Super Gene

When the crow wings spread, Han Sen transformed into a raven. He had shapeshifted to appear just like the Three-Claw Gold Ravens he and Xie Qing King had just done battle with.

And indeed, that was the beast soul he had just received—it was a shapeshifting beast soul. It made him resemble the fierce creature he had just triumphed over.

The moment he transformed, the swords took flight against him. But before they found their target, Han Sen flapped his wings and was suddenly ablaze with the wild dance of searing flames. Without hesitation, he flew forward to meet with the Storm of Swords.

Katcha!

When the swords came into contact with the ravenous fires that encompassed Han Sen, they smoldered down to the ground like molten jelly.

“Impossible!” Han Sen soared through the wall of swords uninhibited, as each sword melted when it entered the proximity of his malevolent fires. Holy-Sword Emperor’s face could not help but droop.

He could now assess Han Sen’s power, and he could feel the full strength of nine gene locks firing on all cylinders.

Han Sen’s Blood-Pulse Sutra had now unlocked its ninth gene lock. Previously, he had been too weak to do so, due to his fitness being too low.

By using this beast soul, though, it imbued him with the required strength to activate the ninth tier. As a gold bird, he was a raging, avian fiend of nine gene locks.

Han Sen, upon using it now, also noticed his Phoenix Flame and his proficiency with the handling of fire elemental skills were given a buff.

The gold raven was a creature associated with the element of fire, which was not unlike a phoenix. This beast soul and its shapeshifting ability was a good match for Han Sen, who was skilled in its powers already. There was great synergy involved.

Like a phoenix, he’d be able to fly high and see the breadth of the world.

No sword could stop Han Sen in this form.

Holy-Sword Emperor’s face changed, and he realized a shift in tactics was required. Quickly, he brought the swords to form a cross-hatch net structure to surround him like a bubble. In this way, he removed his foot from Xie Qing King’s face and launched himself towards Han Sen.

The phoenix became semi-transparent, and as if through magic, breached the veil of swords without receiving a single point of damage.

In the eye of that hurricane of swords, Han Sen reached out his talons to strike. Holy-Sword Emperor sought to dodge, but he soon realized he’d be unable to do so. Han Sen’s approach was too fast.

Phoenixes were champions of the skies, and there was no possible way for Holy-Sword Emperor to beat such a creature when it came to pure, unbridled speed.

Holy-Sword Emperor only had one thing left he could do, and that was to meet Han Sen’s talons with his black sword.

Dong!

The talons collided with the sword. It was Holy-Sword Emperor who was sent flying, with his weapon now enwreathed with a hungry flame. When he landed, he attempted to put out the fire, but there was nothing he could do against that insatiable fire. He could only watch the metal of the blade burn away.

Han Sen was merciless. He let out an ear-piercing screech and resumed his assault on Holy-Sword Emperor.

As he tried to combat the incoming threat, Holy-Sword Emperor was forced to summon his dual backup-swords.

Like a javelin of wrathful fire, Han Sen accelerated on his approach. Holy-Sword Emperor knew he’d be unable to accurately gauge the correct timing for striking Han Sen with his blistering speed, so he could only flail his swords around like a madman, in the hope he’d get lucky.

In the blink of an eye, Holy-Sword Emperor’s weapons were ablaze with more starved flames. As the blades were ravaged, a number of painful scratch marks suddenly formed across his body and face.

Holy-Sword Emperor was delivered another shock. He did his best to avoid the blitzing bird, but he was repeatedly burned and cut.

As this occurred, Han Sen’s body was gunning at a speed much faster than his mind could keep up with. He himself was in disbelief over the powers he was wielding, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d believe he was teleporting from place to place with the insane pace he was moving around at.

The lagging shadow of a phoenix was the only thing that could be seen attacking Holy-Sword Emperor. Over and over, Han Sen ran him through with his talons raised.

As his weapons became wholly consumed by fire, Holy-Sword Emperor threw them away like a fiery torch that was about to burn his hand. The scratches that accumulated across his body began to itch and burn, and soon after, he himself was set ablaze. With his body on fire, he began crying aloud in agony.

“I’m going to kill you!” Holy-Sword Emperor managed to sputter, but that was the last thing he could say. He exploded and returned to his spirit stone.

Han Sen’s body returned to that of a human. After the battle, he was confident he now had what it took to do battle with any king spirit. With the gold raven beast soul and his ninth gene lock open, he had everything he needed.

Xie Qing King looked at Han Sen with a complicated expression. He didn’t know what a human was.

“My Emperor, allow me to return you to the soothing waters of the lake,” Han Sen said. And then, he proceeded to do just that.

Han Sen was not planning to kill him. He preferred peace to incessant fighting, even with spirits.

“What is a human?” Xie Qing King asked, while he was in the lake.

Han Sen explained what humans were and did not hide a thing. It would only be a matter of time until he found out, possibly through the explanation of another spirit, so there was no need for Han Sen to be misleading.

Xie Qing King sounded very interested in who they were, and he asked, “The teleporters in our shelters take you to the Alliance? But why have I never been able to make use of them?”

“I don’t know, either.” Han Sen did not know why spirits and creatures couldn’t use the teleportation devices in the shelters of the sanctuaries.

After his explanation, Xie Qing King seemed very interested in learning more about the human world and their many cultures. He asked Han Sen many questions.

And to the best of his abilities, Han Sen answered.

“My Emperor, I should go now. It is my hope that, when next we meet, we won’t consider each other enemies.” After bathing together for a few hours, Han Sen said this and prepared to leave.

“Hang on,” Xie Qing King said, to stop Han Sen from leaving for a moment.

Han Sen turned around, wondering what else the spirit might want to know.

“Let me come with you. I would like to see for myself what humans are like. I want to see the things you have told me about,” Xie Qing King requested.

“About that…” Han Sen hesitated for a moment, so he could think about how he could best articulate what he wanted to say. Most human technology could not be used or brought to the sanctuaries, after all.

But if Bao’er was able to enter the world of humans, what was there to say spirits could not?

“You are a good person, and you are a skilled fighter. But when you fought Holy-Sword Emperor, he was already damaged. That is how you killed him. If he assaults your shelter, with his super creatures in tow, there is no guarantee you can withstand and survive such a conquest.” Xie Qing King squinted.