"Hmph, still so arrogant. Let's see how long that arrogance lasts when faced with our overwhelming sword domain!" one of the cultivators mocked back.
They had felt overwhelming pressure before when John had slain their comrade, but now that he was firmly within their combined domain, their confidence immediately returned to them.
Without hesitation, the four instantly activated their domains, as the nearly ten thousand swords started to encircle John with incredible speed, encircling him in all directions. The swords traveled so fast that they nearly seemed to form a solid wall, as if he had been trapped within a solid blue sphere.
A smirk of satisfaction appeared on Vivian's face as she saw John be trapped within, as her fear and shock finally faded away.
"The idiot. He could have ran after that surprise attack, but now that he's trapped, there's no escape. His strength might be amazing, but it was clearly only even to the four of them. He's outnumbered four to one! He's finished!" Vivian sneered.
Che!
Che!
Che!
Che!
Che!
Instantly, and without warning, hundreds of swords raced out from the sword sphere, piercing directly towards John with lethal intent. The swords all contained incredible sharpness and speed, as if each were a real sword slash from a Dao Transformation cultivator.
"Impressive!" John roared as he felt danger for the first time in the battle. He would need to fight against the hundreds of swords piercing towards him each second and get through the sword sphere before he was able to reach any one of the men he was fighting. This was no doubt an incredibly difficult thing to do, and John couldn't help but be impressed with what he was going against. If he wasn't careful, it wasn't impossible for him to lose his life in this battle.
However, this was the perfect time to practice his new battle art, which he had only just begun to study.
Ceaseless Scythe Storm!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Sharp sounds rang out in quick succession as John's scythe moved like a blur in his hand, twirling so fast that it appeared to be a solid shield. His scythe moved from left hand to right hand, passed behind his back, over his head, and towards his feet.
The Ceaseless Scythe Storm was a defensive scythe art, which utilized the sharp and swift nature of the scythe to quickly move it around in a circular fashion, fast enough that it formed a scythe wall before him. It sounded simple, but was actually quite complicated and demanding.
Thousands of pulses of Qi surged through John's arms each second, moving them with pinpoint precision at speeds that he would not be able to move with his own muscles. Each pulse of Qi blasted out of a particular meridian on his arms and hands, moving them just a bit more in the direction he wanted. It was as if he had thousands of thrusters on his arms, pushing them to reach speeds he was incapable of reaching through his own physical power.
These micro-adjustments of Qi needed to happen in accordance to what direction the next attack was coming from, and so unlike many battle arts that were fixed in how they were activated and used, it was not a set-in-stone step by step utilization of Qi, and was more reactionary. Due to its unique and complex nature, John had not yet grasped the battle art fully.
Blood splattered around John as swords pierced through his defense, slicing against his body and drawing blood. With his inability to block all of the swords, John focused on blocking the ones pointing for his vitals, and allowed the non-lethal attacks to pass through, slashing against his arms and legs.
Smirks of satisfaction appeared on the faces of the four cultivators as they saw their attacks draw blood, and they continued to press the advantage.
Che!
Che!
Che!
Thousands of swords pierced down from all directions each second towards John, each sword capable of taking the life of an Early Dao Transformation cultivator with ease. The swords slammed against the scythe wall surrounding John, which continued to speed up and grow in visible density. His body was slowly starting to disappear behind the scythe wall, as if he were truly being encased in a solid dome of scythes.
It became clear to the cultivators that as the battle drew on, John's proficiency with the defensive art he was employing was growing, and at a terrifying speed as well. His progress was heaven defying, which caused the smirks of satisfaction on the four men's faces to fade away and be replaced with frowns.
"What a fucking monster. We need to kill him before he masters that ability, or we'll never be able to break through!" one of the four men yelled out loud.
"Hmph, let him learn it. While he might be monstrous, he's still only in the Heaven Tribulation Realm. His power might be equal to ours, but his Qi reserves will naturally be less than ours due to him yet to transform his Dao's and dantian. He'll no doubt run out of Qi before us, at which point he is finished!" one of the other men replied, to which the other three nodded and continued their combined assault on John.
Boom!
The sky started to rumble with ruinous power as the collisions between swords and scythe grew in intensity, both of which seemed to have no end. John's scythe continued to grow faster and faster as he began to grasp the nuances of the Ceasless Scythe Storm, making his defense even more formiddable.
"I had doubts about this battle art when I obtained it, but I no longer have those doubts! This battle art is incredible for fighting against multiple enemies at once!" John mumbled to himself with satisfaction. "Being able to rely on this to defend against multiple attacks instead of my body keeps my fighting condition in much better shape, allowing me to fight with more power for a longer period of time. Its exactly what I need for situations like this."
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The battle continued for quite some time, with both sides reaching a stalemate. The calm and collected expressions on the four cultivators slowly turned sour as John continued to persist, far longer than they had thought was possible.
"How the hell can a Heaven Tribulation cultivator have this much Qi? Even if he had a ten times compressed dantian, he would have run out of Qi long ago!" one of them roared.
"Who knows! Just keep the domain intact. We cannot let up for a single moment!" the leader of the four roared, keeping his squad focused on the task at hand.
While the four were shocked at John's lasting Qi reserves, John's face was starting to turn a shade more pale, while his soul power was starting to waver as well. At the same time, over a million swords had slammed into his scythe wall, each containing incredible power. The vibrations of the collision shook his body non-stop, making it so that even he was starting to accumulate damage to the point that he could not ignore.
'This battle art might be incredible, but it's also incredibly taking. It takes incredible concentration to control so many micro-movements of Qi, which is making me feel as though my soul power and essence Qi are reaching their end. I suppose I've learned enough about this battle art for now, so it's time to end this battle…Kirii. Do your thing!'
'Finally!' Kirii's voice sounded out in John's head, while a powerful aura suddenly appeared in the sky above John and the four cultivators.
"What?" The four men cried out in unison as they stared upwards, and spotted a lone creature hovering in the sky above them, brimming with an incredibly potent amount of lightning Qi. It was as if a heavenly tribulation had appeared above them, ready to smite them down together. The lightning instantly slammed downwards, like the heavens had opened up and unleashed heavenly judgment.
Boom!
