John took the jade piece and sent his divine sense into it to inspect it. The details regarding the Tome immediately entered his mind, and John perused it for a while before stopping.
'It's a cultivation technique. I already have the Primordial Extermination Lightning cultivation technique, which is far more profound, so I can ignore this."
"Thanks, Elder," John thanked Elder Orin and put the Tome away in his spatial ring. Although he wasn't going to cultivate it, he wouldn't let others know that just yet.
"Make sure to not lose it, and you are prohibited from showing this to anyone else. This is yours and yours alone," Elder Orin's stated in a serious tone.
John nodded his head in understanding. Although it was just the first stage, the Heavenly Lightning Tome was the signature cultivation technique of the Heavenly Lightning Sect. Such a cultivation technique was one of the reasons they were hegemons of the land, and they would guard such secrets closely.
"What do I do now?" John asked the Elder. He had completed the trial early, and had no more classes for the day.
"It takes most disciples several weeks to fully pass this trial, but you've already passed. You can do whatever you want for the rest of class, and you don't need to show up to next week's class," Elder Orin replied.
John nodded his head in acknowledgement. He had this lightning attunement class once a week, but since he had already passed it, it would give him some more free time for his cultivation.
John thanked Elder Orin once more and was just about to leave, when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye, causing him to stop in his tracks. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the sorry sight he was witnessing.
"Adam, why am I not surprised?" John called out.
He had almost missed it, but he managed to spot Adam hiding behind a nearby bush at the last moment. He had not even entered the trial yet, and was avoiding it out of fear.
"Leave me alone," Adam yelled out, still fearful of what John had done last time.
"How are you supposed to improve in the Heavenly Lightning Sect, a sect that focuses on lightning, without establishing lightning comprehensions?" John asked as he stood before Adam.
"I'll figure something out," Adam responded, slowly backing away from John.
"You're a Core Disciple, you need to act like one. If you don't raise your strength fast enough, someone will challenge you in six months and take your Core Disciple spot from you. Do you really want to lose that nice house of yours?" John asked, causing Adam to pause slightly.
An internal debate started in Adam's mind, and John shook his head in disappointment.
"I would normally leave you alone, as your strength has nothing to do with me...but you have already made it clear to all that you're my first follower, and I can't have weak or timid followers," John stated with a firm voice, causing Adam to jump and attempt to flee.
"Nope!" John rescinded as he quickly caught up and gripped Adams arm.
Before Adam could even respond, John turned around and threw Adam towards the lightning field.
"Ahhh...Aiya!"
Adam's screams of fear were cut off by his new screams of pain as he entered the trial. Lightning immediately crashed onto his body, and Adam screamed out nonstop. John shook his head in disapproval.
"The trial might be painful, but it's not nearly painful enough to cause you to yell like that. Stop embarrassing yourself," John called out to Adam and crossed his arms just outside the trial.
Adam looked towards John and noticed him guarding the exit of the trial, making it clear that he would not allow Adam to leave.
"I'll have my revenge eventually," Adam yelled out, before focusing on the trial itself.
John nodded in approval as he watched Adam begin to take the trial seriously, and worked to improve his comprehensions and affinity towards lightning.
'I was going to go back home to cultivate, but I can temper my soul and will here just as well.'
He knew if he left, Adam was most likely to leave the trial early. Only by staying here could he ensure that he would remain in the trial. While John was normally unconcerned with others, he wanted Adam to grow in strength. Not only did he represent himself as a follower, but John was very interested in having a strong formations expert as a follower.
There were some problems that brute force would not be able to solve, and John wanted to make sure he had all types of help in the future.
John sat down in a meditative position and sent his soul inward. He strengthened his soul in front of the holy gate, and tempered his will in front of the sinister gate. While cultivating in front of the sinister gate, John began to emit an aura containing his will without himself realizing.
Elder Orin looked over to John in surprise and he studied him closely.
"What a terrifyingly firm will. How is his will so firm at his age?"
The class continued for several more hours, and John cultivated outside of it the entire time.
"Time's up. Class is over," Elder Orin yelled out, and the lightning field immediately receded.
John opened his eyes to inspect the progress of those within. June was nowhere to be seen, as she had already passed the trial and left the area.
Mason, Mae, and Hartley were more than halfway through the trial, and were ahead of anyone else. Russell was still towards the edge of the trial, his face red from exhaustion.
"What the fuck is this trial?" Russell yelled out in frustration. No matter how hard he attempted to move forward, he was unable to do so.
John quickly spotted Adam, and raised his eyebrows slightly. His progress was quite impressive, signifying he had established a good amount of lighting comprehensions already.
'Maybe his talent really isn't all that bad.'
However, as the trial ended, Adam dramatically flopped to the floor and remained unmoving as if he was dead. Clearly he was trying to make John feel bad for his actions, but John only rolled his eyes and stood up ready to leave.
"Wait!" A loud yell sounded out behind John, and he recognized the source of the voice immediately.
"What is it Russell?" John asked as he turned to look at him.
Russell quickly ran over to John and stood directly before him.
"Lets fight!"