"Congratulations young man," a Yang-Dao Sect Elder standing near the finish line said to John. He looked at John with a curious, piercing look, as if trying to see through all his secrets. John merely smiled and thanked the Elder as he was handed an item.
It was a metallic seal, one bearing the engravings of all three Dao Sect crests.
"What is this?" John asked curiously.
"You can use this badge to access all the rooms and amenities restricted to the true tournament participants," the Elder explained.
John thanked the Elder, then moved onwards towards the tunnel nearby that led under the arena stands. The roaring of the crowd softened as he entered the tunnel, arriving in a large room a few seconds later.
The room was filled with countless trial participants, elders, and more. John counted at least three hundred participants in the room who had successfully passed the trial.
'This doesn't even include the ones who passed but have already left the room,' John mused, realizing he had taken more time to finish the trial than he had realized.
"You cut it quite close there," Zuri said from a distance as she and Naelia approached. The two of them stopped before him, Zuri smiling lightly, Naelia almost bursting with excitement.
"How close?" John asked curiously.
"You finished around six-hundred."
"I guess I did take my time," John said, scratching the back of his head. While there were still three hundred more open spots to fill before the trial ended, it was closer than he had figured it would be.
"That….was…AMAZING," Naelia suddenly burst out, her voice growing louder with each word as if she couldn't contain herself any more. John looked at her with an interested expression. He had not expected a Yang-Dao Sect member to get so excited for his performance, even though Naelia was quite boisterous and energetic all the time.
"Thanks," John said, and then was immediately assaulted by a barrage of endless questions.
"How…how did you get so strong? And that stone door! That door defeats over half of all trial participants, and even then, it takes most using their full strength to open. Did you really just kick it open? Surely you used a battle art, but masked it somehow!"
"That was just a kick," John shrugged, answering only the last of her questions.
Naelia considered his answer for a moment, then moved on as if his answer was sufficient.
"And then you faced Oridan. Oridan! He's one of the top fifty Dao Transformation cultivators in the entire Yang-Dao Sect! And even then, he's known to be quite hard to beat even by stronger members! And you beat him in less than a minute, and then turned him into a weapon! I've never seen anything like it!" Naelia started rambling again.
"Oh, and you also turned that Sword-Dao Sect cultivator into a weapon as well! I quite enjoyed that. You should do that to all Sword-Dao Sect members whenever you get a chance!" she started rambling again, her face filled with awe and adoration.
John looked to Zuri, who merely shrugged while smiling at him.
"She wouldn't stop rambling about you when we were watching your performance," Zuri said through a sound transmission. "And it seems she's become completely smitten by you. Good luck!"
John rolled his eyes, then looked back to Naelia who was still rambling excitedly.
"I defeated one of your sect members and turned him into a weapon. Shouldn't you be cheering for Oridan and your Yang-Dao Sect, and not for me?" John asked.
"Screw that!" Naelia exclaimed quickly. "I'm fully behind you for the rest of this tournament. If you manage to place well, or even win, I can brag for the rest of my life that I was your guide and escort for the tournament. I can always cheer for my sect in the future, but this year, I'm cheering for you!"
John looked at Naelia for a moment, then smiled and reached out, ruffling her hair in a brotherly manner. "Thanks then," he simply said, then started walking.
Naelia pouted at him, her face red with embarrassment and disappointment. Zuri patted Naelia on the shoulder in a comforting manner, the two of them following behind John as he made his way out of the room.
…
The crowd watched John enter the tunnel, then exploded into a frenzy of discussion, arguments, and even small fights. The Sword-Dao Sect, Yang-Dao Sect, and their powerful sub-sects still villainized John, saying he was strong but still a fraud when compared to his scores, and was nothing compared to the likes of Ji'Han and Jaxus.
On the other side, a growing number of independent cultivators, those from tier three sects, or places like merchant halls, formation guilds, and more, were staring to get behind John, supporting him. It wasn't that they wanted to support John specifically, but they were thrilled at the opportunity to watch someone not from the Three Dao Sects embarrass the members of those sects.
The Three Dao Sects had lorded over the continent like kings for so long, it had been eons since they had last been embarrassed like this. The non-affiliated spectators eagerly embraced this opportunity to watch the insufferable Dao Sects be knocked down a peg. It was truly a breath of fresh air, which they hoped would continue for as long as possible.
…
High above the arena stands, in the rooms at the top of the arena overlooking it all, the Sword-Saint stood, eyes glued to John's back as he stepped into the tunnel. A deep scowl rested on his face as he watched John disappear below the arena.
"His strength is the real deal."
The Sword-Saint glanced to the side, his eyes falling on his son, Ji'Han.
"His strength may be more than I had initially expected," the Sword-Saint said, "but he's still nothing but a fraud. You would not only have placed first for this trial, but would have done so in record time. His placement shows his arrogant attitude and lack of strength."
"I don't think he took this trial with speed in mind," Ji'Han replied.
"His opponents were nothing but ants," the Sword-Saint scoffed. "Had you been in his place, you could have done what he did in a fraction of the time. His performance is nothing to be impressed about."
Ji'Han remained silent, watching the rest of the trial participants make their way through the trial as fast as they could.
The Sword-Saint watched for a moment, then turned his gaze to the side, where Lilian was comfortably resting on a couch. She had a jade piece in her hand which she was studying. She felt the Sword-Saint's eyes fall upon her, and looked up to meet his gaze. She raised an eyebrow as the two locked eyes, as if waiting for him to speak his mind, as something was clearly on it.
"When I learned of your existence," the Sword-Saint said to her. "I did some digging around for information. After all, the nature of your arrival to this world was quite…unique."
Lilian remained silent, giving the Sword-Saint a leveled gaze as if telling him to get on with his point.
"During the course of my…investigation, I heard an intriguing piece of information. I had dismissed it as unimportant at first, but perhaps I was wrong about that."
The Sword-Saint turned and walked over to her, stopping just a few feet away. He studied her closely for a moment before speaking again, since Lilian had remained silent, her expression unreadable.
"You know that boy, don't you?"
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