Chapter 30: An Unusual Skill

Qin Chuan cursed under his breath and had no choice but to abandon his phase-two skill, darting back to his original position in a flash.

A series of dense explosions echoed where Qin Chuan had just been; had he not retreated in time, he would have been gravely injured, if not killed.

"Damn, trying to escape!"

He saw the Armored Beast now more than ten meters away. Raising his hand, he unleashed his ultimate skill.

"Heavenfall Strike!"

A violet light flashed ahead, and a hundred sword shadows fell from the sky, perfectly blocking the Armored Beast's path.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Damn, this creature is really something!"

The Armored Beast, relying on its hard shell, forced its way into the attack range of Heavenfall Strike. Though it suffered heavy injuries, it managed to push through the barrage and narrowly escaped death.

Qin Chuan pursued relentlessly, watching as the Armored Beast was about to plunge into the thick grass, which would make capturing it exceedingly troublesome.

At that moment, all his skills were on cooldown.

"Dammit, it actually got away!"

He saw the Armored Beast leap into the undergrowth and couldn't help cursing in frustration.

Clang!

Just then, the Armored Beast, which had plunged into the grass, was suddenly thrown back out, tumbling wildly.

The creature's spirit was shattered; it had thought itself free, only to be struck by a heavy blow before it even entered the grass.

"Well, what a surprise! Haha! Little brother, you really showed your mettle!"

Seeing this, Qin Chuan rushed forward and launched a fierce attack on the Armored Beast.

Faced with Qin Chuan's storm-like assault, the already weakened Armored Beast could only submit to its fate.

"Ding! You have slain the level 14 elite mutant Armored Beast Lord, gaining 10,500 experience points. Bonus for defeating a higher-level foe: 100% extra experience. Congratulations, Host, you have received 21,000 experience points."

Hearing the system's pleasant chime, Qin Chuan rejoiced, "Yes, it's done!"

"Devour the Essence!"

"Devouring successful. Acquired 1,575 evolution points."

At this moment, Sleep Bug wobbled out of the grass, its adorable eyes sparkling with gold.

"Big brother, is it night already? So many stars!"

"Haha! Little brother, you've done it again!"

After a while, Sleep Bug recovered somewhat and grinned foolishly, "Big brother, I've made another contribution. I can't always work without helping, right?"

"Haha, you're getting better, little brother. Come, let's loot the spoils!"

"Mm-hmm!"

Sleep Bug was delighted; helping Qin Chuan in battle had always been his wish.

The Armored Beast was a master of concealment, excellent at hiding things. It took both sword and bug considerable effort to uncover its stash.

"Damn, worthy of a lone wolf. Fifty lower-tier phase-two Blue Spirit Fruits, ten mid-tier Blue Spirit Fruits, a heap of refined iron, twelve blocks of processed Frost Iron."

"Tsk tsk, this collection rivals that of a Spirit Hunting Beast Lord."

Sword and bug gazed at the hoard, content that the trip had been worthwhile.

"Little brother, old rules."

"Mm-hmm."

Soon, Qin Chuan and Sleep Bug divided the spoils and began refining them.

"Ding! Successfully devoured a phase-two mid-tier Blue Spirit Fruit, gained 4,000 experience and 400 evolution points."

"Ding! Successfully devoured Frost Iron, gained 10 evolution points, freeze chance increased by 0.1%."

...

Evolution Points: 15,625/204,800
Experience: 608,200/819,200
Rage: 20/100

"Wa-ha-ha! Freeze chance is up to 4%. A few more and it'll be even better."

"Hey, I'm about to level up again!"

After this round, Qin Chuan was elated; another two hundred thousand experience would be no trouble at all.

Meanwhile, Sleep Bug was still refining, his entire body gleaming with the light of refined iron.

A moment later, a sweet system chime sounded in Qin Chuan's ear.

"Ding! Discovered phase-two supreme Sleep Bug, exceptional quality, level 14."

"Damn! Level up again, so fast?"

Qin Chuan distinctly remembered Sleep Bug had just leveled up recently, yet here he was again.

"Big brother, quick, congratulate me! Not only did I level up, but my mutant skill now has a second phase!"

Sleep Bug opened his adorable eyes, babbling excitedly.

Qin Chuan was delighted, laughing, "Ah-ha, congratulations, little brother!"

"Mm-hmm, big brother. You know what? My mutant skill's second phase is really magical!"

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, when my hardening ends, I spray out a bunch of refined iron liquid. If not cleaned off within three seconds, it solidifies."

"What? You spray after hardening? Oh my! Haha!"

Qin Chuan's consciousness laughed so hard he could barely breathe; his Iron Sword body fell to the ground, buzzing.

"Big brother, big brother! Why are you laughing? Isn't this skill good?"

Sleep Bug was baffled by Qin Chuan's reaction.

After a while, Qin Chuan composed himself and said solemnly, "Little brother, your skill is excellent—very logical and promising. Especially that solidification effect, it's wonderful."

Sleep Bug's cute eyes sparkled as he shook his head, "Mm-hmm, I can secretly help big brother hit our enemies with it."

"Good thinking, little brother. You know the best effect comes from surprise."

"Hehe, all thanks to your guidance, big brother."

"Haha, naturally."

These two shameless fellows were not embarrassed by ambush tactics; in fact, they took pride in them.

"By the way, little brother, how do you level up so fast?"

"Big brother, you may not know, but though I can't devour spirit cores, eating ores lets me level up quickly because I have a passive skill called Assimilation. Except for spirit cores, anything I consume can be converted into energy for leveling up."

Now, Qin Chuan was intrigued, "Well, that's unique. What does your spirit core look like?"

Sleep Bug was surprised, "Big brother, there's a little bug inside my spirit core. Isn't yours a sword?"

Only now did Qin Chuan realize, with a hint of surprise, that he had never paid much attention to his own spirit core; it was indeed rather unusual.

"Haha, of course. Let's go, let's check out the core area."

Qin Chuan changed the subject with a laugh; the secret of his humanoid spirit core was best kept from others.

Sleep Bug blinked excitedly, "Alright, I've been waiting for your command!"

Thus, the figures of sword and bug faded from the outskirts of Wind Spirit Valley, and the coming storm would sweep across the entire Deer Hunt Plains.

From afar, the core of Wind Spirit Valley was shrouded in mist, its landscape flickering in and out of view.

Sleep Bug looked into the distance, brimming with confidence, "Big brother, should we charge straight in?"

"Little brother, you're getting ahead of yourself! Always stay vigilant and low-key, no matter the situation. You know there are many treasures here, but do you smell any?"

"Huh?! You're right, there's nothing—how strange!"

Sleep Bug finally realized something was off. Looking again at the core area, he sensed mystery and oddity lurking within.

"Big brother, what should we do now?"

"Let's dig a tunnel first, deeper this time."

"Mm-hmm, you’re wise as ever, big brother."

Qin Chuan frowned, sensing the core area was far from simple—there seemed to be traces of a formation.

The mist was peculiar, possibly a disguise or illusion array; a reckless entry could mean death before he even knew what happened.

Half an hour later, in the Wind Spirit Valley's core, a patch of grass stirred, and a black iron sword emerged half a foot from underground.

Just then, a fragrant breeze wafted through, filling the air with a tempting aroma.