Ascension of the immortal Asura

"Alright," John nodded, still unconvinced, but willing to listen.

"To clarify, the marriage is not to himself, but to his fifth son," the Prime Shadow said.

"His son? How does that make it any better?" John asked.

"His fifth son, Ji'Han, is twenty-two years of age, with a cultivation at the Half-Step World Expansion Realm. He is considered the number one human genius of this world below the World Expansion Realm, and is without a doubt the number one prodigy of the Sword Dao Sect," the Prime Shadow explained. "The Sword-Saint must have learned about the talent and beauty of your friend through The Auction, and acquired her at great expense for his son."

"You still haven't explained how this is an amusing situation," John said, frowning.

"Ah, yes. Well, your friend, Lilian, has been nothing but a headache for the Sword-Saint," the Prime Shadow said, the amused smile returning. "At first she was controllable, but after healing, her power returned to full. Her command over the Spatial Dao is prodigious to say the least, and the Sword Dao Sect has been having trouble controlling her. With the Sword-Saint wanting her to become his son's wife, he has avoided using heavy-handed methods to keep her under control. However, he refuses to set her free, resulting in a stalemate between the two of them."

"At least the Sword-Saint doesn't sound like a true asshole," John grumbled, thankful to hear that Lilian hadn't been treated too poorly.

"This back and forth, of her escaping, of the Sword-Saint capturing her and returning her to the sect played out numerous times, until one day, your friend proposed a bet with the Sword-Saint."

"A bet?" John asked. "What kind of bet?"

"An amusing kind," the Prime Shadow said, smiling lightly. "You see, the Three Dao Sects hold a tournament, called the Three-Dao Tournament, every three years, for the geniuses of this land to flaunt their strength and bring honor to their sects. The tournament ranges from the Mist Creation Realm all the way to the Dao Transformation Realm, with each cultivation realm being its own bracket.'

'Dao Tournament? This must be the same one Furi wanted me to enter, to obtain a Holy Transcendence Pill for him' John thought.

The Sword-Saint's son, Ji'Han, has won every Dao tournament he has taken place in, being undefeated since he was ten. At ten, he won the Mist Creation bracket, at thirteen, the Core Formation bracket. At sixteen, the Heaven Tribulation Bracket. At nineteen, the Dao Transformation bracket, and now at twenty-two, he is expected to win this year's Dao Transformation bracket again."

"Okay," John sighed. "And all this is related to the bet, how?"

"The Sword-Saint is very proud of his son Ji'Han, to the point that everyone on the continent knows of his love for his son. To him, there is no star brighter, no youth more prodigious than his very own son. In fact, he's raising his son to eventually replace him as Sword-Saint, and hopes that his son will even claim the Sword-Sovereign title for himself eventually, proclaiming himself as the number one sword cultivator of this world."

"Become the Sword-Sovereign?" John asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. "Isn't the Sword-Sovereign the leader of the Sword Dao Sect? How can he just take that title?"

"The Sword Dao Sect believes in the strength of ones sword above all else. Every rank, every position of power, is obtained through strength. If one is strong enough, they are allowed to take that position for themselves by challenging the one holding it, which even includes the position of Sword-Sovereign," the Prime Shadow explained.

Despite his disgust towards them, John couldn't help but nod in approval at the way the Sword Dao Sect valued strength.

'No wonder they're the strongest human sect on this world,' he thought.

"Anyways," the Prime Shadow continued, getting to the main point. "Your friend smartly used the Sword-Saint's confidence in his son's strength to create the bet, and her bet was this; As long as she was showered with cultivation resources and treasures in the meantime, she would agree to marry the winner of this year's Dao Tournament. With the confidence the Sword-Saint has in his son, that bet to him is the same thing as your friend agreeing to marry his son. The Sword-Saint agreed to the bet instantly as you can guess, as he has no doubt in his mind that his son will win the tournament."

John remained silent for a short while, then started laughing lightly.

"And I'm assuming with your status, you can get me into this tournament?" he asked.

"I can," the Prime Shadow nodded, a wide smile forming on his face as he knew John finally realized the amusing part of Lilian's situation. "With your friend proposing this bet, she must have no doubt in her mind that not only would you find a way to join the tournament, but would also have a good chance of winning it. And in the meantime, she is being showered with treasures and resources beyond counting by the Sword-Saint, who considers these resources to be an investment in his son's future wife."

"Hahahaha," John started laughing loudly, half from amusement in the situation, the other half from relief that Lilian's situation was far better than he would have guessed it was.

"I don't know why I worried about her in the first place," he said through laughter. "Of course she would not only be able to handle herself, but find a way to turn whatever situation she found herself in to her advantage."

"Are you not worried that this Ji'Han has the strength to defeat you?" the Prime Shadow asked curiously. "Much like yourself, he is capable of jumping realms. I heard he defeated an Early World Expansion cultivator the moment he stepped into the Late Dao Transformation Realm."

"He's that strong?" John asked, shocked to hear such a talent existed in this world. That was akin to jumping two minor realms. The only other cultivators he knew who would be able to do such a thing was Lilian, as well as the now-dead Asuros.

"He is," the Prime Shadow nodded. "Not only is Ji'Han a prodigious talent with the sword, but he also has two innate advantages that sets him apart from the other genius of this world."

"And what are those?" John asked curiously.

"Ji'Han has a Flame Attribute Body, giving him a terrifying command over the Flame Dao," the Prime Shadow said, "an on top of that, he also has a King Grade Innate Variant Body. He's most certainly a one in one hundred-thousand-year talent, one worthy of his reputation as the number one young genius of this world. Additionally, with the way the tournament is set up, you will be fighting with a considerable disadvantage, making him even more of a threat. Even for you, he is a genius that you cannot look down on.

The good news is that word of this bet has already spread across the land, no doubt by your friends design, which not only serves as a way for you to discover her location, but also reveals the bet to the entire world, making it so that if Ji'Han doesn't win, the Sword-Saint can't deny or back out of the bet. If you manage to win, your friend escapes the Sword-Saint's clutches without question, all while collecting countless treasures and resources beforehand. I must say, it's quite a brilliant move, so long as you manage to win. If both you and her are confident in your strength, then I'm guessing there's more to you than you have revealed."

John smiled confidently, his expression unwavering.

'Even if I have to use my bloodline ability. Even if I have to reveal my Asura Transformation, I'll win.'

"I'll win."