Ascension of the immortal Asura

The city outside the divine realm held their breath with excitement and anticipation, as they were finally going to see Zeras, the most famous World Expansion genius on the continent, fight. No one had seen Zeras fight, and no one knew what he specialized in.

His Dao Name, 'Star Storm', gave a hint into what he specialized in, but no one knew for certain.

Many were also curious about Lua, as she was almost equally famous as Zeras.

There were stories told of her feats, which were mostly assassinations of high and powerful individuals. When it came to pure lethality, almost no one in the world compared to Lua.

Such a battle would no doubt be one for the ages; a battle that the spectators could boast about witnessing until their deathbed.

Inside the realm, John and Lilian watched with serious expressions, especially Lilian. She didn't know much about her brother's fighting style and battle arts either, and would need to study him as much as possible before their battle to come. She knew some of what he specialized in, but much time had passed since she had last seen him, and she had also never seen Zeras fight with his full power. She was sure there would be many things she had never witnessed before.

In the arena, Zeras and Lua stared at each other, neither side moving. Despite being one of the most talented geniuses in the world, as well as one of the most lethal assassins alive, Lua stared at Zeras with a wary gaze. She knew her opponent did not receive his acclaim without merit, and knew she could not afford to make a single mistake.

Opposite Lua, Zeras stood patiently with a relaxed yet confident smile plastered to his face. It was as if he was not taking his opponent seriously at all.

"Are you not going to make the first move?" Zeras asked calmly. He put his hands behind his back, as if welcoming her to attack him. His gaze was if he were an adult looking at a child who wanted to fight.

Lua's gaze narrowed, and she frowned with displeasure as she was clearly being looked down on. Without any further hesitation, she took action. She was one of the most lethal assassins in the world despite her relatively young age, and she would remind Zeras that he was not the only genius within the Divine Martial Continent.

Her body flashed forward, her speed even faster than what she had displayed against Serilia. Two daggers appeared in her hands, one pitch black, and the other blood red. The black dagger emanated a dark and deathly aura, while the red dagger emanated a sinister and murderous one. Both daggers were curved and serrated, as if meant to inflict the most physical damage possible.

'Those daggers are almost on the same level of quality and profundity as my scythe!' John thought, surprised to see such high-quality weapons used by Lua. However, when he thought about it, it made sense. Lua was not only a terrifying genius, but also a World Expansion cultivator. She would no doubt have spared no expense to obtain such powerful weapons.

Both daggers emanated the aura of a World Expansion grade weapon, adding to the lethality Lua was giving off. Even if it was someone like Zeras, being struck with those daggers would be dangerous, if not fatal.

Zeras stood idly as he watched Lua flash towards him, her figure nearly instantly appearing before him. Her body suddenly vanished as she used her stealth art she had revealed before. Only the faintest of shimmers revealed her location, but those shimmers were all over the place, and almost impossible to detect.

John was sure that if Lua had her full power at her disposal, it would be impossible for him to detect her location at all. It reminded him of the dangers out there, dangers that were pointed at him from all directions. If Lua attempted to assassinate him outside this realm, he wasn't sure he would even be able to detect her before she landed a fatal blow.

Zeras' smile never faded as a weapon appeared in his hand; a weapon unlike anything John had ever seen before.

The weapon had a bright blue shaft, ornately designed, lined with powerful formation runes, and was roughly four feet long. At the end of the shaft was a crystal orb four inches wide which glowed brightly with a swirling mix of colors, as if chaos itself was held within.

On opposite sides of the crystal orb were two blade-like protrusions that started from the end of the shaft, curved around the crystal orb. The blades were each three feet long, terrifyingly sharp, and ended with a sharp point, like two spears pointing forward.

"What type of weapon is that?" John asked with much confusion, but received no answer as Lilian was fully focused on the battle about to unfold.

"A pointless trick," Zeras scoffed, and pointed his weapon outwards to his side. A beam of incredible power shot out of his weapon, its speed so fast that it was almost impossible to react to.

Peng!

A metallic sound rang out as the beam struck onto nothing, but then that nothing turned into Lua, who was revealed to all as she undid the stealth art and focused on defending against the attack. Her daggers were crossed in front of her, shielding her against the beam that continuously shot out at her.

Deflected parts of the beam shot out all around her, slamming into distant parts of the arena and the formation guarding it. The entire arena trembled violently as the scattered remnants of Zeras' attack landed on it, revealing the shocking power of his attack.

The beam continued to blast against Lua for a short while, while Lua struggled with gritted teeth to defend against it. After the brief struggle, she regained her composure and pushed her daggers outwards, giving her body some room. She stopped guarding and flittered to the side, and the beam struck the floor of the arena many miles away, slamming against it and shaking the arena once more.

Silence filled the arena for a moment, as neither Lua or the other fighters made a noise. They were too stunned to speak, as the first attack from Zeras, one that he had done with complete ease, had been completely overwhelming.