Inside Roc City, within the restricted district — the top-floor office of the Black Horse Club.

“This batch really isn’t up to standard. The Broodmother will definitely dislike them.” Sister Red sat behind the office desk, one hand supporting her smooth chin while the other moved the mouse, browsing through the images displayed on the Apple computer.

Each image showed delicate, soft-skinned young men. They looked like fresh cuts of pale pork. In recent years, under the distorted influence of commercial interests and outside forces, mainstream aesthetics had become increasingly bizarre.

“Little pork,” “little red blossoms,” those delicate, overly pretty styles had become wildly popular. Looking at these men, pale and soft like whipped cream, Sister Red felt a wave of cloying disgust rise within her.

“They’re only suitable for feed.” She shook her head, a trace of helplessness appearing on her face. Then she scrolled to the final picture.

“The broodmother is absolutely obsessed with you. What a pity that useless Wenzel never managed to capture you! Completely incapable of achieving anything, yet perfectly capable of ruining everything! He deserved to die!”

Staring at the young man in the photo whose handsome appearance could dim the sun and moon, Sister Red spoke through clenched teeth.

If Yae-hime were present, she would certainly recognize the person in the photograph. Who else could it be but that outrageously handsome version of herself?

“Only you… only someone with spiritual resonance like you is qualified to unite with the broodmother and produce the strongest next generation!” She reached out and gently stroked the photo on the screen, a flicker of fanatic fervor flashing through Sister Red’s eyes.

At that moment, a strange scraping sound came from outside the window. Alert, Sister Red turned her head toward it. Outside the glass window, a large praying mantis was scraping its forelimbs against the surface.

If an ordinary person witnessed such a scene, they would likely tremble all over, their face drained of blood. But Sister Red was no ordinary person. In fact, whether she could even be called human was questionable.

She walked to the window and decisively opened the glass. The next instant, the giant mantis shot inside like an arrow. It immediately lowered itself and crawled along the floor, its posture extremely humble.

“Why have you come here?” Sister Red asked. This insect was not one of her direct subordinates. Under normal circumstances, it would never come looking for her unless…

“Kssshkssssh!” The mantis emitted a strange series of sounds.

“What? You’re saying your master suddenly lost contact!?” Clearly understanding its speech, Sister Red’s expression instantly filled with shock. Even her voice rose in pitch.

“Kssshkssssh!”

“Not only that, many of your kin have also disappeared?” Sister Red said, her face turning slightly pale.

“Kssssh!”

“Could it be… that Forgeblade has truly been killed?” She spoke in disbelief.

Forgeblade was the name of the mantisman. From the moment they were born, each of them was bestowed a name. Most of those names were derived from weapons.

“Kssssh…” The mantis let out a low, heavy sound.

“Nothing is certain yet. Don’t be so pessimistic.” Although she said that, Sister Red herself felt uncertain. She spent most of her time overseas and knew very little about the recent changes in Roc City. She had no idea whether any powerful individuals had recently arrived or were staying here. If Forgeblade had truly encountered someone formidable…

“The problem is, Forgeblade’s strength is at least at the level of an intermediate Grandmaster. Combined with its unusually powerful body and astonishing speed, it could even hold its own for a while against an advanced Grandmaster.” Sister Red’s delicate brows knitted together, her heart filled with confusion.

Advanced Grandmasters were not cabbages growing by the roadside. How could one just happen to encounter Forgeblade and then conveniently capture it? Moreover, the later disappearance of several other giant mantises made even less sense.

Although those mantises were far inferior to Forgeblade, they were still roughly comparable to ordinary Masters. In a real fight, a Master of the same rank would likely be the one in danger.

“Could it be that some advanced Grandmaster really came to Roc City just to amuse themselves?” Biting her red lips lightly, Sister Red pressed a hand against her forehead and spoke in a weary voice.

“Kssssh…” Below her, the mantis let out a sound tinged with sorrow.

“Go back for now. Also, have your kin hide themselves. Don’t let them come out for the time being.” Sister Red commanded.

“Kssssh!” The giant mantis responded, then shot out through the window, disappearing into the night sky.

“Such a headache.” Closing the window, Sister Red returned to her chair, her expression heavy with worry. She had not expected that the moment she returned to Cathay, something this strange would happen. What a terrible start.

Worse still, she had no idea what had actually happened. Had Forgeblade and its kin been captured by some powerful expert, or had they simply been killed? She had no clue.

“Perhaps there’s more than one opponent.” After thinking it over repeatedly, Sister Red felt the matter was far from simple. “Could it be that the Cathayan authorities have already set their sights on us?”

If that were truly the case, then they would have to act with extreme caution.

“For now, we’ll stay still and observe.” After hesitating for a moment, Sister Red shifted her gaze back to the photograph displayed on the screen. “That fellow with the special ability can wait for now. The priority is figuring out how to get Yaeger into our hands.”

***

At that moment, the very person Sister Red had been thinking about, Yae-hime, lay flat on the bed.

After receiving a stern lecture, the adorable Little Blue had already returned to her post and resumed slacking off.

“That anomaly at the singular point might affect me. No, I absolutely can’t ignore it.” Thinking this, Yae-hime reached toward the bedside table, picked up her Huawhey phone, and sent a message to Mylene.

Yae-hime: Mylene, does Cathay have some kind of Earthly Paradise?

Less than ten seconds after the message was sent, a reply arrived.

Mylene: Good evening, Sister! Yes, there is! There used to be two, but now only one remains. That place is Cathay’s sacred land, called Kun Ruins.

Yae-hime: Two?

Mylene: Yes. One was Mount Kun, where my master and I once stayed. That place has practically “died.”

The other one is the Kun Ruins I just mentioned.

Yae-hime: What’s special about that place?

Mylene: The Kun Ruins is the holy land of Cathayan martial artists. I’ve heard that it’s filled with dense heaven-and-earth spiritual energy and all sorts of heavenly treasures. It’s extremely helpful for training!

***

After sending that message, Mylene spoke with a puzzled tone. “Strange… Isn’t Sister supposed to come from some super powerful clan? How could she not know about the Kun Ruins?”

Before she even finished speaking, a reply had already arrived.

Yae-hime: Can the people inside appear in the outside world whenever they want?

Mylene: No. My master said that place is very difficult to open. Usually it only opens once every few years, sometimes even once every decade or more.

Yae-hime: Has anyone come out of it in recent years?

Mylene: I haven’t heard of any. But when people from inside come out into the outside world, it’s usually for training, so they rarely interact with us.

Unless they’re selecting suitable seedlings to bring back and train.

Yae-hime: I see. It’s late, so I won’t keep you any longer. Get some rest. Sweet dreams.

Mylene: You’re not disturbing me at all! I am on standby twenty-four hours a day to serve Sister!

***

Looking at that message, Yae-hime couldn’t help but smile faintly. Yet the smile faded almost as quickly as it appeared.

“It really might be someone from the Kun Ruins who came out.” At that moment, a powerful sense of danger rose within her heart. Even though she didn’t know who had emerged from that place, their strength certainly wouldn’t be ordinary. “They might even be stronger than Lisa.”