John stared at the now motionless skeleton before him in shock. He had just been prepared to gamble with his life to get out of this predicament, but the skeleton had suddenly stopped, and then after a brief struggle, collapsed, no longer moving.
The remnant will, which John had felt locked onto him the entire time, was no more. John once again looked up towards the mysterious girl in the distance, still shocked at the power she had displayed.
He had struggled against this skeleton without a hope of fighting back, but the girl had managed to defeat it.
'Middle Meridian Forging!'
John's expression changed once again as he finally noticed her now revealed cultivation. He had expected her to be stronger than him based on their first encounter, but not to this level. Not only that, but the profundity of the power that emanated off her was incredible, and was far greater than anything he had seen the youths of the Four Great Sects emanate.
The girl's aura suddenly and quickly began to regress, and before long she returned to her previous state. Her cultivation was once again obscured, and the profound power she had emitted before hidden.
Both Miko and John stared at her as if she was a monster for a moment. John looked down to the skeleton before him, and pointed his finger at it.
Lightning Ruin!
Boom!
A beam of lightning exploded on the skeleton, but the skeleton still remained motionless.
"I guess it truly is finally dead," John mused as he stared at the skeleton. His gaze once again returned to the girl in the distance, who stood there silently.
John waved his hand, and collected the skeleton into his spatial ring. He didn't know if he would find any uses for it, but it was better to have it in case it turned out to be valuable.
After collecting the skeleton, John began to walk over to the girl. He arrived before her, and stood there in silence as he inspected her closely. Silence descended over the two of them for some time before John finally spoke up.
"How did you kill that skeleton?" John asked.
"I didn't kill it," the girl responded, her face still veiled. "The creature was controlled by its remnant will, which was rife with Death Qi. I simply used my Life Qi to erase that remnant Death Qi."
John had expected as much after he had felt her aura, but wanted to be sure. He once again inspected the girl closely.
"Who exactly are you?"
The girl looked at John, her blue eyes staring intently at him. "Are you alright?"
John was slightly surprised by her question, but replied anyway. "I'm fine. Once again, who are you? There's no way you belong to any of the Four Great Sects, and the other powers of the Yuan Continent are even less impressive. Are you from a reclusive power hidden from the continent, or from somewhere else?" John asked.
While John didn't know of any lands beyond the Yuan Continent yet, he did not dismiss the possibility. When he lived in his homelands, he had never heard of the Holy Lands. He was sure there were other lands within the vast world.
The girl paused for a moment, her lips parting and closing several times as if she was thinking of what to say. She replied after a moment of silence.
"You are correct. I am not from this continent. As for where I am from, with your talent, you would find out about it soon enough anyways, but I am from the Divine Martial Continent," the girl replied.
John's face remained mostly emotionless, as he had expected such an answer. However, a tinge of displeasure appeared in his eyes.
"Divine? No matter how powerful the continent is, I highly doubt they qualify to call themselves Divine," John replied.
The girl laughed lightly, finding John's response amusing. "If you're basing your standards off the Divine Talent Trial, then I agree."
John's eyes slightly widened at the girl's response. Based on her words, she could also read the ancient language, and knew John could as well. John's eyes narrowed once more, treating the girl with even more caution.
"So, where is this Divine Martial Continent?" Miko suddenly asked, not able to contain his curiosity.
"Quite far from here I'm afraid, although I'm sure both of you will be stepping foot on it before long," the girl replied.
"Oh? Why is that?" Miko replied with an excited tone. He loved finding out new information about the world.
"That's because the Divine Martial Continent is the pinnacle land of this world, where the strongest powers dwell. With your talents, I'm sure you'll find your way there soon," the girl replied with a soft voice and a small smile.
"Why did you help me?" John suddenly asked, changing the subject. He didn't care much about the Divine Martial Continent right now, as it did not currently affect him. "You could have just left, as the creature was focusing on me alone. Why help?"
The girl remained silent for a moment, once again taking the time to choose her words carefully. Her lips finally parted, ready to reply.
Boom!
An incredible energy suddenly descended on the large room, as a loud bang echoed out. John and Miko instantly turned around, their wary eyes scanning the room for the source of the noise and energy.
"Is it another skeleton?" Miko cried out.
"I don't know. I don't see anything out there," John replied.
Boom!
Another loud boom echoed out, both of which John and Miko heard coming from the middle of the room. However, neither of them could see anything. The girl behind them stared at the center of the room, her face filled with anxiousness.
"It's not another skeleton," the girl replied from behind them, causing John and Miko to turn around to look at her.
"Then what is it?" John asked, as the girl seemed to know what it was.
Boom!
Another boom, even louder than before echoed out, followed by a tearing and shattering sound. John turned his head once more, just in time to see the space before him tear and shatter.
'This is just like when the large blood-red hand shattered through space!'
A gaping hole in space was created. John and Miko stared at the maw with heightened caution, ready to flee at a moment's notice. John could see into the hole in space, which revealed a small portion of the location at the other side.
Massive mountains, clad in mist, thick vegetation, and heavenly rainbows stretched high into the sky. Waterfalls slammed down on the earth from high above, and large landmasses, holding exquisite looking buildings, floated in the sky. It looked like an immortal paradise.
"Found you!" A powerful voice suddenly echoed from within the hole in space. "This unique land you're in did obscure you from me for quite some time, and took an incredible amount of energy to break into, but you can hide no longer," the voice continued.
"I wasn't hiding. I was exploring these lands for opportunities," the girl suddenly replied, causing both John and Miko to turn around and look at her. The incredible source of power that had shattered a hole in spacetime had come for her!
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Nonetheless, your little escapade is over. You're returning, now!"
"Can't I just explore these lands a little while longer?" the girl asked in a pleading voice.
"No!"
An incredibly powerful energy suddenly pressed down onto her body, locking her in place. Both John and Miko felt the remnants of this energy, and were completely shocked by its power. Despite them not being the target of it, they were nearly overwhelmed just by being in its presence.
"Oh, and who are these two?" the voice suddenly asked, as it finally had noticed John and Miko.
Slight panic appeared on the girl's face, and she quickly responded. "They're nobodies. I was using them as my assistants in these lands."
"Is that so," the voice replied in a bored tone, as if it had quickly lost interest in both John and Miko.
The energy locking down on the girl suddenly turned into a suction force, and the girl was quickly propelled through the air towards the hole in space. Her power was insignificant before this energy, and she was not able to resist in the slightest.
She quickly flew into the hole, and her eyes locked with John's one final time, unwillingness, as well as well as a mix of many other emotions were clear in her eyes, before she disappeared in the hole.
The energy keeping the shattered hole in space disappeared, and space quickly collapsed back in on itself, repairing the damage and quickly returning to normal.
John and Miko stood there silently for quite some time, staring at the empty room with stunned expressions. The situation had been completely unexpected, and completely out of their realm of understanding. After some time, Miko's chimed up.
"What...the fuck...just happened?"