Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 15 Heavenly Thunder Eyes

The blood-red mosquitoes in the mustard seed bowl rushed toward Zhou Li like shooting stars.

It was incredibly fast, leaving a bloody afterimage in the air, and the needle in its mouth, carrying a sharp killing intent, pierced straight towards Zhou Li's chest and abdomen.

If you are pierced, there is no doubt that the needle will mercilessly drain all the blood and energy from your body.

Zhou Li responded cautiously, eager to test his newly acquired supernatural powers.

With the activation of his spiritual power, a streak of indigo lightning quietly flowed in his pupils.

Heavenly Thunder Eye, activate!

In an instant, this small world changed completely, and waves of spiritual energy were clearly reflected in Zhou Li's eyes.

With each flap of the blood mosquito's wings, the angle at which its proboscis pierced the ground slowed down in his field of vision.

Furthermore, because Zhou Li often practiced his movement techniques with heavenly lightning, he felt that the blood mosquito was as slow as a snail.

He didn't even dodge; he just slightly turned his body to the side.

With a soft "hiss," the blood mosquito's proboscis grazed the golden markings on his abdomen, scattering only a few tiny sparks.

Zhou Li felt relieved. He had deliberately used his abdominal armor to test the hardness of the blood mosquito's mouthparts. Now he saw that the mouthparts were even weaker than his abdominal armor. If it were his own mandibles, they would probably break at the slightest touch.

The blood mosquito clearly hadn't expected the ant to dodge; it froze, and before it could adjust its posture, Zhou Li had already moved.

Knowing what was going on, Zhou Li suddenly opened his upper jaw and bit into the blood mosquito's mouthparts.

Almost simultaneously, a sweet, fishy smell assaulted Zhou Li's nostrils, making him gag. He staggered back a couple of steps, thinking bitterly, "These blood mosquitoes have no mouthparts, but they certainly have a big breath."

Although the attack was unsuccessful, it startled the blood mosquito.

It hovered in mid-air, its abdomen bulging slightly, and in an instant, it spewed out a large amount of thick blood mist, making the mustard seed space pitch black.

Unfortunately, everything is in vain.

Under the Thunder Eyes, the location of the Blood Mosquito was clearly revealed. Zhou Li exerted force with both wings, piercing through layers of blood mist, and went straight for the Blood Mosquito's true form.

The blood mosquito hastily pierced its mouth again, and this time, Zhou Li met its mandibles with its own.

"clang!"

With a crisp sound of metal clashing against stone, the blood mosquito's mouthparts were firmly bitten by Zhou Li's upper jaw, and then he suddenly exerted force with his jaws.

"Snap." The needle broke off cleanly at the base.

The blood mosquito immediately weakened, and most of the blood mist around it dissipated. Zhou Li seized the opportunity to strike again, his mandibles slicing across the blood mosquito's chest and abdomen.

A flash of blood appeared, and the blood mosquito struggled a few times before falling to the ground and remaining motionless.

The battle lasted only a few breaths from start to finish.

Yuwen Zhao let out a soft "Eh," a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"To see the blood mist as nothing, and to have the ability to anticipate the enemy's moves—these ants are that powerful?"

"It seems I misjudged it," Yuwen Zhao clapped his hands, a satisfied smile on his face. "Good, good! I thought it was just a container to retrieve the Soul Jade, but it's quite an extraordinary toy. It's barely enough to make a pilgrimage to this Chess Insect Gathering."

He pointed a finger at the mustard seed bowl, and two fragrant pills and several spiritual herbs were placed inside.

"Well done," Yuwen Zhao's voice came through the bowl. "These Spirit-Nourishing Pills are a reward for you. Take good care of yourself and I'll take you out to see the world in a few days."

Zhou Li slowly raised his head and looked at the slowly closing gap in the dome.

Through the gap, one could vaguely see half of Yuwen Zhao's smiling face and his teasing gaze.

Then, Zhou Li slowly lowered his head and began to eat the bait.

Quiet and compliant, like a well-trained chess bug.

"Yuwen Zhao..." Zhou Li silently murmured the name in his heart, and deep within his thunderous eyes, the flames of hatred gradually burned.

…………

In the northeast corner of the Listening Insect Garden, there is a rather elegant garden.

The garden features streams fed by flowing water, hills formed by stacked rocks, and several pavilions nestled among ancient trees.

In the center of the pavilion was not an ordinary table, but a three-foot square purple jade chessboard.

The surface of the board is as smooth as a mirror, with what appears to be flowing clouds inside, and countless tiny runes, as fine as mosquitoes and flies, appearing and disappearing. This is the board for the game of Yichongxi.

The stage may not look large, but it is supported by a Sumeru magic array, which is large enough to accommodate several demonic insects fighting to their hearts' content, and can clearly reflect the battle situation for viewers to appreciate.

At this moment, Yuwen Zhao stepped into the largest pavilion, where more than ten young men and women in fine clothes were already seated.

"Brother Yuwen, you're late this morning. Did you catch some good bug this time to surprise me?"

A young man holding a folding fan smiled and said that he was Ji Qingshan, the young master of the Ji family of the Panling clan, and had always been acquainted with Yuwen Zhao.

"Brother Ji, you flatter me. I just happened to acquire a rare species a few days ago, and I brought it here today for everyone to appreciate." Yuwen Zhao smiled and cupped his hands, then sat down next to Ji Qingshan, where a maidservant served him spirit tea.

"Oh? To be called an extraordinary creature by Young Master Yuwen, it must be something special." A woman in a green dress said in a gentle tone, "Could it be that you've found another poisonous creature from somewhere? That poisonous bee last time caused me a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry, Sister Su, this one has nothing to do with poison." Yuwen Zhao smiled meaningfully and gently placed the mustard seed bowl on the table.

"Then Su girl will be heartbroken," Ji Qingshan said, fanning himself. "To deal with your poisonous bees, she specially brought a phantom butterfly from the Southern Frontier, which is specifically designed to counter all kinds of poisonous insects."

"Though the Illusionary Butterfly is wondrous, it fears fierce creatures. If it were to encounter the giant herring I keep, it would be torn to shreds in an instant," another tall and strong young man said disdainfully.

Ji Qingshan shook his head: "That's not quite right. The fun of chess lies in overcoming the strong with the weak and defeating the brute with skill. If one only pursues brute force, how is that different from a brute's wrestling match? Brother Yuwen, don't you agree?"

Yuwen Zhao nodded with a smile: "Brother Ji is quite right. In the art of insects, talent, opportunity, and spirituality are all indispensable. Sometimes, a seemingly weak insect may possess extraordinary abilities and be able to defeat a powerful enemy."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the mustard seed bowl.

Seeing his expression, everyone knew that the insect he was going to keep today must be the one in the bowl, and their curiosity grew even stronger.

Several more people arrived, all of them scions of prominent families who were fond of this art. They exchanged pleasantries, drank tea, and chatted about the demonic insects that each family had tamed.

After a brief chat, Ji Qingshan spoke first: "Gentlemen, we've had our tea and talked about everything. Shouldn't we let the insects stretch their limbs? Brother Yuwen, may we have a sneak peek?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Yuwen Zhao didn't refuse, and with his hands forming a hand seal, a ray of spiritual light entered the mustard seed bowl.

The bowl's mouth was slightly open, and a beam of golden light shot out, landing in the center of the purple jade playing plate and revealing its form—it was Zhou Li.

At this time, Zhou Li's body length had reached nearly half a foot, and after consuming the Spirit-Nourishing Pill bestowed by Yuwen Zhao, his aura was even more refined than before.

Although it was still in ant form, the subtle sharpness it possessed, honed through life-and-death battles and the tempering of heavenly lightning, subtly moved several discerning individuals present.

"Ants?" The tall, burly young man was taken aback, then burst into laughter. "Brother Yuwen, are you making fun of us? What can an ant do, even if it's a bit big?"

Miss Su also showed a slight doubt: "Young Master Yuwen, could this ant be a variant of the Golden Bearded Ant? If it has a unique bloodline, it might not be unable to stand out."

Ji Qingshan stared intently at it for a moment, tapping his palm with his folding fan: "This ant... its eyes gleam with inner light, it seems extraordinary, it seems extraordinary."

A hint of smugness flashed in Yuwen Zhao's eyes, but his face remained calm: "As for combat strength, we'll find out soon enough. Which virtuous brother or sister would be willing to offer their precious insect as a lesson?"