Chapter 144: Chapter 140: Insect Master’s First Step - Insect Rearing Selection

’It needs an evaluation from the Five Ancestor Families?’

A strange feeling washed over Han Ning as he listened to Lena’s description.

The Insect Tribes he’d seen had all been backward and savage.

He found it bizarre that they could have developed a system for evaluation and review.

"Does an Insect Master Family have any special privileges?" Han Ning asked.

"An Insect Master Family can claim a piece of unclaimed territory. Of course, this territory must be in an undeveloped area outside the lands of the Ancestor Families and other Insect Master Families. The Insect Master has the right to exploit the territory’s resources. In return, they must provide a certain share of those resources to the Five Ancestor Families annually. This could be Crystal Stones from Soul Beasts, Concentration Insects, or even the Insect-men from their own tribe—they are also considered a resource."

"An Insect Master Family recognized by the Ancestor Families receives their protection. If a conflict breaks out between two recognized families, the Ancestor Families will not take sides. But if they are attacked by other, unrecognized Insect Masters, the Ancestor Families will dispatch their own Insect Masters to assist."

"Heh, the development of civilization is always surprisingly similar," Lü Xiuning remarked with an enigmatic chuckle. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"So you’re saying that on this continent, we’re considered invaders engaged in illegal exploitation?" Dean Wu’s brows furrowed.

"For now, that’s the case. If another Insect Master Family discovers us and reports us to the Ancestor Families, any of them—be it other Insect Masters or the Ancestor Families themselves—can destroy us without needing a reason and claim all the resources we’ve extracted."

’Three Extraordinary Limit Soul Beasts...’

Han Ning was instantly struck by how troublesome this was.

Within the entire academy, only Yin Yi had reached the Extraordinary Tier, and she was only at the Early Stage.

He didn’t even have three Soul Beasts yet.

This meant that if they ran into any random Insect Master, they would be completely powerless.

To say nothing of everyone else at the academy, whose Soul Beasts were still hovering at the Awakened Level.

"We must increase our strength as soon as possible..." Dean Wu let out a long sigh.

A tense atmosphere immediately descended upon the meeting room.

"We still have far too little information. It’s like the legacies of Sects in novels. If we only had a complete method for cultivating Insect Masters, I don’t think we’d be fumbling in the dark, completely lost."

Lü Xiuning closed his notebook, bowed slightly to Lena and Nia, and said in a sincere tone,

"We’re counting on both of you."

Right now, the Insect Master legacy from Nia’s father—the legacy of the Yinsaike Race—was of paramount importance to everyone. The more information Lena could translate, the faster they could find ways to grow stronger.

But everyone understood this couldn’t be rushed. Humans have their limits, and they had all witnessed Lena’s tireless efforts over the past few days. Apart from the bare minimum of sleep she needed, she spent all her time with Nia, translating for more than twenty hours a day, almost nonstop.

Her husband, Rajkica, was taking care of their child. When Rajkica himself was too busy, other teachers would even have to step in and look after the child.

Everyone held the couple in high esteem.

The group discussed for a while longer. When it was clear Lena had shared all she knew for now, Dean Wu turned to Han Ning and asked, "You came looking for us earlier. Did you need something?"

"Oh, right," Han Ning said, explaining his plan to the group. "I was hoping to find a few teachers with a basic knowledge of architectural design to help design a shelter for Da Yan."

"As it happens, I’ve read some books on structural design in my spare time. Building a simple stone house shouldn’t be too difficult," Dean Wu said, rising to his feet with a slight cough. "Let’s end today’s morning meeting here. Lena, Lady Niya, you two go get some rest. We appreciate all your hard work."

By the time Han Ning and Dean Wu left the meeting room and arrived at the area next to Building D, a dozen or so teachers and students had already gathered.

Teacher Fang stood not far from Egg Pancake, directing students to spread hay on an empty patch of ground to the side.

Da Yan watched the humans and their Soul Beasts warily, sticking close to Egg Pancake’s side.

Lin Tianhe stood beside Da Yan, gently stroking its cheek to soothe it.

"Building a simple shelter is actually quite easy. Considering how often it rains here, the base needs to be raised over a meter off the ground. Egg Pancake can use the Earth Element to connect the structure directly to the ground, so we won’t need a foundation. We’ll make the roof a double-layered slope for waterproofing, insulation, and good drainage..."

"As for the load-bearing aspects..."

Dean Wu observed the surrounding terrain, pen and paper in hand, quickly sketching a structural diagram of the shelter.

It was just a simple dwelling for Da Yan, so it didn’t involve any complex structural design.

"Teacher Fang, should we add windows for Da Yan?" Lin Tianhe asked, looking at the boxy stone house Dean Wu was sketching.

Teacher Fang glanced down at the yellowish-brown patterns on Da Yan’s shell and shook his head. "No. Rain might get in through the windows. Turtles need to sunbathe regularly, though. If Da Yan feels the need, it can just crawl out on its own. We’ll just build it a terrace by the entrance."

...

It only took Dean Wu a few moments to finish the simple sketch. All that remained was to wait for Egg Pancake to conjure up enough stone blocks with its Earth Element, and then construction could begin.

Han Ning couldn’t help much with the design, so he did what little he could.

This mostly involved helping Egg Pancake move the stone blocks.

He also occasionally fed Egg Pancake some of the fruit produced by Xiaoyu to help it regain its Physical Strength.