Free Web NovelChapter 232: Chapter 190: A Blade from a Hand Wave
A Subordinate Insect entering another creature’s body does not guarantee a 100% successful parasitism.
Instead, its success depends on a comprehensive assessment of the target’s Spiritual Power, sanity, strength, and other factors. freewebnσvel.cøm
Whether the host is a low-intelligence insect or a highly intelligent human or Insect-man, the body will instinctively fight back against an "invader."
The parasitism is only considered successful when one side completely overwhelms the other.
All Han Ning and the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm had to do was continuously drain Aketu’s Spiritual Power and weaken his will to finally achieve a successful parasitism.
Fortunately, Han Ning had killed all three of Aketu’s Contracted Soul Beasts, severely damaging his Spiritual Power. He was now in a state of mental enervation.
Han Ning had never experienced such a thing himself, but according to the lore of the Yinsaike Insect Master Family, when a Beast Master’s own Contracted Soul Beast suddenly died, the master would suffer a mental backlash of varying degrees, with the specifics depending on the Soul Beast’s strength.
In short, the death of a Soul Beast was not fatal to a Beast Master, but it would cause some degree of mental trauma.
Not to mention three Contracted Soul Beasts dying at once, which was like adding insult to injury.
Of course, this also made it easier for the Subordinate Insect to establish its parasitic hold.
Kick a man while he’s down.
After a short while, Han Ning sensed that the Subordinate Insect from the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm had successfully crawled up Aketu’s chest and into his brain.
Strange waves of Spiritual Fluctuation began to emanate outward from the Subordinate Insect’s body.
In the real world, the force of Aketu’s struggles gradually weakened. His pupils grew dull, his mouth hung slightly agape, and a trickle of saliva flowed down from the corner of his mouth, forming a thin line.
"What’s happening to him?" Lü Xiuning couldn’t help but ask as he stared at Aketu’s stupefied expression.
"It’s almost done. Just a moment longer."
As soon as the words were spoken, the Subordinate Insect hidden inside Aketu’s brain suddenly shot out countless, minuscule, blood-red threads that enveloped his entire brain.
Under Lü Xiuning’s astonished gaze, the light gradually returned to Aketu’s once-vacant eyes, and his expression became placid.
He dragged his scarred legs forward, stumbling to a stop in front of Han Ning. He crouched down and said in a reverent tone, "Good morning, my master."
It was the first time anyone had called him "master," and Han Ning felt a bit strange.
At the same time, however, he could clearly perceive all of Aketu’s thoughts at this close range through the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm.
If he so much as willed Aketu to die, the Subordinate Insect hiding in his brain would activate its "self-destruct" function, killing him instantly.
He cleared his throat and said, "Listen. Take your bag and return to the Cyan Moth Tribe. If people from the Red Centipede Tribe ask, reply to them using the story we’ve prepared for you."
The story Han Ning and his companions had prepared for Aketu was, naturally, to hide the academy members’ tracks. He was to say that he had encountered the leader of an emerging, extremely small Insect Master Family. After a difficult battle where his own three Soul Beasts were killed, he finally managed to slay the leader and wipe out his clan.
To make the lie more convincing, they had also used the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm, combining its abilities with the characteristics of the Netherworld Bee Family—one of the Five Great Ancestors—to create a few bizarre, mongrel-like insects and several lifeless "Insect Master" corpses for Aketu to take. This way, he would have something to show if the Red Centipede Clan asked for proof.
As Han Ning spoke, Lü Xiuning unhooked the waist pouch that had previously belonged to Aketu and returned it to him.
All the related materials were placed inside the pouch.
Worried that Aketu might be attacked by other, uninformed students if he went out alone, the two of them escorted him all the way to the academy’s main gate.
A living Cyan Moth, captured from the previous battlefield, was brought before Aketu, bound by Lü Xiuning’s Tree Demon.
"Remember," Han Ning cautioned, tossing Aketu a few meat patties made from Three-eyed Worms. "After you report to the Red Centipede Tribe, try to return to the Cyan Moth Tribe to rest and recover. If I have a mission for you, I’ll notify you."
Aketu nodded seriously, took out a jade-white Bone Flute, and blew a soft note. The large cyan moth, which had been constantly struggling, obediently flew down to his feet.
"As you command, Master." Aketu adjusted his bag, performed an Insect-man salute to Han Ning, then vaulted onto the cyan moth’s back. It beat its wings, soared into the sky, and quickly disappeared beyond the horizon.
"Han Ning, are you sure the Red Centipede’s Insect Masters won’t notice anything is wrong?"
At this point, Lü Xiuning, the one who had proposed the infiltration plan, suddenly grew worried again.
"It’s fine. A creature parasitized by a Subordinate Insect doesn’t completely lose its independent thought. They will subconsciously regard me as a god who must not be betrayed—a priority even higher than their Queen. As for everything else, they’ll act exactly as they did before. It will be very difficult to notice anything is amiss."
Han Ning might have had his doubts when he first obtained the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm, but now, after witnessing its many miraculous abilities, he had 100% faith in its power.
The two watched Aketu fly away. Lü Xiuning then turned his gaze to Fei Lin, who was in Han Ning’s arms, and asked curiously, "Is she a Soul Beast, or a highly intelligent being like us and the Insect-men?"
"I’m not too sure myself. Since you’re here, why don’t we test her abilities together?"
Han Ning gently stroked the soft, glossy black hair of Fei Lin in his arms. He then looked around, found a crooked lamppost near the academy gate, and walked with Lü Xiuning to a spot more than ten meters away.
He set Fei Lin on the ground. Her little, snow-white feet landed on the muddy, slippery earth. The little one still looked perfectly docile, sucking on one index finger while tightly clutching Han Ning’s large hand with the other.
"She seems very attached to you," Lü Xiuning observed.
"This... I’m not sure why. It’s probably because I have some mysterious connection with her mother, Hom."
Han Ning smiled and crouched down. In front of Fei Lin, he pointed to the crooked lamppost in the distance and said:
"Little one, can you use Soul Techniques? In any case, give it a try. Use your power to break that lamppost."
Fei Lin was very different from a newborn Soul Beast in one crucial aspect: her intelligence was extremely high. She only needed to hear Han Ning speak once—whether in the language of the Xia Country or the Insect Language—to understand the general meaning. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
’It’s just like the Pokemon from his past life,’ he thought. ’Incredibly magical.’
"Ee!"
Fei Lin was very obedient. After hearing Han Ning’s words, her lovely purple eyes widened slightly. Then she held out a hand, still glistening with a bit of saliva, and gave it a gentle wave toward the lamppost ten meters away.
SWOOSH!
A faint, opaque white light glowed at the edge of her snow-white palm.
As she waved her hand, that white light rapidly transformed into a Light Blade radiating a sharp aura, and it shot out toward the lamppost.
KRAK—
The Light Blade sliced through it. The black metal lamppost was instantly severed, and the top half fell to the ground with a CLANG.
