A dim campfire lit the interior of a small cave, illuminating two figures within. One was lying on a makeshift bed on the ground, motionless as if dead. The other sat on a log, their concerned face dimly lit by the nearby fire.
“Just what did those bastards do to you,” Iris mumbled softly. Anger continued to build up within her body as she saw Adams condition and recalled Number Ones description of what had happened, but she suppressed her growing rage as best she could. She was Adams only lifeline at the moment, and needed to stay calm and alert at all times.
After Number One left, Iris found a well hidden cave within the expansive forest. She covered up the entrance as best she could before she started to tend to Adam. His exterior wounds were still visible as they had not been fully healed, but were no longer life threatening.
However, Adam had still not woken up, as his life force was beyond weak. It was as if a single breeze could snuff out his life at a moments notice.
Iris’ gaze shifted towards the fire as she stoked it, her thoughts shifting to John and his current predicament. If she was not already within the Heavenly Tribulation trial, she would not hesitate to enter the Dao Transformatiom trial to help John. While her combat prowess would not be of use, her eyes were always a valuable asset.
Soft yet rapid breathing entered her ears as Iris shifted her gaze back to Adam, who was still unconscious but breathing fast and shallow, while sweat dripped down his brow.
She quickly arrived at his side, and placed another medicinal healing pill in his mouth and guided it into his stomach.
“You must survive,” Iris whispered to Adam softly, “when I meet John again on the other side of this trial, I won’t be able to look at him in the eyes if I’m alone. You better be alongside me when that happens, alive and well, acting smug and prideful like always.”
….
The firelight of a campfire illuminated the nearby area, making the dark and foggy land of the Dao Transformation trial slightly less gloomy.
Roar!
A distant and powerful roar boomed, creating a tempest that blanketed the nearby land on its power. The campfire flickered in the wind, almost being snuffed out but hanging on as the roar died down.
“Tch, how many times is that thing going to roar,” John grumbled, clearly growing tired of the mysterious beasts roars.
A soft laughter from the other side of the fire drifted out, as John shifted his gaze to the girl who he knew little about.
“Maybe it has a splinter in its foot, and is crying out in pain,” the girl jested, finding the situation and John’s reaction amusing.
“If that’s the case, I’ll happily cut off its foot for it, followed
by its head. Then it won’t have a reason to keep roaring,” John replied, his response eliciting another bout of soft laughter from the girl.
John stared across the campfire at the girl, who stared back at him. After revealing a hint of his tribulation to the girl, the two had made a temporary camp to rest. The girl was still quite fatigued from reviving and healing Adam, and John needed her at full strength for the tribulation to come.
His gaze continued to linger on her as he studied her features; her eyes, her hair, her figure. He had never been one to be obsessed with girls, as his one true passion and focus in life was cultivation, but even John couldn’t help but admit that the girl before him was beautiful. She still wore her veil, but even then he knew she was beautiful, and far more interesting than other girls he had met in his life.
Only his master was more interesting in his opinion, but when he looked at his master, he felt fear and trepidation, not intrigue. The girl smiled at John, her eyes narrowing slightly from her smile. John’s mind quickly cleared up as he realized he was staring at her for quite some time, but didn’t avert his gaze as he stared directly and intently at her.
The girl felt slight surprise at his gaze, as most averted it when they realized they were staring. However, John’s actions always seemed to be the opposite of what she expected.
“Who are you?” John asked, his voice firm as if he demanded an answer. “You know who I am, but I have no idea who you are. If we’re going to trust each other in this trial of death, I should at least know who I’m working with.”
The girl stared at John, her eyes studying his features as well. She remained silent for a while, the crackles of the campfire filling the silence.
“Before I answer that, I have one question to ask you”, the girl replied, “if you answer it, I’ll answer your question.”
“What’s your question?” John asked after a few seconds of remaining silent.
“You’re Asura, right?”
John’s face remained calm as he heard the question, but he couldn’t help but be surprised upon hearing it.
“What makes you say that?” He asked, although he most likely knew the answer already.
“Even when asked such a shocking question, you remained calm and didn’t give any hint of the answer with your expression,” the girl said to him, seemingly impressed.
John ignored her compliments as he continued to calmly stare at her. She studied his face for a moment before speaking up again.
“I know it’s you,” the girl said, her gentle voice filled with certainty. “I saw you fight in the ancient city against the Bloodfiend Sect youths…I saw your…transformation.”
The girl paused for a moment as she studied him a bit more, before she continued to explain.
“I may not know what an Asura is or what they look like, but if I were to guess, I’d imagine it’s something similar to what you looked like,” she said. “Even without that, I saw the extent of your combat talent that day. I have no doubt in my mind that you are ‘Asura’.”
John remained silent for a while before he nodded his head at her words.
“You’re right, I am ‘Asura’,” John replied as it was futile to hide it.
In his tribulation to come, he would need to use his Asura Transformation form again. The girl would no doubt be certain it was him upon seeing that, and so John realized it was futile to hide it from her.
The girls expression remained calm, as if John’s confirmation was of no surprise to her.
“Thank you,” she said’ thanking John for revealing the truth. She knew it was a big secret, and was something the entire contingent desired to figure out. His confirmation was a sign of trust, one that she truly appreciated.
“Now for my question,” John said to her, reminding her of their agreement.
“Right, my identity,” the girl said to John before taking a deep breath. Her hands slowly reached up towards her face, at which point she slowly lowered her veil.
“My name is Laia, eighth princess of the Astral Empire, and Daughter of the Astral Emperor,” she said as her veil revealed her face.
John’s eyes widened in a absolute shock. He knew the girl was powerful, and most likely from a strong power as well. However, he never expected her to be the daughter of the Astral Emperor, one of the strongest cultivators in the world and the only living cultivator who had achieved seventeen steps, at least before John had exceeded that feat.
That alone would have been enough to stun him senseless, but it was only the secondary cause of his shock at the moment.
The girls veil lowered, revealing her face. Her skin was flawless, like it was carved from the most flawless white marble, and was more beautiful than any face he had ever seen before. Her small nose was cute and pretty at the same time, while her lips were the perfect shade of pink.
He could tell why she would wear a veil, as her beauty would only attract unwanted attention nonstop. However, even that was not what shocked him the most.
He eventually recovered from his shock and stood up, his guard raised once again. Laia stared at John with confusion, as his reaction was not the one she had been expecting.
“Who are you? Really?” John asked, his voice firmer.
“I…I don’t understand your question,” Laia replied, her brow scrunched in confusion.
John’s gaze remained on her face as he studied it closely. No matter how he looked at her, her face was almost the exact same as someone he already knew. While the face he recalled was also incredibly beautiful, it was colder and sharper. Laia’s face was gentler and brimming with youthfulness and vibrancy, but it was undeniably almost identical, only with Laia appearing younger.
“Then why the hell do you look like my Master?”