The Dawn of the New World

His objective was to reach the 'Synapse' creature as soon as possible and for that he didn't have time to sit and plan. The best option was to run straight in and break through the horde with raw power.

And expectantly he was surrounded from all sides pretty soon. The city was hidden behind the black forest and the only light came from his own two burning fists as they punched, knocked and blasted through everything that moved.

Now he couldn't stop himself even if he wanted to.

His feet kept moving forward in tandem with every strike. He had built the momentum and short of death nothing could stop it at this moment.

"Ashura's Grand Compendious: 64 Palms of Infernal Flame" was a Saint Level combat scripture even from the beginning and as such its prowess was nearly unmatched in its category.

His body moved by itself, egged on by the memories brought forth by these old sensations from a life he never lived. He was fighting the grunts but his mind had unknowingly been dragged back into that lifetime.

'One, two, three!'

'One, two, three!'

'One, two, three!'

'One, two, three!'

He stood half-naked under the burning sun punching a wooden plank as the desert sand burned the soles of his feet and every gust of wind threatened to leave him in cinders.

When Hao Xuan stopped to catch his breath both of his fists began to smoke. He had to use his shirt to wrap his fists since he couldn't afford any proper equipment but they weren't able to hold his Qi properly.

His stomach rolled and grumbled while his throat ached from thirst but there was nothing to quench it.

He pulled back the wrapping around his left arm and bit at an open wound, drinking his own blood just to stave off thirst and hunger.

A moment later he stood back up and continued repeating the same routine. One after the other each punch landed in the exact spot.

Hao Xuan's mind was numb just like most of his body. There was nothing to feel, nothing to look forward to. Just staying alive was a chore and it took every ounce of effort to accomplish even that.

At some point during the mindless repetitive cycle of punching and resting small forceful jets of Yang Qi began to exude from his knuckles leaving inch-deep indentations on the wooden plank.

He stopped mid-strike to inspect his fists. The wrapping around the knuckles had been completely burnt off.

With a small nod, he turned around and began to make his way through the sand dunes until an old mountain came into view.

Its dark yellow looming figure reached into the clouds but strangely enough, it left no shadow under the sun.

There was one massive entrance more than twenty meters wide leading inside which Hao Xuan followed. Along the way he passed by several dilapidated figures some sitting cross-legged while others were either sleeping or in a state of near-death.

They were all but skin and bones just like Hao Xuan.

He walked further still, feeling the temperature rising with every step until he was sweating profusely. Even practicing under the scorching sun didn't make him sweat much but this heat was different.

It reached deep inside his body, in every organ and tissue until he felt one with it.

He felt full as if all the hunger had been satiated.

The ground turned red and black as streams of molten lava began to flow from the sides just as the only exit opened up into one massive chamber.

This chamber was filled with lava and the only place to even stand was on the five-meter ledge right in front of the entrance.

Hao Xuan stopped a few feet away and waited. The lava began to bubble and a few seconds later a herculean figure emerged from its depths.

Six gigantic arms reached out and grabbed the walls of the chamber before the main body showed itself.

It had two extra heads one on each shoulder while the one in middle was not even human. It had long demonic horns jetting from the forehead and four mammoth-like tusks.

Magma dripped down from the long hair of the middle head creating waves in the pool below.

But despite its nightmarish appearance Hao Xuan was not afraid one bit. To say his prepubescent figure was like an ant in front of it would be a gross overstatement.

"Whomst has summoned the Ashura of the Six paths!" it roared before noticing Hao Xuan, at which point its voice fell several octaves.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want mute boy? I will not give you anything else. Power must be earned not-"

Hao Xuan extended both his fists silencing him at once.

The Ashura leaned forward and squinted, "Hoho, you have achieved some accomplishments, not bad for a lowborn human."

The three heads looked into the tunnel Hao Xuan had come from and sighed.

"And from the looks of it you are the only one. What a disappointment. I should have gone to a different world. Everyone said nothing good would come from scrapping the bottom of the barrel. Tsk, what a letdown. I will probably fail the examination too," it grumbled to itself for a moment before remembering he wasn't alone.

It cleared its throat and shrugged.

"Still, it was 'fate' that brought us together."

One of the hands reached into the pool of lava and took out something. The massive hand hovered in front of Hao Xuan, allowing him to see what it was.

A six-sided orange crystal that exuded a numbing light.

"Since you are the only one who could rouse my Astral form I will bestow upon you a piece of my final work. Take it, it will allow you to break free from all that holds you down."

Hao Xuan stared at it for a second before reaching out. The crystal floated over and simply disappeared in the palm of his hand.

The Ashura leaned back and all three heads stared at Hao Xuan.

"If you ever manage to leave this world, come find me at the Temple of War. I am called 'Ashura of the Six Paths', the one who will take the mantle of the God of War! MUHAHAHA!"

A storm erupted around its body pushing Hao Xuan away.

He covered his eyes and face and when the noise had died down Hao Xuan looked up and found himself standing alone in the desert. No mountain anywhere in sight, just a few corpses strewn across the red sands.