BLEEDING UNIVERSE (The warrior in two worlds)

Chapter 10

Baron sprinted into the dark woods, his bare feet moving silently over the pine needles and rough twigs.

He didn't need a flashlight. His advanced sensory awareness guided him perfectly through the pitch-black forest, following a route he had memorized from historical files in his past life.

After ten minutes of walking deeper into the thick brush, the trees suddenly cleared out, revealing a small, rocky clearing. At the center of the clearing, a crystal-clear mountain stream bubbled over smooth stones, the water glowing faintly under the pale light of the crescent moon.

Baron stepped into the center of the clearing and took a deep breath.

Right here, his heart leaped with a quiet, intense thrill. ‘The natural mountain veins converge right under these stones. It’s exactly midnight.,

As the digital clock on his phone struck 12:00 AM, the air in the clearing suddenly changed. A faint, completely invisible mist of natural energy—true cosmic Qi—began to rise from the stream and the surrounding mountain rocks, pooling gently in the open air. To a normal human or a low-level Earth martial artist, it just felt like a sudden, cool breeze. But to Baron, it was the sweet taste of life.

Baron sat down cross-legged on a large, flat stone right in the middle of the clearing. He straightened his back, placed his hands on his knees, and closed his eyes.

Supreme Chaos Breathing Formula, Baron commanded internally, activating the top-tier cosmic technique he had used to rule the universe.

When Earth's primitive martial artists tried to absorb natural energy, their techniques were incredibly sloppy.

They breathed in the air, but their bodies could only retain about ten percent of the Qi, while the remaining ninety percent leaked back out through their pores. It was an ultimate waste of resources.

But Baron's cosmic formula worked on a completely different level of efficiency.

The moment he altered his breathing pattern—taking long, deep, and rhythmic breaths—his body turned into a literal vacuum for energy.

The invisible mist of Qi in the clearing suddenly locked onto him, rushing toward his chest like a swirling vortex.

Every single speck of natural energy in the air was sucked into his skin with one hundred percent efficiency. Not a single drop was wasted.

The moment the thin, freezing Qi entered his veins, Baron felt a sharp, burning pain rip through his arms and chest.

His current physical body was entirely mortal, clogged with eighteen years of junk food, dirty city air, and physical impurities. The clean, raw energy was tearing through his blocked meridians like fire clearing out an old, clogged pipe.

Baron didn't flinch. He didn't let out a single groan. Compared to the agony of the god-level heavenly lightning that had melted his soul in his past life, this small physical pain was absolutely nothing.

He gritted his teeth, forcing his mind to maintain absolute control over the flowing energy, guiding it through his primary meridian lines.

Break for me! Baron roared in his mind.

Boom!

A silent explosion echoed inside his ears. The very first energy meridian line along his spine was violently blasted open by the rushing Qi.

Instantly, a wave of pure, intoxicating satisfaction washed over his entire body.

It felt like a man who had been starving in a desert for a hundred years had finally taken his very first sip of ice-cold water.

He could feel his heart pumping stronger, his blood flowing faster, and a tiny, glowing spark of pure cosmic energy finally settling deep into his lower stomach.

He kept breathing, keeping the cycle going for hours as the night rolled on, pulling every single scrap of Qi from the mountain air until the clearing was completely empty of energy.

The faint, gray light of the early morning sun began to peek through the tall pine trees, signaling the arrival of dawn.

Baron slowly opened his eyes. A sharp, brilliant flash of violet light flickered deep inside his pupils before fading back into his normal brown color.

He looked down at his arms and hands. A thick, sticky layer of dark, foul-smelling black sludge had been pushed out of his pores—the physical impurities and toxins that his body had accumulated over eighteen years.

Baron stood up from the flat stone, stretching his limbs.

Crack. Snap.

His bones popped loudly, sounding like small firecrackers going off. He felt incredibly light, as if the heavy gravitational pull of the earth could no longer hold him down.

His vision was ten times sharper; he could clearly see the tiny veins on a pine leaf twenty yards away. His muscles were tighter, leaner, and packed with a dense, hidden strength.

He had officially stepped into the absolute entry level of his new power: the First Stage of Body Refining.

"It’s just a tiny drop compared to my old power," Baron murmured, a deep, satisfied smirk forming on his face as he looked at his clenched fist. "But on this weak planet, it is more than enough to begin."

He walked over to the mountain stream, leaning down to wash the black impurities off his skin and face with the freezing water. The cold water felt refreshing against his new, pristine skin.

He knew that today was the official first day of university classes. He also knew that Leo Vance wouldn't just take yesterday's humiliation lying down.

The Vance family would definitely bring reinforcements—probably real intermediate martial artists from the city's premium clubs—to crush him during his first lecture.

Baron dried his face with his shirt sleeve and turned back toward the campus dorms, his footsteps light and effortless.

Let them bring whoever they want, Baron thought, his eyes glinting with a dangerous excitement. Yesterday, I had to use basic human physics to fight. Today... I actually have real energy to use against them. This is going to be fun.