Shackles of Humanity

Luo Kai stood on a rooftop, watching as a giant insect with a half-shattered wing struggled into the sky. With his current strength, it wasn’t hard to kill these giant insects, but catching them was another matter. If one was determined to flee, there was little he could do. After all, a creature on the ground could never outpace one in the air.

A dense swarm of insects still congregated in the sky, and a colossal dark silhouette was faintly visible in its midst.

Leaping lightly from the roof, he sped through the streets. Ahead, several agile Martial Artists were locked in combat with a giant insect. This one was entirely different from the ones that specialized in Sound Waves; it was corpulent and bloated, constantly spitting green venom from its maw. The venom instantly corroded a large crater into the ground wherever it landed.

Among those besieging it, one man with twin sabers was particularly eye-catching. He wielded two blades that were wide yet as thin as a cicada’s wings. His movements followed a peculiar trajectory; the fluttering of his blades seemed to lift him into the air. He danced around the giant insect like a butterfly, a beautiful and deadly spectacle.

This was the first time Luo Kai had seen such a miraculous Sword Technique, and he couldn’t help but stop and watch closely. He had already noticed that many Martial Artists had entered the city, most of them wearing the black robes of the Military Punishment Department. He simply had no desire to deal with them, so he had been avoiding them.

The giant insects were not only covered in hard carapaces but were also extremely fast and possessed terrifying subsonic wave abilities. Ordinary Martial Artists were simply no match for them. The man with the Cicada-Wing Sabers was incredibly strong, likely at the level of a High-level Martial Artist, yet even he could only contend with the giant insect with his teammates’ help.

After a moment, the giant insect let out a few angry CHIRPS. Immediately, another giant insect broke from the swarm in the sky and swooped down. Its physical body had yet to arrive, but an invisible subsonic wave already blanketed the area.

The Martial Artists surrounding the giant insect slowed down. Their powerful constitutions allowed them to withstand the impact of the subsonic waves, and by coordinating, they could just barely manage to fight a single giant insect. But two was out of the question. Exchanging a look, the man with the sabers shouted, "Fall back!"

The group scattered, using the buildings for cover as they made a frantic escape. Luo Kai remained hidden nearby, watching silently. ’If I’m going to kill these giant insects,’ he thought, ’I can’t just make a move. When I strike, it must be with the force of a thunderbolt.’ The giant insects had astonishing jumping power, and their instantaneous speed surpassed that of sound. If they decided to flee, even he would be unable to catch them.

The BUZZ of flapping wings sounded overhead. In an instant, Luo Kai pushed his Qi and Blood Circulation to its absolute peak. He sprang into the air, his saber flashing upwards like a bolt of white silk.

His physical conditioning had recently reached a new level. With his Qi and Blood surging violently, his instantaneous Explosive Power was no less than a casual strike from a Body Master. As his saber swung, it was as if a thunderclap suddenly erupted from thin air.

The flash of his saber struck the giant insect’s abdomen directly. With a powerful slice, a pool of green viscera spilled out with a wet SPLAT. Even then, the giant insect wasn’t dead. It let out a piercing SCREECH, desperately beating its wings in an attempt to flee.

Luo Kai leaped again. The light from his saber spun around the giant insect in a full circle, and its massive head tumbled to the ground. Without pausing, he charged toward the other giant insect.

Upon seeing its companion’s death, the other, corpulent giant insect let out a sharp SCREECH. Its abdomen swelled rapidly before it spewed a cloud of green venom from its maw.

Luo Kai expertly weaved through the gaps in the venom spray. The white flash of his saber appeared once more, and another giant insect was decapitated. This one was not built for speed; it had no hope of dodging his all-penetrating Sword Aura.

The few nearby Martial Artists watched, dumbfounded, as this mysterious young man dispatched two giant insects with such sharp, thunderous efficiency. Seeing that he was about to leave, the man with the twin sabers hastily called out, "Hero, please wait a moment!"

Luo Kai paused, taken aback. The title "hero" felt incredibly awkward to him, but he stopped nonetheless.

The man with the sabers stepped forward and said respectfully, "Thank you for your assistance, Hero."

Luo Kai shook his head. "I’m no hero. I don’t like the sound of that word."

The man sheathed his two Cicada-Wing Sabers. This person before him looked far too young, but he knew that upon reaching the realm of a Body Master, one undergoes a complete, transformative rebirth. It wasn’t unusual to appear younger. He corrected himself, somewhat awkwardly, "Oh... My apologies, Sir. Thank you for your assistance."

"Spit it out," Luo Kai said, his impatience showing.

"Well... um, we’re from the Xingma Kingdom’s Military Punishment Department. Our Commander would like to meet with you to discuss how to eliminate the insect swarm for good."

Luo Kai couldn’t be bothered to meet Mushan. With a single, light step, he dissolved into a faint wisp of azure smoke and vanished.

The man with the sabers hadn’t expected Luo Kai to just leave like that and stood frozen in place. A companion beside him sighed. "Second Brother, Body Masters are all elusive figures. We’d best hurry and report to the Commander."

Mushan was also searching the city for Luo Kai, but with Luo Kai deliberately avoiding him, how could he possibly be found? After hearing the report from his men, he asked, a hint of doubt in his voice, "Second Brother, was that Body Master very young?"

"More than young," the man replied, recalling Luo Kai’s face with an expression of awe. "He looked like a boy of seventeen or eighteen!"

"Hmm. Draw a portrait of him for me."

The man immediately pulled a piece of paper from his robes and began to sketch from memory. The Martial Artists of the Military Punishment Department all received basic training in drawing, and their powerful control over their own bodies translated well to the task. Before long, a lifelike figure began to take shape on the paper.

Mushan studied the drawing, his expression growing more and more astonished. At last, he sighed. "It’s him."

"Commander, you know this Body Master?"

Mushan nodded. "I suppose you could say we’re acquainted. It makes sense, too. Besides him, few in the entire Xingma Kingdom possess such skill!"

The man was confused. "Commander, you’re saying he’s from our Xingma Kingdom? How have I never heard of him?"

Mushan’s expression turned grave. "You’ve spent your years in the army, so there are some things you wouldn’t know. Go tell the others. What happened today—your encounter with him—must be kept strictly confidential. No one is to speak of it to anyone."

Night began to fall, but the blazing fires kept the entire city brightly illuminated. With Luo Kai taking action, the military gradually gained the upper hand and began a large-scale push to clear the city.

The Xingma Kingdom’s most elite unit, the Tiger Soul Army’s armored division, finally arrived. Their newly acquired rocket launchers began to unleash their might. The last dark cloud formed by the insect swarm was blasted apart, revealing what had been hidden deep within: a gigantic, snow-white flesh-worm. It was dozens of meters long and covered in wrinkled skin. Its entire body was encased in a translucent, pale red shell, closely resembling an Insect Pupa. It had no wings, and it was a mystery how it managed to fly.

Without a doubt, this pupa-like giant was the leader of the swarm—the Insect Mother. As long as it survived, it could regenerate a massive army of insects in no time.

Seemingly aware of its impending defeat, the Insect Mother drifted away into the distance, protected by its few remaining escorts. It was heading toward the nearby Mist Mountain Range. While meat was the swarm’s preferred food, vegetation would still allow them to produce countless new offspring.

Naturally, the military could not allow the Insect Mother to escape. The elite armored division gave chase, bombarding it relentlessly. The Insect Mother flew at a great height, and by the time the shells reached it, they had lost most of their momentum and could only detonate mid-air. The scattered shrapnel hammered against the protective shell surrounding the Insect Mother, causing it to ripple, but there was no sign of it breaking.