The faces of all the disciples turned from slight anger to surprise, to shame as they thought over John's words. It was now known that he had been the one to destroy the Bloodfiend Sect, whose power was equal to the Heavenly Lightning Sect. Surely those youths felt the same as they did recently, that they were safe within its borders.
"That safety was only an illusion for them, as it is for all of you," John continued. "The only safety you have is your own strength. And strength is derived from more than just talent. Willpower and unflinching resolve are just as important as talent in the cultivation world, maybe even more important. Without those two aspects, even a talented person is doomed to fail."
John paused for a moment to let his words sink in, before he began to speak once again.
"Never for one second believe you have absolute safety, because in the cultivation world, you never do. Always have your guard raised, so that situations like this never happen to you again. Besides, if that little bit of pain was enough to make you question cultivating, then you were never worthy of treading down the cultivation path in the first place."
John's words once again instilled a sense of shame within the youths, as they knew his words to be true. John took a deep breath and relaxed himself before shifting his tone, as he knew he had been a bit heavy handed with his approach.
"However, now that you have all learned this lesson and etched it into your heart, I'm sure each and every one of you will become a cultivation powerhouse, with the ability to rise to the top of this world."
While he didn't believe these words, he knew the disciples would. Their looks of pain and shame quickly washed away, as hopeful looks replaced them.
"Lastly, the lightning I bathed you all in wasn't just to cause you pain, but to give you two small gifts," John addressed the crowd.
"What gifts?" a girl's voice asked. John's gaze locked with the girl's, who he recognized as the one who had addressed Thunderzen the previous day. A small smile appeared on his face as he replied to her.
"First off, the pain of what just happened has tempered your wills, but more importantly, it has tempered your bodies."
The disciples all inspected their bodies closely after hearing these words, and surprise lit up on each and every one of their faces as they noticed some incredibly minute but significant changes to their bodies.
"I have a special type of lightning under my control...heavenly tribulation lightning. By bathing you all in a tiny portion of this lighting, I have slightly increased your comprehensions and body affinity towards heavenly lighting. While it's not nearly as grand as what the Lightning Dragon did to you yesterday, it will still help quite a bit in the future," John's words echoed throughout the crowd.
By bathing the youths in the tiniest portion of heaven tribulation lightning, he was able to raise their comprehensions towards lightning ever so slightly, as well as their affinity towards lightning as well.
"Now, let's begin your lessons for the day," John said with a warm smile on his face.
The youths all had excited looks as they began to thank John profusely, and apologize for their previous behavior. John dismissed those apologies as not needed, and continued the lesson in full. Hundreds of questions were asked, ranging from cultivation questions to personal questions about John's life.
John answered as many as he could, and also demonstrated several battle arts and techniques for the disciples to learn. The lessons continued until the sun began to set, at which point John dismissed the exhausted but happy disciples. His smiling face watched all of them leave, as he knew his lessons would truly help these youths.
"You're not a bad teacher, although you're quite brutal in your methods" a voice behind John caused him to turn, although no longer in fright as he was used to her showing up without warning.
John turned to see his master standing behind him, and nodded his head at her words. "Thanks, I learned my methods from you," John replied without hesitation.
"Good. Then at least I know my lessons didn't go to waste," Lilian replied, her response slightly surprising John. He had been expecting a beating from his words, but he received no such response.
"What brings you here?" John asked, as he knew his master had a reason for showing up.
Lilian's playful expression faded away as she replied to John. "We are setting out tomorrow for the Divine Martial Continent. Go home to your family and spend the last day with them, and be ready to set out midday tomorrow."
John's face turned serious as he heard this, and he nodded his head in confirmation of her words. Lilian's figure disappeared from his sight, seemingly to go handle other important matters before tomorrow. John stood there in silent contemplation for a moment, before he took to the skies and flew towards his branch clan where his family was.
He arrived a while later, and spent the night and the early morning the next day with his mother and father, making sure to spend each second with them before he would leave for who knows how long.
Although they were sad to see their son go, both his mother and father understood that John's next step was to go to the Divine Martial Continent.
"Just make sure to keep yourself safe," Rachel Fenix said with teary eyes as she parted from her embrace with her son.
"I will," John nodded his head at her words, before he gazed at his father before him. Their gazes said everything that needed to be said, and John embraced his father as well for a moment before he took to the sky, heading back to the Heavenly Lightning Sect.
A firm and resolved look appeared on his face as he flew through the sky at rapid speeds, towards the next step of his cultivation journey.
"Today is finally the day...the day that I travel to the Divine Martial Continent."
