The carriage of the Lin family rolled through the central district of Blue Star's Azure City, its modest wooden frame looking like a relic amidst the high-tech, floating palanquins of the nobility. Yet, as it passed, the crowds parted. Rumors of the "Insect Miracle" had already permeated the city's upper crust, and the sight of the three legendary Lin sisters accompanying their brother was enough to draw every eye.
Inside the carriage, the tension was palpable. Lin Yue was meticulously checking her medical kit, her fingers brushing against the glowing rolls of lunar silk. Lin Feng sat with her arms crossed, her 4-star Wind-Blade Panther condensed into a small, palm-sized tattoo on her forearm, ready to manifest at a heartbeat's notice. Lin Chen was buried in her tablet, cross-referencing the symptoms of Abyssal Serpent poison.
"Brother, the Abyssal Serpent's toxin isn't just a biological poison," Lin Chen warned, her brow furrowed. "It's a spiritual corrosive. It eats the beast's soul from the inside out. Even if we heal the body, the Crystal Swan might wake up as a mindless husk."
Lin Xuan leaned back, his eyes closed. On his shoulders, the two insects were a study in opposites: the Moon-Glow Larva radiated a soft, comforting warmth, while the Void-Stalker Ant was a cold, invisible void that seemed to swallow the light around it.
"The soul is just another form of energy, Chen'er," Lin Xuan said calmly. "And energy can be redirected. Xiao Ying needs the corrosive essence of that poison to temper its ghost-attribute mandibles. What the City Lord sees as a curse, I see as a feast."
The carriage came to a halt before a gargantuan gate of white marble. The City Lord's Manor was a fortress of elegance, guarded by soldiers riding Silver-Armored Griffins.
As the Lin family stepped out, they were met by a middle-aged man with a face etched in grief and exhaustion. This was City Lord Mu, a 6-star Tamer whose aura was so heavy it made the air feel like thick syrup. Beside him stood several men in white robes—the city's top-tier doctors and healers from the Royal Hospital.
"City Lord Mu," Lin Xuan said, offering a polite but shallow bow. He didn't show the subservience typical of a young graduate. He stood as an equal.
"Lin Xuan? The one they call the Insect Sovereign?" Mu's voice was hollow. He looked at the tiny jade caterpillar on Lin Xuan's shoulder and his hope flickered. "The Royal Healers say my daughter's swan has less than two hours. They've already recommended euthanasia to save her from the soul-shattering pain. If you fail, the feedback from a 6-star poison could kill you. Are you sure you want to proceed?"
One of the Royal Healers, an old man with a 5-star Golden-Leaf Deer, stepped forward with a scoff. "City Lord, this is a mockery! We have used the most expensive Holy-Light serums, and we couldn't even slow the decay. How can a boy with a common garden pest succeed where the Royal Academy failed?"
Lin Xuan didn't even look at the old man. He walked straight toward the manor's inner sanctum. "Success doesn't require a consensus, City Lord. It requires results. Clear the room. My beasts don't like an audience when they eat."
The inner chamber was freezing. In the center, resting on a bed of spirit-ice, was a Crystal Swan. Its once-translucent feathers were now stained with a murky, bubbling black slime. The air reeked of rot and dark magic.
The City Lord's daughter, a girl named Mu Ning, sat by the bed, her eyes red from crying. She looked at Lin Xuan, her voice trembling. "Please... she's been my best friend since I was six."
"Step back, Miss Mu," Lin Xuan said, his voice softening just a fraction.
Once the room was cleared of everyone but his sisters, Lin Xuan's expression turned cold and professional.
"Xiao Yue, use 'Lunar Restoration' to stabilize the Swan's life force. Don't try to purge the poison yet—just build a wall around its heart."
The jade larva chirped and unleashed a brilliant dome of silver light. The black rot on the swan's body hissed as the lunar energy touched it, the two forces clashing like acid and base.
"Now, Xiao Ying," Lin Xuan whispered to the empty air on his left shoulder. "It's time for your first meal."
The air rippled. The Void-Stalker Ant flickered into view, its smoke-like body growing slightly larger. It crawled onto the swan's neck, right over the pulsing black vein where the poison was most concentrated.
[Skill Activated: Phase Shift / Dimensional Consumption.]
To the sisters' horror, the tiny ant didn't bite the swan. It slipped through the swan's skin, phasing into its spiritual veins.
Inside the swan's energy system, the Void-Stalker Ant opened its mandibles. The black, corrosive poison—the dreaded Abyssal Toxin—wasn't a threat to Xiao Ying. To a creature born of the Void and Ghost attributes, this "soul-eating" energy was a delicacy. The ant began to vacuum up the black slime, its translucent body turning a deep, menacing purple as it absorbed the 6-star venom.
[Ding! Void-Stalker Ant is absorbing high-grade energy.]
[Evolution Progress: 15%... 40%... 85%...]
"He's using the beast as a filter!" Lin Chen gasped, her eyes glued to her scanner. "The ant is absorbing the toxin that the larva's aura is flushing out! The synergy... it's perfect! They aren't just healing; they're harvesting!"
As the minutes passed, the black veins on the swan faded. The murky slime vanished, replaced by a radiant, crystalline glow. The swan let out a weak but clear cry, its wings fluttering as the spiritual corrosion was completely removed.
[Ding! Evolution Triggered!]
[Void-Stalker Ant has reached Level 10 (Peak Iron Rank).]
[Unlocked Path: The Abyssal Shadow-Slayer.]
Outside the room, the Royal Healers were still arguing. "Any moment now, the boy will come out screaming as the poison rebounds—"
The doors swung open.
Lin Xuan walked out, his hands in his pockets. Behind him, the Crystal Swan followed, gliding on a trail of frost, its feathers more brilliant than they had ever been. Mu Ning ran forward, throwing her arms around her beast in a flurry of tears and feathers.
City Lord Mu stood frozen, his mouth agape. He looked at the swan, then at the young man who seemed completely unfazed by the fact that he had just performed a miracle.
"The poison is gone," Lin Xuan said, his voice echoing in the silent hall. "And the swan's spiritual base has been tempered. It should be able to break through to 7-stars within the month."
The Royal Healer staggered back, his face ashen. "Impossible... that toxin is incurable..."
"It's incurable for you," Lin Xuan said, casting a side-glance at the old man. "Because you see a bug and think 'weakness'. I see a bug and see the fundamental laws of the universe."
City Lord Mu stepped forward, his eyes burning with a new level of respect—and a hint of fear. "Lin Xuan. You have saved my daughter's future. The City-Tier Reward is yours. But more than that... the Mu family owes you a life-debt."
Lin Xuan smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was the smile of a player who had just moved his most powerful piece into position.
"I'll take the Reward, City Lord. But keep your debt. I'll be collecting it when I take over the Iron-Claw Corporation next week."
As the Lin family walked out of the manor, the three sisters looked at Lin Xuan's back. He was walking with a steady, rhythmic gait, his two insects glowing with the spoils of their victory.
Lin Feng whispered to Lin Yue, "I think we need to stop thinking of him as our 'little' brother."
Lin Yue nodded, her gaze fixed on Lin Xuan's neck, her heart racing. "He's the Sovereign now. And we... we are just the first of his subjects."