Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Delightful Life of a Bandit

Qin Chuan, making full use of his extraordinary range and uncanny footwork, slaughtered the spirit creatures until not a single one was left standing, reaping a bountiful harvest in the process.

“Ah-ha, seventy-eight kills! This is exhilarating!”

Those spirit creatures had tried to take advantage of the chaos, but in the end, they merely delivered themselves to Qin Chuan. After searching the area, he discovered a large amount of finished refined iron and several pieces of cold iron ore.

“Ah-ha, cold iron ore—what an unexpected delight!”

Having cleared out the lairs of three lords, Qin Chuan and Sleepybug were now overflowing with riches.

“Brother, the total haul this round is one hundred eighty-seven kills, a pile of blue spirit fruits, and a huge batch of refined iron.”

“Big brother, how should we divide it this time?”

Sleepybug’s adorable eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Let’s do it this way, little brother. All the refined iron goes to you; the blue spirit fruits and those pieces of cold iron ore are mine.”

“Big brother, are you serious? With so much refined iron, if I absorb it, I might even mutate!”

Sleepybug was practically about to leap for joy.

“Of course I’m serious. Refined iron isn’t much use to me anymore—after today, it’s all yours.”

“Wahaha, that’s fantastic! Thank you, big brother, thank you!”

Since following Qin Chuan, Sleepybug had never felt sleepy again; every day brought unexpected delights, and he wouldn’t dare miss any of them for the sake of a nap.

Qin Chuan handed over all the refined iron to Sleepybug. “Go on, refine it quickly. We still have two big deals ahead!”

“Alright! I won’t hold back, wahaha!” Sleepybug scurried off, eager to begin the refinement.

Qin Chuan tallied his own gains: sixty-five blue spirit fruits and six pieces of cold iron ore.

“It’s odd, where did this cold iron ore even come from?”

Qin Chuan gazed toward the heart of Wind Spirit Valley, and the answer seemed to dawn on him.

“Well then, someday I’ll go in and loot it thoroughly!”

With that thought, he focused again on what mattered most: increasing his strength.

“Devour the essence!”

“Ding! Successfully devoured cold iron ore, gained ten evolution points, and increased freeze chance by 0.1%.”

...

“Ding! Successfully devoured tier-two low-grade blue spirit fruit, gained two thousand experience points and two hundred evolution points.”

...

After a series of pleasant system notifications, Qin Chuan reviewed his attribute panel with satisfaction.

[Host]: Qin Chuan
[Type]: Black Iron Sword
[Rank]: Tier Two, Supreme (Sharpness +10%)
[Quality]: Rare (All attributes +5%)
[Level]: 13

[Attributes]
Sharpness: 169 +76.05 (45%) +8.45 (5%)
Toughness: 148 +29.6 (20%)
Speed: 148 +29.6 (20%)
Evolution Points: 98,820/102,400
Experience: 452,600/819,200
Rage: 40/100
Innate Abilities: Devour Essence, Primary Mimicry
[Skills]
Flow Strike: Stage One Flow Strike Level 3, Stage Two Glide Level 1
Blink: Level 3
Enhance: Stage One Enhance Level 3, Stage Two Freeze Level 1 (Freeze chance 2.6%)
Falling Sky Flow Strike: Level 2
Chakra Talent: First Layer Root Chakra
[Bonus Attributes]
Critical Strike
Burst Attack

“Haha, evolution is just around the corner! My experience has increased by another quarter.”

Qin Chuan was once again elated; this pace of leveling and evolving was simply exhilarating.

Meanwhile, Sleepybug was working tirelessly to refine the iron, for absorbing so much finished refined iron would take time. A faint glow of refined iron radiated from Sleepybug’s body.

“Hmm, this time he’s almost certainly going to mutate, though I wonder what direction the mutation will take.”

Qin Chuan waited patiently; the light from Sleepybug grew ever brighter until, after a brief trembling, he opened his adorably wide eyes.

“Ding! Discovered tier-two, high-grade mutated Sleepybug, level thirteen.”

“B-big brother, I—I’ve mutated! I—I finally have attack power!”

Sleepybug was so excited and thrilled that he could barely speak without stammering.

Qin Chuan was puzzled. “Really now, just because you have attack power, is that worth getting so excited?”

Sleepybug swallowed nervously, still stammering. “N-no, that’s not it. B-brother, you don’t understand. I was born without any offensive abilities, but this mutation granted me a bonus skill.”

“What? Mutation can bring bonus skills?”

Qin Chuan was startled—he’d undergone several mutations and evolutions himself, but had never received a bonus skill.

“Yes, big brother. My new skill is called Hardening—it gives me the hardness of refined iron, and lasts ten seconds.”

“Wow! Not bad, little brother. Though ten seconds seems a bit short!”

At that moment, Qin Chuan mischievously pictured the soft little bug suddenly going hard for ten seconds and then softening again, unable to help but chuckle.

“Big brother, short is short, but at least I can help you fight now—it’s progress!”

Sleepybug looked a bit aggrieved at Qin Chuan, his big blue eyes utterly adorable.

“Haha, true enough—ten seconds is ten seconds.”

“Mhm!”

Sleepybug was overjoyed to finally have Qin Chuan’s approval.

“Little brother, you lead the way—let’s pay the Infernal Bull Lord a visit this time.”

“Mhm, big brother, hop on my back.”

“Alright.”

Qin Chuan didn’t stand on ceremony; he jumped onto Sleepybug’s back, sitting with imposing dignity.

As the sword and the bug made their way to the Infernal Bull Lord’s lair, the lord himself was hiding inside, celebrating with song and dance.

“Congratulations, my lord, for making it back safely—otherwise, we brothers wouldn’t know what to do!”

“Don’t mention it. This time, some black iron sword appeared out of nowhere—only level thirteen, yet frighteningly powerful. Even Old Iron Demon Tree couldn’t withstand him for more than a few seconds.”

The Infernal Bull Lord’s eyes flashed with deep fear. “If I hadn’t been alert and used my ultimate move, Thousand-Mile Dash, at the first sign of trouble, I might not have made it back either.”

“My lord is wise. Now that we’re back in the lair and the cave door is sealed, that black iron sword will never find us!”

“That’s right. If nothing else, I can say this cave is extremely well-hidden. Without me leading the way, no other lord could possibly find it.”

At this moment, the Infernal Bull Lord finally relaxed, recovering his former imposing air.

But faint singing could be heard drifting in from outside.

“The king sent me to patrol the mountain, so I’m wandering the spirit realm...”

“Who dares to make such racket outside our lair? My lord, give the order—we’ll seize him and serve him up for your wine!”

The Infernal Bull Lord, startled like a bowstring, quickly shouted, “Wait, never mind—ignore him.”

Just then, a cute voice piped up outside: “Big brother, this is the place!”

Boom!

With a thunderous blast, the Infernal Bull Lord’s supposedly hidden cave entrance was blown open.

“This road is mine, that tree was planted by me. If you want to pass, pay the toll. Nobody move—it’s a robbery!”

Sleepybug’s soft, adorable voice echoed at the cave mouth; this time, he’d learned from past experience and stated his intentions directly, showing increasing skill.

“Mother! The notorious bandit has broken in!”

“Run for it!”

“Stop—everyone, freeze!”

Chaos and panic erupted among the Infernal Bull Lord’s followers. No matter how he roared, it was all in vain.