The battlefield fell into silence save for the battles between the strongest youths as they listened to the discussion between Miko and Asuros. Clearly the two knew each other.
Asuros, or Parker Fenix's amused smile grew on his face as he eyed Miko up and down.
"Not bad. It seems as though you've grown quite a lot in power since we last met," Asuros praised as he noticed Miko's powerful soul and aura. "You must be the Soul-Sage I've been hearing about. I see you didn't bother to change your name from your time on the Yuan Continent."
"And I see you've changed yours completely, Parker" Miko replied coldly, clearly recalling that some of the enemy youths had mentioned that Parker was Asuros, one of the most mysterious youths on the Divine Martial Continent.
"It's Asuros now," he replied dismissively. "Parker is no more."
"Changing your name or identity won't save you now. I'll kill you for what you did to John," Miko barked back coldly.
"What I did to John?" Asuros asked, almost as if John was such an insignificant thing that he had completely forgotten about him. His eyes lit up as he recalled what Miko was talking about. "Ahhh, yes. That almost seems like a lifetime ago," Asuros mused as if he were caught up in memories of a distant past.
His gaze drifted for a bit before lighting up and locking onto Miko once more.
"What I did to John? How do you know I was the one to cause his death?" Asuros asked curiously. When he and the other Bloodfiend Sect youths had forced John off the cliff in the ancient realm, no one had been around to see it. They had left the round free of suspicion, yet Miko was clearly telling him he knew the truth.
"I know it was you, because he was the one who told me the truth of what happened!" Miko replied, his words stunning Asuros for the first time in a long time.
"John is still alive?" Asuros replied, slight shock in his voice.
"Yes, but that doesn't concern you anymore," Miko replied, fully committed to cutting down Asuros here and now.
Asuros's expression of shock gradually shifted to one of pleasant surprise, and then hopeful expectation. His gaze heated up as he stared at Miko in the distance.
、 "That's the best news you could have told me," Asuros said to Miko as a massive saber suddenly appeared in his hand.</ᴀɴᴅ>
The saber was almost as large as his body and appeared too large for him to wield. Its blade was pitch black in color, as if it greedily absorbed all the light around it, while its hilt was grayish, clearly made from the bone of an ancient and powerful creature. The peak Dao Transformation grade saber radiated a bloodthirsty aura, as if it had slain a million lives and absorbed the blood, regret, and agony of those who had been slain.
As the weapon appeared in his hand, Asuros himself seemed to transform into a different person. He was calm and confident before, but a look of pure frenzied bloodthirst appeared on his face now as he gazed at Miko.
"He must be the John Fenix I saw on the Jade Dragon List…which means he's in this realm with us right now. I've always wanted to confirm my suspicions about his body, but lamented the fact that he was dead in a realm I could no longer enter. Since he is alive, then after I'm done with you, I'll find him and kill him myself. If his body is what I think it is…then-"
Asuros's words cut off as his gaze shifted to the side, as if something had caught his attention. He turned sideways while his hand shot forward with shocking speed.
Peng!
A metallic sound rang out as Asuros's hand came to a sudden stop in midair. Confused gazes appeared on the faces of the other youths on the battlefield, as they couldn't tell what was going on. A dagger suddenly appeared in Asuros's hand, which he had caught by the blade.
"You think you can leave after that?" Asuros said out loud as his body flashed forward, appearing like a blur from his speed. His saber slashed out at nothing before him. The slash itself was casual and contained no Qi augmentation at all, but the power behind the slash was beyond overwhelming.
The youths seeing Asuros's casual attack felt as if death had come for them, despite being nowhere near the attack.
Che!
Asuros's saber slashed onto nothing, but a clear sound boomed out as if it had struck something. The expressions of all on the battlefield changed as they saw a figure materialize out of thin air. The figure was covered head to toe in black clothing, and only his eyes were visible to see. Eyes that were wide with shock.
"Your blood is quite decent," Asuros praised with a wide, bloodthirsty grin on his face as Number One materialized before him. Number One's body suddenly parted in half from his right shoulder to his left waist, revealing the attack from Asuros had cleaved him in half without mercy. Blood poured out from his lethal wound, but changed directions as it funneled towards Asuros.
Asuros opened his mouth wide as the blood flowed into it, consuming the stream of blood all while Number One's body became more and more desiccated. Before long the two halves of Number One looked like a mummy, while his life finally faded away. The number one assassin of the Honorable Alliance had been killed in a single blow without being able to fight back, shocking everyone on the battlefield.
Asuros greedily consumed the stream of blood, before his saber suddenly slashed out to the side.
Peng!
A loud, sharp sound rang out and sparks flew as his saber slammed against another weapon. Miko shot backwards from the force of the attack, coming to a halt several hundred yards away.
"It's not polite to interrupt someone's meal," Asuros said to Miko as his mouth widened into a smile once more, revealing his bloodstained teeth. "But it doesn't matter. I'll begin my feast again shortly," he continued as his aura suddenly exploded out for the first time, causing Miko to narrow his eyes with cautioned wariness.
His opponent, Asuros, was in the Half-Step Dao Transformation Realm.
