Rebirth: Super gene

The water trembled as Han Yan focused on removing the parasitic pinecone from the back of Yaksha's head.

She would have been done if not for all the hair the spirit had and the constant trembling of the water.

'Just what is he doing out there?' She looked towards the surface of the water with concern.

...

If someone had visited this island before but came back now, they would most definitely not recognize it.

The forest was gone, replaced by potholes as if a meteor rain had occurred. Half of the mountain had collapsed, causing the Aqua Vines to tremble and search for a more steady footing.

Two figures darted across at a speed that would put every other creature in the Third God Sanctuary to shame. To say they were fast would be an injustice against every super creature that prided itself on speed.

Bian and God's Retribution clashed in the blink of an eye, colliding hundreds of times in a couple of seconds.

With each new impact, blue blood was spilt and jade shards were broken off. They seemed to be equal at a glance, but the winner was clear.

God's Retribution was bleeding blue blood all over but was not seriously damaged, while the same couldn't be said for Bian.

He had already stopped using his right arm because one more collision would cause it to break apart. There were cracks everywhere on his body.

His armor had been destroyed, and it looked like his body wasn't far off either.

'It's going to take me weeks to recover from this fight, but I've gotten it. The essence of my combat.'

He had not figured out the finer details yet, but that could always be done at a later date. If not for the current hyperactive soul pillar, Bian wouldn't have learned so much from their battle.

Just as he was about to call Tyrant, Man Tian and Han Yan came out of the water.

"Oh no, ru-"

An abdominal blow sent Bian flying as God's Retribution rushed to Han Yan.

"Pick on someone your own size!" Man Tian had seen his intentions before he moved and stood in front of Han Yan.

"Tian stand!" His feet stomped heavily on the ground, giving him the power to bear weights thousands of times above his limit.

"Tian blow!"

Man Tian and God's Retribution's fists collided. Several bone-breaking sounds echoed as Man Tian was sent hurling into Han Yan, both of them flying thousands of meters away.

Before God's Retribution could give chase, a fifteen-meter-tall Minotaur dashed out of the water.

'It's fast!'

His posture was not steady and was broken completely when Tyrant slammed the ground with his left palm.

The world seemed to quake, and God's Retribution was affected most by the debilitating move.

The blade of the Aeonshard descended upon him, giving him no time to dodge.

He crossed his arms and circulated the Blood Pulse Sutra. His blue veins protruded as the muscles around his body bulged up and tensed themselves like steel cables.

Bang!

The ground was split into different parts as God's Retribution was sent flying backward.

One of his arms was missing while the other had a deep cut in it with the bones visible. He had to quickly place the Aqua Fruit in his pocket and grab the second arm before it flew away.

Just then, Bian appeared behind him like a ghost, reaching for the Aqua Fruit with his damaged hand.

God's Retribution went in for a roundhouse kick, but Bian's second hand wasn't idle either.

He caught the attack, mere inches away from his head, and successfully grabbed the Aqua Fruit.

His body sunk into the ground from absorbing the attack, and his other hand was also badly hurt. Only a fragment of his palm, the width of a hair, kept his thumb in place.

"You bastard!" God's Retribution yelled in anger.

"Ha-ha, you should have run away with the fruit while you had it," Bian said as he ensured the Aqua Fruit he grabbed was the real deal.

God's Retribution had a fake of the Aqua Fruit. He would have used it to trick the Empress, and it would have worked on Bian too, if he hadn't kept track of the real Fruit with the Empirical Aura.

From the moment he plucked it to when he hid it and openly carried the decoy, everything was visible to Bian under the indigo light of the Empirical Aura.

The soul pillar worked wonders in its current hyperactive state as it allowed him to keep track of the fruit.

It really was a sad tale. If God's Retribution was facing anyone else other than Bian, he would have surely tricked them.

It was too late for regrets or revenge as Tyrant landed before him. The Aeonshard halberd made a vertical arc as it raced towards his torso.

Having witnessed the destructive power of Strength Overlord's attack, God's Retribution decided to leave the fruit in exchange for his life.

He jumped back with tremendous power, injuring himself in the process. His movements blew up the area like a volcano eruption, but he still found the sharp ray of the halberd chasing after him.

Already holding his hand, he used his leg to kick back against the attack, blowing it up and disrupting the atmosphere.

He was sent flying into the distance by the recoil of the attack.

"Let him go. I already have the Aqua Fruit," Bian said before Tyrant gave chase.

Man Tian and Han Yan were already jumping through the islands to their position.

Their deathly battle had reshaped the landscape and turned the area into an archipelago.

Blood was dripping from Man Tian's arm as several of his fingers were broken. Han Yan's armor had several cuts and holes in different areas from her fight against the Empress, mainly surface-level wounds that would heal in a day.

Bian, meanwhile, was covered in cracks. Once he deactivated the Jadebody, blood filled up those cracks, only stopped from gushing out of his body because of the Blood Refine Sutra.

They had suffered varying degrees of injuries from light to nearly critical, but the fact still stood, they won!

The Dragon Fish King was swimming through the archipelago waters as it approached them. It had recovered from the parasitic attack of the pinecone and was back in tip-top shape.

"Thanks for leading the way. You deserve an Aqua Fruit, especially since you were attacked and nearly killed by one."

They had three Aqua Fruits, but Bian knew these fruits were most effective on spirits and some creatures. He didn't plan on eating one or allowing Man Tian and Han Yan to do so.

Han Yan gave one of the Aqua Fruits to the Dragon Fish King, which began glowing as it swallowed it.

The bright sky grew gloomy as clouds appeared overhead, blotting out the sun.

The Dragon Fish King took on its dragon form and let out a mighty roar.

The heavens seemed to respond to its call, and a golden door appeared in the sky.

Thousands of smaller goldfish gathered as they watched their king ascend the Holy Door.

Bian had left the Empirical Aura active and could see hundreds of creatures of different ranks approaching the site.

Should the Dragon Fish King fail its ascension, the other animals would feast on its remains to increase their strength.

It was a cruel reality, but such was life in the sanctuaries.

Most of the approaching creatures didn't dare come near them due to the pressure released by Tyrant and the Aeonshard halberd.

First step!

The golden dragon reached the holy steps and began ascending. It scaled through the first five steps with effort and slowed down at the seventh step.

"Roar!"

The purifying white flames of the holy steps burned through its scales. The flames were extremely hot and fierce, capable of incinerating an average super creature in a second.

Despite this, the Dragon Fish King roared even louder. Its majestic golden light intensified, allowing it to take the eighth and ninth step.

"Just one more step," Bian said what everyone was thinking out loud. The Dragon Fish King was using all its power, but that last step seemed exponentially more difficult than the rest.

Blop!

The thousands of goldfish below began releasing specks of light to aid their king. The light specks from each individual fish were weak, but the effect of thousands of those lights was felt.

The Dragon Fish King felt warmth from below and glanced at its followers. It gave one last roar, a golden light falling from its body.

Then it transcended the last step. Its damaged flesh was reconstructed, and its lost energy was recovered. The Dragon Fish King was given a new body as it completed its ascension to become a demigod.

The golden door closed, and the dark clouds disappeared. A single golden scale fell from the sky, landing towards the fish in the water.

Caw!

Suddenly, a green falcon flew toward the golden scale, snatching it from the air.