Ridiculous

"Brother Han, you have treated me like a little brother. If you are willing to help me, I will treat you with the reverence of a real brother." Qi Xiuwen looked at Han Sen when he spoke.

"If I said I was willing to help you, would you honestly believe I would?" Han Sen responded, looking calmly back at Qi Xiuwen.

"I see no reason why I would not believe you. But, I do have medicine with me. It is my hope that you will take it." Qi Xiuwen had no fear of anything. He pulled out a platinum bottle from his inner-chest pocket and threw it towards Han Sen.

Han Sen caught the bottle and opened it. It contained numerous fire crystal-looking pills that were about the same size as a pigeon's eye.

"What are these pills?" Han Sen held one of the pills in his hand and looked at it in the light. He noticed the hardened exterior of the pill contained a rolling liquid inside.

"It's a Geno Creation pill. Our Dong Lin contains fantastic biological gene technology. This is just one of our products. Once you eat it, it can trigger geno mutations. There's every chance it could make you stronger, but..." Qi Xiuwen gave a brief pause. After a while, he resumed by saying, "But there is also the chance your genes suffer a snafu of sorts. But don't you worry! If you inject yourself with a geno stabilizer, you can stabilize the mutant genes. It won't harm your body. This isn't some fresh product that has just come out the oven; it's mature and has been extensively-developed. Nothing will go wrong."

"If I take this, then that would mean I would have to listen to you for the rest of my life." Han Sen spoke with a frosty tone as he looked at the Geno Creation pill.

"I must confess, I wouldn't let a character such as yourself out of my sight for very long. If I let you leave, my thoughts and dreams would be disturbed! That is why I must put you on a leash as soon as I am able," Qi Xiuwen said.

"You have more than forty evolvers with a fitness level of over one hundred, and you have an elite who has unlocked their first gene lock. It looks like you have exerted a lot of effort in composing this little posse of yours." Han Sen looked around the room, observing the faces of all who were present.

"Brother Han is a very powerful person. Such preparations were necessary. If I wasn't going to stake a claim and take this royal shelter for myself, I wouldn't have bothered Thunderdevil to come all this way." Qi Xiuwen smiled.

"You really think that special little elite in your midst is invincible?" Han Sen went back to stroking his silver fox. He then raised his lips in a disdainful smile.

"Did you just say 'special little elite'?! You better watch your tone, boy." Thunderdevil's face now changed as he glared fiercely at Han Sen, green electricity crackling all around his body.

When everyone saw the electricity that swirled, snapped, and crackled around Thunderdevil, their hope for a happy ending vanished. This really was an elite who had unlocked their first gene lock, and he was no foe to be trifled with.

"Mister Qi, there is no need to entertain this tiring chit-chat with the boy. If he does not quickly agree, then just kill him." Thunderdevil maintained his gaze on Han Sen while he spoke to Qi Xiuwen.

"Brother Han, please consider it." Qi Xiuwen was getting annoyed.

"What's the problem? I was being honest. An elite who has unlocked their first gene lock? Am I supposed to be afraid or something? You're pulling my leg, right? Did you think this clown would frighten me?" Han Sen said, with a frost-bitten tone.

After Han Sen said this, everyone's faces warped into looks of disbelief. No one believed Han Sen would have the audacity to say something like that. To show contempt towards an elite of such a high rank was near-enough to asking for death.

To call the elite a clown, Han Sen must have lost his mind.

"Do you have a death wish, boy?" Electricity now swirled madly around Thunderdevil, and green bolts of lightning cracked in his eyes. Han Sen's disrespect seemed to have made him extremely angry.

Qi Xiuwen had not given the order to attack yet, so Thunderdevil stayed put.

"Brother Han, if you continue to be so stubborn, then don't blame me for what happens next." Qi Xiuwen's face looked bleak. He turned to look at Thunderdevil, then nodded.

Thunderdevil had already come to dislike Han Sen. He was not accustomed to being looked down upon by someone who had not yet unlocked their own first gene lock. He thought Han Sen didn't know his place.

The moment Qi Xiuwen nodded, fierce shieldings of electricity surrounded Thunderdevil. He was wholly consumed by the green aura of airborne fire. His hands clutched a long physical bolt of lightning, and threw it like a javelin towards Han Sen.

With the terrifying scene that was now unfolding, everyone took a step back to avoid being struck by Thunderdevil's thunder and lightning. He was so bright, they could not even see Thunderdevil's body.

All that could be heard was the swirling pressure of crackling static and electricity. Han Sen then saw the incoming spear of lightning.

This scary power made everyone's hearts pound in fear, but it also gave them each a modicum of jealousy, wishing they could one day attain such talent. All of them desired to one day unlock their first gene lock, but realistically, only one in a million was likely to achieve such a status.

But between their jealousy and frightened emotional state, they thought they were going to have to watch Han Sen be slain by the Thunderdevil. However, it was at that moment that the silver fox Han Sen had been holding leapt into action.

A silver cloud of lightning appeared and annihilated the incoming spear of green electricity. Then, more thunder snapped the skies apart. Before it could finish, it was joined by a chorus of screams.

The Thunderdevil, who once struck fear into the hearts of everyone present, was now blackened and charred. Then he fell to the floor. There were three gouge-marks in his body, wounds that were deep enough to reveal his bones. He writhed around on the floor, unable to stand back up.

The audience quaked in their boots, in utter disbelief at the sight of Thunderdevil squirming around on the ground. When the screaming stopped, the Spirit Hall fell silent. Not even the sounds of breathing could be heard from the crowd that watched.

"No way. How?!"

"What happened?"

"How can an elite who has unlocked their first gene lock be beaten by a little pet fox?!"

Everyone was speechless, and their minds were now plagued with a thousand different questions over what they had just witnessed. All they could do was look at Thunderdevil, who was rolling around on the floor.

The color in Qi Xiuwen's face drained, and a chill spiked his heart. He could not believe his ace-in-the-hole had been beaten so simply. He was an elite who had unlocked his first gene lock, after all.

Pang!

Han Sen picked up the silver fox and stroked him in his arms once more. Then he walked up to the ground-bound Thunderdevil and kicked him in front of Qi Xiuwen.

"Did I say clown? I'm sorry; this guy is an insult to clowns. Is this who you were relying on?" Han Sen looked at Qi Xiuwen, who now bore a pale face.

Thunderdevil, who was near Qi Xiuwen's feet, was spilling blood from his mouth. It looked as if he was on death's door.

Qi Xiuwen and his forty other elites looked absolutely petrified. They did not dare to move. The teeth of the audience were chattering, and their bodies were shivering in fear and uncertainty.

Qi Xiuwen must have thought he was suffering an unrelenting nightmare. He had more than forty elites, one of which had unlocked his first gene lock. This powerful line-up, that had seemed to dwarf the rest in the hall, now seemed like a pitiful joke.

Yes, it was ridiculous. Qi Xiuwen had believed he controlled the crushing power necessary to subdue any foe that sought to hinder his goals and desires. Now, he believed it was ridiculous.

This man, who listened to everything and never said no, Qi Xiuwen had thought to be stupid. But now, he revered Han Sen like some god. He could hardly look at him, and all he could do was shiver in his boots.

It was in this moment that Qi Xiuwen realized Han Sen never once took him seriously, and that the entire time he had been with him, he must have been merely enjoying the comedy. It was as if he had been watching an ant, being arrogant and trying to bully others. His behavior had been ridiculous and all his plans were childish.

All of a sudden, Qi Xiuwen's confidence collapsed and with it, he fell to the ground.