Zhou Qi carefully selected among many Eighth-Order Four Fiends Insect Soldiers, finally choosing an elite Four Fiends Insect Soldier that was exceptionally robust and incredibly agile.
He gently placed his hand on the carapace of this Four Fiends Insect Soldier, granting it the authority of spatial teleportation through the Evolution Space.
This Four Fiends Insect Soldier felt a mysterious and powerful force surge into its body, excitedly waving its limbs and emitting a buzzing sound, seemingly expressing its loyalty and determination to Zhou Qi.
With everything ready, Zhou Qi led this mighty Bug Clan Family army and, through the Evolution Space's teleportation function, instantly arrived near the Bug Nest in the Geocentric World.
At this moment, a nauseating smell permeated the area around the Bug Nest, a lingering trace of battle.
The ground was covered with huge pits of varying depths, some still containing the severed limbs of Ironblood Bugman and Bug Clan Family, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of blood and decay, mixed with the unique dampness of the Geocentric World, making one feel like vomiting.
Ten thousand Eighth-Order Four Fiends Insect Soldiers surged towards the Bug Nest like a black tide; their uniform footsteps resonated like war drums, shaking the earth, and these Four Fiends Insect Soldiers exuded a strong black Evil Qi, each one like a small war fortress, full of oppressive power.
In the air, Eighth-Order Zhu Yan Demon Insects also roared past, completely surrounding the internal spatial passage of the Bug Nest.
Seeing that the Bug Clan Family around the Bug Nest were all in place and their defensive capabilities had greatly increased, Zhou Qi returned to the Geocentric Base.
At this time, the Geocentric Base was undergoing large-scale expansion as the number of Bug Clan Family and Parasites continuously increased.
According to Zhou Qi's vision, the base needed to expand all the way to the Bug Nest, connecting with it to form an even larger and more stable sphere of influence.
Subsequently, Zhou Qi went to the dungeon of the Geocentric Base, where there was another unparasitized Ironblood Bugman, which was also a Nine-Tailed Ironblood Insect Men.
It was imprisoned in a specially made giant cage, surrounded by a dense defensive line composed of Six-Stage Zhu Yan Devil Insects and Six-Order Four Fiend Insect Soldiers.
The cage was made of special metal, engraved with strange runes that shimmered with faint light, not only capable of restricting the Ironblood Bugman's movement but also weakening its power.
Zhou Qi stood before the cage, gazing at this Nine-Tailed Ironblood Insect Men.
The Ironblood Bugman felt Zhou Qi's gaze, and a hint of fear flashed in its fierce eyes, but it was quickly replaced by anger; it let out a low roar at Zhou Qi, its nine tails swaying restlessly behind it, each sharp spike glinting with cold light.
Zhou Qi ignored its provocation and directly released his powerful Mental Power.
The Mental Power, like an invisible rope, instantly clamped down on the Nine-Tailed Ironblood Insect Men; the Ironblood Bugman struggled desperately but found its body completely unable to move, only able to let out an even more furious roar.
Under the suppression of Mental Power, Zhou Qi began to strengthen it.
“Ding, consuming ten million Evolution Points, the Ironblood Bugman is strengthened to a First-Order Ironblood Bugman; congratulations to the host for obtaining the Elementary favorability of the First-Order Ironblood Bugman.”
...
“Ding, consuming one hundred sixty million Evolution Points, the Ironblood Bugman is strengthened to a Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men; congratulations to the host for obtaining the sworn loyalty of the Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men.”
As Evolution Points were continuously consumed, the light of evolution, like a brilliant nebula, enveloped the Ironblood Bugman, and within the light, the Ironblood Bugman's body began to undergo drastic changes.
Its body swelled rapidly, its already massive physique becoming even larger, towering like a small hill within the cage.
Its carapace became increasingly thick, its dark metallic luster growing richer, and the patterns on it resembled ancient mysterious symbols, as if narrating immense power.
Its nine tails became as thick as giant pythons, and the spikes on each tail grew several times longer, gleaming with chilling cold light; these spikes were not only sharper but also faintly emitted a strange energy fluctuation.
Zhou Qi strengthened it to the Fifth-Order in one go, and the entire strengthening process lasted for a long time.
During this period, Zhou Qi kept a close eye on the Ironblood Bugman's changes, not missing any detail; finally, the light of evolution slowly dissipated, and a Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men with a completely transformed appearance appeared before Zhou Qi.
This Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men now exuded a powerful and evil aura, and the number of tails behind it had increased to a full 11.
Zhou Qi impatiently opened the Bug Clan Family panel to check:
Apostle: Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men
Rank: Advanced Lifeform
Race: Ironblood Bugman
Gene: Advanced Ironblood Bugman Gene
Life Essence: Carbon-based organism
Talents:
Five-Star Talent:
Body-Tail Strength: For every additional tail an Ironblood Bugman grows, it can release an additional layer of combat power, and as the number of tails increases, the number of additional combat power layers that can be released also increases. (One layer can increase combat power by 10% based on the previous tail)
Four-Star Talent:
Ironblood Frenzy: When taking damage in battle, it will trigger its berserk state; in the berserk state, its attacks will become more frantic and reckless, fighting entirely by instinct, posing a huge threat to enemies.
Level 1 Source Ability: Can manipulate special energy to form energy attacks.
Three-Star Talent:
Group Control: Can control the consciousness of lower-Rank Ironblood Bugman within a certain range; the controlled Ironblood Bugman will completely obey its commands, greatly enhancing their coordinated combat ability, and becoming more courageous and fearless in battle, not fearing death.
Two-Star Talent:
Stealth Assault: Can perfectly conceal itself using the surrounding environment, completely hiding light, sound, and aura, and its instant burst power will be greatly enhanced.
Life Strength: 37
Zhou Qi looked at the Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men's powerful talents on the panel, secretly pondering how to maximize its abilities.
He decided to first let this Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men familiarize itself with the environment of the Geocentric Base, and at the same time, test its performance in abilities outside of actual combat.
Through a Mental connection, Zhou Qi transmitted a series of instructions to the Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men, telling it to move around the base and demonstrate the use of its various abilities.
This Five-Order Ironblood Insect Men slowly took a step, its three-meter-tall body causing the ground to tremble slightly; as it walked, a light blue energy gathered at its tail, which it then directly fired out.
With a “boom,” this energy wave flew a hundred meters away, blasting a pit in the distant ground.
Zhou Qi secretly clicked his tongue; if all of his Bug Clan Family could master this Level 1 Source Ability's energy attack, it would undoubtedly elevate the strength of his subordinates by more than one Rank.