Chapter Fifty-Four: The Relentless Pursuit of Experience

"The king sent me to patrol the mountains, so I thought I'd take a stroll through the Spirit Realm..."

With this "beautiful and melodious" song, Sword and Sleepy Bug swaggered forward, utterly unconcerned about what might happen next.

At this moment, Qin Chuan was already calculating in his mind—if he was going to do it, he’d go big. After all, the experience points needed to level up now were simply outrageous.

Qin Chuan could guarantee that, among all the "games" he'd ever played, this one required the most experience to level up.

"Damn it, each level’s experience doubles—one day, it'll be in the billions!"

So Qin Chuan racked his brains for ways to earn more experience.

"Luckily, the spirit creatures here all seem pretty dumb, haha!"

As Qin Chuan walked and mused, he soon arrived at a secluded mountain path winding through dense forest.

"Big bro, from here on, are we entering the Great Lord’s territory?"

"Yes, that's right."

The forest ahead was thick, with only a narrow path leading into its depths, the end nowhere in sight.

On both sides, vegetation blocked the way, making the place seem unnaturally quiet. Hidden eyes in the darkness watched Sword and Sleepy Bug intently.

Ding!...

Qin Chuan had not yet entered when the system began chiming with a flurry of notifications.

"Well, well, this welcoming ceremony is a bit over the top!"

Qin Chuan’s consciousness curved into a delighted smile—opportunities like this were rare indeed.

"Brother, you’d better hide for now."

Sleepy Bug, sensing the dangers lurking by the path, quickly replied, "Alright, big bro, be careful!"

Once Sleepy Bug had burrowed underground, Qin Chuan leapt forward at his leisure.

"Falling Sky Strike!"

Qin Chuan launched his ultimate move towards the bushes ahead.

"Argh!"

Ding! Killed level 17...

Ding! Killed level 18...

Ding! Killed level 19...

The sudden screams shattered the silence.

Swish, swish, swish!

In an instant, all the spirit creatures lurking in the shadows could hide no longer; they leapt out, surging towards Qin Chuan.

Countless figures flooded the ground and air—there must have been several hundred.

"Haha, you want to ambush me? I’m the forefather of sneak attacks! You think you can pull one over on me?"

Qin Chuan was thoroughly pleased with the success of his opening move.

These spirit creatures wasted no words; the moment they appeared, they attacked.

The Great Lord had promised rich rewards to the first to slay the outlaw—everyone wanted to be the one to claim Qin Chuan’s "head."

"Haha, such an impatient lot. But I like that!"

Facing the onslaught of hundreds, Qin Chuan grew more excited—this was all pure essence and experience points!

A level 19 Giant Scale Serpent leapt from the grass, attacking Qin Chuan first, its eyes full of excitement and greed.

"Who would have thought this guy was only level 17? My luck’s incredible!"

"If I kill him and claim the Great Lord’s reward, I might advance to Tier Three immediately!"

Unable to wait, the Giant Scale Serpent unleashed its skill at the Cold Iron Sword: "Scaled Kiss!"

The enormous serpent’s head lunged, fangs flashing and speed ghostly—practically impossible for a "person" to defend.

If he could just hit the Cold Iron Sword, he was sure he could snap it in an instant.

But he never expected that, in the next moment, he’d become nothing but an offering.

Qin Chuan barely moved—he only made a slight adjustment to face the serpent’s gaping maw.

"You’re too slow!"

The speed the serpent was so proud of, to Qin Chuan, was nothing but slow motion.

Qin Chuan could even see the serpent’s jaws closing, bit by bit.

And with a speed stat of 271, he utterly crushed the Giant Scale Serpent.

Thwack!

The seven- or eight-meter-long Giant Scale Serpent never imagined the Cold Iron Sword would ignore his skill.

Qin Chuan’s sword struck at the perfect angle, slicing horizontally across the serpent’s jaws.

Under Qin Chuan’s monstrous sharpness, the entire serpent was cleaved cleanly in half from head to tail, as effortlessly as splitting bamboo.

The serpent’s own speed made dodging impossible—it looked as if it had volunteered its own head.

Ding! Killed level 19 Giant Scale Serpent, gained 900 experience points; bonus for defeating a higher-level opponent: 100% extra experience. Congratulations, host receives 1800 experience points.

Qin Chuan had dispatched the Giant Scale Serpent with only the slightest movement, not even breaking a sweat.

"Poor little snake, haha!"

Before Qin Chuan’s words had even faded, the two halves of the serpent’s body fell from the air.

Hiss!

The other attacking spirit creatures sucked in a collective breath.

"Such sharpness! This Cold Iron Sword may truly be a peerless weapon!"

"Too bad—for it, today will be its last!"

"Come! The Great Lord’s reward will be mine!"

"Stupid Giant Scale Serpent—just because you strike fast doesn’t mean the glory is yours!"

...

The Giant Scale Serpent’s instant death did not deter the spirit creatures from their attack, for everyone knew the Great Lord’s reward was irresistible.

With their own motives, the spirit creatures unleashed their skills, blasting Qin Chuan’s position into rubble.

Skills rained down from all sides, ferocious in appearance, but to Qin Chuan, it was only a matter of dodging a few extra times.

"Haha! Dancing through the gaps between your skills—this is the thrill I live for!"

Qin Chuan began an almost supernatural performance—one sword, one kill; no, sometimes even several at once.

At that moment, the Cold Iron Sword was so sharp and fierce that it truly embodied the spirit of one man holding the pass against ten thousand.

Ding!...

The system’s rapid notifications formed a melodious symphony, making Qin Chuan utterly intoxicated.

It was a stark contrast to the constant screams of the spirit creatures.

The Cold Iron Sword’s sharpness and ferocity soon made every spirit creature involved in the assault tremble with fear.

Take the Agility class, for example: at level 19, a top-tier second rank, the base sharpness is 140, with mutations and bonuses calculated separately.

Most Agility class skills boost sharpness by no more than 30%.

The spirit creatures attacking Qin Chuan now had maximum stats of only about 200 in sharpness, resilience, or speed.

But Qin Chuan’s stats were all above 260, with sharpness at a staggering 432.

This was no ambush—it was a one-sided massacre.

In just three minutes, every spirit creature was annihilated.

"Devour Origin."

Ding! Devour successful, gained 190 evolution points.

Ding! Devour successful, gained 180 evolution points.

...

"Well, well, the lowest level among these attackers was 17. Is my head really that valuable?"

Listening to the system’s delightful notifications, Qin Chuan’s lips curled into a satisfied smile.

"Aha, 362 heads—what a haul!"

In just a few hundred meters, Qin Chuan had reaped a bounty of experience and essence.

Now, his stats panel soared:

Evolution Points: 459,300 / 819,200

Experience: 650,000 / 6,553,600

Rage: 30 / 100

Glancing at it, Qin Chuan grumbled, "Damn, still not even 10% experience. This is way too hard!"

That single complaint could enrage every spirit creature present—for them, refining these spirit cores would take a year or two.

Yet Qin Chuan had slaughtered and devoured them all in just a few minutes, and still he was dissatisfied—truly a man blessed beyond his own understanding.

Just then, Sleepy Bug emerged from the ground and, seeing the field of spirit beast corpses, was startled.

Amidst the bodies, the Cold Iron Sword glowed faintly purple, the dark dragon patterns on its blade barely visible, exuding a shocking and almost intimidating presence.

Sleepy Bug scurried to Qin Chuan’s side, gulped, and stammered, "B-brother, you... you killed all these? You’re incredible!"

But Qin Chuan’s gaze was fixed deep within the forest. "Haha, that was just a warm-up. The real surprises are yet to come."