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"All I can say is, whoever ventures across that mountain does not return," Lotus Empress said solemnly .
Although Han Sen was sometimes reckless, even he knew it was best to stay away from such a place . If a risk was justified or worthwhile, he would always be the first to take the plunge . But a fruitless risk was never something he'd commit to, as he wasn't a simple thrill-seeker .
So, Han Sen decided it was best to take the long way around . He thought it would be better to walk additional miles than risk life and limb in the shortcut of cutting across the mountain .
Before he could circle it, though, Han Sen suddenly heard something roar, and then, nearby footsteps . The source of the noise was not too far away, and the sound of footsteps was steadily increasing in volume . Something was already coming for them .
Han Sen frowned, though, thinking there was something amiss about his entire venture thus far .
Lotus Empress had been in this region many times in the past, but nothing like this had occurred in her previous visits .
First, there was the ever-looming presence of Sea Ghost, in a portion of the sea it was not supposed to inhabit . Secondly, something from the mountain was descending down towards them, despite their desire to steer clear of the rise .
"Surely I cannot be this unlucky!" To say things were going awry for Han Sen would be an understatement .
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And to make matters worse, there were thick forests dressing the mountainsides . Whatever was coming towards him was cloaked in the dense foliage, rendering Han Sen unable to see what it was .
But it wasn't long before the creature emerged and revealed itself . It was a big elephant .
It looked as if it was a beast forged from obsidian, and it appeared to be as strong and as sturdy as the material, as well . As the elephant trampled its way out of the forest, each footstep rocked the earth .
Much to their surprise, though, the elephant was not stampeding towards them . It was actually chasing after another person .
The person it was chasing had to be around fifty years old . For a surpasser, an age of fifty years was not too shabby, but he looked worn and beaten, with a ragged appearance befitting someone that was double that age .
The man was clad in a battlesuit of the Alliance, but it was so broken and torn, it looked like the rags of a beggar .
Still, the man did not seem injured . The absence of wounds and blood, despite the tears in his clothing, suggested the man was just about lucky enough to amass a number of near misses .
Fortunately for the man, the obsidian elephant was not the fastest creature . It was quick but lumbering, and it gave the man enough space to breathe and do what it took to remain alive .
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The man then started running towards Han Sen, screaming, "Han Sen, save me!"
Han Sen was surprised the man knew who he was . He couldn't make the man's face out too clearly in the cover of night, but the voice was very familiar . Whoever it was, it was someone he knew .
The fact that the man was covered in dirt and a variety of different leaves didn't help Han Sen get a clear image of the man, either .
"Holy sh*t! Why are you here, Professor Bai?" At long last, Han Sen recognized him as Bai Yishan of Saint Hall .
Bai Yishan was Han Sen's teacher, to put it modestly . And when Han Sen's eyes registered who it was, he leapt forward to help him out .
"Be careful! It's a nine gene lock Obsidian Elephant . It is frighteningly powerful!" Bai Yishan shouted at Han Sen, who was fearlessly joining the fray .
His warnings did little to sway Han Sen's resolve, of course . Before he could even finish his speech, Bai Yishan saw Han Sen neck-deep in combat with it .
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With hands that looked like they were made of crystal, Han Sen turned into a figure of ice .
Pang!
The Obsidian Elephant was going at a blisteringly fast speed, and with a cobrlike reaction, Han Sen was able to snap forward and grab its tusk .
When the two mighty fighters got into it with each other, the landscape was quickly turned into a mess . As if there was a violent earthquake that was causing a landslide, the region was turned upside down in a muddy, dusty haze . The elephant had more than met its match with Han Sen .
Bai Yishan's jaw was in the dirt . He had spent the last ten years studying the creature, observing its energy flow .
Needless to say, Bai Yishan knew a lot about this creature . At the very least, he knew it was not the sort of creature a person should jovially jump into battle against . Of course, he knew it wasn't the greatest of creatures . While it did have immense strength, its speed was its Achilles heel .
Still, its power was of such a height that it could one-hit kill any other nine gene lock creature it came up against .
He had seen many creatures unknowingly stumble across it, turn tail, and flee . It was a monster no creature or spirit was willing to mess with . Bai Yishan wanted to study it and create a new hyper geno art he'd tentatively titled the Elephant Sutra .
Fortunately, its slower than ideal speed was exactly what enabled Bai Yishan to study and investigate the creature for such a long time . But he had made a mistake this time and disturbed its rest . He had invoked its ire and angered it a great deal .
Regardless, Bai Yishan was shocked to see Han Sen do battle with it .
"I can't believe the power of a surpasser can equal or even exceed that of this elephant," Bai Yishan said out loud .
A second later, his eyeballs almost jumped out the comfort of their sockets .
Han Sen's muscles quivered, as he picked up the entire elephant in his arms . Then, as if he were throwing logs at some celtic event, he lobbed it onto the ground a good distance away .
Boom!
A fifty-meter-wide crater was formed in the ground, which Han Sen quickly leapt into to re-engage the elephant . Bai Yishan ran forward to catch a glimpse of what would happen next, and he accidentally stumbled into the hole .
Han Sen wondered why the elephant, despite the height it had been thrown at, did not get pulled into the sea above .
"Han Sen! What have you been practicing?" Bai Yishan said, standing back up .
He had been creating the Elephant Sutra in the hopes of formulating a hyper geno art of incredibly raw, unbridled strength . After seeing the feat Han Sen had just performed, he was starting to think he had wasted his time .