Ascension of the immortal Asura

"He's approaching the first trial!"

"It's the stone sentinels! I remember this trial from the previous tournament! They're quite strong, so this should expose him if he's a fraud."

"What is he doing? After brutalizing his enemy, he's now bringing one of them with him into the battle? Is he going to team up on the sentinel? That's cheating! He should be eliminated."

Millions of similar comments filled the arena as the crowd watched John approach his first true test. They had not seen much of what he had done to Gerid and the others, and so had not seen him reveal his strength yet.

More chants of John being a cheater flooded the arena as they saw him bring Gerid into the battle with him, but those chants were almost immediately silenced as they watched what Gerid's role in the battle was.

Their eyes widened with shock once more, then grimacing horror as the gruesome battle unfolded before them.

…

Bang!

The sentinels stone sword slammed down towards John, its power equal to the talented Middle Dao Transformation's body cultivators attack. John met the attack, swinging Gerid's body outwards like a sword, holding him by the right ankle. Sword met body, and there was a sickening crunch of flesh and bone, followed by a muffled howl of pain bleeding through the binding of lightning.

The room shook from the violent, powerful collision, with the stone sentinel's sword being knocked backwards. It steadied itself for a moment, then surged forward once more, sword slamming down on John.

Ceaseless cries of muffled pain rang out from John's weapon, which he shook violently for a moment in annoyance.

"Shut up," John commanded. "You should be thanking me that I'm wrapping you in my lightning to shore up your defensive capability. Otherwise, that sword attack would have cleaved you in half. Being my weapon is an honor any weapon in the world would fight for, yet I've picked you, and also turned you into an even finer weapon than you were before. You really should be thanking me, groveling even, for this prestigious opportunity."

Gerid's muffled protests were quickly cut off as John swung him outwards towards the massive sword, meeting the sentinels' powerful attack. The room shook violently as the two darted every which way, their weapons colliding ceaselessly. The battle seemed to be relatively even matched, causing many in the crowd, as sickened at the sight as they were, to resume their cries of protest, yelling that John was a fraud for not being able to beat the first and easiest trial.

Those protests were once again silenced, as after a nice, enjoyable battle, John finally ignored the sentinel, and with his natural movement speed, sped past it without the sentinel being able to react. He arrived at the other side of the room and slipped into one of the exits before the sentinel could reach him, revealing that he had been toying with it the entire time.

Toying with it, for the sole purpose of using Gerid as a weapon. The crowd fell silent, their heads turning to the side to look at those nearby. Shocked expressions stared back at them, as if no one could believe what they were seeing. It was definitely the first time in the history of the Three Dao Tournament that someone had used another competitor as a weapon.

…

Gerid's cries of pain eventually turned into softer, less annoying moans and whimpers, much to John's delight. Gerid's already broken body had been broken even more during the battle, but with John's control over his new weapon, he was able to avoid any permanent damage, thus avoiding being eliminated by crippling Gerid.

John reached out and tapped his finger to the lightning binding Gerid, which faded away instantly. Gerid crumpled to the ground in a mess of broken bone and flesh, cries of pain starting once more.

"Take out your best healing pill and feed it to yourself," John instructed Gerid.

He had almost fed Gerid a healing pill himself, but then figured that would most likely count as teamwork. However, Gerid consuming his own healing pill through his own power? That could not be considered as such.

Gerid's protests started again, but were quickly cut off by John pressing his heel into his broken flesh. Struggling through the pain, Gerid eventually complied, and used what little control he had over his body to take out a healing pill, then consume it. Vibrant healing energy coursed through his body, starting to knit and mend some of the damage he had sustained.

John nodded his head with satisfaction, then sent out another rope of lightning, binding Gerid's body despite his continued protests and even threats. The lightning coiled tightly, forcing Gerid tall and straight, like a human polearm. He walked through the hallway for some time, dodging obvious traps that only an idiot would fail to notice, then appeared in another room similar to the one he had fought the sentinel in.

Another stone enemy, this time a slender beast that looked like a mix between a panther and a tiger, was stationed in the middle of the room, it's aura even stronger than the stone sentinel. John smiled, then sped towards the beast. The beast roared to life, then sped towards him.

Its speed was far faster than the stone sentinel, although its attacking power was a bit less. Clearly it was testing a different aspect of combat prowess, most likely spread instead of brute power. John smiled and summoned his living weapon, then slashed out towards the stone beast's claws.

The orchestra of bangs, breaks, and cries of pain began once more, a true symphony to John's ears.

…

John walked through another hallway of the labyrinth, his human sword resting on his shoulder. He hummed a tune as he made his way forward, then glanced over his shoulder at his weapon. A trail of blood drops stretched behind him as far as he could see, dripping from between the bindings of lightning wrapping Gerid.

"They really do like combat trials to test our worthiness, huh?" John asked. "That's what? Six battles now? And you've held up incredibly well this entire time. You should really consider changing your profession, from cultivator to weapon. I'm sure you'd sell for a fortune."

The only reply was muffled groans. John smiled, patted his weapon appreciatively, then looked forward as he arrived in another room. He frowned slightly.

The room before him did not have a visible enemy, but was instead covered from floor to ceiling with an obvious energy of some sorts. The energy had no gaps, and it was easy to tell that this energy tested a cultivator's ability to resist the energy and push through it. The field seemed to be several hundred yards long, the air shimmering from its power. There were several other participants within the energy field, some struggling to walk forward, others barely making it through, and some retreating back to the start, unable to make it past the trial.

"No enemy to fight, huh?" He muttered with disappointment, then stepped into the field of energy without pause.

A powerful pressure descended on him, trying to force him to his knees. At the same time, a sensation of pain wracked his mind and soul, trying to overwhelm him. To John, this pain was rather mundane, as he had experienced pain much worse more times than he could count. To others however, it was a brutal nightmare.

The cries of muffled pain coming from his weapon intensified under the painful pressure. John ignored the cries, walking to approximately the center of the field of energy. He stopped, a thoughtful look appearing on his face for a moment. He then lowered his living weapon from his shoulder, dropping it on the ground to his side.

"I suppose using you as a weapon isn't teamwork, but taking you through too much of the trial might be considered as such. I'd rather not risk it, so goodbye old friend. You were as good a weapon as any man could hope for," John said emotionally, acting as if he were truly choked up by this sudden parting.

He waved his hand, unbinding Gerid from his lightning rope. Gerid's body immediately started twitching under the pain, his eyes rolling back into his head from the combined agony of his wounds and this trial.

"Please….remove…me…from…this….trial. I'm…going…to….die…" Gerid managed to mutter out through agonized breaths.

"Nonsense," John shook his head. "I have full faith that you can overcome this hurdle and meet me on the other side. Besides, if you died now, your death would be on the Yang-Dao Sect, not me. They'll rescue you if you truly are not able to make it through on your own power. Either way, good luck, old friend. May we reunite in the future so that I may use you once more in battle!"

With that, John turned and strode through the field of energy as if it didn't exist, disappearing through one of the exits on the other side, continuing on to the rest of the first tournament trial.