearl back then, I would never have attained my present strength!" Someone immediately stepped forward to agree.

Tian Yuan paid no mind to his subordinates' words. Instead, he kept pondering just what sort of spirit insect the man had raised to unleash such terrifying sword energy.

Surely no one would claim this was the man's own ability!

This was the Spirit Insect Continent, not the Sword Domain. Sword cultivators here were even rarer than an insect emperor.

Although spirit insects capable of unleashing sword energy were also rare on the Spirit Insect Continent, there were still several dozen varieties. Tian Yuan himself had a Spirit Sword Insect, for instance. Yet the sword energy of that man's spirit insect was clearly considerably stronger than his own Spirit Sword Insect's, so he could not identify it for the moment.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the terrifying sword energy unleashed by the Ancient Sword Butterfly, Heavenly Insect and Xu Qing had already begun their exchange in the arena.

Although Heavenly Insect's sword pillar certainly looked terrifying, Xu Qing was a veteran of countless battles. What scene had he not witnessed, what opponent had he not faced? Moreover, the opponent before him was still far weaker than he was.

The gap in strength and cultivation realm was not so easily bridged. Whatever tricks this man possessed, he could not possibly contend with a genuine Supreme and a Supreme spirit insect.

"Extreme Ice Cold Palm!"

Xu Qing stamped his foot heavily and shifted his hand seals. As he thrust out a palm, the Icefield Demon Leech's icy silhouette abruptly plunged headfirst toward Heavenly Insect, bearing down upon him. Frigid spiritual energy swept out, freezing even the air.

In an instant, the demon leech's silhouette transformed into an iceberg that descended over him.

Heavenly Insect looked up at the terrifying iceberg growing ever larger overhead. If that thing landed on him, it would probably smash him to pieces, wouldn't it?

No wonder Xu Qing was so confident. He did have a few trump cards.

Then let's see whether your ice is harder or my sword is sharper!

With that thought, Heavenly Insect angled his sword upward. The violent sword pillar immediately followed the direction of its tip, crashing head-on into the descending ice palm as swiftly as lightning.

Hiss! Hiss!

As sword energy collided with the ice palm, piercing hisses erupted. The two powerful torrents of spiritual energy battered one another, each trying to erode the other.

"You think mere sword energy can contend with my fusion power?" Xu Qing sneered at the sight.

Fusion with a spirit insect was far more powerful than Spirit Attachment, but only Spirit Insect Masters who had reached the Supreme Realm could use it. It could also be considered a Spirit Insect Master's strongest combat power. Seeing Heavenly Insect actually try to block it with sword energy alone, Xu Qing's pale face filled with a cold sneer.

"Freeze!"

His hand seals abruptly changed. Cold air poured down from the iceberg like a raging torrent, attempting to freeze even the sword pillar.

Heavenly Insect likewise sneered and replied, "Then go ahead and try!"

Bang!

As the sword pillar collided with the iceberg, the former exploded, turning into countless streaks of white sword energy that filled the entire sky.

"Hah! And here I thought you had some ability. Turns out you're nothing but an empty show!"

At the sight, Xu Qing's anxious heart immediately settled.

Quite a few nearby shared his thoughts. Intimidated by the sword pillar's earlier might, they now felt smug upon seeing it so easily destroyed, congratulating themselves on how correct their judgments had been.

Unfortunately, many had already noticed that the countless streaks of seemingly scattered sword energy had not dissipated. Instead, they continued endlessly grinding away at the iceberg.

The once-enormous iceberg actually dwindled at a terrifying speed visible to the naked eye. In the end, it vanished into nothingness without even reaching Heavenly Insect...

"What...?!"

Everyone around them was struck dumb by the sight.

Xu Qing's face had turned livid.

"It would be rude not to return the favor. Take a strike from me as well!" Heavenly Insect smiled, but his eyes were cold. Then he slashed his sword downward.

Hum!

Accompanied by a clear sword cry, vast sword energy surged straight into the clouds. That piercing energy rippled between heaven and earth, seemingly darkening even the sky.

The clamor that had filled the plaza abruptly ceased.

Whether city lords or challengers, solemn expressions rose on every face. No one had imagined that the City Lord of Flying Spirit City, whose cultivation was clearly at the weakest level, could unleash such an astonishing attack.

"Block it!"

Xu Qing's face twisted savagely as he unleashed every scrap of spiritual energy in his body. A deep-blue Mystic Ice Shield swiftly appeared before him, protecting his entire body.

Meanwhile, on the main dais.

"Ancient Sword Butterfly!" Tian Yuan slowly uttered the name.

Only when Heavenly Insect finally attacked without holding anything back did Tian Yuan detect a faintly familiar trace within that terrifying sword strike.

"To think this man was fortunate enough to obtain an Ancient Sword Butterfly!"

Only a handful of Ancient Sword Butterflies had ever appeared in the entire Flying Salamander Domain-or even the entire Southern Border where it lay. And five hundred years ago, this very domain had been ruled by an expert who possessed an Ancient Sword Butterfly!

At that moment, Heavenly Insect, whom Tian Yuan had yet to meet, had already left a deep impression on the Domain Lord.

Just then, the person sent to retrieve Heavenly Insect's information returned.

Tian Yuan examined the scroll in his hand. It recorded the personal information Heavenly Insect had registered upon his arrival...

Including his strength, the spirit insects he possessed, and more detailed information about his identity.

"Nine revolutions black-whiskered mosquito? Hehe, it seems City Lord Heavenly Insect has concealed quite a lot..." Tian Yuan tossed the scroll back, a trace of a smile curling his lips.

Concealing one's strength like this was hardly a serious matter. Of all the city lords present, including those Tian Yuan considered his trusted confidants, which of them would expose their trump cards?

What truly interested Tian Yuan was that City Lord Heavenly Insect also bore the main lineage's surname, and even belonged to the same branch as him...

He described his background in such detail. It seems Heavenly Insect had an ulterior motive...

"What an interesting fellow."

Seeing through Heavenly Insect's little ploy, which he had made no attempt to conceal, Tian Yuan immediately felt the desire to meet him.

If he could bring such a talented young man, blessed with both strength and luck, under his command, that would certainly be something to celebrate, wouldn't it?

Acting on that thought, Tian Yuan immediately gave another order. "Go to that arena and bring the victorious City Lord of Flying Spirit City here. I wish to meet him."

The soldier accepted the order and departed again. Tian Yuan's words, however, left many nearby senior figures of the Flying Salamander Domain both surprised and envious.

The Domain Lord's behavior clearly showed that he regarded that man with particular favor.

Who knew how many years it had been since someone had received such attention from the Domain Lord...

"City Lord, the match has not yet ended. Would it not be unfair to interrupt them now and summon one of the contestants?"

Of everyone present, only Chi Li would say such a thing at this moment.

"Hehe, rest assured. The match is already over."

Someone who possessed the Supreme divine insect Ancient Sword Butterfly, however weak his cultivation, was certainly not someone a first-grade Supreme could defeat.

The outcome was exactly as Tian Yuan had said.

Had this not merely been a match, with Heavenly Insect having no intention of killing, Xu Qing truly would have been cleaved in two.

Watching strands of his hair drift down in the wind, Xu Qing felt that the sword was only 0.01 centimeters from his forehead. Yet in the moments that followed, its owner did not fall in love with him, and even wanted to kill him...

"It seems I've won this arena challenge!" Heavenly Insect quietly withdrew his sword and spoke calmly to Xu Qing, who had yet to recover.

Having won his first battle, Heavenly Insect would face no further challenges that day.

This was not because all the challengers had been frightened off by his strength, but because the rules allowed only one challenge per day, over three days.

In other words, an arena holder could be challenged at most three times. If they won all three, they would not only retain their city but also receive a substantial reward.

Finally coming to his senses after teetering on the brink of death, Xu Qing gave Heavenly Insect a complicated look. Now he was nothing but a thoroughly beaten dog. Anything he said would sound like a defeated dog's howling, so he could only remain silent before quietly leaving the arena.

Only then did an uproar break out among the surrounding crowd. Everyone looked at Heavenly Insect with shock and curiosity.

Just as those who had interacted with Heavenly Insect, such as Qing Tiao and Hong You, were preparing to deepen their ties with this monstrous talent of a Flying Spirit City Lord, Tian Yuan's order finally arrived.

"The Domain Lord has personally summoned you! Brother Heavenly Insect, it looks like you're about to rise in the world!" Qing Tiao said, his envy utterly undisguised.

He counted among the longest-serving city lords. Over the years, he had more than once seen talented individuals distinguish themselves in the arena challenges and earn the Domain Lord's favor.

Afterward, all of them had soared to prominence. Their strength and status had long since become incomparable to what they had been before.

The beautiful woman Hong You, standing nearby, also offered Heavenly Insect her congratulations, but left it at that.

After all, they were merely nodding acquaintances. Crowding around him now would not only make her look excessively sycophantic, but probably fail to leave him with any favorable impression at all.

On the contrary, by behaving graciously and appropriately now, perhaps she could gain a tiny bit of benefit from this "nodding acquaintance" in the future...