Chapter Fifty-Nine: A Situation Spiraling Out of Control

“The king told me to patrol the mountains, so I take a stroll through the spirit realm...”

Qin Chuan began singing with unwavering confidence, believing his melody to be beautiful, as if he were the master angler waiting for a willing fish to bite.

“The amount of experience required to level up is simply outrageous—it completely goes against my original intention in choosing a ranged class.”

“This is all the system’s doing, really!”

“It’s just so hard for me!”

“I’ve always wanted to keep a low profile, but my strength simply won’t allow it!”

“Ha!”

Now, Qin Chuan was not only bold, but acted with conspicuous swagger.

Soon, his singing drew the attention of several spirit creatures, all harboring dreams of overnight riches. They journeyed tirelessly to this spot.

“Look, over there!”

“Both just level seventeen?”

“Is luck really on our side?”

“This is practically a reward for nothing!”

...

Seduced by the promise of immense rewards, the spirit creatures lost all sense of caution.

A sword and a bug, able to appear here—could they really be so easy to deal with?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Perhaps it was greed, or simply overconfidence. Dozens of spirit creatures charged straight in, eyes ablaze with the desire for prizes.

Yet what awaited them was a long black sword, gleaming with violet light.

A piercing screech!

...

Once the battle began, there was no turning back for Qin Chuan. In no time, he had wiped out the enemy completely.

“Ha, these fellows are truly adorable!”

“Come one, come all—I’ll just walk and wait for you here!”

Qin Chuan’s spirits soared, for he knew more experience and essence would soon come knocking at his door.

Thus, one after another, the spirit creatures that arrived became souls lost beneath Qin Chuan’s blade.

“Ding! Kill...”

“Ding! Congratulations, host’s evolution points are full. Evolution path may now be selected.”

...

“Ding! Congratulations, host has reached level eighteen. Gained new skill point.”

...

“Aha, I’ve finally leveled up!”

After ‘enduring untold hardships’ and ‘overcoming countless obstacles,’ Qin Chuan had finally leveled up and evolved.

As he delved deeper, he carved a bloody path, cutting down gods or demons alike.

Even deep within the domain of the Grand Lord of the Plains, he remained unstoppable.

He’d long since lost count of how many spirit creatures he’d slain—a rough estimate put it at no less than three thousand.

With this rampage, the number of idle spirit creatures in the central region plummeted by eighty percent in a single day.

“It’s starting to feel like a hunt.”

“But since you want to kill me and I want to kill you, we’re even, aren’t we?”

“Heh heh!”

Qin Chuan glanced at the probability for quality evolution—it was still a pathetic 18.9%.

“Damn, this is just as much a scam as the experience points!”

“Can’t I get some Spirit Ironstone instead?”

“Never mind, I’ll just go for another mutation evolution—after all, the chance is eighty percent.”

“Ding! Mutation evolution selected successfully. Please wait.”

Qin Chuan was long accustomed to such system notifications. He treated this evolution as just another routine step—after all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment, and he’d rather avoid the sting.

But the next notification instantly filled him with surprise and excitement.

“Ding! Congratulations, host’s super mutation evolution was successful. Gained mutated passive skill—Slaughter.”

“Super mutation evolution? That’s a thing?!”

“Damn, this is amazing! Never expected to get a mutated skill this time!”

Qin Chuan immediately checked the details of this new skill.

Mutated Skill—Slaughter (Passive): Temporarily increases sharpness by 5%, reduces all attributes of opponents within ten meters by 5%, triggered upon killing a target, lasting three seconds.
Slaughter Value: 0/5000

“Wow, this skill is vicious! But I love it!”

A wide grin split Qin Chuan’s face. Though it was a passive skill, its impact was astonishing.

“With this, I’ll be a slaughter machine in large-scale battles!”

“That means an endless flood of experience and essence—ha ha!”

After indulging in his delight, Qin Chuan began allocating his skill point.

Currently, the second stage of Flow Strike gains one meter of sliding distance per level.

The second stage of Enhanced Freeze increases slow effect by five percent per level, raises freeze chance by one percent, and extends freeze duration by half a second.

The second stage of Blink Immunity gains 0.3 seconds of immunity per level.

Falling Sky Flow Strike’s second stage remains locked.

Weighing the options, Qin Chuan decided to upgrade Freeze, as its practical value was greater.

A five percent increase in slowing power could be decisive in battle.

“Alright, upgrade Freeze!”

“Ding! Freeze upgraded successfully. Current level: 3.”

Qin Chuan then happily reviewed his status panel, noting the significant improvements:

[Host]: Qin Chuan
[Type]: Mutated Cold Iron Sword (2)
[Rank]: Tier Two, Supreme (Sharpness +10%)
[Quality]: Rare (All Attributes +5%)
[Level]: 18
[Attributes]
Sharpness: 302 + 135.9 (45%) + 30.2 (10%)
Toughness: 234 + 58.5 (25%)
Speed: 238 + 59.5 (25%)
Evolution Points: 243,600 / 1,638,000
Experience: 305,000 / 13,107,200
Rage: 80 / 100

[Inherent Talents]
Devour Essence
Basic Mimicry
Metal Source: 0 / 200
Wood Source: 0 / 200
Water Source: 0 / 200
Fire Source: 0 / 200
Earth Source: 205 / 200

[Skills]
Flow Strike: Stage One Level 3, Stage Two Slide 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 3 (Slow 15%, Freeze Chance 12%, Freeze Duration 1.5 seconds)
Falling Sky Flow Strike: Stage One Level 3, Stage Two Locked

[Mutated Skill]
Slaughter Level 1 (Passive): Temporarily increases sharpness by 5%, reduces all attributes of opponents within ten meters by 5%, triggered upon killing, lasts three seconds.
Slaughter Value: 0 / 5000

[Chakra Talents]
First Sacral: All attributes +10
First Navel: Permanently increases quality evolution success rate by 5%

[Bonus Attributes]
Critical Strike 10%
Burst 3%
Slow 10%
Freeze 5%

“Not bad at all—sharpness is almost at five hundred.”

“Ha ha ha, super mutation evolution is truly incredible. All attributes up by twenty!”

Qin Chuan was thoroughly satisfied with this evolution. After so much effort, he finally reaped an abundant reward.

“Congratulations, boss! Leveled up and evolved! Boss, you’re nothing short of a miracle.”

As expected, Sleepy Bug chimed in with another round of flattery, though this time it was heartfelt.

Indeed, Qin Chuan was a miracle.

From a piece of rotten wood to his current state, he was now showing the poise of a true powerhouse.

“Ha ha, Little Brother, if you keep flattering me, I might get arrogant!”

“Heh, how could you call this flattery? It’s my sincerest admiration!”

Watching Qin Chuan rise rapidly, leveling and evolving without pause, Sleepy Bug was full of awe.

Following Qin Chuan’s lead had brought him immense benefits as well.

He couldn’t help but think to himself with satisfaction, “Follow the boss, and happiness is sure to come.”

Meanwhile, a rumor was spreading like wildfire in the central region.

“A black demon sword has appeared in the Grand Lord’s territory, ruthless and deadly—none who encounter it survive.”

The news caused widespread panic. With the mass disappearance of spirit creatures, the Grand Lord finally noticed something was amiss.

“Bang!”

“Damn it, how did it come to this?!”

“Notify the Six Great Lords at once. Mobilize the entire territory to hunt the black demon sword!”

The furious command, accompanied by the sound of shattered rock, echoed high above the heart of the region.