Laia also gazed at the reverse dragon scale, her eyes slightly wide with wonder. Reverse dragon scales from true dragons were incredibly rare, and even she had never seen one before in her life despite her esteemed lineage. True dragons were almost non-existent on the Divine Marital Continent after the ancient war, and any corpse and reverse scales would have been plundered long ago.
John's divine sense stretched up to the reverse dragon scale, and paused for a moment as he thought it over for a second.
"You know, you still haven't told me what these scales are for," John said out loud to the temple spirit, "and while the first reverse dragon scale helped me out once, it's not very useful. Are you sure it's worth spending all these Jade Marks on?"
"This realm was designed by the esteemed Emperor himself," the temple spirit replied, his voice normally monotone voice filled with slight displeasure, "each of his actions are perfect and beyond your comprehension. Do not doubt his design again!"
John raised an eyebrow, as he could tell he had managed to piss off a temple spirit, which was a feat in and of itself.
"Fine, fine, I'll play along," John sighed as he linked his divine sense to the translucent orb containing the ancient dragon reverse scale.
"Five thousand points!" John exclaimed as the price came into his mind, shocked by the high number. "This is almost ten times the amount of the previous scale," he grumbled, but received no reply from the temple spirit.
"Fine, fine, I don't have time to waste on petty conversation," he grumbled once more as he linked his divine sense to the scale to obtain it. The moment he did, the ancient and prideful aura from the scale erupted, filling the room with its splendor.
John scoffed as he pulled the scale down towards him and grabbed it unceremoniously.
"Like I said, I don't have time for games," John muttered as his own power flared, fighting against the ancient scale. A battle between the two broke out for a brief moment before both auras faded away. The reverse scale no longer protested his grasp, while Laia sighed at John's monstrous display as if expecting nothing else.
Things such as instantly subduing a true dragon's reverse scale was a tall task even for the most esteemed of geniuses, and yet John had accomplished it in a mere instant. She was considered one of the most talented geniuses on the continent, and yet she couldn't help but admit defeat in regards to talent when compared to John.
"You still have five thousand points…what else are you going to get?" Laia asked curiously as she stood besides him.
John's gaze shifted back up to the items above, and scanned them before locking onto a particular item. His eyes lit up slightly, and his divine sense instantly locked onto the item, which cost five thousand Jade Marks as well.
"This costs as much as the reverse scale!" John exclaimed as he paused his actions.
"This is the weapon the Jade Dragon Emperor himself used all the way up to the Peak of the Dao Transformation Realm. If you ask me, the cost is too low," the temple spirit scoffed at John's ignorance.
"The Jade Dragon Emperor used this battle axe?" John exclaimed, shocked to hear this piece of news. The battle axe had a golden shaft, four feet long with intricate yet subtle carvings of dragons on the shaft, light enough to not affect one's grip, but deep enough to carve an imposing look into the axe. The blade at the top was double sided and three feet wide, with the center on either side containing a carving of a dragon's head, pure gold in color. Each blade on either side was jade green in color which gradually faded into gold as it moved towards the center of the blade, making it look like a battle axe truly fit for an emperor.
After hearing it was the Jade Dragon Emperor's battle axe he had used during his youth, John hesitated no more and locked onto the item. The translucent orb faded away, and a dragon's roar boomed out as the weapon shot down towards John, almost as if to attack him.
"You dare?" John asked with a raised voice of displeasure as he realized the weapon was truly attacking him.
Boom!
The weapon slammed onto John's fist as he punched out towards the weapon, while the powerful collision shook the large room violently. John's eyes widened slightly as he noticed blood coursing down his closed fist, as the battle axe had carved into the top of his fist down to the bone.
'This battle axe alone was able to injure my powerful body without being held by a cultivator or empowered with a battle art. Incredible!'
John was shocked by the sharpness and quality of the weapon, as well as the ferocity of the artifact spirit within. A look of greed appeared on his face as he stretched out his other hand towards the shaft of the battle axe.
"You're mine!"
His power flared, flooding through the battle axe, while a dragon's roar appeared within his mind, attempting to shatter it from within. A furious battle between the two raged on for a short moment, as the proud artifact spirit within the weapon refused to be subdued by anyone other than the Jade Dragon Emperor.
The powerful clash of auras slowly faded away, and just like the battle with the reverse scale, the battle between John and the battle axe artifact spirit came to an end. The battle axe no longer resisted his grasp, a sign that it had been fully subdued.
"The core of this weapon's artifact spirit is the reverse scale of another ancient dragon. Over a hundred have tried to subdue this weapon after it was placed here, but none have ever succeeded," the temple spirit's voice sounded out once more. "Congratulations. You are the first since the Jade Dragon Emperor himself to successfully wield this marvelous weapon!"
