"So with everything you've revealed to me, does that mean you've returned to rule this sect?" John asked after Thunderfists laughter died down a bit.
"Yes," Thunderzen replied. "I have left the Yuan Continent branch sect in competent hands, and have returned to lead this sect once more."
"Grhmph," Thunderfist grunted in displeasure once again, clearly not happy that he had been removed from his lofty position as Sect Leader. However, his actions were more like a grumpy child than anything else, which revealed to John that he wasn't too mad.
"At least being free of the shackles of Sect Leader will allow me to roam these lands without consequence anymore," Thunderfist said, his voice booming with excitement.
John shook his head slightly as he heard Thunderfists words, but knew how he felt. John laughed slightly, before his eyes suddenly widened as he thought of something. His gaze snapped back to Thunderzen.
"Does that mean…does that mean the Lightning Dragon is your companion?" John asked.
Lilian had revealed to him earlier that the Lightning Dragon supposedly was the companion of the True Heavenly Lightning Sect Leader, although she didn't know that was her father at the time.
A smile appeared on Thunderzen's face as he nodded his head in confirmation.
"Indeed he is," he replied. "I met Raijen tens of thousands of years ago in an ancient realm, and found him when he was no more than an egg. We have been companions ever since."
John's eyes widened slightly upon hearing the truth as his thoughts shifted to him and Kirii. It was almost exactly how he and Kirii had met. A thought suddenly appeared in his mind, and his gaze swept across those standing in the room with him.
Clearly Thunderzen trusted them with the gravest of truths regarding the Asura prophecy, so although he didn't know them personally, he trusted Thunderzen's judgement.
John gestured behind him, which was where Kirii was sleeping at his feet. Kirii had followed him into the palace chamber, at which point he had curled up behind John and fallen asleep.
"Since Kirii is a lightning beast…would he be able to learn from the Lightning Dragon? I don't know if such a thing is possible however," John asked. Although it was a longshot, he was willing to do anything to raise Kirii's strength, as he owed Kirii his life after the tribulation situation.
Thunderzen glanced at Kirii, who was sleeping soundly still. A frown appeared on his face before he shook his head against the idea.
"I can't tell exactly what kind of beast Kirii is, but it does seem quite talented. However, my Raijen is extremely proud, as all Dragon's are, and would find teaching a lower tier beast beneath him," Thunderzen replied.
Beasts were broken into rough tiers of talent, from common grade beasts all the way up to heavenly beasts. Dragon's were considered heavenly beasts, and although the Lightning Dragon was not a pure-blooded dragon, it was still considered a pseudo-heavenly grade beast.
It was one of the most profound beasts on the entire Divine Martial Continent, and its pride was incredibly high.
A small smile appeared on John's face as he turned around to Kirii and whispered in his ear. Kirii, who was sleeping, woke up as he listened to John's words. Although they could not communicate yet, they could understand each other's thoughts and feelings.
John turned around and looked at Thunderzen once again.
"And what if Kirii was as talented as your Dragon companion?" John asked Thunderzen.
"Then while he may still be a little prideful, he won't consider it beneath him to do such a thing," Thunderzen replied. "However, for Kirii to be at the same realm as Raijen, he would need to b-"
Thunderzen's words cut off as John gave Kirii the signal, at which point his body shifted and changed. Ever since Kirii had hatched, John had instructed him to shapeshift to another form, which was one of the Kirins innate abilities. As such, none had ever recognized him for a Kirin.
The eyes of everyone in the room went wide as Kiriis' form was revealed to all.
"A Kirin!" Thunderfist exclaimed in shock, before he quickly rushed towards Kirii. He began closely inspecting Kirii from all angles, as his face became more and more excited.
"Hahaha, it truly is a Heavenly Lightning Kirin!" his voice boomed out as he acted like a kid who had seen his favorite animal for the first time.
Kirii stared at Thunderfist with an odd expression, as if he didn't know how to react to the man's actions. John smiled as he petted Kirii, before his gaze shifted to Thunderzen once more.
"How about now?" John asked confidently.
"You truly are one surprise after the other," Thunderzen replied as his surprise faded and his smile returned. "A Heavenly Kirin? Even I was unaware if they truly existed or not, but here one is right before my eyes. How marvelous."
When it came to lightning talents, Lightning Kirins reigned supreme. Even Lightning Dragons could only bow their head, maybe not in overall power, but definitely in terms of lightning prowess.
"With this being the case, I'm sure Raijen will agree. With the fabled lightning talents of the Lightning Kirins, it won't be long before Raijen is the one learning from Kirii," Thunderzen replied. "I will speak to my companion, and if he is in agreement, we will have him train Kirii."
A large smile appeared on John's face as he thanked Thunderzen profusely. He felt as if he owed Kirii his life, and this was one small way of paying him back. The discussion lingered on Kirii for a moment longer, before Thunderzen changed the topic of discussion.
"Now, about your recent display of talent," Thunderzen said as he stared at John, his face changing from relaxed to serious. "While it was unavoidable as to confirm the prophecy, your performance on the talent testing steps was far too eye-catching."
John frowned slightly upon hearing Thunderzen's words, but didn't argue against them as he knew Thunderzen was correct.
"With such a level of talent revealed to the world, you will surely become the number one target of this world," Thunderzen continued. "Those from allied powers will grow envious of you, while those of enemy powers will do everything in their power to kill you."
Thunderzen paused for a moment before he continued speaking.
"There are enemies out there that even I would have to be cautious around, let alone someone as weak as you currently are. If your identity as "Asura" is revealed to the world, you will be killed, without us being able to do anything about it. The ancient pact between us and the Forbidden Alliance will be discarded by them if it means getting to you, and there are still the other races such as the monster race, which would never allow someone like you to rise."
John sighed lightly upon hearing this, as it seemed as though the situation was more of a headache than he first expected.
"As such," Thunderzen continued. "Until you have the power to truly defend yourself, your status as 'Asura' will remain unknown to this world for the time being."
