The Dawn of the New World

His bright green pupils slowly broke free from the stupor and refocused back on the world around him.

His eyes felt like they were on fire, in fact, that was the case for his very soul which amalgamated every aspect of the life he just experienced.

His throat was bone dry so he swallowed a mouthful of saliva and tried to speak, an act he had not repeated in almost 50 years.

"Thirsty...I'm so thirsty..."

He was burning up, every single part of him was.

*Beep*

|Warning: Body Temperature 60 degrees and Rising|

*Cough*Cough*

Hao Xuan clenched his chest which felt like it was about to explode and quickly breathed out in a long stream. The air distorted from the rising temperature just as it would over an open flame and the end of the stream even ignited for a short moment.

Chaos Qi was bubbling and boiling within his meridians and was forcefully being pushed out from the increasing pressure.

? |80 Degrees and Rising|

Another notification popped up before Baracus warned Hao Xuan.

"There will be severe soft tissue damage if the temperature is not brought under control within the next 20 seconds."

His nerves and blood vessels were expanding ever so slightly with every surging wave of burning Chaos Qi but apart from the pain Hao Xuan did not seem to be too concerned about it.

"I...know!" he muttered through gritted teeth and opened his arms as far wide as they possibly would and made a fist.

His clenched jaw was teetering on the brink of fragmenting until all the Qi was brought to towards the middle of his chest in one swift motion and he smashed both fists together in front of him creating a loud thud.

His throat swole to almost double in size just as he vomited a stream of bright orange flame.

*Huff*Huff*Huff*

That seemed to have done the trick as Baracus's notification informed an out of breath Hao Xuan a moment later of the changes.

|Temeprature dropped to 55 Degrees and holding|

"Hmm," he gruffly nodded.

"Changes in the internal meridian circulation system detected."

Hao Xuan closed his eyes while rubbing his temples as the searing headaches came back along with memories he had just ingested.

"It was because of him...the me that I just absorbed. His emotions were so powerful that I couldn't control them. They just came out in one blinding stampede of raw unfiltered rage. I could feel everything he felt...and more."

He looked down at his hands and noticed the changes to his body both inside and out.

His hands felt rough, more than a little numb to the touch. They felt too light as if there was missing something and he knew exactly what it was.

And on the inside the changes were also just as significant.

The veins connecting his meridians had expanded by half. Everything ached but not in a bad way. In fact he missed this feeling even though in reality, this was the first time he had actually felt it.

"This was a cultivation method he created himself. Compressing the internal energy repeatedly before releasing it in one final tidal wave. It gives a huge boost to raw power but damages internal organs with every use. That's why I died shortly after reaching fifty, due to complete organ failure."

Even though he was saying that there was a faint smile on his lips and a blush on his cheeks.

"But for me, that's not a problem anymore because my regenerative abilities far exceed what any mortal could be born with it."

Clenching his fists one by one Hao Xuan slowly circulated the Chaos Qi once again and felt the changes. Not only was it much faster but also far easier to bring out. Although controlling it would require a lot more work.

With another deep breath Hao Xuan jumped down from the several-meter tall city wall and landed squarely on his feet.

"Patience. Breathing. Focus. Patience. Breathing. Focus."

Repeating constantly Hao Xuan walked forward through the rubble and remains of the fight that was slowly coming closer.

His eyes snaked left and right looking for something appropriate and he found it a moment later, in the hands of a demihuman guard that was recovering his energy next to a handful of cultivators that were also out of breath and Qi.

Hao Xuan walked behind them without making a sound. Even when he was am arm's reach away none of them could feel his presence until he spoke up.

"Give me that."

"!!!"

The guard jumped to his feet brandishing a blade that he noticed was not in his grasp anymore.

"You Scoundrel! Return that right now!"

Awoken from mediation by his yelling the cultivators also looked towards the culprit.

One of them who had been with Henrik's group from the beginning recognized him at once.

"Brother Hao Xuan!" he explained.

"Brother??" the guard repeated suspiciously.

Hao Xuan obviously had no idea who that man was so he simply nodded in his direction before looking towards the demihuman guard.

"I need this. Tell your princess how ever much it costs and she will reimburse you."

"Sir if you need a weapon there are much better ones-"

"No I need this. Its fights right in my hands."

😉