Chapter 143: Chapter 139: The Five Great Ancestors

Three days...

For translating a language, even a relatively simple one like that of the Insect-men, three days was an incredibly short amount of time.

But... time was of the essence for everyone. Lü Xiuning pressed on, asking, "Lady Lenna, besides the Insect-men’s insect-rearing techniques, is there any other confirmed intelligence?"

"Please, don’t rush, Mr. Lü. I report everything I learn to Dean Wu daily." Lena offered a faint smile. "Besides their knowledge of insect-rearing, I’ve also learned from Nia about the topics everyone is most concerned with: the white mist, the transmigrators, and the black worms."

"According to Nia, the continent we’re on is called the Sesmiya Continent. A more common name for it, when translated, would be the Insect Continent."

"Eighty percent of the life on this continent consists of insects of all shapes and sizes. The main types of terrain are swamps, mountains, grasslands, and a few lakes."

"The continent is shrouded in a white mist year-round and is home to about 600 Insect-man tribes. Over the long course of history, these tribes have evolved into different groups, scattering across the continent and making a living by raising insects."

"Insects provide them with their daily food, serve as their transportation, and are also their combat partners."

"All Insect-men worship a Deity known as the ’Queen’."

"Legend has it that the Queen gave birth to the first Insect-men. It was this first generation that multiplied and thrived on the Insect Continent, eventually growing into the tribes of today."

"This first generation of Insect-men are called the Ancestors by all others, and they were also the most powerful Insect Masters."

"Each Ancestor founded a family on the continent. Currently, there are a total of Five Ancestor Families on the Insect Continent, and they are the absolute rulers."

"The Five Ancestor Families have rather distinct physical traits. They resemble humans but also have insectoid features. Based on my knowledge of insects from Blue Star, I’ve categorized them as: Beetle, Moth, Ant, Bee, and Mantis..."

"Besides the Ancestor Families, there are dozens of younger Insect Master Families. Nia’s Yinsaike Race was one of them."

"Each Ancestor Family commands multiple advanced techniques for cultivating insects, and different insect species can exhibit different abilities."

"Ancestor Families..." Han Ning muttered to himself, his mind flashing back to the bizarre, stitched-together statue he had seen in the Insect-man ruins on the Blood-colored Grassland. ’So that must be the "Queen" the Insect-men talk about?’

"Besides Nia, are there any other Yinsaike People left? Can we establish friendly relations with them?" Lü Xiuning raised his hand, interrupting Lena’s report to ask.

"No, Nia is the last of the Yinsaike People. Her father was the most powerful Insect Master in the Yinsaike Race." Lena shook her head. "Nia doesn’t want to talk much about this part yet. I only know that a very powerful Ancestor Family destroyed her people. Her race was annihilated for angering an Ancestor Family."

The ones who destroyed Nia’s family were an Ancestor Family...

Han Ning recalled the appearance of the Insect-men who had faced Nia’s father.

They had purple carapaces and their gazes were vicious and cold. Their specialized domain seemed to involve poison and stealth.

’Based on that appearance... Bee or Mantis seems the closest match.’

"Understood. Lady Lenna, please continue." Lü Xiuning nodded, gesturing for Lena to go on.

"Insect Masters possess a Talent for the Cultivation of Spiritual Power. Every Ancestor Insect Master Family has built one or more breeding grounds for ’Concentration Insects.’ This type of insect contains a unique Spiritual Fluctuation, and through special techniques, it can be made into a potion that helps Insect Masters enhance their Spiritual Power."

"Some Insect Master Families that lack the methods for cultivating Concentration Insects can only gather wild ones from across the continent, using more primitive methods to create inferior Spiritual Power Potions."

"I believe this Spiritual Power Potion is likely that strange liquid with the pungent, spicy smell."

"The inferior potions have certain side effects, causing an Insect Master’s temperament to become irritable or bloodthirsty, affecting their personality."

"So... exactly how big is the Insect Continent? Has Nia’s family ever explored its borders?" Han Ning asked.

"The borders are unknown, but based on the area explored by the Yinsaike Family, the Insect Continent is about half the size of Blue Star and has no oceans."

"They say that if you keep moving in one direction, the surrounding mist will grow thicker and thicker. Eventually, it becomes so dense that not even an Insect Master’s Spiritual Power can penetrate it, and you’ll get lost in the fog, your fate unknown. Perhaps only the most powerful Insect Masters among the Ancestor Families know the secrets of this continent."

"The source of the white mist is likely located in the center of the area surrounded by the territories of the Five Ancestor Families. It seems to emanate from a place that represents the Queen’s Divine Hall and spreads across the entire continent. So... to find the source of the white mist, one would have to pass through the territories controlled by the Ancestor Families and travel to that central, core location to have any chance of finding the truth."

"As for the mystery of our transmigration, even Nia is clueless. In her experience, she has never seen humans with our appearance before."

As she finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the conference room, broken only by the soft sound of fingers tapping on the tabletop.

After a few seconds, Dean Wu asked, "Where on the continent is our academy located, roughly? Are there any powerful entities nearby?"

"That’s probably the one bit of good luck in all this misfortune." Lena gave a wry smile. "The academy is located in the southeastern corner of the area the Yinsaike explored. It’s still far from the territories of the Ancestor Families. The most powerful groups in the vicinity are just some relatively young Insect Master Families."

"If you had to name the closest Ancestor Family, it would be the one whose members generally have beetle-like features—the Anlesect. Translated, their name roughly means ’beetle’."

Dean Wu nodded.

"From the sound of it, our enemy is most likely a young Insect Master Family. Do you have any intelligence on them?"

"Not yet. Nia has seen those three Insect-men, but she doesn’t know anything about them. Perhaps they’re from too far away, or maybe she was just too young to know of another Insect Master Family’s existence."

"Insect Masters... what kind of power level are they at? What level of strength does it take to become an Insect Master?" This was a question Han Ning was particularly concerned about.

"Yesterday, Nia gave me a notebook her father carried with him. It records the general power classifications and species distribution of Soul Beasts on the Insect Continent."

"I haven’t had time to translate the detailed Soul Beast species, but the basic power classifications, using the terms from your Xia Country, are: Entry Level, Awakening, Extraordinary, War General, and Lord... The notebook doesn’t describe if there’s anything stronger above Lord." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"To become an Insect Master, you must possess three Soul Beasts that have reached the Extraordinary Limit and have mastered one or more related insect cultivation techniques. With that, you can apply to the Five Ancestor Families for an evaluation. If you pass, you earn the right to establish a new family."