It was considered common knowledge that fighting above your realm and killing such an opponent was almost impossible. Even a minor realm increase was no exception.
While there were geniuses that were able to contest against an opponent above their realm and fight evenly, almost none of them were able to defeat or kill those opponents. Defeating an opponent was ten times harder than fighting evenly against one.
As such, the final fight of the third trial was against an opponent a minor realm above each cultivator.
For cultivators at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, they would have to fight a half-step Core Formation beast, which was not quite Core Formation yet, but stronger than a late Qi Condensation expert.
Since John was in the Mid Qi Condensation Realm, he was situated against a late Qi Condensation beast.
In the Heavenly Lightning Sect forest that he had spent the last three months in, John had fought hundreds of Qi Condensation beasts. Most were early Qi Condensation beasts, but there were many mid Qi Condensation beasts that he fought when he was in the early Qi Condensation Realm for both body and essence cultivation.
With the help of the Divine Reaping Scythe, Supreme Battle Art, and Immortal Asura Transformation Art, John was able to defeat these mid Qi Condensation beasts, doing what most considered impossible.
He had managed to barely break through to the mid Qi Condensation Realm days before the entrance exam, which drastically increased his power. However, due to running out of human blood essence, John's body cultivation was still at the early Qi Condensation Realm.
As such, fighting the late Qi Condensation beast was going to be much harder than his fights before, due to his body cultivation being two whole minor realms below the lion's power.
'This is going to be a lot harder than the fights in the forest. But...I still think I should be able to manage. However, I really need to figure out this human blood essence situation soon.'
A pitch black scythe reappeared in John's hands, and its several hundred pounds of weight wasn't even enough to cause his body to sink down slightly. A small frown appeared on John's face as he inspected the weapon in his hands.
Small chips were visible on the scythe blade.
'This weapon is starting to become obsolete. Not only is its weight too low for me to fully utilize the strength of my body, but it's also starting to show wear, affecting its performance. I'll need to get a new weapon after this exam.'
There were a few things John had on his list to upgrade after the exam. The first was his scythe, but he also needed new techniques, such as a movement technique, and essence attacks.
His body, with his Limit of Speed unleashed was incredibly fast, but an essence movement technique on top of that would make his speed incredible. Also, his only essence attack of note right now as the Divine Reaping Scythe, but it was incredibly strenuous on his essence Qi, and he could only unleash it a few times before running out of essence Qi.
John snapped out of his thoughts and looked up towards the Golden Mane Lion that was rapidly approaching him. Unlike the last fights, the power of the Lion was enough to threaten his life if he wasn't careful.
'I could stall the battle out by using the Supreme Battle Art and Divine Reaping Scythe and slowly wear it down, but since it's a beast created by a formation, I don't think stamina is an issue for it. As such, only brute force and overwhelming power will result in victory.'
Supreme Battle Art!
An explosive aura once again radiated outwards from John's body, causing his robes and hair to billow as if in a heavy wind. His aura kept climbing until it reached its peak state.
The lion quickly reached John, sending out a powerful claw attack. Its power was several times stronger than the previous lion's claw attacks, and John didn't care to look down on it.
Boom!
Scythe and claw collided, and John was knocked back dozens of yards while the lion was only knocked back two yards. John felt as if a mountain had just struck him, and his arms rattled from the force of the impact, and a small amount of blood escaped from his lips.
…
"Haha, seems like this is the end of the road for your boy. I will admit he's quite impressive, but that five minute mark is starting to seem quite far away for him. I'll graciously accept your ten thousand spirit stone donation," Elder Harn said to Elder Ragur in a mocking tone.
Elder Ragur frowned at the words said to him, but didn't respond. His eyes stayed glued to the formation screens. He knew John still had more in the tank, and was looking forward to the fight to come.
Elder Harn was still gloating about his soon to be acquired wealth, and was just about to make another snide comment, when all of a sudden, his words caught in his throat. Him, as well as every other Elder in the room had their eyes glued to the screen in a disbelieving fashion.
…
After being knocked back by the Lion, John knew he was just wasting time by fighting at his current strength.
'I think it's about time to go all out! Let me end this as fast as possible.'
As the lion once again charged directly towards John, his already impressive battle aura began to rapidly rise once more, and his eyes began to slowly turn color. Before long, his eyes were completely red in color, and his pupils had become vertical, like the pupils of a snake.
Before while using the Supreme Battle Art, his battle aura was like that of a powerful battle lord. However, his battle aura had completely changed in the blink of an eye, and all the Elder's watching felt as if they were staring at a bloodthirsty demon god.
Not only was the power he was revealing much stronger than anything a mid Qi Condensation cultivator should have, the very nature of that power chilled every Elder to their core.