Chapter 157: Chapter 147: Legacy of the Insect Master, Spirit Fusion Technique

Before Tier Three, there are no thresholds for Spiritual Power breakthroughs. As long as one’s Spiritual Power is sufficient, advancement happens naturally.

’But why is it divided into Tier One and Tier Two, then?’

This is because Spiritual Power exhibits different characteristics after reaching certain levels.

Furthermore, Han Ning discovered that, unlike humans, Insect-men do not undergo a Talent Awakening at Tier One. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The term "Insect Master Talent" wasn’t even mentioned in the inherited knowledge.

’This... Spiritual Power Talents... could they be exclusive to humans? Or perhaps exclusive to races with higher intelligence?’ He once again recalled how Taman had referred to them back then.

However, in Lena’s translated files and the Insect Master’s legacy, he hadn’t found any mention of other similar races.

’Maybe Lena just hasn’t gotten to the relevant notes yet. Or maybe it was just something Taman heard, a memory unique to him.’

As these thoughts raced through Han Ning’s mind, his gaze suddenly landed on a Spiritual Power release technique called "Spirit Fusion."

Of course, "Spirit Fusion" wasn’t the original name recorded by the Yinsaike Family. It was an idiomatic translation by Lena, their resident expert on the Xia Country.

Roughly translated, it meant fusing with Spiritual Energy to achieve an unrivaled state.

It sounded a bit hyperbolic, but as Han Ning read it carefully, he realized it would be incredibly useful for him and everyone else at the academy.

The minimum requirement to learn this technique was to have Tier One Spiritual Power.

It allowed a Beast Master to use their Spiritual Power to connect with the mysterious Spiritual Space. From there, they could draw in large amounts of Spiritual Energy with various Attributes and feed it to their contracted Soul Beasts.

This method meant that Beast Masters with higher Spiritual Power could significantly accelerate their Soul Beasts’ growth.

Spirit Fusion involved a specific method for circulating Spiritual Power, along with a set of accompanying movements.

Although he didn’t know if the movements were truly necessary, the inherited text claimed they could increase the absorption rate of Spiritual Energy.

For the next while, Han Ning followed the instructions on the A4 paper, frequently changing his posture.

His body would sometimes be prostrate, sometimes arched, sometimes still, and sometimes crawling. His movements mimicked those of a nimble, leaping insect.

As he shifted his posture, his breathing would change—sometimes rapid, sometimes long and drawn-out. His Spiritual Power vibrated in sync, and wisps of white mist began to rise from his forehead.

After completing the sequence of movements, he immediately sat down cross-legged.

’First, enter a state of deep Meditation.’

With his Tier One Spiritual Power, Han Ning quickly entered a state of deep Meditation.

His consciousness sank into his Spiritual World, a space glittering with the light of his Soul Beasts.

’Disperse your Spiritual Power, strive to cover your entire body with it, and feel the free-floating Spiritual Particles in the air.’

’Method of coverage: First, extend Spiritual Power from the Spiritual World to cover the surface of the brain. Then, working from the inside out, let it permeate from the brain to the bones and flesh, moving from top to bottom, from head to heel.’

Han Ning recalled the steps of the Spirit Fusion technique.

He had never tried to cover his entire body with Spiritual Power before.

He mobilized his Spiritual Power.

Wisps of pure Spiritual Power began to flow from within his mind.

Han Ning attempted to link these wisps of Spiritual Power and guide them outside his brain.

This strange energy, Spiritual Power, wasn’t actually stored in the brain.

Instead, it resided in what Buddhist teachings called a Sumeru Mustard Seed Space.

It was unlike the physical space we can touch.

It could shift from illusory to tangible and back again, making it exceptionally wondrous.

Once it became tangible, he could feel a cool sensation spreading outward from his brain.

With some effort, after a little over ten minutes, Han Ning finally managed to cover the surface of his head with his Spiritual Power.

Because the Spiritual Power circulated only within his body, controlling it was straightforward, and his progress was quite smooth.

An hour later, he had managed to cover every inch of his body with Spiritual Power.

’Next, carefully sense the flow of the surrounding Spiritual Energy.’

The instructions flowed through his memory.

Gradually, Han Ning began to sense them in the air around him—countless Spiritual Particles, each glowing with a different colored halo.

Beyond that, he discovered he could perceive the inside of his own body with perfect clarity.

It was a profoundly mystical sensation.

The shape of his bones, the rush of his blood, the beat of his heart, the vivid red of his flesh, the fine hairs on his skin bristling in the wind, the flex of his joints—he could clearly perceive it all, even the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm living within his very flesh.

’Guide the surrounding Spiritual Energy into the Soul Beast Space.’

A complex diagram of Spiritual Meditation nodes surfaced in Han Ning’s mind.

Following the meditation diagram, his Spiritual Power shifted its frequency of emission as he tried to connect with the free-floating Spiritual Energy around him.

The next moment, Han Ning sensed the points of light being drawn by an unknown force, converging on his body.

Like an earthworm breathing through its skin, every inch of Han Ning’s was now inhaling fresh Spiritual Energy.

The Spiritual Particles clung to his skin but struggled to enter, as if they had hit a thick, impenetrable barrier.

’Vibrate your Spiritual Power. Use it to guide the Spiritual Particles into the depths of the Soul Beast Space.’

Han Ning began to try vibrating the Spiritual Power that coated the surface of his body.

Faintly, a few weak green, yellow, and red particles managed to pass through his skin. They entered his body and were immediately drawn into his Soul Beast Space by some unknown force.

But maintaining this state was incredibly difficult.

Suddenly, a heavy, muffled THUD sounded from outside.

Startled, Han Ning’s eyes flew open.

He discovered that it was already broad daylight outside.

The hands of the wall clock pointed to 6:27 AM.

Ten hours had passed since he entered the room, all without him realizing it.

’I guess that was a failure, then? I can’t believe a single attempt at Spirit Fusion took that long...’

Han Ning was suddenly reminded of the old saying, "No sense of time in the mountains; the year turns ere one is aware."

’Time really does fly when you’re in Cultivation.’

But it wasn’t a total loss.

He checked his panel.

He saw that the few Spiritual Particles he had managed to absorb had been converted into Energy and stored by the panel.

It amounted to about 1 point of Energy.

Furthermore, the Attribute affinities of Yin Yi, Egg Pancake, and the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm had all increased slightly, though only by a small amount—about 0.005.

’And that was just from a failed attempt.’

’If I could complete a full session, I could probably absorb a ton of Energy in a single night.’

...

「Early morning.」

Han Ning dropped off all the Insect Crystals he’d brought back from the underground ruins in the academy’s temporary storeroom.

These Insect Crystals were crucial for the birth of the academy’s first batch of insects, so he didn’t absorb the Energy inside them.

At nine in the morning, the students were supposed to head out to search for broodmothers.

However, Lady Lena had suddenly called everyone who was preparing to leave to a temporary conference room in Building A.

Lena turned on the projector and displayed a photo taken on a phone. She pointed to a distorted character in the bottom-right corner and said,

"Yesterday, I pushed ahead and managed to translate another part of Lord Taman’s notes."

"In one passage, I discovered that the Electric Fire Cannon Insect habitat we’d chosen has been taken over by an up-and-coming Insect Master Family. The next closest habitat is over 600 kilometers away from the academy."

"Furthermore, the route to the Electric Fire Cannon Insect habitat may pass through the territory of another Insect Master Family. At its closest point, the path is only about 10 kilometers from their domain."

"Can’t we go around?" Han Ning asked, looking at the scrawled script on the projection.

"This *is* the detour. Any other route would force us to cut straight through an Insect Master’s territory. This path only skirts the edge of one."

Dean Wu asked, "Just one... Are there any records of that Insect Master’s strength?"

"In Lord Taman’s eyes, they weren’t very powerful. There’s a danger rating marked here, and it’s the lowest level." Lena moved the mouse, pointing to another scrawled symbol.

"The Electric Fire Cannon Insects are vital to us. It’s a risk we have to take." Lü Xiuning’s tone was firm.

"We’re going, of course, but we need to adjust the teams. Han Ning, Xiuning, you two will go for the Electric Fire Cannon Insects. We’ll send a different group to find the Blue Jade Spider Bee."

"Just the two of us?" Lü Xiuning glanced at Han Ning.