Chapter Thirteen: Another Wave of Sacrificial Lambs-Devouring and Evolving from Rotten Wood(Dugu Mu)

"The level 11 Swift Panther Lord has been slain!"

This news swept through the entire Sunset Forest in an instant. All the spirit creatures trembled with fear, terrified of accidentally coming across that deathly black iron sword.

At this moment, if Qin Chuan so wished, he would immediately be revered as the master of the whole Sunset Forest. Yet he had no such intention.

Before long, the figure of the black iron sword vanished from Sunset Forest and entered the only exit—Shadow Gorge.

"The black iron sword is gone. He went into Shadow Gorge."

"Thank goodness, we finally don’t have to worry about being killed."

"I heard Shadow Gorge is terrifying!"

"I don’t know either, no one’s ever been there."

...

With Qin Chuan’s departure, the spirit creatures of Sunset Forest finally felt a great weight lifted from their hearts.

Although he had left, legends about him lingered long in the forest.

It was only many years later that the spirit creatures realized a truly great figure had once walked out of Sunset Forest.

Upon entering Shadow Gorge, Qin Chuan found it narrow and gloomy—a stark contrast to the vibrant life of the forest, this place was chilling and sinister.

"Shadow Gorge welcomes you. Keh keh keh keh..."

No sooner had Qin Chuan entered than a sinister, grating laughter echoed through the gorge.

"Ding! Second-rank lower-tier Spirit Hunter Beast discovered, excellent quality, level 11."

...

In the darkness, six pairs of blood-red eyes flickered from the cliffs on either side of the gorge’s entrance.

The Spirit Hunter Beasts had large heads and small bodies, standing about a meter tall. Two fangs jutted from their lower jaws, and they were adept climbers, fond of devouring spirit cores. Agile, with sharp claws on all four limbs, they could easily slice through stone, belonging to the Godspeed class.

Shadow Gorge was the gathering place of these beasts. The two-thousand-meter gorge was a road of death, severing the connection between Sunset Forest and the outside world.

"Buzz!"

A sword rang out, its sound reverberating through the gorge. Qin Chuan felt no fear at all; if he wanted to leave, he had to fight this hard battle.

"Come, fight me!"

"Keh keh keh keh..."

"Fool!"

"Must have something wrong with his spirit core."

At Qin Chuan’s challenge, the six Spirit Hunter Beasts burst out in mocking laughter.

No spirit creature had ever made it out of Sunset Forest—they were merely livestock raised by these predators.

For a level 10 black iron sword to challenge the Spirit Hunter Beasts was a joke in itself.

A faint smile played at Qin Chuan’s lips. "Laugh all you want. In a moment, I’ll have you crying!"

"Flow Strike!"

"Chiu!"

"Poof!"

Without hesitation, Qin Chuan unleashed a skill, locking onto one of the beasts on the cliff.

The beast had just been laughing with its mouth wide open. In the next instant, its body stiffened and tumbled from the cliff.

"Ding! Level 11 Spirit Hunter Beast slain. 500 experience points gained. Cross-level kill—100% bonus experience. Congratulations, host, 1,000 experience points gained."

"What... what just happened?"

"He killed our brother with a single blow!"

"This guy’s strange. Kill him together!"

Qin Chuan snorted. The second phase of Flow Strike activated, propelling him five meters forward.

"Blink!"

Again he surged four meters through the air, landing a basic attack that struck another beast.

"Ding! Critical hit triggered."

"Ding! Level 11 Spirit Hunter Beast slain. 500 experience points gained. Cross-level kill—100% bonus experience. Congratulations, host, 1,000 experience points gained."

As this beast’s corpse crashed down, the gorge fell silent. The remaining beasts stood petrified.

In the blink of an eye, he had killed two of them. A surge of fear rose in their hearts.

"Is this the attack power a level 10 black iron sword should have?"

Qin Chuan returned calmly to his original spot, his sword trembling faintly, radiating an edge.

A moment later, the four remaining beasts snapped out of their terror, their eyes flashing red.

"Kill him! He must not escape!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

With a kick off the cliff, the four beasts launched themselves at him from above.

"Shadow Twin Claws!"

In an instant, eight sharp claws wove into a deadly net above him.

"Buzz!"

With a sword cry, the black iron blade danced unpredictably, striking four times at impossible angles—each blow landing squarely on a beast’s forehead.

"Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!"

"Ding! Level 11 Spirit Hunter Beast slain. 500 experience points gained. Cross-level kill—100% bonus experience. Congratulations, host, 1,000 experience points gained."

...

The melodious system notifications rang again and again, filling Qin Chuan with delight.

"So, who’s the real fool here? Could any of you move faster than the Swift Panther Lord?"

To Qin Chuan, the beasts’ movements were as slow as if in a drawn-out replay.

"Devour Origin!"

"Ding! Devour successful. 110 evolution points gained."

...

"Not bad at all—a nice haul of experience."

Evolution Points: 6600/12800

Experience: 44500/102400

Rage: 70/100

The skirmish at the mouth of the gorge didn’t attract the attention of other Spirit Hunter Beasts farther along. For years, these six had guarded the exit without incident.

Qin Chuan advanced several hundred meters without encountering any attacks.

In the distance, he saw a wider open patch, where a group of Spirit Hunter Beasts gathered, seemingly refining origin energy.

"Well, well, I’ve stumbled into a bandits’ lair! Let’s see how you like being robbed by a robber!"

"Bandits! Your experience points are mine! Your origin energy is mine! Even the spoils of your hunts are mine!"

Excitement surged in Qin Chuan’s heart. In a flash, he charged forward, unleashing his ultimate skill.

A green light sparkled; a hundred sword shadows rained down from the sky.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

"Aaah!"

The sudden assault caught the beasts completely off guard. In the blink of an eye, Qin Chuan had slain most of them.

"Ding! Level 11 Spirit Hunter Beast slain. 500 experience points gained. Cross-level kill—100% bonus experience. Congratulations, host, 1,000 experience points gained."

...

"Ha ha, that felt wonderful! None of you are getting away!"

Qin Chuan laughed heartily, urging the black iron sword to spring forward, cutting down the survivors.

"What’s happening?"

"Enemy attack!"

"Help!"

Qin Chuan’s speed far outstripped the beasts’, and with his long-range Flow Strike, he left none alive.

"Ding!..."

By the end of this wave, Qin Chuan was almost giddy with joy.

"Ha! Twenty-two in total. Almost ready to evolve again, and 2,000 points of unrefined origin left."

Evolution Points: 11020/12800

Experience: 66500/102400

Rage: 90/100

This round of battle and the beasts’ screams finally attracted the attention of the others.

"Enemy attack! Move out!"

A huge swarm of Spirit Hunter Beasts poured from their mountain dens.

Standing at a distance, Qin Chuan could barely contain his excitement.

"Ha ha! The more, the merrier! All of you are just here to give me free kills!"

"Come on, let’s have another ultimate!"

With a flash of green, a hundred sword shadows fell, blocking the narrow, five-meter-wide gorge.

The system’s pleasant notifications chimed once again.

"Ding!..."

"Ha ha! Keep them coming!"

He slew more than a dozen with this attack.

"Dammit, up the cliffs, everyone!"

Now the beasts began to climb the walls, trying to bypass the area covered by Qin Chuan’s skill.

"Chiu! Chiu! Chiu!"

Qin Chuan chuckled to himself and unleashed Flow Strike. Thanks to its instant refresh on kill, he could cast it almost endlessly.

"Ding!..."

In an instant, eighty percent of the horde lay dead, and the survivors finally tasted fear.

"Retreat! Go call the Lord for help!"

"Hey, don’t run! I haven’t finished farming experience!"

"Damn, lost out on billions more!"

Qin Chuan hastily unleashed several quick strikes, clawing back a little of the loss.

"Devour Origin!"

The black iron sword trembled, unleashing a vortex that sucked up all the nearby origin energy.

"Ha! Wiped out forty-one in one round—what a rush!"

Checking his stats, Qin Chuan saw his evolution points were maxed out, and he had just leveled up.

Evolution Points: 15530/12800

Experience: 5100/204800

Rage: 100/100

"Ha ha! New skill points!"

"Wait—my ultimate can finally be upgraded. And now I can unlock tier-two enhancements?"

Falling Heaven Flow Strike, Level 2: Sword shadow sharpness increased by 10%, casting range extended by five meters.

Tier-two enhancement: Adds freezing effect or flame damage.

After some thought, Qin Chuan decided to upgrade his ultimate—besides the increased attack, it would also give him more range.

"Upgrade Falling Heaven Flow Strike!"

"Ding! Upgrade successful."

"Advance in rank!"

"Ding! Congratulations, host, rank advancement successful."