Chapter 53: Stirring Up a Hornet’s Nest

With a resonant hum, the Coldsteel Sword emitted a faint violet glow, the dark dragon patterns on its blade flickering in and out of sight, as a sharp and menacing aura swept forth.

"Ah! A violet spirit weapon!"

All the Rampaging Spirit Bears and Spirit-Toothed Bulls were stunned. On the Velociraptor Plains, a violet spirit item was the pinnacle of existence. Their revered Grand Chieftain was of this very level.

The leading Rampaging Spirit Bear gasped in disbelief, "A violet spirit weapon not of chieftain grade? How can that be?"

Being an underling of the Grand Chieftain, the Rampaging Spirit Bear had witnessed far more than most spirit creatures.

"But this sword is only level sixteen. What a windfall for us!"

"Brothers, surround him! Our chance has finally come!"

With a series of thunderous roars, the twenty Rampaging Spirit Bears shifted from shock to elation. If they could devour Qin Chuan's spirit core, who knew what astonishing transformation might occur?

"Damn, they're more impatient than I am."

"I haven't even made a move and they're rushing in themselves."

"But I like it!"

Qin Chuan was secretly delighted as experience points seemed to deliver themselves to him.

"Flowing Strike!"

A sharp whistle, then a sickening pop. Qin Chuan's opening move punctured the skull of the lead Rampaging Spirit Bear.

"Ding! You have slain a level-17 superior Rampaging Spirit Bear. Gained 800 experience points. Bonus for defeating a higher-level foe: 100% extra experience. Congratulations, host, you have gained 1600 experience points."

With a single strike, he entered slaughter mode. Screams filled the air as Qin Chuan became a demonic sword of carnage, exuding an aura that chilled the soul.

"Are... are they all dead?"

The Spirit-Toothed Bulls stared wide-eyed, legs suddenly weak beneath them. They collapsed in trembling heaps, utterly cowed.

"Mercy, my lord!"

Qin Chuan gave no reply, only sent a flurry of sword flashes through the air.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The wooden crates strapped to every Spirit-Toothed Bull's back crashed to the ground.

"You may leave."

A nearby Spirit-Toothed Bull lifted its head in disbelief. "What? My lord, you're really letting us go?"

"That's right. You're free."

Qin Chuan had no interest in these low-level Spirit-Toothed Bulls. Slaughtering them would yield nothing of value.

"Thank you, my lord! Thank you!"

Grateful for Qin Chuan's mercy, the ten Spirit-Toothed Bulls voiced their thanks and galloped away as fast as their legs could carry them.

True to his principle that waste is a sin, Qin Chuan immediately devoured the Rampaging Spirit Bears' essence.

"Ha! Once big brother makes a move, you know the outcome!"

At that moment, Sleepy Bug scampered over, eager to flatter.

"Haha, it's only natural! Now, let's see what treasures we've got. I have a feeling this haul will be incredible."

Qin Chuan wished he could stay low-key, but his strength would not allow it.

"Mhm."

Moments later, a mountain of refined ores, spirit fruits, spirit herbs, and two chests of blue and black gemstones were piled before the sword and the bug.

"Ding! Discovered blue crystal: permanently increases speed by 0.1%."

"Ding! Discovered black crystal: permanently increases resilience by 0.1%."

"Ding! Discovered tier-two superior blue spirit fruit."

"Ding! Discovered tier-two superior blue jade grass."

"Ding! Discovered tier-two superior thousand-knot flower."

"Ding! Discovered tier-two superior scarlet fire vine."

"Ding! Discovered refined steelstone."

Sleepy Bug's adorable eyes sparkled with hearts, drooling a puddle on the ground. "Wow! Big brother, we've truly struck it rich this time!"

Qin Chuan was beside himself with joy, luck smiling on him in the most extravagant way.

"Haha, these must be tributes collected by the Grand Chieftain from the various territories. Now, they're ours!"

"Mhm, but the Grand Chieftain commands great respect in Velociraptor Plains. Shouldn't you be careful now, big brother?"

"Ha, do you think we should be worried?"

"Hehe, I think you're hoping they'll come to you on their own, aren't you?"

"Haha, what do you think?"

The sword and the bug divided the spoils without a hint of shame. Sleepy Bug took half of the blue spirit fruits and all the refined steelstone; Qin Chuan claimed the rest.

"Devour essence!"

"Ding! Successfully devoured blue crystal. Speed increased by 1% permanently."

"Ding! Successfully devoured tier-two superior blue spirit fruit. Gained 6000 experience points, 600 evolution points."

"Ding! Successfully devoured tier-two superior blue jade grass. Gained 0.1 resilience."

"Ding! Successfully devoured tier-two superior thousand-knot flower. Gained 0.1 speed."

"Ding! Successfully devoured tier-two superior scarlet fire vine. Gained 0.1 sharpness."

"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have reached level 17. Gained a new skill point."

The flurry of system notifications formed a symphony of delight, ringing out for a full five minutes.

Qin Chuan had never devoured so satisfyingly before. The pure essence left his consciousness nearly soaring in delight.

With this tremendous haul, both Qin Chuan and Sleepy Bug were brimming with abundance, each leveling up in turn.

In total, Qin Chuan devoured 500 blue spirit fruits, 300 each of blue jade grass, thousand-knot flower, and scarlet fire vine, plus 50 each of blue and black crystals.

"Damn, this is unreal! All attributes increased by 30 points, with speed and resilience each up another 5%."

"And I leveled up. Truly gratifying."

"Upgrade skill: Freeze!"

"Ding! Upgrade successful. Slow effect increased by 5%. Freeze chance increased by 1%."

Qin Chuan chose to enhance Freeze because, with each upgrade, the chance to freeze would eventually reach 20%. The thought of immobilizing his foes with a mere gesture filled him with glee.

His attribute panel changed dramatically, a sight both pleasing and exhilarating.

Host: Qin Chuan
Species: Mutated Coldsteel Sword (1)
Rank: Tier-Two Supreme (Sharpness +10%)
Quality: Rare (All attributes +5%)
Level: 17

Attributes:
Sharpness: 279 + 125.55 (45%) + 27.9 (10%)
Resilience: 213 + 53.25 (25%)
Speed: 217 + 54.25 (25%)
Evolution Points: 393,475 / 819,200
Experience: 9,500 / 6,553,600
Rage: 10 / 100

Innate Talents:
Devour Essence
Basic Morphing
Source of Metal: 0 / 200
Source of Wood: 0 / 200
Source of Water: 0 / 200
Source of Fire: 0 / 200
Source of Earth: 205 / 200

Skills:
Flowing Strike: Stage One, Level 3; Stage Two, Glide Level 1 (5 meters)
Blink: Stage One, Level 3; Stage Two, Immunity Level 2 (0.6 seconds)
Enhance: Stage One, Level 3; Stage Two, Freeze Level 2 (Slow 10%, Freeze Chance 11%, Freeze Duration 1 sec)
Heavenfall Flowing Strike: Stage One, Level 3; Stage Two, Pending activation

Chakra Talents:
First Root Chakra: All attributes +10
First Sacral Chakra: Permanently increases quality upgrade success rate by 5%

Additional Attributes:
Critical Strike 10%
Burst 3%
Slow 10%
Freeze 5%

"Nice, freeze duration increased—so satisfying!"

While Qin Chuan finished devouring, Sleepy Bug continued to stuff himself, unable to stop given the feast before him.

A day later, word spread throughout the core of Velociraptor Plains that the Grand Chieftain’s tribute had been plundered.

Upon hearing the news, the Grand Chieftain was furious and issued a Grand Chieftain's Decree: any spirit creature who reported or slew the culprits would receive rich rewards.

Suddenly, the spirit creatures of the core region were all on the move, a murderous atmosphere thickening in the air.

This time, Qin Chuan had well and truly stirred up a hornet's nest.

Spirit creatures on the outskirts soon learned of the sword and bug’s whereabouts, discovering they were heading straight for the core region.

"I thought it would be hard to find them, but they're walking right in!"

"Hmph, step in here and you'll leave nothing but bones."

"The Grand Chieftain's reward is mine alone!"

...