“He did it!” Iris exclaimed in shocked surprise as John stepped onto the nineteenth step. Even the Grand Elder, who had thousands of years of experience and hardly ever felt truly surprised couldn’t help stare at John without knowing what to think. John, arriving only a week ago to the sect, had already shattered the realm of what was considered possible.
However, the Grand Elder did not celebrate, and instead focused even more closely on John as he ascended to the nineteenth step.
John breathed out a deep sigh of relief, before his eyes suddenly snapped wide open again. An absolutely terrifying wave of energy suddenly appeared out of nowhere and crashed down on his location.
Boom!
The wave of energy shook the talent testing steps and nearby land from its might. Its power was incredible, and even Iris and the Grand Elder could clearly feel it. It was as if a Middle Heaven Tribulation expert suddenly unleashed their strongest attack, focused only on John.
“John, step back!” the Grand Elder shouted out as he felt the powerful surge of energy. The might of the attack was enough to claim the life of a Middle Heaven Tribulation expert, let alone someone in the Middle Meridian Forging Realm like John.
The energy slammed down onto John before he could react, as he was still mentally sluggish from passing the eighteenth step just moments prior. The might of the energy nearly caused him to fly off the step, which John barely managed to avoid by the narrowest of margins. His heels dangled off the edge of the step as his body started to teeter over.
Supreme Battle Art!
An incredible power exploded outwards as John activated his Supreme Battle Art. His aura washed over the nearby area as he finally found the power within himself to resist the pressure and move slightly forward.
Bang!
His right foot slammed back onto the center of the nineteenth step, once again giving him stable footing. Iris breathed out a sigh of relief upon seeing John regain his ground, while the Grand Elder watched on with a complicated expression, weighing the options of forcefully intervening.
However, he decided against it at the last moment, as even the Sect Leader himself had not shown up yet.
On the nineteenth step, John’s robes fluttered, and even his skin rippled in waves from the force pushing against him. His robes had already shattered in many places from the power of the step, and his bones were creaking under the pressure.
Bang!
John fell onto one knee as the pressure forced him down, as his current power was unable to contest against the full might of the step. His teeth were grit fully as he struggled against the power of the step.
“He’s…Grand Elder…” Iris couldn’t help but ask as she watched John futilely struggle against the last step.
In fact, the pressure seemed so great that it could crush him at any moment. However, the Grand Elder did not yet intervene, as he recalled a recent scene in his mind. The scene of John activating his mysterious power in the entrance exam was still fresh in his mind, and as such, the Grand Elder did not intervene. However, a frown formed on his face as he watched John struggle without activating that power.
“He has yet to use that mysterious power of his,” the Grand Elder mused out loud. “Which means either he is unable to use it in succession in such a short period of time, or the step is not allowing him to use it.”
“Mysterious power?” Iris asked, but her mind immediately went to the transformation that John had used against her. Her body shivered slightly as she once again recalled that dreadful power, which seemed to instinctually send fear throughout her whole body.
“How could I have forgotten?” Iris grumbled at herself while slapping her forehead. She had been so caught up with everything that had happened that she had forgotten such an important thing. However, much like the Grand Elder, she didn’t know the rules behind John’s power, and the reason for him not using it at the moment.
‘Just…fuck…off…already,’ John raged internally as his body was pressed down onto the step. As soon as he felt the incredible energy slam into him, John had activated his Supreme Battle Art to counteract the pressure and step firmly back onto the nineteenth step.
However, as he did that, the pressure once again increased severalfold, nearly crushing him to the step below. John had tried to activate his Asura Transformation Art at that moment, but to his shock, he was unable to.
The energy of the test seemed to be a culmination of all three talent tests, which were dantian talents, meridian talents, and comprehension talents. He could feel all three aspects swirling together within the terrifying test, threatening to overwhelm him completely.
John continued to grit his teeth as he tried to resolve his current predicament. As he was right now, he couldn’t even move a single inch.
‘Every time I activate my Asura Transformation Art, the strange energy and pressure of the test courses through my meridians and fights back against it, making it so that I am unable to unleash it.’
John had never felt such a thing happen to him before, and the feeling was incredibly stifling. It was as if he had to sneeze, but could never fully do so before the test stopped him. However, the energy resisting his transformation art was slightly familiar, and John’s eyes slightly widened in comprehension.
‘I need to understand this energy. Only then can I utilize my Qi to power my techniques. And then, only if my dantian is powerful enough and meridians durable enough to unleash the required amount of power to resist this step will I be able to ascend to the next step.
John breathed out a deep breath to relax his panicked mind, before his divine sense and soul power flared outwards. His senses intermingled with the incredible pressure washing down on him as he began to study it with utmost haste.
At the same time, both Iris and the Grand Elder continued to watch as John remained motionless on his hands and knees. The Grand Elder suddenly felt John’s divine sense and soul power flare outwards, and realized that John was working to get through the test. If he had been at his limits without any way forward, he could have given up or asked for aid from the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder felt his heartbeat, which had been steady for thousands of years, slowly speed up in anticipation of a potentially earth-shattering event.