At the Martial Arts Arena in the Qin family’s backyard.
SHNK!
The dagger pierced the back of the head. A fat pig weighing over three hundred pounds gave a muffled grunt and crashed to the ground. Qin Yu sliced open its belly and thrust his right hand straight inside. Following his inherited memories, he circulated the Qi Blood throughout his body. It quickly surged toward his arm, which was now buried deep in flesh and viscera. At the same time, his arm began to rapidly absorb the Life Energy from the gore.
Then, something bizarre happened.
The flesh on Qin Yu’s palm shifted and squirmed. Finally, a thumb-sized insect resembling a caterpillar crawled right out of his palm! The moment the larva was born, it began devouring the surrounding flesh in massive bites.
It was a larva of the Insect Race!
This was one of the abilities Qin Yu had gained from the Insect Race inheritance. By consuming his own Qi Blood and Energy, he could gestate these larvae through cellular division. This was the most Basic unit of the Insect Race. Given enough Energy, a larva could theoretically mutate into any Insect Race unit.
After birthing the larva, Qin Yu was visibly weakened. His face, already pale from blood loss due to his earlier injuries, turned deathly white. Yet, his eyes were incredibly bright. He stared intently at the pig’s carcass on the ground, listening to the continuous crunching and tearing sounds of flesh being ripped apart from within.
Qin Yu could clearly feel the larva growing rapidly. He could even shift his perspective to the larva, observing the world through its vision and senses. It was a fascinating sensation.
According to his inherited memories, every Insect Race warrior he spawned was like an extension of his own body—just like his arms and legs. He was the brain of the Insect Swarm. He was its very will.
After waiting for about ten minutes, the fat pig’s carcass caved in, still churning violently from the inside. Suddenly, a bladed leg tore through the skin.
A grotesque insect, a full size larger than a large dog, crawled out. It looked somewhat like a scorpion. It had a pair of front limbs that resembled pincers, two recurved bladed legs near its front, and six armored legs trailing toward the back. Its rear ended in a tail strikingly similar to a scorpion’s, complete with a sharp stinger extending from the tip.
Through his inherited memories, Qin Yu knew that this ferocious-looking creature was not actually a combat unit. It was a Worker Insect, the most Low Tier unit of the Insect Race.
Its front pincers could slice through minerals, while its tail was used for precise tasks, such as cutting and splicing biological tissues. It could also secure heavy objects onto its back or drag them along. Their primary roles were to build and maintain Insect Nests, as well as scavenge and transport resources for the swarm. However, if necessary, they could also be thrown into battle.
Once the Worker Insect was born, it instinctively moved to Qin Yu’s side, shielding him. This was a primal instinct of life.
An invisible psychic ripple emanated from Qin Yu. The Worker Insect at his feet immediately sprang into action, continuing to devour the pig and the other livestock carcasses scattered across the ground. As it fed, its abdomen gradually swelled. It was digesting the flesh and converting it into Life Energy. Once it gathered enough Energy, it could complete its next evolutionary step and metamorphose into an Insect Nest.
"I estimate it will take the flesh of at least thirty pigs to gather enough Life Energy for a complete Tier One Insect Nest," Qin Yu murmured, furrowing his brow as he sensed the Energy within the Worker Insect. "But I can’t wait that long. I’ll initiate the gestation at the absolute minimum requirement to breed a batch of combat units first."
Thirty pigs were nothing to the Qin family. But if he relied on the Worker Insect to eat them slowly, who knew how long it would take? Fortunately, the Insect Race inheritance had a built-in solution for this. He could start the gestation at the bare minimum requirement and gradually perfect the internal structure of the Insect Nest later.
The Qin family was the most prominent of the four great families in Cyan Peak County, holding monopolies over multiple industries, including iron mines, blacksmiths, rice shops, and restaurants. As the son of the Qin Family Patriarch, Qin Yu possessed astonishing authority.
After ordering his subordinates to deliver another batch of livestock, Qin Yu turned his gaze toward the east. That was the location of the Qin Family Manor outside the city.
For the past month or so, Demon Fiends from the mountains had suddenly begun attacking villages and towns. This was a rare occurrence. Demon Fiends weren’t stupid; while commoners were indeed weak, Martial Artists were certainly not. Any large-scale attack would inevitably draw the intervention of Martial Artists, or even trigger a purge by the Demon Suppression Bureau.
In the past, the ones who attacked humans were usually just Little Demons that had newly gained sentience or newly formed Fierce Ghosts. The more powerful Demon Fiends almost exclusively stayed deep in the mountains. Moreover, the infighting within the mountains was equally brutal, if not far bloodier. After all, Demon Fiends were not a unified race.
But the Demon Fiends attacking the Qin Family Manor this time weren’t just a dozen or so Wolf Demons; there were also Bear Demons, Fox Demons, and various other species. This was highly abnormal. When this kind of situation occurred, it usually meant a powerful Demon Fiend had emerged in the mountains, subjugating the others by force to form a Demon Nest or a Ghost Nest.
The Great Wei Court had strict orders: Any discovered Demon Nest or Ghost Nest must be eradicated immediately.
"I need to spawn the first batch of combat units as soon as possible to back up my father."
Worry clouded Qin Yu’s eyes. The night was the most dangerous time. The Demon Fiends might already be attacking right now. He was burning with anxiety, but he also knew that rushing over there completely alone would be a suicide mission.
"Young Master, the medicinal meals have been delivered!" a guard shouted from outside the gates, carrying a massive food container.
The sudden voice pulled Qin Yu from his thoughts. The Martial Arts Arena was his private training ground, and no one was allowed to enter. The space was also large enough, making it highly suitable for the Early Stage gestation of the Insect Nest.
"Got it!" Qin Yu called back.
He retrieved the food container from outside the courtyard. His stomach was already rumbling like Thunder, so he immediately began wolfing down the food.
Martial Artists possessed robust Qi Blood and could unleash a thousand pounds of force with a single swing. Where did this strength come from? Eating, naturally! His diet consisted mostly of meat, accompanied by specially prepared medicinal meals.