Bang!
A loud sound rang out as a flying foot collided with John's face. All the nearby Fenix Clan members turned to the source of the sound, and were not surprised to see what had caused it, as it was a common occurrence whenever the Fenix Clan and Varis Clan met.
"Hahaha…..wait, what?" Miko Varis had been laughing heartily right as his foot hit John's face, but his laughter quickly came to an abrupt halt as he landed on the ground.
He had expected John to go flying from the force of his kick, but John was standing firmly rooted in place. Not only that, but there wasn't even a scratch on John's face. Miko had heard that John was now a middle Mist Creation Realm cultivator, and had used the amount of force he thought necessary to send John flying without really hurting him, but was surprised to see that there had been absolutely no effect.
"What the hell? Why didn't you go flying?" Miko could not understand how John was perfectly fine.
"I should have expected as much." John looked down at Miko in front of him and shook his head in the way a disappointed father would. Although John was not ready for Miko's kick, his powerful body was able to take the blow without so much as a scratch.
'If he attacked me with full force I would stand no chance, but he held back too much there. Time to repay the favor.'
Miko was about to ask John the same question again when John's right foot came flying at him from directly below. Miko's confusion had clouded his awareness, and he only noticed the foot right as he was about to connect with his chin.
Bang!
Miko was sent flying a few feet up into the air and back quite a bit after John's foot collided with his chin.
'I didn't use my full power as Miko doesn't focus on body cultivation, but this bit of power was still enough to give him a nice present.'
John watched with a large smile as Miko crashed into the ground and tumbled over a few times. After a short second of laying on the ground, Miko quickly rebounded up to his feet and dashed back towards John, his hair disheveled and covered with dirt. John raised his guard for Miko's retaliation, but Miko came to an abrupt halt right in front of him, an excited look apparent on his face.
"John, how did you get so strong so fast? My kick didn't even phase you! And why the hell is your body so tough. That kick should have at least hurt you a bit. Why….."
Miko rapidly asked John question after question as he tried to understand the situation. Although he had lost in that exchange, Miko was quite happy nonetheless. He considered John to be his best friend, and had always lamented the fact that John couldn't cultivate. Now, not only could John cultivate, but Miko could tell that John was much stronger than a normal middle Mist Creation cultivator. As such, his excitement and curiosity exploded outwards, resulting in the question barrage towards John.
John rubbed the back of his head as he listened to Miko's unending questions. John eventually got fed up with the tirade and patted Miko vigorously on his head, which successfully shut him up.
"Good to see you too Miko. See, it's not that hard to greet someone normally instead of greeting them with your foot."
"Haha, that's too boring. Besides, you started this tradition way back when. You only have yourself to blame." Miko responded to John while laughing.
John once again rubbed the back of his head as he cursed himself.
'He's not wrong. I really was the one who sneak attacked him first all those years ago. I only have myself to blame.'
After a few seconds of brooding, a large smile broke out on John's face as he stepped forward and clasped hands with Miko.
"Haha, true. Besides, I got the better of you in this exchange anyways."
"That's only because I held back. Next time, you won't be so lucky."
"I don't know. Next time we meet, I might have a cultivation level at or even higher than you." John smiled back as he teased Miko. He knew Miko was super competitive, and so he took any chance he could to take jabs at him.
"As if. You might be awesome, but I'm even more awesome. In fact, you should be calling me Big Brother Miko based on our cultivation levels." A proud look appeared on Miko's face as he stared at John.
John rolled his eyes at Miko's comment and reached out to heavily pat Miko's head. "You wish. You'll always be Little Brother Miko."
Miko brushed John's hand off his head and huffed in feigned anger and stared at John 'angrily'. The two stared at each other for some time before...
"Hahahaha"
Both John and Miko broke out into laughter at each other's antics.
"All right. That's enough goofing off, we're heading towards the martial arenas now."
Barden Fenix suddenly spoke up and let both John and Miko know of the clan's migration towards the tournament arenas. John looked up and noticed that most of the clan had already started walking over, and only him, Miko, and his Father remained behind.
"Let's go." John turned to Miko and said.
Miko nodded his head, at which point the three of them caught up with the Fenix Clan members and walked over to the tournament grounds. When he arrived at the tournament grounds, John raised his eyes slightly in surprise.
There were five large circular arena platforms, each made from solid stone and each over one hundred yards across. Stands surrounded the entire tournament area, which allowed spectators to see what was going on at any of the arenas at one time. John could already see thousands of spectators sitting on the arena stands, waiting for the tournament to start.
"Why are there so many people watching?" John asked his father.
"Well, there's spectators from the Varis Clan, as well as the other powers participating in the pocket realm. Many people come to see the power of the other clans and sects to judge where the strength of their junior generation lies."
John nodded his head at his fathers answer as the group arrived at the tournament grounds. The Flowing River Sect and Ronan Clan were already standing by the tournament grounds, and the two groups were quite intermingled. Much like the Fenix Clan and Varis Clan, the Flowing River Sect and Ronan Clan were close allies.
John, Ryan, and Miko conversed for some time about everything that had happened since they last parted. Miko asked John dozens of questions about his cultivation, journey, and everything else he could think of, and John did his best to answer each one, although there were some details he kept to himself.
The four groups stood around waiting for some time before a commotion was finally heard down the road. In the distance, many powerful beasts could be seen pulling blood red carriages, with the symbol of a blood red sun setting behind a mountain range painted on the side of each carriage.
"Just like they always are. Late." Barden scoffed as he looked at the approaching group with disdain. John narrowed his eyes as he stared at the approaching group.
'So they finally arrived.'
