2009 The Feather Comes

One month pa.s.sed. Han Sen left Rare Beast Island and returned the tablet to s.h.i.+ Beifeng.

“Brother Han, if you’d like, you can stay for longer. It is okay.” s.h.i.+ Beifeng had come to say goodbye to Han Sen, who was going to leave the island.

“It’s okay. This month of hunting benefitted me greatly, and if I was to stay any longer, I would only feel guilty.” Han Sen pointed at the legless crane while he spoke.

The legless crane was loaded with xenogeneic genes, and when s.h.i.+ Beifeng had a look, he was shocked. Most of the xenogeneic genes atop it were Marquise genes.

Given Han Sen’s reputation, it wasn’t strange that he could slay Marquise xenogeneics as an Earl. The surprising thing was how many he had killed within the s.p.a.ce of a month.

s.h.i.+ Beifeng wanted to be friends with Han Sen even more now, and so he smiled and said, “Okay, but if you need anything, come and look for me. The s.h.i.+ family will always be willing to help you.”

Thanks, Brother s.h.i.+.” Han Sen bowed and didn’t say anything more.

The legless crane was carrying so many materials that it struggled to get airborne. s.h.i.+ Beifeng saw that there was no s.p.a.ce for Han Sen to sit on it, so he lent Han Sen a four-winged lion mount. The loaned mount and the legless crane brought Han Sen and the xenogeneic genes back to Jade Island.

Han Sen had earned a lot this time. He got a dozen Marquise cla.s.s xenogeneic genes and the Demon Stone Cow beast soul. He also earned those little stones, and the stone statue that was near them.

But Han Sen did not know what kind of xenogeneic gene those little rocks were. He guessed they were Marquise cla.s.s; otherwise, he would have already absorbed them.

And in regards to the statue, Han Sen tried cleaning it, but it made little difference. It was just grey, like ordinary stone.

The style of it was quite simplistic, so there wasn’t much finesse to the carving. There were no engravings or words upon it, either. It looked like a wildling statue, from some ancient time.

Han Sen used his Dongxuan Aura to examine the stone statue, and he thought there was more to it than met the eye. He couldn’t determine exactly what was special about it, though. He only knew that it was a Sky statue.

“Brother Han, you are back. I have missed you.” Han Sen had just arrived home on the Jade Island, but before he could dismount, Yu Jing rode over on his green dragon. They entered Han Sen’s home, and Yu Jing grabbed Han Sen’s hands with pa.s.sion.

“What do you want? Don’t touch me; I’m not gay.” Han Sen pulled his hands away and wiped them down with a cloth.

He thought Yu Jing was looking at him queerly. It looked as if the man was seeing some beautiful naked woman instead of Han Sen.

“What? I would go for a Sky if I wanted to go gay. Why would I come over here for you?” Yu Jing didn’t think that sounded right, so he spat on the floor and went on to say, “No, I’m not gay at all.”

After that, Yu Jing’s eyes kept wandering around Han Sen’s house. He said, “Brother Han, I have heard you earned many things from Rare Beast Island. Do you plan to sell the wares? If you sell them to me, I can give you a good price.”

After that, Yu Jing saw a bunch of xenogeneic genes in the corner of Han Sen’s house. His eyes widened, and after rummaging through the genes for a minute, he said, “This is a Marquise cla.s.s Wind Tiger’s tail. This is a Bone Elephant’s tusk. Are all these Marquise xenogeneic genes?”

“Almost,” Han Sen said casually.

“Very strong. To be able to kill Marquises as an Earl, well… Very few of the Sky can accomplish something like that. Only you and Lone Bamboo, as far as I know.” After that, Yu Jing came back to Han Sen. He sat dowai at the table and poured himself some water. He drank and said, “Have you heard that the Feather have allied with Sky Palace? They are our subordinate race now. They have sent many n.o.bles here to study.”

“That’s not strange. The Feather lost their position as a high race, and they’re much weaker now. If they didn’t make new alliances, they’d be brought to ruin. Holy Heaven is a large xenogeneic s.p.a.ce, and many of the other higher races want it. It was just a matter of time,” Han Sen responded.

Yu Jing nodded and said, “That’s not the point. When the Kings came here, they were very generous. Although people don’t respect them very much, no one is going to turn down money. So, they are living a good life here.”

After that, Yu Jing smiled at Han Sen and said, “Are you familiar with a Feather named Angia?”

“No.” Han Sen shook his head, as his knowledge of the Feather was truly limited.

“He is the son of one of the half-deified Kings. He is really talented, and he is a student of Sky Palace. He is the leader of the Feather students, and he is an Earl like you. He walked the Road to the Sky and received compliments. He has been practicing with the Earl students, and while he has not lost nor won, his geno arts have proven themselves to be quite special.”

“What does that mean?” Han Sen asked, catching Yu Jing’s tone.

“Before he fights, he presents a bottle of spring water from Holy Heaven. If someone of Earl cla.s.s can beat him with knife skills, he will give them the spring water.” Yu Jing coldly laughed and said, “Our Sky Palace students study knife skills, but we aren’t renown for them. We mostly use swords. You are the only one amongst us that is good with them. He is obviously provoking you. How dare he, eh?”

After that, Yu Jing smiled and said, “But the heavenly spring water is some good stuff. As long as you’re still living, cleaning your wounds with that stuff will fix you up quick. It can save you from even mortal injuries, as it is a treasure from Holy Heaven. This guy is unlucky. You can go over, beat him, and help yourself to the spring water. If you don’t need it, I can sell it on your behalf.”

“Maybe if I have time. I need to practice in the White Jade Building first.” Han Sen wasn’t really concerned about the implied challenge, as dealing with the Feathers was not on his priority list.

The next day, he practiced in the White Jade Building. There, he saw Yun Suyi on the fourth floor. He thought about Under the Sky, so he caught Yun Suyi’s attention. “I did some research on Under the Sky. If you have the time, we can explore it further together.”