A profound beast appeared in front of John, and had materialized out of nowhere, most likely the work of some formation. However, unlike the illusion formation, this beast was corporeal, and was able to cause real damage.
"A Golden Mane Lion? It appeared out of nowhere, so I'm guessing it's a formation instead of it being an actual lion. Although the strength should be the same."
The lion in front of John was a Golden Mane Lion, which was nearly six feet tall and fifteen feet long from head to tail. It had a large golden mane, which gave it its name, as well as razor sharp claws jutting from each of its paws. Its mouth was larger than John's head, and many sharp teeth jutted from its mouth.
Its power was at the early Qi Condensation realm, which caused John to frown somewhat. He had been hoping for a good fight, but the lion was far too weak to provide that.
"It said to fight as long as I can, so I'm guessing that as soon as I defeat it, another beast will take its place. Let's test it out,"
The lion roared and pounced towards John, at which point he took out his scythe. Although he could easily defeat the animal barehanded, he was sure that strength preservation was more important than having a good fight during a test.
The lion rapidly approached John, and its powerful claw swung out towards him. John quickly dodged to the side, easily avoiding the attack.
Thanks to his powerful body, as well as opening the Limit of Speed in his body, John's natural movement speed was nearly equivalent to a movement technique on its own. If the Supreme Battle Art and Immortal Asura Transformation Art were thrown in on top of that, his speed would be incredibly terrifying.
Slice!
Before the lion could react, a black scythe rapidly sliced towards its outstretched claw, severing it from the rest of its body.
Roar!
The lion roared out in pain and tried to back up, but quickly stumbled to the ground due to its missing limb. John seized the moment and dashed forward quickly. His scythe blade came vertically down towards the lions head, and pierced its skull before it could react. The lion twitched for a moment before it collapsed.
After dying, its body slowly dissipated into thin air, revealing that it was indeed a beast created by a formation and not a real one.
"Surely that's not all," John remarked.
Just as he spoke up, light flashed within the large room, and three more Golden Mane Lions appeared. They were each identical to the first one, and their powerful roars reverberated throughout the room.
"More of you? Give me something a bit more challenging," John mumbled before dashing directly into the midst of the lions.
Despite being three in number, their power was far beneath his notice. Just like the first lion, the three lions were defeated and killed in short order, without John having to utilize his most powerful techniques. Just his body alone was strong enough to make short work of the three lions.
The bodies dissipated, and another flash of light filled the room. John's eyes lit up slightly as he stared at the beast that had just appeared.
It was another Golden Mane Lion, however…
"This one is in the mid Qi Condensation realm. That's more like it!" A smile appeared on John's face as he stomped down on the ground and rapidly dashed towards the lion. Only something in his realm could make him slightly feel the thrill of battle, although even then it was just slightly.
The lion roared at John before it too dashed towards him, unleashing a powerful claw attack.
Boom!
Scythe and claws collided, and both the lion and John were knocked back slightly.
"It has a much stronger defense than the previous lions."
John's scythe slashed forward once more, aiming for the lion's neck. The lion quickly raised its paw once more, and successfully parried the attack.
John suddenly let go of his scythe and dashed past the lions outstretched claw. The lion had been expecting John to pull his scythe back and unleash another attack, but the boy had appeared directly before its chest before it could react.
A powerful fist sailed forward, directly colliding with the front chest of the lion.
Boom!
A loud boom echoed out, and the sound of cracking ribs echoed throughout the room as the lion was knocked back dozens of yards. John used his essence Qi to quickly suction his scythe back into his hands, before he dashed forward as quickly as he could.
Bang!
A scythe collided with the back of the still tumbling lion, piercing deep into its body.
Roar!
The lion roared out in pain as the scythe carved a deep wound several feet long and deep into its back. Blood flowed out profusely as John once more struck out several more times at the lion. Some of the attacks were blocked at the last moment, but most landed directly on the body of the lion, causing its body to become more and more gruesome.
Before long, the lion collapsed on the ground, and its body dissipated soon after. Before long, three flashes of light filled the room, and three more lions appeared in front of John. Each of them were mid Qi Condensation beasts.
A small smile appeared on John's face once more.
"That's more like it!"