Chapter 23: The Chrysalis of the Scythe Owl

Lu Ming maintained his nonchalant facade for a few minutes before a look of genuine heartache crossed his face.

That was a straight blade and 20 specialized crystals gone. Adding the water heater he had stripped and tossed into his spatial bag, along with the sublimation costs for a six-piece set of clothing, the total came to 29 crystals. His inventory now sat at 685, pushing the goal of upgrading to a Junior Warrior even further out of reach.

Did he regret it? Not really. He, too, had been pulled back from the brink of despair by the old man once; without that, he wouldn't be who he was today. Now that he had performed the same act of kindness, the old man would surely be pleased if he were watching from beyond. As for杨雪's (Yang Xue's) future, that would depend on her own choices and the will of fate.

With this thought, Lu Ming pulled his rusted curved machete from his spatial bag. He had given away his tool of the trade and needed to replace it immediately.

"Ultimate Sublimation."
[Prompt: Please select the sublimation tier.]
"Tier Two."
[Prompt: Sublimating "Curved Machete" requires 20 specialized crystals.]
[Confirm] [Cancel]
"Confirm."
[Please select the sublimation path.]
"Steel Straight Blade," "Wide-Bladed Heavy Sword," "Steel Monk's Spade."

The options remained the same, but the designs had undergone significant changes. The Steel Straight Blade looked more slender, aesthetically pleasing, and sharper than a traditional straight blade. Unfortunately, he had already determined his own compatibility; a straight blade no longer suited him. The Steel Monk's Spade was a polearm, but not like Guan Yu's crescent blade; it was a specialized weapon with a handle and blade of equal length. It looked unique, but it didn't appeal to Lu Ming.

The Wide-Bladed Heavy Sword—now that was a beauty. It was also a polearm, but the blade was wider and longer. At a glance, it bore a striking resemblance to the Executioner's Blade wielded by Zabuza Momochi in *Naruto*, the only difference being the lack of the circular notch on the spine. All in all, this was exactly what he was looking for. Plus, Tier Two sublimated weapons came with a scabbard—a definite plus.

"Select Wide-Bladed Heavy Sword."

With a sound like sawing and cutting, the curved machete was disassembled and reconstructed. In an instant, a heavy blade—30cm in handle length and 150cm in blade length—landed in Lu Ming's hand with a thud! Feeling its solid heft, he estimated it weighed at least 40 kilograms. This weight was exactly what he desired in a weapon.

"Identify!"
[Wide-Bladed Heavy Sword] (Steel Grade)
Category: Weapon
Description: 32cm handle, 155cm blade, 15cm width, weighs 85kg. Forged entirely from steel using traditional craftsmanship combined with advanced Jialan technology. Its sheer weight alone delivers massive attack power, making it extremely suitable for strength-based warriors.
Durability: 1500/1500

The stats were invincible! High durability, immense power—out with the old, in with the new was truly a universal truth. The scabbard was not a traditional enclosed type, but a more ergonomic, semi-embedded sleeve. When not in use, it could be carried on his back, and by pressing a trigger on the mounting port, the heavy sword would pop out, preventing the awkwardness of being unable to draw the blade in the heat of battle.

However, thinking about it, with the convenience of his spatial bag, the scabbard was largely redundant. Carrying it on his back was unnecessary; it was better to keep it in his space, retrieving it only when needed, which wouldn't hinder his movement at all.

He glanced at the time on the World Channel: 12:35 PM. Nearly five hours had passed since the Great Shift. If the onset of night at 6:00 PM was the cutoff, he had five and a half hours left for free activity.

"Let's keep searching."

Food and water weren't issues; what he wanted were weapons and supply crates containing skill books. With that in mind, Lu Ming took a different path, activating his Eye of Truth while scouting his surroundings as he jogged. He would enter shops that had weapons and check spots with water or specific food supplies, but as for supply crates, he hadn't seen another one.

An hour passed. As Lu Ming delved deep into an alleyway, a small-to-medium factory came into view. The Eye of Truth projected the familiar text, but this time, the label was purple instead of blue.

"Level 3 Supply Crate."

Exactly, one level higher. It was located on the third floor of the factory, right on the center of the ceiling. But as Lu Ming stepped closer, the entire factory suddenly became densely packed with thousands of "Scythe-Owl Larvae" labels! Furthermore, near the Level 3 supply crate, five labels he was seeing for the first time glowed with a intense red light: "Scythe-Owl Pupa."

"Pupa..." He locked onto the label and performed a solo identification.

[Scythe-Owl Pupa] (E-Grade Weakened)
Category: Insect Pupa
Description: The pupal form of an E-grade elite variant, the Scythe-Owl. Formed after the larvae consume a large amount of fresh prey. Once the pupation process is complete, it will evolve into an E-grade elite "Scythe-Owl."
Current Status: Possesses no skills or aggression; the body is extremely fragile. However, the "Swarm Leader" aura will attract all nearby larvae. In large numbers, it can gather around 500, with a minimum of 200. The gathered larvae enter an unconditional "Roused" state, surrounding the pupa in all directions, while their internal concentrated acid production spikes drastically, facilitating all-encompassing, flawless defensive counterattacks.
Trait: Emits Swarm Leader aura.
Weakness: Death upon grievous injury.
Pupation Progress: 15%/100%

Five hundred at most, two hundred at least. And throughout this entire factory, from the first to the third floor, there were nearly two thousand of them. Was a single Level 3 supply crate worth the insanity of being guarded by thousands of larvae?!

Lu Ming was left speechless. He was confident in his own strength and his weapon was certainly not bad. But without the benefit of combat skills or extensive experience, how was he supposed to storm a gathering of two thousand "Roused" larvae?

Yet, turning around and leaving felt unfulfilling. He at least had to take a look. Gritting his teeth, Lu Ming drew his Wide-Bladed Heavy Sword and, hugging the wall of the factory courtyard, crept toward the main gate.

Peering through a gap in the gate, Lu Ming saw that a Scythe-Owl larva was right on the other side! Its hideous mouthparts were only a sliver away; if not for his quick reflex to pull back, he likely would have been detected.

Damn it, there was no way to break through head-on. The courtyard alone held hundreds. If he opened the gate, he’d be facing hundreds of concentrated acid sprays with a range of 80 meters before he could even swing his sword. Based on the gravity of Chen Hai's earlier tests, even an elite soldier wouldn't be able to withstand that level of corrosion.

Silently sheathing his heavy sword and retreating from the factory, Lu Ming sighed at the sky. It seemed he needed another plan.

Just then, looking up, he saw the employee dormitory standing opposite the factory. A thought struck him: how useful would a long-range weapon be? Like a sniper rifle, combined with the Eye of Truth's weakness detection, set up on the dormitory roof—he could pick them off one by one.

Regrettably, he was still in the cold-weapon stage, several levels away from firearms.

Wait. Cold weapons? Long range... bows! He could make a bow!