John made his way into the town and up the pathway leading to the coliseum, while Iris followed closely behind. After standing there in stunned silence for some time, the other youths all rushed forward towards the coliseum as well, not wanting to miss a single moment of what was to come.
John quickly arrived before the coliseum and entered it. The arena came into view, as well as Alderen who still sat calmly on the central platform on the arena. Sensing the newcomers, Alderen's eyes opened slowly, locking onto Johns.
His eyes opened wide in surprise, as he had not been expecting to see John again.
"How…how are you here?" Alderen asked, unable to comprehend how John was the first to return. After turning everyone against John, Alderen had calmly watched as John attacked Vildren and took him to fight outside the coliseum.
Being a genius from his sect, Alderen had a list of the geniuses to look out for, ones that were potentially his equal. On this list was Vildren, who was easily recognizable as the crowned prince of the Valyren Empire.
When he had watched John attack Vildren, he knew it was over for John. Vildren's power was equal to his own, and was not suppressed outside the arena. While John's strength, fake or not, was quite strong within the arena, it was not strong enough to fight against a Middle Heaven Tribulation cultivator like Vildren.
Alderen had calmly stayed within the arena, ensuring that he did not miss out on any Jade Mark points. He figured Vildren would handle John and get rid of that nuisance once and for all. However, against his best guesses, the opposite appeared to have happened.
"What? Expecting Vildren instead?" John asked calmly as he stared at Alderen.
Alderen's face darkened as he heard John's calm yet mocking tone.
"Its impossible for you to have beaten Vildren," Alderen replied confidently. "What did you do for him to let you go? Did you pay him off? Did you beg for forgiveness?"
"I merely cut off his hand and made him grovel before me," John replied, his voice still calm. "Of which I'll do the same to you."
Alderen's face darkened upon hearing John's insults, and he opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the rest of the youths who had watched the fight entered the coliseum.
In the group were several disciples belonging to the same sect as Alderen, all in the Heaven Tribulation Realm. Alderen's gaze shifted to one of the disciples, and after a short moment his face suddenly changed from confidence to surprise, and then shock.
Once one reached the Heaven Tribulation Realm, they would be able to send mental sound transmissions to those nearby. Clearly the youth from Alderen's sect had informed him of the battle's outcome.
Gong!
The sound of a bell resounded across the arena, signifying the end of the previous round, and the start of the next round. John's eyes narrowed slightly as he began to walk forward towards the arena, his gaze never leaving Alderen.
A series of conflicting emotions appeared on Alderen's face in quick succession as he watched John jump from the stands and land in the arena before him.
"Tch, the Jade Marks receive from this arena are no longer worth my time," Alderen said to John as he stood up. "Pray we don't meet again."
Without waiting for any reply, Alderen suddenly shot up into the sky and over the arena, before disappearing from sight. He had left without a fight, stunning those who had come to see a good fight. While his words indicated that he was leaving on his own volition, everyone present could tell that it was just an excuse for him to leave without fighting John.
While Alderen may be confident fighting against John outside the arena, he more than anyone else knew he had no chance with his cultivation suppressed. As such, he had decided to flee before embarrassing himself, all while making it look like he had left for other reasons.
"Pathetic," John mocked as he walked forward, completely ignoring Alderen's retreat. While he could chase after him, doing so would have no value. Instead, John walked directly towards the central pedestal and hopped onto it.
The central pedestal was five feet wide and raised a few feet off the arena. As soon as he hopped onto it, John could feel a strange energy lock onto the brand on his chest, forming a connection.
'This must be how the Jade Marks are distributed,' John mused. 'As soon as the round ends, the one who had a connection to this pedestal is granted the Jade Marks.
After inspecting the platform, John calmly took out a luxurious sofa from his spatial realm and placed it on the platform. He quickly fell onto the sofa, making himself as relaxed as possible.
"Ahhh, that's the good stuff," John muttered contently as he fell into the sofas' soft embrace. After the arduous battle against Vildren, such a comfort was quite welcomed.
All those gathered in the coliseum watched on as John made himself comfortable on the platform. Such a thing was quite preposterous, but none of them dared to mock him for his actions. The minutes passed by as the entrance period to the next round ticked away, but none of the other youths dared to enter the arena.
Gong!
The arena bell sounded again, and a formation light enveloped the arena, signifying the end of the entrance period. No one had entered the arena at all, as none of them were willing to fight John after what they had just seen recently.
The thought of teaming up against him entered the minds of many, but the images of him fighting against everyone in the arena previously quickly squashed such thoughts. With the time to enter the arena expired, John fell even deeper into the embrace of his sofa, falling asleep for the next two hours as the protective formation light enveloped the arena, preventing anyone from entering.
