19: fear

The 40% loss rate of Soul Fragments was enough to make Ye Chen's heart ache.

If those negative energies could all be integrated into the soul, they would be enough to create at least eighteen thousand talented souls.

But the cost was the consumption of thirty thousand Worms…

Ye Chen's heart twitched continuously.

He only had a little over thirty thousand Worms in his possession, how could he bear such a consumption?

Not to mention the “champions” that had already been selected, even ordinary Worms couldn't be squandered like this.

Ye Chen was full of internal conflict, but in the end, he threw the problem to the Abyss Will.

The Abyss Will did not disappoint and quickly provided a solution—the Soul Mill.

This Mill could fuse souls of different races or add attribute materials to a soul, thereby bestowing talent upon it.

After spending five thousand Abyss Power, a phantom Mill immediately appeared next to the Soul Mill.

He casually grabbed a Worm and threw it into the Mill, then extracted a wisp of evil energy and put it in.

A flash of light, and from the Worm's physical body, a complete soul slowly detached from the shell, suspended in the air, gradually merging with the evil energy.

The two became one and re-entered the physical body.

In an instant, a completely different aura emanated from the Worm.

Ye Chen looked at the evil Worm whose aura had greatly changed and nodded with satisfaction.

He then instructed the Abyss Will to continue the operation, prioritizing the addition of talents to the strongest Worms.

After setting up the automated program, the Abyss Will summoned the first batch of exceptionally strong Worms.

Just as Ye Chen was about to leave, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a black Worm.

This black Worm was eight meters long, stout in body, and had reached Elite Eight-star in strength, with two faint Green eyes revealing a lively spirit.

When it was drawn into the Soul Mill by the Abyss Will, unaware of the situation, it struggled and roared desperately, emitting a strong aura of fear.

This aura spread like a tide, and when the surrounding Worms felt it, they all showed fear, twisting their bodies, wanting to escape.

Some with weaker endurance directly prostrated themselves on the ground in submission, completely powerless to resist, even the Nine-star Worms were no exception.

Seeing this, Ye Chen was startled and quickly told the Abyss Will to put the black Worm down.

This was a self-awakened “aberrant”; such a naturally gifted prodigy did not need too much interference, letting it develop on its own was enough.

If its soul were to be modified, making it ordinary, that would be a case of good intentions leading to bad results.

Ye Chen observed this “genius” Worm with great interest, full of curiosity about its awakening process.

Was this Worm awakened innately, or by a fortuitous chance later in life? Could its awakening experience be replicated?

“Abyss Will, bring up this Worm's growth history.”

Ye Chen commanded.

A light screen unfolded before his eyes, continuously flashing images like a movie.

In the images, a small black Worm, freshly born in the Abyss, came into view.

This little Worm was different from birth; while other Worms were fighting bloody battles on the battlefield, it lingered at the edge of the battlefield.

Newborn Worms were incredibly fragile, yet it had an instinctive craving for the power of fear.

It began to frantically devour the fear aura floating in the air; with each bit it devoured, its body grew a bit, and its strength increased accordingly.

The peaceful days did not last long; an earth-shattering rumble broke its comfortable life.

Gluttony roared like a “great transport” and crashed into their battlefield.

The little Worm watched the frantically approaching Gluttony, and alarm bells rang in its heart.

Without much thought, the little Worm quickly left the battlefield and fled in one direction.

However, compared to the powerful Gluttony, its speed was too slow, and it was too late to escape.

Without delay, the little Worm quickly burrowed into the ground, drilling down with all its might.

Only when Gluttony had devoured all the other Worms and was approaching its direction did the little Worm stop, curling into a ball, trying to reduce its presence.

Gluttony merely glanced at it casually and then left directly.

But it was that one glance that made the little Worm feel as if it had fallen into an ice cellar, filled with fear.

“It found me!”

“Am I going to die?”

It thought it was doomed, and boundless fear instantly engulfed it.

It smelled a familiar scent on itself, and it was at this moment that it finally understood what kind of power it had been absorbing.

Its body trembled uncontrollably, and despair and powerlessness surged through its heart like a tide.

In that brief instant, the little Worm's heart seemed to undergo a transformation.

“I want to become stronger!

I want to be stronger than everyone else!

I want to make all living things in the world feel fear!”

It cried out in its heart.

Meanwhile, Gluttony, oblivious to this, twisted its body and swam towards another battlefield.

It was fortunate that the fly larvae on its body had not matured, so they could not forage for it.

Otherwise, with the flies' extremely high speed and their characteristic of leaving no blade of grass untouched, whether the little Worm could have escaped would have been an unknown.

Feeling the oppressive sensation gradually recede, the little Worm's taut nerves finally relaxed.

After a long time, it cautiously crawled out from underground.

Looking at the deep gully left by Gluttony on the ground, the little Worm dared not linger and quickly fled in another direction.

In the days that followed, the little Worm absorbed more and more fear aura, and its strength grew increasingly powerful.

By skillfully utilizing the power of fear, it was invincible on various battlefields.

It had once stood out in fierce competition and become a champion.

It had also personally killed other champions, its reputation spreading far and wide.

Until one day, it detected a familiar aura on other Worms.

That was the fear aura carried by the first batch of talented Worms enhanced by Ye Chen.

Anger immediately ignited in the little Worm's heart; in its opinion, this power belonged only to itself, and others were simply not qualified to possess it!

Watching these Worms enter the gladiatorial arena, the little Worm followed without hesitation.

It wanted to prove that only it was worthy of this power.

Unfortunately, the Abyss Will strictly carried out Ye Chen's instructions, arranging blood battles for these talented Worms against equally matched opponents.

The little Worm's plan to “kill rebels and assert orthodoxy” failed repeatedly.

After fighting dozens of matches in the gladiatorial arena but never encountering a “traitor” carrying the fear aura, the little Worm's heart grew increasingly anxious.

After cruelly slaughtering its opponent, it exited the gladiatorial arena.

Just then, a Worm carrying the fear aura “flew” towards the gladiatorial arena's gate.

This Worm had previously been killed by other Worms and, after being resurrected, was sent back by the Abyss Will to continue fighting.

The little Worm's eyes lit up; like a black spring, its body shot up, and its ferocious mouthparts bit fiercely into the Worm's head.

With a “crack,” this newly born Worm immediately lost its breath.

At the same time, the fear aura, which had originally been integrated with the soul, somehow detached itself and, like birds returning to their nest, quickly merged into the little Worm's body.

The little Worm was overjoyed and immediately decided to guard the gate, waiting for other Worms carrying the fear aura to arrive.