Han Xuanyuan felt a terrible ache overcome him, as if his entire existence was being spun into thread.
He was in a state where he could not sense anything beyond this pain.
Not a sense of touch, smell, sight, or any sounds either.
There was only this all-encompassing squeeze and stretch that seemed to be molding him into a particular shape; as if he were some type of clay getting shaped into a figurine.
Soon, he began to rediscover his senses and as he did so, the pain became fainter and fainter until it went away.
First was his sense of smell, he noticed a faint scent of hibiscus and some other sweetness that he couldn't identify. There was also a particularly overbearing odor of something that he couldn't identify either, but he found it to be exceptionally repulsive - almost akin to rotting, but not quite there.
Then came his sense of temperature, he was feeling cold near his extremities but the rest of himself was uncomfortably hot, he wanted to sweat or fan himself but he couldn't, it was peculiar that he could feel so much discomfort from mere temperature, but it was truly relentless.
Then came the sounds, the first layer consisted of what was like the static of an old radio, clouding his hearing like smoke. However, that was nowhere near the end, as the deafening and relentless banging of a gong, causing his very sense of self to reverberate in an odd rhythm.
But the third layer, that's where he was got. It was a sound that made his very soul shiver every time it was played. Not a beat nor a tune - they were words, but he did not know what they meant and neither did he want to know, for his primal instincts were sufficient to determine them extremely terrifying.
Furthermore, there was also a small tugging near his back. he didn't have a tail but he believed if he did, it would be as if something were pulling his tail like it was the rope in a tug-of-war. He was pushed to a level of discomfort he had not felt in years.
Finally, his sight returned, but it was not what he had expected. He was not seeing black and white, but rather a majestic display of colors, colors he didn't even know existed before. He felt he was staring into a kaleidoscope that had an infinite number of sides.
And it was constantly turning and tilting and changing shape into forms no being had seen before, and none will see in the future.
All until one became two, two became three, and three became the eventual existence of all motions in the world. Auspiciously dangerous as he found it, his consciousness had become profoundly nauseous but could not bring himself to throw up, although he very much wanted to.
Each of these sensations were magnified countless times over until the malaise made his very consciousness boil as he cried out in exasperation, only to discover he had no eyes, and so there could not be any tears.
At this point, he wished more than anything else for it to stop. It was simply excruciating, and although the pain was great, it was bearable. He had an iron-firm willpower from his days of tempering his physique, but these exasperatingly exacerbating forces were completely bypassing his defenses.
He would come to regret these expressions he made, however, as soon these feelings faded and the pain returned once more, only that it was also increasing, exponentially so, at that. Every moment bringing him closer and closer to his breaking point, only for him to then find out that his breaking point was also increasing.
It was like edging, you want to release yourself but just can't do it. Going crazy and not having to bear with such a feeling would be much better than having to bear it with a sane mind. He wanted to be broken, but it wouldn't, it was only making him more durable, and he hated it, he wanted it to be over with. He would rather go out in a fiery pulse of agony than be teased by death and pulled over by life once more to live out another grueling session of sensory violation.
He wanted the pain to end, and soon it did. Only for his senses to return once more, this time with distinct and more diverse characteristics. Again, he regretted the return of the senses and wished it to revert to the pain, only for the pain to lead him through an even more crooked road of spikes that would expand into his body when he eventually stepped on them. From a single spike would grow eight more and as they pierced his illusory flesh he would want to scream in horror, but the spikes would just multiply faster, and they would travel up his foot and through his leg and into the rest of his body, or at least what he thought was his body - sending a numberless amount of shocks across his soul.
Regardless, this cycle continued for countless iterations. Each time, the forces applied to him were distinct in the degree of pain or discomfort they caused him, and diverse in the method of their application.
Han Xuanyuan had completely lost count of the number of cycles he had endured. One would expect him to have become numb already, but no matter the magnitude of the torture he withstood, his experiences could not be dulled even marginally.
If he had a heart at that moment, it would be beating so fast that the human ear would not be able to hear it pound anymore.
[AN: Did you guys know that human hearing can only hear sounds up to 20 kilohertz? This means his heart was beating 20,000 times per second!]
If he had a mind, it would have born the erosion of time so deep that all twelve reincarnations of the mortal soul wouldn't be able to compare.
If his cognition were not blurred, and his memories not in disarray, he would have exclaimed in despair as he had clearly gone through this process several times in the past.
~~~
I gasped for air as my mind sunk into the sands.
It felt as though I had been holding my breath forever.
I drank it all in colossal mouthfuls.
I was grateful to be able to inhale and exhale once more.
I had almost forgotten these sensations.
But it matters not, for I, Han Xuanyuan, have returned!
~~~
As my eyes opened, I saw a neat and tidy cultivation chamber around me.
The dim, orange light cast a cozy atmosphere across the entire room.
Though its lack of mystical treasures were not unsettling, the black blood splattered all across the floor were indeed quite worrisome.
I hurriedly tried to channel mystical energies through my meridians, and was pleasantly surprised to discover this body actually had a decent aptitude for cultivation.
However, before I could direct my attention anywhere else, a bright rectangular screen of cobalt blue light materialized before me, startling me so much that I instinctively punched at it, only for my fist to phase through it.
In the next moment, several lines appeared on the screen and rapidly rearranged themselves to form words.
It said:
| Deity: Han Xuanyuan
| Age: 16 Years
| Cultivation: Core Coalescence Realm (Mystic Path)
| Status: Alive
Among a number of other things, but at last when the remaining lines gathered together to form three huge words, my memory rapidly recovered as I recalled a very important moment from my second life.
There was a man with dark red hair, an abyssal crimson that threatened to drown you in blood with a glance alone.
He stood before me with his back turned, and his hands clasped behind him, and he told me his greatest secret.
"Xuanyuan, you are like my little brother, so you will be the first to know about my source of power."
And with a wave of his hand, a carmine screen materialized beside us, lines appeared upon it and rapidly rearranged themselves to show the words:
War God System
That man was Xia Shang, a heavenly genius from my second life who rose against the monstrous forces singlehandedly and carved out a path of blood.
Through that system, or the artifact, as I preferred to call it, our armies became unstoppable. Endless resources and treasures flowed from it and onto us.
And now before me, stood the same species of artifact, only mine came in blue, which I did not mind. But the title it revealed truly disappointed me.
Supreme Master System
Xia Shang was no battle maniac, but I am different. Fate truly enjoys playing tricks on people.
Through this name alone, I expected a lifetime of practicing countless powers and mastering numerous arts.
But when I heard that familiar ding, and turned to see an additional screen pop up, I was overjoyed to read what it said:
| Mission: Beat somebody up
| Reward: Brick (x1)
Although I found the reward rather perplexing, at least it gave me an excuse to ruin somebody's day.
And as if the gears of destiny and order had finally locked into place, the moment I sat up from my seat, I heard a knock on the doors to the chamber.
The next second, as I opened the doors, I was blown away by what I saw.
A woman with resplendent blonde hair that shone with the brightness of an entire constellation, a face akin to the masterpiece of a celestial craftsman. Her skin was flawless and almost translucent, but most was hidden by her long and flowing blue robes.
Blue, I thought as I looked at her phoenix eyes with their piercing electric blue irises that reminded me of something ancient, and forgotten.
I winced in pain as memories came flooding back into my mind. A name drifted past - Shan Gu.
An extremely muscular man with equally majestic blonde hair and the same trademark eyes. He stood before me with his golden aura surging and his hair growing until it reached his ankles. His eyebrows had disappeared and with one punch he cracked my vision as the entire scene shattered.
My mind shifted back onto the woman before me, it appeared that time had passed since my flashback, so I put on a smile before asking.
"How may I help?"
Yet this seemingly normal and natural question stunned the woman before me and caused her to put on a concerned expression.
"Are you feeling alright?"
The woman spoke with such a caring and motherly tone that it became my turn to be stunned as she even extended her snow-white hand towards my forehead to... check my temperature?
I moved aside before she could touch me and asked cautiously.
"Did you need anything?"
And only then did she remember what she was here for and a look of grave seriousness took over her face.
"Xuanyuan, you must come to Wushuang's mountain immediately, I will explain on the way."
I was in unfamiliar territory and was not about to ask unnecessary questions out of fear of exposing myself.
Although I do not remember everything from my past clearly, this was guidance from my instincts and I trust myself, as a reincarnator, enough to rely on these impulses.
So I unsheathed my sword from my waist and executed the Sword Flying Mystic Technique that every sword user eventually learns to levitate my sword.
But just as I was about to jump onto it, the woman beside me asked curiously.
"What are you doing?"
And I asked back, "Have you never seen a flying sword?"
"Aha, it would seem you made a breakthrough during your death seclusion. Congratulations, but we must hurry!"
She spoke quickly as with a tap of her foot, air began to spin at her feet and quickly condensed into a cream colored cloud large enough for two people to stand on.
Beckoning me over with her hand, she looked incredibly anxious and so I decided to sheathe my sword and get onto the cloud with her.
With a faint whoosh, the cloud rapidly gained altitude before shooting off into a particular direction, leaving my courtyard and mountain behind.
Yet I was disappointed. It would seem that this woman was unaware of the capabilities of the Sword Flying technique. Although the cloud was fast, I could go faster.
Without saying anything, I unsheathed my sword once more and threw it into the air before us like a javelin.
Startling the woman as she saw it blitz past her head, it flew forward with immense speed, cutting the air with its sharp edge.
But this body was weak and the sword could not go too far before the cloud caught up.
Yet this was all part of my move as I immediately jumped off the cloud before the woman could even react, landing on the sword as my figure became parallel to it.
Performing a set of hand seals to execute the Sword Flying technique, I channelled a stream of mystical energies into the sword with my index finger to balance myself and maintain the current velocity.
As the woman turned back to look at me with a mix of curiosity and anxiety, I changed my hand seal into a fist as mystical energies rapidly flew into the sword.
Accelerate, I thought, and my sword obeyed.
By the next second, my sword and I had surpassed the woman and her cloud and continued on in the same direction.
"I'll see you there!"
I shouted at her, my voice amplified by mystical energies to ensure she heard me, before shooting into the distance.