SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The Purple Vine Bow snapped. The fletched arrows tore through the air, shooting out explosively to hit the target with dead-center precision.
"As expected, this Purple Vine Bow is much better than the Profound Iron Bow. With the same amount of force, the power increases by at least thirty percent!"
After inspecting it carefully, Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction.
The bow he had used previously was actually a premium Weapon, forged from Profound Iron by a Weapons master within the family. It was a Hundred-Stone Strong Bow that even Bone Forging Martial Artists could wield.
However, compared to this Purple Vine Bow, it fell far short.
"A good bow needs good arrows. Profound Iron Armor-Breaking Arrows are fine for dealing with ordinary Demon Fiends, but killing a Qi and Blood Realm Great Demon won’t be that easy.
"Perhaps I can have them forge a batch of arrowheads using refined Profound Iron, or I could take a trip to Bishui City to purchase some," Qin Yu thought to himself.
With his Archery Skill, if he had enough Rune Armor-Breaking Arrows, he could probably kill ordinary Qi and Blood Realm Great Demons with ease. However, such treasures were far too precious; they could already be considered Magical Artifacts.
Those three arrows were the ultimate trump card in Zhang Shun’s squad.
Magical Treasures, just like Secret Techniques, were divided into four tiers: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. Below that were Mortal Soldiers. The Weapons of average Bone Forging Martial Artists, as well as those of impoverished individuals in the Qi and Blood Realm, were all Mortal Soldiers.
And even the lowest tier of Rune Armor-Breaking Arrows was considered Delta-level Low Grade.
Its value still commanded one thousand silver taels!
What he had fired back then weren’t mere arrows; it was a Silver Mountain.
Even if all the properties of the Qin Family were combined, they could at most scrape together over a hundred thousand taels of silver. Yet, Rune Armor-Breaking Arrows were consumables—they were utterly useless once fired. How could he possibly afford to play around with them?
The same applied to Secret Techniques. Why was the Qin Family able to enter Cyan Peak County as outsiders and become the head of the four major families in just a few short decades?
It was precisely because the Qin Family possessed a complete set of Delta-level Middle Grade Cultivation Techniques and Combat Techniques!
Meanwhile, the hereditary Cultivation Techniques of the other three major families were only Delta-level Low Grade and lacked a cohesive system. As for the Cultivation Techniques of ordinary small families, they were completely unrated!
One could only imagine the precious value of a Gamma-level Cultivation Technique like the "Wind-Chasing Thunderbolt Arrow".
"I owe them a massive favor this time. I have to find a way to repay it in the future," he noted internally.
While thinking, Qin Yu connected his consciousness to the Insect Nest, instantly entering that state of analyzing all things. This time, however, he wasn’t observing the outside world, but his own body!
He had previously discovered that the Insect Nest’s super-strong analytical and computing capabilities could be applied not only to his Archery Skill but also to the mastery of his physical body!
A Body Forging Martial Artist could control their body to an extremely profound level. The four stages—skin, flesh, tendons, and bones—were fundamentally a progression of mastering the body from the outside in, while the Qi and Blood Realm involved absolute control over the internal organs!
With the assistance of the Insect Nest, Qin Yu could achieve near-absolute mastery of his physique, able to "inwardly gaze" at any specific part.
Whether it was Cultivation, Archery Skill, Sword Skill, or the practice of Body Techniques, it was like having a cheat code. The moment any error or omission appeared, it could be immediately detected.
SWISH!
Qin Yu fired another arrow. He then closed his eyes.
He carefully sensed the changes within his body, the flow of his Qi Blood, and the arrow piercing the air.
Archery seemed simple, appearing to rely solely on arm strength, but that was actually far from the truth. The essence of generating force required the coordinated effort of the entire body—from the lower limbs to the core, then extending to the upper back, shoulders, and arms. Only then could its true power be unleashed.
"Some muscles in the lower limbs aren’t being utilized, and there are minor issues with my torso and arms that can be further optimized and improved. Next is to feel the Wind!" he analyzed.
SWISH!
He released another arrow!
With every single shot, Qin Yu silently felt the mechanics and subsequently made adjustments.
If someone were to witness this scene, they would be absolutely horrified. Qin Yu’s progress was visible to the naked eye, and he grew slightly stronger with each attempt. Mistakes he had previously made would not happen a second time. This kind of improvement was nothing short of terrifying.
Qin Yu did not stop, continually firing arrow after arrow.
A Gamma-level Cultivation Technique like the "Wind-Chasing Thunderbolt Arrow"—which ordinary geniuses would take three to five years just to learn the basics of—only took Qin Yu half a day!
When night fell and the bright moon hung high, Qin Yu finally and slowly put away the Long Saber in his hands.
His Archery Skill needed practice, but his Body Technique and Sword Skill couldn’t be neglected either! Otherwise, if an enemy closed the distance, he would undoubtedly die. Naturally, Qin Yu wouldn’t make such a mistake.
He drank the Tiger Bone Bone Forging Soup brought by the guards. Feeling that endless stream of energy fuse into his limbs and bones, further fortifying his body, Qin Yu closed his eyes, and his consciousness descended upon the No. 2 Insect Nest.
After a day and a night of devouring and absorbing, all the corpses of the Demon Fiends and wild beasts on the battlefield—aside from a dozen or so ordinary beast carcasses left behind—had been consumed and absorbed by the Insect Nest.
However, Qin Yu wasn’t focusing on that at the moment.
"Demon Fiend lifeform—Golden Eagle—has been successfully analyzed!"
"Demon Power System has been recorded into the Insect Nest!"
"Similar life gene fragments found within the Insect Nest’s database. Fusion available! Upon fusion, the Golden Eagle will undergo mutation, cultivating a new strain."
As the Golden Eagle’s analysis finalized, the string of notifications brought a wave of joy to Qin Yu’s heart.
When he received the Insect Race inheritance, countless fragmented pieces of information had flooded his memory. Some Insect Race units were more massive than the Sun itself. With a single bite, they could devour Space. Others were as minuscule as dust, capable of killing formlessly.
Compared to the terrifying Insect Race in his memory, the Blazing Flame Tiger Demon was nothing more than an ant. It was just that the inheritance was too fragmented, leaving many memories incomplete.
The vast majority of the Insect Race warriors’ gene templates were so broken that they could not be hatched.
After the Golden Eagle was bred, it actually had an extremely high compatibility rate with one of the broken gene templates of a certain unit, making fusion possible!
"Why wasn’t there a prompt like this when the Red-bellied Eagle was successfully analyzed?
"Was the Red-bellied Eagle too weak?
"Or was the Insect Nest incomplete at the time?" he pondered.
The thought flashed through Qin Yu’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it and directly issued a command.
"Commence fusion!"
BUZZ!
The entire Insect Nest instantly emitted a humming sound, as if shifting into high gear.
Even the No. 1 Insect Nest located near the Qin Family Manor behaved similarly, synchronously performing data calculations to make the gene fusion speed even more rapid.
Deep within the Insect Nest, countless gene fragments began to merge and break apart at astonishing speeds before repairing themselves once more.
The Energy accumulated in the Insect Nest was also rapidly consumed.
A quarter of an hour later, a genetic sequence far more complex and superior to the Golden Eagle’s life gene map appeared.
"Fusion complete! New Insect Race strain cultivated successfully!"
When the notification arrived, Qin Yu didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately ordering the Insect Nest to begin gestation.
Following his command, five larvae began their metamorphosis.
An hour later, a series of low, heavy, and penetrating cries rang out. Five ferocious raptors tore out of their eggs. They closely resembled Golden Eagles in appearance, but their bodies were entirely devoid of feathers, covered instead in black Scale Armor, with sharp Bone Spikes protruding from their joints.
FLAP! FLAP!
Amidst the beating of wings, it was as if gusts of violent Wind were being kicked up within the cave.
Amidst low cries, the ferocious raptors, boasting wingspans of a full two zhang, soared into the sky, peering down at the earth like true lords of the heavens.
"This is the Insect Swarm’s new unit? With this, the Insect Swarm finally has a real aerial combat unit, not just scouts!
"The sky will be controlled by the Insect Swarm!
"A new round of expansion can now begin," Qin Yu declared.