John had never revealed his body strength to Ainsel or the other Heaven Scrying Sect members, and so they had not added that to his battle style section. While there were rumors of his body strength, nothing was confirmed, and so the information was omitted.
Right as he was trapped, John realized that the formation was something that neutralized essence cultivators. His body was completely unaffected, and so he knew he could break free at any moment. His discussion afterwards was an attempt to glean more information from Number One, but he had received nothing useful from him.
"You're quite lucky I decided to hold back on that roar," John said as he looked Number One in the eyes. "Were I to use the full power of that battle art at that close a distance, your brain might have become mush."
The Roar of the Jade Dragon was very powerful, but its power fell off quite fast as the target became more distant. However, John had yelled directly in Number One's face. With his high body strength and body Qi, a full powered roar from that distance just might have killed Number One, or at least inflicted grave injuries.
"What do you want from me?" Number One asked. His mind was still hazy, but his voice was calm as he came to terms with his situation. John raised an eyebrow in surprise at Number One's words and demeanor, as he could tell he was completely calm in the moment. It was not like when John was calm, as he knew he could break free from the trap.
Number One had no escapes, and was completely at John's mercy at the moment. However, he remained calm, as if he didn't fear death at all.
"You don't fear death?" John asked curiously.
"We all die eventually," Number One replied. "Do what you must."
John stared at Number One for a short moment, as he was hoping he would fear death. What he wanted to offer would be more readily accepted if Number One wished to live more than anything, but he still decided to offer it anyways.
"You tried to kill me, and normally that would lead to your death without question," John said, "but I am willing to make an exception this time, if you agree to one thing."
"And what would that be?" Number One asked calmly.
"Allow me to place a slave seal on your soul."
Number One scoffed upon hearing John's offer. "I'd rather die than suffer such indignation. Assassins live on the edge of life and death. A single mistake leads to death. I have accepted this fact my entire life. Kill me, and be done with it."
"Don't be so hasty to refuse," John replied. "My conditions won't be what you're expecting, and given the only alternative is I kill you now, I think you'll actually prefer my offer. I could use someone with your talents, so I'd rather you not refuse my offer."
Number One stared at John in silence for a short while, his calm eyes never wavering or showing a hint of fear. "What is your offer?" he asked, willing to at least hear John out.
"That's more like it," John said, a small smile appearing on his face for a moment. "My offer is this. Allow me to place a slave seal on your soul. I won't use it to control you, but only use it to ensure you follow certain instructions. These instructions are simple. First, you cannot harm any other Heavenly Lightning Sect member or anyone close to me, and you cannot instruct others to harm them for you. Second, you will listen to any command I give you regarding an assassination target, and while we're in these trial lands, you'll come to me if I summon you. Those are the only conditions I'll impose on you through this slave seal. Other than that, I'll allow you to go about your life freely, and when we leave these lands, I'll let you go on about your life…ah, but I'll keep the seal in place, just to ensure you never seek revenge on those close to me. How's that deal sound?"
Number One stared at John in silence, his eyes studying his face to see if there were any hints of a lie in John's words. As John had said, the deal truly was not a bad one. Most cultivators refused a slave seal even in the face of death, as they would be at the whims of the other cultivator, and most were made to live lives even worse than death. However, John's conditions were incredibly reasonable, and other than following some of his orders, his life would go on as normal.
"How can I trust you to keep to your words," Number One asked.
"I guess you can't, but I wouldn't really care to lie about things like this. It's either that, or I kill you right now. While I do have use for someone with your talents, it's not like I can't manage on my own," John replied calmly, not too concerned with Number One's answer.
Number One fell silent for a while again, before his voice sounded out once more.
"I have just one question regarding your conditions," he said to John. "You said I could not harm a Heavenly Lightning Sect member or anyone you consider close, but never mentioned yourself."
"That's because I don't need such protections," John replied confidently. "I may have been overconfident earlier, but overconfidence or not, I'm confident in my ability to keep myself alive. If you want to try another assassination on me, go ahead. But just know that the next time you try it, I won't hesitate to kill you."
John's voice got slightly colder towards the end of his response, indicating his sincerity in fulfilling his threat. A small smile eventually appeared on Number One's face as he heard John's reply.
"You would have made for a good Nightveil Assassin," Number One replied. "Fine. I accept your offer."
