A look of displeasure appeared on John's face upon hearing the creature's words. Although that last attack he had taken had been absolutely incredible, he had suffered no significant damage in taking the attack head on. Were it not for his blood essence reserves, and therefore body Qi, running out, John was confident he could keep fighting.
Not only that, but John did not have a weapon battle art, and so he was at a great disadvantage in that regard, using only the Dao's and body strength to fight back against such profound sword battle arts.
The creature noticed John's displeasure and smirked. "However, the point of this trial was not to win, but to prove yourself worthy of being called a Divine Talent. In that regard, you have passed."
John looked back at the creature, his look of displeasure slightly fading. He breathed out a slight sigh of relief at hearing he had passed the trial. He wanted to keep fighting the mysterious youth, as his battle intent was still surging, but unfortunately the trial had ended.
"Despite having a weaker domain art, and no weapon battle art, you were able to fight somewhat evenly against your opponent. Fighting evenly against someone like him, even in his youthful state, is more than deserving of being called a divine talent," the creature continued.
"If I had a weapon battle art, it wouldn't have just been a somewhat even fight," John rebuked, still confident in himself. Kirii, who was still standing next to the creature, quickly retreated back into John's soul space.
"That may have been the case," the creature replied. "However, we cannot know such a thing anymore, as the trial has been completed."
"What do I get for passing the trial?" John curiously asked. Since the trial was over, his thoughts of fighting the youth were washed away to the back of his mind.
"Right to the rewards huh?" the creature asked with a slightly amused tone. "I suppose that's to be expected."
"These arch trials are not the final trial of this temple. In order to advance to the next trial, one has to pass the Heavenly or Divine Talent trials. Your first reward is getting access to the final trial, which is a reward in and of itself."
John's ears perked up at hearing this. He was always more than happy to get more trials, and therefore more rewards.
"What type of trial is it?" John asked curiously.
"The trial is an entirely different realm, in which incredible opportunities await. Only those with high enough talents are allowed to enjoy its risks and rewards," the creature explained.
John frowned at hearing this.
'This sounds exactly like the pocket realm. If my guess is correct, the pocket realm is the final reward for participants in these temple trials. The pocket realm has collapsed, so it should be no more. How does this creature not know that?'
"You don't look too happy to hear about such a trial," the creature said to John, noticing his change in mood.
"That's because I've already been to a pocket realm that's linked to this area, and its collapsed already," John explained.
"What?" the creature exclaimed in surprise and confusion. "Are you sure? How did you enter the realm already?"
John thought about it for a moment, before explaining the entrance he and his clan had entered. He explained how the realm collapsed when he left it, but left out all the important details that were secretive to him.
"An entrance on a mountain? With no trials linked to it beforehand? Sounds like someone with great power established a deviant entrance without anyone noticing. All entrances to the trial realm are tightly controlled, and only those who pass the requisite trials are permitted to enter," the creature explained.
"I cannot say for sure if the realm you entered and the realm this trial is linked to are the same. I suppose you will have to find that out for yourself soon," the creature continued.
"Can you not just check yourself?" John asked in a slightly confused manner. The creature said he was the controller of this trial, and that his spirit was linked to the temple.
"Unfortunately I cannot. I am the overseer of the five arch talent trials, and more specifically, the Divine Trial. My vision cannot extend beyond these trials," the creature replied, his tone slightly saddened.
"You're trapped here? Isn't that incredibly boring?" John asked.
"Of course it is," the creature replied in a slightly raised voice. "I used to be incredibly powerful, and roamed this world as one of its strongest rulers. Unfortunately, I offended the wrong people, and was slain. My soul was then tied to these trials, forever burdened to keep watch over them. Not only that, but I also have another purpose I serve, but that is not for you to know about," the creature explained.
John stared at the creature in silence. He could tell the creature longed for freedom, but could not obtain it.
"What would it take to get you out of here?" John asked curiously.
"Haha, I'm afraid such a thing is not possible," the creature quickly replied. "Not only would I need to find a suitable host body to take over, since I am only a spirit right now, someone incredibly powerful would need to break the shackles this temple has on me. Such a thing won't happen."
John frowned as he heard this. If he could free the creature, he could potentially obtain an immensely powerful helper. However, such a thing seemed to be next to impossible.
"What if I became strong enough, and found a strong enough host body. If I freed you, would you be willing to serve me?" John asked.
"Hahahahaha," the creature laughed loudly, his voice rattling John's body. "Not only are you not anywhere close to strong enough to aid me, I will never serve another again. Most of my life has been in servitude to this temple. I'd rather die than become a slave once again."
John nodded his head in understanding. He would most likely have the same reaction if he was in the creature's position.
"However," the creature suddenly stated, drawing John's attention. "If you truly are able to help me in the future, as small as that possibility may be, I would be willing to aid you wherever you needed it."
John stared at the creature for a moment.
"Deal. If I ever break you out of here, you must aid me whenever I ask. Other than that, you would be free to do whatever you want," John agreed.
A slight ray of hope appeared in the creature's eyes. John was a Divine Talent, and had the support of "that" man. If anyone would be capable of achieving such a feat in the future, it would be him.
After a moment of silence, the creature waved his hand, and an item suddenly appeared in the air before John. It was a circular disk, with an octagram carved into its center. In the middle of the octagram, there was an etching of an eye. Despite the object being inanimate, John felt as if the eye was staring at him.
"Take this," the creature said to John.
John snapped out of his daze, and reached out to grab the item. As soon as it hit his hand, a unique energy invaded his body, as if inspecting him. After a brief moment, John felt a small portion of his Qi extracted and withdrawn back into the disk.
The disk, which had its own unique and profound aura, now contained a small portion of John's Qi in there as well.
"What is this disk for?" John asked curiously.
"This disk is the second half of your rewards for this trial," the creature explained.
"What does it do though?" John asked for elaboration.
"Oh, yes, I suppose you do not know this, since the world has regressed so. This disk is that of the Order of the Divine's, whic-"
Boom!
The entire Divine Trial world suddenly shook. The creature's expression suddenly became serious, as his eyes looked out towards the void past the arena grounds.
Boom!
Another boom echoed out, shaking the arena and the void once more. A guttural growl followed the boom, chilling John to his core. He had never heard such a terrifying noise before. It was as if the sound of the growl alone was soaked with an incredible bloodlust, wanting nothing more than to kill him.
"What's going on?" John asked with apprehension.
"You take this time where I am distracted to show your face once more?" the creature suddenly exclaimed as it stared out into the void. "No matter how many times you try, you cannot escape your prison."
BOOM!
The void in the distance suddenly shattered, as if a dimensional rift was opened. A gaping hole in the void appeared, and John could see movement within the hole. Suddenly, a massive, blood red hand quickly escaped from it, the size of the hand as large as the entire creature that stood before John.