“Provide information, and request information, huh?” John replied, repeating the words Ainsel had spoken earlier.
“Exactly right,” Ainsel replied.
“And what information could I possibly provide that’s worth ten million spirit crystals?” John asked, skeptical of Ainsel’s words.
“It’s simple,” Ainsel replied. “All that interests me if you’re full strength, bared for me to witness.”
“My strength?” John asked. “What interest is my strength to you?”
Without answering his question, Ainsel threw another jade piece to John, who caught it and inspected it. His divine sense flooded into the jade piece, taking in all the information within. Slight intrigue appeared on his face as he read through the contents of the jade piece, before his divine sense faded away..
“What is it?” Adam asked, curious as to what John had just seen.
John handed the jade piece over to Adam instead of explaining it, who quickly read through its contents as well. Iris and Chase were also curious as to what was contained inside, and perused through it after Adam was finished with it.
“You’re making a list of the most talented disciples within these lands?” John asked, although he already knew the answer.
“That is correct,” Ainsel replied, his head nodding slightly. “This list, named the Jade Dragon List, contains the strongest warrior disciples in these lands, and will soon also contain the best alchemists, formations experts, and healers once our information on those fields have expanded.”
John quickly put two and two together, and realized the true reason for Ainsel’s presence.
“You want to gauge my strength, to see if I’m worthy of being included on this list, I’m assuming?” John asked.
“Correct,” Ainsel confirmed, “rumors of your strength have already begun to drift through our ears, and the ears of the other disciples in these lands. My Sect and I assumed such rumors to be complete fabrication, but alas, we must still confirm any rumors, no matter how implausible, in order to have the most accurate list possible.”
The Heaven Scrying Sect was the premier information gathering sect, and the Jade Dragon List was something they put their reputation on the line for. If an omission as egregious as John was excluded from the list, such a thing would eventually stain their reputation as the all-knowing sect.
“Well, that sounds like a problem that’s not my concern,” John replied, showing complete indifference to being placed on the list or not. Being on the list would only serve to attract the attention of those looking to make a name for themselves, as they would notice his low cultivation and seek him out. John knew how stubborn geniuses were. No matter how much information they had at their disposal to point to the fact that John was stronger, all they would see is his low cultivation and seek him out, thinking of him as an easy target.
Such a thing would only slow his progress in these lands, as well as put his friends in danger. While getting the map for free would be nice, it was not a sum of money that concerned him too greatly.
“You don’t care to make yourself famous? Establish yourself as one of the premier geniuses of the Alliance?” Ainsel asked, slight surprise in his voice. The other geniuses did everything they could to appear on the list, while John didn’t show the slightest care for such a thing.
“Not really,” John replied, his indifference clear to see.
Ainsel fell silent as he stared at John, not expecting such a reply. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke up again.
“You might as well reveal your strength to me,” Ainsel said, “as it will save both you and I a lot of time and headaches.”
“How would revealing my strength be beneficial for me?” John asked, growing tired of the conversation.
“Because, if I don’t receive an answer here, I’ll have to charge you ten milion spirit crystals for that jade map. Not only that, but I must confirm the rumors one way or another, so I’ll simply have to follow you around everywhere you go. Sooner or later, I’ll confirm your strength.”
John’s face remained calm as he stared at Ainsel, before he turned around without a word, and was quickly followed by his friends who ignored Ainsel as well. Ainsel frowned as he saw John leave without a word, while keeping the Jade Map as well.
“I already told you the level of my strength,” John said without looking back. “I’ve given you the information you need. Whether or not you believe it is not my concern. As for this map, since I gave you the information you requested, I’ll be keeping it free of charge. Oh, and following me around would not end up well for you, so I would advise against it.”
John did not want to be followed by someone like Ainsel, who would study his every move and relay it to others. The more information the world had about him, the more likely it was to figure out his true identity as Asura.
Ainsel frowned as he saw John depart, not expecting their conversation to have gone in such a way. John’s words echoed in his mind, as Ainsel thought about what he had just said.
“He already told me his level of strength?” Ainsel mused as he thought back to their conversion. His eyes widened slightly as he remembered a statement John had made, one Ainsel had dismissed as exaggeration or ignorance at the time. John had claimed that no one within these lands was capable of taking his weapon from him, something that only the strongest within these lands could claim to achieve.
“Tch, I can’t list his name based on that alone,” Ainsel muttered, his frustration building. His eyes locked onto John’s back, and after a moment of hesitation, he proceeded to follow the group once more.
However, just as fast as his movements started, they stopped. Ainsel felt his heartbeat speed up, while his instincts flared wildly. John had looked back over his shoulder at Ainsel, who had ignored his warning and decided to follow regardless. Despite the gaze appearing calm, Ainsel couldn’t help but lock up in fear.
It was as if he was being stared at by an ancient beast, one who didn’t even place Ainsel in his eyes. In that moment, Ainsel could tell that if he ignored John’s warning’s and followed him, things would end up terribly for him. After a moment, John once again ignored Ainsel as he began to converse with the others.
Ainsel’s breathing remained heavy for a moment, and he only calmed down after a long while. Being from the Heaven Scrying Sect, his specialty was not battle, and his will and resolve was not as honed as true combat experts. He had never been in a true life and death battle, and had never teetered on the edge of permanent defeat.
However, he was still in the Middle Heaven Tribulation Realm, and was confident in his own strength being in the top five hundred of the Jade Dragon List.
“Although combat is not my specialty, I can confidently claim myself to be strong enough to sit around position five hundred on the Jade Dragon List, and yet…if I had ignored his warnings and followed, my instincts are telling me that I would have been destroyed, with no hope of fighting back.,” Ainsel muttered, his voice still shaky from what he had experienced.
His gaze remained locked onto John’s back, who eventually disappeared far into the distance, and after a long while of standing there in silence, a jade piece appeared in his hands.