Elder Rein looked at John closely as he arrived. He didn't let his guard down at all, as he was still unconvinced that John could truly do what he said he could. However, their plans were made with John's tremendous combat prowess in mind, and so there was no going back now.
"Better late than never," Elder Rein replied. "Keep the Middle Meridian Forging Elder occupied. You don't have to kill him, just keep him busy so I can focus on the Late Meridian Forging Elder. If you buy me five minutes of time, I should be able to kill him in that window," Elder Rein explained.
John nodded his head in affirmation of the plans as he stared at the Middle Meridian Forging Elder a hundred yards away.
The two Bloodfiend Sect Elder's were within earshot of the conversation John and Elder Rein had, and could hardly believe their ears. Looks of pure amusement appeared on their faces.
"Is this how low the Heavenly Lightning Sect has fallen these days? They have to sacrifice a disciple in such a futile manner?" one of the Elders commented sarcastically.
"They talk as if this boy can actually stall me for five minutes. I don't know if I should be amused or angry, but boy, within five minutes, I'll have you wishing you were never born," the Middle Meridian Forging Elder said to John.
John ignored the sarcastic comments as his battle intent continued to climb. He wanted to fight, not sit around and throw verbal insults at each other.
Limiter of Speed!
Thunderflash Steps!
Supreme Battle Art!
John activated his two battle arts and one limiter, instantly reaching an incredible level of speed and power. He flew forward, his speed shocking all three Elder as he appeared directly above the Middle Meridian Forging Elder.
His battle axe cleaved down with incredible power, unleashing his Sky Sundering Axe. Three profound Dao's, the Dao's of Power, Annihilation, and Destruction, were infused into its blade.
The Middle Meridian Forging Elder's eyes instantly opened wide as he finally noticed the power that John contained. The blade was almost upon him, and he had been too busy mocking John to mount a sturdy defense.
He raised his sword upwards at the last moment to meet the axe.
Peng!
Time seemed to stop for a moment before an incredibly loud metallic sound rang out. The Elder's body, unable to withstand the force of the blow, violently launched downwards towards the earth below.
Bang!
The Elder collided with the earth, his momentum shattering the earth. A crater formed where he landed, as earth was kicked high into the sky and the nearby trees shattered from the impact.
Sky Sundering Axe!
Still standing high above in the sky, John raised his axe to unleash another attack down below.
The Late Meridian Forging Elder, just now recovering from his shock, hardened his eyes as he sped towards John. He didn't know how John was able to explode with such power while only being at the Late Core Formation Realm, but he didn't care at the moment.
John was an incredible threat, both now and in the future once he grew up. A threat that had to be eliminated at all costs.
"Did you already forget about me?" Elder Rein scoffed as he appeared before the Bloodfiend Elder.
His spear pierced directly towards the Bloodfiend Elder's throat, and was coated with an incredibly powerful lightning based battle art. The Bloodfiend Elder, unable to ignore such an attack, stopped his assault on John and turned to block it.
Elder Rein was at the Peak of the Meridian Forging Realm, while the Bloodfiend Elder was only at the Late Meridian Forging Realm. Without the other Elder to assist him, the Bloodfiend Elder was at a great disadvantage, and would need to focus his all on Elder Rein's attacks.
John's Sky Sundering Axe cleaved downwards, sending a massive battle axe image slamming into the crater below.
Boom!
Another explosive sound rang out as the Sky Sundering Axe sundered the nearby land. He raised his axe once more, but quickly halted and dodged to the side as a blood red sword image pierced from below towards him.
Che!
The sword image, its might be incredible, barely missed John. A small bead of sweat trickled down John's spine.
'That's Middle Meridian Forging for you I guess. If that attack lands on me, I'll be in trouble, even with my powerful body.'
Che!
Che!
Che!
Successive blood red sword images pierced upwards towards John from the ground below. He dodged about at the absolute fastest speed he could muster, barely dodging each attack with inches to spare.
"Bastard, I'll kill you!" an enraged voice shouted out from below.
The earth below once again shattered as the Bloodfiend Elder pressed off it with all his might. His body shot upwards towards John like a bullet, and he reached John in an instant. His sword slashed outwards, glowing red from a battle art infused within the blade.
John's eyes hardened as he swung his battle axe out with all his might to parry the attack.
Sky Sundering Axe!
Boom!
Weapons and battle arts collided, creating a massive explosion of Qi in the air. Two bodies were seen violently thrown out of the explosion, both quickly stabalizing their backwards momentums. However, John was thrown farther backwards, revealing that he had lost out in power in that last exchange.
The Bloodfiend Elder, further enraged that John had successfully blocked his attack, dashed forward and instantly appeared before him once more. His glowing red sword cleaved down on John with incredible power.
Peng!
Peng!
Peng!
Dozens of attacks were quickly exchanged, as John did his best to block the relentless onslaught of the Elder. However, not only were the Elders' attacks incredibly sharp and powerful, they also contained a stinging soul attack that also whittled away at John. While John's soul was incredibly powerful, the combined assault of these three aspects were beginning to overwhelm him.
John activated his Heavenly Lightning Domain, as lightning began to rain down from all directions towards the Elder. The Bloodfiend Elder snorted in disdain, as a blood red barrier of Qi suddenly formed around him, shielding him from John's lightning domain attacks.
"Two can play that game, little boy," the Elder scoffed, as the sky around John suddenly went red.
'Crimson Hell Domain!'
The Crimson Hell Domain instantly washed over John, assaulting him with a familiar energy. However, unlike the previous times he had encountered the domain, this one was done by someone much higher in cultivation than himself. Even with his natural resistance to the Crimson Hell Domain, John felt his soul pain greatly, and his movements slowed by the domain.
The Elder once again appeared before John, a large grin on his face.
"This is the end for you, boy!"
His sword cleaved down once more, and John hastily raised his battle axe to parry the attack.
Peng!
Weapons once again collided, and John, weakened by the Crimson Hell Domain, was sent flying down towards the earth below.
Boom!
His body landed violently on the ground, shattering the land as it burrowed deep within the earth. The Bloodfiend Elder had a look of surprise appear on his face, as he had expected John to be unable to move within his domain. While John did display incredible battle prowess, he was still an entire major realm below the Elder in cultivation.
"He shouldn't be able to move within my Crimson Hell Domain. Just who the hell is this brat? We cannot allow him to live, or it would be the end of the Bloodfiend Sect," the Elder mused out loud through gritted teeth.
The Elder raised his sword above his head for a moment, as his sword began to turn from a soft red glow into an incredible dense and dreadful red color. After a moment of powering the attack, the Elder slashed his sword down at the ground below.
"Crimson Blood Slash!"
An incredibly large and powerful blood red sword image filled everyone's vision as it cleaved into the earth below. The ground exploded outwards from the force of the attack, as it shattered the earth for hundreds of yards in each direction.
"John!" Elder Rein cried out as he saw the attack land where John had been. While he was pressing the Bloodfiend Elder to his limits, he needed just a few more minutes before he was able to finally kill him.
However, the attack that the Middle Meridian Forging Elder just released was not something a Late Core Formation youth could take head on and live, no matter how strong their battle prowess was.
In the far distance, the Heavenly Lightning Sect disciples saw what had happened, but could only grit their teeth as they continued their live and death battles with the Bloodfiend youths.
"Jejeje, stupid brat. You may be strong for your age, but you bit off far more than you can chew. Don't worry though, I'll retrieve whatever remains of your corpse and put it to good use," the Meridian Forging Elder commented sinisterly.
He was just about to turn and help the other Elder with his battle once more, when he suddenly paused. A voice, sounding slightly demonic, and tinged with an incredibly dense bloodlust, filled his ears.
"You may be done with me, but I'm not yet done with you!"