Han Sen was very conflicted. He wanted the Constellation Sea. If there was ever a safe place for him to develop humanity, it would be there. With enough resources and cultivation, he could make them a force to be reckoned with in the universe. That way, they would no longer have to live in small pockets scattered across the universe. He could gather them up there and truly grow their numbers.
But before any of that could happen, Han Sen needed his own system. The safest places in the universe were already split up by the more powerful races. Even if Han Sen wanted a slice of good real estate, there was nowhere he could find a piece of that pie. Even the smaller and weaker races had ties with Sky Palace and other big races. It wasnât a matter of simply taking what he wanted and being done with it. Taking a developed system wasnât an option, and a wild system would be too dangerous. Such places werenât suitable for low-level creatures and people to live in.
Sky Palace was offering him a xenogeneic space. For Han Sen, that would be a perfect place to develop humanityâs presence within the geno universe.
âThink over my offer. You donât have to rush in giving me your answer. Just tell me when you have decided,â Sky Palace Leader said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Han Sen nodded. He needed to think about this seriously. He couldnât make a decision on a whim. Especially one so big.
As Han Sen turned to leave, another matter came to mind. âPalace Leader, Uncle Yu Kun has asked me to kill a deified xenogeneic with him. Do you think I should go?â âBrother Yu Kun?â Sky Palace Leader fell silent for a moment, then said, âI know what happened to him. If you think you can do it, then you should go and help him. Brother Yu Kun has endured a difficult life.â
Now that he had received Sky Palace Leaderâs approval, Han Sen was more than okay with going to meet with Yu Kun. And so, that was what he did. He wanted to see what sort of deified the man wanted to kill first, though. Then, he could decide if he could truly help.
If he did decide to help, he would try his best, but there were still multiple factors to consider before he accepted.
After Han Sen left Sky Palace, he contacted Yu Jing. He told Yu Jing what he planned to do, and Yu Jing was happy to quickly arrange for him to meet with Yu Kun and discuss the proposal. âShould I go or not?â Going to the Very High was a very difficult decision for Han Sen to make, but it wasnât something he could allow others to determine for him.
Han Sen laid out the pros and cons of this idea many, many times. And he ultimately decided that yes, he should go to the Very High. He wanted the Constellation Sea for himself. If he missed out on this chance, God only knew how many more years he would have to wait for an opportunity to get a xenogeneic space that was as prestigious as the Constellation Sea. Plus, if he fought for another xenogeneic space, it wouldnât be as safe as the Constellation Sea. And some xenogeneic spaces were actually overdeveloped; they might not allow Han Sen to procure as many resources as he wanted. âIt looks like I need to go to the Very High, then. Luckily, I have found a way to counter their spying techniques. If Sky Palace Leaderâs way doesnât work, then I have my own method. And if that method doesnât work, either, I will have to be like Ning Yue and rely solely on my own will to support myself.â Han Sen gritted his teeth. The odds against him seemed daunting, but if Ning Yue could do it, he believed he would be able to as well.
But Han Sen didnât immediately answer Sky Palace Leader. He wanted to sort out matters with Uncle Yu Kun first, so he could have time to think it over a bit more. There was no need to rush a decision as big as this one.
Yu Jing hurriedly established a time for Han Sen and Yu Kun to meet. When Han Sen saw Yu Kun, it was hard to believe Yu Kun was of the same generation as Sky Palace Leader.
That was because Yu Kun looked considerably older than Sky Palace Leader. Han Sen didnât know how old Sky Palace Leader was, but he appeared to be in his forties. His seemed very gentle, but there was something perverse about him. He enjoyed messing with people. But Yu Kun looked like a very old man, by comparison. His hair was grey, and his face was wrought with wrinkles. Most importantly, his expression looked old and tired, too. He was very dull-looking. He barely looked like a living being. Yu Kun was calm. He told Han Sen about the deified xenogeneic he planned on killing, but he didnât look very confident that Han Sen could help him.
After hearing what the man said, Han Sen fell silent. And then, he honestly told Yu Kun, âUncle Yu Kun, a trade needs to be fair and equalized. I can help you fight this deified xenogeneic. If I fail, I wonât take anything, but if we successfully slay this deified xenogeneic, what will you give me in return?â
Yu Kun seemed to think about that question a bit. After hearing Han Senâs speech, he pulled something out of his pocket. He set it on the table in front of Han Sen and calmly said, âTry your best. Whether or not you succeed, this is yours.â
Han Sen eyed the thing that Yu Kun placed on the table. It was a small wooden statue carved into the shape of a beast. It looked like a rhino. It was the size of a manâs hand, and the wood seemed to have yellowed with age. It looked ancient.Han Sen didnât understand what it was. It looked like a decorative trinket that someone might put on a shelf in their house. It didnât release any power, so it didnât seem like a powerful xenogeneic treasure, either.
Yu Jing was standing to the side, and when he saw that wooden rhino, he looked like he was about to scream. âIsnât that the Wood Spirit Rhino? Uncle Kun, are you really willing to let it go?â
Han Sen looked at Yu Jing, and Yu Jing went on to say, âA long, long time ago, our race found a butterfly-class plant inside the systems of chaos. Many of our people worked together, but they were only able to retrieve a piece of wood that was one foot long. And then, a deified carved the wood into wood spirits. Three small statues were created in the shapes of an elephant, a rhino, and a horse. This Wood Spirit Rhino is one of them.â
After pausing, Yu Jing went on to say, âAlthough the Wood Spirit Rhino wasnât refined into a treasure, carrying it can aid a warriorâs body. It can fill your body with health and make you livelier. It is especially beneficial for people who have been injured. Carrying the Wood Spirit Rhino can heal someoneâs self-body. Of course, that isnât what is most important about the Wood Spirit Rhino. The most important thing is that the deified who made them also created three geno arts and left them inside the three wood spirits. If someone gains possession of the statues, they can obtain the geno arts inside.â âThe geno arts of the Wood Spirit Elephant and the Wood Spirit Horse have already been learned by others. They were the Giant Spirit Statue Punch and Sky River Swallowing Day skills, respectively. They were the first two geno arts. They are famous secret geno arts in Sky Palace.â
Han Sen jerked in surprise when he heard the name of these two geno arts. He had heard of them before. They were the most popular secret geno arts in Sky Palace right now. Even the heirs of many Sky that wanted to practice the geno arts had to go through a lot of trouble to be granted permission to learn them. Furthermore, students below King class couldnât even begin to learn them.
But just because a skill was restricted didnât mean it was attractive to Han Sen.
But what Yu Jing said next totally changed Han Senâs mind.
âWhen the first two people learned the geno arts of the Wood Spirit Elephant and the Wood Spirit Horse, they received powerful wood spirits. It accelerated their practice. One went from King class straight to half-deified. The other went from half-deified to deified.â