Chapter 1365: No Fluctuations in Power
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhu Donglai regretted giving up on taking Han Sen as a disciple before. He had found someone else to practice the Purple Manor Sutra with, following Han Sen's injury in the Third God's Sanctuary. He hadn't expected that a person whose body was believed to be destroyed, even by the likes of Luo Haitang, could recover and go on to achieve such greatness.
Now that Han Sen had become a demi-god so swiftly, Zhu Donglai was feeling profound remorse. He wished he had listened to his gut instinct and not given up on Han Sen so quickly.
Because Han Sen had already become a demi-god now, there was no real opportunity for him to take the young man as a student. And it wasn't as if the student he currently had was a poor performer.
"A demi-god who has maxed out their super genes won't be much stronger from the get-go. Success in the Fourth God's Sanctuary is, more than anything, reliant on the geno cores you collect. This will be no different for him," Jia Shidao spoke to no one in particular, addressing his peers as if he was a teacher.
Green smiled and responded, "Han Sen must be much stronger than we were. I am interested to see what powers his geno cores possess."
"It will be difficult to tell, indeed. And I don't think Han Sen practiced the technique of the Luo family, either," Zhu Donglai said.
The woman did not say a word or interest herself in the conversation. With silent eagerness, she watched the video feed intently, awaiting what she could learn. And as she did, the others occasionally glanced her way, seeing if she had any input to provide. She acknowledged this, but it did not prompt anything.
Han Sen entered the testing chamber. There was a large pool before him, holding a liquid of an unknown substance.
Old Man Ji had already told him what to expect. It most certainly wasn't water; it wasn't even liquid. It was a swarm of nanomachines, and if he used his talents on them, they could calculate and more accurately gauge the power he possessed.
Tests like this were far more accurate than what he was used to, and in a real battle, you usually punched below the fitness level you might be given. By fighting these nanomachines, you could learn about your own strength in much greater detail.
When Han Sen entered the pool, he felt strange. It really did feel like water, but it wasn't wet.
The nanomachines were all around him, lapping like gentle waves against him, brushing against every pore across his skin. It was a strange sensation. Suddenly, the nanomachines began to tighten around him. He felt as if he was under pressure.
Han Sen knew now was the time to begin the test, so, with his power, he began fighting back against the pressure that wanted to squeeze him.
Everyone watched Han Sen and the feedback of numbers that were relayed on-screen, reflecting the power he possessed. No one wished to speak now, and even Green kept his mouth closed and his eyes fixed to the video.
Han Sen was the very first demi-god to max out their genes before entering the Fourth God's Sanctuary, so they were incredibly keen to learn if this had benefitted him a lot.
"Five thousand! That's very powerful. He really must have maxed out, to reach this figure so soon." Zhu Donglai was ecstatic.
Five thousand was the bare minimum required for a person to join the Demi-God Association. Very few demi-gods were capable of doing what Han Sen had just displayed.
Demi-gods that had only maxed out their sacred-blood geno points before ascending started at a fitness level that was far below five thousand. They'd have to spend much time hunting to reach this.
Doing so required maxing out their ordinary geno points, at least, and that was no small feat when a person started with such a low fitness. There was every chance the smallest ordinary creature could kill them.
Surviving entry to the Fourth God's Sanctuary and returning to tell the tale, that was attributed more to luck than it was to skill. Old Man Ji had spawned in a geno fruit forest. There, he was able to immediately scoff them down and max out his geno points relatively quickly.
Han Sen's first display had shown them a figure of five thousand, but they were keen to see if he could unleash even more power. But what they saw next was so spectacular, the muscles on each of their faces went slack, allowing their jaws to hang agape.
The five thousand did not change, and on the graph that was like an electrocardiogram that tracked the output of power, it flatlined.
"What? That is... scary. How can he perfectly control such power?" Green said.
Green was amazed at Han Sen's ability to dictate the power output. It was like he had dialed himself to deliver a power of five thousand and leave it like that, without the slightest wavering.
Zhu Donglai said, "This is excellent. This is control beyond what anyone else has accomplished. Might this have something to do with his geno core?"
Jia Shidao frowned and said, "Young people love to show off as soon as they've received a slight modicum of power. This is nothing more than a fancy trick."
He believed Han Sen was showing off, but the truth was, Han Sen was afraid of frightening them all with a true display of his power. It'd be too much of a shock for them if he was to instantly double his output and show them a power of ten thousand.
Furthermore, he didn't want to expose what he was capable of, and he preferred having targets who underestimated him. He didn't want any potential enemies to know what to expect if they ever fought him. He did this so the others would acknowledge he wasn't weak, but also to hide his true ability. Unfortunately, he didn't know this was upsetting Jia Shidao.
"I'll do the combat test," Jia Shidao said.
The others weren't going to stop him, and so they just nodded.
They knew why he did not like Han Sen, and that was because the Iron-Fist Martial Hall had always been in competition with the Huangfu Martial Hall.
Han Sen had chosen to co-operate with the Huangfu family and not him, which felt like a slight. Ever since, he had nothing nice to say when others spoke of Han Sen. Everyone thought Han Sen made a good choice, though, much to Jia Shidao's irritation.
The missed opportunity of training someone who went on to become a great hero had plagued his mind ever since.
Chapter 1366: Prettiest Woman in the World
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The association existed primarily due to the need for detailed analysis and dissection of topics regarding the Fourth God's Sanctuary.
If you didn't have the power to back-up information you could provide, in general, it would not even matter if you were a demi-god. Talk was cheap, after all.
That was why these tests existed, and the threshold for passing and becoming a member of the elite demi-god association was proving you had a power of at least five thousand fitness.
The combat test was to provide a new demi-god a chance to prove their worth and display the extent of what was possible for them. The older members could come to understand and learn more about the new members so they could teach, guide, and inform them.
Anyone who was worthy of joining the Demi-God Association was thought of as stalwart. They held a high level of respect for one another, for reaching that point was not a common feat. They all sought to help each other, and they would teach as they would like themselves to be taught.
It was like a collective of millionaires, except they would always dip into each others' pockets, and that was fine. If someone was poor and could not cover the cost of another's dipping, no one would allow him to take from the pockets of others, either.
The combat test was an effective way of gauging the latest opponents, and while it didn't offer any immediate, tangible rewards, it paid dividends down the road.
Han Sen wasn't here to show off, but he did not want others to think he was weak, either. He didn't want to embarrass Old Man Ji, most of all; he had, after all, personally invited Han Sen there in the firm belief he would be a valued member of the association.
"Good job." Old Man Ji arrived near Han Sen and patted his shoulders.
The way Han Sen showed the demi-gods his ability by perfectly hitting five thousand had brought a shock to many of the demi-gods.
Old Man Ji thought Han Sen had handled the first test well, too, and it had left plenty of room for others to guess what his true strength could amount to.
"I hope I didn't embarrass you," Han Sen said.
"Embarrass me? You made me proud! Come; allow me to introduce you to the OGs amongst us. You're also going to have to battle one of them, and if you perform well enough, you can consider yourself a fully-fledged member of the association!" Old Man Ji laughed.
Han Sen was brought to a large Martial Hall, and there, Old Man Ji introduced him to his associates.
Han Sen had heard of Green, Zhu Donglai, and Jia Shidao before. The woman amongst them was the only one Han Sen was unfamiliar with. When Old Man Ji introduced Han Sen to them all, he did not introduce him to the woman. She was almost like a ghost in the room.
The woman was very quiet, and Han Sen thought she might have been a silenced secretary. But she seemed to brim with untold secrets and an air of mystique. There was definitely something about that woman he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Old Man Ji said there were four other founding members, but he thought it was extra strange to see him gloss over the woman and not introduce her to him or him to her.
She looked young, but you could immediately tell she was strong. Han Sen would rather fight all the other demi-gods at once than go up against her.
Her being special was the only explanation for Han Sen to feel this way.
That being said, the woman did not look special, but one thing was for sure; her face was incredibly pretty. Not even spirits could carry the beauty she so softly cradled.
The woman wasn't just pretty in appearance, either. Her beauty transcended her physical form, painting the air around her with a gorgeous glow. She carried an aura of unfathomable elegance.
Han Sen had seen many beautiful women in his lifetime, but this woman was greater than them all. He immediately recognized her to be, in his eyes and perhaps the eyes of all others, the prettiest woman he had ever seen.
Han Sen was then hit with a strange sensation, and he recalled someone recounting to him a feeling that was exactly what he himself was now experiencing.
After searching the dusty filing cabinets of his mind, he remembered. When Uncle Bug spoke to Han Sen about the self-proclaimed god and the wishes it could grant, he said there was a beautiful woman amongst them that did not make a wish.
There were only two who had not made a wish, so, provided she was this woman, Han Sen made sure to now pay extra close attention to her.
"Gah, that's silly," Han Sen admitted after wondering a while longer. He thought he had made quite a stretch to connect them, and any semblance was most likely just a coincidence.
Zhu Donglai informed Han Sen that Jia Shidao would be the one competing against him.
Right before Han Sen went forward to proceed with the battle, Old Man Ji slinked up beside him to whisper something in Han Sen's ear. He said, "In the Third God's Sanctuary, when we had to decide on partners, we chose Huangfu over Iron-Fist. I am afraid he will seek to hurt you. You must exercise great caution. If things turn awry, just concede. There can be no harm in that."
"I will be careful," Han Sen said, for his reply.
Han Sen already knew this due to him having a good relationship with Huangfu Pingqing and Huangfu Jing; the latter of the two was more widely known as Queen. Their Martial Hall was also the greatest in the Alliance.
But life was like that, and sometimes you had to make choices that would hurt others. Still, Han Sen wasn't afraid, and he wasn't going to allow Jia Shidao to bully and make a mockery out of him, no matter what he tried.
Han Sen entered the Martial Hall where Jia Shidao was already waiting.
Han Sen needed to stay alive in the fight for ten minutes, and usually, the senior member would go easy on the new member, but this clearly wasn't going to be the case.
Jia Shidao immediately looked at Han Sen and said, "Give me everything you've got. Let me see what's so special about you, and how the maxing out of one's super geno points can make a big difference."
Han Sen did not respond to what he said, but merely acted polite and bowed.
"It is nice to meet you."
Han Sen was not going use his self-geno cores, for if they broke, it'd be a while before they could be reconstructed.
So, Han Sen summoned a golden rope that fired at Jia Shidao like a lunging snake.
Chapter 1367: An Awkward Moment
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Jia Shidao was extremely confident in the white-knuckle power his fists could deliver, so he didn't summon a geno core. The Iron-Fist Martial Hall was made famous by his Iron-Fist Slash, a brutal move when coupled with his fitness level.
He had even managed to max out his ordinary, primitive, and mutant geno points, placing his fitness level at over fifteen thousand. Eight thousand of those levels were from mutant geno points alone.
He believed his Iron-Fist could beat and destroy anything, even silver geno cores. He was impressed that Han Sen could create a bronze geno core, but he did not think he had any that were greater than that.
So, Jia Shidao was comfortable in the prospect of using only his fists. He did not think he needed to summon his own geno core. But he thought something was amiss the moment Han Sen lashed a whip-like item towards him. The item was frighteningly quick.
The anticipation of seeing what geno core a new combatant would wield was always exciting, as they came in all shapes and forms. The creativity of some ranged from almighty to hilarious. But this was Han Sen, and the anticipation to see what he had created was through the roof.
Jia Shidao's fists began turning black, and they drove themselves into the incoming beam of gold.
The Iron-Fist Slash move had destroyed many bronze and silver geno cores in the past, with just one fell swoop. He was supremely confident the same result would befall Han Sen's.
But when his fist connected with the light, the tense muscles in his face quickly unfastened themselves. A metallic clang rang out, as he felt his fist barrel into a material that was as tough as it was soft. It was of a chewy texture.
He could not break the Gold Dragon Lock, and he immediately felt himself be ensnared.
"Interesting! His geno core is a rope; that'll certainly keep him tied-up." Zhu Donglai laughed.
Green thought it to be as fascinating as it was humorous, and he laughed and said, "Jia Shidao has clearly underestimated him, then. I bet Han Sen's geno core has a softening, cushion-like power."
Old Man Ji did not say anything, and merely continued watching. Han Sen had already told him what his self-geno cores were, so he knew that what he was making use of now was not any of those.
But Old Man Ji was still very curious to learn the class of the geno core Han Sen had used. Old Man Ji settled on the belief it was a silver geno core, and a very good one at that. While it seemed to display a power more commonly expected in a gold geno core, he didn't think Han Sen could get his hands on one of those.
They thought Jia Shidao had made a slip, and that he had not imbued all his power into the strike he wished to perform. They thought he had let his cockiness get the better of him, and as a result, allowed Han Sen to get the better of him as well.
He was able to break silver geno cores with ease, and he himself had a gold self-geno core.
Aside from this self-geno core, he had many bronze and silver ones, so this initial capturing did not spell doom for his combat against Han Sen. Escaping the snare, he and the others believed, would be quite easy.
Old Man Ji hoped Han Sen would soon put the core away, though, as it would be a great shame to see such a brilliant geno core be broken. But Han Sen wasn't going to do that. Han Sen had to rely on this geno core to gain the upper-hand, unbeknownst to the others. He couldn't risk using his other geno cores, as they'd end up broken.
Although self-geno cores could be broken and then later regenerated, doing so would put great strain on the body. It would also take a long time; time Han Sen couldn't really afford right now.
Han Sen wasn't going to let this happen, and thinking this was a great chance to stress test his Gold Dragon Lock, he was keen to learn whether or not Jia Shidao could break free.
He was confident in the lock, though, and he knew Jia Shidao's fitness didn't rival a top-dog mutant creature. There was every chance he couldn't escape its snatch.
Jia Shidao tried to maintain his cool, but he had to let a frown show. He used all the strength he could, but no matter what he tried, he could not get himself free.
Everyone looked on in great surprise. They could see his muscles rise, webbed by stressed-out veins. It looked as if his muscles were going to break through the fabric of his clothing any second now, redefining what it meant to be ripped.
But the rope just tightened even more, and it did not show any sign of breaking. And eventually, it began to shred the clothing, exposing the man's bulging body.
Things quickly took a concerning turn. The rope did not relent in its tightening, and it eventually began to wear into the skin, drawing blood. Jia Shidao's face changed. His power was like a volcano, but the measly-looking rope had bested him.
Jia Shidao tried gunning his muscles a multitude of times in the hopes he could break free, but nothing came loose. He could not earn himself any slack, and blood began to dye the rope and drip to the hall's floor.
It was a very awkward looking scene, truth be told. And as they watched, Green and the others' faces began to distort.
They were shocked that Jia Shidao could not escape what was essentially a rope.
He looked to be in an awful condition, made worse by how confident he had been when he walked out there. He wanted to prove to Han Sen that the young man had missed out not co-operating with him. He looked like an utter fool now.
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Jia Shidao had no clue what to do himself, so he decided to summon his gold geno core. He knew his bronze and silver ones couldn't help, and if he summoned them, only for them to break, the embarrassment would only increase.
This gold geno core he had summoned was a pair of giant scissors laden with fish teeth. They looked to have been forged of blacksteel, and they were frighteningly sharp.
Old Man Ji was surprised, seeing him summon his geno core Scissor Slash. He was glad to see Han Sen had come so far and he was this powerful, and he was more than impressed to see he had put Jia Shidao in a situation where he had no choice but to summon his most powerful geno core.