Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Truth, You Are All Fools

Meanwhile, in a forest further ahead...

"Report! The Blackwing Birds have been almost completely wiped out."

"Really? Ha ha, those creatures always acted so superior because of their wings, and now they're all dead!"

"Yes, sir. The Sword and the Sleepy Bug are heading this way."

"Good. Hold position. Let’s give them a big surprise."

"Understood."

As soon as the words fell, a rustling sound echoed, and then the forest returned to silence. From a distance, this stretch of woods appeared strangely ominous.

Not long after, the Sword and the Sleepy Bug arrived at the forest.

"Ding! Second-tier superior Soul-Eater Tree detected, level eighteen."

...

Before Qin Chuan entered the woods, a barrage of system notifications filled his ears.

"Damn, these creatures really love playing dirty tricks."

Qin Chuan glanced ahead and noticed that the trees looked almost identical.

"Seriously, their intelligence..."

The Sleepy Bug stopped, alert. "Boss, is there an ambush up ahead?"

"Yeah, some Soul-Eater Trees. Step back, leave the rest to me."

Qin Chuan leapt down and bounced forward without hesitation.

"Ha ha, this guy’s a fool! I can’t imagine how those dumb birds managed to die!"

The Soul-Eater Tree Lord, seeing Qin Chuan rush in so recklessly, grew delighted at the prospect of his prey stumbling blindly into the trap.

Within the forest, the Soul-Eater Trees unleashed a powerful group skill: Soul-Eater Bind.

Once prey was ensnared, escape became nearly impossible. Soul-Eater Trees specialized in tenacity, their many tendrils possessed extraordinary toughness, enough to strangle any spirit creature.

Moreover, the Soul-Eater Trees wielded a formidable ranged attack: Fatal Spear Volley.

Fatal Spear Volley could launch eight tree spears at once, inflicting immense agony upon impact.

These two skills combined made the Soul-Eater Trees formidable, feared even by the Blackwing Birds; once caught, there was no hope.

This was why the Soul-Eater Tree Lord looked down on the Blackwing Birds. Though equal in rank, the Soul-Eater Trees held a clear advantage in direct combat.

Qin Chuan knew full well of the ambush, but still charged forward, for he had already spotted the Soul-Eater Tree Lord’s position.

"This one’s obviously thicker than the others, just standing there like a fool. It’s almost laughable!"

At that moment, the forest rustled again as Soul-Eater Bind activated.

Countless tendrils surged from all directions, forming an impenetrable net that wrapped around Qin Chuan.

"Ah, this is almost too easy."

"This useless sword made such a fuss, but in the end, it's up to me to finish the job."

"The Grand Lord's reward will be mine!"

The Soul-Eater Tree Lord began to imagine himself receiving a lavish reward from the Grand Lord after slaying Qin Chuan.

"Fatal Spear Volley!"

As Soul-Eater Bind triggered, the Soul-Eater Trees launched their attack skills in unison.

Over eight hundred tree spears rained down upon Qin Chuan.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

The Sleepy Bug was thrown into panic. "Boss, you’ll be alright, right?"

It wished it could help, but it was too far away for its defense skill to reach.

"Blink—Surge Strike!"

With a Blink, Qin Chuan gained 0.6 seconds of immunity, ignoring all incoming damage.

Then, Surge Strike locked onto the Soul-Eater Tree Lord, and in an instant, Qin Chuan broke free from the encirclement.

"Bang!"

Before the Tree Lord could react, Qin Chuan’s sword struck true, leaving its trunk shattered.

The Soul-Eater Tree Lord, specializing in tenacity, was not fragile—among its rank, it was formidable, with a tenacity stat of at least 350+.

But it had met an even more monstrous foe in Qin Chuan, whose sharpness stat was 432+.

"Ah!"

"How did he spot me?"

"How did he escape Soul-Eater Bind?"

"How did he break through my defense?"

...

In that instant, the Soul-Eater Tree Lord was plagued by a thousand questions.

"Surprised, aren’t you? Didn’t expect this, did you?"

Qin Chuan’s mocking voice echoed, cold light flashing.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Qin Chuan slipped behind the Soul-Eater Tree Lord and unleashed eight sword strikes in three seconds, obliterating it.

"Ding! You have slain a level nineteen, second-tier supreme variant Soul-Eater Tree Lord. Experience gained: 22,000 points. Over-level kill bonus: 100% experience. Congratulations, host, you have gained 44,000 experience points."

Meanwhile, the Soul-Eater Trees involved in the ambush had yet to realize their lord had fallen.

"Ha ha! That useless black sword must have been pulverized!"

"Poor thing, didn’t even manage a scream!"

"Rushed in like a fool—only natural to die!"

"This is just too easy—the Blackwing Birds really are a bunch of idiots!"

"Ha ha, who could argue with that?"

...

For a moment, the Soul-Eater Trees chattered arrogantly, revealing themselves in their smugness.

None noticed the faintly glowing purple-black sword lying where the bombardment had struck.

The Sleepy Bug’s eyes sparkled with delight. "Aha, I knew boss would be alright!"

While the Soul-Eater Trees reveled in their fantasy, the black sword launched a fierce assault against them.

"Ahhh!"

"What’s happening?!"

"Wasn’t he dead?!"

"My goodness, this is beyond belief!"

...

Panicked and shocked, the Soul-Eater Trees offered little resistance. In the end, their fate was no different from the Blackwing Birds.

After the massacre, a beautiful arc appeared at Qin Chuan’s lips. "You’re all fools, just like the Blackwing Birds."

"Devour Essence!"

"Ding! Devour successful, 2,800 evolution points gained."

"Ding! Devour successful, 180 evolution points gained."

After the battle, Qin Chuan habitually tidied up the battlefield, gaining more experience and essence.

Evolution points: 502,880 / 819,200

Experience: 1,096,700 / 6,553,600

Rage: 60 / 100

Finally, Qin Chuan allowed himself a slight smile. "Just three hundred thousand more essence and I can evolve."

"Ha ha, boss, you’re amazing! I was worried at first, but you wiped them out in the blink of an eye!"

The Sleepy Bug rushed over, eyes full of admiration and envy.

"Ha ha, little brother. This was nothing, nothing at all."

Praised by the Sleepy Bug, Qin Chuan couldn’t help but feel a bit smug.

Moments later, the Sword and the Sleepy Bug continued onward.

The Grand Lord’s territory spanned hundreds of miles; Qin Chuan had only penetrated a dozen miles so far.

Qin Chuan left devastation in his wake, so news from the core region hadn’t spread quickly.

At least for now, the Grand Lord remained completely unaware.

Meanwhile, the spirit creatures deep in the core region had begun to emerge...