Chapter 17 - The Chosen Ones of the Sacred Stele

Han Sen was somewhat surprised to see Han Hao talking like that. He didn't care if his cousin was sent to the same shelter as him, but rather that his fame had spread so quickly.

‘Golden Man? I kind of like it, but I'd need a better name than that...’ Han Sen thought for a bit and decided to adopt a second persona for when he decided to do these things. After all, his mother and sister couldn't know that he was a shameless thief. And it also hurt his business.

Anyway, Han Hao's presence reminded him that for unknown reasons, if minors under the age of 16 were teleported, their bodies would suffer irreversible damage. Therefore, according to Alliance laws, one must be 16 years old to be teleported to the Sanctuary of God, regardless of social status. This might have something to do with the ability to mutate or some strange rule. He couldn't remember if he had read anything about it.

"Where are we going?" Han Sen asked Zhang Danfeng. He didn't want to use the guy's nickname anymore because they weren't that close. And it wasn't like he needed to anyway. If he was going to get closer to anyone on this aerocar, he preferred it to be Xue Xi.

Zhang Danfeng's face lit up: "Starlight Martial Hall. My idol Tang Zhenliu will be in an exhibition match held there! He was the Chosen last year, and his broadsword skills are so fierce!”

Zhang Danfeng was full of longing. In this era where everyone is focused on evolution, the stars no longer come from acting, singing, sports, and e-sports, but from fighting.

In the Sanctuary of God, once a year, the martial hall of each shelter would open at the same time, and those among the top 100 could have their names on the martial stele of the martial hall. The champions of each shelter would be eligible to compete with each other. And the same happened in all four phases of the Sanctuary of God. The top 10 of each phase could have their names on the Sacred Stele, which was public to all in the same phase, and earn the title of "the Chosen Ones".

And the ten Chosen Ones would become the hottest stars of the year.

In recent years, Qin Xuan had always been the champion of the Steel Armored Shelter, but her name never appeared on the Sacred Stele, so she had never been among the top 10 of the First Sanctuary of God. This showed how low she was in the ranking. It was ridiculous how weak she was in comparison, and it also reminded Han Sen of his own weakness.

Ranked 5th last year, Tang Zhenliu was known for his fierce skills with the broadsword. He was very popular among young people and even more beloved than the top four. He would receive up to ten million Levo dollars for any exhibition match, if he was on a famous planet.

Even so, knowing of its popularity, Han Sen was shocked when he saw a full house at the Starlight Martial Hall, which could accommodate more than one hundred thousand people. And besides being shocked, he was excited. Doing the math, he knew that each person here paid Ḻ$25 just to watch, not to mention that the tickets would be more expensive as they got closer to the stage. And there were also snacks and drinks that the establishment sold and also television contracts to broadcast such thing. The owner must have made at least Ḻ$10,000,000 just today.

There was a crowd of eager fans holding posters and screaming the name of the famous Tang Zhenliu. The anticipation was palpable in the air, and everyone eagerly awaited his arrival. When he finally appeared, a commotion took over the place, with many enthusiastic fans running to see their idol up close. One girl, in particular, was so overwhelmed that she ended up fainting, such was her adoration for the famous star.

"If I could have my name on the Sacred Stele as Tang Zhenliu once in my life, then I would know that I have lived," Zhang Danfeng said admiringly.

"Same here. Although being the 5th is kind of lame. I prefer to be the first," Han Sen smiled and said, watching the young people around him go crazy over Tang Zhenliu's appearance. He didn't like fame, but for sure this guy's life was comfortable.

"It's so difficult. I've been in God's Sanctuary for three months now. Although I bought some primitive meat and a primitive beast soul, it's still hard for me to hunt any mutant creatures. If I could buy a mutant beast soul, it would be much easier. But even if I had the money, people wouldn't necessarily sell their mutant beast souls." Zhang Danfeng shook his head with an ironic smile.

Zhang Danfeng unintentionally gave Han Sen a great testing idea. Han Sen had never considered selling his improved Beast Souls before, so he didn't know if it would work. The thing is, if it did work, he would be a walking generator of Super Beast Souls, which would be a huge help. Just imagining an army of super soldiers was enough for him to nod his head and envision a brighter future.

‘I remember that there are also some Hyper Gene Arts and techniques that belong to other people, such as Qin Xuan's Atomic Fission. If I can get my hands on this and improve it to a Sutra, I have no doubt that it will become an extraordinary power. Not to mention that I can also improve her Beast Souls. It would be a great engagement present...’ Han Sen analyzed the last thing he thought and cursed himself inwardly, ‘Simp...’

"Ha-ha, then I have better luck then you, Danfeng. I just entered God’s Sanctuary and have already gained a mutant beast soul. Such a pity you are not in Steel Armor Shelter, or else we could hunt together and I could help you," Han Hao said proudly. He was clearly trying to show off to Xue Xi.

"Have you ever won a mutant beast's soul? Tell the truth, did you hunted it or paid for it?" Zhang Danfeng shouted, looking at Han Hao.

"Of course, I hunted it myself!" Han Hao said loudly.

"Yes, of course. In your first week? You must be some celestial genius of humanity then!" Han Sen was not the type to stay quiet when there was an opportunity to mock someone. Not to mention that he didn't like Han Hao very much, which helped.

"Pfft, you really exaggerated, Han Hao," Xue Xi laughed at him, especially at how Han Sen did it dramatically by calling himself a genius of humanity.

"And what do you know about it? It's not like you have anything to brag about, do you?" Han Hao got angry and tried to humiliate him, wanting to know how he was superior. His anger increased even more when he saw Xue Xi laughing.

"I haven't been in the Sanctuary for that long, so I don't have any. Unfortunately, my mother only gave me a good education." With his final shot, Han Sen fell silent, letting everyone understand his message.

They had already arrived at some place near the stage, since Zhang Dafeng paid a higher ticket price for them to be there, and the noise usurped any attempt at a fight between the cousins.

Han Sen took a look at the fight happening on stage, with a renewed interest since he discovered the mysticism of Hyper Gene Arts. His quick eyes analyzed the fight while at the same time he could put himself in Tang Zhenliu's opponent's shoes.

‘He must have already maximized the Sacred-Blood Gene Points or he is very close to it. His fighting skills are quite mediocre, and that's should be the only reason he's moving so fast.’ Carefully, he was able to analyze numerous mistakes in his fighting posture and it was clear that he was still just an apprentice.

In his past life, Han Sen was a versatile fighter, so he had a broad understanding of any weapon. Only now that he was starting to embrace the idea of being a Ranger/Assassin, who fought with knives and bows. But even so, it was only one side of his persona, since he wouldn't give up fighting with swords, spears, and other weapons.

Anyway, Tang Zhenliu's execution was nothing but boring for a master like Han Sen, and he had even learned how to counterattack every move. The only problem now was that he wasn't as strong as the other party. So even if he knew how to do anything on stage, he would be cut in half in a few seconds.

"Do you want a soda?" At some point during this boredom, Han Sen bought two cans of soda and gave one to Xue Xi, who accepted it gladly.

"Thank you, Han Sen!" She opened the can and started drinking. She then noticed he was still looking at her, so she asked with interest, "Why are you looking at me?"

"Do you remember that time you choked on soda during the school trip?" Han Sen only spoke that sentence before getting a pinch on his arm from her.

"Never bring that up again!" She whispered quietly to him, not wanting to draw attention from Han Hao and Zhang Dafeng, who would definitely make fun of her as well.

The two behind were chatting quietly and the two in front didn't even realize they were too focused on the show. Han Sen didn't try to hit on Xue Xi, just making some occasional jokes. As a mature person, he was interested in more mature women like Qin Xuan, for example. But he wouldn't deny a young one either…

At some point after winning the fight, Tang Zhenliu summoned a beast soul to act, transforming into a three-meter tall tyrannosaurus creature and smashing a huge stone with his head, causing an explosion of cheers.

"Sacred-Blood Beast Soul Angry Dementor! I would do anything for a beast soul like this." Zhang Danfeng looked at Tang Zhenliu, who had transformed into a monster with drool dripping from its mouth.

"That's nothing! This beaten soul is nothing like the one Golden Warrior has..." Han Hao stuttered about it and even improved the name to sound more imposing.

"It would take a confrontation to know." Tang Zhenliu was Danfeng's idol, so he was upset to hear this. "I don't know how good that golden guy is, but his Sacre-Blood Beast Soul was stolen from others and it wasn't an act of chivalry. Even if he had a great beast soul, he wouldn't be comparable to Zhenliu.”

"And do you think Tang Zhenliu somehow earned all his beast souls in a worthy way? Regardless of how you gain something, what matters is how you use it." Han Sen didn't like Zhang's comment, so he retorted. He didn't care if they connected him to the golden guy.

"Well..." Zhang Dafeng tried to think of a way to retort, but realized that made sense. Angry, he just huffed and said, "Still, they would have to have a fair fight to decide!”

After the fight ended, people were very quick to disperse. The era for autograph lines had ended, so there wasn't much else to do. Dafeng drove everyone home, and Han Sen winked at Xue Xi before leaving.

As soon as he entered his room, he took off his clothes and turned on his comlink, where he had a new number registered under the name of Xue Xi.

"Well, accumulating numbers doesn't hurt..."