Chapter 129: Chapter 125: Searching for New Soul Beast Species

Seeing that Nia was still in a daze, Han Ning simply had Yin Yi bind her and place her on Egg Pancake’s back.

The group didn’t linger and headed straight back to the academy.

Only when they entered the academy and all sorts of modern buildings came into view did Nia’s dazed expression finally change.

With her pale cyan eyes, she quietly gazed at the human technological marvels before her.

Buildings five or six stories high, constructed from reinforced concrete.

Overturned cars by the roadside.

Crooked lampposts.

There was even a silver-white, vine-covered electric scooter wedged in the greenery.

All of this seemed incredibly novel to her.

As Han Ning and his group entered the main gate of the dormitory area, Nia, with her unique appearance, instantly drew the attention of passing students from her perch on Egg Pancake’s back.

"This... is another Insect-man?"

"Why does this one look so much more like us? She’s a lot prettier than the three we have locked up, but she’s still very weird."

"An Insect-man girl? Heh heh... Reminds me of those spider-women from anime I’ve seen."

"Han Ning, where did you get a female Insect-man?"

While everyone was curiously sizing up Nia, she was also timidly and fearfully observing the humans around her.

As a woman, Teacher Zheng was more sensitive to emotional changes. She waved her hand at the crowd of students. "Alright, alright, stop looking. Don’t keep staring at her; you’re scaring her."

"Teacher Zheng, who is she? Judging by your tone, she seems like an ally?" a student asked curiously.

"More or less. Be polite. I’ll announce her identity to everyone later," Teacher Zheng said with a faint smile.

"Okay."

Hearing that Nia was considered an ally, everyone flashed her a friendly smile.

"They mean you no harm." Regardless of whether Nia understood, Teacher Zheng gave her a gentle smile and reached out to softly stroke her black hair, her expression radiating a motherly warmth.

Han Ning recalled that Teacher Zheng’s group had discovered Nia first during their expedition and had communicated with the father and daughter for some time.

’They must have formed some sort of bond.’

Nia allowed Teacher Zheng to stroke her hair. She lowered her head, gently clutching the cyan dragonfly in her arms.

Nia’s arrival undoubtedly caught everyone’s attention.

This was especially true for Dean Wu, Lü Xiuning, and the others.

They urgently convened a meeting to discuss how to handle Nia.

The outcome of the meeting was just as Han Ning had expected. They unanimously decided to keep Nia for the time being. She would help the academy research Insect-man technology to counter the possible arrival of the Insect Masters.

However, due to the language barrier, they couldn’t communicate with Nia yet. For now, it was decided that the two women, Teacher Zheng and Lena, would spend a few days with Nia and continue learning the Insect-man language.

...

「Another day passed.」

Early in the morning, a few travel-worn people arrived at the academy’s East Gate.

The teachers and students who went to explore beyond the East Gate had returned.

Not a single person in this exploration team had died, though two had sustained minor injuries.

They also brought back some exhilarating news.

Beyond the East Gate, they had discovered new life forms different from the usual insects, toads, and snakes. There were large beasts, birds, and... what was suspected to be a Nitre Mine.

That afternoon, all the teachers and students in the academy whose Silver Lotus Wood had reached its first evolution geared up, ready to head to the area beyond the East Gate.

The task of guarding the three Insect-men was temporarily handed over to Teacher Zhou and his team.

The members of this expedition were the three who had explored the north gate, including Han Ning but excluding Luo Chen; the five, including Teacher Zheng, whose Spiritual Power had grown rapidly after the Insect Dragon’s baptism; and a student to guide them—Zhao Jingjing.

The teacher who led their exploration team had been injured fighting a Soul Beast, so Zhao Jingjing was taking over as the guide.

Luo Chen didn’t come because he already had the Swamp Guardian and didn’t need to find a second Soul Beast.

The group of nine was carried by Tree Spirits or Wood Demons, advancing toward the eastern region.

The reason so many people had come was that their Spiritual Power levels had all reached the required threshold, allowing them to find and form a contract with a second Soul Beast.

A second Soul Beast would undoubtedly grant a Beast Master a significant boost in combat power.

Due to the existence of the Insect-men, everyone was extremely wary about forming contracts with insects.

They worried that if they contracted with an insect, it might be influenced during a battle with Insect-men, putting them at a severe disadvantage.

Therefore... it was best to avoid choosing an insect for their second Soul Beast. Beasts were the ideal choice.

Moreover, they also needed to scout the area around the mine and ensure it was safe.

A large, untapped supply of nitre would undoubtedly provide the academy with an abundant reserve of gunpowder.

The more nitre they had, the more gunpowder they could produce. Their reserves of bullets and explosives would no longer be so limited.

In Xia Country, there was a saying: yield is justice.

With enough gunpowder to create high-yield explosives, they could instantly wipe out vast numbers of ordinary Insect-men and swarms with a single deployment.

Exploring the Nitre Mine was even more important than finding second Soul Beasts!

It was a matter of whether the academy could possess weapons of mass destruction.

After numerous battles, their reserve of rifle bullets—the full case they had taken from the train—was nearly depleted. They urgently needed a new source of ammunition.

"We traveled for more than three days, advancing over 300 kilometers eastward," Zhao Jingjing explained, pointing toward the eastern region.

"We saw a range of rolling, forested mountains. The white mist was still thick, but the variety of Soul Beasts living there was much greater."

"Besides the vast mountain forests, there’s also a large lake that seems to be home to many Water Type Soul Beasts. We were worried the water would be too dangerous, so we didn’t explore it any further."

"How aggressive are those Soul Beasts? Do they attack on sight like the ones around here?" Lü Xiuning, who was awkwardly wrapped in vines, shifted his body.

They currently lacked proper mounts, so they had to let the Wood Demons carry them. It was a little uncomfortable, but their speed was much faster than running on foot.

The Tree Spirits and Wood Demons moved at a speed comparable to a car on a highway, roughly ninety-some kilometers per hour.

"Some are highly aggressive, but others are relatively mild-tempered. They won’t attack us unprovoked, they’re just wary," Zhao Jingjing recalled.

Beyond the East Gate, there was initially a small, dark-purple forest bordering a swamp.

After thirty kilometers, the forest gave way to a vast, blackish-brown swamp that stretched as far as the eye could see.

After traveling for more than two hundred kilometers through the swamplands.

A verdant, rolling mountain range gradually came into view.

Beside the mountain range was a vast, mist-shrouded lake.