1983 Misunderstanding After Han Sen returned to the island, he saw his legless crane resting beneath the tree. He put some meat in its bowl, then went into the house to practice Under the Sky. Under the Sky was very delicate. The technique did not have much flair, and it wasn’t overbearing, like Teeth Knife. But when you used the skill, it was like a rippling ribbon that could not be cut. The knifeskills looked random, but they were all connected. It could trap an enemy without them noticing. With it, Han Sen might even be able to control the enemy as if they were a puppet. Under the Sky was not too dissimilar to Heavenly Go or the Dongxuan Sutra. It was still quite unique, of course. Heavenly Go focused on one’s formation. The Dongxuan Sutra was excellent when it came to prediction. Under the Sky focused on direct control. Under the Sky made one a queen amongst ants, allowing the user to rule the battlefield. Whoever made that knifeskill, to have given it a name like that, must have been thinking of this. But there was a problem with the knifeskill which reduced its effectiveness significantly. In order to properly control the enemy, the skill had to view them as nothing. And that was where the problem began. When Han Sen watched Yun Suyi make use of it, he could tell where the technique had originated; it had to have stemmed from Sky Palace. Han Sen had guessed correctly. Sky Palace had Outer Sky powers, and it came from the Textless Book. The person that created Under the Sky had practiced with the Textless Book. He used that as a basis, and with his knowledge and talent, he formulated the rest of the knifeskill. Understanding the Textless Book wasn’t necessary to practice Under the Sky, though. If it was, then what was the point? Very few could actually practice with the Textless Book, after all. Because of this, the skill lacked the Textless Book’s power as a base, and the control power was quite weak. It wasn’t the best. It created a dual-sided problem: people who couldn’t practice the Textless Book also couldn’t learn this knifeskill to its true potential, but people who could practice the Textless Book didn’t need to learn this skill. It was a bit of a shame. Under the Sky had been abandoned because no one had found a way to overcome this problem. The modifications of a number of geniuses weren’t even enough. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶 Han Sen wasn’t very good at knifeskills, but it just so happened that Under the Sky’s problem was something Han Sen was very familiar with. He had allowed the Outer Sky powers to enter his body on the Road to the Sky. The forces that he felt impressed him greatly. Added to that, he was proficient with the Dongxuan Sutra and Heavenly Go. Thus, fixing the issue would not be too difficult for him. But Han Sen had only observed the knifeskill. He didn’t have the scroll, so he couldn’t learn it properly and apply his solution to the matter. After thinking it through, Han Sen decided to give Yun Suyi a call. He asked if outsiders were allowed to learn Under the Sky, but she said no. It was a flawed knifeskill, but it was connected to the Textless Book. Therefore, not just anyone could come and learn it. Yun Suyi was allowed to learn it because the skill was originally created by the Yun family. She could study it herself, but she could not pass it on to others. Han Sen was disappointed. He had agreed to help her because he thought the skill would suit him. He wanted to learn it himself. Han Sen was disappointed he was not able to learn the skill. He apologized to Yun Suyi and told her he could not fix it by merely watching. That night, Yu Jing came to meet with Han Sen. “Brother Yu, speak your mind.” Han Sen had learned quite a bit about Yu Jing from Yun Suyi. He did not harbor any prejudice against the man, though, so he treated him like a normal person. Yu Jing checked to see if they were truly alone, and he said, “Brother Han, if you do not care for the rewards of the exam, how about you help me out? With your power, you can surely win first place. If you can help me, I can provide you a reward that is worth even more.” “Are you saying you want me to cheat?” Han Sen understood what he was getting at. “Haha! I’m only talking about helping each other get what we both want.” Yu Jing laughed. Han Sen suddenly thought of something, and so he told Yu Jing, “I am afraid I am unable to help you. I will be taking part in the exam.” “That’s okay. But if you change your mind, you can always call me.” Yu Jing was visibly disappointed, but he did not say anything about it. After he left, Han Sen called Yun Suyi and asked, “Suyi, is Under the Sky in the Holy House?” There is a copy in there, yes. Why? What do you want?” Yun Suyi asked with surprise. “If I get first place in the exam, I can ask for Under the Sky as a reward, yes?” Han Sen asked. “That is correct.” After saying that, Yun Suyi thought of something and blushed. “I see. Okay, then!” Han Sen hung up. Yun Suyi had confirmed his guess, so he was going to join the exam and see if he could nab first place. If he was able to, he’d pick Under the Sky. Yun Suyi was still holding the phone, deep in thought. Her cheeks were red, and she smiled and thought to herself, “Is he going to the exam because of me? All to get Under the Sky?” There were still two weeks to go before the exam. White Jade Jing opened again the following week, and Han Sen had plans to slay a few more Earl xenogeneics to level up his gene tally. He still wanted to learn the truth about mutant genes. Han Sen did not plan to go to Xuanyuan Cave this time, as that place was far too complicated. There were too many Xuan Jade Spirits around, and they were tough to kill. Han Sen got his hands on a Sky Palace map, and he looked over places he could go to hunt xenogeneics. After a time of deliberation, he decided on going to Old Night Island. Old Night Island’s xenogeneics were fast, and most of them could fly. Earls did not like going there, as it was difficult to slay the inhabitants of that island. Han Sen, however, was not afraid. No matter what happened, his rabbit shoes and his dragon wings could give him the speed he needed. Catching an Earl would not be difficult, either. After Yu Jing confirmed Han Sen’s participation in the exam, a new thought came to him. “There aren’t many special people in this year’s exam. With Han Sen’s power, he can get into the top five with ease. I can take advantage of that. His reputation is weak, and so people don’t know his true strength. I can earn money through this.” Yu Jing concocted a long scheme.