"Hahaha," the Supreme Battle Sect youths started laughing loudly, not at John, but in happiness at his words. "Well said. Although I don't know where you get your confidence from, a man should be like this!"
John turned to Adam, and instructed him to step back. "Although you can be useful in fights like these, sit this one out."
Adam nodded his head and walked to the side where the sword was. He began to closely inspect it, curious as to just how powerful it was. Studying the sword could give him insights on how to make his own.
The Supreme Battle Sect boy noticed this, and instructed his friends to step back as well. Valuing battle above all, the Supreme Battle Sect detested ganging up on someone with superior numbers. While they were battle maniacs, they were honorable battle maniacs. In their eyes, ganging up on an opponent would not lead to increased strength, and would only dull the instincts of everyone fighting.
With everyone stepping back, only John and the lead Supreme Battle Sect boy were left.
"What's your name! You're worthy of me remembering your name!" The Supreme Battle Sect youth asked.
"John, and you?"
"Mark!"
John nodded his head in greeting, and before saying another word, appeared like a blur as he dashed forward. His fist punched out, surprising the other boy. He had expected John to attack with a weapon, as his sect was the only one of the Four Great Sects that focused on body cultivation.
While he could tell John had a strong body, he still assumed he was an essence cultivator.
Boom!
Mark crossed his arms in front of himself, blocking John's fist. He was launched backwards several yards, his feet skidding on the ground for a while before coming to a stop. A large smile broke out on his face.
"Not bad! It seems like this will be a good fight!"
"Supreme Battle Art!"
Mark instantly activated his Supreme Battle Art. Although he didn't know the extent of John's strength, he could tell that he could go all out without fear of breaking him immediately. His body began to surge with immense power, stunning even John himself.
'It seems that his Supreme Battle Art is even more powerful than mine. I need to figure out what the difference is.'
While John was unsure how exactly it was different, he could tell that Mark's Supreme Battle Art was more powerful, more refined. Not only that, but he could sense another strange energy within Mark's body that he was unfamiliar with.
Boom!
Mark kicked off the ground, the force of his steps shattering the ground beneath him. Being a body cultivator as well, he had also unlocked his first body limiter, which was the Limiter of Speed. He reached John in an instant, and punched out with his fist.
John punched out with his own fist, and fists violently collided together. John lost out in the exchange as he was knocked backwards, his arm trembling slightly from the force of the blow.
Surprise appeared on Mark's face as he watched John take his attack head on. He could tell that John was only using his body power, with no additional power generated by any battle art.
"What the hell type of body do you have?" Mark asked curiously. For John to fight like this, he had to have an Innate Variant Body, and an impressive one at that.
Envy appeared on Mark's face as he thought of such a thing. If he had an Innate Variant Body, his strength would be much greater. He powered up his Supreme Battle Art even further, drawing out every ounce of strength he could.
"I do have an Innate Variant Body, but as for the type, that's not for you to know," John replied casually.
Mark frowned, and dashed forward once more. A leg came kicking up towards John's waist, and he raised his own leg to block it. However, he felt a strange force wash over him, slowing his movements by a hair.
This slowing effect was all Mark needed to land the blow, and his legs collided with John's ribs.
Boom!
John was sent flying backwards like a broken kite, tumbling head over heels several times before he slammed into a thick tree. The tree shattered in half as he crashed through it, and came toppling down to the ground.
Dust kicked up from the collision, and Adam casually looked over to where John was before looking back to the sword in the tree. He knew John was just warming up.
"Hell Yeah!"
"Good shit!"
Cheers rang out from Mark's fellow disciples watching the fight. However, their cheers slowly faded as they watched John emerge from the dust cloud.
He was rubbing his ribcage, while wincing slightly in pain.
"Ow, that was a pretty damn good hit you got in there. Had it been anyone else, you would have shattered their ribcage." Although he was acting casually, John was actually surprised by that last exchange. That strange feeling that washed over him had slowed down his movement, and caused him to take the blow head on.
Not only that, but Mark's power was truly impressive, and John's internal organs had taken slight damage from that exchange. He felt a lingering pain in his ribs as well, showing the immense power of Mark's body.
Mark furrowed his brows at John's comments and actions. He had expected John to be injured quite badly after having landed a blow like that, but he had stood up as if it was just a minor inconvenience.
"Seriously, what the hell kind of body do you have?" Mark asked again. Even within his Supreme Battle Sect, a body with the natural durability John revealed was rare.
"What use does it make knowing what kind of body I have?" John replied. "I guess it was a little foolish to think I could fight you head on with just the power of my body. Not only that, but your Supreme Battle Art is quite different than mine. It's much more impressive."
Mark's expression turned confused and cold at the same time at John's last words. "You act as if you know our Supreme Battle Art. Such a thing is impossible without being a member of our sect! Watch your words carefully."
The Supreme Battle Sect valued their battle arts above all else, and were like the gospel to them. No outsiders were allowed to know it.
A smile broke out on John's face as he looked directly at Mark. "Maybe by studying your Supreme Battle Art while using my own, I can figure out what the differences are."
Supreme Battle Art!
A surge of power suddenly emanated from John's body, stunning all the youths from the Supreme Battle Sect. Mark's surprised expression soon turned incredibly cold as he stared straight back at John.