Consecutive Kills

"Then I'll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Zhou."

Hearing this, Xu Zhong finally breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands.

Zhou Changwang returned the gesture. "You're too polite."

After arranging with Xu Zhong to go help exterminate the insects later, Zhou Changwang looked at Old Xu, who stood nearby with an eager expression, and teased him, "I don't remember you being such a warmhearted person, Old Xu.

Tell me, did you get some benefit from this?"

"Ah, Changwang, you've wronged me there..."

Old Xu hastily denied it.

"You brought him straight here and even went out of your way to speak for him. Would you have done that without taking anything?"

Zhou Changwang sneered.

"Well, I did take a little. Not much.

He promised that if the spirit insects were cleared out, he'd give me three Low-Grade Spirit Stones as a referral fee."

Old Xu gave an awkward laugh. Seeing that he could not hide it from Zhou Changwang, he simply came clean. Still, he earnestly explained, "Originally, he didn't want to come looking for you. I had to wear out my three-inch tongue before I managed to drag him here. Otherwise, would you have landed such a good job?

Besides, these three Low-Grade Spirit Stones aren't so easy for me to earn. You have to clear every last spirit insect from his Spirit Field first.

If you can't do it, I won't get a single bit of benefit either."

Zhou Changwang nodded in acknowledgment.

After all, his cultivation was there for all to see. Even though his Geng Metal Finger had reached Mastery, he was hardly the only spirit farmer to have cultivated the Geng Metal Finger to Mastery.

If Old Xu had not put in a few good words, Xu Zhong might not have come looking for him at all.

Of course, his lower fee was also one reason.

After all, hiring someone from the Spirit Plant Hall required at least thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and other skilled insect exterminators would certainly not charge much less. Hiring him only cost around ten, so Xu Zhong naturally knew which choice to make.

"So you have to make a name for yourself and clear the spirit insects from his Spirit Field as soon as possible.

By then, your reputation will probably spread, and more people will spend Spirit Stones to hire you to exterminate insects.

You could say everything I've done was for your sake."

Seeing Zhou Changwang nod, Old Xu relaxed, then shamelessly added.

"Then I thank you."

Zhou Changwang gave a snorting laugh, though he did not press the matter further.

"There are far more spirit insects in this Spirit Field than I imagined."

Standing on the ridge at the edge of Xu Zhong's Spirit Field, Zhou Changwang could not help saying.

Even without searching carefully, he had already spotted more than one spirit insect ravaging the Spirit Grain merely by standing at the perimeter.

At the center of the Spirit Field, a large patch of Spirit Grain had already withered yellow, clearly the hardest-hit area.

And this was only the first mu.

The remaining four mu had spirit insects distributed differently, but they would not be much better than this one.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be so worried."

Xu Zhong said with a bitter smile.

"Don't worry. With Changwang taking action, the spirit insects in your Spirit Field will definitely be cleared out soon enough."

Old Xu, standing slightly behind them, readily guaranteed.

Zhou Changwang shot him a sidelong glance. He was not so confident himself.

Still, he said nothing. Instead, he calmed his breath and focused his mind, directly beginning to condense a spell.

Since he had agreed to exterminate the insects, he naturally had to do the job well.

His first target was a Spirit Locust.

It was not far from the field ridge. Seemingly full from a hearty meal, it lay quietly on the branches and leaves of the Spirit Grain, resting.

Zhou Changwang controlled the spiritual power in his body, condensing the rune structure.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

After five breaths.

Geng Metal Finger +1

Pfft!

As a streak of golden light flashed past, the Spirit Locust's head turned to flying ash.

"So quickly, he dealt with one already?

And it was even a Spirit Locust, one of the most troublesome kinds?"

Behind him, Xu Zhong's mouth fell open, his face full of shock.

Naturally, he knew how difficult Spirit Locusts were to remove. The spirit plant master he had hired before had discovered five Spirit Locusts, yet only managed to take down two. The remaining three had leaped and flown away before the spells could even take shape.

But what about Zhou Changwang?

From the moment he spotted the Spirit Locust until his spell succeeded, the insect had not sensed a thing. It was directly killed by a finger strike.

He was both practiced and precise.

He seemed far more capable than the spirit plant master Xu Zhong had hired before.

A great weight immediately lifted from his heart.

Perhaps he really could help resolve this crisis?

"Changwang's Geng Metal Finger is becoming more and more formidable.

That Spirit Locust died before it even had time to damage the Spirit Grain."

Old Xu was equally moved.

The two of them had both been stunned by Zhou Changwang's insect extermination methods.

"The first."

Zhou Changwang remained unaffected. His gaze was sharp as lightning as he searched the surroundings, quickly discovering another one.

This time, it was an Azure-Armored Beetle.

It was even easier for him to handle an Azure-Armored Beetle.

From two zhang away, he killed it with a finger strike.

Then came Black Octagonal Beetles, Burrowing Cicadas, Spirit Locusts...

One spirit insect after another—once discovered by him, almost none could escape his carefully prepared finger strike.

The two behind him went from initial shock to gradual numbness.

Yet the excitement in their hearts did not diminish in the slightest.

"That makes ten."

Zhou Changwang once again placed an Azure-Armored Beetle's corpse into his cloth bag, then glanced at Xu Zhong.

As though he had long been prepared, Xu Zhong immediately took a Low-Grade Spirit Stone from his robes and handed it to Zhou Changwang. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, your insect extermination skills are truly admirable. This is the Spirit Stone we agreed upon earlier. Please accept it."

"You're too polite!"

Zhou Changwang did not refuse. After taking it and confirming that it weighed more than one hundred grams, he tucked it into his robes.

Then, without pausing, he continued his insect extermination work.

Before long, he entered the center of this mu of Spirit Field—the area where the grain leaves had already withered yellow, the worst spirit insect-infested zone.

"There really are more spirit insects here.

I can see four or five at a glance, and they aren't far apart."

Zhou Changwang's heart tightened, and he became even more cautious.

Spirit insects actually had territorial instincts.

Generally, within one or two zhang of one another, it was rare to see a second spirit insect.

Yet here, four or five spirit insects were entrenched within a single zhang of one another. It was strange, but it also gave him a headache.

Because once he attacked, he would inevitably alert the other spirit insects, allowing them to escape.

So he adjusted his position and retreated another two zhang before attacking once more.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

After five breaths.

The spell took shape.

Sssht!

A Burrowing Cicada's body stiffened, and it fell from the Spirit Grain.

Zhou Changwang immediately turned his gaze toward the other spirit insects.

Good!

He had not alerted the other spirit insects.

Zhou Changwang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Without bothering to pick up the spirit insect's corpse, he adjusted his position again, standing two zhang away before casting another spell.

Once, twice, three times...

He followed the same pattern.

Five spirit insects were broken one by one, each killed in turn.