Chapter Eleven: Sweeping Through the Bosses
“What a cunning fellow! But do you think this is enough to keep me from finding you?” Qin Chuan’s sharp eyes swept the surroundings, quickly spotting an ancient tree that stood out from the rest. No matter how well it disguised itself, a ten-thousand-year-old tree would always be thicker than its companions. The difference was subtle, but enough to confirm this was the Thousand Vine Tree Lord.
Qin Chuan didn’t attack immediately; instead, he hopped and skipped his way over.
“Big brother, don’t come any closer! You can’t see me, you can’t see me!” The earlier clash had left the Thousand Vine Tree Lord thoroughly intimidated. No matter how hard a tree’s wood might be, it was never as tough as refined iron. Fundamentally, this put him at a disadvantage—especially against the terrifyingly sharp Black Iron Sword.
Had Qin Chuan known what the Tree Lord was thinking, he would have laughed out loud. “I’ll chop you to pieces—let’s see you pretend any longer!”
Suddenly, Qin Chuan launched his assault, hacking wildly at the tree.
“Ow! That hurts!” The Thousand Vine Tree Lord yanked up its roots and tried to flee, dragging long vines behind him.
Qin Chuan burst out laughing at the Lord’s pitiful escape. Still, laughter aside, he wasn’t about to miss out on essence and experience.
“Too bad for you—it’s time to say goodbye!” he declared. “Falling Sky Strike!”
Green light flashed; hundreds of sword shadows rained down from above.
“Ah! Big brother, I have no enmity with you, spare me!” The three-second bombardment left the Tree Lord riddled with wounds. He collapsed, barely clinging to life—just waiting for Qin Chuan to finish the job.
“No enmity? Didn’t you try to kill me from the start? Rest in peace!”
“No, please—!” Qin Chuan ignored his pleas, plunging his sword into the Lord’s trunk. Instantly, the system chimed in with pleasant tones.
“Ding! You have slain the level 10 Thousand Vine Tree Lord. Experience gained: 2,500 points. Over-level bonus: 100% experience. Congratulations, host: 5,000 experience points gained.”
“Devour Essence!”
“Ding! Essence devoured successfully. 500 evolution points obtained.”
“Ding! Evolution points full. Host can now choose mutation evolution or quality upgrade.”
Qin Chuan glanced at the odds—mutation evolution had an 80% chance, quality upgrade only 11%.
“Never mind, I’ll evolve later,” he decided. He had his reasons: he was only halfway to the next level, and once he reached it, he could evolve directly to the second tier and condense a Spirit Pearl, which promised a considerable boost in attributes. Second tier was a qualitative leap, but it would subsequently require much more essence—a troublesome prospect.
Evolution Points: 6630/6400
Experience: 28350/51200
Rage: 10/100
Quickly, Qin Chuan locked onto his next target: the Spirit Serpent Lord, a member of the Swift movement class.
“Let’s have some fun and see who’s faster,” he grinned. This target would let him practice footwork and basic attacks. His awareness was there, but his execution needed sharpening—after all, in a brutal fight, even a tiny mistake could be fatal.
The Spirit Serpent Lord hid in a deep forest pool, its body seven or eight meters long, as thick as a sapling, covered in gleaming scales that blades and swords struggled to pierce. On its head sat a blue Spirit Pearl.
Qin Chuan soon arrived at the pool’s edge. The surface was eerily calm, its depths unfathomable.
Thud! Splash! A large stone crashed into the water, sending up a cacophony and a spray of droplets.
“How dare you!” a sullen voice hissed. A black serpent surged from the depths, head swaying as it flicked its tongue, venomous eyes fixed on the shore.
“Don’t bother looking, I’m right here!” Qin Chuan’s Black Iron Sword leapt out from behind a boulder.
“A level 9 Black Iron Sword? You must have a death wish! Not only did you trespass, you dared disturb my rest!” The Spirit Serpent Lord, seeing only a level 9 spirit weapon, was incensed, hissing sharply.
“That’s right, I’m tired of living—come and get me!” Qin Chuan taunted, making his sword hop forward and back, even spinning three hundred and sixty degrees mid-air, showing utter disdain for the Lord.
“Impudence! How dare you offend a Lord! No matter your origins, you’re dead!” Enraged, the Spirit Serpent Lord lunged from the water toward Qin Chuan.
“Serpent Bind!”
“Haha, you fell for it again. Provoking the enemy never fails!” The Lord’s speed was astonishing—he closed in within seconds.
“Dodge—oops, just missed me! Little snake, you’re a bit slow!” Qin Chuan jeered.
“What? You dare call me slow?!” The Lord was livid. As a master of the Swift class, how could his speed be lacking?
“Serpent Dash!” The Lord activated a skill, greatly boosting his speed for three seconds.
“Whoa—impressive speed! But you still can’t touch me!” Qin Chuan laughed, blinking away in a flash.
Again, the Lord struck empty air, his snake eyes nearly burning with fury.
“Damn you! I don’t believe it—Serpent Dance!” In his rage, the Lord unleashed his ultimate move, his body coiling and spinning rapidly above the ground, covering a range of seven or eight meters.
With such a wide area, evasion became difficult. So Qin Chuan chose to attack.
“Flow Strike!”
Chirp!
“Ding! Critical hit triggered. Knockback effect activated.”
Qin Chuan was waiting for just this—his skill clashed with the Lord, sending the serpent flying, his ultimate smashing a boulder to pieces. The Lord felt as though he’d crashed into an unbreakable blade, agony shooting through him as he stared at Qin Chuan in terror.
“How can he be so tough and sharp?”
“Come on, little snake—let’s play some more,” Qin Chuan mocked, intensifying the Lord’s fury. Twisting his body, the serpent charged once again.
“Haha, now for some footwork!”
Having exhausted all his skills, the Spirit Serpent Lord could only lunge repeatedly, but each attempt was deftly dodged by Qin Chuan.
“Little snake, you’re not up to scratch—my turn!” Qin Chuan jabbed him with a basic attack, leaving a white mark.
The Lord writhed in pain, lashing his tail in anger—again, Qin Chuan slipped away. As time passed, Qin Chuan’s timing and positioning grew ever more precise, leaving the Lord covered in wounds before finally relenting.
“All right, time to send you off.” Qin Chuan unleashed Flow Strike, dealing massive damage, then slid behind the Lord for a flurry of attacks.
“Ding! You have slain the level 10 Spirit Serpent Lord. Experience gained: 2,500 points. Over-level bonus: 100% experience. Congratulations, host: 5,000 experience points gained.”
“Devour Essence!”
“Ding! Essence devoured successfully. 500 evolution points obtained.”
Satisfied, Qin Chuan checked his stats—between the experience and essence gained along the way, he was close to leveling up.
Evolution Points: 7940/6400
Experience: 37400/51200
Rage: 10/100
“Not bad—just one more and I’ll advance. How exciting!” Qin Chuan was in high spirits. With tier two on the horizon, another surge of attributes awaited.
“Now, who’s next? Let’s see... The Venom Spider Lord is nearby.”
The Venom Spider Lord, three meters tall, relied on deadly poison to hunt. Spirit beasts all feared it, but as a spirit weapon, Qin Chuan was naturally immune to poison.
He continued fighting his way through, and by the time he reached the Spider Lord’s lair, he was just 5,000 experience short of leveling up.
“Haha, perfect timing!”
At that moment, the Venom Spider lay in ambush, its web already spun, awaiting prey. Feeling safe in its own territory, it was less vigilant—only venturing out when it needed essence.
Suddenly, the spider sensed danger—its web had been destroyed. Alarmed and enraged, it looked up just in time to see green light flicker above, as hundreds of sword shadows rained down.
Chirp!
Qin Chuan had arrived, wasting no time as he unleashed a ranged sneak attack.
“Ding! Critical hit triggered!”
With a critical strike on both his ultimate and Flow Strike, the Venom Spider Lord stood no chance.
“Ding! You have slain the level 10 Venom Spider Lord. Experience gained: 2,500 points. Over-level bonus: 100% experience. Congratulations, host: 5,000 experience points gained.”
“Ding! Gained 10 rage points.”
“Ding! Congratulations, host has reached level 10. New skill point awarded.”
“Ding! Level requirement met. You may now advance to Tier Two.”
“Devour Essence!”
“Ding! Essence devoured successfully. 500 evolution points obtained.”
Listening to the symphony of system prompts, Qin Chuan was elated: “At last, the thrilling moment has arrived!”