Meanwhile, the nearby Insect-men continued to command the beetles, using the power of the Earth Element to construct one-meter-tall, honeycomb-shaped balls of earth.
The sated centipedes then burrowed into the earthen spheres to rest.
After finishing these tasks, the Insect-men took out massive, coarse red leaves, each two meters long and several dozen centimeters wide. They arranged them along the newly built earthen walls, creating a dome over the crude Insect Nest to shield it from the elements.
As they worked on the Insect Nest, they chattered away to the several academy members observing them, holding nothing back as they explained a series of crucial construction techniques.
The exchange personnel selected by the academy listened intently to the Insect-men, furiously scribbling notes on their papers.
Han Ning, Dean Wu, and a few others sat atop several beetles, watching the scene unfold below. They all nodded in satisfaction.
"As expected of a tribe considered mid-to-large-sized even on the Insect Continent," Dean Wu remarked, his expression complex. "They truly have a unique understanding when it comes to raising insects. It’s a cut above the Yinsaike Race legacy I’ve seen."
Compared to humanity’s initial, inexperienced fumbling, the Insect-men’s construction speed was clearly on another level.
Although the Taman Insect Master was incredibly powerful and possessed a suspected Lord Level Soul Beast, the Red Centipede Tribe was clearly stronger when considering the average strength and legacy of the tribe as a whole.
You could only say the Red Centipede Tribe had bad luck. For over a hundred years, they hadn’t produced an Insect Master with the same breathtaking talent as the Taman Insect Master.
"The higher you climb, the more dangerous it gets..."
Han Ning suddenly uttered a rather cryptic phrase, his gaze fixed on the pale red centipedes crawling in and out.
A pale blue screen of light appeared:
[ㅤ
Race: Fire-Spraying Centipede
Gender: Male
Talent: E
Level: Entry Level I
Talent: None
Acquired Soul Techniques: Incinerate
Consume 500 Energy to unlock the second evolution branch for the Fire-Spraying Centipede?
]
He retracted his gaze and turned to ask Teacher Zhou, who was beside Dean Wu, "Teacher Zhou, have you chosen a new Soul Beast yet?"
After his interface was upgraded, he could spend Energy Points to unlock a target Soul Beast’s evolutionary branches.
This way, he didn’t have to worry about the other academy members’ choices for their Soul Beasts’ evolution paths.
"I’d like to choose a beast-type Soul Beast. I’m... not really into insects at the moment. I’ll wait a bit longer," Teacher Zhou said, shaking his head.
"Alright. If you find a suitable candidate, just let me know in advance," Han Ning said with a smile.
...
Time passed, day by day.
With the threat from the Red Centipede Tribe resolved, the academy entered a period of peaceful development.
With the addition of the Insect-men to help with construction, the damaged buildings were quickly torn down and rebuilt.
Insect Nests of various types were constructed one after another.
The teachers and students who had lost their Soul Beasts in battle gradually emerged from the shadow of their companions’ deaths and began to search for new Soul Beast partners to form contracts with.
Some formed contracts with the Immortal Insects from the Red Centipede Tribe. Others, who weren’t fond of insects, ventured outside under the protection of their comrades to find other types of Soul Beasts...
「Ten days later.」
Han Ning, who was helping Leon and his daughter build a simple power station, suddenly received a message from Fei Lie.
"Master, most of the materials you require have been gathered. The only exception is the Tears of the Stars; the only information about it comes from the Cyan God Armor Tribe, one of the Five Great Holy Clans."
"Tears of the Stars..."
Upon receiving the message, Han Ning’s brows furrowed slightly.
It wasn’t so easy for a Soul Beast to break through from the War General Level to the Lord Level.
Fei Ming had the power of an entire tribe, yet even he hadn’t managed to gather all the necessary materials, which just went to show the high degree of difficulty.
The appearance of a Lord Level existence in a tribe meant that, unless the Five Ancestor Families intervened, this Insect Master Family had already joined the first rank.
Of course, this was with the boost from an Insect Master. Even if the family had only one member, a single Lord Soul Beast was enough to annihilate tribes like the Red Centipede Tribe.
Tears of the Stars was said to be the essence of an ore that fell from the heavens, rich in the Power of Stars. It was the most crucial material for Yin Yi to evolve into the Jade Hook Spirit Wood.
Han Ning had also contemplated which branch Yin Yi should evolve into.
Taking the pure Element route lacked key elemental materials, such as the stone needed to build an Elemental Transformation Altar, which was nearly impossible to find on the Insect Continent.
Taking the Jade Hook Spirit Wood’s Demon Spirit route, on the other hand, involved materials that were relatively easier to gather under the current circumstances.
The relatively important Starlight Dragonfly Compound Eye was found directly in the Red Centipede Tribe’s treasury, which reduced the gathering difficulty by at least 30%.
This was, after all, also a Lord Level material. The difficulty of obtaining it was not much lower than that of the Tears of the Stars.
"The Tears of the Stars exist within the Cyan God Armor Tribe?" Han Ning asked.
"I can’t be certain, Master. I merely heard from an Insect Master of the Hurricane Tribe that about three years ago, an object from the heavens fell within the Cyan God Clan’s territory. It was rumored to contain the Tears of the Stars," Fei Lie replied.
’Cyan God Armor... Sigh, that’s an Ancestor Family...’
Regarding the Ancestor Families, Han Ning’s only memory was of the Netherworld Purple Bee Masters who had hunted the Taman Insect Master.
Their venomous and mysterious abilities had left a deep impression on him.
"Is there really no other information?" Han Ning asked, unwilling to give up.
If possible, he really didn’t want to deal with people from an Ancestor Family.
"None for now... If you are not in a hurry, I will continue to gather information for you. But if my actions are too conspicuous, it might attract the attention of the Holy Race. I worry about causing trouble."
"Investigate discreetly. I’ll think about it."
"Yes, Master."
"Han Ning, what’s wrong?"
Seeing Han Ning’s dazed expression, Lisa, who was beside him, couldn’t help but ask.
"Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about something else," Han Ning said, shaking his head. He glanced at the building, which had already taken considerable shape, and turned to Lisa. "I have some other things to attend to. You guys carry on."
"Okay, go on."
Ever since the danger was eliminated, the construction of the power station was back on the agenda. Thermal power stations were a very mature technology, and Leon, having worked in the power station field for many years, had a wealth of experience.
Now, with plenty of manpower to help, the power station’s construction was progressing faster and faster.
After bidding farewell to Lisa, Han Ning walked back to the academy with a heavy heart.
Unlike the Red Centipede Tribe, the Cyan God Armor Tribe had Lord Level Soul Beasts. The danger of trying to infiltrate a tribe of that caliber was immense.
’Sigh, I can only have Fei Lie help gather some information on the Cyan God Armor Tribe for now. If it really doesn’t work out... I’ll have to try another path, or help Egg Pancake or the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm break through first.’
Han Ning gritted his teeth, feeling quite resentful.
’I’ve already gathered most of the materials, but now I’m stuck on these Tears of the Stars. It’s so frustrating.’
Soon, a preliminary plan formed in his mind.
If the Tears of the Stars proved too difficult to obtain, he would no longer hesitate and would instead focus on helping Egg Pancake and the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm break through to the Lord Level.
Once they became Lords, he would reconsider infiltrating the Cyan God Tribe to search for the Tears of the Stars.
By then, with two Lord Level Soul Beasts, even if he were discovered and couldn’t win the fight, he would have a decent chance of escaping.
Otherwise, trying to infiltrate the Cyan God Armor Tribe with his current team of only War General Level members would be nothing short of suicide.
"Han Ning? Han Ning!"
Without realizing it, he had walked into the dormitory area when Luo Chen’s shouts suddenly reached his ears.
"What is it?"
Han Ning snapped back to reality, stopped, and looked at his classmate.
Over ten days ago, he had shared the contents of the Four Symbols Meditation Technique with his companions at the academy.
He didn’t explain the origin of the Meditation Technique in detail, only saying that it was information that had automatically appeared in his mind after his Spiritual Power increased.
After all, when everyone first transmigrated, strange Beast Taming Techniques had also appeared in their minds.
Thanks to cultivating the Four Symbols Meditation Technique, Luo Chen’s Spiritual Power had improved slightly, and it now seemed he could faintly suppress that so-called Bishop.
"That guy in my head probably sees he can’t suppress me anymore, so now he wants to communicate with me as an equal. I’m not sure what to do, so I wanted to get your advice," Luo Chen explained.