John's heart nearly leapt out of his chest upon hearing these words, but he barely managed to keep a calm face and steady his heartbeat as he stared at Allfiend with a confused expression.
He bowed his head slightly as he spoke out.
"Sect Leader Allfiend, I'm not sure what you're asking," John replied, acting dumb.
"Who are you?" Allfiend repeated after a moment of inspecting John. "You were a no-name outer sect disciple, but you suddenly made a monumental rise through the ranks of our sect, all the way to becoming an Emperor. How did this come to be," Allfiend explained.
John's body quickly relaxed, as he realized Allfiend was just looking to see how he came to be so powerful, and not that he detected John's disguise.
"Who am I? I'm just a lowly disciple born in a small village who managed to have a lucky breakthrough at the borderlands, which enabled me to achieve this rise in status and power," John explained.
"Hmm?" Allfiend mused.. "What breakthroughs?" he asked, brushing aside the question regarding John's origins.
John was surprised to see Allfiend display such an interest in him, but couldn't refuse to answer, and so played along with whatever Allfiend was doing.
"I nearly died in battle, and at the edge of death, I peered deeper into the martial laws of this world. Not only was my cultivation base strengthened considerably, but I also hones my battle instincts, and even comprehended the initial essences of several Dao's," John replied in a humble tone.
He couldn't act haughty and arrogant in front of Allfiend, not if he valued his life. Allfiend mused on John's words for a short moment before he leaned slightly forward in his seat. Just the subtle movements of his radiated incredible power, shocking John greatly.
'Just how strong is this man?'
"Show me," Allfiend replied.
"Show you? Show you my Dao's?" John asked for elaboration.
"Yes, show me what you have achieved regarding Dao's," Allfiend confirmed.
John was slightly confused at why Allfiend was so interested in his Dao's, but obliged nonetheless. He raised his hand, and focused his mind on the three Dao's he had started peering into.
Before long, the might of three similar but distinct Dao's began to radiate from his hand, turning it from a normal hand into a formidable weapon. If he were to slice at someone with this hand at the moment, it would be like slicing them with a dagger.
Allfiend's eyes locked onto John's hand as he seemed to be musing on something, and John continued to infuse his hand with his Dao's of Destruction, Annihilation, and Power.
"That is enough," Allfiend instructed John to stop, and John quickly placed his hand back by his side.
Allfiend continued to stare at John for a moment, and John stood there as calmly as possible, trying not to give any hints away. After what seemed like an eternity to John, Allfiend finally leaned back in his chair and stopped his predator-like gaze.
"As a new Emperor of the sect, you carry the entire reputation of the sect on your shoulders. Do not disappoint me," Allfiend said.
"I will not let you down," John replied sincerely while bowing his head.
Elder Praxx knew this was Allfiend dismissing them, and bowed his head slightly as well before he turned around.
John followed behind Elder Praxx without looking back, but he could feel the gaze of Allfiend on his back, like it was burrowing into his flesh. John ignored this feeling and departed with Elder Praxx, quickly leaving the chamber behind his new master.
Boom!
The guards shut the doors as the two of them left the chamber, and John breathed out a sigh of relief as he felt the gaze leave his back.
'Goddamn that was stressful. It felt as if I was being stared at by a monstrous predator.'
While he had experience with powerful entities, his encounter with Allfiend had been stressful nonetheless.
"So what do you think?" Elder Praxx suddenly asked John a question as they began to descend the stairwell.
"Hmm? Think of what? Of Sect Leader Allfiend?" John asked for clarification.
"Yes, what do you think of your first meeting with our sect leader?"
John thought about the question for a moment, figuring how best to answer as someone who had supposedly never seen the Sect Leader.
"He was incredible, and also terrifying," John replied. His best guess is that any disciple would find the leader of such a bloodthirsty sect a terrifying figure.
"That he is," Elder Praxx replied. "Make sure to never get on his bad side, or your end will be brutal and swift."
"I wouldn't do something so suicidal," John replied with a sincere face, as if he truly meant it.
His eyes suddenly widened slightly as he spotted someone he was not expecting to see here.
"Chase?" John called out as he saw someone ascending the steps.
Chase, who was walking up from below, looked up and spotted John walking down. Neither of them had been expecting to see the other here.
"John? What are you doing here?" Chase asked, but quickly understood the reason for John's presence.
"Ah, nevermind. I'm sure you just met with the Sect Leader regarding your new Emperor position, am I correct?" Chase asked.
"Yep," John replied. "What are you doing here though? Are you also meeting the Sect Leader?"
"That...Not really. I have other business on one of the other floors today," Chase replied.
The Bloodfiend Citadel was incredibly tall, and had many floors that served many different purposes. John had already passed by several floors on his way down, although he had no idea what they were used for.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," John replied.
"So what have you bee-"
"Ahem," a stern voice suddenly cut off John, and he quickly realized that Elder Praxx was waiting for him.
"Ah, sorry. I gotta go. We'll talk later," John called out as he began to run down the steps to catch up with Elder Praxx.
Chase looked at John for a moment before he turned around and ascended the steps towards his destination.
"Welcome back, Young Master Chase," the two guards called out with a slight bow as they opened the door for him.