Chapter 23: Where Did These Bandits Come From?
The moment he heard there was another big haul, Sleepy Bug was instantly energized. Without further ado, he gobbled up some spirit fruits and refined iron stones.
“Big Brother, I’m off to refine these. The rest is all yours.”
“Alright.”
Watching Sleepy Bug trot off eagerly to refine his spoils, Qin Chuan felt a wave of warmth in his heart. Brothers who genuinely looked out for each other were rare these days.
“Devour the source!”
Without further thought, Qin Chuan began to devour, and soon the system’s constant notifications rang in his ears.
“Ding! Successfully devoured Tier 2 Low-Grade Blue Spirit Fruit, gained 2000 experience points, 200 evolution points.”
“Ding! Successfully devoured Spirit Core, gained 140 evolution points.”
“Ding! Successfully devoured Refined Iron Stone, gained 80 evolution points, and increased quality improvement chance by 0.08%.”
“Ding! Successfully devoured Cold Iron Jade, gained 10 evolution points, and increased freezing chance by 0.1%.”
...
Listening to the system notifications, Qin Chuan was nearly soaring with delight.
“Wait—an increased chance to freeze?”
He quickly checked and found that the freezing chance at enhancement stage two had indeed improved!
“Damn! Now it’s a 2% chance! What a pleasant surprise!”
An increased chance meant that in future battles, his attacks would feel even smoother.
“Haha! This Cold Iron Jade feels like it was tailor-made for me.”
After this round of devouring, Qin Chuan’s experience and source points skyrocketed. He happily glanced at his attribute panel.
Evolution Points: 42,120/51,200
Experience: 102,400/409,600
Rage: 30/100
“Damn, that feels great! And I’m almost ready to evolve again.”
After reviewing his stats, he glanced at Sleepy Bug, who had just opened his adorable eyes, excitement and joy sparkling within them.
“Big Brother, I... I leveled up!”
“Ding! Discovered Tier 2 Supreme Sleepy Bug, outstanding quality, level 13.”
“Not bad—your rank even increased. Let’s go make another big score.”
“Yeah! Big Brother, hop on my back!”
At this moment, Sleepy Bug, having tasted the sweetness of success, was even more eager than Qin Chuan. Clutching the spirit iron stone, he darted outside.
Sleepy Bug had always been reluctant to devour this spirit iron stone, believing it held significant sentimental value and brought him good luck.
“Ha! Excellent!”
And so, the sword-wielding youth and the bug swaggered boldly out of the spirit beast’s lair.
“Big Brother, who’s our next target?”
“Hmm, let me see. Ah, this Wind Spirit Valley is truly remarkable—the scenery is breathtaking! It almost makes me want to compose poetry!”
“Big Brother, you have such refined taste!”
“The landscape before me is as beautiful as a painting; I wish to gift a poem to the world. But alas, my mind lacks culture, so all I can say is—damn, the wind is fierce!”
“Big Brother, amazing, amazing!”
Sleepy Bug didn’t really understand, but hurriedly flattered him nonetheless.
“Little Brother, I think I see some spirit beasts moving in that direction. Let’s go!”
“Yes, yes!”
Wind Spirit Valley was a sunken basin, its warm climate perfect for the growth of spirit grasses and spirit trees. The spirit cores nurtured by such plants grew extremely slowly, and most were devoured by powerful spirit beasts before they could fully mature.
Even with exceptional luck, those that did mature soon became coveted and hunted by spirit beasts.
For the most part, spirit beasts obtained their source power by consuming spirit fruits and refining spirit cores. A spirit beast like Sleepy Bug, who could eat both spirit fruits and ores, was all but unique.
The valley was dense with trees and thick with grass, yet few spirit creatures roamed. Within the vast basin, indistinct boundaries marked different territories.
“My goodness, this place feels even more dangerous than the Sunset Forest!”
“Yeah, I sense a lot of hidden spirit creatures inside. Big Brother, I can smell ripe spirit fruits.”
Sleepy Bug’s nose twitched, his bright eyes shining with excitement.
“Let’s go see—maybe we’ll run into a few big ones.”
Following the scent of spirit fruit, Sleepy Bug led Qin Chuan to a spirit fruit grove.
“Ding! Discovered Tier 2 Low-Grade Blue Spirit Fruit.”
“Ding! Discovered Tier 2 Mid-Grade Spirit Fruit Beast, outstanding quality, level 13.”
“Ding! Discovered Tier 2 Mid-Grade Spirit Fruit Beast, outstanding quality, level 13.”
...
Sleepy Bug couldn’t help drooling. “Haha, Big Brother, there’s so many blue spirit fruits here!”
By now, some blue spirit fruits were already ripe, and several spirit fruit beasts were busy harvesting them.
Sleepy Bug grew anxious seeing the fruits picked. “Big Brother, what should we do? Should we snatch them?”
Qin Chuan replied unhurriedly, “Little Brother, if you’re going to be a promising, ambitious bandit, you’ve got to think long-term.”
“Huh? Then what’s your plan, Big Brother? Are we just going to let them take all those blue spirit fruits?”
Sleepy Bug looked utterly heartbroken.
“Of course not. If we’re going to act, we’ll make it big. In a moment, we’ll quietly follow them—you know what I mean.”
“Haha, Big Brother, I get it now! You want to take them all in one go.”
“Exactly, a clean sweep.”
“Big Brother, I admire you so much! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Since you’re a bandit, let me teach you a few lines of thieves’ slang. When the time comes, just do exactly as I say.”
“Alright, I’ll follow your lead.”
Moments later, the sword-wielder and the bug followed the spirit fruit beasts, winding through twists and turns to a hidden mountain cave.
“Lord, these are freshly picked blue spirit fruits for your enjoyment.”
Just as the spirit fruit beasts were presenting several choice blue spirit fruits, shouts rang out from outside the cave.
“This road was opened by me, this tree was planted by me. If you want to pass through, pay the toll!”
“Hm? What’s going on?”
The spirit fruit beast lord’s expression changed. In Wind Spirit Valley, each group kept to its own territory and usually got along. This sudden commotion raised his suspicions.
“Let’s go take a look!”
With over sixty followers, the spirit fruit beast lord stormed out of the cave—only to burst into laughter at the sight before him.
Sleepy Bug had found a large leaf to cover his mouth, leaving only his adorable eyes exposed, and was shouting with all his might.
“This road was opened by me, this tree was planted by me. If you want to pass through, pay the toll!”
The spirit fruit beast lord couldn’t help but ask, “Hey! Little bug, what are you yelling for?”
Sleepy Bug blinked his cute eyes and retorted, “Can’t you tell? I’m robbing you!”
“Robbing? Hahaha!”
“This bug is going to kill me with laughter!”
“Oh my, I can’t take it!”
“Where did this bandit come from?”
“I need to lie down and laugh for a bit!”
...
All the spirit fruit beasts were doubled over with laughter.
While every spirit fruit beast’s attention was fixed on Sleepy Bug, Qin Chuan, hidden in the rear, seized the moment and unleashed his ultimate move.
A violet light flickered above the spirit fruit beasts’ heads; dozens of sword shadows rained down from the sky.
“Swish, swish, swish!”
“Ahhh!”
“Ding! Killed level 13 spirit fruit beast, gained 600 experience points, cross-level kill bonus 100% experience, total 1200 experience gained.”
...
Within the area struck by the ultimate move, more than twenty spirit fruit beasts suffered devastating blows.
The sudden attack left the spirit fruit beast lord utterly bewildered.
“Wha—what just happened?”
“Chirp!”