Habits could be very scary things. Han Sen had been on Dream Island for three months now, and he had grown used to having two Sky Heart Locks on his body.
Aside from moving slower, he was living like a normal person.
His efficiency in digging up the gemstones was higher now, too. He could find ten of them in two or three hours.
What made Han Sen the happiest, however, was that his Blood-Pulse Sutra reached Earl status. The Blood Feather Knife's mark was much lighter, too.
Han Sen planned to keep on absorbing the blood that plagued it. The blood was damaging the Blood Feather Knife, so if Han Sen could absorb all of it, perhaps there was a chance to make the blade deified again. He was positive that Yun Suyi wouldn't mind that.
Dream Beast did not enjoy seeing Han Sen relaxing, so he had started to demand more gemstones. He made sure that Han Sen worked ten hours underwater every day.
Because that was too boring, Han Sen practiced his tongue skills. It wasn’t an amazing power, but his tongue could generate a sword air that would kill someone with no problem.
But as of yet, Han Sen hadn't broken a single Sky Heart Lock. Perhaps he hadn't approached it correctly or there was some other problem. He wasn't sure.
Han Sen asked Thousand Feather Crane whenever he came to visit, but Sky Heart Locks were very rare. Thousand Feather Crane hadn't experienced one himself, so he didn't know too much about it.
Thousand Feather Crane did pledge to seek out information regarding it, though, so he could help Han Sen figure out what to do. There was a student of the Sky that once suffered the Sky Heart Lock, and it took him three years to remove it. And that person only had one to endure.
But Han Sen had two locks to deal with. Thousand Feather Crane couldn't be sure when he could unlock them.
As more and more time passed, Han Sen grew used to the Sky Heart Locks. They didn't affect him as much, but he still couldn't break them.
After half a year passed, Han Sen started to miss his family. He missed Ji Yanran, Ling'er, and even Littleflower who had been taken by Old Cat.
"How is Han Sen doing?" In Sky Palace, the leader asked the elegant Dream Beast.
“Not bad. The Sky Heart Lock doesn't seem to affect him as much," Dream Beast answered.
"'Not bad,' huh? From you, that's a mighty compliment!" The Sky Palace leader laughed.
Dream Beast smiled but did not answer. He did go on to say, "Are you sure you want Han Sen to go to the Ancient God xenogeneic space? Not Lone Bamboo?"
The leader of Sky Palace quietly said, "You know of Lone Bamboo's situation. He is already a Marquise. It would be meaningless for him to go, and it would be too dangerous for the average student. Any sent would not be coming back."
After a while, the leader went on to say, "I promised Yisha I would make Han Sen a Marquise. If Lone Bamboo does not need to go there, then he is the next best candidate."
Dream Beast nodded and said, "He is almost done. He cannot get any better in Dream Island, so I suppose I can let him g〇"
"It was supposed to be a one year term, and only half of that has passed. You cannot waste the rest of the year, can you?" The Sky Palace leader smiled.
"You know he received the Blood Feather Knife, yes?" Dream Beast asked.
Sky Palace leader nodded. He looked at Dream Beast, wondering why he was mentioning it.
"He is absorbing the xenogeneic blood on the knife. It is working. In perhaps a few months, the xenogeneic blood will be completely absorbed," Dream Beast said.
"Really?" The leader of Sky Palace looked very surprised.
"The Feathers tried many methods to remove the blood, but none worked. Now, Han Sen is absorbing it? If they learn this was actually possible, they will be very angry." Dream Beast laughed as he spoke.
"If he can really absorb the xenogeneic blood, the Blood Feather Knife might possibly become a deified weapon again. But it will also need to be refined once more. We will have to set this up, so we can get another deified weapon for Sky Palace. That is all I can do." The leader of Sky Palace laughed.
"When will that guy come back?" Dream Beast asked suddenly.
"He hasn't come back from the barrens yet." The leader of Sky Palace looked troubled.
In a hard voice, Dream Beast said, "There cannot be an empty elder throne for too long. If he is truly not coming back, we need to make plans. It would be bad if the elders keep fighting."
The leader of Sky Palace thought for a moment. "There is no need to rush this. That guy wouldn't be killed with any ease. Perhaps there was some kind of incident, but he will be back."
"I hope so." Dream Beast said, then walked out of the Sky Palace.
There is still half a year to go. If you have the time, teach him something so he has a higher chance of surviving in Ancient God space," the leader of Sky Palace said to Dream Beast's back.
"He is not a student of Sky Palace. Why would I do such a thing?" After Dream Beast said that, he disappeared.
Han Sen finished digging up gemstones for the day. He washed the gemstones and placed them on the leaves next to Dream Beast. When he was going back to absorb the xenogeneic blood on the blade, Dream Beast suddenly said, "From now on, there is no need for you to dig up gemstones."
Han Sen was so happy to hear this, and he said, "You are letting me go?"
"Letting you go? That would be impossible." Dream Beast smiled and looked at Han Sen. His eyes looked very dreamy. Han Sen started to say something, but his eyes froze and went out of focus.
The scene before Han Sen had changed. He was suddenly inside an abandoned city. He realized what was going on, and he yelled, "Dream, you said that if I completed my tasks, I wouldn't be put into a dream!"
"I only promised I wouldn't put you inside a tragedy dream." Dream Beast's voice resonated in the air.
"What is this dream then?" Han Sen asked with a frown.
"It is a nightmare. Enjoy," Dream Beast said, and his voice vanished.
Han Sen wanted to ask something, but he suddenly heard a beast roar from someplace amidst the ruins around him. Many xenogeneics began to climb out of the rubble, and they ran towards Han Sen as soon as they saw him.
Han Sen was standing on a ruin that looked like a landfill. There were all sorts of xenogeneics, in different shapes, coming for him. Even the sky was filled with them.
"D*mn it! It is just a dream. I will wake up when I die," Han Sen thought to himself.
"If you died in this dream, your body would be fine. But your will would perish. For example, you might go into a vegetative state." Dream Beast's voice was cold in the air again.