The Dawn of the New World

The moment Stasa's grip tightened around the ethereal blade Hao Xuan could feel the effect inside him. It felt like someone was holding a knife to his brain stem, ready to sever it at a moment's notice.

Ordinarily, Stasa could summon the sword spirit once every 24 hours as long as he had enough Qi but now that not only his own cultivation had been seriously affected but also his Qi, the sword spirit needed to absorb spiritual energy from the air just like Hao Xuan.

But Hao Xuan wasn't going to give them the opportunity. He already knew about what was potentially the only drawback of using that cheating spirit. Every time Stasa consumed too much Qi it would take him longer and longer to call it out.

That was also the main reason Hao Xuan had opted to draw out the fight for as long as he had. It was to expand his internal Qi reserves along with getting rid of that life-saving talisman.

The air began to stir loudly around Stasa as he called his own territory in case Hao Xuan tried anything. All he needed was a few more seconds and the sword spirit that was drawing in copious amounts of spiritual energy would be ready.

Hao Xuan's pupils narrowed to slits, becoming more beastly than ever before. His canines grew out of his mouth and the skin of his arms got darker by the second.

He threw out everything at his disposal.

'Assualt of the Mad God!' to double his physical strength.

'Infernal Rapture' to increase it by another 40%.

And most importantly, 'Demonic Steps' to carry him forward.

"AAAGH!"

Black veins protruded from under the skin all along his neck, back and arms. Both his hearts thumped vociferously four times in a row.

*THUMP*THUMP*THUMP*THUMP* x2

One pumped Lycan blood and the other drank every iota of Chaos Qi before sending it out in a blind stampede across his meridians. His legs swole by half a size as the fire and lightning effects took shape because of the Chaos.

'Within this territory I am God! As long as there is Chaos, everything bends to my will, even space!'

"CHAOS STEPS!"

Stasa's pupils shrunk to the size of pinholes as he saw Hao Xuan's figure vanish.

"WHAT-"

Yes, he had completely disappeared but the very next moment he appeared once again a little over 90 meters from the original position. He was already a meter off the ground by then and when Stasa felt the devastating power rampaging across his body even he was frightened.

'You motherfucker!'

He gave up trying to power the Sword Spirit all the way and pulled. Half a blade came out but the rest was stuck inside.

"NOW!" he screamed at the top of his lungs just as Hao Xuan disappeared again before reappearing another 90 meters away.

"AAAAAH!"

Panic and adrenaline took over as the muscles of his upper arms and shoulders bulged and he forcefully pulled out the rest of the blade which had yet to stabilize.

"DIEEE!"

He leaped back while swinging the blade in front of him horizontally, exactly where Hao Xuan was going to appear. A demented smile bloomed on his face but the very next moment his expression froze as he realized there was no one there.

"Where-" he whispered to himself while looking around and saw a shadow from the corner of his right eye.

The second he looked in its direction it disappeared. He swiftly sheathed the blade hoping to pull it out once more but his arm didn't move.

'Huh?'

He looked down and saw a foot resting on his left hand, keeping it from being drawn.

"Wha...?"

He looked back up to see a pair of green pupils staring into his soul. Hao Xuan was standing right in front of him. His left foot held Stasa in place while his right arm was pulled back towards his chest making a fist.

"No please-" he whispered.

"STOOOP!"

Both Dai Zhi and Xue Meng jumped to their feet screaming but there was no hesitation in Hao Xuan's movements.

"Should have given up," he muttered before his blackened fist shot out like a meteor.

It didn't actually connect with Stasa's body but the devastating force behind the punch was still sent rolling forward, all of that Chaos fire and lightning flooding into his body. The air rippled and space creaked, and in front of thousands of people Stasa's body disintegrated into a fine mist from inside out.

*BOOOOOM*

No bone, no fabric, only an old scabbard fell to the ground through the bloody mist. His very soul extinguished by the Chaos, snuffed out like a candle in a thunderstorm.

The sound of booming thunder resounding within the silent colosseum.

Hao Xuan's body relaxed and his appearance returned to normal. The hologram resumed, showing what looked like an abstract painting from above.

It looked like a balloon filled with red paint had exploded.