Super Gene

Unfortunately for Han Sen, it was a common occurrence that what he was most afraid of was exactly what he’d end up suffering. Han Sen began climbing the mountain, and his greatest fear was realized; Wang Yuhang was also there, killing monsters.

When Wang Yuhang saw Han Sen, he was delightfully surprised. He finished off the creature he was engaged in combat with and enthusiastically ran towards Han Sen. He asked aloud, "Brother Han, have you come looking for me?"

"Yeah, sure." Han Sen didn’t really know how to respond, thinking of how unlucky – and how unlikely – he was to meet Wang Yuhang here, of all places.

"Brother Han, have you heard of what’s afoot in the Alliance? It’s major, from what I hear." Wang Yuhang’s voice had dropped low, as if he was whispering a secret.

"What big thing, Little Uncle?" Han Sen was never really concerned when it came to events in the Alliance, but he asked anyway.

"Only a few of the high-class Alliance members know about this, right now. It’s currently on the down-low, but I fear it’s only a matter of time before it gets announced." Wang Yuhang paused for a bit, inched closer to Han Sen’s ear, and said, "Someone has managed to slay that creature in the First Shelter."

"What creature?" Han Sen’s body shook.

"That creature that is above the class of a sacred-blood creature. It turns out, they’re actually called ’super creatures’ and it has shaken the high-class members of the Alliance to the very bone!" Wang Yuhang spoke aloud, with envy.

After Han Sen heard what he had to say, he felt some relief. Since there were more and more elites in the First Shelter, it was only a matter of time before they could kill super creatures. The existence of super creatures becoming well-known by humans would be a relief for Han Sen.

"Who killed the super creature and how?" Han Sen asked Wang Yuhang.

"It was a woman called Ji Qing from the Ji family. In a way, you are her brother-in-law, but she is not a daughter of Ji Ruozhen. She is only a cousin to your family, but she is far more talented than Ji Ruozhen’s daughter. She has already been titled the first genius of the Alliance and a star of hope for the future." Wang Yuhang trailed off for a second with a smile. Then, he shook his head and continued by saying, "But they didn’t manage to kill a super creature merely because Ji Ruozhen was so strong, but members of the Wang, Lin, and Xue families helped out, as well. They also hired many elites; three hundred, as a matter of fact! They were elites who have not yet evolved but have maxed out their genes. They aided in injuring the super creature for her, and many people are reported to have died."

"It is a shame such a feat is even more difficult to achieve in the Second Shelter. The Second Shelter excludes surpassers, so once we hit that level, we have to immediately leave this place. Otherwise, our bodies will be dealt irreversible damage. It’s a shame none of these events take place in the Second Shelter, I know I’d join in, if such a thing were to happen!" Wang Yuhang sighed and said.

Han Sen looked confused and asked, "All those people gave their best to kill that super creature and many people gave their lives. Were there any goodies? Why does that Ji Qing hog all the glory?"

"She was the one who found an injured super creature and she was the one who dealt the final blow. The others were just hired help – sellswords and the like – who were paid beforehand. They got what they were promised." After saying this, Wang Yuhang lowered his voice to tell Han Sen, "Plus, Ji Ruozhen basically confirmed he is going to be the leader of the Alliance. No one will offend the Ji family over the killing of a super creature. And if they can kill one once, they’re sure to be able to do it again. With our association to the Ji family, where we help her and she helps us, fighting over such a kill would be pointless."

Han Sen nodded. He knew it was difficult to kickstart anything in this world. After killing the first, it was incredibly likely more and more would start to die. It was only a matter of time before someone maxed out all their super geno points. As time went on, the snowball effect was inevitable.

"Did Ji Qing get a super beast soul?" Han Sen asked.

"Yes, an armor variant. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t be called the star of hope for the future of the Alliance. With that sort of armor, the First Shelter will become Ji Qing’s stomping ground." Wang Yuhang then looked into Han Sen’s eyes and continued by saying, "Oh, yeah. Anyway, let’s get back to business. Why have you come searching for me?"

"I’m going into the mountains to hunt a berserk sacred-blood creature. If you aren’t busy, you can tag along." This was the only thing Han Sen could say, really.

"Brilliant! Slaying berserk sacred-blood creatures is my favorite pastime!" Wang Yuhang was giddy like a child and looked genuinely ecstatic to be able to come.

They both followed the ridge of the mountain. Han Sen ascended the place carefully, in fear of any threats that may have been lurking beneath the snow he treaded upon. He did so because he hadn’t forgotten about the super creature turtles he had once spotted, when they emerged from a small cave for a feast of red mushrooms. If they were still around, and he somehow alerted them, Han Sen didn’t think he’d be able to take on nine super creatures all at once.

Before long, Han Sen safely arrived at the last place he had seen the Red-Scale Dragon. Surprisingly, it had been a journey free from any trouble.

The Red-Scale Dragon had not vacated the area, and he spotted it resting in the valley.

The Red-Scale Dragon looked slightly different than the first time he saw it. Its red scales were already crystallized. When watching it from afar, it looked like a giant statue encrusted with rubies. It was beautiful.

"That is one big chap." Wang Yuhang saw the Red-Scale Dragon too and took a deep breath.

Han Sen laughed. He looked at Wang Yuhang and told him, "Little Uncle, I’m afraid I am going to have to request your assistance once more. If you would be so kind, I would like you to attract the fiend while I kill it. As payment, I’ll let you keep half of its flesh."

"Accepted!" Wang Yuhang nodded, summoned a beast soul, and ran screaming towards the red dragon.

He didn’t run too far, however. He stopped a good distance from it, scrambled for some rocks beneath the snow, and lobbed them at the creature. The Red-Scale Dragon saw its harasser and quickly took off after him, seething with rage.

Wang Yuhang led the Red-Scale Dragon up and down the slopes of the mountain. Han Sen summoned his peacock crossbow and loaded up his seven remaining bolts.

The Red-Scale Dragon was most certainly in berserk mode and a result, its scales were currently much tougher than the scales of an average sacred-blood creature. If he used the raven bolts to pierce the scales, Han Sen feared they wouldn’t do much damage to the creature. It was of a monstrous size, after all.

So, Han Sen prepared to repeat the tactic that had allowed him to bring down the T-rex. He took aim at the red dragon’s eye. Since the red dragon was not a super creature, unlike his previous foe, Han Sen believed firing his crossbow at its eye was sure to have peg a bolt directly through its brain.

Finding a sound location on the mountain’s peak to take his shot, Han Sen waited for Wang Yuhang to draw the red dragon a little closer before he attacked.

As the red dragon was led in a circle around the peak, Wang Yuhang reappeared yelling.

"Run!" Wang Yuhang was screaming, flailing his arms like a madman towards Han Sen as he ran. Something was most certainly wrong.

Han Sen’s heart began to race as he pondered what might have gone awry. He thought to himself, "What’s happening? Surely nothing terrible has happened once again, has it?"