Chapter Fourteen: Surprised? Unexpected?
Qin Chuan’s level rose to eleven, prompting another evolution, and the Iron Sword in his possession grew even sturdier.
[Host]: Qin Chuan
[Form]: Black Iron Sword
[Rank]: Second Tier, Middle Grade (Additional Sharpness +10%)
[Quality]: Excellent
[Level]: 11
[Attributes]
Sharpness: 133 + 53.2 (40%)
Toughness: 116 + 17.4 (15%)
Speed: 116 + 17.4 (15%)
Evolution Points: 2730/25600
Experience: 5100/204800
Innate Talents: Devour Essence, Basic Shapeshifting
[Skills]
Flowing Strike: Level 4
Blink: Level 2
Enhance: Level 3
Falling Heaven Strike: Level 2
Chakra Talent: First Layer, Root Chakra
[Additional Attributes]
Critical Hit
Fury Strike (Rage: 100/100)
“Perfect! I’ll give the Spirit Hunter Beast Lord a surprise in a moment.”
Qin Chuan grinned mischievously and bounded forward with renewed energy.
“Hey, you broken sword up ahead, stop right there!”
A commanding voice echoed through the canyon. A Spirit Hunter Beast, much larger and more imposing than the others, appeared before Qin Chuan.
“Ding! Mutant Spirit Hunter Beast Lord detected. Rank: Second Tier, Middle Grade. Quality: Excellent. Level: 12.”
Feigning confusion, Qin Chuan replied, “Brother, is there something you need?”
The Beast Lord nearly exploded with rage. “You’ve killed so many of my kin, and now you ask what I want?!”
Unbothered, Qin Chuan said, “Oh, that. Well, your brothers were really no match. Too weak, honestly. One might say, not worth mentioning.”
“What did you say? You dare look down on Spirit Hunter Beasts? Don’t you know, for hundreds of miles around, we’re a force to be reckoned with!”
A resonant hum rang out as Qin Chuan made the Iron Sword sing. The beasts behind the Lord all turned and fled—they’d witnessed firsthand the Iron Sword’s terrifying range.
“Haha! See that? Look how cowardly they are—what a force to be reckoned with!”
The Beast Lord, glancing back, was furious. “Get back here, all of you!”
By now, the beasts had fled beyond Qin Chuan’s range. Only then did they dare to turn and call out, “Lord, be careful! That thing is dangerous—its reach is too far!”
“That’s right, Lord. We don’t want to die for nothing.”
“We’ll just stand here and won’t run again.”
“Lord, take him down! We’ll cheer you on!”
...
From a distance, Qin Chuan laughed heartily. “So, surprised? Didn’t expect this, did you?”
Silenced by anger, the Beast Lord could only vent his fury at Qin Chuan.
“Courting death!”
The Spirit Hunter Beast Lord, true to his title, was far swifter than the Agile Spirit Panther. With a few leaps, he covered over twenty meters, surprising even Qin Chuan.
The Beast Lord’s combat experience was formidable. Dodging and weaving as he advanced, he made it nearly impossible to lock onto his position.
“Good thing I just leveled up and evolved again, or this would have been a real challenge.”
“Shadow Twin Claws!”
The Beast Lord unleashed a skill attack, its power far beyond that of ordinary Spirit Hunter Beasts.
But before the attack reached him, Qin Chuan guided the Iron Sword to a bizarre position.
Smack!
A howl of pain followed—the Iron Sword struck the Beast Lord’s face from an impossible angle.
“Ding! Critical hit triggered. Knockback effect activated.”
Initially, the Beast Lord should have simply stumbled upon missing his pounce, but instead he was sent flying backward inexplicably.
Of course, that was the system’s doing.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to land a critical hit on your face!”
Standing behind their Lord, the other Spirit Hunter Beasts felt their faces burn, as if it was they who’d been struck.
The Beast Lord spat out several broken teeth. “Bah! You brat, did you do that on purpose?!”
“All right, I confess. I did it on purpose. Surprised? Didn’t expect that, did you?”
“You—”
Never in all his years on the Plains had the mighty Spirit Hunter Beast Lord suffered such humiliation. Who didn’t know his reputation? Yet today, he’d been bested by a nameless Black Iron Sword.
“Enough talk—the prelude is over. Take this!”
A sharp energy flared from the Iron Sword as Qin Chuan’s tone shifted.
“Flowing Strike!”
Catching the Beast Lord off guard, Qin Chuan unleashed his skill without hesitation.
Ping!
The Lord, still enraged, reacted too late; the Flowing Strike pierced toward him. He had barely enough time to turn his body and take the hit.
Splurt!
The sword stabbed deep into the left side of the Beast Lord’s chest, inflicting massive damage.
“Damn! This sharpness is off the charts!”
Even Qin Chuan hadn’t anticipated such overwhelming power—he’d broken through the defenses of a level-12 mutant lord.
Though the Lord belonged to the Agility branch, after mutation his toughness certainly wasn’t low.
“All right—time to kite and attack!”
Qin Chuan darted about in a bizarre dance, launching basic attacks and dodges until the Beast Lord was completely overwhelmed, fleeing in panic.
“Stop! I surrender! I surrender!”
After a sustained barrage, the Beast Lord was on the brink of collapse. His desperate plea stunned all the watching beasts.
“Is this really our once-mighty Lord?”
“Whenever our Lord appeared on the Plains, even spirit beasts in the area would flee in terror. Yet now, he’s utterly defeated and begging for mercy!”
“Are our glory days over?”
The remaining Spirit Hunter Beasts were filled with gloom and despair.
“Haha, that won’t do. I need you desperately.”
Qin Chuan laughed and launched another fierce assault, bringing the Beast Lord to his end.
“Ding! You have slain the level-12 Mutant Spirit Hunter Beast Lord. Gained 6000 experience. Over-level kill bonus: 100% extra experience. Congratulations, host. Gained 12000 experience.”
“Devour Essence!”
“Ding! Essence devoured successfully. Gained 1050 evolution points.”
As the essence power surged into him, Qin Chuan was elated. “Mutants really are worth it—both the experience and essence are excellent.”
“Oh no! The Lord is dead! Run!”
In a flash, the remaining Spirit Hunter Beasts turned and dashed away.
“Seriously, have some backbone! Can’t win so you run? No future in that!”
“My precious essence and experience!”
Qin Chuan gave chase at full speed. Activating Flowing Strike, he locked onto the cliff ahead, instantly traversing thirty meters, then slid another five meters in the second stage.
“Blink! Falling Heaven Strike!”
Green light flared as dozens of sword shadows rained down from above, striking most of the fleeing beasts.
After the ultimate move, as the three-second time limit expired, Qin Chuan’s true form—the Black Iron Sword—returned to its original position.
His maneuvers were seamless, covering a total of fifty-four meters, making for an incredible long-range interception and kill. With the ultimate move’s area of effect, his range reached an astonishing fifty-nine meters.
“Ding! Killed level-11 Spirit Hunter Beast. Gained 500 experience.”
...
“Devour Essence!”
“Ding! Essence devoured successfully. Gained 110 evolution points.”
...
The system’s pleasant notifications filled Qin Chuan with satisfaction.
“Though a few got away, this is still incredibly rewarding!”
“As a true bandit, I should definitely check for loot.”
He recalled the unabsorbed essence and suspected the Beast Lord had left a sizable stash.
Soon, Qin Chuan discovered a pile of gleaming spirit cores.
“Haha! I’m rich!”
“Devour Essence!”
“Ding! Essence devoured successfully. Gained 110 evolution points.”
“Ding! Essence devoured successfully. Gained 120 evolution points.”
...
A flurry of system messages rang in his ears.
“Excellent! They’d actually stored up four thousand points of essence!”
Evolution Points: 8960/25600
Experience: 20500/204800
Having wiped out the Spirit Hunter Beast gathering place, Qin Chuan had reaped another bountiful harvest.
What he didn’t know was that, by chance, he had solved a problem that had plagued the edge of the Sunset Forest and the Plains for years.
“Well then, next target—the Plains.”
Qin Chuan’s silhouette left the Shadow Gorge, stepping onto the Plains.
From this moment on, with the long journey ahead, Qin Chuan had truly taken his first step.