John's Divine Reaping Scythe, augmented by his understanding of the Dao of Annihilation, pierced towards Alix with absolute speed and sharpness.
All watching the attack felt as if a knife was at their throat, ready to slice at any moment. This was John's first time unleashing his Divine Reaping Scythe in the Core Formation Realm, and its power shocked even him.
It was his strongest scythe attack he could use, and he was using it to end this fight once and for all.
Che!
A powerful sword light suddenly pierced out and slammed against the Divine Reaping Scythe, neutralizing most of the scythe attacks power. Alix's sword slowly lowered as he stared at John with hate filled eyes. His breathing was incredibly ragged, revealing he was at the end of his energy supply.
John's eyes widened slightly in surprise, as he did not expect Alix to have the spare energy to counter attack.
'He countered it? It truly does seem like his status as an Emperor is well deserved. But I can tell that was his last remaining bit of energy to spare, while I still have a good amount remaining. It's time to end this.'
Johns scythe raised once again above his head as he stared with cold eyes at Alix. Their domains were still clashing with absolute power, and Alix could not afford to pull his power back in that power struggle.
Doing so would subject himself to John's domain, and that would be tantamount to suicide. The crowd held its breath as it saw John prepare another Divine Reaping Scythe.
"What? He can unleash another one already? Just how much energy does this boy have?" Elder Ancer raged.
He was watching his disciple lose, and was beyond incensed at the sight. Alix's performance had been all he could have hoped for, but John had been able to counter him at every step. His hate for John was now equal to Alix's hate for John.
Che!
John slashed his scythe outwards once again, sending another incredibly powerful Divine Reaping Scythe piercing towards Alix. His face paled considerably and breathing became uneven after unleashing the attack, revealing his waning energy reserves, as well as the toll the attack took to unleash.
Alix grit his teeth as he struggled against John's domain, but could not muster any defense against the scythe attack. His face turned to one of growing panic as the attack approached him, as its sharpness was not something he could withstand.
Peng!
Scythe and steel collided, shattering the Divine Reaping Scythe completely. The crowd, which had been expecting Alix to die in that attack, opened its eyes wide in shock at the sight before them, while John narrowed his eyes in anger as he stared forward.
"What's the meaning of this?" John asked in a cold voice. After this intense battle, he was mostly out of energy himself, and would not be able to send out another powerful attack such as the previous one.
"The meaning?" Elder Ancer replied. He had appeared before Alix at the last moment, and had protected his disciple from the fatal attack about to land on him. "The meaning is you have overstepped your bounds. Die!"
Without warning, Elder Ancer pointed his finger at John to send out a powerful Qi attack, with the intent on claiming his life.
Che!
"Gahh!"
An incredibly fast attack suddenly pierced by, and Elder Ancer's outstretched hand fell to the ground, separated from the rest of his arm. His pained cry rang out across the stadium, and the crowd gasped at the sight of an Elder losing a hand.
After containing his anger and pain, Elder Ancer looked up towards the top of the stadium, and his voice boomed out for all to hear.
"Elder Praxx, what is the meaning of this?"
Seated high above in the Elder seating, Elder Praxx sat there with an indifferent expression on his face as he looked down on Elder Ancer.
No one had seen the attack, but Elder Ancers words signified to the crowd that the one who had attacked just now was Elder Praxx. He had been able to sever the hand of another Elder from that distance, without even moving, shocking the crowd greatly.
"The meaning of this?" Elder Praxx scoffed, as if he was talking to someone beneath him. "The meaning is that you have overstepped your bounds."
Elder Praxx threw Elder Ancer's words right back at him, causing Elder Ancer to become even more enraged. He was about to argue further, but Elder Praxx cut him off.
"Now leave the arena, before I come down there and cut you down myself. My disciple still has unfinished business with yours," Elder Praxx continued as he looked down at Elder Ancer with slight disdain.
"What?"
A collective exclamation of surprise reverberated from most of the crowd at Elder Praxx's words. To the shock of all, Elder Praxx had revealed John was his disciple.
Elder Ancer stared at Elder Praxx with hate filled eyes, but did not reply or counter attack. He had been unable to detect or defend against Elder Praxx's attack, clearly indicating that his cultivation and power was higher.
Although the Elder's had shrouded cultivations, it was easy to put two and two together. If he counter attacked, his death was almost guaranteed. Elder Ancer grit his teeth in anger, and his figure suddenly blurred, vanishing from the sight of all.
John's eyes narrowed as he saw this, as Alix had vanished as well. Clearly Elder Ancer had retreated, and had taken his disciple with him.
'Tch, it seems I won't be able to obtain Alix's blood essence after all. What a shame.'
The events had happened incredibly quickly, and surprised the crowd even further. Silence descended over the arena for a moment before the main officiating Elder stepped forward and addressed the crowd once more.
"This battle is over. With Alix's withdrawal, John has taken his place as an Emperor. With this, the bi-annual disciple battles have come to an end."
Stunned silence descended over the stadium for a short moment before an absolute thunderous cacophony of applause, cheers, and discussion broke out throughout all the disciples present. The unthinkable had happened for the first time ever.
An outer sect disciple had become an Emperor!