Ascension of the immortal Asura

John looked wordlessly at Araxus for a short time, almost unable to believe what he had heard. Araxus was his opponent that he had just defeated in this incredibly important tournament. The winner of the tournament was to receive countless treasures and rewards, most importantly the Ancient Blessings of the Three Daos.

That was a reward that stirred someone like Ji'Han into an excited state, revealing the weight and worth of such a reward. Araxus was a pinnacle genius that no doubt wanted to seize each and every opportunity to improve his strength, and had proven that in his actions and words during their battle.

He detested trickery and tactics, and wanted to battle using only his power alone, wanting to overwhelm his opponents with strength even at the cost of defeat. To someone like Araxus, the Ancient Blessings would be a great boon to further that desire, and yet that opportunity had been thwarted by John's victory.

John would have expected rage, anger, disappointment, and every other negative emotion to come from Araxus, and it would have for the most part been justified. Losing was something that he himself despised and strived to avoid at all costs.

And yet, Araxus had not only greeted him with a smile and jubilant attitude after waking up from his unconscious state, but had also offered to teach John one of his most secretive lightning arts. In this moment, John knew everything he needed to know of Araxus' character, who reminded him of someone from his homeworld.

'He's just like Miko,' John thought. 'Immensely talented and highly competitive, but is someone who values friendship above all.''

Someone like Araxus, who was able to smile and joke in such a situation was worthy of befriending and placing trust in. He was a rare type of person, a type of person that John greatly appreciated.

John's surprised expression eventually turned into a smile as he nodded his head.

"Absolutely."

"Awesome!" Araxus cheered, seemingly more excited than John despite the fact that he was going to be the one giving John a great reward, and not the other way around. "If you're able to grasp the fundamentals, you're going to love using Chaos Lightning."

"When do you want to teach me it?" John asked curiously.

"Why not now?" Araxus replied quickly, his expression eager as if he wanted to get right back into the heat of battle.

"Now?" John said, slightly taken aback while studying Araxus' condition. The youth had been pushed to his limits and was not only low on Qi, but was also still injured from facing John's attack head on.

"Don't worry about me," Araxus smirked as two pills appeared in his hands. One glowed bright green and gave off a refreshing, almost intoxicating aroma, and made John instinctively think of Laia as it was potent with healing vitality.

The other was dark blue and brimmed with a potent energy, as if it were a condensed dantian. It no doubt contained a thick amount of Qi to replenish his spent reserves, as well as other ingredients to speed up his own, natural Qi generation.

Araxus popped both pills into his mouth, then swallowed them. Before the pills hit his stomach, then took to the sky and gestured for John to follow along.

"Come on, let's go to that training ground of yours," Araxus said excitedly. "Its quite nice, and I have a few things I want to try. Our battle filled my head with ideas, and I don't want those thoughts to fade away."

John nodded, then gave Lilian a quick glance. She smiled and waved him off to follow Araxus, her expression saying, 'we'll talk later.'

John smiled back and gave her a firm nod, then took to the sky, soaring towards Araxus and disappearing into one of the tunnels on a high up balcony leading into the stadium's interiors.

The crowd watched with stunned surprise as both John and Araxus disappeared almost immediately after the round was done. Given the importance of the tournament, there was normally a ceremony to congratulate the top four fighters, as getting to this stage was a monumental accomplishment.

Not only that, but geniuses capable of making it this far were almost always haughty and prideful. They basked in the attention and adoration of others, and loved to participate in ceremonies that emphasized their genius and talent.

Araxus and John were the complete opposites, surprising everyone. They didn't care for glory, praise, or adoration. They seemed to only care about their strength and the thrill of battle.

Lilian smiled lightly as she watched John leave, then turned and flew back up to her seat on the viewing platform. While John's victory would cement her 'freedom' from the Sword-Saint, for the time she was still in 'his care.' That care came with the perks of being showered with treasures and cultivation resources, so Lilian was in no rush to let such opportunities pass her by until necessary.

As she landed on the platform, she ignored the looks from the Sword-Saint and sat on her seat, a small smile lingering on her face. Discussions continued amongst the powerhouses on the platform regarding the recent battle, until the Prime Shadow eventually excused himself, saying that he had some matters to attend to.

The crowd continued to linger in their seats for a long while until eventually dispersing to their rooms, their excited discussions continuing on throughout the night and into the next morning. The day had been far too exciting with the displays of awe-inspiring talent and power from Ji'Han, Jaxus, Araxus, and John.

Even most of the continent was discussing the semi-finals, as recordings of the battles quickly circulated all throughout the land. The main point of discussion was undoubtedly about John, who had entered the tournament as a suspected fraud, one looked down on by everyone.

Those thoughts were no more, as everyone now knew that John was the real deal. An unknown talent, never heard of before the tournament, had made the finals of the most important Three Dao Tournament to date. It was a shocking turn of events no one had ever expected, and was something that would be discussed for generations to come.

…

John, Araxus, Naelia, and Zuri entered the Prime Shadows room, and to Naelia's urging, relaxed for a while before starting their training. She made convincing arguments to them, especially regarding Araxus' condition.

"How can you two properly train and fight if one of you is on your deathbed?" she had told them, convincing both to take it easy for an hour or two, allowing Araxus to recover, before starting their training.

A healer had come to the room at the request of Naelia, and had worked tirelessly to restore Araxus to fighting condition. While recovering, the two discussed their recent battle, explaining some of the arts they used in more detail.

While in the middle of discussion, both John and Araxus fell silent all of a sudden. They looked towards the front door leading into the Prime Shadow's private room, both feeling the presence of a new arrival.

An overwhelmingly powerful, and familiar presence. John's expression hardened as Naelia went to the door and opened it, revealing the figure on the other side.

Standing there with a calm, neutral expression, the Sword-Saint instantly locked eyes with John, who was sitting in the lounging area of the room a short distance away.

"I have some things I would like to discuss with you," the Sword-Saint said to John, his voice calm but containing a natural aura of command. "May I enter?"

John raised an eyebrow, surprised at the pleasant and formal request from the Sword-Saint. A pinnacle powerhouse like him could do what he pleased, and if he wanted to enter this room, no one here could stop him.

John thought over it for a moment, quickly understanding the source of the respect. This was the Prime Shadows room, and no one, not even the Sword-Saint himself, dared to enter without an invitation.

John gave the others in the room a quick look, then returned his gaze to the Sword-Saint and nodded slowly.

"You may enter."