Han Sen was going crazy, having to dig through the sand with his tongue for the job. Han Sen could withstand a lot, but Dream Beast's ability to read his mind was particularly annoying.
Han Sen thought of many different ways in which he might be able to protect his thoughts from the mind-reading ability, but nothing seemed to work.
Han Sen gave those methods a few tries each, risking punishment. Before long, though, he noticed that the whole mind-reading thing wasn't based on hearing his precise thoughts. The creature would get an idea of what Han Sen was thinking about, then guess the rest.
That made Han Sen feel a bit better. If Dream Beast could read the details of everything in Han Sen's brain, many secrets would be revealed.
Because of all this testing, however, Han Sen was punished many times. The length of time he was supposed to work with Dream Beast was extended from three months to thirteen months.
After half a month of hard work, Han Sen was given the opportunity to meet someone.
When he saw Yun Suyi, Han Sen felt as if he had been in jail for decades. With someone coming to visit him, he almost cried.
"Han Sen? What happened to you?" Yun Suyi looked at Han Sen in confusion.
"I am fine. Sand has gotten into my eyes, that's all." Han Sen acted like a man, trying to play things cool.
At times, Han Sen would go to ridiculous lengths to save face.
"Right, well, why have you come to see me?" Han Sen asked Yun Suyi after he gained control of himself.
Yun Suyi unstrapped a box she had attached to her waist. She opened it and passed it to Han Sen. "I used the knifeskills you taught me to win this King class weapon called Blood Feather Knife. I got it for beating Angia. Half of it is yours, so I have brought it here for you to take a look at."
You won the knife. It's yours. Besides, I have Ghost Teeth Knife. I don't require any more," Han Sen said, but he still took a look at the blade, anyway.
You are right. You own half of the knife, but I use it," Yun Suyi said with a chuckle.
"This is quite good." Han Sen stroked the body of Blood Feather Knife, and then went on to say, "It is a good knife. It doesn't seem as strong as my Ghost Teeth Knife, but the abilities aren't compatible with my Teeth Knife stuff anyway. It seems to be very good for something like Under the Sky."
Han Sen stroked the blade, and then something burned the tips of his fingers. He jumped, then looked at the blade more closely.
His fingers had been burned by the bloodmark on the blade. The blood-red stain was fairly obvious against the white of the blade.
Yun Suyi explained, "Blood Feather Knife was made from a deified feather of a Feather Alpha. Before it was complete, however, a deified xenogeneic came to take it. The xenogeneic was injured, and the Blood Feather Knife was stained with its blood. The blood couldn't be rinsed off the blade, and because of this, the knife was unable to be deified. It had to settle for being King class."
"The Feather Alpha couldn't wipe the blood off?" Han Sen reached out his finger and touched the blood markings.
"If it could be wiped off, it wouldn't be there. And I doubt the knife would ever have been offered as a gift," Yun Suyi said.
Han Sen nodded. His finger touched the blood mark, and there was that burning feeling again. The crystallized blood in his body started to melt in response to the heat.
Han Sen pressed his finger to the mark more firmly and cast the Blood-Pulse Sutra. He felt a trace of blood-tinged air follow his finger and enter his body.
The blood in Han Sen's finger touched the bloody air. It was like fire meeting gasoline. It was going to burn with a flash.
Han Sen was shocked and happy. All it took was a tiny bit of blood air to make his blood boil. If Han Sen could absorb all the blood on the blade, his Blood-Pulse Sutra might be able to reach Earl status.
"What is it?" Yun Suyi saw Han Sen freeze on the spot, and she got a little worried. "Han Sen? What's going on?"
Han Sen hesitated, unsure of what he would need to tell her.
Women were very caring. Seeing Han Sen's face, Yun Suyi gently said, "If you need anything, you can tell me. I will help you, if I am able to."
Han Sen hesitated, and he said, "Suyi, can I play with this knife for a bit?"
"I thought it was something big. You own this knife, too, so just take it," Yun Suyi told him firmly.
Han Sen was so happy. He took out his Ghost Teeth Knife and passed it over to Yun Suyi. "I am taking your Blood Feather Knife for a bit, so in the meantime, use this Ghost Teeth Knife."
Yun Suyi blushed. She seemed to fall into deep thought, but she still accepted the knife. She held it uncomfortably and said, "Okay. I will use this for now."
Han Sen hadn't had anyone to talk to on the island, and he wanted to continue speaking with Yun Suyi, but Dream Beast reminded him of his need to collect ten gemstones. If he didn't, he'd suffer nightmares forever.
Han Sen had to send Yun Suyi away so that he could return to the water and collect gemstones with his tongue.
Han Sen didn't learn much, but he did craft a skill called Sword Tongue. It wasn't powerful, and it was actually really gentle. If it wasn't, he wouldn't have been able to use his tongue to dig through the sand.
Finding ten gemstones was hard that day, and after he handed them over, he was tired. Still, he did not let himself rest.
Han Sen took out the Blood Feather Knife from the box he was given. Then, he placed it on his knees. He touched the mark and cast the Blood-Pulse Sutra. He felt a blood air rise from the blade.
But it was very slow. Han Sen cast it for a while, and he only took the blood air that was on the surface.
Han Sen thought for a bit, then dripped a drop of his crystal blood onto the mark on the blade. The crystal blood melted into the mark and merged with it. You couldn't see the blood anymore.
Han Sen cast the Blood-Pulse Sutra. He felt the blood air burst out of the mark. It went into his body, and when it did, his crystal blood boiled.
Han Sen felt as if his body was going to be evaporated like steam. It took seven hours for a portion of the blood air to be refined.
"This is scary, for just a little blood air to be so strong. Perhaps a few of these will take my Blood-Pulse Sutra up to Earl status." Han Sen was delighted.
After that, before Han Sen went back to work, he used a drop of his crystal blood on the bloodmark again. After he worked, he'd come and collect that blood. The blood had the energy of the xenogeneic, and Han Sen could refine it for hours.