1118 Asura Reaping Scythe
"Asura Reaping Scythe!"
The very air seemed to chill from the mere name of the battle art, as if its name alone had the power to cleave apart all of creation. That chill lasted for only an instant before being shattered by the power of the scythe-image unleashed by John's slash, the four-intermixing powers of Lightning, Space, Power, and Annihilation creating an unfathomably powerful scythe-image, one that seemed capable of cleaving the entire world in half.
The space before John was instantly cleaved apart as the scythe- image shot towards JiTIan, forming an unbroken gash of exposed spatial chaos trailing behind the attack. The lightning flickering off the scythe-image blasted in all directions, shattering the spatial void even further, widening the gap created between this realm and the realm of spatial chaos. The nearby air rushed into the gash in space, like water rushing into a chasm, forming a tempest behind the attack.
Every single person watching the battle drew in a deep breath of shock and awe. Many felt disbelief by the sheer lethality of the scythe-image, their bodies and souls feeling as though they would be cleaved apart at any moment.
John's aura then exploded once more, the power of the spatial Dao bursting off him. This spatial power expanded outwards towards Ji'Han in an instant, its speed even faster than the Asura Reaping Scythe. A visible wave in space appeared for all to see, blasting downwards at a horrifying speed.
Boom!
The wave of spatial power blasted against the ground where Ji'Han was, shattering it with its invisible might. The ground trembled violently from the blast of spatial power, which then didn't evaporate, but instead remained strong and dense in the area. The very air seemed to solidify from the thickness of the spatial Dao, as if space itself was turned into a solid object.
"What is this!" The Sword-Saint roared as he jumped from his seat, eyes glued to the descending scythe-image. Even the nearby Yang- Sovereign looked on with shock on his face, with both the Prime Shadow and Lilian sharing similar expressions. Despite both of them knowing John and his incomparable combat prowess, they were still stunned by the sheer deadliness of the attack.
Boom!
The ground below shattered as an aura of pure white, like a heavenly bonfire of yang energy, pierced up into the sky.
Boom!
The ground shattered once more as Ji'Han shot up out of the destroyed earth, his body slickened with his blood. Despite his gruesome appearance, a look of grim determination appeared on his face as he saw the scythe-image fall. His instincts within activating to its limits, searching for a way to deal with this attack.
The thought of dodging didn't even cross his mind for a second, as he felt the spatial Dao around him thick and powerful. While he had the strength to break free of these confines in a short time, the time taken to destroy John's spatial cage was longer than the time the scythe-image would take to reach him. All he could do was face the attack head on, using the greatest strength he could muster in time. And most disastrous of all, he did not have enough time to unleash his Sacred Sword Scripture, the only sword art he had capable of dealing with this monstrously dangerous scythe-image.
Che! Che! Che! Che!
Eight swords flickered into existence and shot up towards the scythe image, the swords brimming with the spatial and sword Dao. His eight swords arrived around the scythe-image in an instant, then flared to life with the power of space and sword.
Seal of Sword and Space!
The eight swords flashed with a blinding brilliance, then vanished, along with the scythe-image. As he had done with Jaxus' attack a round before, his sword art sealed the attack in the spatial void in an instant.
Che!
The spatial void suddenly ripped apart, a long line of spatial ruin springing into existence as the scythe-image cleaved out of Ji'Han's seal, its sharpness unable to be contained by such a hastily formed sealing art.
"Ji'Han!" the Sword-Saint roared, his face turning white.
Reacting to his defeat instantly, Ji'Han pointed his sword directly at the scythe-image, which was only dozens of yards away, a distance that would be closed in an instant.
At that moment, everything within him went still. The lethality of the scythe-image was so strong that his instincts took over once more, his mind going blank, his thoughts and actions instantaneous. The thoughts of the tournament, of his father, of John. All that went blank. All that remained was one, deafeningly loud thought that blasted within his mind and soul.
Survive!
As Ji'Han's entire being searched for the answer, the entire crowd watched with horror as the scythe-image cleaved towards Ji'Han with lethal intent, their thoughts all similar; was it possible to survive such an attack? Were they truly about to witness the death of one of the most heavenly geniuses the Nine-Dao World had ever seen?
Standing on the ground, sword pointed towards the scythe-image, Ji'Han felt his entire essence locked onto the solution to survive. It was abstract at first, but the life-threatening danger of the situation pushed everything to its limits, making it so that even the scythe- image seemed to move in slow motion.
Piece by piece the solution to his survival became clearer, his existence closing in on the only way to survive. In fact, not only was there still a way to survive, but to win as well. All he had to do was cling to it, grasp it, and make this surging power his own. His lips began to move as a slow, harmonious chant began to echo from his mouth. The air around him began to twist and turn with a blinding brilliance as his existence pushed through the bottleneck, the power to survive this attack finally obtained.
His sword flashed a brilliant white as his entire essence was poured into his sword, which began to grow in an instant.
Flash!
A figure suddenly appeared in front of the attack like a ghost, his right hand raising towards the scythe-image while his brilliant white aura flared with incredible strength. At the same time, a unified gasp echoed throughout the stadium, the ten million spectators unable to believe their eyes.
Che!
The scythe-image slammed into the figure's outstretched hand, smashing against his palm. The figures Qi flared on his hand, pressing back against the scythe-image, a stalemate forming between the two sources of power. The scythe-image continued to press against his hand, the air shattering, reforming, and then shattering anew as the two powers contested.
After what felt like an eternity to all those watching, the hand stopping the scythe image tightened, shattering the scythe-image into a million sparks of Qi. Space shattered one last time before slowly returning to normal, while a deafening calm replaced the once chaotic battlefield.
Ten million eyes stared with disbelief at the figure hovering in the sky, while John's expression turned from surprise, to cold, simmering anger. He and the Sword-Saint locked eyes, the Sword- Saint looking at him as if he wanted to kill him on the spot.
"This attack was done with the intention of claiming my son's life!" the Sword-Saint roared, his aura blazing wildly like a wildfire. "I was right about you all this time! Your ruthless barbarity has no place in this world! I will-"
"You're an absolute idiot," John said coldly, cutting the Sword-Saint off. The Sword-Saint paused for the briefest of moments before becoming enraged once more. He then made to move, but paused as he saw John point behind him.
The Sword-Saint turned around, his eyes going wide with disbelief. He then saw Ji'Han staring up at him, a look of fury and rage on his face, a rage only equaled by the fiery aura blazing around Ji'Han's body and sword, ember-like runes glowing on his skin.
Ji'Han's sword had grown and pierced forward, almost into the Sword-Saint himself, stopping just inches short. This sword art that had been unleashed to deal with the Asura Reaping Scythe. A sword art brimming with a terrifying Flame Qi of one who had broken through his limits, stepping his Flame Attribute Body into the Awakened Stage, pushing the power of his quick-use sword arts to a level that, while not stronger than the scythe-image, was powerful enough to weaken it considerably, thus protect his life and allowing him to continue this battle.
"Ji'Han....you broke through-" his voice cut off as he noticed the look of pure disappointment and shame on Ji'Han's face.
"Congratulations" John said from behind, his voice even colder than before, feeling no pride or joy from this turn of events. "Your lack of faith in your son just cost him this tournament."
"I...." the Sword-Saint blanched, the realizations of his actions finally setting in like a cold splash of water thrown on him. In his panic, he had cast everything aside to save Ji'Han from an attack he thought his son could not survive. He realized that if Ji'Han had protected himself, with his newly acquired power and full knowledge of John's strength, victory was entirely possible for Ji'Han. Or at least, it had been, until his interference.
The Sword-Saint looked up towards the Yang-Sovereign, who met his gaze with one of regretful disappointment.
"The rules are the rules," the Yang-Sovereign said, sighing, his tone filled with disappointment for this historic tournament ending in such a miserable fashion. "Your interference has ended this fight. The victor of the Dao Transformation tournament...is John Fenix."
A thick silence hung in the air as everyone looked on with disbelief, trying to comprehend what had just happened. They had been promised the greatest battle of all time, one to be remembered forever. And yet, in the blink of an eye, the promised battle had been cut short before it could really even begin.
The Sword-Saint opened his mouth, the words he wanted to say not coming out. Suddenly, his gaze snapped upwards, his as well as everyone else's expression becoming grim.
Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!
Before a single person could react, the arena suddenly flashed to life as hundreds of cloaked figures appeared in the air within and above the stadium, weapons in hand, auras flaring to life. Then, without any warning at all, a hidden blade emerged from the shadows and pierced towards the still-seated Yang-Sovereign, its power, sharpness, and lethality eclipsing the Asura Reaping Scythe like that of an ant to a dragon.
Boom!
