Chapter Fifteen: Have I Offended You?
The Deer-Chasing Plains appeared vast on the map, dozens of times larger than the Sunset Forest, overflowing with countless spiritual creatures and resources.
“Haha, my experience and essence, here I come!”
At this moment, Qin Chuan was like a bandit about to unleash a storm of blood and chaos across the plains.
His view stretched wide before him, but there was no sign of spiritual creatures. Clearly, the presence of spirit beast hunters in the past had scared them away from lingering nearby.
After trekking dozens of miles, Qin Chuan finally spotted a delectable source of essence in a hilly area.
“Ding! A Tier-2, mid-grade Long-legged Beast detected. Quality: Excellent. Level 11.”
The Long-legged Beast stood one and a half meters tall, with agile forelimbs and thick, powerful hind legs tipped with sharp claws. It could stand upright or run on all fours, and its leaping ability was formidable—belonging to the Divine Movement class.
Qin Chuan had just rounded a boulder when a Long-legged Beast charged straight at him.
“Whoever blocks my way dies!”
The beast glanced briefly behind it, then, bristling with fury, sprang into the air. Both hind legs tucked together, it spun rapidly, claws slashing toward Qin Chuan.
“Spinning Claw Strike!”
“Damn! That’s quite the greeting present! I’m out of here!”
Qin Chuan nimbly sidestepped out of range, and with a flick of his hand unleashed a swift strike.
A sharp cry, a spurt of blood.
“Ding! Killed Level 11 Long-legged Beast. Gained 500 experience.”
“Ding! Gained 110 Evolution Points.”
...
Qin Chuan couldn’t help but shake his head. “Well, well. Not that strong, but so aggressive.”
Thump, thump, thump!
Suddenly, heavy footsteps thundered toward him—a massive figure, two meters tall, appeared before Qin Chuan.
Though his main body had evolved several times, Qin Chuan still maintained a modest size of about three feet, making him appear rather diminutive before these towering spirit beasts.
“Ding! A Tier-2, mid-grade Mutant Storm Bear detected. Quality: Excellent. Level 11.”
“Huh? Why is it dead?”
The Storm Bear noticed the corpse of the Long-legged Beast and was momentarily surprised. Then its gaze fell upon the black iron sword glowing with green light.
“Rotten black sword, did you kill my prey?”
The Storm Bear’s eyes narrowed with hostility. Rising to its full height, it flexed its paws, claws gleaming dangerously.
“Yeah, I did. So what?”
The Storm Bear licked its claws, snarling, “So what? Do you realize you’ve offended me? Hand over your spirit core, and I’ll spare your life!”
“I’ve offended you? And now you want me to hand over my spirit core?”
“That’s right. Hurry up, or you’ll die with nothing left of you.”
The Storm Bear clacked its claws together, producing a metallic clang, trying its best to appear intimidating.
“Damn! So what if I’ve offended you! Take this!”
Abruptly shifting his tone, Qin Chuan entered berserk mode.
“Aaah! Help! Why does it hurt so much?”
“So what if I’ve offended you!”
“Spare me! Please, big brother!”
“So what if I’ve offended you!”
“Big brother, I beg you, please stop hitting me!”
Qin Chuan didn’t finish off the Storm Bear immediately. Instead, he gave it a severe beating.
“Mutant or not, you dare act tough in front of me!”
“Big brother, please stop! I’m telling you, I have connections! You’ll regret it if you kill me!”
The Storm Bear, failing to win mercy, tried to threaten him instead.
“Bah! You want to play the background card with me? No way am I stopping. Now you’re the one who’s offended me! I won’t play with you anymore. Goodbye!”
Satisfied, Qin Chuan thrust his sword into the Storm Bear’s skull.
“Ding! Killed Level 11 Mutant Storm Bear. Gained 750 experience.”
“Devour essence!”
“Ding! Devour successful. Gained 165 Evolution Points.”
“Why do all the spirit beasts on the Deer-Chasing Plains seem so arrogant?”
Grumbling, Qin Chuan continued to bounce along his way.
“The king sent me to patrol the mountains, so I’ll take a tour of the spirit world...”
“Stop right there! You rotten sword—what’s with all the noise? It’s driving me crazy!”
In excellent spirits, Qin Chuan started humming a tune, but suddenly a bleary-eyed creature appeared.
“Ding! A Tier-2, high-grade Sleepy Bug detected. Quality: Excellent. Level 12.”
“Damn, can’t even go for a stroll without running into a big one.”
The Sleepy Bug belonged to the Divine Movement class. Its slender body stretched over a meter long, covered in smooth, soft folds, and two floppy antennae waved atop its head. It was gentle by nature and extremely fond of sleep.
“Hey, little bug. Can’t I sing a bit when I’m happy?”
“Sing all you want, but do you have to sound so awful? Are you trying to scare me to death?”
The Sleepy Bug was good-natured. With wide, innocent eyes, it glanced at the black iron sword, grumbled a bit, but made no other move, leaving Qin Chuan uncertain whether to finish it off or not.
“This little thing is kind of adorable and dumb. I really don’t feel like attacking it.”
After a moment, a wicked idea crept into Qin Chuan’s mind. “Maybe if you hit me once, I’ll get angry and then things will be easier.”
“Why would I hit you? You’re all dark and tough. Yawn, I’m sleepy again. Goodbye.”
True to its name, the Sleepy Bug yawned before it could finish a sentence and prepared to go back to sleep.
Qin Chuan hesitated, but in the end decided not to attack.
“Forget it, it’s rare to meet such a harmless, goofy creature. I can spare this bit of essence and experience.”
“After all, I really am a kind soul, haha!”
Just then, the Sleepy Bug, about to doze off, suddenly shivered. Its eyes brightened, and it sniffed the air keenly.
“No wonder I couldn’t find it. So it’s over there.”
It muttered to itself, hesitated briefly, but upon seeing the black iron sword again, its eyes sparkled.
“Hey, Brother Black Sword, are you free right now?”
“What’s going on? This guy’s calling me brother now?”
Qin Chuan was momentarily stunned, then replied casually, “Yeah, I’m free. Got nothing to do.”
Twisting its body closer, the Sleepy Bug lowered its voice mysteriously.
“Brother Black Sword, interested in a job? If we succeed, we’ll split the loot fifty-fifty. How about it?”
Qin Chuan’s consciousness blinked, studying the Sleepy Bug with interest.
“What’s this fellow up to? Sounds like there’s a big gain here. I’ll see what trick he’s playing.”
After a moment’s thought, Qin Chuan agreed, “Alright. But you need to tell me what exactly we’re doing.”
A sly gleam flashed in the Sleepy Bug’s eyes as if it had just spotted a naked beauty.
“Heh heh, we’re stealing ore!”
Well, so he’s a kindred spirit after all!
Qin Chuan felt a surge of barely contained excitement.
“Stealing ore? Great, that’s just my thing.”
“Knew I wasn’t wrong about you, Brother Black Sword. Follow me!”
And so, the bug and the sword set off together. Qin Chuan even lay down on the Sleepy Bug’s back, letting it lead the way. The bug didn’t mind, just burrowing swiftly ahead.
Along the way, the Sleepy Bug was incredibly alert, its nose preternaturally sensitive, and they didn’t encounter a single spiritual creature.
Qin Chuan was deeply impressed by its sense of smell.
Through hills and over swamps, they finally arrived at a hidden valley.
“Ding! Spirit Iron Mine detected. Increases chance of quality enhancement.”
“Ding! Tier-2, mid-grade Spirit Iron Axe detected. Quality: Excellent. Level 12.”
“Ding! Tier-2, mid-grade Spirit Iron Axe detected. Quality: Excellent. Level 12.”
...
“Well, another group of spirit weapons,” Qin Chuan muttered.
The mine wasn’t marked on his map, but he didn’t mind. The Sleepy Bug, meanwhile, twitched its sensitive nose toward a cave entrance, eyes gleaming.
“There’s a thick scent of refined Spirit Iron in there. The ore below has already been mined out.”
Qin Chuan’s eyes lit up as well. “Refined Spirit Iron? That would save a ton of time in smelting!”
The Sleepy Bug stuck out its coiled tongue with a look of bliss. “Exactly. That stuff is delicious and incredibly valuable.”
“Alright, but that place must be heavily guarded. What’s your plan for stealing it?”
“Heh heh, as long as Brother Black Sword distracts the guards, I promise to slip in and out without a trace.”
“What the hell! There are dozens of Spirit Iron Axes. Are you trying to get me killed? And there’s bound to be a Spirit Iron Axe Lord in there. If he shows up, I’m dead!”
“That’s why I need you, Brother Black Sword. Otherwise, I’d do it myself.”
“You’re just setting me up!”
Qin Chuan put on a show of refusal, feigning stubbornness.
The Sleepy Bug blinked its big, innocent eyes mournfully, torn between choices. In the end, it said, “How about sixty-forty, Brother Black Sword? You take sixty, I take forty.”
“No way! That’s suicide!”
Qin Chuan refused immediately.
The Sleepy Bug gritted its teeth, desperate. “Seventy-thirty! You get seventy, I get thirty! Deal?”
“Not happening. You can go by yourself if you want. It’s too dangerous for me; I’m leaving.”
Qin Chuan turned as if to go.
“Wait, Brother Black Sword! Eighty-twenty! You get eighty, I get twenty! Please?”
The Sleepy Bug was almost in tears—how could it bear to part with all that precious Spirit Iron?
“Deal!” Qin Chuan’s consciousness laughed inwardly. With the Sleepy Bug’s keen nose, he’d found himself a priceless ore-hunting partner.
“Uh, why do I suddenly feel like I’ve been tricked?”
“Don’t worry, you won’t regret it.”
Qin Chuan didn’t waste another word—he charged straight ahead.