The Dawn of the New World

*Whoosh*

*Whoosh*

*Whoosh*

The unicorn's wings flapped up and down, their loud noise echoing in the silent carriage repeatedly. Hao Xuan peered out the window with a deep frown while Ryfon sat across from him with his head in his hand.

"Why are you like this?" he suddenly yelled at Hao Xuan.

Hao Xuan looked over with a raised brow, "Why are YOU a whore? Why is the sky blue? What is the meaning of life? We may never know the answers to these questions," he said calmly and looked away to peer out the window again, leaving Ryfon stumped.

He shook his head helplessly.

"I thought I was going to suffocate to death from the awkwardness...."

"And how is that my fault? That dude is an asshole through and through, wasted my god damn time for no reason. You could've just told me these things, hell, this entire visit could have been summed up in an email," Hao Xuan retorted without backing down at all.

Ryfon sighed and leaned back. He looked at Hao Xuan from the corner of his eye and asked, "So can you do it then? After knowing the consequences if you get caught?"

Hao Xuan didn't reply and silently stared out the window at the continuously changing landscape, recalling the events of the last hour.

**

After Ryfon's reminder the great elder didn't waste any more time and got to the point.

"To the planet, we are an infection. And its way of dealing with us is by giving its natives the power to fight us on equal terms, among other things. The natives call it the "Words of Power"."

" They can get these 'words' by killing beasts. As far as we can tell, the higher the level of the beast, the higher the chance it will drop a word of power. They appear in the form of tattoos on their bodies and can vary significantly. The 'power' these words give is also different from individual to individual."

"A few individuals with extremely high affinity with the beast they killed and high latent talent received all the abilities of certain beasts. We don't have too much information about the process so it's mostly conjecture, but that doesn't matter."

"What I want from you is to make contact with the guardian spirit. Get on its good side and inquire about the secret behind this new power. Also, give the guardian spirit a good impression of the Academy or just make the other two look bad, that is much more important."

"If I were to go there myself I would be able to simply drag it out and make it talk, but that's not allowed. No one from our world can willingly try to get in contact with it. Whoever is caught doing so will be killed immediately and their bloodline wiped. That's why we need you. We will provide you all the resources you need to accomplish your task but if you get caught, well, this conversation never took place then. 'Whatever' you need, ask Ryfon."

Those were his exact words.

Hao Xuan was already trusted by Ryfon and needed something from the academy. Leveraging that, the great elder made him the above-mentioned offer. It was either take that or be blacklisted from all the three major powers forever, so Hao Xuan didn't really have another choice.

He was pretty sure that if he declined, the great elder would have probably killed him right there and then.

**

Hao Xuan turned to face Ryfon, "Do I have a choice?"

Ryfon obviously knew the answer. By bringing Hao Xuan in and having him meet the great elder, he didn't leave him any other option.

"My hands were tied Hao Xuan. I really didn't have any other choice. My master, you can't say no to him. No one ever has, well, no one still alive at least. When he found out about you, he ordered me to bring you in. Even my father wouldn't be able to say no to him let alone me. I was hoping that if he was in a good mood things wouldn't end up like this, but..." he finished with a contrite tone.

He didn't need to say anything else. Hao Xuan knew that his behavior wasn't acceptable but at that moment, he couldn't help it. Every single fiber of his being was telling him to get up and punch his face. That look, it filled him with disgust for some unknown reason.

"We had a deal Ryfon. You gave me your word and then you broke it. You sold me to that d*ckhead!" Hao Xuan shouted. Ryfon suddenly jumped up and closed Hao Xuan's mouth with his own hands.

"Please, you can't say things like that. You don't know his origin!" he pleaded. The look in his eye was of genuine concern for Hao Xuan's safety and he saw that. He pushed his hand away.

"Why is it such a big deal? He may be powerful but he is still just one man. Why are you so scared of him?"

Ryfon knew he couldn't hide it anymore so he didn't even try. Plus, it was better that Hao Xuan knew. He looked him right in the eye, his expression as somber as it could be.

"Master is not just a cultivator, he has the blood of a god in his veins. One of his parents was an actual god, which makes him a demigod. He might be just one man but he is still half a member of the Kingdoms of Heaven!"

Hao Xuan took in a breath of cold air.. At least that explains his behavior. He looked up at Ryfon with a questioning gaze, "Are all gods such assholes or is it just that bastard?"