Hunting a Spirit King

High in the sky, Heavenly Insect swept in from the west in a streak of sword light. Countless streams of sword energy rained down, instantly wiping out every Spirit Soldier within dozens of meters.

With a wave of his hand, a suction force issued from his palm, drawing in all the Spirit Cores the slain Spirit Soldiers had left behind.

He swept his divine sense over the jade token in his hand. This was a Spirit Artifact the clan had prepared specifically for every contestant to store Spirit Cores. Every core placed inside would add to its recorded tally, which could simply be shown to the judges afterward.

"Five hundred and sixty-one. Still a long way to go..."

Each Spirit Soldier's Spirit Core was worth one basic unit, a Spirit General's one hundred, and a Spirit King's ten thousand.

Heavenly Insect had earned this tally by killing more than five hundred Spirit Soldiers. As for Spirit Generals, he had yet to encounter a single one.

Heavenly Insect looked up and discovered that the other four teams were actually advancing more slowly than he was. Since he was killing so quickly, large numbers of Spirit Soldiers were converging on his position, greatly easing the pressure on the others...

"They really do want me to serve as bait..."

Heavenly Insect did not mind, though. He merely slowed his advance a little to guard against anything unexpected.

Although the Spirit Cores of the Spirit Generals deeper inside were each worth a hundred Spirit Soldiers, venturing inward without eliminating these outer spirit entities would still be too dangerous.

Besides, Heavenly Insect's instincts told him that an enormous danger lurked within this gathering point!

Just as Heavenly Insect drew the greatest pressure onto himself, the other four teams seized their chance. They erupted into action, tore through the ranks of Spirit Soldiers, and swiftly charged deeper inside.

Heavenly Insect merely glanced at their retreating figures from afar. Unconcerned by their attempts to gobble up those big "cakes" all by themselves, he calmly worked with his Six-Eyed Blade Mantis and nine revolutions black-whiskered mosquito to slaughter the Spirit Soldiers.

As for the Ancient Sword Butterfly, it was not yet time to reveal him. He was Heavenly Insect's greatest trump card, and the reason he dared to contend for a place in the top five.

As time passed, more and more Spirit Soldiers shattered beneath his attacks, turning into Spirit Cores brimming with immensely potent spiritual energy that hovered around him. Beside him, Tian Yu also repeatedly struck with her top-tier heaven-grade spirit insect, reaping a rich harvest.

"Hehe, I already have eight hundred and seventy-five Spirit Cores!"

Tian Yu's pretty face was filled with joy.

Heavenly Insect glanced at his jade token. A four-digit number was clearly displayed on it...

"Mm, very good. Keep it up, and you might be one of those who make it through the elimination round!"

Tian Yu's delight grew at his words, but she still gave Heavenly Insect a curious look and asked, "Um... can I ask how many Spirit Cores you've collected now?"

Given how Heavenly Insect's every sword strike had just cut down an entire swath of enemies, he probably had twice as many Spirit Cores as she did, right?

Tian Yu silently pondered this, only to hear a number that stunned her.

"Two thousand five hundred and twenty-six."

"!"

He actually had three times as many as she did!

The little spark of excitement that had just risen in Tian Yu's heart instantly vanished.

What a freak!

After muttering that inwardly, Tian Yu decided she would never invite humiliation upon herself again.

After such a slaughter, the Spirit Soldiers at this gathering point had almost all been cleared out. The other four teams had already charged deeper inside and begun fighting the Spirit Generals.

Seeing this, Tian Yu grew anxious and hurriedly said, "Let's hurry over too, or those fellows will divide all the Spirit Generals among themselves!"

Their harvests might have been quite good just now, and because there were only two of them, each had earned more than any individual member of the four teams.

But compared with the Spirit Generals inside, these Spirit Soldiers were merely appetizers.

Heavenly Insect narrowed his eyes slightly, then looked deeper inside.

There, violent spiritual energy erupted, terrifying giant silhouettes roared in the sky, and ferocious spirit insects attacked madly. Faint flute music drifted over from afar.

"Tsk, tsk. The Frenzied Battle Tune. These people really are crazy..."

The Frenzied Battle Tune was one of the melodies Spirit Insect Masters used to control their spirit insects. Playing it sent all their spirit insects into a frenzy, unleashing two hundred percent of their strength as they attacked their enemies madly, refusing to stop until death.

These people were directly trading their spirit insects' lives for the Spirit Generals' Spirit Cores.

"After this battle, who knows how many spirit insects they'll have left..." Heavenly Insect said, shaking his head.

"Heh, they don't care!" Tian Yu sneered.

"Do you really think they'd be willing to use their main spirit insects like that? These are nothing but sacrifices they prepared beforehand."

Understanding dawned on Heavenly Insect, and he could not help looking over.

Seeing that he genuinely did not know, Tian Yu explained, "The leaders of those four teams all have extraordinary backgrounds. Their families prepared these spirit insects for them long ago, specifically to trade lives at critical moments."

"In the end, these spirit insects are nothing more than disposable consumables in their eyes."

Heavenly Insect immediately looked incredulous.

"Using heaven-grade spirit insects as consumables? Isn't that far too extravagant?"

Back in Flying Spirit City, a single heaven-grade spirit insect had been enough to spark a war among every faction, and enough to send a Spirit Insect Master soaring to the heavens in a single step.

Yet here, heaven-grade spirit insects had become consumables...

"So what? To the factions behind them, a place in the Insect World is far more important than a heaven-grade spirit insect. Never mind heaven-grade spirit insects-even sovereign divine insects might not be too precious to sacrifice at a critical moment..."

At this moment, Heavenly Insect truly understood the difference between himself and these people.

"Then what about you? What trump cards have you prepared?"

Heavenly Insect looked at the young woman beside him and asked with a light smile.

Tian Yu's pretty face immediately fell, and she said pitifully, "I don't have backing like theirs. Apart from the slug beside me, I have nothing..."

"Do you think I believe that?"

Heavenly Insect glanced at her and scoffed.

"It's true. I'm absolutely not lying to you..."

Heavenly Insect had no intention of dwelling on the matter. Seeing the battle deeper inside grow increasingly fierce, he could no longer resist joining in.

"Come on. Let's head deeper inside too!"

Since the Spirit Soldiers on the outskirts had nearly all been cleared out, the two encountered no resistance along the way. Then Heavenly Insect saw the battlefield deeper inside, where the four teams were each enveloped in vast masses of spiritual light...

"Tsk, tsk. Looks like these fellows really have run into trouble..."

Within one mass of spiritual light, dozens of Spirit Generals were besieging a team. The team under siege was none other than Tian Que's group, who had arrived immediately after Heavenly Insect and Tian Yu.

Although even the weakest person under Tian Que's command had reached the Spiritual Energy Tribulation, there were too few of them. Facing this horde of Spirit Generals, they could not break free for the moment.

"Nearly thirty Spirit Generals comparable to the Spiritual Energy Tribulation, with two among them comparable to the Divine Soul Tribulation. No wonder Tian Que has been driven into such a corner." Watching the team struggle to fend off the attacks, Tian Yu immediately gloated.

When the two arrived, Tian Que and the others naturally noticed them as well. Tian Que's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly called out, "Brother, how about joining forces with me to deal with these Spirit Generals? We'll split the Spirit Cores equally afterward!"

Tian Yu was startled by his offer, then temptation gleamed in her eyes. Unfortunately, he had not been speaking to her, and she knew very well how much she was worth.

"I didn't expect this fellow to be so generous. Half the Spirit Cores, right off the bat!"

"Hey, what do you think? Are you going to help?"

Heavenly Insect smiled faintly. Although half the Spirit Cores was no small sum, he was not tempted at the moment.

Seeing Heavenly Insect remain unmoved, Tian Que's expression darkened, and he inwardly cursed Heavenly Insect for his insatiable greed...

But judging from the strength Heavenly Insect had just displayed, although his cultivation was not high, his combat prowess was even slightly greater than theirs. If Tian Que wanted to escape quickly without revealing his final trump card, he would have to win him over.

Gritting his teeth, Tian Que spoke again. "Brother, I just discovered signs of a Spirit King deep in this basin. If you're willing to lend a hand, we can hunt that Spirit King together afterward!"

One Spirit King was worth ten thousand Spirit Soldiers. If they truly managed to hunt one down, their success in this elimination round would be assured!

"Is that really true, Brother Tian Que?"

"Absolutely!"

"Good...!"

With the price settled, Heavenly Insect hesitated no longer. Under Tian Yu's dumbfounded gaze, he charged straight in with his sword.

The Six-Eyed Blade Mantis and nine revolutions black-whiskered mosquito still guarded him. The former trapped enemies with illusions while the latter used its manifestations to provide cover. Heavenly Insect himself unleashed crisscrossing sword energy, and their combined efforts instantly slew a Spirit General.

The sight filled Tian Que and the others with excitement...

A moment's carelessness had allowed these creatures to surround them, preventing them from using many of their methods. That was why they had gradually fallen into such a passive position.

Now that Heavenly Insect was sharing the pressure from outside, several Spirit Generals were immediately drawn away, finally giving them room to breathe.

In the end, Heavenly Insect's efforts to share the pressure from outside allowed Tian Que and the others to break out of the encirclement. With only a dozen or so Spirit Generals remaining, the battle became a one-sided slaughter.

Heavenly Insect also got a clear look at their combat prowess. Tian Que in particular controlled five heaven-grade spirit insects by himself, slaughtering enemies in every direction!

However, Heavenly Insect felt that this was not the full extent of his strength. At the very least, he refused to believe that someone like Tian Que did not possess a sovereign divine insect.

"A Six-Eyed Blade Mantis and a nine revolutions black-whiskered mosquito. I never expected you to possess such rare spirit insects, brother."

Approaching him, Tian Que looked admiringly at the two great spirit insects flying on either side of Heavenly Insect.

"Here are the Spirit Cores I promised you. Please take them."

"Oh, right. I still don't know your name, brother..."

Heavenly Insect calmly accepted the Spirit Cores and placed them in his jade token before replying, "I'm Heavenly Insect."

He had originally thought Tian Que might renege on the deal, but had never expected him to be so straightforward!

It seemed his earlier claim about the Spirit King had not been empty words.

"Brother Heavenly Insect, while the other three teams are still being held up by these Spirit Generals, let's set off immediately to hunt that Spirit King!"

Seeing Tian Que so eager, Heavenly Insect believed his claim a little more, but he was still in no hurry.

"Wait a moment, Brother Tian Que. Before that, we should make our terms clear..."

Tian Que paused, then immediately understood what Heavenly Insect meant. After considering it briefly, he said, "You're quite right, Brother Heavenly Insect. How about this? If we successfully kill the Spirit King, I'll give you three thousand Spirit Cores as payment!"

There was only one Spirit King's Spirit Core, and Tian Que naturally did not want to give it up.

Heavenly Insect raised an eyebrow at this, though Tian Que's response did not surprise him.

After all, a Spirit King's Spirit Core represented more than just a tally of ten thousand...

"Four thousand!"

Heavenly Insect calmly stated his terms.

The people behind Tian Que all grew angry at this. One opened his mouth to speak, but Tian Que raised a hand to stop him.

"Fine! Four thousand!"

Everyone on his team was his subordinate, and all the Spirit Cores they earned were pooled with Tian Que. As such, producing four thousand Spirit Cores was not particularly difficult for him.

"Here's to a pleasant partnership..."

A smile suddenly appeared on Heavenly Insect's face as he spoke to Tian Que.

Tian Que's smile was rather strained. He merely nodded, looking pained.

Yet beneath that ugly expression, Tian Que was sneering inwardly...

You really are an insatiably greedy fellow... I just wonder whether you have what it takes to get those four thousand Spirit Cores out of my hands...

Once both sides had reached an agreement, Tian Que immediately led everyone deeper inside.

Their movements naturally did not escape the other three teams' notice. However, those teams had yet to break free, so even if they wanted to stop them, they could not.

"Tian Que is moving so quickly, and he's even joined forces with that fellow. It looks like they're targeting the Spirit King!"

Tian Xi, who had originally thought he would be the first to break through the encirclement, watched the figures disappear into the distance with an exceptionally ugly expression.

Turning his head, Tian Xi looked toward the other two teams. Tian Qi and Tian Ling had noticed this as well, and both wore grave expressions.

Taking a deep breath, Tian Xi glanced at the severed limbs scattered across the ground. These had belonged to the heaven-grade spirit insects on his team that the Spirit Generals had just torn apart.

"Pick up the pace! Break out of here immediately!"

Everyone's expression tightened at his words, and they answered in unison, "Yes!"

The next moment, the flute music drifting through the sky grew intense and piercing. As a result, the spirit insects under their control became even more frenzied, beginning to attack every enemy before them without regard for anything else.

Tian Ling and Tian Qi also witnessed this. Although they felt some pain at sacrificing these spirit insects, being a step slower now meant giving up on the Spirit King. Neither could make that choice, so in the end, they could only issue the same order as Tian Xi.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire basin shook beneath the three teams' sudden eruption of power. Frenzied spirit insects fought heedless of their lives, slowly collapsing after exhausting the last of their strength.

The three teams' losses abruptly doubled in their haste to break out, greatly depleting the forces Tian Xi and the other two had prepared.

Even with their extraordinary backgrounds, they were not so wealthy that they could casually use heaven-grade spirit insects as cannon fodder. If they failed to secure a place in this contest, it would be a considerable blow both to them and to the factions behind them.