Super Gene

"That is a copper fruit; they tend to grow in the tangled depths of Thorn Forest. Where did you get this from?" Yu Yan looked surprised.

"I collected them from a vine that was growing in the Jade-Scale River," Han Sen said.

"You are incredibly fortunate. The seeds must have been carried along the stream somehow, and grew along the banks of that river," Yu Yan hypothesized.

"Would you accept this in exchange for your wind beast?" Han Sen asked again.

"Yes, that sounds like a fair deal. Had I tamed it, its sale would go for more than one single copper fruit. Alas, I failed, so one will do. It is a fair exchange, I would say. Go on, take what remains of the beast." Yu Yan accepted the copper fruit and allowed Han Sen to take the beast away.

Han Sen removed the coins that were weighing down the beast. Due to the injuries it had received, it couldn’t move or attack with or without them. With Golden Growler carrying the wolf, Han Sen returned home for the day.

Han Sen wanted to see if he could tame the beast. If it had indeed come from Thorn Forest, it had to be knowledgeable about the area. A companion such as that would be invaluable when the time came for him to enter that place.

If Han Sen could tame it successfully, entering Thorn Forest would be a far safer trek. If he failed to tame it, progress would be slow.

Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming returned home before Han Sen. They saw a couple of bowls laid out, filled with meat.

"Looks like San Mu saved it for us. Oh well, I suppose we should eat it." Chu Ming heated the contents of the bowls up for them to eat.

"Our basic geno points are full, though. ’Tis a waste to eat it; don’t you think we should save it for San Mu?" Qu Lanxi said.

"It’s just meat. We’ll give him other meat, next time we cook." Chu Ming tucked into the meal as soon as he said this.

The Coin Toad was ugly, but after being skinned and prepared properly, its flesh was soft and succulent. It was better than the average toad or frog.

After downing a mouthful, Chu Ming stopped still and said, "What the hell?"

"What’s wrong with that meat? Is it raw?" Qu Lanxi asked, in confusion.

"This... this... this is ordinary flesh... I just had a bite and lo and behold, my ordinary geno points increased!" Chu Ming was so shocked that he struggled to get his words out.

"No way. Are you certain?" Qu Lanxi could not believe it, and she believed he was pranking her. But when she tried it, she too froze.

"See? This is ordinary flesh! By the sanctuaries, San Mu killed an ordinary creature! How is such a thing possible?" Chu Ming ate more and more of the meal, and his ordinary geno points went up in tandem.

He finished the stew, and just like Han Sen, his point total went up by three.

Qu Lanxi looked confused, struggling to comprehend how Han Sen had managed to kill an ordinary creature.

"We have to ask him where this Coin Toad came from. Perhaps we can slay a few more!" Chu Ming said, with much excitement.

They waited for Han Sen’s return, and before long, he came strolling through the yard atop Meowth. Golden Growler was by his side, carrying the severely wounded wind beast.

"San Mu! Where did you get the... Holy shura! Is that a wind beast?!" Before Chu Ming could finish his sentence, he saw the ravaged body of the wolf and was delivered another shock.

"Wind beast!" Qu Lanxi said, in fright. She looked at Golden Growler, which was carrying the beast.

When Yu Yan managed to capture the wind beast, he made sure to show it off and let everyone know it had opened four of its gene locks. It was a creature that everyone knew about.

But since then, no one had seen it. Everyone eventually came to the correct conclusion that he had not been successful in taming the beast, else he would have been showing that off, as well.

"San Mu, where did you get this from? And where in the sanctuaries did you kill that Coin Toad?" Chu Ming had a lot to ask.

"Didn’t I tell you? I killed that toad along the banks of the river. And as for this wind beast, I received it from Yu Yan after trading it for a copper fruit I managed to obtain." Han Sen disembarked Meowth and brought the wind beast further into the yard.

The wind wolf was dying, and it could hardly whimper. Still, it looked at Han Sen with eyes of contempt. Even in its bloody, charred state, it looked like a beast that shouldn’t be trifled with.

"Wait, what copper fruit? And furthermore, how did you slay an ordinary toad?" Chu Ming’s confusion was only getting worse.

"I came across an injured Coin Toad by happenstance. It had a strange vine near it, which had three fruit growing on it." Han Sen told them his tale. He mostly told them the truth, save for the Coin Toad’s injury.

"You are incredibly fortunate! But dumb, too. Why would you trade two copper fruits for a seed and a wind beast? Copper fruits come in handy, when it comes to evolving creatures. They are far more valuable than seeds. The wind beast was a great get, but it is a waste if you are unable to tame it. You could buy two whole creatures worth of meat for one single copper fruit." Chu Ming looked at Han Sen as if he had squandered a lottery winning.

"Well, I’m going to see if I can tame this thing." Han Sen smiled.

"Impossible. We are humans; we can’t tame things. How are you going to tame it, when the knight spirit failed?" Chu Ming shook his head disapprovingly.

"Nothing is impossible, but that attitude can certainly make tall tasks seem so." Han Sen smiled again.

Han Sen had managed to tame many creatures in the Second God’s Sanctuary, and he didn’t think getting their allegiance was a difficult task.

Qu Lanxi only listened to their conversation. She believed San Mu was someone quite special, and the things that he did shocked her a lot.

Killing the Coin Toad and obtaining copper fruit didn’t seem to be something he had happened to stumble upon through luck alone.

And for that Dragon-Blood Tree to come back to life following his arrival, that would be far too much of a coincidence.

She looked at San Mu with a complicated expression, but she did not say anything.

They hadn’t been together for long, but she did not think Han Sen was a bad person. His achievements came as quite a surprise, though.

"Is there a person named Han in the alliance?" Qu Lanxi frowned.