Mysterious Man

John didn't move, as he found himself unable to. It wasn't a physical resistance, but a mental one. He knew that his life was not in his own hands at the moment, and no matter what he did, he lived and died by the whims of this mysterious man.

The Bloodfiend Elder, who had been in the Middle Meridian Forging Realm, had been disintegrated by what appeared to be a look from the man. John had never seen or heard of such a power, and was mostly sure that even the Vice-Sect Leader and Sect Leader could not kill someone with a single look in the same manner that this man just did.

??

With his own strength the same as the Elder's, John realized the futility of fleeing.

The mysterious man, whose hood he wore still hid his face in darkness, stared at John intently for quite some time. The man suddenly looked to the sky for a moment, as if staring at something, before looking back to John.

After what felt like an eternity to John, the man finally spoke out to him for the first time.

"So you're the one?" the man's deep voice boomed out. Although the voice was not backed by any cultivation or power, John felt an incredible might come from it. It was as if the voice commanded the greatest of respect, like an emperor talking to his subjects.

John's face turned from one of fear into one of slight confusion, as he mustered up the will to reply.

"I'm the one? I have no idea what you're talking about," John replied.

The man continued to look at John for a moment, and John was sure he saw a small head nod, as if he approved of something he saw. However, he couldn't truly tell what the man was thinking, as he could not see his face.

His figure suddenly vanished from sight, as if it had never existed. His fleeting words echoed in John's ears.

"Do not disappoint me."

John stood there, dumbfounded at what had just happened. One moment he had been battling the Bloodfiend Elder with his life on the line, and the next moment he watched the man be erased from the world by the mysterious man.

Then, the man seemed to somehow know John, and even expected something from him. John had no idea what had just happened, and could not make sense of anything.

He stood there in silence for some time before he came back to his senses. His gaze locked back up to the sky in the distance, as he saw the fight between Elder Rein and the Bloodfiend Elder continue.

"I'm burning precious blood essence reserves right now using my Immortal Asura Transformation. I need to help finish this battle quickly, and just put whatever happened behind me for the moment."

John shot back up to the sky, his battle intent climbing once more. He arrived at the battle between the two Elder's, his arrival shocking both of them.

They could tell that John was alone, and that his battle with the other Elder was over. Otherwise, the other Elder would have returned alongside John. The Bloodfiend Elder's vision turned grave, while Elder Rein's brightened.

"John, help me finish this fight," Elder Rein instructed.

Although John was not strong enough to defeat the Late Meridian Forging Elder, his attacks were strong enough to force the Elder to mount a defense. These small interferences would be all that was needed for Elder Rein to land the finishing blow.

John nodded his head and sped towards the Bloodfiend Elder, who now had thoughts of fleeing. However, Elder Rein knew this was a possibility, and focused on his effort on locking down the Bloodfiend Elder,

At the same time, spatial talismans were no longer useful. At the Meridian Forging Realm, once could use their overwhelming Qi might to interfere with the spatial fluctuations of the talismans, rendering them useless. As such, the Elder would have to fight his way out of here.

John arrived near the Bloodfiend Elder, who was still under assault from Elder Rein. He held his axe above his head for a brief moment, before unleashing a peak power Sky Sundering Axe towards the Elder.

The Elder's flicked his arm out to the side, and sent out a quick Qi beam towards John's attack. At the same time, his other arm slashed out with his sword, parrying the attack of Elder Rein.

The Bloodfiend Elder, having to focus on two attacks, was knocked backwards quite a distance, but was relatively unharmed. Elder Rein quickly saw through the Bloodfiend Elder's intents.

"John,' hes trying to use the backwards momentum to escape. Attack him with your absolute strongest attack!"

Elder Rein could tell that the Bloodfiend Elder was trying to flee by blocking attacks and being knocked backwards away from the battle. As such, he wanted to end the battle in a single blow.

He didn't know how strong John's strongest attack was, but if it was strong enough that the Elder had to seriously focus on it, Elder Rein was confident he could finish the fight in a single blow.

John stopped as he heard Elder Rein's words. He undid his Immortal Asura Transformation Art, as it only boosted his body power and was draining his precious blood essence reserves quite quickly.

"My strongest attack huh?"

John looked towards the Bloodfiend Elder several hundred yards away, and pointed a finger at him. The Elder scoffed as he saw this, as he had seen John unleash his Lightning Ruins before. Such an attack would not be strong enough to affect him.

Elder Rein frowned as well, but said nothing as he continued his assault on the Bloodfiend Elder.

Lightning began to dance and crackle over John's outstretched hand, confirming that he was using his Lightning Ruin.

The Bloodfiend Elder prepared to negate the attack, but was surprised when it didn't come right away. He looked to the side towards John, and his eyes began to open wide.

The lightning dancing over John's hand and arm began to grow to incredible levels, as John continued to channel his lightning ruin.

"He's a War Mage as well?" the Bloodfiend Elder couldn't help but curse as he slashed his sword out towards Elder Rein, sending a powerful crimson sword image towards him. He needed to stop John before he unleashed the attack.

Elder Rein scoffed, as he would not allow such a thing. He appeared before the Elder once more, and slashed out with his own weapon.

Peng!

Peng!

Peng!

Dozens of moves were exchanged, as the Elder desperately tried to fight his way over to John. However, Elder Rein held steadfast, preventing such a thing.

John felt the lightning Qi within his body surge to incredible levels, and his face began to turn red from the internal pressure of the Qi. However, he kept building the Qi within his body and dantian, pushing his attack to his absolute limits.

His meridians began to strain and stretch, nearing their breaking points, as his body felt like it was about to explode. After a full minute of channeling the attack, John finally reached his limit, as any more would destroy his body from within.

His finger pointed towards the Bloodfiend Elder, who now had a look of horror on his face.

Bang!