The Dawn of the New World

Dai Zhi quickly caught the one thing Hao Xuan had forgotten about.

"Liar. You did not even know who I was before being given the contract to kill me, how could you have possibly set all that up?"

But Hao Xuan was fast to react.

"Hmph, give me a break," he scoffed, "I didn't need to know YOU, just of your existence. I was already aware of the plot you people had involved me in and knew better than anyone else that this physique was more of a burden than a gift. How else could I have managed to set everything up?"

"When that man told me to kill 'Dai Zhi' it only took me a few minutes to look up who that was. It could only be you so...I made a deal with the elven prince. In exchange for holding something for me, I was going to help him find someone."

Dai Zhi's eyes quickly narrowed as his killing intent reached new heights.

"You gave my information to the ELVES?!"

"Yes, and no. I gave him the recording but it is obviously encrypted. The password is with a merchant I met back on the Beast World. Only in case of my death will Ryfon Biric be given the password, otherwise I will destroy it myself."

With a deep sigh Hao Xuan took a step back, even going as far as turning his back towards the blood prince.

"I have explained everything to you, the ball is in your court now. Try to kill me now and risk everything that you have spent decades building, or wait a few more days until I break through to the Profound Realm and help you through the entire process. What will it be?"

Dai Zhi's fist tightened in agony. He was inexhaustibly vexed at the outcome of this meeting, being so close to his prize and still being duped by a nobody.

"It was already thirty years ago when I first met him, when he promised me everything. I have been waiting for this exact moment for THIRTY YEARS and you want me to wait MORE?!"

'Tsk, damn it, fine then!'

Hao Xuan closed his eyes and began circulating the chaos Qi throughout his body. But just as he was about to strike all the killing intent vanished in an instant. He looked over his shoulder and saw Dai Zhi facing away from him.

"Five days. I give you five days to finish what has been started. In that time I will not make a move against you personally but I will not stop the others either."

He hesitated for a moment but still glanced back at Hao Xuan one last time.

"Feng Huang wants the girl Ryfon is looking for and he will soon find her. Tian Zheng is coming for Ceni and you. After being humiliated in front of everyone he has lost what little sanity he had left but...he is not alone, Xue Meng is protecting him from the shadows."

"Your physical form already belongs to me. If you die to them I will make sure to track down every single being that you even remotely cared about and torture it for a thousand years, that is my promise to you. Hao Xuan, I have remembered your name."

As soon as he finished speaking ethereal red wings sprouted from Dai Zhi's back and lifted him into the air. With a single gust of wind he was hundreds of meters away and with another, he vanished completely.

Hao Xuan was left standing on the hill surrounded by the Barbarians that got back on their feet one by one.

Princess Na'im was the first one to speak up, pointing her blade at his back as she did so.

"Is what you said true? Are you really working for him now? Was this all a part of your plan?"

Hao Xuan had yet to even come to terms with all the information he had just received when she spoke up and for some reason, her words angered him a lot more than they normally would have.

Especially considering everything he had gone through just to save their lives.

His body moved before he could stop himself and a full-powered roundhouse kick landed right on her sternum. Fortunately for her, the Chieftess was a step ahead and barely fast enough to block it with her hand.

Unfortunately though, she had greatly underestimated Hao Xuan's strength. Her hand immediately caved in while the remaining force sent Princess Na'im shooting into the forest some 300 meters away.

The other barbarians who had barely gotten back on their feet were about to pounce on him when the chieftess stopped them.

"HALT! No one lays a hand on him!"

She turned towards Hao Xuan and got down on one knee, "I apologize for my daughter's impudence. Please punish me in her stead."