The arrow, shot at close range, flew even faster, carrying enough force to pierce metal and split stone as it headed straight for Li Na’s chest.

“Ding!”

Li Na flicked her finger against the arrowhead, casually deflecting it.

She glanced back at her silly little disciple and then at Xu Qi An and Mu Nan Zhi, her face flushing with embarrassment before she raised her eyebrows in anger:

“You’re asking for it!”

Her slender legs exploded with shocking power as she sprang up, executing a spinning kick that sent the archer flying.

Before the square-faced man could draw his bone knife, she twisted her waist and swung her arm, sweeping out in a semicircle to deliver a resounding slap that sent him spinning twice on the spot before he collapsed, seeing stars.

The two Force Insect Tribe young men, though struck, were completely unfazed. They quickly got up, with the archer scrutinizing Li Na suspiciously:

“It is Li Na! How did you become as pale as a Central Plains woman?”

A single exchange was enough for them to recognize if someone was from their tribe.

The swiftness of her kick and the efficiency of her slap were unmistakable.

The square-faced man added:

“And you’ve gotten fat too.”

The Southern Borderlands’ climate was hot, with strong ultraviolet rays and the Indigenous people living here had dark skin, with women typically having a wheat-colored complexion.

But Li Na had lived in the Xu Manor for over half a year, avoiding the ravages of ultraviolet rays, and had secretly been taking Madam’s beauty pills, making her skin fair and delicate, quite different from the two young Insect Tribe members.

“Don’t you recognize my face?” Li Na put her hands on her hips.

“Maybe it’s a disguise!”

The archer retorted, then smugly “hmph-ed” twice:

“I was just testing your skills earlier. The real Li Na would be able to catch my arrow.”

Li Na choked, unable to counter this logic. She turned back to Xu Qi An and the others, saying:

“It’s fine, it’s fine. My Force Insect Tribe people are always cautious and clever—they were just testing me.”

No, how could a Central Plains person know their names? Besides, if someone were using a disguise, who would disguise a Southern Borderlands person as someone fair and beautiful? Wouldn’t that be suspicious?… Xu Qi An’s mind was full of critiques.

Xu Ling Yin let out a forceful “Ah~~”, her face full of relief:

“Thank goodness you’re really from the Southern Borderlands, Master.”

Seeing the Central Plains girl’s apprehensive expression, the archer showed a proud look and asked:

“Li Na, who are they?”

“She’s my disciple whom I took in the Central Plains, and this is my disciple’s brother. They took care of me while I was in the capital.”

Li Na introduced Xu Qi An and Xu Ling Yin to her two tribesmen, ignoring Mu Nan Zhi since she wasn’t familiar with them.

Through her introduction, Xu Qi An also learned the names of the two young Insect Tribe members.

The archer was called Tu Long, with long, well-proportioned muscular arms—a natural-born archer.

The square-faced young man was called Mu Tou because his face had been square-shaped since birth, so his parents named him “Wood.”

“A disciple?”

Mu Tou was shocked: “You’re the chief’s daughter—how could you take a disciple without permission, and a Central Plains person at that? The elders will beat you!”

Tu Long frowned deeply, and though he didn’t join in, his extreme displeasure was evident.

Insect Tribe’s secret arts were never taught to outsiders. Even among the seven tribes, they kept their techniques to themselves, maintaining sectarian divisions.

Let alone taking a Central Plains girl as a disciple—this violated tribal laws and was a major taboo of the Insect Tribe.

“I’m not afraid of them! The elders are Fourth Rank, and so am I. Who knows who would beat whom?”

Li Na snorted coldly: “If any of those old fogies dare to make a move, I’ll punch them dead one by one.”

“The Chief will be the first to beat you!”

Mu Tou said seriously.

…Li Na shrank her head back a bit, then shouted:

“This disciple I’ve taken is a once-in-ten-thousand genius, a talent seen once in a thousand years, a genius unprecedented in recorded history!”

She strained to describe Xu Ling Yin with her limited vocabulary.

Mu Tou and Tu Long stopped walking and looked at the simple-minded little dumpling, asking:

“A genius? How many bowls of rice can she eat in one sitting?”

Li Na snorted proudly:

“Ling Yin can eat ten bowls of rice in one sitting, not counting dishes.”

Mu Tou and Tu Long exchanged glances, slightly moved:

“Indeed, she is a rare genius.

“But so what? Rules are rules. You’re a genius too, but if you dare to secretly teach Insect Tribe secret arts, you’ll still be punished.”

Xu Qi An, listening to them chirping away in their Southern Borderlands bird language, frowned and asked:

“What are you talking about?”

Li Na let out a sigh and explained:

“They say I’ll be severely punished by the elders for taking a Central Plains person as a disciple without permission.”

“I’ve heard that your Southern Borderlands Insect Tribe doesn’t teach their insect arts to outsiders, but what exactly are the specific rules?”

Xu Qi An finished speaking and looked at her, waiting for an explanation.

“The specific rules…” Li Na recalled the tribal laws, partly reciting:

“Teaching insect arts to slaves without permission results in thirty-six thousand lashes… um, different tribes have different numbers of lashes, our Force Insect Tribe has the most.

“Teaching insect arts to outsiders without permission, especially Central Plains people, is a capital offense! Both master and disciple must die.”

Xu Qi An silently stared at her:

“Why didn’t you declare this when you took Ling Yin as your disciple?

“If you knew your tribe’s rules, why did you bring Ling Yin to the Southern Borderlands?”

If Li Na dared say “I forgot,” Xu Qi An swore he would beat the shit out of her.

Unexpectedly, Li Na spoke with conviction:

“In ancient times, the Insect God’s power radiated beyond the Extreme Abyss, and our ancestors, through countless hardships, discovered the secret methods to utilize the Insect God’s power, thus forming the seven major Insect Tribe branches.

“These secret methods are the foundation of our Insect Tribe’s existence.”

The Insect God’s power radiates from the Extreme Abyss, turning surrounding creatures into “insects.” Theoretically, anyone could use this power if they learned the corresponding secret methods.

That’s why the Insect Tribe was extremely protective of their secret arts, making unauthorized teaching a capital offense.

No wonder the Chai family’s ancestor got stuck at the Iron Corpse level—it seems they hadn’t learned the subsequent secret arts… Xu Qi An angrily said: “You remember all this clearly, so how could you do something so foolish?”

Li Na wasn’t worried at all and continued:

“The natal insect has nine stages of maturity, each stage corresponding to a rank.

“When the natal insect is about to advance to the next stage, it needs both tribal secret methods and the Insect God’s power to develop to its full potential.

“With only secret methods but no Insect God’s power, even if one forces advancement, the foundation will be unstable, and fighting power will be far inferior to other systems’ experts of the same rank. That’s why I had to bring Ling Yin to the Southern Borderlands.”

Mu Nan Zhi interjected: “Bring her here for a beating?”

A euphemistic way of saying “to die.”

Li Na seemed unhappy, “Oh come on, let me finish! We barely know each other, why are you interrupting me?”

After snapping at Mu Nan Zhi, she continued:

“Of course, unauthorized teaching of secret arts is a capital offense, but as long as Ling Yin gains the approval of the elders and my father, becoming my official disciple, then everything will be fine.

“Our Insect Tribe’s experts often go out searching for geniuses, then bring them back to the tribe for testing. If they pass the tests, they can gain approval.”

Xu Qi An immediately understood Li Na’s plan—she wanted to bring Ling Yin back to be tested by the tribe, to make her officially part of the Force Insect Tribe, so future advancement wouldn’t be a concern.

“However…” Li Na changed her tone, saying:

“The Insect Tribe has no precedent for accepting Central Plains people as disciples, though we have many war slaves. But I think this won’t be a problem, because Ling Yin is a genius unprecedented in historical records, Father and the elders will surely make an exception.”

Why don’t I believe this at all? It sounds completely unreliable… Xu Qi An heard Mu Nan Zhi ask with a sneer:

“Does your Insect Tribe have historical records?”

“No,” Li Na answered.

“…” Xu Qi An thought, I need to beat the shit out of her.

Led by Mu Tou and Tu Long, the two Force Insect Tribe young men, they climbed a high slope and reached Bo Mountain, where the Force Insect Tribe had lived for generations.

Standing on the slope and looking out, Bo Mountain was like a majestic city wall, stretching for hundreds of li, blocking the entire north.

Clouds and mist drifted between the mountains, giving off an ancient, primitive atmosphere.

At the foot of the mountain was a vast plain, crisscrossed with rivers, and fields divided into small squares. Different crops had different colors, combined into a gorgeous oil painting.

Between the fields and plains, ant-like human figures busied themselves, either casting nets to catch fish or cultivating the fields.

Thatched huts and yellow mud houses were scattered sparsely between the mountains and fields, forming clusters of buildings both large and small.

The scenery was beautiful, like an enormous village seemingly untouched by the world’s conflicts.

Square-faced Mu Tou “coughed” once and said:

“We’ll leave you here, we need to return to patrol.”

He spoke in broken Central Plain’s official language.

Xu Qi An had heard that southern merchants often traded with Southern Borderlands people, conducting illegal trade in porcelain, tea, silk, salt, and iron.

It seemed this was true—if the Insect Tribe were truly isolated from the world, how would people here speak the Central Plains official language?

The bow-carrying Tu Long examined Li Na and offered heartfelt advice:

“Get more sun when you get home. Skin this white and delicate is as ugly as death. Otherwise, no one will want to marry you.”

After speaking, he glanced at Mu Nan Zhi.

Why look at me… the princess consort’s mouth twitched, feeling she had been indirectly criticized.

Although her appearance had become ordinary, her skin remained delicate and smooth.

After bidding farewell to Tu Long and Mu Tou, the three people, one fox, and one child descended the slope into the plain.

Li Na cheerfully greeted the Force Insect Tribe people along the way:

“Aunt A-Sang, I’m back.”

“Li Na? How did you turn into such an ugly pale girl!”

“Uncle Hei Ba, I’m back.”

“Li Na’s back? Is this a slave you captured from the Central Plains?”

“No, this is my friend.”

“Granny Can, I’m back.”

“Is that Li Na? Li Na’s back? Granny’s eyes aren’t good, come closer. Let me tell you, at the beginning of the year, Granny was thinking of asking the chief about a marriage proposal, my grandson still isn’t married, and you grew up together… Never mind, Granny doesn’t think you’re suitable anymore.”

Xu Qi An silently observed the Force Insect Tribe people. Some wore cloth garments, and others wore clothes sewn from animal hides. They were taller and more robust than Central Plains people, and they farmed without livestock, using human power instead.

One person could drag several hundred jin of fish caught, one person could carry a small boat while running back and forth.

“There seem to be fewer people…”

Xu Qi An observed and commented.

“Everyone’s out hunting,” Li Na said sadly:

“Our Southern Borderlands is poor, not like your Central Plains with so much food. Our Force Insect Tribe people work from dawn to dusk just for a bite to eat, and still often go hungry.”

Isn’t it because you all eat too much… Xu Qi An didn’t try to argue, following her across the plain as the houses became more numerous and the roads wider and more even.

They arrived at the largest cluster of buildings on Bo Mountain, where the Force Insect Tribe’s upper echelon lived.

Li Na’s home was at the highest point of the building cluster, a large compound with two courtyards.

Around this compound were many thatched huts and yellow earth houses built as attachments. According to Li Na, these housed her family’s slaves.

“Father, I’m back…”

Li Na shouted, completely like an unruly wild girl.

Seconds later, heavy footsteps approached, making the ground shake. A nine-chi-tall giant walked out from the inner courtyard.

He wore clothes and robes sewn from animal hides, hemp cloth pants, and was barefoot. His face was somewhat square, with rugged features that had nothing to do with the word “delicate.”

His eyes were azure blue, and his hair—whether naturally curly or not was unclear—was only a thin layer covering his scalp, like a monk who had just left the monastery and started growing his hair.

His build was so massive that it surpassed even the Buddhist Golden Vajra.

With each step, the ground trembled slightly, as if unable to bear his weight.

Seeing his long-absent daughter, Long Tu paused for a moment, and nodded once, his voice deep and tone gratified:

“It seems you’ve experienced many things in the Central Plains to undergo such a complete transformation.”

After speaking, his gaze swept over Xu Qi An and the others, pausing on Xu Ling Yin, and asked:

“Are these slaves you’ve captured?

“You shouldn’t have brought the little one though. Can’t do any work, and it wouldn’t be right to kill them.”

“They’re not slaves, they’re friends I made in the Central Plains,” Li Na placed one hand on the little dumpling’s head:

“This is my disciple.”

Disciple… Long Tu’s eyes suddenly turned sharp, and an aura like that of an ancient fierce beast enveloped the courtyard.