John stared at the man before him, who emanated a Heaven Tribulation Realm cultivation, his face remaining relaxed, as he had expected such a thing to happen.
"Who are you?" John asked in a confused tone. "Am I supposed to know you?"
While he had already put two and two together, he wanted to take this man before him down a notch. Pride was the thing most cultivators valued the most, and John would not give him a sense of pride at his status as an Elder.
The Elder was slightly taken aback by John's comment. He had expected him to be scared beneath the powerful aura he was emitting, and had expected to reduce John to a blubbering mess. However, John stood there completely relaxed, contrary to his expectations.
Meanwhile, those who had gathered in the crowd snickered slightly at John's comment, finding his attitude quite amusing. There weren't many who would have such a nonchalant attitude towards an Elder, especially when they were in a grave situation.
The Elder paused for a moment, before replying once more.
"You know exactly who I am, boy. Do not play games with me!"
His Heaven Tribulation Aura pressed down on John with even more power, making it slightly difficult for John to stand there undisturbed. However, John's face remained completely calm in the face of this pressure.
"I've faced countless aura's far beyond the power of yours. Do not try to scare me with something so….weak. It's quite embarrassing," John scoffed, his face unamused.
Surprise covered the faces of many in the crowd once again, while others laughed lightly, unable to contain themselves.
The Elders face turned red from slight embarrassment, as well as growing anger. He was used to being treated as an incredibly lofty figure. It had been hundreds of years since someone had talked to him like this.
"Do you want me to kill you right where you stand, boy?" the Elder exploded in a rage.
He had expected to show up and reduce John to a mess, making him beg for forgiveness. However, things had not gone according to plan, and he had been completely embarrassed by John's nonchalant comments and attitude.
A voice from a sound transmission suddenly appeared in John's mind, causing his expression to change slightly. A small smile crept up on his face.
"Do it," John replied quickly, his face still calm.
"What?" the Elder's face filled with surprise, as he had not been expecting such an answer from John.
"Come on, kill me. Although, I doubt the fate of an Elder who kills the disciples of his own sect without any damning proof of their crimes will live much longer afterwards," John continued.
He knew this Elder was looking to make things difficult on him, and get him to confess to targeting Hunter. Only then would he be able to do anything to John, especially given John's elevated status in the sect.
If the Elder killed him without any proof, his own fate would be sealed as well. John knew this, and decided to use this knowledge as a weapon.
The crowd was stunned by John's complete disregard towards the powerful Elder before him. However, at the same time, they were quite impressed. They had heard rumors of John targeting Hunter, and also wanted to know what truly had happened.
Hunter was a direct disciple, and so he had an incredibly lofty status. Not only that, but Hunter was incredibly powerful for his age, and so the rumors were believed to be false.
The Elder stood there in silence, unable to respond to John. What John was saying was correct, and without proof of any crimes, he could take no actions. He only had the word of his disciple as 'proof'.
By this time, several other Elders had shown up in the crowd, and were watching from the sidelines, increasing the pressure on the Elder even more.
"So, what do I have to give you an 'explanation' for?" John asked calmly.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" the Elder replied with a raised voice.
"I'm not sure I do. You'll have to elaborate for me," John replied as he crossed his arms, assuming a completely relaxed posture.
"Don't play games with me boy! Admit your crimes, now," the Elder rebuked, as he once again increased the pressure on John.
John frowned as he felt the pressure increase to a great degree. He was beginning to struggle under the pressure, but was still able to resist it with some effort.
John suddenly turned around and began to walk away, completely ignoring the Elder. His actions shocked both the Elder and the crowd once more, as he was giving the Elder no respect.
The Elder was also surprised that John was able to even stand up in his pressure, let alone walk away. He had used an amount of his aura that should overwhelm an Early Core Formation youth, but John acted as if it didn't exist.
"Stop this instant," the Elder raged out once more, completely irate at John's lack of respect. However, John continued to walk away, completely ignoring him.
John narrowed his eyes as he stopped in his tracks. The Elder had suddenly appeared before him, blocking his path.
"Admit that you targeted my disciple, and attempted to kill him!"
"Ohhhh, that!" John's eyes lit up as if he suddenly remembered something. The Elder raged-filled face suddenly changed to a small smile, as he figured he had finally convinced John to confess.
"Sorry, don't know anything about that," John suddenly replied, causing the Elder and the crowd to have stupefied expressions on their faces.
The Elder's face quickly turned back into one of anger, as he yelled out to John once more.
"Admit your crimes boy. We have all the proof we need! You attacked my disciple a month ago!"
John suddenly began to laugh, as if he had heard the funniest thing in the world. "If you have the proof, then why are you trying to get me to admit to anything?" John replied with a sarcastic tone, as if the Elder was an idiot.
"Also, if what you are saying is correct, then I, a Late Qi Condensation youth at the time, bested your Early Core Formation Disciple and forced him to flee. If that's truly what happened, then you should just kill yourself right now for being such a useless master to a useless disciple,'' John continued, his tone slightly tinged with disgust.
"I-..." the Elder's voice caught in his throat, as he had not been expecting such a reply from John. While everyone knew John could jump realms, that was only one minor realm. Jumping between Major realms was completely different, and no one would believe such a thing.
John's heroics within the ancient city had yet to be revealed to the sect, as he was one of the first to leave the lands from the Heavenly Lightning Sect. Those who had seen his battle prowess were still within those lands, searching for more opportunities.
John began to walk away once more, ignoring the Elder.
"Oh, and one last thing," John suddenly replied to the Elder while looking over his shoulder. "Everything you said is true. However, it was your disciple that targeted me originally, wanting to kill me. However, he was so useless and weak, that I unexpectedly ended up beating him black and blue, and would have killed him were it not for that spatial talisman of his," John said in a calm voice.
His words stunned the crowd into silence. He had actually admitted to such a thing.
A smug smile quickly appeared on the Elder's face, as he had finally gotten John to admit to his crimes of attempting to kill a fellow disciple. He raised his hand and pointed it at John, as power began to build up on it.
"So you admit your crimes. In that case, die!"
Bang!
An incredibly powerful beam of lighting pierced towards John, reaching him in an instant. The lightning contained a tinge of the heavens themselves in it, making it even more potent and powerful. There was no way John could survive such an attack.
Boom!
The lightning exploded where John stood, creating a large explosion that kicked up dirt and dust. The crowd grimaced at the sight, not expecting such a turn of events.
"What just happened? Why did he suddenly admit to it?" A youth in the crowd couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not sure, but he's dead now. Such a shame that our sect lost such a promising youth," another replied.
The Elders in the crowd watched the scene unfold with calm expressions however, as if nothing had happened.
The Elder who had attacked John suddenly had a look of surprise on his face, before it turned into a cold glare.
"You dare interfere in my business?" the Elder spoke up with a cold voice. "Its best if you don't interfere with something you're not involved in!"
"Interfere? John is my direct disciple. How could I not be involved?" A voice within the explosion suddenly echoed out, stunning the crowd. The fading dust revealed two figures standing there, John in the back and the newcomer in the front.
The newcomer turned to John and inspected him, as an approving smile appeared on his face. "I see you've grown quite nicely over the past few months."
John smiled at the person before him. "That I have. It seems like you've improved as well. You've finally reached the Heaven Tribulation Realm, Elder Ragur!"