Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Isn’t the pendant a geno core given by this God dude? Can its power really not be enough to open the coffin?” Han Sen asked the creature. He wasn’t too surprised the Nine-Life Cat was able to talk, given its reputation.
Nine-Life Cat squinted its eyes responded to him, saying, “This thing is not a geno core. If God had it, of course he could open the coffin. But you are not God. It’s perfectly normal for you not to be able to open it.”
When Nine-Life Cat said this, the red light on the pendant began to dim and fade away.
Han Sen had already assumed it was the Nine-Life Cat that had triggered the pendant’s power to allow him to overcome Mister Li, but he asked the cat, “Is there really no other way to get him out of the coffin?”
Nine-Life Cat coldly answered, “You are both heirs of the shelter’s master, but there is something wrong with his blood. He was unable to see the master. Even though he has entered the coffin, there is a low chance of becoming a god in his state.”
The Nine-Life Cat was rather chatty, and it went on to say, “And if anything, using the coffin to become a god might not be a good thing.”
“Why?” Han Sen asked.
The Nine-Life Cat leaped back onto the lid of the coffin, to resume the position Han Sen had originally seen him. He explained, “I promised to guard this shelter until an heir of God came to open it. My task has now been fulfilled. There is no use me staying here anymore.”
Nine-Life Cat looked at the coffin below him, and the area around, and spoke mournfully. “This has been my bed for the longest time. I am not used to sleeping anywhere else.”
After that, the Nine-Life Cat jumped back onto Han Sen’s head like a red fur hat.
“Let’s go. I’ll accompany you, for a time,” the Nine-Life Cat said firmly.
Han Sen knew the creature must have been extraordinarily strong if a god had asked it to protect his shelter. He knew it would be best to remain friendly with it, and if possible, keep it as a companion.
“We’ll get in trouble if we leave now.” Han Sen proceeded to tell the Nine-Life Cat about Outer Sky Shelter and Sacred Shelter, his mission, and what the situation was.
“Outer Sky and Sacred were around even way back when God was here. They didn’t dare do anything, though. It was smart of them to deduce only humans could enter the shelter, but I’m hard-pressed to believe they suspected you might have been an heir,” Nine-Life Cat looked disdained.
“It makes me feel a lot safer, knowing the master of this shelter was such a powerful being. Why don’t we just go waste them?” Han Sen said.
Nine-Life Cat rolled its eyes and said, “I don’t have the power to go up against Outer Sky and Sacred, and you can’t unlock the true power of the Geno God Square, either. I am sure there is a way we can sneak past them.”
“Never mind, then…” Han Sen took a pause to think, before proceeding to say, “We’re leaving, regardless. If you have anything to bring with you, now’s the best time to start packing.”
Nine-Life Cat was amused by his comment, catching a touch of greed coating Han Sen’s words. He told Han Sen, “And don’t you think about taking things from here to go with you. You shouldn’t take anything from this place. If you do, the spell that protects this place will be broken, and then anyone can enter. When you reach the power of an emperor, however, feel free to return and claim proper ownership.”
“But Mister Li is already here,” Han Sen said.
“He is in the coffin, and this is a shelter. You have the Geno God Square, anyway. Mister Li will be in that stone cage for thousands of years, I suspect, regardless of whether he is successful or not,” Nine-Life Cat explained.
Han Sen was pleased to hear this, and so he said, “In that case, I have nothing to fear. I could become a god a hundred times over in that time. I suppose there is no concern, then.”
It was a shame Han Sen was unable to take anything with him, but he would be walking away with the Blood-Pulse Sutra’s geno core and the Nine-Life Cat. It was a worthy haul that made him quite happy.
Han Sen didn’t yet know how to use Real Blood or what benefit it could provide. It was very much like a newborn baby, in that you could not know what a newborn body could yet do or accomplish. He’d have to find out himself in time.
It depended on the talent of the geno core itself. Some geno cores simply weren’t great, and no matter how much time or effort you’d go into training and improving it, it wouldn’t achieve much.
Han Sen managed to get the Nine-Life Cat out of the shelter, and when they were beyond the mist-draped walls, he decided to follow the cat, which seemed to have a specific direction it wished to go.
“By the way, do you have a name?” Han Sen asked the cat.
“You can call me Cat God,” the Nine-Life Cat squinted its eyes.
“I don’t understand. If we were all heirs of the master of the shelter, why did the rest of the team have to die? Aside from Mister Li, the others should have seen the master’s shadow,” Han Sen asked.
Cat God smirked and replied by saying, “This shelter was here even before it was occupied by a god. This place is old, a remnant from an even older, harsher time. A cruel fate befell the others, but it is best not to dwell on what happened to them. You would have been one of them if you had not practiced the correct skills. And what’s more, you wouldn’t have received the shadow’s summons if you hadn’t learned those techniques.”
Han Sen waited until it was mid-afternoon before completely leaving the shelter.
Yu Miao, Yu Xuan, and Goddess, seeing someone emerge from behind the gates, stood up with great interest. It was Han Sen, and he was leaving that place on his own.
They immediately suspected what might have happened, and they were shocked that only a single human with a bronze geno core had survived the trials inside that place.
But it didn’t seem as if they paid attention to Cat God’s presence. It was almost as if the cat did not exist or was invisible to them.
“What happened inside? You must tell us everything!” Goddess immediately asked Han Sen.
