Chapter 208: Ability to Control the Insect Race Discovered, Identity About to Be Exposed?

Keeping Nether Vision active constantly consumed Mental Power, especially when used to scan the entire area.

So, after confirming no one was nearby, Chu Sheng deactivated it.

But at that very moment, several thousand meters away, a student from the Array Academy was sitting cross-legged on the ground, performing some kind of Spiritual Secret Technique!

This Secret Technique was called the Eye of the Void Spirit. It was also a vision-type Spiritual Secret Technique. As the name implied, it used Mental Power to form an "eye" that could replace one’s real eyes to search for targets within a certain range.

As it happened, Chu Sheng had actually met this person before. It was Mu Yunfei, the one who had led Gu Yuexi and the others to the Heart Sea Glazed Tower.

Mu Yunfei was now at the Fifth-Grade Middle Stage and was one of the contestants from the Mind Master Academy.

After entering the Secret Realm, he had been teleported to the very edge. As a result, he was still in the outer ring, just about to enter the inner ring.

Before entering the inner ring, Mu Yunfei thought he would search the vicinity for any Fourth-Grade Demon Beasts he might have missed.

However, through his Eye of the Void Spirit, he happened to witness the exact moment Chu Sheng summoned countless Insect Beasts!

"Wh-what is this???"

Mu Yunfei, still performing the Eye of the Void Spirit, was instantly stunned.

’That cockroach from the Beast Taming Academy can actually control Insect Race Demon Beasts, and so many of them?!’

’Why does this ability feel so familiar?’

As shock washed over Mu Yunfei, his mind frantically searched for an answer...

He had it!

When Mu Linyuan’s Jade Talisman was broken and he was teleported back, Mu Yunfei had specifically looked into the matter online. In Du Nan City, back on the mainland, there was also a Demon Beast that could summon a massive number of Insect Race Demon Beasts!

Moreover, that Demon Beast was also quite bizarre—it was a mosquito.

’So, could this cockroach from the Beast Taming Academy be that mosquito? Perhaps it has some kind of shapeshifting ability?’

That mosquito’s master was apparently named Gu Yuexi, the Champion Scholar of the three-province joint exam, but there had been no news of her since. The mosquito had appeared on Hong Kong Island, so where was its master, Gu Yuexi?

Mu Yunfei’s mind raced, thinking about the people recently associated with Chu Sheng, the cockroach.

’It’s her?!’

’The Only Beast Taming Empress in Ancient and Modern Times... Lin Zhixia!’

’That name... Why the "Beast Taming Empress" of all things?’ Mu Yunfei had found it strange at the time.

But if Lin Zhixia was Gu Yuexi, then it wouldn’t be strange at all! Because Gu Yuexi was a Beast Tamer!

’Also, during the pledge ceremony earlier, Lin Zhixia seemed to be deliberately targeting the cockroach, and her emotional fluctuations were obvious. There’s definitely some shady relationship between her and that cockroach!’

The more Mu Yunfei thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He felt he had stumbled upon a shocking secret!

’The Future Empress, Lin Zhixia, is actually a fake identity?’

As this thought crossed Mu Yunfei’s mind, his heart began to pound uncontrollably!

’If Lin Zhixia’s identity is fake... what is her objective? This concerns the interests of Hong Kong Island’s Ten Great Clans! Even they’ve been kept in the dark!’

’Heh, if this is true, then this matter... is huge!’

An inexplicable glint flashed in Mu Yunfei’s eyes.

He quickly canceled the Eye of the Void Spirit, calmed himself, and then swiftly left the area.

...

In the empty outer ring, Chu Sheng was now as busy as he could be.

He used his Instant Teleportation Ability to constantly support his various swarms, helping to kill Demon Beasts that the swarms couldn’t handle on their own.

As expected, this strategy greatly increased his collection efficiency.

The system’s notifications chimed continuously in his mind.

[Successfully recycled the corpse of a Third-Grade Early Stage Armored Shell Lizard. Life Essence +3000]

[Successfully recycled the corpse of a Peak of Third-Grade Red-tailed Giant Scorpion. Life Essence +3800]

[...]

With the efforts of 16,000 Insect Beasts and Chu Sheng’s coordination, his Life Essence soared, quickly surpassing eighty thousand!

[Current Life Essence: 81,226]

’It’s enough. First, I’ll mature these 16,000 Insect Beast larvae and evolve them to the Peak of Second-Grade. That will instantly double my helpers and make things even more efficient!’

"System, mature all my Insect Beasts to their adult stage and evolve them to the Peak of Second-Grade!"

[Consumed 32,000 Life Essence. 16,000 Insect Beast larvae have been successfully matured to their adult stage (First-Grade Middle Stage).]

[Consumed 48,000 Life Essence. 16,000 First-Grade Middle Stage Insect Beasts have been successfully promoted to the Peak of Second-Grade.]

[Consumed 1,126 Life Essence. 563 Second-Grade Early Stage Insect Beasts have been successfully promoted to the Peak of Second-Grade.]

[Current Insect Beast Capacity: 32,000. Current Insect Beast Count: 32,000. Among them, 32,000 are at the Peak of Second-Grade.]

’OK!’

’Finally, all the Insect Beasts are at the Peak of Second-Grade.’

He checked his current balance:

[Remaining Life Essence: 100]

’Well, I’m broke again!’

’No problem. Now I have 32,000 little brothers to work for me!’

’Keep pushing! I need to get all these Insect Beasts to the Peak of Third-Grade!’

In a remote area of the Shadowland’s outer ring, Chu Sheng led his 32,000 Insect Beasts like a plague of locusts, harvesting Low-Tier Demon Beasts everywhere they went...

...

While Chu Sheng was happily leveling up, on the other side of the field, the competition between the various academies began to intensify.

Contestants from different academies kept running into each other, leading to explosive conflicts.

Lose, and you’re eliminated!

Win, and you can take the Inner Cores from your opponent’s Storage Ring!

「Shadowland, Inner Ring」

Gu Yuexi had successfully regrouped with several students from the Elixir Academy, just as their strategy dictated.

The Elixir Academy’s predetermined strategy was to not rush into killing Demon Beasts or venturing deep into the inner ring. This way, they could avoid conflict with other academies and prioritize gathering their team members.

If you don’t go deep, you’ll encounter fewer people. Even if you do, if you have no Inner Cores in your Storage Ring, others will have no reason to fight you.

It had to be said, Gu Yuexi’s strategy was a success.

So far, apart from one unlucky member who had been teleported into the inner ring, the other nineteen members were all safe and sound.

At this moment, nine other Elixir Academy students had gathered around Gu Yuexi, making a total of ten including herself.

Along the way, she had casually killed five Fourth-Grade Realm Demon Beasts. She now had five Inner Cores in her Storage Ring, giving her a temporary total of 8 Points.

At this moment, Gu Yuexi was leading her nine team members, moving laterally to find the others.

She glanced at the time on her watch and said,

"We’re gathering the team members faster than I expected."

"The second coordinate reveal is about to happen. Keep an eye out for the positions of our other team members. If any are too far away, we’ll have to give up on them for now."

As soon as she finished speaking, the special watches on everyone’s wrists began to BEEP.

They quickly looked at their watch screens and saw that not only did the map reveal the locations of all contestants, but it also exposed the current number of Inner Cores in everyone’s Storage Rings!

This move would undoubtedly turn anyone with a large number of Inner Cores into a public target!

Gu Yuexi calmly glanced at the information. Just as she was about to speak, a sudden roar echoed from nearby!

Her gaze sharpened. She saw a massive Demon Beast rampaging toward them, snapping numerous trees as it charged.

"It’s a Fifth-Grade Demon Beast! Fifth-Grade Middle Stage!"

"Damn, there’s a Fifth-Grade Middle Stage Demon Beast here? Our luck is pretty good!"

Although the voices of those around Gu Yuexi were filled with shock, they weren’t afraid. On the contrary, they were thrilled!

’With a group of us at the Fifth-Grade Realm, what’s there to be afraid of? This Fifth-Grade Demon Beast is practically free Points!’

A Fifth-Grade Middle Stage Demon Beast was worth a full 5 Points!

When the Fifth-Grade Demon Beast saw Gu Yuexi and her group up ahead, it skidded to a halt, roaring angrily with extreme caution in its eyes.

Just then, from the direction it had come from, three blue figures appeared in hot pursuit.

The group’s expressions immediately soured.

"Blue Combat Suits... they’re contestants from the Array Academy!"

Soon, the three blue figures also stopped cautiously. They were indeed from the Array Academy, and one of them was none other than the Array Academy team’s captain, Wang Haichen!

"It’s Wang Haichen!"

The moment they recognized him, the expressions on the Elixir Academy students’ faces turned grim.

Wang Haichen was at the Peak of Fifth-Grade and was rumored to be on the verge of advancing to Sixth-Grade. The Elixir Academy students couldn’t help but be wary of someone at his level.

However, they had an advantage of their own: numbers!

The benefit of prioritizing regrouping was now evident. With more people, their collective combat strength was higher, which greatly reduced the risk of being picked off alone and having their Inner Cores stolen. At the same time, it was also safer to take down High-Tier Demon Beasts.

Of course, this strategy also had a major drawback: when a large group stuck together, their efficiency at killing Demon Beasts to earn Points was much lower than fighting separately!

At this very moment, the Fifth-Grade Demon Beast, an Earth-Splitting Giant Bear, was trapped between the two groups. With nowhere to run, it could only stand its ground defensively.

In front of it were ten students from the Elixir Academy, and behind it were three students from the Array Academy.

Both sides looked displeased.

Killing this Fifth-Grade Demon Beast wouldn’t be difficult. The question was, who would kill it, and who would get the Inner Core?

"Hey, we saw this Demon Beast first and were chasing it! What do you think you’re doing?"

A female student next to Wang Haichen spoke up, displeased.

Gu Yuexi chuckled, giving the girl a look as if she were an idiot, and said coolly,

"We’re taking this Demon Beast."

"If you’re not gone in one minute, you can stay behind too."

It was obvious that with ten people on their side, the Elixir Academy had the advantage, even if Wang Haichen was at the Peak of Fifth-Grade.

The advantage lay with the Elixir Academy.

"You..."

The female student from the Array Academy gritted her teeth, but she quickly realized the situation and had no choice but to shut her mouth.

Just when everyone thought the Array Academy was about to retreat and give up the Demon Beast,

Wang Haichen stepped forward with a smirk.

"Lin, I admit you have more people, so we can’t compete for this Demon Beast right now."

"However, I’d like to make a bet with you. I wonder if the famous Future Empress has the guts to accept?"

"Let’s... solo!"

"We’ll bet on the ownership of this Fifth-Grade Demon Beast, as well as all the Inner Cores both our sides currently possess!"