The Contest

Before the enormous gate of light, two warriors clad in golden armor barred Heavenly Insect and Tian Yuan's path.

"Halt! Outsiders are forbidden from trespassing in Flowing Moon Heaven. Violators will be killed without mercy!"

Heavenly Insect's expression tightened. The powerful auras surrounding these two proved they were both Sovereign-level experts. Behind each stood a golden spirit centipede over ten feet long-a Sovereign divine insect evolved from a flying spirit centipede, the Flying Golden Centipede!

Facing their terrifying killing intent, Tian Yuan calmly raised a hand and displayed a token.

"An elder's token?!"

The two golden-armored warriors stared at the token in shock, then hastily dropped to one knee. Behind them, hundreds of soldiers in silver armor also knelt, their armor ringing with crisp metallic clanks.

"We pay our respects to the elder!"

Tian Yuan merely nodded, then led Heavenly Insect straight through the gate of light, finally disappearing at the end of the luminous passage.

Only after he had left did everyone rise in unison.

"That was our clan's Heavenly Centipede Army, the strongest army of our Twelfth Branch. Even its weakest members are in the three heavens realm, and every soldier possesses a flying spirit centipede."

Intrigued, Heavenly Insect asked curiously, "Were those two golden-armored warriors with Flying Golden Centipedes commanders in the Heavenly Centipede Army?"

Tian Yuan laughed. "Commanders? Hardly!"

"The Heavenly Centipede Army is divided into the Golden Centipede Army and the Silver Centipede Army. Only those who have reached the supreme realm and possess a Flying Golden Centipede qualify to join the former. In the Golden Centipede Army, those two would be nothing more than ordinary soldiers. They might even be soldiers who were weeded out of it..."

"Since the Golden Centipede Army has a limited number of places, some soldiers are eliminated every year. They're transferred to the Silver Centipede Army to serve as junior commanders."

Heavenly Insect nodded silently.

Having read the original story, he knew how terrifying the experts of the Great Thousand World were. Thus, when he learned that the Twelfth Branch was actually the weakest clan branch within the Heavenly Meridian, he had immediately fallen under the illusion that it was a flock of weaklings...

But now that he had seen such terrifying strength in a mere junior commander guarding the gate-and learned that there was an entire army composed of experts stronger still-that illusion gradually faded.

"The token just now was my father's elder's token. That's why we could pass through the gate so easily..." Tian Yuan added casually.

Heavenly Insect nodded, feeling a little envious.

Sure enough, having a golden thigh to cling to really paid off...

They sped onward, and along the way, Heavenly Insect saw numerous silver-armored patrols fly past.

After roughly an hour, Tian Yuan finally slowed. Following behind him, Heavenly Insect looked up ahead and saw a mountain towering into the clouds...

At its summit, Heavenly Insect could just make out a sprawling cluster of majestic palaces.

Looking at those palaces, Tian Yuan smiled. After so many years away, he was finally looking upon his home...

Then Tian Yuan moved, and in the next instant, he appeared directly above the palaces.

"Come on, let's go down. I'll take you to meet my father!" Tian Yuan laughed, then turned into a streak of light and landed at the center of the palace complex.

Tian Yuan's father, Tian Zhe, was one of the five great elders of the Heavenly Meridian's Twelfth Branch, an expert at the level of Ninth Grade Sovereign.

Heavenly Insect had been curious about what sort of person he was. Yet upon their first meeting, all he saw was a seemingly ordinary old man...

Elder Tian Zhe had white hair and a youthful face. Though his voice was gentle, an imposing aura surrounded him, constantly reminding Heavenly Insect of the man's power.

"This is my father, Tian Zhe, one of our Twelfth Branch's five great elders!" Tian Yuan introduced him with a smile.

"My respects, Elder Tian Zhe!" Heavenly Insect immediately bowed respectfully.

"Mm, dispense with the formalities. Are you Tian Qu's son?"

"Yes!" Heavenly Insect nodded.

"Hehe, in that case, you're also a descendant of an old friend of mine..."

Elder Tian Zhe stroked his beard with a chuckle. Seeing Heavenly Insect's puzzled expression, he explained slowly, "I knew your great-grandfather, Tian Zhe. We could be considered old friends..."

Understanding dawned on Heavenly Insect, though he couldn't shake the feeling that this old fellow was taking advantage of him.

Still, the claim was probably true. According to the original owner's memories, his family had once enjoyed a glorious past, and his great-grandfather Tian Zhe had also been an expert within the clan.

"I never imagined Elder Tian Zhe shared such a connection with my great-grandfather. This junior, Heavenly Insect, pays his respects!"

Whether the claim was true or false, Heavenly Insect knew better than to be difficult and promptly offered the bow of a junior.

"Hehe, good!"

Clearly pleased by Heavenly Insect's attitude, Tian Zhe smiled. "I've already heard about your situation. To think my old friend's descendants would produce a genius like you! Whether out of sentiment or reason, you deserve a place in this contest!"

"As one of the five great elders, I have the right to recommend candidates. Over the next three days, all you need to do is prepare yourself properly.

"I'll arrange everything. I'll also have someone deliver the rules of the contest and information on some of your opponents later.

"I hear your life-bound spirit insect is an Ancient Sword Butterfly. As it happens, I have a supreme-quality Spirit Artifact, the Dragon Centipede Sword. I'll give that to you as well. Don't disappoint me!"

"Thank you, Senior Tian Zhe. I understand."

The weight finally lifted from Heavenly Insect's heart. He bowed once more, then was led away.

Once Heavenly Insect had left, Tian Yuan immediately stepped forward and asked Elder Tian Zhe, "Father, what do you think of him? Is he worth nurturing?"

Tian Zhe stared toward the spot where Heavenly Insect's figure had vanished into the distance. His expression was cold as he said indifferently, "We can nurture him, but first he must demonstrate sufficient value. This contest will be his test. If he can't even secure a place, then he's nothing but trash!"

Tian Yuan nodded silently, though he thought little of it...

Even trash had its uses. Everyone in this world had some value...

Back in the quarters arranged for him, Heavenly Insect knew nothing of the conversation between father and son after his departure. Nor did he know that Elder Tian Zhe, who had been all kindly smiles before him, had turned around and set his first test.

Or rather, Heavenly Insect didn't care about any of that.

Everything he was doing now was merely an attempt to make use of the father and son's power and standing.

Exploring the Insect World held extraordinary significance for him. It might well be the key to whether he could break through to the Sovereign level in a short time, so Heavenly Insect was willing to spare no cost.

Before he knew it, three days had passed.

Dong!

The ancient toll of a bell echoed leisurely between heaven and earth. Almost all of Flowing Moon Heaven fell silent beneath it, but that silence lasted only a moment before an earthshaking clamor shattered it.

The contest everyone had been anticipating had finally begun!

Whoosh!

The sound of figures cutting through the air rang out across the world. In the sky, a dark sea of people rapidly converged on a single location.

It was a vast plaza on the highest mountain in Flowing Moon Heaven, now packed with members of the Twelfth Branch.

Countless war drums thundered within the plaza, their muffled, thunderous rumble rolling between heaven and earth and setting countless people's blood boiling.

The instant the war drums sounded, the air above the vast plaza filled with the noise of figures hurtling through the sky. Then immense surges of spiritual energy shot skyward without the slightest attempt at concealment.

Enormous, fierce-looking spirit insects flew overhead, blotting out the sun and filling the entire sky...

These were the favored geniuses qualified to enter the contest!

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to them, the crowd suddenly seemed to hear faint bursts of terrifying dragon cries.

Then a dreadful pressure descended from the heavens, and a vast shadow a thousand feet long slowly emerged from the clouds.

More precisely, that immense shadow was a gigantic centipede...

The centipede was enormous, its entire body pitch-black and traced with colorful patterns that gave it a distinctly strange appearance.

Eight wings, black tinged with purple, grew along its sides. Heavenly Insect even spotted a pitch-black, spiral-ridged horn on its hideous head...

A faint purple glow flickered at the horn's tip, clearly hinting at deadly poison. Faint colorful markings on its head vaguely outlined the shape of a dragon, exuding a trace of draconic might.

"A Heavenly Flying Dragon Centipede! That's the Sovereign divine insect, the Heavenly Flying Dragon Centipede!"

Those who recognized the gigantic centipede immediately cried out, their faces a mixture of fervor and disbelief.

"A Heavenly Flying Dragon Centipede! Then its master must be Young Master Tianwu, the greatest genius of our Twelfth Branch! They say Young Master Tianwu broke through to the Sovereign level years ago, and his life-bound spirit insect is a Heavenly Flying Dragon Centipede comparable to the dragon clan!"

The clamor below immediately grew louder. Many young men and women gazed up at the immense shadow with worship written across their faces.

Although they couldn't even see Young Master Tianwu's face, that did nothing to hinder their expressions of devotion.

And amid that fervor...

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three more sounds of rushing air rang out simultaneously overhead. Three streaks of light descended from the sky, settling at roughly the same position as Young Master Tianwu. At once, many gazes shifted toward them.

The three newly arrived figures were likewise enormous: a huge black locust, a gigantic dragonfly, and finally, a small scarlet fire cicada with a pair of translucent wings patterned with flames.

"A Nine-Life Poison Locust, a Giant-Vein Dragonfly, and a Phoenix-Feather Heavenly Cicada?"

Among the contestants, Heavenly Insect stood upon his Ancient Sword Butterfly, his eyes narrowed as he studied the three figures that had appeared at the front of the gathering.

Setting aside Young Master Tianwu and his Heavenly Flying Dragon Centipede, the three who had appeared afterward were the three great geniuses whose strength ranked just below his.

The master of the Nine-Life Poison Locust was named Tian Huo. His grandfather was one of the five great elders, holding the same standing as Elder Tian Zhe.

The master of the Giant-Vein Dragonfly was named Tian Cong, while the master of the Phoenix-Feather Heavenly Cicada was named Tian Qin. Both had extraordinary backgrounds, each with an elder as a backer.

Their three life-bound spirit insects were far from ordinary, too. Though they fell short of the Heavenly Flying Dragon Centipede, they were all first-rate Sovereign divine insects. The Giant-Vein Dragonfly even possessed dragon blood, while the Phoenix-Feather Heavenly Cicada possessed phoenix blood...

This gave those two growth potential in no way inferior to the Heavenly Flying Dragon Centipede's.

Of the four, only Tian Huo and his Nine-Life Poison Locust fell slightly behind, but he had a grandfather who was one of the five great elders...

As for the fifth Sovereign among the Twelfth Branch's younger generation, whom Tian Yuan had mentioned to Heavenly Insect, that person was considerably weaker than these four, having only just broken through to First Grade Sovereign.

Although it was tacitly accepted that five of the Twelfth Branch's ten places would go to these five, the many other geniuses were nursing their own defiance...

If they could defeat even one of those five in this contest, there would be quite a spectacle to enjoy.

As far as Heavenly Insect knew, there was no difference between the Insect World places awarded to first and tenth. But the clan's rewards for the top five and the bottom five were worlds apart!

If I want to take a place in the top five, my only possible target is that fifth Sovereign...

Heavenly Insect could clearly sense the strength of these four. It wasn't just their life-bound spirit insects; the masters themselves also gave him an intensely dangerous feeling.

After that silent thought, Heavenly Insect shifted his gaze away.

In the early stages, even with his Ancient Sword Butterfly, he would still appear somewhat weaker than the others.

So he couldn't be too conspicuous at the outset...

Dong!

As more and more people gathered above the plaza, a deep bell suddenly tolled. Countless people present sensed something and raised their heads.

A figure had already appeared silently in the sky, his dark-gold robes fluttering in the wind.

"We pay our respects to the Meridian Lord!"

Countless respectful voices rang out as figure after figure cupped their fists and bowed, their expressions reverent.

The newcomer was none other than Tian Qiu, the Meridian Lord of the Twelfth Branch-a true Earthly Sovereign!

Tian Qiu surveyed everyone in the sky and nodded in satisfaction. Then he looked toward the plaza, his calm voice resounding. "It is almost time. Since that is the case, prepare to open the battlefield."

"You all know the rules. This contest is divided into an elimination round and a final round. There are currently one hundred and seventy-two of you, but only sixteen will advance.

"The top five in the elimination round will directly receive places to enter the Insect World. The remaining eleven will compete in one-on-one round-robin matches for the final five places."

The rules of the contest were simple, but also extremely brutal. There was little room for error, and the gulf between the strong and the weak would be glaringly apparent.

The elimination round would not take place in this plaza, but in a special space called the Flowing Moon Realm.

The Flowing Moon Realm was a strange, somewhat chaotic world. Its sky was dim, and it held no signs of life. Yet within that chaos-like world surged a truly terrifying abundance of worldly spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy was so immense that clouds of it could be seen floating across the sky. As they occasionally swayed, wisps of damp spirit mist drifted out.