Super Gene

The pictures were, admittedly, strange. Han Sen and the two women passed through many restrictions to get there, but if they hadn’t, Han Sen would have thought that these drawings had been created by some renowned abstract painter or graffiti artist rather than by an ancient elite.

When they arrived at the Ancient Wall, many of the Very High were at the wall already. Some were sitting, some were standing, some were staring at the wall, and some had their heads lowered in contemplation. It seemed as if they were all trying to feel something from the paintings on the wall.

Some of the Very High who were present were very scary individuals, too. Even among their powerful race, they were probably considered top-class elites.

Han Sen started to say something, but Exquisite gestured for him to remain silent. She gravely placed a finger over her lips, then motioned for him to observe the painting.

When Han Sen saw how Exquisite and Li Keer were carefully watching the Very High around them, he realized that the two women must be trying not to disturb their prestigious elders. They were being very careful not to do anything that might disturb the other people at the wall or disrupt their concentration.

Han Sen didn’t say anything. He just moved to examine the drawings on the wall. Exquisite and Li Keer stayed beside him, looking closely at the drawings as well.

As they tried to understand the drawings, they also paid attention to what Han Sen was thinking. Being able to access Han Sen’s perspective and knowledge meant they could learn much more.

But it wasn’t as if they were taking advantage of Han Sen. After all, had he not become a silkworm of the Very High, he would never have been able to see the drawings on this wall in the first place.

The whole mountain was covered in drawings, which meant that there was an unimaginable amount to take in. Han Sen wanted to find the very beginning. Once he found the starting point, he could follow the drawings as they progressed.

But after searching for a while, he was unable to find where the drawing had begun.

The weird artwork was something Han Sen couldn’t understand in the least. Many abstract images seemed to have been melded together into a single fluid mural, which had no beginning and no end. It was hard to tell what it could all mean. If the drawings hadn’t been so incredibly smooth and stunning, Han Sen would have thought that it was the random graffiti of a child.

Exquisite could feel what Han Sen was thinking. She lowered her voice and whispered to Han Sen, “No one knows where this painting starts, and no one knows what the painting means. You should start by trying to understand it through the scratches.”

Han Sen nodded without responding. He couldn’t see any obvious clues, so he did what Exquisite had suggested. He focused on the scratch marks visible in the stone.

Han Sen’s mind wasn’t any worse than that of an ordinary deified elite. After looking over the drawing for a while, Han Sen realized that it had been drawn with a person’s fingers. The mind that resided inside the scratch marks wasn’t hostile, either. These weren’t the gashes of weaponry, but neither were they elegant like writing done with a pen. It was a very strange thing to see.

“This should be a finger mind,” Han Sen guessed. He couldn’t be entirely sure, though.

Although he wasn’t sure what kind of mind this was, it wasn’t hard to tell that the person who made the entire drawing had a powerful consciousness. Han Sen’s mind was powerful in its own right, but compared to the mind that had created these marks, his was simple and low-level.

Han Sen wasn’t in a rush to understand the mind that resided within the marks. He followed a trail across the mountain. First, he wanted to take-in the drawing on a larger scale. After that, he would step closer and examine each individual drawing in detail.

But no matter how hard he tried to see and understand, he couldn’t get the gist of any painting or drawing. He couldn’t even glean a clue. He had to start from the scratch marks again.

“The mind in the carving was left behind by the Very High who used his powers to draw. I think that the messages left behind by the drawing and the scratch marks themselves are different. Revealing the secrets of the painting wouldn’t help me understand the mind carved into the rock. But then again, no one expects me to reveal the secrets of the painting. If I can understand the meaning of the scratches, then this entire venture will be worthwhile.” Han Sen grew calm and focused on trying to understand the meaning of the lines.

The marks gave Han Sen the impression of drifting clouds, but as his understanding of the marks deepened, it made him think of an unstoppable force. It gave him the desire to delve deeper into the depths of his own emotions.

It was the feeling of someone who loved reading books, but then they discovered the most spell-binding novel in existence. Han Sen was drawn to it, and he didn’t want to tear himself away from the tale for a single second. He just wanted to keep reading and find out what happened next.

The second impression he gleaned was the word “strange.” Every mind tended to have a theme. In Han Sen’s Under the Sky, for example, the theme was that everything in the universe was just a chess piece.

But the mind in this painting was unique. If you described an ordinary person’s mind, you could say it was like a tree, a mountain, or a river. But if those things represented ordinary minds, then the mind of this painting would be like a scroll that was 10,000 miles long.

Every line and every curve had a different mind. One section could be a mountain or a body of water. Another part might be a cloud or a speck of soil, or a pavilion or a building. A single curve of the drawing could be a flower, a bird, a bug, or a fish. The changing of the minds drew the observer in further and further, leaving them unable to stop. With a single step, Han Sen could witness three different scenes. Every line and every turn filled him with amazing thoughts. It left him unable to guess what the next scene might be.

“No wonder Exquisite said any creature that visited the Ancient Wall would receive a boost to their mind. The mind on this wall seems to encompass everything. Any creature that practiced any power or element could find a mind there that matched well with their geno arts.” Although Han Sen was looking at it with his own eyes, it was rather difficult to believe.

Han Sen wondered what sort of genius this Very High elder must have been to be capable of drawing a painting like this on his own.

If the Very High hadn’t confirmed that the Ancient Wall’s drawings were done by one person, Han Sen would have thought that this drawing was the work of many people. How could one person be the master of so many minds? It didn’t make sense.

Even though Han Sen had a voracious intellect and an impressive ability to learn, he could only walk one path. He couldn’t learn everything there was to be learned in the universe.

“If this was drawn by one person, then that Very High elder’s mind is very impressive. He must have been the smartest person in the whole universe,” Han Sen murmured as he examined the drawings.

Han Sen continued working his way through the drawings, one by one. Although he couldn’t learn all of it, just feeling all those kinds of minds was good for expanding his own knowledge. It was helping him develop new perspectives.

Han Sen was continuing his observations when he was delivered a shock. Goosebumps flared across his skin at the sensation. This mind was simply too twisted and weird. As he explored, Han Sen had felt too much of the mind and realized that it was too complicated. He was sinking into it, which shook his faith to the core.

It was like a university student who had just graduated. Countless large companies sent invitations to the graduate. One of them said, “Come to my company and be a lawyer. Being a lawyer has all sorts of benefits. You will earn a lot of money.” Another company said, “Come to be a doctor in my company. Being a doctor can make you incredibly famous, and your reputation will grow by leaps and bounds.”

Everyone said they were the best, and all of them seemed generous and attractive. A new graduate, being pulled in so many different directions, could quickly lose track of themselves.