Super Gene

A deep, lonely sadness claimed Han Sen’s brain. Although Han Sen knew that the emotion was not his own, he felt it sink deep within him.

The sadness was as broad and powerful as the Yangtze, rolling forward with the steadiness and implacability of a river. The sensation rocked Han Sen. The sadness was clear, yet it wasn’t a raw or passionate emotion. It wasn’t painful like losing your family, and it wasn’t the heartache of being betrayed by a loved one. It wasn’t the soul-rending anguish of losing everything that you cherished. It just resided in Han Sen’s chest, softly. The ache was so gentle that sometimes, Han Sen could barely even sense it. It floated like a mountain stream, but there wasn’t a single ripple to be seen.

But this kind of sadness was subtly powerful, and it was infectious. It left Han Sen unable to do anything except cry his eyes out. He couldn’t get a grip on his emotions, and he couldn’t move his eyes away from the Very High eye mark. He just stood in front of the stone wall, staring at the stone with eyes rimmed in blood.

Han Sen’s brain knew that if things continued like this, the blood in his body would run dry and he would die. But he couldn’t move his feet to tear himself away from that sad scene.

To one of the Very High who had practiced the Very High Sense to an average level, the emotions conveyed by a painting would be fairly weak. But to a Very High that had practiced the Very High Sense to a high level, it would be confusing to see how much scary sadness could be conveyed by this piece of artwork.

“Why would this elder have felt so much sadness? He was already in the true god class. He was at the top level of the pyramid of universal power. What could make him this sad? This depression is too strange. It is completely different from any of the emotions that I have endured. It makes me think of the phrase, ‘Sadness that is greater than the heart dying.’ This sadness is a little like that, but then again, it isn’t quite the same,” Han Sen thought.

“This Very High elder left all this behind before heading for the Geno Hall. Was his sadness related to the Geno Hall in some way?”

Han Sen thought about it a lot, but he couldn’t come to a conclusion. Regardless, he couldn’t rid himself of the infectious sadness. Even with Han Sen’s strong will, he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the drawing.

Exquisite and Li Keer had synced their minds to the Ancient Wall when they first arrived, so they had spent most of the trip ignoring the feelings Han Sen was sending to them.

This sadness was too potent to be ignored, however, and so it managed to reach them. It pulled Exquisite and Li Keer away from the Ancient Wall’s minds. They were also infected by the sadness, and they soon found tears leaking down their cheeks.

“What is going on… Why is it so sad here?” Exquisite’s face suddenly paled. She felt the sadness, but at the same time, she understood. “Oh, no! Han Sen has seen the Ancient Wall’s Very High eye mark.”

Li Keer also realized what had happened. Her face looked haggard, and bloody tears fell from her eyes as she said, “How was he able to trigger the eye mind? I thought only the Very High who had practiced the Very High Sense could activate it.”

“Although Han Sen hasn’t practiced the Very High Sense, his Under the Sky knife skills seem to emulate Sky and Man Combined Together. It is similar to the Very High Sense. Maybe that is why he was able to trigger the Very High eye mind… But now isn’t the time to discuss this. We must quickly find a way to pull Han Sen away from that mind. If we don’t, he won’t be the only one who is damaged by that mind.” Exquisite’s eyes were full of blood, and it was on the verge of spilling down across her face.

“How do we pull him away? The eye of the Ancient Wall is no joke. Even if we move his body away so that he can’t physically see the mark, we can’t stop the mind from dealing damage to him. And if we move him away, he might even get consumed by the mind. Don’t you remember the stories?” Li Keer said.

Exquisite didn’t respond. She knew what Li Keer meant. Anyone who triggered the Very High eye mind had to make it through themselves. If they made it through, their proficiency with the Very High Sense would increase. But if they failed to endure it, their will would be destroyed by the sadness. It wouldn’t be easy for them to recover. They might even end up crippled, unable to level up ever again.

Some people had even died at the Ancient Wall, and no one had been able to save them.

Stories were one thing, but facing the threat in real life was something else. If they didn’t think of a way to break Han Sen free from the Very High eye mind, both of their minds might be damaged by the overflow of what Han Sen was experiencing. They might not die from it, but they would be heavily damaged. Countless Very High elders, who were all gifted and intelligent, had ended up ruined by the Very High eye mind. The two women didn’t think they were any better than the aforementioned Very High seniors. And in addition, they weren’t even deified.

The two of them tried to walk over to Han Sen, but as they came nearer, they were completely entranced by the emotions of the wall. They stood there with their eyes bleeding. They couldn’t drag their minds away from the drawings on the wall.

Their strange situation quickly drew the attention of the other Very High around the wall.

“Weird. They seem to have been infected by the sad mind of the Very High eye. What is going on? I didn’t think they were close enough to trigger the eye.”

“Didn’t their masters teach them that after practicing the Very High Sense, they couldn’t look at the eye on the Ancient Wall?”

“No. They didn’t see it. They must have been affected because their silkworm saw the eye.”

“How is that possible? He hasn’t practiced the Very High Sense. He shouldn’t have felt anything if he looked at the eye’s mark.”

A dozen of the Very High were in front of the Ancient Wall, and they all stared at Han Sen. They understood the situation Han Sen was in, and they registered that he was the one who had triggered the Very High eye’s mind. That had led to Li Keer and Exquisite being dragged into the crippling emotions with him.

“This is weird. How could an outsider who hasn’t practiced the Very High Sense activate the Very High eye mark’s mind?”

“This isn’t the time for a research question. We have to find a way to pull him out of the mind. The eye mark is dangerous for anyone, but for Exquisite and Li Keer, it will be life-threatening.”

“What can we do, though? You know how powerful this mind is. Even if we move the silkworm elsewhere, we won’t be able to stop the mind from consuming his consciousness. And if we move him, we might even disrupt his will and accelerate the process. The only way we can do anything is if the silkworm escapes the bonds of that mind on his own.”

“How would that be possible? We are deified elites of the Very High, and few of us can escape the power of the Very High eye mind. This guy is just an outsider.”

“That’s the silkworm’s only hope, though. He has to do it himself. Even if Exquisite and Li Keer fight back the power of the mind, it would be useless. As long as he remains trapped, the sad mind will keep overflowing onto Exquisite and Li Keer.”