John stared at the group of youths before him, who finally raised their heads to look at him once more, awe and wonder in their gazes. Despite his heaven defying talent and power, John didn’t carry the arrogance that typical geniuses did.
His words and persona inspired all of them, particularly the aloof geniuses who once considered themselves to be above all. The war had already humbled them a great deal, and then John’s persona was the final blow, shattering their aloof pride.
He thought for a moment about forcing them to swear Dao Oaths to not reveal his identity as Asura, but realized that with Asuros escaping, his identity was going to be revealed eventually. As such, he put the idea in the back of his mind as his gaze shifted from the group of youths to the distant stairwell before the ancient dragon. His gaze lingered on the three temples, which he could tell contained secrets beyond compare. Clearly these were the final temples of the realm…and most likely contained the ultimate rewards.
“RUAAAAHHH!”
“Who are you! Why do you know the Supreme Battle Art!”
“Come on! Fight me! I want to test my strength!”
Loud battle lusted roars boomed out near John, causing him and the others to gaze towards the sound. They spotted the three battle Bob’s quickly approaching John, their fighting spirits clearly ignited.
“Oh goddamnit. I let you three out for one second and you’re already causing such a ruckus…go to sleep!” Miko chastised the three as he had released their soul bindings, just for them to instantly try to fight John.
“Miko! Don’t you dar-” the Bob’s roared out, but suddenly stopped speaking and became as stiff as a board. John glanced curiously at the Bobs before looking towards Miko, as he could tell that with just a glance Miko was able to bind their souls somehow, making them no longer in control of their bodies.
“You’ve become quite strong since we last met,” John praised Miko, who puffed out his chest with obvious pride.
“Of course I have,” Miko said proudly, “after all, you’re not the only one with heaven defying talents or secrets!”
“Secrets?” John mused. When he had last seen Miko, he was obviously not aware of Celestial Soulrend’s presence within him, but now had most likely learned the truth.
“That’s right! Secrets beyond your wildest imagination. Just you wait, before long, I’ll reclaim the spot as the stronger one between us two!” Miko replied with haughty smugness, as if he knew mentioning the word ‘secret’ would pique John’s interest, but he wouldn’t tell John what that secret was.
“Do you mean Celestial Soulrend?” John asked, his words causing a stunned look to appear on Miko’s face.
“How…how do you know about that old fart?” Miko asked with his mouth slightly agape.
“I was the one who allowed Celestial Soulrend to find you in the first place, so of course I know about him,” John replied, clearly realizing that Soulrend had never told Miko of how he had discovered him.
Miko’s stunned expression quickly changed to one of anger as he started yelling, seemingly at himself.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this, you old fart?” Miko boomed, speaking to no one in particular and making himself look like a madman.
“I’m calling you an old fart, you old fart!” Miko boomed out after a short pause, before his face huffed up. “Don’t bother speaking to me for now…I’m ignoring you, old fart!”
Miko gazed back at John, his dismissive attitude vanishing and excitement replacing it once more. John could tell he wanted to talk about a great many things, but unfortunately had more important things to take care of at the moment. He knew Miko, and knew that he would talk for days on end if he let him.
“I know we have a lot to talk about, but we can discuss everything after we leave this realm,” John said, stopping Miko before he could start. “The realm closes in a few weeks, and I want to make sure I get what I need to get done before then.”
“Ah…fine,” Miko harrumphed with feigned disappointment as he and John both glanced at the distant temples and dragon corpse.
“You have something to do there?” Miko asked.
John nodded his head, as he could tell something was calling him towards the stairs and temples. John’s gaze shifted from the temple to Iris and Laia, his gaze not unnoticed by Miko.
“Don’t worry. I don’t really have anything else to do in this realm, so I’ll make sure they stay safe,” Miko assuaged John’s worry.
A thankful smile appeared on John’s face as he nodded at Miko.
“Thanks,” he replied, and gazed at the barrier surrounding Adam for a moment which still remained, before he sped off into the distance. His actions caught the attention of all, including Laia and Iris, who gazed at John for a moment before gazing at each other, resuming hushed discussions between themselves.
The youths watched with curious interest as John arrived before the massive mile and several miles long stairs. John gazed up with curious interest at the massive dragon corpse ahead, which loomed over the entire area like a watchful guardian.
As he approached the stairs, the mysterious calling he felt grew stronger, and without any hesitation, John stepped onto the first massive step. A powerful energy immediately descended down on him, as if wanting to force him off the steps.
“Hmm, this is quite similar to the Talent Testing Steps…only it seems to be focused more on my body and blood…how interesting,” John mused for a moment before speeding up the steps, his progress unhindered.
He could tell that cultivating on these steps would be incredibly beneficial, but decided against it as he had more important things to take care of at the moment.
As he progressed up the steps, the powerful energy continued to grow, invading his body, muscles, bones, and even blood. It tried to force him back down the stairs, but John ignored it as if it didn’t exist, and quickly appeared halfway up the stairs, the same place that Asuros had arrived. This particular step was several hundred yards deep, making it much larger than any of the steps up to this point.
As he arrived there, he felt an overwhelmingly powerful pressure descend on him, one that even he couldn’t ignore. The pressure stopped his forward progress, causing John to frown for a moment.
“I feel as though I can force my way through if I activate my bloodline ability, but I think that there’s something else at play here,” John mused as he glanced to his left. Half a mile away on each side were two of the three temples, both at opposite ends of that particular step.
The temples were several hundred yards wide and long, and almost a mile tall. They were jade and gold in color, with exquisite exterior designs and exuded an ancient and powerful aura. The strange feeling seemed to be pointing to both the temples on either side, which John decided to follow.
“I’ll start with the left one I suppose,” John mused as he walked over towards the leftmost temple, arriving before it a short while later. Two intricate jade green dragon statues lined both sides of the front entrance, making the temple feel even more profound.
A golden door several dozen yards tall and carved with intricate details guarded the way into the entrance, which John stood directly before. Above the door were carved words, which John read over.
“Blood of the Jade Dragon!” John read the words out loud, feeling a deep profundity just by uttering them.
He pressed on the door to part it open, but even with his full strength, the door didn’t budge. At the same time, the strange feeling strengthened, as if he had arrived where it was pointing towards.
A frown appeared on John’s face for a moment as he inspected the door, and his eyes quickly locked onto a particular part of the door at eye height. There was a small indent in the door, seemingly carved with purpose as its shape was quite unique.
His eyes suddenly lit up in realization, and his divine sense flooded into his palace realm as he retrieved a particular object. As soon as the object appeared in his hand, it shook with energetic purpose, shooting out of his hand and into the door, fitting perfectly within the carved-out part.
The ancient dragon reverse scale hummed with power, as the entire door lit up with profound formation runes. Hidden mechanisms seemed to activate within, and the door slowly began to part open from the center shortly after.
“So that’s what the reverse scales are for,” John mused, finally realizing why the temple spirit told him it would be useful for him in the future. The door finally fully parted, and John walked into the dimly lit room before him without hesitation, disappearing from sight. The door closed behind him soon after, guarding the entrance once more.