John listened closely to the man's story, as he explained what had happened in the past.
"I suppose I should introduce myself first. My name is Anton, grandson of the Supreme Battle Sect Leader. Over twenty years ago, I found myself in a remote part of this continent, following up on some clues regarding an ancient weapon spotted in the area. On this trip, I ran into a Bloofiend Sect Elder, and due to some things out of my control happening, he and I got into a life and death fight. He was slightly stronger than me at the time, but I was strong enough to hold out for nearly a day, and was able to slip from his sight at the very end of the battle. However, I was on the precipice of death, and collapsed in a thick forest.
Darkness enveloped me, and I thought my life was soon to be over, but I eventually woke up, and found my wounded body being nursed back to health by another."
"I'm guessing that was my father?" John asked as the man paused for a moment.
"It was," Anton confirmed before continuing his story. "As I regained my consciousness, I informed your father of the grave danger of aiding me, as the Bloodfiend Sect Elder would slay both him and myself if he managed to find me. However, your father dismissed all my warnings, and did his utmost to bring me back to full health.
I would have without a doubt perished without his aid, and his steadfast attitude even in the face of danger and death also impressed me greatly. Luckily, the Bloodfiend Elder was not able to find me, and eventually I was healed back to full health. Afterwards, your father and I struck up a great friendship, and I came to consider him almost as a younger brother. To do my best to repay him for his aid, I offered him the opportunity to join our sect and become a full fledged member, but for some reason he declined the offer. With this in mind, I left him the first three stages of the Supreme Battle Art, should he ever decide to cultivate it. I have not heard from him since, but when word was spread that his son had destroyed the Bloodfiend Sect, I knew I had to meet you myself."
Silence filled the room as Anton finished his story, and John thought over the words he had just heard.
'This is obviously the reason why father started his trip to join the Supreme Battle Sect. He would have joined them, were it not for the fact that he stumbled upon me in the Great Desert. It all makes sense now why he would be able to join such a sect at such a late age.'
"How is your father?" Anton suddenly asked. "I have not heard from him in quite some time. Is he doing well?"
John nodded his head in confirmation. "He is. In fact, he's helping establish a branch for our Fenix Clan just a few hundred miles from here."
Anton's eyes lit up as he heard this. "Truly? Where exactly?"
John explained where the Fenix Clan was establishing their branch, as he could tell the man before him truly wanted to see his old friend once again. Anton became so excited to hear this that he turned to leave the building immediately, eager to see his friend once more.
Bang!
A loud bang echoed within the room as Sect Leader EarthFist's slammed his grandson into the ground, the force of which shook the chamber once more.
"What the hell are you doing old man?" Anton cried out as he quickly rebounded to his feet and stared warily at his grandfather.
"Did you already forget the main reason we came here for? You useless grandson of mine," Sect Leader EarthFist replied.
Anton's face lit up in comprehension as he heard his grandfather's words.
"Oh, I got so excited for a moment that I nearly forgot."
Anton turned to look back at John once more, his excited voice booming out throughout the entire chamber.
"Since you are the son of the man I consider a dear friend, its only natural for me to be the one to extend this offer to you. Since your father was unable to take me up on my offer in the past, I will now extend that offer to his son. We would like you to join our Supreme Battle Sect as an official disciple."
Anton's words stunned John, as he was not expecting to hear such an offer from the Supreme Battle Sect. He had come to this meeting prepared to defend his use of their most secretive battle art, but instead he was being offered to become a disciple of their sect.
After standing there in silence for a moment, John glanced over to his master, as he was unsure of how to answer. He was already a disciple of the Heavenly Lightning Sect, and did not know how such things would work.
Lilian could clearly tell what his gaze was saying, and she quickly addressed his questions.
"Becoming a disciple of multiple sects isn't something that's unheard of," she replied calmly. "We have a friendly relationship with the Supreme Battle Sect, so I see no issue with you becoming an official disciple of theirs."
John's eyes lit up as he heard these words, as joining the Supreme Battle Sect was beyond his wildest dreams. Their body battle art was the strongest in the land, and he greatly desired to train it to the peak.
When he combined the Supreme Battle Art with his Immortal Asura Transformation Art, his body power was nearly unstoppable.
"However," Lilian's voice filled the room once more, causing all eyes to look at her. "Just know that John is first and foremost a disciple of the Heavenly Lightning Sect, and also my direct disciple. Do not forget that."
A relaxed smile appeared on Sect Leader EarthFist's face as he heard these words.
"Naturally," he replied, as he had been expecting such a thing to happen. He glanced back at John, and took several steps forward, eventually stopping a few feet before John. "However, the offer is still conditional on one thing."
John tilted his head slightly to the side as he looked at the eldelry man before him.
"What thing?" John asked calmly. He was sure he would be able to meet any condition the man gave him.
"You are clearly an essence cultivator, but you clearly utilize body battle arts as well. I'm guessing you have an Innate Variant Body which allows you to use both powers, instead of doing something as foolish as dual cultivating body and essence. As such, you must prove that your Innate Variant Body is of high enough quality to use the Supreme Battle Art to its utmost. If I find your ability to utilize the Supreme Battle Art to be lacking, I'll rescind the offer to become our disciple and force you to swear an oath to never use the Supreme Battle Art again."
John's relaxed gaze stared at Sect Leader EarthFist as he listed his conditions, before a small, confident smile broke out on his face.
"That's it?" John replied confidently, as if such a test was beneath his concern.
"Hoh? You seem quite confident. Good, only such a confident temperament is worthy of cultivating our battle arts," Sect Leader EarthFist replied. "Then show me the source of this confidence. Hit me with your strongest punch."
Boom!
Sect Leader EarthFist's incredible body power flared out as his muscles bulged. The upper portion of his robes ripped apart from the force, revealing his incredibly muscular upper body.
John glanced at the man's body, which seemed to be more durable than the hardest of materials. A smile broke out on his face as he assumed an attacking posture, ready to explode with his full power at a moments notice.
"Just know, you asked for this," John replied with a confident tone as he began to channel his body power.
Sect Leader EarthFist scoffed at John's words, as John's words seemed to indicate that he could cause damage to the Sect Leader. Sect Leader EarthFist was about to mock John, when his expression turned serious.
John's body dantian exploded with absolute power as he channeled his Supreme Battle Art to the highest extent he could. At the same time, he activated his Immortal Asura Body to further augment his strength, pushing it to an extreme level. However, he decided to not use his Transformation Art, as such a thing was not needed at the moment.
He was more than certain his current level of power was far beyond anything the Sect Leader could have imagined possible. His Supreme Battle Art aura exploded out powerfully as it washed over everyone in the room, shocking all but Lilian.
After a moment of channeling his battle art, John punched out with his full force, his fist violently colliding with the chest of Sect Leader EarthFirst.
Bang!