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.
