Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Invisible Tycoon
After watching the Spiked Armored Beast Lord slip into a secret cave, the Sleepy Bug grumbled in dissatisfaction, “Big bro, this Spiked Armored Beast Lord is really sly—he burrowed through seven pits and eight holes just to get back to his lair.”
Qin Chuan, on the other hand, sounded rather excited. “I bet this guy is secretly loaded, otherwise why go to all that trouble?”
“Mhm, you’re right, big bro.”
“Come on, let’s go shake him down!”
“Alright!”
At that moment, the Spiked Armored Beast Lord gazed helplessly at the mountain of treasures before him and sighed, “What a waste of half my day... How long will it take to refine all of you, my precious treasures?”
If any other lord overheard this, they’d probably die of envy on the spot. The Bloodfrenzied Lion Lord had also set his sights on this hoard before, but left empty-handed and in disgrace.
“Don’t worry, we’ll help you. We’ll make sure everything is squeaky clean.”
“Yes, perfectly clean.”
Just then, Qin Chuan’s mocking voice and Sleepy Bug’s sweet, soft reply echoed through the hidden cave of the Spiked Armored Beast Lord.
Within the dim cavern, a black longsword emitted a faint purple glow, bathing the secret den in a layer of violet light.
The Spiked Armored Beast Lord’s eyes narrowed in shock and alarm.
“You... could you be the Dark Demon Sword?”
“And you two—are you the bandits?”
“How are you not dead yet?”
Qin Chuan’s blade shivered with mirth, ringing out with a hearty laugh. “Ha! Plenty have tried to kill me, but they’re all dead now.”
“What?! Impossible! How could that be?!”
The Spiked Armored Beast Lord could hardly believe his ears. The news was just too shocking. An eighteenth-level Dark Demon Sword had wiped out the five great lords and all their elites? No one among the core region’s spirits would believe such a thing.
“There’s nothing impossible about it. If you don’t believe me, I can send you to see for yourself.”
Qin Chuan’s voice was calm and confident, the sword’s hum locking onto the beast lord.
But the Spiked Armored Beast Lord was no coward; stunned as he was, he would not submit without a fight.
“Ha! Killing me won’t be so easy!”
“Swarm Bombardment! Die!”
He unleashed his ultimate move—the carapace on his back snapped open, and hundreds of flying insects rose in a buzzing wave, hurtling straight at the sword and the bug, ready to engulf them within three seconds.
“Haha, you fools! Coming into my secret lair is a death wish!”
He was supremely confident in his ultimate move—his swarm could reduce any foe to dust.
Just then, Sleepy Bug’s gentle voice piped up, “Barrier Technique!”
With a series of crackling bursts, sword and bug emerged unscathed.
“Little brother, that Barrier Technique of yours is really something.”
“Haha, of course it is!”
The Spiked Armored Beast Lord stared, dumbfounded, at the pair who were still chatting and laughing.
“How... how is this possible?!”
Qin Chuan’s blade flashed. “There’s nothing impossible. Now it’s my turn—prepare to die!”
A shrill note rang out, and in a flash of cold light, the Cold Iron Sword struck the beast lord almost instantly.
Clang! Crack!
Ding! Critical hit triggered. Damage increased by 150% and knockback effect applied.
Ding! 25% slow triggered.
...
“Ah! That hurts so much—I think I’m dying!”
The Spiked Armored Beast Lord howled in agony, the hard shell on his body shattered to bits.
“There’s worse to come. Goodbye!”
Qin Chuan unleashed a dazzling combo, utterly destroying the beast lord.
Ding! You have slain a level 20, tier-three lower-grade Spiked Armored Beast Lord. Gained 31,250 experience points. Over-level kill bonus: 100% EXP. Congratulations, host, you have gained 62,500 EXP.
Ding! You have slain an elite under the ruler of the Plains of the Stag. Additional reward: 62,500 EXP.
...
“Haha, big bro, you’re amazing! Took care of that cunning beast in no time.”
“Haha, you did well too, little brother.”
Sword and bug walked over to the mountain of treasures.
Sleepy Bug was already drooling, barely able to walk. “Big bro, we’ve really struck it rich this time—this haul is bigger than anything we’ve ever gotten!”
“Mhm, this guy really was a hidden tycoon, hoarding all these resources. Now they’re all ours.”
“Mhm!”
The loot was so bountiful it was almost unimaginable—it took them over ten minutes just to divide it up. Second-tier spiritual fruits, flowers, and herbs, refined ironstones, refined spirit ironstones, colorful crystals, and even a third-tier Green Grassy Fruit.
Of course, Qin Chuan took the lion’s share; Sleepy Bug got most of the refined ironstones and half the spiritual fruits, while the rest was Qin Chuan’s.
Qin Chuan now needed resources by the ton.
Ding! Successfully devoured a tier-three lower-grade Green Grassy Fruit. Gained 10,000 EXP and 1,000 evolution points.
Ding! Successfully devoured a Spirit Ironstone. Gained 150 evolution points, quality improvement rate increased by 0.41%.
Ding! Successfully devoured a Blue Crystal. Speed permanently increased by 0.1%.
Ding! Successfully devoured a Black Crystal. Tenacity permanently increased by 0.1%.
Ding! Successfully devoured a Purple Crystal. Sharpness permanently increased by 0.1%.
Ding! Successfully devoured a second-tier top-grade Blue Spirit Fruit. Gained 6,000 EXP and 600 evolution points.
Ding! Successfully devoured a second-tier top-grade Blue Jade Grass. Gained 0.1 tenacity.
Ding! Successfully devoured a second-tier top-grade Thousand Knot Flower. Gained 0.1 speed.
Ding! Successfully devoured a second-tier top-grade Red Refining Vine. Gained 0.1 sharpness.
...
Ding! Congratulations, evolution points are full. Choose your evolution path.
Ding! Congratulations, host has reached level 19. Gained new skill points.
...
The system’s sweet notification chimes and the surge of pure origin power made Qin Chuan feel blissful.
During the ten-odd minutes of devouring, it was as if he was having the sweetest dream.
Tears almost welled in his eyes. “Ah, it’s finally over! Thank heaven and earth—I’ve leveled up again!”
“Mhm, not bad—the quality improvement probability has reached 40%.”
“Let’s choose mutant evolution again—there’s no other choice.”
Ding! Congratulations, host’s Lucky Mutation Evolution succeeded.
“As for skills—let’s go with Slow. A 30% slow effect is just unbeatable!”
Ding! Skill upgrade successful. Slow effect increased by 10%, freeze chance increased by 1%.
After finishing, he checked his stats. He didn’t even know how much he’d devoured this time—the numbers were dazzling.
[Host]: Qin Chuan
[Species]: Mutant Cold Iron Sword (3)
[Tier]: Second-tier, supreme grade (sharpness +10%)
[Quality]: Rare (all attributes +5%)
[Level]: 19
[Attributes]
Sharpness: 372 + 167.4 (45%) + 55.8 (15%)
Tenacity: 324 + 81 (25%)
Speed: 330 + 82.5 (25%)
Evolution Points: 582,600 / 3,276,000
Experience: 2,832,000 / 26,207,200
Rage: 10 / 100
Slaughter: 1,423 / 5,000
[Innate Talents]
Devour Origin
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]
Flow Strike: Phase 1, Level 3; Phase 2 Slide, Level 1 (5 meters)
Blink: Phase 1, Level 3; Phase 2 Immunity, Level 2 (0.6 seconds)
Enhance: Phase 1, Level 3; Phase 2 Freeze, Level 4 (slow 20%, freeze chance 13%, freeze duration 2 seconds)
Falling Heaven Flow Strike: Phase 1, Level 3; Phase 2 Pending
[Mutant Skill]
Level 1 Slaughter (Passive): Temporarily increase sharpness by 5%, reduce all enemy attributes within 10 meters by 5%, triggers upon kill, lasts 3 seconds.
[Chakra Talents]
First Layer Root Chakra: All attributes +10
First Layer Navel Chakra: Permanently increases quality upgrade chance by 5%
[Bonus Attributes]
Critical Strike 10%
Critical Hit 3%
Slow 10%
Freeze 5%
“Damn, all three stats are over 400—sharpness is almost 600!”
“This is insane—damn, damn, damn!”
Qin Chuan couldn’t help but exclaim three times in a row—nothing else could express his excitement enough.