The Dawn of the New World

Hao Xuan had already walked out of the room leaving the squad leaders to discuss the future plans amongst themselves when they suddenly came running after.

"Master, please wait!"

"Huh? What now? Is there a problem?" he glared at them in mock anger. In fact, he was hoping they would ask him whatever was bothering them so he could clear it before leaving.

"Yes, the third button!" Gamil spoke up, "You didn't say where that portal leads."

'Oh, I really did forgot.'

"The third one leads back to me, to the world where I will be. But you are not to use it unless completely necessary, or I give you the orders to. It is only for emergencies. Go ask Altron if you have any more questions, I've told him everything."

He stood still for a few seconds to make sure there was nothing else and when none of them spoke up he turned around to leave once more. Hao Xuan had to admit that even he was feeling nervous, both for them and for himself.

This was a huge gamble, in more ways than one. His voice rang inside their ears for one last time just as he went around a corner.

"Make sure to take care of each other. It will be a long wait for you but bear with it as much as you can. Do not get lazy just because I'm not here because next time we meet, I want to see warriors standing beside me, not children."

"M-Master, wait I have another question!" Malina suddenly shouted and ran behind him but when she turned the corner he was already gone.

Every single sever whether they were in the city or outside could feel the connection with Hao Xuan weakening at that point.

To those that had good intentions towards Hao Xuan it felt like a warm blanket had been lifted from their shoulders, exposing them to the cold wind outside. And those that feared him felt liberated, like the blade that was hanging from their necks had suddenly been pulled away and they could once again breathe with ease.

The other three caught up to Malina and a moment later and sighed collectively. There was much to do and it was all on them.

Gamil was the first one to take his leave.

"I'm returning to my lab. Contact me when you have come up with a plan to invade that world."

Malina was next, "I'll go talk to Altron and get all the information about it."

Arthur nodded, "I have to get back to the training hall, they should be waiting for me."

In the end Olav was the only one left behind. He stretched and yawned, "I will go take a look at the portal and study it. But before that, naptime!" he said to the empty air before going in another direction.

***

Hao Xuan had made great progress over the last year and four months that had spent in this shattered world. He broke through two minor realms and finally reached the peak stage of the Spirit Realm.

He had also grasped a lot more of the Chaos law and almost broken through to the second realm. Just one small spark of enlightenment would be enough to push him over the edge, at which point he could even break into the Profound Realm if he so desired.

The Orcs were another matter entirely. This was going to be their test, to see how they handled being by themselves. If it worked then he could even leave them there for a little while so they could begin their own civilization once again.

And when the need presented itself he could summon them to fight for him but again, it all depended on how they handled these few years on their own. Hao Xuan would know soon enough, a few days here would be equal to a decade or two over there.

His familiarity with the webway had also increased tremendously. Before if he opened a gateway once most of his mental energy would be consumed and he would have to sleep for several hours to recover but now he could open five gateways back to back and as long as they weren't in any troublesome places, he would still be fine after that.

But perhaps the most important change was how he could create gateways within his own body now. Using the same method as before which allowed him to send his consciousness into the gateway by inscribing the prime letters on his bones, Hao Xuan could now open a one-time use gateway just for himself to pass through.

The only issues were that these gateways put him through a fair bit of pain and consumed a lot more spiritual and mental energy.

He used this same method to return to Dai Zhi's treasure palace where Bo was anxiously waiting for him.

"Master! You're back, I'm afraid they are already-"

*Knock*Knock*Knock*

"I'm coming in," a voice announced from the other side of the door before it was forced open.