The others in the room gave John a surprised look, although Araxus' expression was more one of amused anticipation than anything else. Being a foremost genius of the Yang-Dao Sect, he was used to interacting with powerhouses, and found John's feud with the Sword-Saint quite entertaining.
The Sword-Saint paused for a brief moment, almost as if expecting for John to decline his request. He stepped into the room a moment later, glancing about before returning his gaze to John.
John continued to sit, but couldn't help but notice the Sword-Saint's natural presence when this close to the man. While he found the Sword-Saint's personality to be ill-tempered and short-fused, he couldn't help but admit that the man was a prodigious powerhouse. He gave off a similar feeling to the Prime Shadow in that his presence alone was like a blazing bonfire on a dark night, unable to be missed and overwhelming in its power.
He had no doubt that if he were to fight this man, he would not even last a single second before being snuffed out with a casual wave of the Sword-Saint's hand. He didn't worry about it coming to that, as the Prime Shadows backing was the best deterrent there was.
The Sword-Saint gave Araxus a brief nod as he entered the room, which Araxus returned, his nod slightly deeper to show respect. While the Sword-Saint was a rather unpleasant person to be around, he was still the Sword-Saint. His existence alone commanded respect, regardless of whether one felt true respect towards the man or not.
As for Araxus, he was a top two genius of the Yang-Dao Sect and highly favored by the Yang-Sovereign. As such, the Sword-Saint treated him with the respect of an upcoming genius, one that may in the future find himself on the same level as the Sword-Saint himself.
The Sword-Saint then gave Naelia and Zuri a brief glance, then looked towards John with an even expression. After a few seconds of silence, the Sword-Saint understood that John was not going to tell anyone to leave.
"You two fought well today," the Sword-Saint said to John and Araxus, not opting to take a seat near them, indicating he would most likely not be staying long.
"Thanks!" Araxus replied, while John remained silent. This frivolity from the Sword-Saint was leading up to something, and he didn't care for any decorum with this man. However, he kept these thoughts to himself, waiting for the Sword-Saint to reveal his purpose for being here.
The Sword-Saint studied John's neutral expression, one that showed no respect, but also no animosity. The Sword-Saint was used to all bowing at his feet to get under his good graces, and so John's reaction was completely out of the norm. He didn't speak on it however, and continued with a slightly warm expression on his face instead, although he got to the point instead of beating around the bush.
"So, Lilian is your master?" the Sword-Saint said, getting to the subject John knew he had come here for.
John merely nodded, then waited for the Sword-Saint to continue.
"I had looked down on you in the beginning, mostly due to your unknown origins," the Sword-Saint continued, "although you can't blame me for being skeptical. An unknown youth appearing out of nowhere, achieving impossible testing scores…" his voice trailed off.
There was an incredibly faint look of doubt on the Sword-Saint's face, as if he still believed John's scores to be false. While it was obvious he was a talent worthy of standing next to Ji'Han, he had yet to reveal anything that would support his numerous perfect scores; scores which indicated he was the number one genius in that category, spanning most of the history of the Nine-Dao World.
"Regardless," the Sword-Saint said, "it seems this…feud…between you and I has all been a misunderstanding."
"Is that so?" John finally replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course," the Sword-Saint said, smiling. However, his smile was not a friendly one, and was instead something more akin to a snake, with narrowed eyes and almost pursed lips. It was clear that the man was not used to faking his expressions, and was quite bad at it.
"However," he continued. "Now that I know you are Lilian's disciple, we can put this entire matter behind us. Instead of feuding with you, I would be more than happy to welcome you into the Sword-Dao Sect as a pinnacle disciple, equal to my son Ji'Han in status. Normally such a thing would be beyond my ability to do, but with you as the honored disciple of my son's wife-to-be, such a thing is within my power to do. With you and Ji'Han as the future of the Sword-Dao Sect, the ascension of the Sword-Dao Sect to the top of this world is guaranteed."
John's eyes widened slightly as he heard the Sword-Saint's words, while the others in the room had even greater looks of surprise and even shock on their faces. They could have never guessed the Sword-Saint would have come here in an attempt to win John over to his sect.
Before John could reply to this sudden offer, the Sword-Saint continued.
"Before you answer, I would just like to remind you of the opportunities you will receive should you join us. Countless Heavenly treasures, cultivation resources beyond your imagining, and fame beyond reckoning. It's all yours should you accept," the Sword-Saint said before falling silent, a small smile on his face as he waited for John's reply.
John remained silent for some time, almost unable to believe the audacity of this man. This man wanted nothing more than to eliminate him, and would have already done so had John not had the backing of the Prime Shadow. Now that he couldn't do that, he tried an alternative method; bribery. He tried to play this situation up as a misunderstanding, with the hopes that John would be swayed by treasures and rewards into not protesting against Lilian's situation.
"This offer is something every youth in the world can only dream of," the Sword-Saint said, his smile widening. "So what do you say? Would you like to become a foremost disciple of the number one sect in the world?"
