Russell stared at John's outstretched hand for a moment, and the crowd held its breath as they waited for his reaction. Everyone knew Russell was a very competitive person, and they didn't know how he would react.
After a moment's pause, Russell reached out and grabbed John's hand.
"Haha, that was a good fight. I haven't had that much fun in a long time!" Russell responded while laughing. It was as if the fight he had just lost never happened.
Russell was a battle maniac just like John, and although he loved to win, his love for a good battle triumphed all. His battle with John was one of the best fights he had ever had, and he was in a good mood as a result.
The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause at the conclusion of the fight.
"That was amazing! I need to learn the Heavenly Lightning Domain," a first year commented.
"I know! John was able to completely take the advantage once he pulled that domain out!" another replied.
"Not only that, but he's a lower cultivation than Russell. Even if Russell's Half-Step Core Formation cultivation can only be considered half a minor realm higher, it's still higher nonetheless. I guess those rumors of his battle prowess are not exaggerated."
Many similar discussions broke out throughout the entire arena, and the two main talking points were John, and his Heavenly Lightning Domain, although Russell had put up a great fight too, and had gained some followers for his display as well.
"We need to fight again once I learn some of the sects' battle arts," Russell said to John.
Although he was proud of his Ruinous Earth Sect battle arts, Russell was able to see the difference in profundity between the two in this fight. His battle prowess would increase immensely once he learned some of the sects battle arts, and his desire to start training them increased several fold.
"Sure," John replied, completely willing to fight Russell again. This battle today was not only fun for John, but also increased his comprehension towards his new battle arts immensely.
"You may leave the arena," the Elder approached them and said.
The arena schedule was quite busy, and so the arena had to be repaired before the next fight. John and Russell left through the lower entrance, and were greeted by a familiar face on the other side.
A cold pair of eyes watched them leave the arena, and Mason too left after watching the fight. He was quite upset at the combat prowess that John had shown, and he knew he would have to improve greatly to knock him off his top disciple pedestal in a few months.
At the same time, a lone girl sat at the top of the arena. She had been observing the fight closely, and quietly slipped out once the fight was done.
"John, when did you learn those battle arts?" Adam asked with much curiosity.
"I bought them," John replied quickly, hiding nothing.
"Bought them? How much did those battle arts cost?" Adam inquired.
Adam had not yet been to the Heavenly Lightning Library, and was unsure how much techniques cost.
"The three techniques cost me around eighteen thousand spirit crystals," John replied, revealing how much the Qi Condensation forms of the battle arts cost him.
"Eighteen thousand? That's not too bad?" Adam replied, causing John to raise his eyebrows in slight surprise.
'Seems like Adam has some considerable wealth already if he can scoff at eighteen thousand spirit crystals.'
Although John was not sure how Adam had come across such sums of money, it wasn't his place to ask. Russell soon went his separate way, as he was confident that the fight had given him the comprehensions needed to fully break through to the Core Formation Realm. Once he did so, his combat prowess would increase explosively.
Even John felt his cultivation comprehensions increase greatly, and his once shaky foundation was soon becoming stabilized without any flaws.
John spoke with Adam for some time, and told Adam to visit the Heavenly Lightning Library to try to find some lightning formation arts. Adam agreed, and the two of them soon parted, each with a specific agenda in mind.
The boisterous crowd also dispersed, and the battle between John and Russell soon became the talk of the entire sect.
After leaving the arena grounds, John looked towards a certain direction and began to walk. He put on a fresh set of robes as well, as his previous robes were dirtied and bloodied. However, the robes were undamaged despite the intense fight, showing the quality of the War Hall robes.
'It's been over a week since I was last there, surely he's out of his seclusion by now.'
John walked through the sect for some time before he arrived in front of the Pill Hall. He quickly entered, and walked up the stairs to the fifth floor. He walked to Pill Emperor Thunderpill's door, and did not find anyone guarding it.
"Thunderpill said for the Elder to guard the door until he was finished, so I'm guessing he's done. Perfect."
After confirming this piece of information, John heard some sounds coming from the other side of the door, confirming that Thunderpill was inside his pill room. John left the Pill Hall, and walked across the sect, soon arriving at the Enforcement Hall.
He quickly found Elder Ragur's house. As an Elder of the sect, Elder Ragur had quite a luxurious abode, and it was much larger than John's own house. He knocked on the door, and was soon greeted by a butler.
"How can I help you?" The man asked, as this was his first time seeing John.
"I'm here for Elder Ragur. Tell him John is here about the pill," John replied. The butler nodded, and ventured back into the house. After a while, Elder Ragur came to the door.
"John, you're here about the pill already?" Elder Ragur asked. He had expected this matter to take weeks or months, not just a single week.
"Mhm, do you have the ingredients on hand?" John asked. He knew that Elder Ragur would need to supply the ingredients for the pill.
"Yes I do. I bought them this week with the money you gave me," Elder Ragur confirmed. Although he felt quite awkward spending that money, he couldn't resist the allure of obtaining a Heaven Ascension Pill. Now the last hurdle was employing the help of a Pill Emperor, but Elder Ragur knew all the sects Pill Emperors were haughty individuals, and getting their help would cost a lot of money and take a lot of time.
However, John had said he had a solution to this problem, and so Elder Ragur decided to trust him.
"Perfect, lets go greet a friend of mine," John replied.
Elder Ragur was confused who this friend was, but said nothing. He and John walked back to the Pill Hall, and soon arrived on the fifth floor. They stood in front of a large luxurious door, and a peculiar look quickly appeared on Elder Ragur's face.
"John, this is Pill Emperor Thunderpill's alchemy room. He's an incredibly eccentric man, and quite hard to get along with….surely he isn't the 'friend' you mentioned?" Elder Ragur asked.
"He sure is, let's go in," John replied as he began to open the door.
"Hey, wait, you cant just barg-" Elder Ragur tried to stop John, but was a hair to late to do so.
John fully opened the door, and stepped inside the large alchemy room. Elder Ragur quickly followed.
An intense heat billowed both of them, and a strong medicinal smell filled the entire hall. The two of them spotted a man sitting on the other side of the large room, providing a flame to his pill cauldron.
The man frowned at the interruption, and turned around to see who dared do such a thing.
"Who dares interrup-," however, he paused as he saw who it was.
John stared back at the man with a confused expression. The man in front of him was a middle aged man, full of vigor and vitality, and looked nothing like Pill Emperor Thunderpill. However, after a brief moment, John remembered what Pill Emperor Thunderpill had wanted the Undying Vitality Fruit for.
'Surely the pill wasn't that potent? Isn't this a bit exaggerated.'
"Our apologies, we were here for Pill Emperor Thunderpill. We will leave immediately," Elder Ragur replied. He didn't know who was in front of him, as Pill Emperor Thunderpill was an elderly man, but he did know the cultivation of the man before him was in the Heaven Tribulation Realm. As such, he had to treat him with respect.
"Elder," John spoke up. "We're in the right place. That is Pill Emperor Thunderpill."
Thunderpill stood up and suddenly appeared directly in front of John. The Thunderpill John knew from before was no more, as that Thunderpill was basically on his deathbed. The Thunderpill before him now surged with vitality, and John could hardly believe the two were the same person.
The two stared at each other silently before John spoke up.
"I see you were successful in making the pill. Per our agreement, I have a pill for you to make."