The poisonous bugs that the Yeluo were fighting were purplish-green and looked a little like supersized Earth beetles. The beetles were wingless and couldn't fly, but they were as large as cars, their carapaces metallic, shiny, and lustrous. Their mandibles were as sharp as honed blades. They gave off a faint miasma. 

The fighting was intense. Zhang Lie glanced around and concluded that, even if the Yeluo fighters could win, they would likely have to give up the village that they were protecting. They were holding firmly against the poisonous bugs, but the bugs swarmed without end from the depths of the valley. Either the fighters would run out of stamina and perish to the bugs, or they would be forced to run off, leaving their village to be invaded.

"It looks like we'll have to help. Hong Xi, cover me with your fan and arrows." Zhang Lie focused on the gigantic golden beetle that led the invasion, whose body seemed to be made of pure gold. This was undoubtedly their leader.

Hong Xi materialized her fan and began to wave it around in long, flowing sweeps, summoning a gigantic hurricane in the very center of the swarm of beetles and disorienting them. In the middle of the confusion, Zhang Lie vanished in mid-air.

When the beetles noticed the sudden attack from the flank, part of the swarm separated and headed straight for Hong Xi. She continued waving her fan, shooting out thousands of wind spears that did noticeable damage to bugs and struck holes in their carapaces.

Suddenly, a pillar of genetic energy shot into the sky. The very air trembled; a river of the underworld appeared on the battlefield, drowning a large number of bugs with its current.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Hundred Dragons Soaring]!" A horde of dragons appeared in midair, swallowing up the sky. They dove down on the bugs and exploded once they reached their targets, swallowing them up in explosions of black flame.

Even the golden beetle in the very center was affected by the explosions.

"[The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]!" A gigantic blood dragon emerged from among the hundreds of black dragons, clawing bloody gouges in the golden beetle's carapace, then flipping it over with a sweep of its tail. It roared as it ascended to the skies, then dove down and pierced the beetle's body.

[You successfully killed a peak-grade goldenvenom beetle. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade goldenvenom beetle, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]

Upon its death, the remainder of the swarm fell into disarray. A large fraction of the bugs left immediately, and the Yeluo tribesmen immediately counterattacked.

Zhang Lie had predicted that the beetle's strength lay largely in defense and its ability to command a whole swarm of insects, without much offensive power on its own. His absurd and staggering growth made the beetle look far weaker in comparison.

After the Yeluo tribesmen drove off the bugs, they turned warily toward Zhang Lie and Hong Xi.

Hong Xi frowned and crossed her arms. "Why do you all look so hostile? We just helped you out!"

The leader of the Yeluo fighters strode forward. "Who knows what you want from us? Who are you? What are you doing in Yeluo lands?"

Zhang Lie raised both his arms high up in the sky. "We harbor no malicious intentions. I simply have matters I wish to discuss with the Yeluo clan."

"With the Yeluo clan?" The supposed leader turned to one of the fighters standing beside him. "Zhan Qing, do we need to report this to the clan head?"

Zhan Qing smiled and considered the two hunters. "You're humans, aren't you? Invaders to the second realm, as weak as stinkbugs?"

The other Yeluo fighters began murmuring among themselves.

"So these are what humans look like! Indeed, they're similar to monkeys."

"Apparently they're livestock reared by the sura..."

"Is that so? Then I imagine they must taste rather good!"

"If they're really so weak, how about we give them a try?"

The Yeluo fighters all suddenly felt ravenous.

Zhan Qing waved an arm. "There's no reason for us to hold any sort of conversation with weak humans like you."

Hong Xi frowned. "Not even after helping you all in times of crisis? If we're stinkbugs, then you all must be worse than stinkbugs!"

Zhan Qing scoffed. "Insolence! The Yeluo would hardly fall to a swarm of bugs. Even without your help, we would have easily won!"

Zhang Lie figured out what he had done wrongly—he had entered the fight too early on! If he had waited until half the Yeluo fighters were crippled or dead, his help would have seemed far more vital.

 Zhang Lie replied coldly, "I came here in order to purchase a few specialized potions from the Yeluo. Don't make me an enemy."

Zhan Qing laughed uproariously. He glanced toward Hong Xi, then scanned her up and down. "If you hand us that young woman by your side, we might consider it."

"Master!" Hong Xi glanced at her master with disgust on her face at Zhan Qing's lecherous expression.

"Come with us, girl!" Zhan Qing let out a wolf whistle. "Don't you want to be with a real man for once? Can your short, skinny companion compare to us?"

"Ha! She's thin and slender herself—won't we have to be careful with her?"

"Once we've had our fun with her, we can even turn her into a meal!"

Zhang Lie narrowed his eyes. "I don't suppose a peaceful resolution is possible, then."

Zhan Qing smirked.  "Do you think you pitiful humans have the right to hold a discussion with our clan elders? You're the ones intruding in Yeluo territory."

He reached out for Hong Xi, but Zhang Lie batted his arm away.

"Oho. You want to have a fight, do you?" Zhan Qing hefted his polearm from his back, then swung it in a silver arc right toward Zhang Lie's neck.

[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!  With a crisp metallic whistle, the head of Zhan Qing's polearm was smashed to pieces. He staggered back with the force of Zhang Lie's blow, his weapon completely ruined. Zhang Lie murmured, "A violent clan, aren't you? No wonder you were all killed. Again—don't force me to become an enemy!"