“Hahaha,” Adam started laughing loudly. “Those Heaven Scrying bastards finally opened their eyes for once, although if they truly had eyes they’d put you at number one.”
“Let’s go,” John replied, ignoring the situation as he knew he was powerless to change it. He could go back to the Heaven Scrying Sect and demand them to change it, but did not do so. He did not fear any battles due to his rank. It would slow his progress down, but each and every battle was an opportunity to improve his strength, and John was not one to avoid a battle if it was presented before him.
The group continued through the city, receiving similar gazes the entire time, but John was not challenged again as the group arrived before the cliff face at the end of the city. The cliff stretched miles overhead, while four massive tunnes hundreds of yards tall and wide appeared before them. The four tunnels had the four Jade Mark symbols above them, indicating which one to enter. A powerful formation barrier blocked the entrance of the tunnel, while a large crowd had gathered before the entrances.
The tunnels were being entered by youths each minute, as those youths eventually accumulated enough points to proceed forwards. John and the others looked at each other, while John gazed at Adam and Chase specifically, as Iris would be joining him.
“Good luck,” John said to them, while they said the same back. After the parting words, the four ventured forward, and John and Iris arrived before the Warrior tunnel. The powerful formation flared with great power, and John knew there was no way anyone could break through this with force.
He watched Adam and Chase enter, at which point his eyes narrowed and his body suddenly flashed forward. He appeared before the Formations Expert tunnel in an instant, while his aura flared out powerfully.
His actions startled all those nearby, while two youths who were knocked backwards from his power. The youths were wearing inconspicuous robes, but John’s instincts flared when he felt the murderous intent from them lock onto Adam as he entered the tunnel..
“What the hell was that for?” one of the youths exclaimed, his anger fully ignited.
“Move you bastard,” the other yelled out as well as he tried to dash past John. However, John appeared before him in an instant, blocking his way and knocking him backwards.
“You Starforge shits really are shameless,” John replied, his cold gaze staring at the two youths before him. They had disguised themselves and waited for Adam to enter the tunnel, all to most likely assassinate or capture him at that point. John thought the pride of such an esteemed clan was above such tactics, but it seemed as though he underestimated their shamelessness.
“Do you really think you can stop us?” one of the youths yelled as his Middle Heaven Tribulation aura flared out with great power. He knew his opponent was John, who had most likely killed Rydan and the others. However, they were both stronger than Rydan, and were confident in their power.
“Heavenly Lightning Sect robes? Late Meridian Forging cultivation? Is that him?” a loud voice from the nearby gathered crowd exclaimed.
“It is! It’s him,” another voice exclaimed, unable to contain their excitement.
“His power…it seems like the Heaven Scrying Sect wasn’t lying after all,” another chimed up as they witnessed John easily thwart the two youths.
The two Starforge youths glanced at each other, confused as to what was going on. They had been stationed here in disguise for a month already, but neither had checked the Jade Dragon List today. They had heard some discussions here and there over the past month, mostly that John had been ranked and was around the middle of the pack.
“Hmph, so what if you’re on the list,” one of the youths replied coldly. “So are we.”
“You are ranked…what? Two hundred? Three hundred?” the other youth asked with a mocking tone. “Well the both of us are ranked in the top two hundred, so your power means nothing before us.”
John raised an eyebrow in surprise as he checked the Jade Dragon List. As the two had said, there were many Starforge member names on the list, with two around the one hundred and eighty mark.
“The Starforge Clan truly is impressive to have so many names on this list,” John said.
“Our clan’s power is beyond your imagination. Now move, or we’ll deal with you first,” one of the youths replied. They did not want to openly kill or injure John here, as such actions could potentially strain the relationship between the Honorable Alliance and the Starforge Clan. However, their orders were to focus on Adam, and those orders triumphed over all else.
John’s gaze remained calm despite them revealing their ranks, causing the two youths to pause for a moment.
Meanwhile, heated discussions broke out in the nearby group, and the two youths heard the number twenty thrown out quite a bit. A bad feeling crept up within their bodies as they took out a jade piece and inspected it. Their faces turned white as they noticed John’s name, and his rank on the list.
“Impossible,” one of the youths muttered in shock, although he knew it was not wrong. The Heaven Scrying Sect would never make such a claim if they didn’t have the evidence to prove it. While some still tried their luck as they assumed the Heaven Scrying Sect was wrong, these youths were wiser than that.
The two youths looked at each other for a brief instant before a unique aura suddenly flared as they took out a formation disk. Their bodies were wrapped in spatial energy, and they suddenly disappeared from the courtyard.
“Tch!” John clicked his tongue in frustration, as the two had been incredibly quick with their retreat. They had used short range teleportation formations, which transported them most likely to another part of the city.
John would have been able to stop them and battle it out with them, but that would have left the entrance to the tunnel vulnerable for other Starforge members to enter if they happened to be nearby. He now realized he should have had Adam disguise himself before entering the tunnel and enter separately from the group, but it was too late to change anything.
John’s gaze remained calm as he shifted it towards the nearby group, who were disappointed that a battle had not taken place. It would have been a rare opportunity to see three youths on the Jade Dragon List battle it out.
“This tunnel is closed for the next twelve hours,” John said out loud. His words caused many to frown, although no one dared to voice their disapproval at someone so high up on the list. A top twenty Jade Dragon List genius was practically a mythical existence in these lands, hardly ever seen by the others.
As such, the next twelve hours passed by, with newcomers arriving all the time. Some argued with John to enter the tunnel, but he took no risks as he thwarted any from entering. Those disgruntled youths could only back down and wait, as twelve hours was not that long of a time.
After the twelve hour mark passed by, a large group of Formations Experts had gathered, eager to enter the tunnel.
‘Adam should by now be far into the next area, and his disguise already activated. At this point, even if the Starforge Clan knows he’s entered, they won’t be able to track him down.’
John walked away from the tunnel entrance, his actions causing a wave of cheer to erupt as the Formations Experts flooded into the tunnel. He returned to the entrance of the Warrior tunnel, and looked around for Iris. However, to his surprise, she was nowhere to be found.
“Are you looking for your friend?” a voice sounded out from behind John, causing him to turn around. He nodded his head as he looked at the girl who had just spoken, who stood there nervously, clearly intimidated by John’s presence.
“She gave me this and said to hand it to you when you returned here,” the girl instructed as she handed over a scroll to John.
John took the scroll and unfurled it, and read its contents. It was a message from Iris, telling him that she went ahead in the next area, as her recent tribulation revealed to herself that she was not strong enough, and could not always exist under John’s protection. By traveling with him, her life would not truly be in danger at all, and so her chances to improve would be diminished.
“I suppose I have been protecting them a bit too much, resulting in them stagnating a bit,” John sighed as he realized his actions were not necessarily the best thing. He knew Iris was right in her reasoning, and so he did not disagree with her at all.
‘She’s strong enough now to be able to take care of herself.’
He thanked the girl for her help, and turned around to enter the tunnel. He passed through the formation, and felt a powerful energy lock onto his Jade Mark score, at which point the restrictive energy faded away.
He stepped into the tunnel, as a powerful pressure instantly descended on him.