Ascension of the immortal Asura

"Oh, I guess we forgot to tell you," Luri said apologetically, noticing John's sideways glance at him. "Our father is the Sect-Leader of our Light Dao Sect."

John stared at Luri for a moment longer, then sighed, shaking his head. The youths seemed to have a penchant to forget giving important information to others, like letting his father know ahead of time of John's cultivation level, and now this.

"Young man," their father said, drawing John's gaze to him. "I can tell you are quite talented, and if the words of my children are correct, you are a monstrous talent."

He paused, John noticing his gaze was still a bit skeptical.

'He most likely thinks I used some sort of outside help, like a powerful artifact, formation, or something of the sort, instead of using my own power,' John thought, studying the man's face.

Such a thing couldn't be helped, as it was only natural for the man to think this way. It wasn't easy to accept a combat prowess that defied all known norms, especially from an unknown youth he had never met before.

"However, regardless of your talent," the man continued, "you will still need to prove your worth in my sect, starting from the bottom. I cannot give anyone special treatment. I'm sure you can understand."

"That's fine," John shrugged, indicating his nonconcern for the matter. Surging through the sect and gaining status would not be an issue.

"Good," the man nodded, his expression approving of John's acceptance of not getting special treatment. Most youths would most definitely try to gain special favor for saving the children of a sect leader.

Screech!

A distant screeching hiss suddenly came from the Immortal Forest, its power shaking the land beneath them. The man frowned, looking towards the forest, then cast his gaze towards John.

"When you were in the forest, did you fight the Serpions?" the man asked John.

"Serpions?" John repeated, having no idea what that was.

The man stared at John, surprised he didn't know what a Serpion was.

"A creature like a scorpion, but with the face of a serpent," the man elaborated.

"Oh those," John said, "Yeah. I killed about a dozen of them."

The man groaned, and quickly turned to grab his children.

"We're leaving, now!" he said loudly, scooping them up and taking them to the flying ship above. John quickly followed behind, startled by the man's hastiness.

Is the source of that sound really strong enough to get a Late World Expansion cultivator worked up like this, John wondered silently, entering the ship, Kirii quickly entering his soul-space. He gazed around and marveled at its interior, which was of equal quality to the ship Daoist Eternal Weapon had given him, which was now in the hands of Lilian.

The man rushed to the control center of the ship, pressing some formations in quick sequence. The ship shot forward, speeding sideways along the coast instead of back towards the forest. Its speed was startling, and John watched as the ground buzzed by in a blur beneath them.

Boom!

A powerful boom blasted against the ship, shaking it violently. John turned around hastily to see a massive creature emerge from the forest, destroying the place they had been just a moment ago. His eyes widened with surprise as he stared at the creature, a creature shaped like a scorpion, its face serpent-like.

The creature was over a mile tall, and its power was at the Late World Expansion Realm. The next moment, the ship was far enough away that the creature could no longer be seen, but John still felt a trickle of sweat drip down his forehead.

A moment later and they would have been caught up in that attack, one strong enough to pulverize him into dust. John felt another chill crawl up his spine as he realized he had been in the forest with such a powerful creature skulking about.

'If I had run into that thing in the forest…'

He shook his head, washing away the thought of the outcome of that battle. Even with his full power, he had no hope of fighting such a powerful beast. He turned as he noticed the youths father approach him.

"We're far enough away, and thankfully Serpions are not too fast," the man said, his frowning gaze studying John once more. "Are you mad? Killing Serpions in the Immortal Forest? Everyone knows the Serpion Broodmother is not to be trifled with, and will seek vengeance for any who target her offspring."

"I…had no idea," John said, a wry smile on his face.

"John lost his memory recently," Luri said, rushing up to the two, coming to John's defense.

"Lost his memory huh?" their father repeated, still studying John with an intense gaze.

"That's right," Luri nodded. "He fell from the sky, hurt himself badly, and lost his memory in the fall. That's why he doesn't remember any of this commonsense stuff."

The man continued to stare at John silently, his scrutinous gaze quite piercing. John kept his gaze level with the man's, not backing down for an instant. The man's arm suddenly shot out, so fast that John could not react.

He grabbed John's wrist with his hand, his Qi and divine sense flooding into John's arm. John recoiled in surprise, his power surging to break free of the man's grasp. Before he could tug his arm free, the man let go, his divine sense going no further than through John's arm.

"What was that for?" John asked, frowning warily at the man.

The frown the man seemed to perpetually wear on his face returned, his eyes narrowing as he stared at John.

"I knew there was something strange about you," the man said, "but I never imagined this to be the reason."

"The reason? What are you talking about, father?" Luri asked, confused. Suri stood nearby, a look of concern on her face as she stared at the two of them.

The man continued to study John, eyes narrowed. John felt quite exposed before the man's gaze, as if he could see through all his secrets. It was the same gaze Thunderzen had given him many times, the gaze of a powerful cultivator with thousands of years of wisdom and experience.

"You didn't know about the Serpions, didn't know about all the things my children told you about this world," the man said, "not because you lost your memory, but because you never had memory of these things in the first place."

John's face scrunched up with confusion, but inside he felt completely startled.

'Did this man somehow figure out the truth?' he wondered, but didn't need to wonder for long.

"And the reason for that," the man continued, gaze hardening, "is because you are not of this world. Are you, child?"