The last time John had seen Leah and Elliot was back in his homelands, when he had roamed the Skycleave Forests with them for a few weeks. They had fought many beasts together, and had eventually parted after spending several weeks together.
However, he had formed a bond of friendship with them at that time, as they had been sincere and friendly in their interactions with him, despite their strengths being far above his at the time.
"John?" Leah called out in slight confusion.
John had aged slightly since they last met, becoming taller, more muscular, and his face had matured a bit as well. Not only that, but his features right now were quite distracting as well, with his long disheveled hair, and blood covering most of his body.
Leah wasn't completely sure it was John at first, but after his greeting, she became positive it was him.
"What are you doing here?" Elliot asked in a confused voice as he slowly started to stand up.
The three youths behind John had panicked expressions appear on their faces, as they could tell that John had some sort of friendship with these two. They wanted to run, but knew such a thing was impossible in front of John.
Not only that, but they didn't want to anger him further, and so they stood there silently, awaiting whatever fate was coming their way.
"What am I doing here? Well, I'm a member of the sect, just like you!" John replied with a smile on his face.
"What? When? How?" Leah couldn't help but spew out a list of questions.
"Haha, I'll answer those questions after you answer my question. When did you return to the sect?" John asked curiously.
Leah and Elliot looked at each other for a moment before Elliot began to describe what had happened with them.
According to Elliot, he and Leah had spent the last half year or so in John's homeland, searching for news of the pocket realm. After many months of fruitless searching, the Elder in charge of them, Elder Mable, cancelled their mission without explanation.
Leah and Elliot had expected to return to the sect at that time, but Elder Mable decided to stay in the area for the next few months. While the reason for this was to protect John's clan, neither Elliot or Leah knew of this.
As such, they lived for the next few months in those lands, unsure of when they would return. While living in these lands, their cultivations stagnated quite a bit, due to the lower Qi in the air. While the Elder in charge did mostly make up for it by giving them precious pills and resources, it was not as good as cultivating in the Holy Lands.
"So we lived in your homeland for quite some time, until just two weeks ago, Elder Mable said we were returning, and escorted us, as well as the other youths in the area, back here," Elliot explained as he finally finished summarizing the events that had occurred.
John frowned as he heard this story.
'It seems like their cultivations stagnated a bit and suffered, mainly due to Elder Mable staying there and protecting my clan. While I'm not sure of the reason for her return, the sect must have a good reason for doing so.'
A small sense of guilt washed over John as he thought of this, as he was the main reason for their current predicament. Neither Elliot or Leah were able to cultivate to their fullest extent, and neither were able to enter the wastelands at the opportune time and obtain its opportunities.
While they could still enter, as they were only fifteen, most of the opportunities within had already been snatched.
While thinking over this, John looked between Elliot and Leah, and the three other youths.
"So, what's going on here then?" John asked, his tone growing a bit colder. While he figured he knew what was going on, he allowed Leah and Elliot to explain it clearly.
Shivers crawled down the spines of the three youths as they heard John's tone, but they didn't make any moves.
"Ah…you don't have to worry yourself with our issues," Leah cried out in a concerned tone.
Due to their late arrival to the sect, they did not know who John was within the sect. They had heard of the monumental rise of a member named John, but they never put two and two together, as such a thing was too far-fetched.
As such, Leah did not want to get John involved with their problems, and make him suffer as well.
However, while Leah was concerned for John, Elliot took quick note of the awkward atmosphere. The three youths, who had been confidently bullying them for the past two weeks and extorting them of spirit crystals, were as meek as mice right now.
Since John was withdrawing his aura at the moment, he was not broadcasting his cultivation level. One would need to scan him with their divine sense to detect his cultivation.
With great curiosity, Elliot scanned John to detect his cultivation level. John watched with a smile as Elliot's eyes grew wide as he felt his divine sense wash over him. He quickly put two and two together, as he began to stutter.
"Y-yo-you...you're the John we've been hearing about!?" Elliot exclaimed in a surprised voice.
"What?" Leah cried out at Elliots words, as she too quickly scanned John. Her face filled with shock as she too finally noticed his cultivation level.
"I'm not sure what you've been hearing about me, but that's not the important part. The important part is us friends have finally met again. And since you two helped me out last time, it's only natural that I return the favor this time," John replied with a warm smile on his face.
His warm smile quickly faded as he thought of the hardships the two of them had to endure after returning to the sect. He looked towards the three youths who still meekly stood there. They noticed his cold gaze, and each began to panic.
"We...we didn't know they were your friends," the girl suddenly spoke up, trying to defend herself.
"So that makes it okay to bully and demean fellow sect members? You disgust me," John replied, his tone incredibly cold. He was already in a bad mood from dealing with the Vice-Sect Leader all day, and now he ran into this unpleasant situation.
"Please, spare us," the lead boy pleaded.
"John," Leah suddenly called out, but John waved his hand to interrupt her.
"If you're going to plead on their behalf, don't bother. You're far too kind, and that kindness will only serve as fuel for these assholes to do this in the future again, only to different sect members. People like them need to fully taste punishment before they change," John replied.