Chapter 150: Chapter 143: The Sixth Progenitor (Part 2)

"Alright, that’s the plan," Han Ning nodded.

「Over half an hour later.」

After some discussion, they finalized the development plan for the week ahead.

Lü Xiuning’s team, along with two strong students, would head to the potential habitats of wild Blue Jade Spider Bees to capture a Queen Bee.

Teacher Zhou would lead a team to find the mother insect of the Three-eyed Worm. The Three-eyed Worm was relatively weak and widely distributed across the continent. Finding this Soul Beast wasn’t difficult, so the strength requirement for the search party could be lower.

Teacher Zheng was responsible for finding the Silver Thorn Damselfly Mother Insect.

The remaining combat personnel would search for three other insect types: the Gold-Eating Insect, the Crude Oil Rubber Insect, and the Electric Fire Cannon Insect.

Han Ning was tentatively assigned to gather Insect Crystals for everyone.

The remaining personnel staying behind, led by Dean Wu and a few teachers, would search for a suitable insect-rearing location within the academy.

In short, to establish the insect-rearing base, the most crucial task was to find the mother insects.

Without mother insects, everything else was pointless.

As the meeting was about to conclude, Lena suddenly stood up. Looking at the few people before her, she said, "Dean Wu, Teacher Lü, Teacher Zheng, and Mr. Han, could you please stay behind for a moment? I have some private matters concerning Nia that I need to discuss with you."

She didn’t even mention her husband.

The four of them exchanged a glance but said nothing, merely nodding.

They waited patiently until everyone else had left.

Only then did Dean Wu speak, a little puzzled. "Lady Lena, what is this all about? Why the need for such secrecy?"

Lena was silent for a few seconds, as if organizing her thoughts, then said in a serious tone, "Last night, Nia finally told me the reason for her family’s destruction."

"Oh?" The four of them simultaneously showed surprised expressions.

"Lord Taman discovered the progenitor’s secret."

"This secret wasn’t a piece of text, nor was it an image. It was..."

Lena looked at Nia and whispered something to her.

RUSTLE~

Nia, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly looked up.

Then, under everyone’s astonished gazes, she raised a sharp, claw-like insect limb, clenched her jaw, and plunged the limb into her own chest, stirring it gently a few times.

Then, from within, she dug out a small, blood-colored worm that was struggling ceaselessly.

The small worm was covered in crimson patterns and had no eyes. Its form was about seventy percent similar to a silkworm.

When exposed to the air, it let out a continuous, high-pitched chirp.

RUSTLE!

Nia held up the small worm, her face turning a little pale.

"She says this is the progenitor’s secret, but she doesn’t know the specifics either. She only heard from her father that the Insect Master who possesses this small worm will become the sixth progenitor."

The sixth... perhaps they could no longer be called a progenitor, but an existence comparable to one.

"The progenitor’s secret..."

Han Ning took a deep breath, staring at the small worm. It emitted no Spiritual Fluctuation, only a faint ripple of vitality. It was hard to imagine that this creature held the secret to becoming the most powerful Insect Master.

RUSTLE, RUSTLE RUSTLE~

At that moment, Nia held the small worm and stared intently at Han Ning, her gaze a complex mixture of hope, anger, and sorrow. She kept chittering something.

"Nia says... she’s too weak and has no power to avenge her family. She wants to beg us to help her get revenge. The reward would be this small worm and all the legacies of the Yinsaike Family..."

"The requirement to form a contract with this worm is a Spiritual Power of at least Tier One. Right now, within the academy, only you, Han Ning, meet that standard."

"This..."

Han Ning blinked, unsure of what to say for a moment.

With elders beside him, he immediately turned his head to ask for their opinions:

"Dean Wu, teachers, what are your thoughts?"

Lü Xiuning asked, "Is this kind of worm a Soul Beast? If you sign a contract with it, will it have a suppressive ability over other insects?"

"RUSTLE~" "She doesn’t know."

"RUSTLE, RUSTLE RUSTLE..." "She says the worm hasn’t fully undergone its Awakening yet. She hasn’t formed a contract with it because her Spiritual Power doesn’t meet the requirement. It hasn’t shown any abilities; in fact, it absorbs Energy from her body every day. However, Lord Taman said it’s a supreme treasure vital to the entire family’s revival and instructed her to guard it well."

"RUSTLE RUSTLE~" "Nia hopes we make a decision quickly. This worm’s survival time in the open air is very short, no more than 10 minutes."

"Thank you, Miss Nia, for the precious knowledge you’ve shared. Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, once we resolve our current crisis, we will help you rebuild your family to the best of our ability." Dean Wu was clever with his words, only mentioning "to the best of our ability" and "rebuild your family," not revenge.

Faced with such an unknown matter, Dean Wu, Lü Xiuning, and Teacher Zheng didn’t have any good suggestions either.

"Han Ning, this could be an opportunity to grow stronger, or it could be a trap. What’s your opinion?"

’A supreme treasure... I have the panel. If there’s anything abnormal about this worm, the panel will detect it immediately. In the entire academy, I might really be the only one who can uncover this worm’s secret.’

While they were talking, Han Ning fell into thought.

He thought for a moment and said, "Lady Lena, please tell Nia this for me. We can’t guarantee that we can avenge the Yinsaike Family. Nia can see for herself that we are too weak right now. We can’t make any promises. But, just as Dean Wu said, we can do everything in our power to help her rebuild her family and allow the Yinsaike legacy to continue."

"Revenge... that’s something we are only qualified to discuss after we possess great power."

"If Miss Nia agrees, then I will accept this worm."

Lena lowered her head and began to communicate with Nia.

As Nia listened, her eyes gradually filled with tears again.

She looked at Teacher Zheng’s concerned face.

Then at Lena’s kind smile.

Finally, she gazed at Han Ning’s gentle smile.

At last, she gave a reluctant nod.

Perhaps she had lost her trust in the other Insect Master Families.

Or perhaps, after spending a few days here, she had been moved by the atmosphere in the academy.

RUSTLE!

Nia stood on her tiptoes and passed the still-struggling worm to Han Ning.

Han Ning took the small worm.

The moment the small worm touched his fingertip, it immediately began to burrow into his flesh like a leech.

Seeing this, Nia explained in her insect tongue, "RUSTLE~ RUSTLE RUSTLE!"

"It desperately craves flesh. It will take up residence inside your body."

Han Ning didn’t just let the worm burrow into his flesh. Instead, he sent out a wisp of Spiritual Power, attempting to communicate with it.

At first, the worm gave no feedback, as if it hadn’t noticed at all.

But as time passed, Han Ning felt that it had seemingly become aware of his Spiritual Power.

A subtle Spiritual Fluctuation, devoid of any emotional information, came back from the worm’s body.

’Can I form a Soul Beast Contract with it?’

Following the method from the Beast Taming Technique, Han Ning tentatively sent out a wisp of his Spiritual Power to merge with the worm’s faint spiritual presence.

Unexpectedly, the small worm showed no resistance. Perhaps because it was too weak, he actually formed a Soul Beast Contract with it quite smoothly.

Han Ning instantly sensed an inexplicable connection forming with the small worm. Vaguely, he could feel its life force.

It was weak, like a candle flame in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any moment.

Its emotional fluctuations were extremely simple—nonexistent, even. There was only the most primal impulse to eat.

With the formation of the contract, the small worm seemed to treat Han Ning’s body as something to depend on. It moved along his palm, trying bit by bit to break through his skin and burrow into his flesh.

However, because Han Ning’s skin was too tough, the small worm was completely unable to get in.

At the same time, information about the small worm appeared on his panel.

[ㅤ

Race: All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm

Gender: Male

Talent: F

Level: Unranked (5/200)

Talent: Muscle Activation

Acquired Soul Techniques: Dissection

Power: 0.01

Body: 0.01

Agility: 0.01

Spiritual Energy: 0.01

Insect Type Affinity: 5.31

]