1113 Ji'Han's Provocation
John's words reverberated throughout the stadium, stunning everyone. No one could believe he would utter such words, yet alone say it with such confidence. After Ji'Han revealed his cultivation speed, the fight should have been over there.
It was almost impossible to jump two minor realms, let alone against a pinnacle genius like Ji'Han. Even with his cultivation paused at the Late Dao Transformation Realm due to John's interference, that was still an entire minor realm higher than John's cultivation. That gap was utterly impossible to bridge against a genius like Ji'Han, where fighting him at even cultivation was next to impossible.
And yet, there was no doubt, no uncertainty in John's tone, nor was there any hesitation in his movements. He walked calmly towards Ji'Han, like a beast who had already cornered its prey with no hope of escape. It was not the demeanor of someone who was at a great disadvantage as everyone had thought.
"Is he bluffing?" some asked those near them, confused as to what was going to happen next.
"Surely this is a bluff, right? He's going to act strong, then accept defeat before he is gravely injured, thus saving face," other's assumed, still unconvinced that John could stand against Ji'Han.
While the crowd discussed the fight to come with anxious anticipation, Ji'Han looked at John with a calm, yet slightly furrowed expression. He held this gaze for a short while, then closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.
"I'll admit your physical strength is far greater than I had assumed it would be," Ji'Han said, putting his weaker sword away and drawing his true sword instead. "But what good is your strength if you can never reach me? This battle will end without you drawing a single drop of my blood."
A smirk appeared on John's face as he steadily approached JiHan. Ji'Han then shifted his gaze upwards and to the side, up towards the VIP viewing platform. John followed his gaze and noticed he was staring at Lilian, who watched with a calm expression from high above.
Ji'Han then returned his gaze towards John and smiled lightly. "Since you do not know your place in this world, I'll let you in on a little secret. Your master, or shall I say, my wife-to-be, warned me not to anger you during our battle."
Ji'Han scoffed lightly to himself, as if he were remembering a funny joke. "I thought nothing of it at the time, just empty threats from a desperate woman. But with everything unfolding as it has, I now understand that she truly believes you not only have the power to win, but that you have the power to utterly destroy me should you become enraged enough."
"You would be wise to listen to her words," John replied, the distance between the two only several dozen yards by now.
"On the contrary," JiTIan sneered lightly. "I will do exactly that. I will push you to the edge of sanity. I will enrage you until all you see is red. I will pull every ounce of strength out of you, and when you are at your strongest state, I will cut you down as easily as if you were a fly, or a rat. I will destroy you at your strongest state, so that there isn't a shadow of a doubt regarding where we both stand in the cultivation world."
"And how do you plan on enraging me? I'm quite level-headed, you know. It takes quite a bit to push me over the edge," John asked, pausing when the two were separated by only ten yards.
The two locked eyes for a short time, at which Ji'Han smiled and sent over a sound transmission for only John to hear. Ji'Han's words and images flooded directly into John's mind. Words and images of Ji'Han and Lilian, of things Ji'Han wouldn't dare say out loud, of things he planned to do to her, as the depravity of it all was far too grotesque for anyone else to hear.
John's expression darkened as these words and images flooded his mind, disappearing only half a minute later. He stood there silently staring at Ji'Han, his smug expression nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was only simmering bloodlust, boiling hotter each and every second.
While he knew these images had never happened, and knew Ji'Han was only showing him these things to upset him, it did the trick. Any goodwill that John had towards Ji'Han vanished at that moment. Any mercy he had planned evaporated like water in an arid desert.
The scythe shaft in his hand groaned under the force of his tightening grip, while the Asura within him felt as though it was about to burst out on its own accord, wanting to rip Ji'Han apart limb from limb. John pushed the emerging Asura within him back down. Against someone like Ji'Han, his Dragon-God Shift was enough. Ji'Han did not deserve the honor of losing to his full power. He was not worthy of making the Asura appear.
"Your son is an absolute moron," Lilian said out loud, her tone tinged with mockery.
"What did you say?" the Sword-Saint asked, his eyes snapping towards her. The others on the platform looked over as well, surprised to hear Lilian say such a thing, to the Sword-Saint no less. Only the Prime Shadow reacted differently, with an amused smile creeping onto the corner of his mouth for a moment.
"I said he's a moron," Lilian repeated calmly, turning to look at the glowering Sword-Saint, meeting his heated gaze with a cold, indifferent expression. "I warned him not to anger John, and he ignored that warning."
"Tch, so what if that boy is angered? His anger won't help him," the Sword-Saint sneered.
Lilian smiled ever so lightly, then averted her gaze, returning it back to the arena below. "I hope you have a good healer on standby," she sighed lightly. "Your son is going to need one very soon."
"This battle has only one conclusion," the Sword-Saint scoffed. "With my son reigning supr-"
Boom!
