Chapter 127: Chapter 123: Bonds, Inheritance

Behind him, Nia let out a continuous stream of mournful, shrill cries. Han Ning couldn’t understand her, but he could feel she was in immense pain.

’This... is apocalyptic destructive power.’

’An Insect Master... so this is an Insect Master...’

Han Ning’s pupils widened.

’If every Insect Master is this powerful, how are we supposed to fight back?’

At that moment, his heart was incredibly heavy.

His companions had long since been tormented into unconsciousness by the ubiquitous, agonizing screams.

Only he and Nia remained conscious.

He had no idea how long they had been running.

The surrounding Cyan Flame had long since vanished, replaced by a vast, dark-brown swamp.

Han Ning didn’t have Egg Pancake run toward the academy. Instead, he had it circle around and head for the mountain range where the Mushroom Forest was located.

’If the Insect Master loses and comes after us, I can’t drag the people at the academy into this.’

Gradually, a landscape interwoven with purple and green appeared on the horizon.

Just as Han Ning breathed a small sigh of relief, thinking they had finally escaped...

A terrifying pressure suddenly bore down on his shoulders.

He instinctively looked up at the sky.

WHOOSH~

In the sky, a cyan Insect Dragon a full sixty meters long silently watched them.

"What is that?!"

Han Ning’s pupils instinctively contracted when he saw the Insect Dragon’s underbelly.

It was a gruesome wound that stretched almost from its belly to its tail. No blood flowed from it anymore; instead, it was engulfed in blazing Cyan Flame.

"HISSS~"

The Insect Dragon let out a low roar. Its forked tongue flickered as it turned its head, and then its body flashed.

In the blink of an eye, it appeared before them.

Its gaze passed over Han Ning and fell upon Nia, never moving away.

Within its vertical pupils, which seemed devoid of any emotion, a human-like sorrow emerged.

"HISSSS~"

The Insect Dragon’s body moved, landing on the ground. Its upper half crawled toward them, its enormous head slowly approaching Nia.

"CHIRP..." "LING~"

Yin Yi and Egg Pancake trembled all over but didn’t dare move a muscle.

"Yin Yi, Egg Pancake, be careful..." Even though he could tell the Insect Dragon meant them no harm, Han Ning couldn’t help but issue a warning as its skyscraper-sized head drew near.

Nia let out a sob and jumped down from behind Han Ning. She walked a few steps to the dragon’s head, stood on her tiptoes, and reached out to gently stroke its skin.

"WHIMPER~"

At Nia’s touch, the battle-scarred Insect Dragon, which exuded an ancient and weary aura, whimpered deep in its chest like a child.

"Human, I’m not going to make it..."

The Insect Master’s voice once again echoed in Han Ning’s mind.

"You..."

"I burned my Life and Spiritual Power to merge with it. You can rest easy. I’ve killed all our enemies. You don’t have to worry about anyone chasing you."

Han Ning stood in silence. He asked cautiously, "What are you going to do now?"

"I’m dying. I beg you, please take care of Nia for me. She’s still too weak. In return..."

Han Ning listened quietly, but no further message came from the Insect Master.

’Take care of her? I’ll do my best...’ Han Ning thought. He couldn’t make any solid promises, considering they were barely able to save themselves.

The Insect Dragon gazed affectionately at Nia for a long moment. Then, it roared at the sky, its massive body shooting upward to circle in the air dozens of meters above Han Ning.

"LING..." "CHIIIRP..."

Yin Yi and Egg Pancake both looked upward.

Han Ning stared grimly at the mid-air Insect Dragon. He had a feeling something was about to happen.

SHIMMER~

A gentle breeze stirred.

The wind began to blow.

Specks of hazy green light suddenly appeared in the grass and the Mushroom Forest for kilometers around. Influenced by some unknown power, the motes of light floated up, converging on the Insect Dragon.

Before long, the ceaseless stream of green light transformed the Insect Dragon into an Energy Body, radiating a warm green glow.

One second, two seconds... The light gradually swelled, then suddenly burst.

BANG!

A verdant rain of light began to fall from the sky.

The rain of light seemed to have a will of its own, boring into the bodies of Nia, Han Ning, and all the other humans and Soul Beasts present.

As the rain of light dripped down unceasingly, the mass of energy in the sky grew smaller and smaller.

A few minutes later, the rain stopped. A basketball-sized orb of green light slowly descended from the sky, floating gently into Nia’s hands.

Nia instinctively caught the orb with both hands.

The moment her hands touched the orb, Han Ning blinked, astonished to find that everyone around him had vanished.

In their place was a vast lake shrouded in mist.

A figure appeared by the lake.

It was a handsome young man, no more than twenty years old. His limbs and cheeks bore insectoid features. In his arms, he cradled a fifty-centimeter-long, cyan-green dragonfly that was on the verge of death.

The young man’s clothes were tattered, his body covered in wounds large and small. With tears in his eyes, he murmured, "Qing, little Qing! Hold on! Don’t fall asleep. I’ll get you out of here, I’ll heal you."

"SHHHSS~" The dragonfly weakly opened its eyes and licked the young man’s arm with its mouthparts in response.

「The scene changed.」

The scene shifted to a bloody, savage place resembling an ancient colosseum.

It was surrounded by high walls made of massive stone. Blurry figures stood on the towering tiers of seats, letting out deafening cheers.

Han Ning was like an observer, watching the young man and the dragonfly, now seven meters long, embrace joyfully, basking in the deafening cheers and applause.

"Qing, do you think Liya will like this gift?" "SHHH..."

"Qing, this is my first time confessing. What do you think I should say?" "SHHH!"

"Qing, Liya’s father won’t let us be together. She’s marrying into the house of Leslie Lin next week..."

"Qing, Alan is so gentle. She’s a good person, too."

"Qing, I did it! I finally refined Spiritual Power! From now on, we’ll travel the world together, undefeated!"

"I’m a father! Qing, you’re going to be an uncle! What do you think of the name Nia?"

"This place... our existence... we’re just experiments? Heh... HAHAHA! No, I have to get Nia out of here!!"

Scene after scene flashed by like a slideshow.

In the final scene, Qing, now an Insect Dragon, flew through an endless white mist, carrying a head that was nothing but a skull burning with Cyan Flame.

The lips of the Insect Master’s head moved faintly, his voice hazy. "Qing, I’m not going to make it... You have to help me take care of Nia. She’s still so young, so weak... She can’t escape this testing ground..."

"..." The young man’s voice gradually faded...

Feeling the head on its back dissolve into flame and disappear, Qing let out a deafening roar and flew frantically into the distance.

POP~ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The vision shattered.

Their first meeting, their growth, their bond, their end...

Han Ning felt his eyes grow moist.

Nia was already sobbing, her face streaked with tears.

The light in her hands dissipated.

A dragonfly covered in scales the color of lush, vibrant jade appeared in Nia’s hands.