Chapter 88: Happiness Came So Suddenly

After Qin Chuan returned to his original spot, he unleashed a powerful move without hesitation.

“Heavenfall Stream Strike!”

A flicker of orange light flashed in the air as a hundred sword shadows rained down from above.

“Swish, swish, swish!”

The mobile “bomber” began its attack, catching seven of the bewildered Five-Colored Venom-Eyes in its sweep.

“Brilliant!” Zi Zi couldn’t help but applaud as she witnessed Qin Chuan’s flawless maneuver.

Amidst shrill cries, Qin Chuan unleashed the Stream Strike once again. With a Blink ready in his hand, he closed in for another assault without hesitation.

The Five-Colored Venom-Eyes, having just regained their senses, hastily activated their skills. In an instant, the air was filled with a dazzling array of colors, as if celebrating a festival.

“Petrifying Gaze!”

“Five-Colored Light Beam!”

...

The remaining ten Five-Colored Venom-Eyes, thrown into panic, unleashed their skills indiscriminately, caring little for strategy.

The outcome was obvious—total annihilation!

Qin Chuan collected the experience and essence from the battle, his heart brimming with satisfaction and delight.

Zi Zi’s gaze remained fixed on Qin Chuan, as if he had sprouted flowers from his body.

“Is she thinking about kissing me again?”

Before Qin Chuan could finish his thought, a sweet kiss landed on him.

A surge of electricity ran through him once more, and he couldn’t help but let out a sword’s cry, before swaying and collapsing into the arms of the beautiful woman whose softness and elasticity seemed otherworldly.

Zi Zi’s cheeks flushed as her long lashes fluttered over her violet eyes. In a gentle voice, she asked, “Qin Chuan, are you alright? What happened to you?”

“I feel suddenly dizzy—let me rest for a moment.”

At that moment, Sleepybug, full of concern, spoke anxiously, “Big brother, did you get hit by a skill? Let me carry you!”

...

But Qin Chuan had fallen silent, as though he had truly fainted away.

“Never mind, little bug. I’ll carry him for a while.”

“Alright, alright.”

And so Zi Zi carried Qin Chuan on, an unusual emotion stirring in her heart, her gently heaving chest like rolling waves, leaving Qin Chuan dizzy and adrift.

“Happiness sometimes comes so suddenly.”

Qin Chuan felt as if he were floating on clouds, light and comfortable beyond words.

But the bliss was short-lived. Soon, the system’s notification rang out, leaving him unable to feign unconsciousness any longer.

After all, the Five-Colored Venom-Eyes still posed a significant threat.

With the same approach as before, Qin Chuan, burning with rage, shredded another wave of Five-Colored Venom-Eyes to pieces.

“Big brother seems to be in quite a mood this time!”

“Perhaps he’s venting after the skill backlash earlier,” Zi Zi remarked, blinking her lively eyes. She had suspected that Qin Chuan was only pretending to be dizzy, so after the battle ended, she didn’t make much of a fuss.

Qin Chuan couldn’t help but feel regretful and helpless. He sighed inwardly, “Sometimes happiness departs just as suddenly as it arrives.”

After enduring five or six more waves of attacks, Qin Chuan finally made it through the Path of Life and Death.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have reached level 23 and gained a new skill point.”

Glancing at his attribute panel, Qin Chuan saw that only Stream Strike and Blink were available for upgrade.

“Upgrade Blink.”

“Ding! Upgrade successful. Blink—Immunity has reached level 3. Immunity duration: 0.9 seconds.”

Evolution Points: 37,124,000 / 52,416,000
Experience: 1,020,000 / 416,000,000
Rage: 80 / 100
Slaughter: 1,943 / 10,000

Even though the attribute gains were small, Qin Chuan was quite pleased. As for why, perhaps only he understood.

“Congratulations on leveling up again, big brother!”

“Ha, it’s nothing, just a small thing.”

“Tch, show-off!”

Despite her words, Zi Zi was secretly astonished. Since their first encounter, Qin Chuan had leveled up twice in such a brief span—it was enough to shock anyone.

Upon reaching the Three-Star Zone, Qin Chuan continued his old tricks, parading his Seven-Star title to bluff his way forward.

The spiritual creatures of the Three-Star Zone remained as enthusiastic as ever, welcoming Qin Chuan with open arms and showering him with generous experience and essence.

After one sweep, the Three-Star Zone was nearly emptied out. However, there were noticeably fewer spirit creatures this time—only around three thousand.

Now, Qin Chuan had entered a golden phase of rapid leveling. His experience and essence soared at breakneck speed.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, your evolution points are full. You may choose an evolution path.”

“Advance in rank!”

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have advanced to Upper Third Tier. All attributes increased by 20 points.”

Each rank increase after Tier Three granted a 20-point boost to all attributes; the overall stats saw significant improvement.

Sharpness: 515 + 283.25 (55%) + 180.25 (35%) = 978
Toughness: 461 + 165.96 (36%) = 626
Speed: 475 + 180.50 (38%) = 655
Evolution Points: 14,404,000 / 104,000,000
Experience: 168,000,000 / 416,000,000
Rage: 20 / 100
Slaughter: 4,903 / 10,000

“Tsk, tsk, tsk—over six hundred in all three main stats, and a sharpness of 978 plus.”

Qin Chuan quietly rejoiced again, then set off with Zi Zi and Sleepybug to scavenge for treasure.

He had to admit, the spirit creatures of the Three-Star Zone were dirt poor. After scouring the area, they found nothing but poison.

The Enchanted Jungle was already resource-scarce; the spirit creatures barely had enough for their own cultivation and certainly no surplus for others.

This was a blessing for Sleepybug, who greedily devoured poison after poison, improving his own toxic abilities considerably.

Thus, the trio of thieves arrived at the Three-Star Zone’s Path of Life and Death.

There were no surprises here either. Aside from the guardian Poison Lizard Beast, which offered Qin Chuan another wave of experience and essence, the path was uneventful.

Entering the Four-Star Zone, the enthusiasm of the spirit creatures cooled considerably. They only offered Qin Chuan about 1,500 heads.

Yet such a large-scale battle sent shockwaves throughout the entire Four-Star Zone.

Rumors ran wild—an ominous Black Demon Sword had entered the zone, merciless and leaving nothing in its wake.

A wave of terror swept over the Four-Star Zone. The spirit creatures went into hiding, refusing to show themselves.

“Damn, these guys are cunning—they’ve all gone to ground again.”

Qin Chuan glanced at his attribute panel. He still needed more than half a level’s worth of experience.

“This wave only netted me less than 100 million. Life is truly tough.”

Evolution Points: 35,404,000 / 104,000,000
Experience: 256,000,000 / 416,000,000
Rage: 40 / 100
Slaughter: 6,380 / 10,000

Suddenly, the Four-Star Zone was rocked by violent tremors—a long-dormant dead volcano erupted without warning.

Flames shot skyward as molten lava poured out.

Thick smoke billowed, fire blazed everywhere. The nearby trees ignited in a flash.

Spirit creatures, previously concealed in the shadows, now revealed themselves, fleeing desperately for their lives.

“Haha! Heaven truly favors me!”

Unlike the panicked, fleeing spirit creatures, Qin Chuan was elated—his treasured sword was thirsting for battle.

The spirit creatures of the Four-Star Zone barely escaped the lava, only to fall once again into Qin Chuan’s clutches.

Truly, disaster never comes alone—misfortune begets more misfortune.

The Dragon-Patterned Frost Jade Sword, glowing with a faint orange light, had become the nightmare of every spirit creature in the Four-Star Zone.

Screams of terror and agony filled the air as spirit after spirit perished, and Qin Chuan grew ever stronger.

After the eruption, the Four-Star Zone lay in ruins, corpses strewn everywhere—a vision of hell on earth.

Just then, a fiery red lotus, fragrant and glowing, rose from the mouth of the volcano, bearing five dazzling seeds.

“Wow, it’s the Fire Lotus awakening! I must hurry!”