Sect Leader Thunderzen smiled as he heard John's acceptance of the mission. However, his mailing face quickly turned serious as he spoke up once more.
"Now that you've accepted this mission, I'm afraid you must go back to your training," the Sect Leader replied.
John's face instantly turned sour, as he had forgotten about such things. He was about to protest, when the Sect Leader interrupted him.
"It's true that your battle prowess is incredible, but that is only because of your overwhelmingly powerful...natural talents," Thunderzen continued.
He didn't exactly know how John had such incredible power other than his twenty times compressed dantian, but didn't ask either. John clearly had some incredible secrets that allowed his body to be so strong. Not only that, but his aura was also quite unique, however the Sect Leader did not ask John to explain himself.
"However, those natural talents have been exposed to the Bloodfiend Sect, have they not?" Thunderzen asked.
John was unsure of what the Sect Leader was talking about, but he quickly realized the truth of things.
"Azalea!" John exclaimed.
"Exactly. Based on the story you told me, one of the Emperors escaped. She surely divulged information about you, including your incredibly powerful body, your battle style, and much much more," Thunderzen explained.
John frowned as he heard this, but didn't argue. Everything the Sect Leader said was true.
"As such, you'll have to change your fighting style, as well as tone the power of your body, in order to not be detected. While your dantian is incredibly profound, you cannot reveal the true extent of its power either. Doing so will draw too much suspicion on where someone as talented as you came from, unnoticed previously. Not only that, but you'll be unable to use any lightning based battle arts. As such, the only thing we can do is increase other aspects of your battle prowess to its fullest potential.
Only by doing this, will you be able to stand above all others within the Bloodfiend Sect without drawing too much suspicion on yourself. And only by doing this will you become important enough to the sect for them to divulge any information to you," Thunderzen explained.
John sat there in silence once more as he contemplated the words of the Sect Leader. Everything he said made perfect sense. He would need to become the number one disciple, but in a way that seemed realistic.
"I suppose that makes sense," John replied, although he wasn't too happy about it.
Thunderzen smiled at John as he saw his downcast reaction. "While this training is for this mission, do not think it as wasted training. Everything Lilian teaches you will greatly improve your overall combat prowess, allowing you to climb further and further. It would be things you learned eventually anyways, we're just...speeding up the timeline a bit," Thunderzen replied.
John frowned, but didn't argue against the Sect Leaders words. It truly was the best way forward.
"Fine," John replied with a slight grimace, already thinking about the brutal beatings the Vice-Sect Leader would give him. He looked over to the Vice-Sect Leader, who was staring at him like a hawk. A small smile crept up on her face upon hearing his agreement with their plans.
"Perfect," Thunderzen replied. "We'll be sending you out to the Bloodfiend Sect in two months. During these two months, Lilian will be training you."
"And that training starts now," the Vice-Sect Leader stated. "Let's go."
John sighed but did not argue. He slowly stood up and thanked the Sect Leader for his hospitality, before leaving with the Vice-Sect Leader.
The Vice-Sect Leader started to fly in a certain direction, most likely towards the next training ground. They had destroyed the mountain they had trained on, and would need a new training location.
Silence descended over the two of them as they continued to fly through the air. After quite some time of silence, John couldn't help but ask a question that had been burning in his mind.
"You're his daughter? Well, adopted daughter, as you clarified. How did such a thing come to pass?" John asked.
"That's not something you need to know," the Vice-Sect Leader replied, shutting down the question immediately.
John remained silent after that, as the two of them finally reached their new training area. Unlike the mountain before, this was one of the martial arenas...the Life and Death arena. It was the largest, as well as the sturdiest arena in the sect, and could withstand even the battles of Heaven Tribulation Elder's without breaking.
John's face turned grave as they entered the arena. Many curious eyes watched the two of them enter it, but were unable to enter themselves as the Arena was considered off limits unless a true Life and Death battle was taking place.
"What the hell is this? I thought this arena was only reserved for Life and Death battles?" John couldn't help but ask.
"It is, unless I deem it otherwise," the Vice-Sect Leader replied. "We already destroyed one mountain with our training. Do you want to destroy another?"
A wry smile appeared on John's face, but he didn't respond. Training in a sturdy arena such as this, with powerful formations surrounding it, was truly the best way to train without fear of destroying the sect.
The Vice-Sect Leader turned around and stared at John with her hawk-like eyes. A small smile appeared on her face. "Now, let's begin, shall we?"
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
For the next several hours, many explosive booms echoed from within the Life and Death arena, causing many curious sect members to wonder what was going on. After many hours, the loud noises stopped, and a lone figure came walking out.
The eyes of all in the area widened, as they saw John, looking half dead, slowly walk out of the arena. His body was completely covered in blood, and his robe was torn in several places.
He walked past the curious spectators, all while grumbling to himself.
"Goddammit, she's far too heavy handed. And I have to show up first thing tomorrow to resume our training. I might die at this rate," John grumbled.
He continued to walk through the Sect towards his mountain abode, not in the mood to expend more energy and fly there. While walking, John's ears suddenly perked up as he heard a voice, one that sounded familiar.
"Leave us alone," the voice cried out, a tinge of fear in it. "We already paid you for last week. We don't have any more spirit crystals to give you this week."
Bang!
A loud bang sounded, followed by the pained cry of a boy.
"Elliot," the concerned cry of a girl sounded out, another voice which John recognized. He quickly turned around towards the source of the noise.
Before the two youths on the ground were three youths, who each stood there with crossed arms and smug smiles on their faces. The two youths on the ground had Half-Step Core Formation cultivations and were Outer Disciples, while the three standing with their arms crossed, one girl and two boys, and were Inner Disciples.
"You better get the spirit crystals for this week by tomorrow, or don't blame us for being heavy handed," the lead youth barked out.
John's face quickly turned cold, as his body blurred. He suddenly appeared next to the youth that had just spoken out, and put his arm across his shoulder as if he was a close friend. He had done so without any of the five youths noticing him.
"What do we have here? Some casual disciple on disciple extortion going on?" John asked in a calm tone.
The boy finally noticed the newcomer, who was covered in blood and wore a torn up robe. His long hair was also disheveled, making him look like a homeless beggar. He pushed John's arm aside in a rage, as he yelled out to him.
"Who the fuck do you think you are, putting your arm-," the boys voice immediately cut off, as he finally noticed who it was. His face, as well as the faces of the two youths with him, instantly changed into ones of fear as they each took a step backwards.
"I-I-I meant no disrespect. We'll take our leave immediately," the boy cried out in a panicked tone. However, he, as well as his two accomplices, immediately stopped in their tracks as John's powerful aura pressed down on them.
"You're not going anywhere," John's calm yet cold voice sounded out. The youths could tell something was wrong, but didn't argue as they immediately stopped moving.
John's gaze turned to the two youths on the ground, who were still staring up at him in a stunned daze. His cold face turned warm as he smiled at them.
"Leah, Elliot. Long time no see!"