The nap lasted a little longer than expected.
Hao Xuan slowly opened his eyes and was welcomed by nothing but darkness. The nights here were 3-4 times longer than on earth so most of the time it was dark out.
The cold night air gently brushed past his cheeks, pulling him back to reality.
"Baracus, how long was I asleep for?"
*Beep*
"10 hours and 42 standard minutes."
The standard units of measurement were chosen by Hao Xuan himself and were all the same as back on earth, be it related to time, distance, or anything else for that matter.
With some effort, Hao Xuan propped himself up against a nearby tree and checked his condition. Most of the injuries were either fully healed or closed up enough that he didn't need to worry about them too much.
Only the areas that directly came into contact with the sorcerer's attacks were still almost the same. Dark purple bruises on his left arm and a few spots on his abdomen and legs. They felt numb, softer to the touch.
Hao Xuan closed his eyes, recalling the contents of the Imperial Glaive Doctrine.
It didn't have a lot of advanced fighting techniques but everything related to basic training and fighting was there, a comprehensive collection of various small and discreet arts, techniques and manuals including a nameless recovery technique that helped improve blood flow and the natural healing process of the body so he could fight longer, heal faster and endure sustained damage.
He followed the instructions and focused on his breathing. In and out, slowly and forcefully. Gradually increasing the pressure by tightening and relaxing the abb muscles in sudden bursts of power, he increased the blood flow of his body, pumping it harder and harder.
A technique like this could only be used those individuals that already had some achievements in their physiques. It required extremely tough yet flexible veins, and muscles that were capable of rapid bursts of movement.
If a normal person attempted to do try it, their muscles would tear and veins would rupture from within in mere seconds, leading to an excruciatingly painful death.
The color of Hao Xuan's skin darkened by several shades and his vein bubbled up, snaking along his body. It was not a pretty sight but one that bore fruit, albeit a very painful one.
A dark blue substance slowly seeped out of his skin, from every spot the bruises covered.
Hao Xuan could only endure for a little over 12 minutes, after which he collapsed once again.
The dark color receded and he started to look like his normal self again, although just a little bit thinner. He had lost some weight but managed to drive out the clashing energy inside his body.
The bruises now looked much better and would heal on their own.
Baracus who was waiting for Hao Xuan to finish quickly spoke up.
"There is another gateway relatively nearby. I am not sure if it has been discovered or not but that would be your best bet right now."
The map popped up in front of Hao Xuan's eyes. It was a spot some 300 kilometers away.
"Alright alright," Hao Xuan stood up. He felt light-headed and almost tipped over.
"Warning, blood glucose level is dangerously low," the warning appeared right after.
"Noooo, really?! I had no idea!!" Hao Xuan still managed to make a sarcastic remark even through the dizziness before waving his hand.
A moment later Grey appeared in front of him.
Grey was not one of Hao Xuan's severs at the moment which is why he was able to call him out right now. He had made a very standard soul contract with Grey which benefitted both of them equally.
Grey was not a fighter either so Hao Xuan could not call him out earlier. He thought about summoning him just to run away but he was too big of a target for those slippery mermen and the chances of him getting killed before being able to escape were too high to risk it.
Hao Xuan jumped on his back and pointed in the direction of the gate.
"Straight that way but take your time. Try to keep steady, I want to rest a little longer."
Grey let out a couple of giddy neighs and started moving forward, while Hao Xuan took out some dried meat and food products to eat during the journey to fill his stomach which was howling right now.
For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about the mermen, wondering if they actually tasted like fish. If so, it was a huge waste to just leave their bodies behind. Some hot fish bone soup would be perfect right now.
Drooling over his last enemies, the time passed by rather quickly and within 3 hours they arrived near the foot of a mountain.
The gateway was somewhere around here but Grey refused to go any further.
"What? What's wrong?" Hao Xuan asked with a raised eyebrow.