"Good, you've made the correct choice," John replied with a satisfied head nod. Someone as talented and lethal as Number One could come in handy, and was much better than just outright killing.
"Open your soul to me," John instructed.
Number One did as instructed without hesitation, his mind already made up. His natural soul defense was lowered, leaving his soul completely vulnerable. John's soul flared with power and washed over Number One, instantly invading his soul space. Number One's soul sea, the core of his soul appeared before him.
John formed a soul seal, one imbued with the conditions he had mentioned to Number One, and placed it firmly within Number One's soul. The soul seal latched on, and Number One shuddered slightly from the slightly painful sensation. After placing the soul seal, John retracted his soul power, while Number One's soul defenses flared up once more
His divine sense inspected the soul seal, and a slightly surprised look appeared on his face. He could tell that the soul seal John had placed did not prohibit him to commit suicide, which was something that he had not expected. Almost all soul seals had the condition that the slave could not commit suicide, as the owner of that cultivator did not want them to get out the easy way. However, John had placed no such condition, meaning that if Number One found their agreement to be lacking, he could always end his life to get out of it. It was a mercy that John did not need to provide, but also hinted at John's sincerity of keeping to his words.
"You are quite strange," Number One said to John.
"As I said, accepting this soul contract won't be such a bad situation for you, and would be much more preferential than the alternative," John replied before asking another question.
"Now, I want to know again, how were you able to be so elusive in our battle, even evading my divine sense?" John asked. Number One had refused to answer before, but now the situation was different.
"The Nightveil Stealth Art uses both the Dao of Darkness and the Dao of Space, allowing me to shroud myself in both Dao's," Number One replied, not hiding the truth further.
"The Dao of Darkness, and Space?" John replied, slightly shocked to hear those Dao's mentioned.
Both Dao's were on the same level as his Dao's of Power, Annihilation, and Destruction. For Number One to have a grasp of the Dao's, even the initial stages, was a testament to his talent, as well as the frightening power of the Divine Martial Continent. Both their battle arts and geniuses were at a level far above the Yuan Continent.
'No wonder it was so hard to detect him during our battle. The Divine Martial Continent sure is different from the Yuan Continent. The other top geniuses no doubt use something just as profound, so they won't be easy opponents. I guess I'll have to be a bit more cautious proceeding forward.'
Now that he had his answers, John had no more immediate use for Number One. He spent the next few minutes instructing Number One of what to do, before the two parted ways as silence returned to the barely illuminated flowered grasslands.
…
John arrived before the source of the lights, his gaze shifting over the ancient city that appeared before him. Other youths were occasionally entering the city from various directions, and John could tell that not all of them were warriors.
'As expected, it's another city, and also the trials seemed to have merged once again. I wonder if the others have made it this far already? They most likely have, as I took my time with learning the two battle arts I obtained.'
John's footsteps continued once more as he entered the ancient city. The dimly lit streets of the ancient city gave off an eerie vibe, as the boisterous atmosphere of the first city was nowhere to be found, in part due to the time of day, as well as less youths living in this city than the first one.
John explored the dim and quiet streets for some time, and occasionally came across formation barriers guarding the entrance to various trials. Several youths were standing outside each of the trials, their curious gazes shifting to John as he walked by. Due to his high Jade Mark score, John had no immediate interest in participating in any of those trials.
A series of bright lights towered high into the sky on the other side of the city, most likely from a trial formation or something similar. John thought of inspecting that area, but a small wave of fatigue washed over him, the accumulated trials from the lava-filled land finally adding up.
"I suppose I should find a place to rest, and set out again tomorrow," John mused as he walked through the quiet streets of the ancient city. The buildings of the city were abandoned, but once served a purpose. Many of them were made for lodging, and so he decided to find a comfortable place to rest for the night.
John looked over his shoulder as he felt the gaze of someone lock onto his back. He spotted a shadowed figure standing a short distance away, gazing at him. The figure quickly vanished, while John frowned slightly. Within the darkness, he barely made out the robes of the shadowed figure.
'The Starforge Clan huh? I wonder what they have in store for me?'
John ignored the youth and continued with his search. He eventually found a luxurious building in which no one was residing, and entered it. He entered one of the rooms, which still contained a comfortable bed despite the passage of time.
Plop!
John fell onto the bed, and his thoughts drifted into nothingness as he slowly fell asleep.
…
His eyes slowly opened, his previously dim lit room now illuminated by the light of the sun that was cascading through a nearby window. John got out of bed and stretched deeply, feeling the state of his body.
"That's much better," John sighed in relaxation. "I can't wait to reach the Heaven Tribulation Realm though. Once I shed my mortal body, things like sleep and eating won't be required anymore."
After donning a fresh new robe, John set out into the ancient city once more. The atmosphere within the streets was far more lively than when he entered, as the morning had drawn many more cultivators into the streets. While it was not as lively as the first city, it was still quite lively.
John stopped a youth as they passed by and asked about the city. The youth explained the layout, which was almost exactly the same as the previous city. The city was dotted with various trials that youths could participate in, but there was one big difference between the cities.
"Portals huh? And no Jade Mark requirement?" John replied.
"Yep," the youth nodded his head respectfully, as he had come to the realization as to who John was. "Many of the strongest geniuses have already entered the Heaven Tribulation Portal, including Ignis, Luth, and Parker."
"Thanks for the information," John thanked the youth before moving on once again.
'So this city has trials as well, but none of them interest me really. The thing that interests me are the portals on the other side of the city…that must have been the bright glow I saw last night. According to that youth, there are twelve portals, each divided by Jade Mark types again. Three portals for each Jade Mark type, one listed as Meridian Forging, one as Heaven Tribulation, and one as Dao Transformation. I wonder why there's no Jade Mark requirement though? Maybe its a common sense check, weeding those stupid enough to proceed forward without the required might?'
John thought over the information as he proceeded towards the location of the portals, as they seemed to lead to the next area of interest similar to the lava trial. His eyes narrowed for a moment as he noticed someone following from a distance, the figure shrouded in a black robe and a hood that concealed their features. John felt no malice or killing intent from the shrouded figure, and so he ignored them as he proceeded towards the portals.
'This trial land of the Jade Dragon Empire limits youths to twenty or below in age, and has a Dao Transformation difficult land? Just how strong was the ancient world?' John mused internally. The thought of entering that portal crossed his mind, but he eventually placed it aside, as even his full strength was not enough to contest against Dao Transformation opponents.
After a while of walking, John arrived on the other side of the ancient city. A massive mountain range sprawled to either side as far as the eye could see, guarding the way forward similar to the cliff that had appeared behind the first ancient city.
Before the mountains were twelve massive portals, each swirling with green energy. Above the portals was simple text made of formation lights, signifying the type of trial as well as the difficulty. As the youth had mentioned, there were three trials for each Jade mark type, with the cultivation levels listed as well.
John's gaze shifted towards the Dao Transformation Warrior trial, which attracted his gaze due to a large crowd being gathered before it.
'Strange. No one should be entering that portal. I wonder why such a large crowd is gathered there?'
John walked towards the crowd, while he noticed the shrouded figure still following him from a distance. He ignored the figure as he arrived before the crowd, hushed whispers entering his ears.
"Who would do such a thing?" a youth whispered.
"It's beyond gruesome. It's like an animal did this," another replied.
Shocked and horrified expressions were apparent on many faces, causing John to wonder what was so shocking. The nearby youths noticed his arrival, and the gazes they gave him after noticing his clothing sent an ominous feeling through his body. It was as if they were looking at him with gazes of pity.
John quickly pushed his way through the crowd and arrived at the front. His gaze immediately locked onto a lone youth who was directly before the Dao Transformation portal. The youth was nailed to a large wooden stake by his hands and feet, while his blood-soaked robes were ripped and ruined, exposing the ghastly wounds to his body. Entrails hung out of his stomach, while his face was mangled almost beyond recognition, but through the ghastly wounds John could recognize his longtime friend.
"Adam!"
