The Dawn of the New World

Hao Xuan's gut churned loudly and he keeled over on the spot emptying out the watery contents of his stomach onto the ground while Baracus's error codes blinked in the corner of his eye.

It took him almost a full minute to regain his composure and stand upright again.

"That was...fucking painful..." he muttered through laboured breaths.

*Beep*

"All incoming data streams corrupted. Explanation?"

Hao Xuan shook his head wearily, "Explanation...I'd like one too. He asked me to kill him but shortly after I landed the killing blow a sharp pain ran down my spine and I lost control of my body. I felt my soul being forced out from the inside...my OWN god damned body betrayed me!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"The reason you're not getting anything back is probably because of my last order. I couldn't do anything when it started and was about to lose control of my physique. And if that happened I wouldn't even be able to reset and go back into the past so-"

"Self-detonation," Baracus swiftly concluded.

Hao Xuan turned around to peer in Dai Zhi's direction with a deathly glare.

"Yeah. I told you to kill me before it was too late," he confirmed.

"..."

"What will you do now?"

"Now?" Hao Xuan's face slowly twisted in anger, "Now I want to know how long have I been a guinea pig for these motherfuckers. Just how long have they been using me like this!"

Taking a few short breaths to compose himself again he jumped over the stream for the second time and approached the center.

Dai Zhi reacted the same as the last time but Hao Xuan was in no mood for games.

"There you are," Dai Zhi exclaimed, "I have been waiting for you for so long, and here you were, right under my nose!"

Hao Xuan stepped right up to him, fearlessly staring him down.

It was so unexpected that even Dai Zhi was stunned into silence for a moment. His face twitched before he forced an unnatural smile.

"Shouldn't you be a bit warier of your opponents?"

It looked like he was actually mad that Hao Xuan wasn't more cautious of him which in turn made Hao Xuan laugh inwardly.

'You can't hide your ego even now. Always thinking you have the upper hand, let's see how you like it when I put all your cards on the table.'

"What should I be wary of you? Didn't you ask me here to strike you down?"

It was only for a brief moment but Dai Zhi couldn't completely hide the shocked expression. Still, he acted like he didn't know what was going on and completely changed the narrative.

"Oh my, whatever do you mean?"

Hao Xuan was staring right into Dai Zhi's eyes so as to not miss anything when he said the name, "Meng."

But unexpectedly Dai Zhi's brow only furrowed in confusion, "What?"

'He doesn't know Meng? Or...just knows him by a different name?'

"You know, the guy who rows a paddleless boat across a bottomless sea at the edge of the worlds."

And once again he noticed Dai Zhi's pupils narrow into slits. This time he stepped back before lightly waving his hand.

Hao Xuan could feel the air tighten around him which made him feel like he was the one in control for the first time in a long time.

"Why are you so surprised? I thought you wanted me to kill you? Did we have a change of heart?" he mocked.

Dai Zhi's previously carefree expression turned solemn in an instant.

'I thought he wasn't supposed to know that. Did he figure it out himself or did someone else tell him? How much does he know?'

Hao Xuan could read him like a book with a mere glance and quickly realized that his opponent wasn't some high and mighty being but a mere novice with much less experience than him. He was a little ashamed to have overreacted before and seeing Dai Zhi acting so scared only filled him with confidence.

"Come on now, you have to say something for this to move forward, I can't be the only one talking," he quipped.

Seeing as Hao Xuan wasn't outwardly aggressive towards him Dai Zhi relaxed a smidgen.

"Who told you about it?"

"About what?" Hao Xuan asked with a raised eyebrow. He genuinely didn't know but to Dai Zhi, it looked like he was just acting dumb.

"Don't play games with me, about the physique. Who told you?"

Hao Xuan's fist tightened, 'I knew it.'

"What does it matter who told me? The point is that I know."

He could make a few guesses but couldn't be completely sure unless he heard it from the source itself. Thankfully, Dai Zhi had taken the bait hook, line, and sinker.

"You're right, it doesn't matter who told you or how but if you know that much then you should also know that it was always meant for me. There is nothing you can do with that physique because you will never be able to break through to the next physique realm. Give it to me willingly and I will make it as quick and as painless as possible."