Heavenly Meridian

Flowing Moon Heaven, in Elder Tian Zhe's hall.

At that moment, Tian Zhe was looking at the young man standing quietly before him with delighted surprise, a trace of shock in his eyes.

"Hahaha, good, very good! I originally thought making the top ten would be excellent for you, or even the top fifteen. I never expected you to give me such an enormous surprise!"

"It was just luck," Heavenly Insect said calmly.

Elder Tian Zhe nodded.

"Whether it was luck or strength doesn't matter. What matters is that you've secured a place in the Insect World expedition..."

"Everything happened so suddenly that there are many things I haven't had time to tell you. Since you've now distinguished yourself among the many talents of our Twelfth Branch, there are some things you need to know."

"I'm all ears, Elder!"

Elder Tian Zhe nodded and slowly walked over to Heavenly Insect. Suddenly, he asked, "Do you know how many places our Twelfth Branch had during the last Insect World expedition?"

Heavenly Insect looked blank. How would he know that...? And did that mean the number of places wasn't fixed?

One look at his expression told Elder Tian Zhe the answer, and he sighed.

"Fifteen!"

"What?" Heavenly Insect was startled.

He hadn't expected the number of places really to change. How much time had passed, for the Twelfth Branch to have five places cut outright?

"An Insect World expedition is a major event even for our entire Spirit Insect Tribe. Only the four main branches and some powerful subsidiary branches can participate..."

Elder Tian Zhe slowly explained it to Heavenly Insect.

"Each of the four main branches can send three hundred people into the Insect World, while the many subsidiary branches share another three hundred places. In other words, a total of fifteen hundred people can enter on each expedition. The tribe doesn't concern itself with how each main branch distributes its three hundred places. Over all these years, each main branch has developed its own method."

"Our Heavenly Meridian is divided into twelve branches. The Meridian Lord divided those three hundred places among twelve teams, with each branch having its own team of equal size. Their rankings are determined by what each team gains within the Insect World...

"The top three of those twelve teams can take places from the bottom three. The numbers are one, three, and five respectively, and during the last expedition, our Twelfth Branch came in last."

Understanding dawned on Heavenly Insect. So that was how it worked.

If three hundred places were distributed evenly, each branch should have had twenty-five. Yet the Twelfth Branch now had only ten left...

More than half its places had been carved up by the others. No wonder it was considered the weakest branch in the entire Heavenly Meridian.

"Our Twelfth Branch originally had five Sovereign-level fighters among this generation, making us considerably stronger than last time. We have an exceptional prodigy like Tian Wu in particular, and I was also fortunate enough to encounter you. That's why the Branch Lord and us elders have all been holding our breath, eager to see whether we can contend this time..."

"But you needn't feel pressured. After all, we have the fewest people of all twelve teams. My minimum requirement is that you avoid falling into the bottom three again. Manage that, and you'll have succeeded!"

Heavenly Insect nodded silently. He hadn't expected there to be so much behind this, and suddenly the pressure on his shoulders increased sharply.

"Elder, do you know how strong the teams sent by the other branches are this time?"

Tian Zhe nodded.

"Of our Heavenly Meridian's twelve branches, the strongest last time was the Fourth Branch. They now have fifty-two places, more than a sixth of the total."

"Moreover, I've heard that three extraordinary prodigies have emerged among them this time. Each surpasses Tian Wu in both talent and strength. With their numerical advantage as well, they'll very likely take first place again!"

Heavenly Insect was thoroughly startled.

"If that's the case, won't the strong only grow stronger, while the weak remain weak? Surely that isn't good for our Heavenly Meridian internally?"

Elder Tian Zhe shook his head.

"That's merely an ordinary person's perspective," he said. "In the eyes of great figures like the Heavenly Meridian Lord, this method concentrates resources on a small number of people more quickly and effectively, allowing them to cultivate truly powerful experts!"

Those so-called truly powerful experts were Earthly Sovereigns...

As one of the Spirit Insect Tribe's four main branches, the Heavenly Meridian naturally possessed terrifying strength.

Apart from the Meridian Lord, a terrifying expert at the peak of Upper Earth Sovereign who already had one foot in the realm of Complete Earthly Sovereign, there were the Four Great Elders, all Upper Earth Sovereigns, as well as nearly twenty Lower Earthly Sovereigns among the twelve Branch Lords, elders, and others.

Yet even so, the Heavenly Meridian still couldn't call itself the strongest in the Spirit Insect Tribe, because the other three main branches were almost its equal in strength.

The reason the Heavenly Meridian Lord went to such lengths to unearth the Heavenly Meridian's potential was to cultivate more Earthly Sovereigns, allowing its strength to pull ahead of the other main branches in a short time...

That way, when the next tribal chief was elected, he would have more power to push himself into that position!

Of course, none of this was something a minor figure like Heavenly Insect could know.

Even Elder Tian Zhe knew nothing about it, so he too harbored considerable dissatisfaction with the tribe's brutally competitive environment.

But what could he do?

He was merely an elder of a subsidiary branch. He had no authority over the Heavenly Meridian Lord.

Seeing Heavenly Insect still frowning in confusion, Elder Tian Zhe shook his head with a sigh. "You needn't dwell on it. Those are the rules, and neither you nor I can change them. All we can do is act within them."

"This time, our Twelfth Branch has Tian Wu, Tian Qin, and Tian Cong, and now you as well. As long as you work together in the Insect World, we'll have a chance to shed this label of 'the weakest'!"

Heavenly Insect, however, wasn't convinced.

Even setting aside the powerful enemies prowling around them, getting everyone within their own team to work together would hardly be simple.

Of course, although he thought that, he couldn't say it.

"Rest assured, Elder. I'll certainly give it my all this time and strive alongside everyone to free our Twelfth Branch from its reputation as the weakest!"

"Good, good. With that assurance from you, I can rest easy..."

"Now then, after taking fourth place in the elimination tournament, you not only secured a place without having to enter the round-robin tournament, but the tribe also awarded you a Ten-Tailed Flying Spirit Centipede of the highest potential. You may also enter the Scripture Pavilion to choose a divine art, and request whatever resources you need to raise your spirit insects..."

"I'll also promise on the tribe's behalf to prepare a set of materials for your Flying Spirit Centipede's evolution. Make good preparations during this time, and try to improve yourself as much as possible before the Insect World opens!"

Heavenly Insect was overjoyed. He hadn't expected the rewards for fourth place to be so generous. There was still a month before the Insect World opened. Didn't that mean his strength could take another enormous leap forward?

"Thank you for nurturing me, Elder!"

"Hehe, there's no need to be so formal. Go back and fully integrate the spiritual energy the Spirit Sovereign bestowed upon you first. That should bring you another step closer to becoming a Sovereign!"

Put plainly, the Three Minor Tribulations of the Sovereign were the preliminary preparations cultivators had to make after reaching a certain level of existence, before ascending to a higher one.

After all, such a transformation was far too terrifying. Cultivators had to fully prepare their flesh, spiritual energy, and soul. Otherwise, attempting a breakthrough rashly was simply courting death.

If Heavenly Insect's Body Tribulation had been a frightening but ultimately safe ordeal, his Spiritual Energy Tribulation came as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

After overcoming the Spiritual Energy Tribulation, Heavenly Insect clearly noticed a significant change in his spiritual energy. Most noticeably, the spiritual arts he now used in battle were more powerful, and the sword aura he could unleash through the Ancient Sword Butterfly had grown thirty percent stronger as well.

The round-robin tournament had also just concluded, settling the team's final five places, so the tribe had all ten members go together to the Scripture Pavilion to choose divine arts...

Heavenly Insect and everyone else were extremely excited about this.

After all, these were the tribe's accumulated treasures from untold years, far beyond what the families behind each of them possessed.

If they were lucky enough to obtain a powerful divine art, it would greatly aid their future cultivation.

After emerging from seclusion, Heavenly Insect didn't hesitate. He immediately followed Elder Tian Zhe's instructions and headed toward a hall at the mountaintop.

When he reached the square before the hall, he found people already waiting there.

Clearly, they were all members of this expedition's ten-person team. What Heavenly Insect hadn't expected, however, was to see someone who surprised him greatly.

​Tian Yu? This woman actually secured a place too?

Heavenly Insect also noticed that the girl was standing beside the tribe's foremost young talent, affectionately holding his arm as she said something, seemingly wheedling him.

But when Heavenly Insect looked over, she keenly sensed something and immediately turned toward his gaze.

The next moment, their eyes met.

Heavenly Insect was just about to nod in greeting when the woman's eyes lit up. She whispered something into Tian Wu's ear, then ran happily over.

Heavenly Insect truly hadn't anticipated this, and had no idea what she wanted.

Whatever her intentions, though, Heavenly Insect already sensed trouble, because more than one gaze brimming with malice was now fixed on him.

"Haha, you finally came! I thought you were going to give up this opportunity!" Tian Yu said with a playful laugh as she reached Heavenly Insect.

Hearing that, Heavenly Insect stopped paying attention to the others' gazes and simply said calmly, "I worked hard to secure this opportunity. Why would I give it up...?"

"Hehe, half the credit for that opportunity belongs to me, you know. How are you going to thank me?"

Heavenly Insect raised an eyebrow. "What happened between us was merely a transaction. When we parted, both payment and goods had been settled. Where does this talk of thanks come from?"

"You... hmph!"

"I can't be bothered listening to your excuses..."

"Even if it's as you say, I still helped you, didn't I? Are we still friends?"

Looking at the fuming girl, Heavenly Insect considered for a moment, then nodded. "We are!"

"Good, then!"

"Come on, I'll introduce you to a few friends."

"I heard Elder Tian Zhe recommended you. I imagine he's already told you a few things about the places in this Insect World expedition, right? This concerns our Twelfth Branch's future, so we must work together, both for ourselves and for our people!"

Heavenly Insect nodded. He seemed to understand somewhat why Tian Yu was acting this way.

"Brother, look! I brought Heavenly Insect over!"

As Tian Yu spoke cheerfully to Tian Wu, surprise immediately flashed through Heavenly Insect's eyes.

He hadn't expected the girl who had been bullied back then to be the younger sister of the tribe's foremost young talent. Had she deliberately been pretending to be weak?

If that really was the case, what had she been after? Him?

Probably not. After all, their meeting had been pure chance, and she hadn't even known who he was. There would have been no reason to scheme against him like that...

Or had the girl deliberately been baiting a trap, luring those three into attacking so she could suddenly strike back and seize their spirit cores?

That was quite possible...

In that case, hadn't he spoiled her plans? Or perhaps she had already marked him as prey the moment he appeared.

Only, the strength he displayed had exceeded her expectations somewhat, leaving her without an opportunity to act...

All sorts of wild conjectures ran through Heavenly Insect's mind, but none of them showed outwardly. With a calm expression, he cupped his hands and said, "I'm Heavenly Insect. Greetings, everyone!"

Tian Wu and the others returned his greeting and introduced themselves in turn.

Although they had previously been rivals, they were now tied to the same boat. If they wanted that boat to travel farther and haul in more fish, they would have to set aside their prejudices.

Even so, Heavenly Insect could still feel several unfriendly gazes...

Among them were naturally Tian Huo and Tian Ming, who felt he had stolen their places... Oh, right, Tian Ming was the lowest-ranked of the original five Sovereign-level experts among the younger generation. He had stood a chance of advancing directly through the elimination tournament.

But Heavenly Insect's sudden emergence had pushed Tian Huo down a place, and had knocked Tian Ming clean out of the top five...

Under those circumstances, it would have been strange for either of them to look kindly on Heavenly Insect!

The last was Tian Cong, who looked every bit the lovesick lapdog.

The familiarity Tian Yu showed toward Heavenly Insect had set jealousy blazing in his heart, leaving him thoroughly disgusted with Heavenly Insect.

Of course, none of those who had made it this far were truly stupid, so they wouldn't let their anger devour their reason.

They displayed their true feelings toward Heavenly Insect so openly because they didn't think he was worthy of their concealing them.

Had Heavenly Insect been Tian Wu instead, all three would surely have greeted him with smiles...

"Looks like everyone's here. You came far too early. I haven't had enough rest yet."

Just as the ten-person team assembled, a languid voice drifted over from the hall. Heavenly Insect and the others looked up, only to see a Dragon-Shaped Creature that had appeared to be a carving on the Scripture Pavilion's two enormous doors actually move and speak.