Fighting The Leader

John quickly dashed to the side, narrowly dodging the man's attacks.

Boom!

The ground was upheaved and a small crater was formed at the site of impact.

'Powerful!' thought John. 'He's much more powerful than his subordinates. Not only is his cultivation in the middle Mist Creation realm, it appears that he knows a pretty powerful sword art.'

Although John was faced with a more powerful foe, he wasn't scared. In fact, he felt his body grow hotter, as if heating up in excitement for the fight to come.

'I still don't know why these fights are making me so excited, but that doesn't matter right now.'

John slashed out as his sword collided with his opponent's sword. Sparks flew everywhere as both combatants were pushed backwards.

"You really do have some skill, but if that movement technique of yours is all you can do, then I'm afraid this is where your journey ends" shouted the scar faced man as he dashed towards John.

Five Steps Movement Technique: First Step!

John instantly dashed to the side of his enemy, his sword soon following.

Boom!

John and his opponent were once again knocked back.

"Like I said, if that movement technique of yours is all you can do, then this is where you die…Warrior Cleaving Art" shouted the scar faced man.

His sword glowed before a beam of sword light pierced towards john.

Peng!

John hastily blocked the sword light, but had to take a few steps backwards to stabilize himself.

"Again!" shouted the man as he sent another beam of sword light towards John.

John once again blocked the attack, but the superimposing power of the attacks sent him flying backwards. After tumbling for a bit, John hastily stood up and looked at his foe. He felt his blood tumbling inside him from the force of that attack. His arms shook slightly.

'He's much more powerful than I thought. As expected of a middle Mist Creation realm expert.'

Although his enemy was a powerful middle Mist Creation realm expert, John was not scared. He himself was middle Mist Creation in body cultivation. Not only that, his powerful movement and sword arts granted him even more assurance.

John once again utilized the first step of the Five Step Movement Technique, quickly appearing in front of his opponent.

"I told you, I've already seen through this move" shouted the scar faced man before his eyes widened quickly in shock.

Mountain Crushing Sword!

"Gah!"

The scar faced man screamed out in pain as he was sent flying by the attack. He had not expected John to attack with such a powerful move. As a result, his hasty defense caused him to suffer a loss in that exchange.

After tumbling over a few times, the scar faced man quickly hopped onto his feet and looked up.

Boom!

Another loud sound echoed out as swords collided. John had hoped to take advantage of the situation and land a final blow, but his opponent had recovered faster than he expected. Having successfully parried the attack, the scar faced man slashed out with his sword.

"Warrior Cleaving Art!"

He once more struck out with his most powerful attack. John hastily raised his sword and blocked the attack with all his power. The force of the attack launched John backwards dozens of yards, at which point he eventually came to a stop. John and the scar faced man stared at each other.

"You're a lot stronger than you look. How are you so strong for an early Mist Creation cultivator?" asked the scar faced man.

John ignored the question, but responded "You're not so bad yourself. However, I think it's time to end this battle, don't you think?"

The scar faced man was shocked at John's response before he broke out into laughter.

"You're exactly right. I had been holding back slightly in this battle, but it seems that I can do so no longer. You're the first to see this move in quite some time. Prepare yourself!" the scar faced man shouted as he rapidly dashed towards John.

"Idiot" muttered John as he prepared himself. Just as the man was about to reach him, John utilized the first step of the Five Step Movement Technique and dashed to the side.

"You're the idiot! I already told you I saw through this technique of yours! Divine Warrior Art!" The man roared as his sword came crashing down towards John, its power several times stronger than the Warrior Cleaving Art executed earlier.

Boom!

The ground was violently upheaved as the man struck outwards.

"What?!" the scar faced man cried out. He had been sure of his attack landing on John. His timing had been perfect, and he struck out right as John ended his movement technique. John had used his first step a few times already, and the man had noticed that whenever his step ended, he was stationary for a split second. He thought that John would once more come to a stop right in front of him. But when he struck out, nothing but earth was in front of him.

Mountain Crushing Sword

John cried out as a sword crashed down on the back of the scar faced man.

"Puh!"

The man spewed out blood as his body was violently sent into the distance. He traveled dozens of yards before crashing into the ground, his remaining momentum causing him to tumble over and over.

John was breathing heavily as he stared at the man on the ground. The second step of the Five Step Movement technique, coupled with the several Mountain Crushing Swords had drained over half of his Qi. He breathed in deeply before slowly walking over to the man, his sword tip dragging in the dirt behind him. He arrived in front of the man a bit later.

He stared at the man for a few seconds. "Like I said, you're an idiot. Who lets their opponent know that they have a more powerful attack coming?" asked John as he stared at the half-dead man. Blood gargled out of the man's mouth as he tried to speak, but he was unable to form any words.

John closed his eyes for a moment before opening them once more. His greatsword plunged into the heart of the man, finishing the deed once and for all. Life started to fade from the man as shock was evident on his face.

John took out his sword and wiped the blood off the blade.

"Thanks for letting me know that your ultimate attack was coming. It was really easy to know when to use the second step of my movement technique" replied John. His enemy had clearly enjoyed a life of bullying the weak. Only such a person would have such little battle experience and telegraph their attacks.

The man finally realized the error of his ways, but it was too late to change his fate. Regret was all he felt as he lapsed into darkness, forever erased from this world.

John stared at the corpse for some time before putting away his sword. He analyzed all the bodies, and realized only the leader had a storage ring on his person. He sent his mind into the ring but was quite disappointed by the minimal contents within.

John collected the ring before heading back towards the villagers. The villagers were trembling in fear from the sight of the battle. He was about to speak when the trembling man from before spoke up as best he could.

"Whhat hhav youuu donn!?"

"Excuse me?" replied John.

As far as he could tell, he had saved the village from a group of vicious men. He had even saved the young girl that was being taken. Although he didn't expect praise, he certainly wasn't expecting condemnation, especially not when defending himself.

Another villager spoke up. "Who will protect us from the beasts now? How are we supposed to survive?"

Soon after, the mob of villages all started throwing insults at John. He was shocked at their response. Although it wasn't his original intention, he had freed them from the clutches of the vile men. Although their safety was at risk, was it not better than living under the boot of a vicious ruler?

John stared coldly at the villagers as they continued to curse him. He shouted out, unable to withstand their insults any longer. "If you wanted to live in a place filled with powerful beasts, you should have the strength to do so. Only an idiot would live in a place that they couldn't survive in. Don't curse me for your shortcomings."

John was seriously pissed. He hadn't expected to be treated as a savior, but he definitely wasn't expecting to be treated as an enemy. He thought about cursing back before deciding against it.

"These hypocrites aren't even worth my time. I should get going."

John turned around and started walking down the main road leading to the village gate. He suddenly paused before turning back. The villagers, thinking he was going to lash out at them, started fleeing in every direction.

John ignored the villagers as he walked up to the corpses. He stared at one of the corpses for a while before cutting open a small cut between their brow. Following the principle of the Immortal Asura Body art, he guided the Blood Essence towards his sphere dantian.

Shock washed across his face at the result of his experiment.