John's words, while not uttered with much strength behind them, seemed to reverberate throughout the valley and over the mountains, stunning everyone who heard those words. They could clearly tell that he was implying he let them gather the badges for them, and now he was going to take it from them.
Everyone knew Aaron and Iris were the strongest two youths in this trial, and yet this mysterious newcomer with a cultivation a minor realm below his opponents showed up with such overbearing arrogance.
Only the youths from the Yuan Continent branch sect knew this would happen, and were watching on with gazes of expectation and excitement. Due to their strength being weaker than most in this trial, they had been on the receiving end of quite a few beatings, and many of them had already lost their badges, mostly to Aaron.
They were wondering when John would reveal himself, and once he finally did, were looking forward to a good show that allowed them to vent their frustrations.
Meanwhile, the youths from the other branch sects all looked at John as if he were stupid, especially those from the same branch sect as Aaron.
"Huh? Who the hell is this kid? He's below Aaron's cultivation level, yet he says such arrogant words? Who the hell does he think he is?" a girl who was a fan of Aaron's mocked.
"I know right? Either this kid is completely stupid or overestimates his abilities. Either way, we should get a good show soon," another replied.
They knew Aaron would not take such words lightly from the newcomer and would savagely beat him to set an example for all the other youths. Aaron wanted to be the undisputed number one branch sect youth and would allow no challengers or doubters.
"What did you just say?" Aaron asked John, unsure he was hearing John correctly.
"I said you have a choice. Give me your badges, or I'll beat the shit out of you. Your pick," John replied succinctly, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
To the side, Iris looked at John with a mixed expression of intrigue and amusement, as if she found John interesting, as well as funny. John noticed this odd expression from Iris but chose to ignore it at the moment while he focused on Aaron. There was plenty of time to deal with her afterwards.
Aaron's face, which had been red with rage, seemed to calm down upon hearing John's words. All those watching became slightly surprised at this reaction, as they had expected Aaron to explode with even more anger than before.
"Hahaha, I guess I can only blame myself," Aaron said while laughing at himself. "I suppose I've been too lighthanded this past week, and so even scrubs like you can think of themselves equal to me."
His laughter was soft, yet everyone could tell it was fueled by a growing anger than he held internally. Aaron's eyes turned cold as he stared at John, before he slowly pointed a finger at him.
"I know we're not supposed to kill or cripple in this trial, but no one said I can't beat you to the point that it'll take a year for you to recover," Aaron said to John calmly, as if he were talking down to a child.
Bang!
Lightning exploded out of Aaron's finger, piercing directly towards John in an instant. John raised his eyes slightly as he watched the lightning approach, as it was quite an impressive attack.
'This attack is very similar to my Lightning Ruin, and is incredibly powerful. Aaron seems to have a Common Grade Lightning Attribute Body, which is why he can command such control over his lightning attacks. No wonder he's one of the strongest disciples here.'
While musing about the attack approaching him, John took no effort at all to dodge. To everyone watching, it was as if John was either unable to react in time, or he was frozen scared by the attack. Only those from the Yuan Continent knew the power of this attack was beneath John to dodge.
Boom!
The lightning attack exploded directly onto John's chest, engulfing him in an incredibly powerful explosion. The land beneath his feet shattered and spread out in all directions, while the entire valley shook from its power.
"Ah!" a startled cry sounded out from Iris, before her gaze pierced into the fiery explosion. Her eyes widened as she witnessed what was happening within and remained like that for a short while before returning to normal.
"I guess they were correct," Iris sighed as her eyes stayed glued to the center of the explosion.
"He didn't even dodge or block it? Is he stupid?" Aaron cursed as he watched the attack land on John directly. He had at least expected John to block the attack with his weapon and become injured in the process.
With him not blocking, Aaron was convinced John was dead, or at least gravely injured.
"The Elders can't blame me for him not blocking the attack," Aaron said in a disgruntled voice, as if he figured a headache of explanation was coming on. "He only has himself to bla-"
Aaron's words cut off as the explosion faded quickly, revealing John still standing there. He was completely unharmed, and his calm and relaxed eyes were staring straight back at Aaron. Aaron, as well as the other youths watching from the mountains above, all opened their eyes wide in shock.
There wasn't even a single scratch on John's body, as if the attack had never even reached him.
"You really do have dogshit luck," John said to Aaron, stirring him from his shocked state. "Not only did you try to fight me with such a low cultivation, but you also used lightning, which I'm essentially immune to. Truly unlucky," John continued while shaking his head sideways as if he were scolding a child.
John slowly raised his finger and pointed it at Aaron, who was still staring with wide eyes at John. Lightning began to dance over his finger as he spoke out once more.
"Now it's my turn. Surely you'll take this attack head on, just like I did, right?"
