r18novel Chapter 11: My name is Ye Zhi
Chapter 11: My name is Ye Zhi
The life capsule and the life-bearing plant it nurtures are the foundation for insect warriors to establish themselves, evolve, and grow.
Therefore, almost all insects in this world that have ascended to the Force and developed intelligence will choose the name of a certain plant as their name.
For example, "Wu Yuan," according to the ant king named after it, is an abbreviation for "Wu Bing Guo Yuan," a variant of the citrus plant, Citronella. "Qing Zhi," needless to say, is also the name of a citrus plant.
A single insect warrior, or even a single ant colony, has limited capabilities. Ye Zhi learned from the Wuyuan Ant King that in this world, many insects are divided into races, live in clusters, and cultivate a specific type of plant to develop high-quality varieties.
Insects have awakened to intelligence and developed a sense of monopoly. The high-quality plants that are truly cultivated and suitable as life seeds are mostly circulated within their own groups and are never shared with others. This has led to many representative plants in each of the major races.
Although ants can form kingdoms, their instincts still lead them to protect their offspring to varying degrees, forming numerous "kingdoms" of varying sizes scattered across the continent beneath their feet. These kingdoms have replaced races as the most basic unit of power.
This may include different species of ants, or even ants and bees that unite to form "kingdoms" to jointly defend against external enemies and cultivate specific high-quality plants.
For example, the "Tree Ant Kingdom" was once a "united kingdom" established by weaver ants and small, slender ants as the main species, mainly cultivating various citrus plants.
To be called a kingdom, it naturally needs at least one true king ant to be in charge. According to Wu Yuan, the tree ant kingdom used to be a place where each generation of the weaver ant tribe and the slender ant tribe would select a king-level ant as the "leader," and it was a very prosperous place.
However, about a thousand years ago, the tree ant kingdom gradually declined, and fewer and fewer new generation ant kings were born in the territory. Until the last generation, only one ant king with the strength of a king, known as the Qingzhi weaver ant king, was left to guard the territory.
As he spoke of this, Wu Yuan seemed somewhat forlorn, and the light in his compound eyes dimmed. Ye Zhi was skeptical, but wisely refrained from saying anything more, instead continuing to listen quietly and learn more about this new world.
The last recognized true insect king of the tree ant kingdom - the Qingzhi Ant King - died decades before Ye Zhi's rebirth because he was stuck in the first instar insect king realm and could not advance further.
Now, the once prosperous tree ant kingdom is reduced to just the citron ant king, who is only a first-instar lord-level ant king. Naturally, the name of the tree ant kingdom is no longer recognized by the neighboring ant kingdoms.
Ye Zhi had a general understanding of the current situation. He pondered, channeling his mental energy, and once again stammered out a sentence: "The Cinnabar Ant King is powerful; in the future, it will surely be restored, and the Tree Ant Kingdom will prosper!"
Saying nice things doesn't cost money, and if the other party is in a good mood, one's own situation will definitely be better. Ye Zhi also used his past life's bragging skills to shower it with a series of compliments.
Of course, it's impossible to say there was no sincerity at all. After all, the worker ants under the other side had saved him from the jaws of the giant ants. Just the fact that that worker ant fought against countless giant ants without being at a disadvantage was enough to warrant this series of events.
Upon hearing Ye Zhi's words, Wu Yuan shook its antennae: "I've been stuck at the first-year lord stage for a long time. Without a divinely bestowed seed, I've only grown to this point thanks to the care of the Azure Ant King. Further advancement is impossible."
According to Wu Yuan, he did not have a single divinely bestowed seed. The giant tree that Ye Zhi had seen before, which was the real "Wu Bing Gou Yuan", was a "wild divinely bestowed seed" that had not been nurtured in the life capsule and had been naturally sown and grown.
The quality of the Force food produced by this "wild" divinely bestowed seed is slightly higher than that of ordinary life seeds, but lower than that of the true life seed divinely bestowed seed. It is said that this citron divinely bestowed seed was discovered and planted by the Qingzhi Ant King back then, and the citron landed on this tree during its nuptial flight, which is why the Qingzhi Ant King discovered it and simply named it after the tree.
"Little one, the worker ant that brought you back left behind pheromones indicating the discovery of the Seed of God's Force fluctuations, in your direction. Did you find it? Were those giant-toothed ants able to steal it?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhi suddenly became wary. Could it be that the other party's real purpose was his two-toothed pitcher plant divine seed?
On second thought, the inherited memories recorded that once a plant seed begins to develop, the process is irreversible and cannot be extracted by any other means. And if he were to grow under the other's protection, this divinely bestowed seed would be known sooner or later, so there was no point in hiding it.
"Found it, the life sac is developing." Ye Zhi moved its antennae, sending a positive signal.
"What kind of plant seed?" Wu Yuan seemed genuinely pleased and quickly asked. "A low-lying herbaceous plant, or a tall tree?"
"A pitcher plant," Ye Zhi replied, adding with feigned excitement, "And a flat-headed ant, from there, I picked it up!"
Strangely enough, many of the plants and animals recorded in the inherited memories of this world are extremely similar to those in the previous life, and even their names are mostly the same. Only those species named after people or places are different. For example, the name of "Shi's flathead ant" in the inherited memories has become "pale yellow flathead ant".
"Snatched from the mouths of those little creatures living in pitcher plants?" Wu Yuan seemed genuinely pleased with Ye Zhi's performance. "Clever little fellow, then your name shall be, Two-Toothed?"
Naming a plant after its first or most representative species is a common practice among insect warriors, but Ye Zhi didn't want to change her name, so she quickly transmitted her thoughts: "I already have a name, I'm called Ye Zhi!"
"Ye Zhi? What's that called?" Wu Yuan asked, puzzled. "I don't recall seeing this plant in my inherited memories, do I?"
Ye Zhi deliberately changed one word, sensing this situation might arise. He quickly prepared an explanation, saying, "Before, on that pitcher plant, I wove a web to protect myself, and that's how I survived. This name is... in remembrance!"
Wu Yuan seemed a little dizzy from this strange logic and stopped pursuing the matter: "Alright, Ye Zhi, it's getting late. You go back to my cave first. I'll find some primal energy food. You prepare yourself and evolve to the second stage as soon as possible so that you can plant the seeds bestowed by the gods."
After seemingly thinking for a moment, it turned around, lowered its antennae, and placed them on the ground, saying, "Get on, I'll take you. Let's hurry back and evolve into our second-instar stage to conceive; it'll be better for you. Let's go!"