The voice hadn't come from the door.
Or the window.
Or anywhere in the room.
It came from… inside.
His body tensed instantly as he pushed himself up from the chair.
"Who is that!?" he demanded, his voice sharp as his eyes darted around the room.
Silence.
For a brief moment, nothing answered.
Then—
"I'm Chin Xian."
The voice returned, calm… almost timid.
Zixuan's expression hardened.
"…The body you are inhabiting."
A cold stillness spread through him.
His heartbeat slowed.
Not from fear—
But from focus.
"…So you're still here," Zixuan said quietly, his gaze lowering slightly as if trying to look inward rather than outward.
There was a pause.
Then the voice spoke again, softer this time.
"…I thought I was gone."
Zixuan didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he closed his eyes for a brief moment, concentrating.
For someone like him, who had trained both body and mind to their limits, the sensation wasn't entirely unfamiliar.
Presence.
Consciousness.
Another "self."
"…Why can I hear you?" Zixuan finally asked.
"I don't know," Chin Xian replied. "I was… asleep, I think. Or maybe just… quiet."
There was uncertainty in his voice.
Like someone who didn't fully understand their own existence.
Zixuan's brows furrowed slightly.
"…You saw everything?" he asked.
"…Yes."
A pause.
"…Thank you."
Zixuan exhaled slowly through his nose.
"…Don't misunderstand," he said flatly. "I didn't do it for you."
"I know," Chin Xian replied gently. "But… you still did it.
That made Zixuan pause.
For a moment, he didn't say anything.
Then he clicked his tongue lightly and turned away.
"…That brother of yours is weak," he muttered.
Chin Xian let out a small, almost embarrassed laugh.
"…That's early for you to say.. "
Silence settled between them again.
But this time, it wasn't tense.
It was… strange.
Two minds.
One body.
"…So what happens now?" Chin Xian asked quietly.
Zixuan opened his eyes again.
His gaze drifted toward the window, where the light continued to pour into the room.
"…Now?"
He clenched his hand slightly.
Feeling the weakness in his muscles.
The unfamiliar limits of this body.
"…Now we figure out why I'm here."
A brief pause.
"And why you're still alive."
The air in the room felt different again.
Not heavy.
Not tense.
But uncertain.
A-and… how did you punch a hole through the wall?" Chin Xian asked, his voice hesitant, almost afraid of the answer.
There was a pause.
Zixuan didn't reply immediately. He glanced at his hand again—the same hand that had just torn through solid brick like it was nothing. His fingers slowly curled into a fist, as if replaying the feeling.
"I used Tiao Shen," he finally said.
"…Tiao Shen?"
The confusion in Chin Xian's voice was immediate.
Zixuan frowned slightly.
"…You don't know Tiao Shen?" he asked, a hint of disbelief slipping into his tone.
"No…" Chin Xian replied quietly. "I've never even heard of it."
That answer made Zixuan go still.
For a moment, he didn't speak.
Then, something clicked in his mind.
A possibility.
A bad one.
"…Wait," Zixuan muttered.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"What year is it?"
Chin Xian hesitated.
It wasn't the kind of question someone should need to think about… but something about the way Zixuan asked it made him pause.
"…E-eleven sixty two," Chin Xian answered. "Why?"
Silence.
Zixuan didn't react right away.
But inside, everything shifted.
"…1162…" he repeated under his breath.
Then he let out a slow breath through his nose.
"…That's far."
Chin Xian blinked in confusion.
"Far? What do you mean—"
"Ohh," Zixuan cut in casually, waving his hand slightly as if brushing it off. "It's because you're in my body."
"…What?"
"No—I'm in your body," Zixuan corrected himself without much care, then shook his head. "Doesn't matter."
But it did matter.
A lot.
That was long before his time.
Before his rise.
Before the wars he fought.
Before everything that made him who he was.
Which meant one thing.
This isn't just reincarnation…
His gaze darkened slightly.
I've gone back.
Chin Xian's voice broke through his thoughts.
"…I don't understand anything you're saying."
"Yeah," Zixuan muttered. "That makes two of us."
But unlike Chin Xian, Zixuan wasn't confused.
He was thinking.
Analyzing.
Adapting.
Slowly, he pushed himself up from the chair.
His legs wobbled slightly the moment he stood, the weakness of this body reminding him of its limits.
"…Tch."
He steadied himself with a small shift in posture.
"Weak," he muttered "Let's train this body"
Chin Xian immediately reacted.
"T-train?" he asked, his voice filled with disbelief. "You just woke up! You can barely even walk properly!"
Zixuan ignored the concern.
Instead, he took a slow step forward.
Then another.
Each movement was careful, controlled.
Testing.
"…Yeah," he said simply. "Train."
"But—why?" Chin Xian asked, almost panicking. "You already beat Ling Ao! Everyone saw it!"
Zixuan stopped walking.
For a brief moment, he said nothing.
Then he let out a quiet breath.
"…That?" he said, almost dismissively. "That wasn't strength."
Chin Xian fell silent.
Zixuan looked down at his own body again.
"These muscles… they're untrained. The bones are fragile. The balance is off. Even breathing feels inefficient."
He clenched his fist again, tighter this time.
"I only won because of experience."
He turned slightly toward the door.
"And because he's weak."
Chin Xian didn't respond this time.
There was something different in Zixuan's tone.
Not arrogance.
Just… fact.
"But that punch…" Chin Xian said quietly. "That wasn't normal."
Zixuan's expression shifted slightly.
"…Tiao Shen," he repeated.
"It's a method," he continued, his voice lowering slightly as if explaining something basic. "It controls the body's internal flow—muscle tension, breath, blood movement… everything."
Chin Xian listened carefully, even if he didn't fully understand.
"If used properly," Zixuan went on, "you can force your body to release strength beyond its natural limits. Not randomly—precisely."
He flexed his fingers again.
"But this body can't handle it yet."
There was a faint stiffness in his arm now, subtle but there.
"Use too much, and it'll break itself before it breaks anything else."
Chin Xian swallowed.
"…Then why use it at all?"
Zixuan didn't hesitate.
"Because it works."
A simple answer.
Too simple.
But completely honest.
Zixuan walked toward the door slowly.
His steps were still unsteady, but more controlled than before.
"…If this really is 1162," he said quietly, "then I've got time."
Chin Xian hesitated.
"…Time for what?"
Zixuan placed his hand on the door.
He paused there for a second.
Then—
"To rebuild everything."
He pushed the door open.
Light spilled into the room again, brighter this time.
"…From the beginning."
Chin Xian's voice came out softer now.
"…But I'm scared."
Zixuan didn't turn around.
"…Then watch," he said calmly.
"Because whether you're scared or not…"
He stepped forward into the light.
"…this body is going to become strong."
A long pause stretched across the hallway after Zixuan stepped out of the room.
The air felt still, like even the house itself was trying to process everything that had just happened.
Zixuan stood there for a moment, his expression unreadable… then—
Grrrkkk…
His stomach growled loudly.
The sound echoed just enough to break the silence.
Zixuan blinked once, then looked down at his own body, placing a hand lightly over his stomach.
"…Right," he muttered under his breath.
A faint sigh escaped him.
"But first," he said, almost casually, "I'm going to need some nutrients."
Chin Xian, still somewhere within, sounded confused.
"…Nutrients?"
"Food," Zixuan corrected flatly. "This body's starving."