A roar louder than any John had heard thus far blasted out within the arena, one filled with surprise and shock. John looked towards part of the crowd and noticed looks of pure shock on the faces of many, then shifted his gaze towards the other fifteen Dao Transformation participants.
Each had a look of envy on their face, although some hid it better than others. Ji'Han was the most stoic of all, although his clenched fist betrayed his otherwise calm demeanor. If this was something that even Ji'Han would show excitement, then it was most likely even better than it sounded, and it sounded amazing already.
High above the arena, the roaring of the crowd washed over the viewing platform. Other than Ji'Han, who was on the arena itself, everyone else was present and seated.
"The Ancient Blessing?" the Prime Shadow asked, showing surprise on his face for the first time in a long time. "How did I not catch wind of this before?"
The Yang-Sovereign shot him a quick glance, then a small smile. "Us three sovereigns kept it a secret amongst ourselves until yesterday."
"Is that so?" the Prime Shadow replied, looking the opposite way towards the Sword-Saint. The usually stoic Sword-Saint was leaning forward in his seat, eyes glued to the screen above. A look of surprise and slight envy was on his face, although he quickly wiped it away as he realized he was being looked at.
Based on his reaction, the Prime Shadow discerned that even the Sword-Saint was not aware of this reward until now. If that was the case, then it was reasonable that he did not learn of it either until now, although he still felt being caught off guard quite irksome for one who was supposed to know everything and everything.
"Why now?" the Prime Shadow asked, returning his gaze towards the Yang-Sovereign.
"It was a personal request from the Sword-Sovereign," the Yang-Sovereign replied calmly.
"I see," the Prime Shadow mused. A personal request, most likely done for the benefit of Ji'Han who was expected to win this year, at least before John had arrived. After thinking it over, the Prime Shadow smiled lightly, then leaned backwards comfortably in his chair. Regardless of the reason, this was a boon for John that he had never expected before.
…
The ceremony continued for some time, with the Vice Sect Leader of the Yang-Dao Sect explaining several things of importance. John listened carefully, not wanting to miss a single thing.
The first thing of importance was the tournament structure. For the top sixteen and on, each round lasted a day, and the time limit for the fights was extended to four hours. Upon the conclusion of the round of sixteen, the round of eight would start the next day, and the round of four the day after.
Between the round of four and the final round, there was a day of rest to let the fighters fully recover, and to allow for everyone attending the finals to make their arrangements on time.
The next important thing mentioned was the prize structure of the tournament. For those who placed ninth to sixteenth, they were permitted to select a single item from the Three Dao Heavenly Treasures List. For those who placed fifth through eighth, they could select two items. Third and fourth were allowed to select three items, while second place could choose four items.
As for the victor of the tournament, not only could they select five items from the list, but they would be granted access to the Ancient Blessings construct, which at a glance seemed more amazing and fortuitous than the rest of the list combined.
The ceremony eventually died down, with the Vice-Sect Leader mentioning that the fights would now go in reverse order. As such, John, who had always kicked off each round with one of his fights, was to fight last each round. That gave him many hours to relax and prepare, something he found both to his liking and against it.
On one hand, he wanted to start his fight and get it over and done with as fast as possible. On the other hand, it felt nice not to be the first for everything, and to be able to watch the others fight first.
"With all this being said, I now announce the official start of the Dao Transformation Round of Sixteen," the Vice-Sect Leader said to thunderous applause. He smiled and basked in the attention, patiently waiting for the crowd to eventually die down. "The first fight between eight ranked Briena of the Mage Dao Sect and ninth ranked Garux of the Yang Dao Sect will start in ten minutes. Will all the other participants please clear the arena."
With that being said, John prepared to take to the sky. He stopped as he felt a hand fall on his shoulder, in a forceful yet not overwhelming way. He stopped and turned to look at the man who had stopped him.
It was a Yang-Dao Sect male around the age of twenty or twenty one. John recognized the man from the published list of participants. Araxus of the Yang Dao Sect. Axarus was a well-built man with a rugged yet handsome face, a short beard, piercing blue eyes and short black hair. He was almost as tall as John, only an inch shorter, and had muscles more suitable for a body cultivator than an essence cultivator.
Most eye-catching of all was the flickers of light coming from within Araxus' eyes, or more specifically, lightning. Not only did his eyes contain lightning within, but even with his aura mostly withdrawn, John could still feel a strong lightning presence coming from this man.
"I look forward to our fight to come," Araxus said firmly, a confident smile on his face. Just based on his bearing and aura, John could tell this man was a true genius, one that would push him farther than he had been pushed thus far in the tournament.
"So, you're my opponent today?" John greeted him, to which Araxus shook his head.
"I'm the fourth ranker, so should we both win our fights, we will meet in the round of four," Araxus replied with a look of utmost confidence on his face, as if him not making it that far was impossible.
"I see," John nodded.
"I've seen all your fights, and I must admit you are quite an interesting opponent," Araxus said, "and I couldn't help but notice you used lightning in some of your battles. So, what are you? An essence cultivator, or a body cultivator?"
"You could say I'm a bit of both," John replied, his response drawing a raised eyebrow from Araxus. It was always rare to run into a dual cultivator, especially one of this cultivation and talent.
"Well, regardless of what you truly are, I hope your lightning prowess is a bit more powerful than what you've shown so far," Araxus replied, then gave John a confident grin as his body began to flicker all over with powerful lightning, while complex runes began to form on his skin. Other than himself, it was the most profound lightning John had ever felt coming from another cultivator. "After all, I always yearn to fight others experienced in the Dao of Lightning."
Araxus gave John a toothy smile, then his lightning vanished, and he patted John on the shoulder before turning and leaving. John watched Araxus soar through the sky for a bit, then smiled with anticipation.
'King Grade Lightning Runes huh? And from what I can tell, his runes are in the awakened stage. While my runes are of a higher quality, I have yet to awaken them yet,' John mused. His opponent, Araxus, was no doubt a pinnacle genius from the little bit he had just displayed. A rush of excitement flowed through John as he smiled and took to the sky.
"It seems that Ji'Han won't be my only interesting opponent."
