Chapter Twenty: Profound Truths from the Life of an “Insect”
“Mighty as ever, big brother! You have all my admiration!”
At that moment, Sleepy Worm finally poked his head out from the ground, twisting his sleazy little body as he slithered over to Qin Chuan, fawning all over him.
“You worthless worm! You actually sold me out. I ought to beat you to death!” Qin Chuan, just the sight of him making his blood boil, immediately raised his black iron sword and laid into him mercilessly.
“Ow, ow! That hurts, big brother! I didn’t mean it, I really couldn’t help at all!”
“If you can’t help, you just run away? Let’s see if you dare next time!” Qin Chuan said, giving him another hard knock on the head.
“Big brother, aren’t you able to do even better without me around? If the enemy came after me, wouldn’t you have to help me, too?”
“Damn, are you really that useless? You’re a level 12 spirit beast, for heaven’s sake!”
“Big brother, I beg you, please stop hitting me. I really, truly have zero attack power!”
Qin Chuan paused, suspicious. “You really don’t have any attack skills?”
Sleepy Worm blinked his big, innocent eyes, looking utterly wronged. “Big brother, just look at me—what about me is even the slightest bit threatening?”
Only now did Qin Chuan realize that the little guy was absolutely harmless, so much so that he nearly turned green with exasperation. “Damn it, are you trying to drag me down with you?”
Sleepy Worm hurriedly defended himself. “Big brother, don’t be angry! I’m actually useful, you know.”
“Useful how?”
“I have three skills: Treasure Seeking, Tracking, and Warding.”
“Sounds like you’re at least a little useful—a support, huh? But your support skills are so weak!”
Sleepy Worm was on the verge of tears from being despised. “Big brother, I was born this way. What can I do?”
Truth be told, Qin Chuan wasn’t really resentful. Sleepy Worm was of little help in battle, but he just wanted to put his little brother in his place.
Seeing his point had been made, Qin Chuan decided not to push it too far—he knew well the dangers of overdoing things.
“So, what is this Warding skill of yours?”
“Aha! That’s no mere trick—it’s my ultimate life-saving move! If you’re ever in danger, I swear I’ll be there for you.”
Well, Sleepy Worm had actually kept something up his sleeve.
Qin Chuan didn’t press further, just poked at Sleepy Worm with his sword, making the little guy stick out his tongue in fright.
“Let’s go. We’ve got to keep moving.”
“Yes, big brother.”
“The king ordered me to patrol the mountains; I wander the spirit realm, round and round…”
Qin Chuan climbed onto Sleepy Worm’s back and immediately began howling his off-key song.
“Oh, big brother…”
“Shut up and get moving!”
“….”
And so, sword and worm set off in high spirits, leaving the passage behind as they made their way toward the distant Wind Spirit Valley.
On the other side of the passage, the view opened up into a broad grassland, with high mountains rising in the distance.
“Big brother, look—once we cross the grassland, that’s the entrance to Wind Spirit Valley over there.”
The grassland was lush, with sparkling streams and rich grass. A large herd of wind antelopes was enjoying their feast, while eight Hunting Spirit Beasts were launching a fierce assault on them.
Though wind antelopes were considered low-tier spirit beasts, being mid-grade tier two wasn’t exactly weak. Still, they were destined to be prey for more ferocious spirit beasts.
Such low-tier beasts never produced high-level lords, and so they were doomed to lose the struggle for survival.
“Ding! Discovered Tier Two, Mid-Grade Wind Antelope. Excellent quality. Level 12.”
…
“Big brother, a whole wave of experience and origin energy is sprinting your way! Want to have a bite?”
Qin Chuan hesitated. “Isn’t that a bit cruel? If I devour them all, won’t it disrupt the food chain and cause a disaster?”
Qin Chuan’s thinking was ahead of its time. If he swallowed everything whole wherever he went, it would destroy the ecosystem of the Spirit Plane. After all, he still had to survive here.
“Devouring is a must, but in moderation.”
Without further ado, Qin Chuan steeled himself. Mercy had no place here.
“Heavenfall Flowing Strike!”
He raised his hand and unleashed his ultimate move, hurling it into the midst of the besieged wind antelope herd.
“You were doomed anyway, so you might as well benefit me.”
“Ding! Killed Level 12 Wind Antelope. Gained 550 experience points. Over-level kill—100% bonus XP. Congratulations, host, on receiving 1,100 experience points.”
…
As the sweet chime of the system announcement sounded, Qin Chuan was quite pleased—one ultimate move, and twenty-two wind antelopes were slain in a single blow.
Just as Qin Chuan was basking in satisfaction, the eight Hunting Spirit Beasts, ablaze with fury, surrounded him.
“Ding! Discovered Tier Two, Mid-Grade Hunting Spirit Beast. Excellent quality. Level 13.”
…
Qin Chuan couldn’t help but smirk. “Well, well, we meet again, Hunting Spirit Beasts. What a small world.”
A menacing roar came from ten meters away. “Boy, you’re courting death! How dare you steal our prey?”
Qin Chuan had no love for these beasts. “Ha! I took it—what are you going to do about it? Come and bite me if you dare!”
“Damn, I’ve seen arrogance before, but never anything like this! Brothers, tear him apart!”
The Hunting Spirit Beasts lost it, howling as they lunged at Qin Chuan.
“Big brother, good luck! I’m outta here!”
Sleepy Worm, seeing the situation, slickly vanished underground at once.
“This little brother of mine is a real piece of work! I’ve practically become the muscle of this duo,” Qin Chuan muttered, but his hands moved swiftly. He raised his hand, unleashed a Flowing Strike, and killed a Hunting Spirit Beast outright.
“Ding! Killed Level 13 Hunting Spirit Beast. Gained 600 experience points. Over-level kill—100% bonus XP. Congratulations, host, on receiving 1,200 experience points.”
“Slide!”
Qin Chuan activated his second-stage skill, sliding up to another beast and landing a clean sword strike.
“Ding! Killed Level 13 Hunting Spirit Beast. Gained 600 experience points. Over-level kill—100% bonus XP. Congratulations, host, on receiving 1,200 experience points.”
“Blink!”
He blinked four meters to a third beast, finished it with another sword strike.
“Ding! Killed Level 13 Hunting Spirit Beast. Gained 600 experience points. Over-level kill—100% bonus XP. Congratulations, host, on receiving 1,200 experience points.”
Three seconds later, Qin Chuan’s body flashed back to his original spot.
His maneuvers were smooth as flowing water; in the blink of an eye, he had slain three Hunting Spirit Beasts, leaving the remaining ones trembling with terror.
“Mother, am I seeing things?”
“Damn, this one’s tough—run for your lives!”
“Please don’t hurt me!”
By now, Qin Chuan’s skills had all refreshed. He unleashed another Flowing Strike, followed by a slide and a sword slash, taking down two more in moments.
With a thud, the last three Hunting Spirit Beasts collapsed, legs shaking, flattening themselves against the ground.
“Big brother, spare us! Please let us go—all the wind antelopes here are yours, we promise we won’t fight you for them!”
“Fine, get lost.”
A satisfied smile curled on Qin Chuan’s lips. Soon, even more would come to throw themselves at him.
“Ha! With such tricks up my sleeve, the world is mine!”
“Thank you, big brother! Thank you, big brother! We’re going, we’re going right now!”
The previously shivering Hunting Spirit Beasts scrambled to their feet and bolted for Wind Spirit Valley, a vicious glint in their eyes as they fled.
“Heh, big brother, playing your tricks again, I see.”
With the battle over, Sleepy Worm came trotting back with a wag of his tail.
“Not bad, you’ve got some sense. Let’s get moving.”
Qin Chuan hopped onto Sleepy Worm’s back and began devouring, a formless pull sweeping through the area.
“Ding! Acquired 130 evolution points.”
“Ding! Acquired 120 evolution points.”
…
Qin Chuan glanced at his stats panel.
Evolution points: 12,160/51,200
Experience: 163,100/204,800
Rage: 100/100
Pointing at a distant herd of wind antelopes, Qin Chuan said, “Little brother, head over there. I’m going to farm another wave of experience.”
“Yes, big brother! Hold on tight and watch my speed!”
Sleepy Worm was thrilled at the chance to show off, dashing forward at breakneck pace.
“Little brother, you’re not bad at all when it comes to crawling—speed’s top notch.”
“Of course! It’s my way of staying alive.”
Qin Chuan lounged comfortably on Sleepy Worm’s back, casually tossing out ultimates. After a few rounds, his experience bar was full.
“Mother, that black iron sword is scarier than any Hunting Spirit Beast!”
“Run! Get as far away as possible—don’t let him catch us!”
…
The surviving wind antelopes scattered in terror, fleeing until the black iron sword was out of sight.
“Ding! Congratulations, host, you have reached Level 12. Gained a new skill point.”
“Enhance.”
“Selection successful. Please choose your second-stage enhancement: Frost or Flame.”
“Frost.”
“Ding! Congratulations, host, you have unlocked Second Stage Enhancement—Frost. Attacks now deal an additional 5% sharpness value as frost damage, applying a 5% slow effect. Each basic attack has a 1% chance to freeze the target for 0.5 seconds.”
“Oh, what a pleasant surprise. Wonderful—this is fantastic!”
“Though, the proc rate is miserably low, and it doesn’t boost my ult at all…”
Even so, Qin Chuan was delighted with the frost effect—a peerless tool for kiting and basic attacks!
Meanwhile, his stats panel had changed:
[Host]: Qin Chuan
[Type]: Black Iron Sword
[Tier]: Tier Two, High Grade (Bonus sharpness +10%)
[Quality]: Rare (All attributes +5%)
[Level]: 12
[Attributes]
Sharpness: 156 + 70.2 (45%) + 7.80 (5%)
Tenacity: 137 + 27.4 (20%)
Speed: 137 + 27.4 (20%)
Evolution Points: 16,920/51,200
Experience: 600/409,600
Innate Talents: Origin Devour, Basic Mimicry
[Skills]
Flowing Strike: Stage One, Level 3; Stage Two Slide, Level 1
Blink: Level 2
Enhancement: Stage One, Level 3; Stage Two Frost, Level 1
Heavenfall Flowing Strike: Level 2
Chakra Talent: First Layer, Root Chakra
[Bonus Attributes]
Critical Strike
Rage Crit (Rage: 30/100)
In high spirits, Qin Chuan told Sleepy Worm, “Little brother, to Wind Spirit Valley!”
“Yes, big brother!”
“The king ordered me to patrol the mountains; I wander the spirit realm, round and round…”
…
As the ghostly howling echoed behind him, Sleepy Worm’s heart broke a little, but he could only resign himself.
If reality can’t be changed, then change yourself.
In that moment, Sleepy Worm achieved a sudden insight into the great truth of “wormhood.”
From then on, even Qin Chuan’s singing no longer sounded quite so unbearable.