Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Taking advantage of the Moon Spirit Butterfly's slowed movements due to insect venom, Shen Yi and Xi Ye teamed up—one focusing on spiritual attacks, the other on physical ones. The Moon Spirit Butterfly's body, swollen from the insect venom, was soon slashed open with numerous wounds.

Seeing the Moon Spirit Butterfly's stiff movements, Shen Yi decided to temporarily halt his attacks on its spiritual body, intending to get in a few more hits while it was sluggish.

Unexpectedly, just two slashes with his psychically condensed "butcher knife" on the Moon Spirit Butterfly's tail triggered system notifications for EXP gains.

"EXP +3140"

"EXP +4026"

After a moment of surprise, he cautiously tried a few more times and discovered that every wound he inflicted on the Moon Spirit Butterfly resulted in an EXP notification. Puzzled, he asked the system, "It's not dead yet. Why am I gaining EXP?"

"The Moon Spirit Butterfly has no blood. What spills from its wounds is spiritual energy. If it weren't for us, this pure spiritual energy would dissipate as aura and return to the world."

The spiritual energy leaking from the wounds created by Xi Ye was captured by the system, split twenty-eighty—20% kept for itself, the remaining 80% stored in the game's energy reserve to maintain game operations.

"So this entire Moon Spirit Butterfly is actually made of pure energy?"

Shen Yi's antennae perked up, and he looked at the Moon Spirit Butterfly as if it were a giant experience pack.

The constant stream of EXP gain notifications became a morale-boosting drumbeat. Shen Yi, like he was turbocharged and confident, fought with increasing ferocity.

With their endurance wearing thin, they could wear it down bit by bit.

In reality, these wounds were merely superficial to the Moon Spirit Butterfly, and the lost spiritual energy was negligible. As the fight progressed, it gradually metabolized the insect venom, its tentacles moving with growing agility. Shen Yi and Xi Ye began to struggle.

Fortunately, Shen Yi had a sharp instinct for danger, often dodging incoming tentacles just in time, while Xi Ye's natural flight speed was impressive—even if they couldn't gain the upper hand, they weren't just standing there taking hits.

The butcher knife was too short and limited in damage. Shen Yi focused his intent and transformed it into a triangular spike, with grooves between the edges designed for draining energy. The punctured wounds would leave holes, causing a continuous bleeding effect—perfect for draining the Moon Spirit Butterfly's spiritual energy.

After a few attempts with the triangular spike, Shen Yi found he could only pierce about one finger's length deep into the Moon Spirit Butterfly's body, as if hitting stone, but the wounds it created were far more destructive than those from a blade.

"EXP +5843"

"EXP +6926"

Having found a more suitable weapon, Shen Yi concentrated and summoned dozens of triangular spikes, circling the Moon Spirit Butterfly and waiting for opportunities to strike. Each successful hit nearly doubled the EXP gained.

Shen Yi felt like a sponge dropped into water—effortlessly soaking up EXP like an incoming tide.

"Congratulations, host. Level up! Current level: 23."

"Congratulations, host. Level up! Current level: 24."

In just twenty minutes, Shen Yi rapidly climbed to level 24, with EXP still accumulating, on the verge of breaking through to level 25.

Each level-up restored him to peak condition.

The wounds left by the triangular spikes continuously leaked spiritual energy as the Moon Spirit Butterfly moved. Though the amounts were small, they added up.

Finally sensing danger, the Moon Spirit Butterfly grew enraged.

From the dense suction cups on its six tentacles, finer red tentacles suddenly extended. As it swung them, nearby flying insects, even those dozens of centimeters away, were seized by an invisible force and sucked tightly onto the suction cups.

Shen Yi and Xi Ye were giving their 110% focus to the enemy when, just at that moment, a group of player bees recklessly rushed in to cause trouble.

"Ahhh, an elf! A real elf! A moving elf!"

"So beautiful, oh my god, can I touch it?"

Spotting the players charging toward him out of the corner of his eye, Xi Ye frowned and coldly snapped, "Looking to die?"

He dodged a sweeping tentacle and used a strand of Thousand-Thread Vine to fling the approaching players away.

The players were thrown back, saving their lives, each flapping their wings awkwardly to regain balance, still shouting excitedly with their voices trailing off in waves.

Player 1: "Ahhh, such a husky voice! Love it~~"

Player 2: "Voice lovers are blessed! My ears are having orgasms~~"

Player 3: "Is this an elf? Can we domesticate it? Ahhh~~"

...

Shen Yi wasn't surprised at all. He had anticipated this when he withdrew the spiritual energy covering Xi Ye. But to deal with the Moon Spirit Butterfly, he needed full concentration. His carefully hidden treasure was finally exposed.

Distractedly, he watched his friend bravely engage the enemy. They say focused men are the most attractive, but a focused elf is absolutely lethal.

That cold, exquisite face, intensified by a murderous aura, looked even more striking. Green Light Blades spun around him, his fluorescent wings leaving streaking trails of light during rapid flight, mysterious and elegant—the effect was incredible.

The players were screaming with excitement, while Shen Yi felt mixed feelings—both uncomfortable that his treasure was being coveted, and proud that its virtues were being recognized.

This was probably what experts called possessiveness toward friends, Shen Yi mused. He only had this one friend now, so it was natural to be a bit possessive.

As Shen Yi reflected, a new title appeared on Xi Ye's status screen—Queen Bee's Confidant.

The players recklessly pressed toward the center of the battle. Shen Yi watched, unfazed—after all, if they didn’t court death, were they even players? He’d charge too—it was an elf, after all.

Since players had Resurrection Puppets, Shen Yi wasn’t worried.

But unexpectedly, Xi Ye actually protected them.

Xi Ye wasn’t some kind-hearted elf; he did it for Shen Yi's sake. Shen Yi felt warm inside—the fierce elf had warmed his heart.

"Focus."

With Xi Ye's cool voice, a fine thread extended from the small crown on Shen Yi's head and tapped him lightly. Shen Yi immediately straightened up and said to Xi Ye, "Don’t mind them." "Them" referred to the players.

At the same time, he released Queen Bee pheromones, ordering the players to stay away from the battlefield.

Only when the players involuntarily retreated dozens of meters did they snap out of it.

Papa Orange: "Holy crap, what happened? Was I sleepwalking with my eyes open?"

Some players belatedly realized something.

"We're all worker bees—we can be controlled by the Queen Bee!"

Most players didn’t care, crowding within the closest distance Shen Yi had allowed, craning their necks to watch the battle, though more were staring intently at the elf. Every time a tentacle grazed the elf, they held their breath.

They waved their antennae, cheering for the elf, while the Queen Bee Majesty dodged flexibly among the tentacles alone, with no one applauding him.

At this moment, the hidden [Unfilial Son] title in some players' title slots was truly fitting.

Until one player asked, "If the Queen Bee gets injured or dies, will it affect us?"

If the Queen Bee could control them with a single thought, it meant they must have some kind of close connection with him.

Brother Pidan: "Shit, I have a bad feeling about this."

Wild Mushroom: "In the real world, if a bee colony loses its queen, the worker bees will raise a new one. But in this game, it's hard to say. After all, no real queen bee spends all her time wandering around outside and never returning to the hive."

Ting Yu: "Pah! Stop cursing our Emperor!"

As beautiful as the elves are, the Emperor is vital to them—he absolutely cannot kick the bucket.

"Go, Emperor!"

"Charge, Emperor! Beat the crap out of it!"

"The Emperor is the baddest, the coolest, the dopest!"

Shen Yi: "[Speechless...] That's really not necessary."

The world is never short of clever people. While some players were watching the battle, shouting and cheering excitedly, others were thoughtfully observing the attacks launched by the Emperor and the Spirit.

It turns out that spirit energy doesn't have to be released as a Spirit Bullet—it can also be condensed into blades, spears, or axes, and its shape can be changed at will.

While watching the fight, Qingshan tried to condense a Light Blade like the Spirit, focusing his mind and controlling the distribution of his spirit energy. It wasn’t actually that hard, and condensing a Light Blade consumed less spirit power than releasing a Spirit Bullet.

He quickly formed a green Light Blade about the length of a palm, then swiftly flew upward to get a better view and hurled the blade toward the Moon Spirit Butterfly in the combat zone.

The clumsy blade merely grazed the Moon Spirit Butterfly, leaving no mark.

Qingshan was slightly surprised. The Emperor and the Spirit’s attacks seemed effortless, easily giving the illusion that the Moon Spirit Butterfly was as fragile as jelly.

Only after trying it himself did he realize how high the Moon Spirit Butterfly’s attack and defense stats are. At their current level, they probably could only give it a light scratch—no wonder the Emperor told them to back off.

But he didn’t give up. He quickly condensed another Light Blade, this time aiming squarely at a wound on the Moon Spirit Butterfly inflicted by the Emperor and the Spirit.

"EXP +1386"

Qingshan froze for a moment, his heart racing. After reaching level 20, leveling up became increasingly difficult. It took over ten thousand EXP to reach the next level, and even more after that. The gains from Divine Water were becoming slimmer.

Unlike other games where you could just click an EXP pack for unlimited growth, they had to actually drink the Divine Water to gain EXP. Even if they could find enough, they could never drink it all fast enough.

But now, with just ten attacks like this, he could level up—how could he not be excited?

Qingshan released several more Light Blades in succession. After confirming that attacking the Moon Spirit Butterfly granted huge EXP, he shared the information with the team.

He wasn’t the only one who had noticed this, but every player who had, without exception, kept it to themselves, quietly hiding in inconspicuous corners to level up.

No matter how careful these players were, the sudden appearance of yellow and blue Light Blades amidst the sea of green stood out. Soon, even the players who had been immersed in cheering noticed something was off.

One impatient player spilled the beans that attacking the Moon Spirit Butterfly granted massive EXP.

The players who had been foolishly cheering and shouting were heartbroken, feeling as if they had missed out on a gold mine. They scrambled to take flight, afraid that even a second’s delay would cost them, and got their asses in gear.

In an instant, colorful Spirit Bullets, carried by fierce winds, surged toward the center of the battlefield. Xi Ye, who had been focused on the fight, tensed up. The Thousand Vine Threads at Shen Yi’s waist suddenly lengthened, and Xi Ye pulled him back more than ten meters.

Shen Yi narrowly avoided the barrage of Spirit Bullets. He watched as the attacks, though impressive-looking, barely landed on the Moon Spirit Butterfly, then glanced at the delighted players, he scowled.

These ungrateful brats—all they do is cause trouble.

The players’ attacks didn’t deal much damage, but they gave the Moon Spirit Butterfly a chance to catch its breath. As the number of wounds on its body increased, it dissipated large amounts of spirit energy with every move, its condition worsening. Meanwhile, those two damn bugs grew fiercer with each strike, and the Moon Spirit Butterfly began to think about retreating.

Seizing the moment when the two annoying insects had moved away, it quickly fled backward, intending to return to its territory.

"It’s trying to escape!" Shen Yi swiftly gave chase, not forgetting to teach these troublemakers a little lesson.

"Player attempted to attack the Emperor. Earned [Unfilial Child] title. Emperor’s Favorability -10."

"Player Notice: If the Emperor’s Favorability drops below 0, you will be kicked out of the hive."

This batch of [Unfilial Child] was different from the previous ones who had forcibly entered the restricted area. Their titles were bolded, highlighted, and forcibly displayed in front of their nicknames, literally shining brightly in the dim night.

They could be called [Unfilial Child] Plus—all the spotlight they could get.

Players: !!!

We're innocent! We were clearly attacking the Moon Spirit Butterfly!