Indeed, far away at the gymnasium, many insects had gathered once again. Red-Crested Beetles, Venomous Spiders, Amoeba Bugs – chaotically crowded together, seemingly fighting over something to eat. Li Jiayu's eyesight was quite good; with just one glance, he could tell those insects were gnawing on the corpse of the Female Parasitic Vine!
His heart skipped a beat, silently cursing!
It was rare for insects to cannibalize corpses of their own kind. Even if an Empress Bug died, absolutely no low-tier insect would dare eat its body. But if it was the corpse of a different species, insects quite liked to eat them, especially since high-tier corpses could promote their evolution!
"Right... The Female Parasitic Vine was a mid-Tier 2 Abyssal demonic creature. Just before death, it condensed all its life essence. Its corpse is practically a great tonic for these low-tier insects; it'd be strange if they didn't eat it... The problem now is, these corpse-eating insects might become very troublesome. If, within a few days, some Red-Crested Beetle evolves into a Green-Hat Beetle, it would truly threaten the students on the thirteenth floor. And inconveniently, I might not be here then..."
Li Jiayu watched the insects below continuously gnawing on the Female Parasitic Vine's pale eyeball and demonic vines, his expression dark and uncertain, faintly emitting killing intent. He finally understood why the Female Parasitic Vine had suddenly appeared!
According to the trajectory of his past life, the Female Parasitic Vine should have successfully transformed into a human form inside the gymnasium, then taken the eighty-eight girls' dried corpses and wreaked havoc outside the school. Its shed demonic vine body, devoid of energy, would have been devoured by insects without a trace. That's why in his past life, no one in the entire school knew this major BOSS had once appeared there!
"Right now, the Female Parasitic Vine's corpse still contains strong demonic power... It really might induce these insects to evolve. Although the probability is low, we must prepare for a rainy day. Green-Hat Beetles aren't a big deal, but I'm afraid the Venomous Spiders might evolve into Corpse Toxin Spiders, easily causing a corpse poison plague. And inconveniently, there are so many corpses in the school..."
Li Jiayu's gaze darkened. He instructed Ran Hongxia:
"I originally planned to let these insects live a few more days, but now it seems impossible! If they aren't completely wiped out, you all might be in danger. I cannot allow any mishap to happen to you or Sister Xiao... So, leave these insects to me!"
"Didn't you say... your body is still stiff, inconvenient for battle?"
"Doesn't matter, summoners don't rely on their bodies to make a living! Quickly return to the thirteenth floor. There, I will do my best to find a way to annihilate them!"
"Li Jiayu, need help? Just like yesterday afternoon, let's team up again and go out to kill insects! My big stick is already thirsty!" Chu Xiang's eyes gleamed. He sprang up, took a deep breath, his sturdy chest muscles bulging, displaying explosive power.
"No need. You guys continue cutting the insect meat properly for me. Strive to have insect meat hotpot for lunch today. Mere insects, I really don't take them seriously!"
Li Jiayu had this confidence because he was the most powerful summoner in history. Even though he was currently only high-Tier 1, he still possessed considerable strength. After a night of transformation, Li Jiayu was much stronger than yesterday!
Right now, annihilating twenty Red-Crested Beetles by himself was indeed difficult. But factoring in favorable timing and terrain, and fighting a war of attrition, it definitely wasn't a hard task!
"By the way, Chu Xiang, can you crack open the Red-Crested Beetle's skull for me? I want to get some of its brain matter." Just as Li Jiayu was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something, reached out to stroke the Red-Crested Beetle's head shell, and asked Chu Xiang.
"No problem, watch me!"
Chu Xiang placed one hand on the Red-Crested Beetle's corpse, raised the fire axe with the other, like a legendary Hercules. A torrential, terrifyingly huge force surged out instantly, cracking the beetle's skull! Then, ripping and tearing at the crack, he promptly tore the Red-Crested Beetle's skull in half, revealing the white brain tissue inside. A pungent, fishy smell filled the air.
"As expected of a Dragonoid, terrifyingly strong. When you advance to Dragon Warrior later, you'll probably be able to shatter a wall with one punch. From now on, you'll be the shield warrior in our team, specializing as a meat shield..."
"Grandma's balls! I actually became a meat shield specialized in taking hits?" Chu Xiang's eyes widened, his frustrated expression resembling a strangled toad.
"Being a meat shield has its advantages. Anyway, your skin is thick, you're not afraid of pain at all. One day when I go kill a Skeleton General and get you a set of battle armor, you'll have even less to worry about getting injured."
Saying this, Li Jiayu touched the extremely disgusting insect brain with his finger, then brought his finger to his nose and sniffed, nodding:
"Mm, this brain matter is still very fresh. Can be eaten like herbal jelly or ice cream. Refreshing and delightful. Want to try a bite?"
"Better not... Just seeing this gray brain matter full of green blood vessels makes me want to vomit..." Chu Xiang said with a wrinkled face. The other boys also quickly turned their heads away, not daring to look at the disgusting insect brain.
"You guys really don't understand what supplements are! One bite of Red-Crested Beetle brain matter is better than eating a ginseng root! Chu Xiang, remember to extract the brain matter from the other insects. At noon, make a stew with the insect brains, honey dates, and ham. This can calm the nerves, relieve stress, and also help classmates with colds recover faster!"
"Holy crap... Eating insect meat wasn't enough, now we even have to make a stew out of insect brains... This taste is really damn heavy! I bet the classmates will lose their appetite the moment they see the disgusting insect brains."
"Who cares if they have an appetite or not? Anyway, just find a few classmates skilled in cooking to do it! The insect brain stew will be very fragrant then, flavourful even without seasoning!"
Saying this, Li Jiayu picked up a small knife, cut off a small piece of brain matter from the insect brain, scooped the sticky substance into a cup, then returned to the thirteenth floor with Ran Hongxia. In front of all the classmates, he selected a large empty space in the hall and quickly drew a hexagram pattern using the brain matter!
Everyone stared wide-eyed. They weren't idiots; they naturally knew the hexagram pattern Li Jiayu drew wasn't simple scribbling, but likely a magic circle possessing supernatural power. Several top students and professors from the Arts Department were already watching Li Jiayu's every drawn line intently, pondering the profound mysteries contained within the intricate pattern formed by those lines.
After finishing the hexagram array, Li Jiayu clapped his hands and scanned everyone:
"Didn't some of you just shout about wanting to learn summoning arts from me? Watch carefully. Some things depend on talent, can only be understood intuitively, not explained. Learn as much as you can from me. If you gain any insights, that would be even better. After three days, during the Yang Soul Inheritance, perhaps two or three summoners will be born among you. If that really happens, I can teach you a little, even taking you as nominal disciples isn't impossible... In the distant future, I hope the summoner profession flourishes, instead of being called a useless profession by others!"
Li Jiayu's words instantly made many people's eyes turn red with envy. Although "nominal disciple" sounded quite unimpressive, coming from Li Jiayu's mouth, it carried considerable weight.
Summoner apprentice...
Perhaps the summoner profession itself wasn't particularly remarkable, its fame far less than professions like Mage, Magic Swordsman, or Priest. But Li Jiayu's performance as a summoner was simply too dazzling. Not only was his combat power ridiculously strong, but he was also indescribably cool. Especially the phantom of the Frost Dragon he summoned – it practically awed the entire Xijiang City!
In that instant, Li Jiayu was like a god!
Clearly, after learning that the era of supernatural magic was approaching, the profession many students most wanted to become wasn't Mage, Magic Swordsman, Monk, War God, Sword Saint, Ranger, or Archer God, but Summoner!
They didn't need to be too strong, just able to slightly follow in Li Jiayu's footsteps would be enough. And if they could become Li Jiayu's nominal disciple, even better! Certain girls had already made up their minds: they must become summoners, then break into Li Jiayu's social circle!
"Alright, let's begin..."
Li Jiayu stood inside the hexagram array, chanting a low incantation. The array drawn with brain matter beneath his feet gradually began to emit a dazzling light. Within inches, it illuminated his face, carved like jade, radiating a brilliant divine splendor, making him look so exquisitely handsome, even possessing a faint aura of divinity!
Soon, waves of magic fluctuations like ocean tides emanated from the array, causing Li Jiayu's clothes to flap loudly. His full head of silver hair danced wildly, looking somewhat messy, yet lending him an air of untamed arrogance, making the young students' hearts pound wildly!
Handsome! Too handsome! Li Jiayu's demeanor during summoning was like a whirlpool, captivating everyone's hearts and minds! At this moment, they couldn't help but fantasize about when they could possess Li Jiayu's level of strength and presence. If that happened, this life would be worth it!
Unlike those admiring or infatuated with Li Jiayu, Sun Weiwei was currently staring intently at him, paying attention to his every expression, every blink. Her gaze held only Li Jiayu. She seemed to have entered some subtle state, warm currents flowing through her heart. She felt the magic fluctuations radiating from Li Jiayu brushing against her face like a spring breeze, extremely comfortable.
"I must become a summoner too... As long as I gain his approval, I can risk everything! If I can become his nominal disciple, I will drain his knowledge from him, become someone who surpasses him, slap him twice hard, let him know that I, Sun Weiwei, am not the rotten woman he predicted!" This was Sun Weiwei's inner monologue. Her obsession gave her motivation; her entire soul seemed about to sublimate!
In an instant, Li Jiayu took out an Insect Crystal, serving as the offering for this summoning. Then he suddenly half-knelt, pressing one hand onto the ground. The magic circle instantly became agitated, and soon, two lonely graves were summoned!
It was extremely bizarre; two yellow mud lonely graves actually surged up from the marble floor! In everyone's eyes, it was simply incredible. And when two hideous Ghouls, terrifying enough to scare people into wetting themselves, crawled out from the graves, some girls screamed one after another, quickly hiding behind the crowd. Even some boys felt their scalps tingle when meeting the Ghouls' rotten eyes, like countless cold little snakes crawling on their backs.
These were precisely the Greedy Ghouls. Last night, when Li Jiayu burned his soul, temporarily reaching mid-Tier 2, he had forcibly established contracts with these summoned beasts from the void. Their combat power wasn't strong, but the power generated when they self-destructed was thirty percent stronger than an exploding tag!
"Go! Run to the center of the insects and self-destruct! Kill as many as you can!" Li Jiayu pointed out the window, his face slightly pale. His mental power was only enough to summon two high-Tier 1 Ghouls. Now, his mental power was almost depleted; summoning a third would be difficult.
"Goo—"
The two Ghouls let out tragic, desperate cries, shaking the nearby students. Then, they twisted their uneven legs, lumbered towards the window with their huge bellies, and jumped down from the thirteenth floor with a "Swoosh"!
The classmates watched, dumbfounded. Holy crap, this was the thirteenth floor! Even for undead creatures like Ghouls, jumping from the thirteenth floor would probably turn them into meat paste, right?
They followed Li Jiayu to the window and looked down, only to see the Ghouls landing unharmed! They merely cracked the cement ground below into two spiderwebs upon landing. Heavens, how hard must the skin of these Ghouls be!
Under Li Jiayu's command, the Ghouls staggered awkwardly across the sports field towards the gymnasium. They soon approached the insect swarm. Venomous Spiders, sensing the enemies' arrival, shrieked and pounced, biting at the Ghouls' legs, but only managed to bite off chunks of foul-smelling rotten flesh. The terrifying corpse poison, in turn, poisoned the Venomous Spiders half to death!
Soon, the Ghouls approached the scarce remains of the Female Parasitic Vine. Five or six Red-Crested Beetles were still gathered there, gnawing on the remnants of the pale eyeball. By the time they noticed the Venomous Spider defense line had collapsed, it was too late, because the Ghouls self-destructed right in front of them! Their huge bellies released extremely toxic corpse qi, spraying onto the Red-Crested Beetles, instantly dissolving their prized carapaces and corroding their bodies!
Just like that, these Red-Crested Beetles were dealt with! Along with one Amoeba Bug and over a dozen Venomous Spiders who were also caught in the blast, poisoned to death!
"Hmph, the results aren't bad... I'll go take a nap now. Recover my mental power by noon, then summon two more Ghouls. I refuse to believe I can't slaughter all those insects that ate the Female Parasitic Vine's corpse within two days!"
Li Jiayu nodded towards Ran Hongxia and said:
"You take charge of the situation from here. Remember, lunch must be insect meat hotpot..."