Ascension of the Immortal Asura

1111 Start of the Grand Finals

As the sun rose on the next day, the entire Human Continent stirred into a frenzy only seen every three years, when the Dao Transformation grand finals commenced. It was the most anticipated event in years, and this year's tournament was special even when compared to the previous Dao Transformation grand finals.

It was the matchup between Ji'Han, the youth touted to be the most talented Nine-Dao World genius in hundreds of thousands of years, and John, the dark horse who came out of nowhere to display talent beyond anyone's wildest comprehensions.

It was a battle between two monstrous geniuses, with the outcome completely up in the air.

Across the entire Human Continent, almost every single person was focused on the Grand Finals. For those not in the arena, live formation screen showings were displayed across the continent to give those not fortunate enough to attend the tournament in person a chance to witness history.

After cleaning up and recovering his strength, John followed Naelia to a large room on the bottom floor of the stadium. The room had a tunnel leading directly into the arena itself, where he was to enter the arena from after being announced.

"Are you nervous?" Naelia asked while fidgeting with an item in her hands.

John looked at her, noticing her nervous demeanor, and smiled lightly.

"It looks like you're more nervous than I am."

"How could I not be?" Naelia replied with a soft voice. "Your opponent is Ji'Han. He's beyond monstrous, and I know you're strong, but..."

"I'll be fine," John said with a firm tone and a confident smile. His demeanor seemed to appease her nerves, as a small smile appeared on her face a moment later.

"What's that you're fidgeting with?" he asked her, noticing that she was playing with some sort of necklace, one that he had not seen on her before.

"Oh, this," Naelia said, holding the item for John to see. The Yang- Sovereign gave it to every Yang-Dao Sect disciple. It holds several formations within, such as a defensive formation, or a spatial formation. It's a gift meant to celebrate this year's successful tournament."

John looked at the object, which was a small metallic formation seal attached to a golden chain. It was quite beautiful, and he couldn't help but nod his head at its craftsmanship. He then glanced at Araxus who stood nearby, and saw him wearing the same necklace.

"Must be nice having such a rich benefactor," John said teasingly, to which Naelia stuck her tongue out at him.

"Being part of one of the strongest sects in the world does have its perks," Araxus chimed in with a smug smile. John scoffed in jest and shook his head, then fell silent as he thought about the pressing matters on his mind.

The Prime Shadow said something was going on with this tournament, yet no more moves have been made against me. I wonder what, if anything, is going to happen,' he thought, then pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

The grand final was his first and only concern as of right now. He would leave the rest to the Prime Shadow.

The room began to tremble slightly a moment later, steadily growing stronger, followed by the sound of the crowd above them growing louder. The crowd continued to grow louder and louder while John could hear someone speak from within the arena, while at the same time he was attended to by some Yang-Dao Sect Elders, ensuring that his formation armband worked, and that he knew what to do once announced.

That announcement came sometime later, to which John looked at his friends, giving each an assuring nod of the head and a confident smile.

"Good luck," Naelia said with a nervous expression and clenched fists, while Zuri merely smiled and Araxus patted John on the back. "Don't beat Ji'Han up too bad," he said. "I still need him alive so I can one day beat him myself."

John couldnt help but laugh upon hearing that, then nodded again. "I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best to keep him in one piece."

Their parting words said, John walked forward towards the tunnel entrance, his expression turning from a calm and relaxed to firm and resolved. Each step he took made the sound of the cheering crowd grow louder. Each step made his heartbeat speed up as his battlelust started to grow.

Entering the tunnel felt like entering the lair of a powerful beast stomping on the ground on the other side. The tunnel shook from the booming crowd, and as he stepped out of the tunnel and into the light of the arena, the ten million spectators came into view, like an endless ocean of people, as did the collective sound of ten million cheers and boos, drowning him in a cacophony of noise.

It was the most electric atmosphere John had ever felt before, and even he couldn't help but feel his heartbeat quicken as he was drawn into that electric atmosphere.

"Entering the Arena, John Fenix!!!"

While he had not heard what the announcer had said leading up to his entrance, the moment he stepped into the arena, he heard his name booming across the stadium, greeted by another, even louder wave of cheers and boos.

John did his best to ignore the crowd and the sounds, and walked towards the center of the arena where the Yang-Dao Sect Elder was standing. He stopped a few feet away and greeted the Elder, then stood in place as the Elder introduced Ji'Han next.

The crowd erupted into an even louder commotion for Ji'Han, with both the cheering and booing louder than what had been done for John. The Sword-Dao Sect members cheered for him with unwavering passion, while the members of the other sects mostly booed, as they were rival sects.

John watched with calm yet simmering battle lust as Ji'Han entered the arena and walked over to him, stopping near the Elder as well. Ji'Han entered the arena with the same haughty, arrogant expression he always wore, and when he locked eyes with John, that expression only grew stronger.

John returned the smug expression with a wide grin, like that of a predator about to devour its prey. Before the two could say any words to each other, the Yang-Sovereign stood from his seat and raised his hand, asking for silence from the crowd.

"As this year's host of the Three Dao Tournament, it is my utmost honor to announce the commencement of the Dao Transformation Grand Finals. While yesterdays events are an unfortunate stain on the legacy of this tournament, we should not let it diminish the prestige of this tournament, or the accomplishments of the geniuses who have made it this far."

The crowd fell silent as they listened to the Yang-Sovereign's speech, while John looked up at the Sovereign as well to listen to his speech. As the Sovereign went on, John looked a bit to the side, and shared a quick, knowing smile with Lilian.

Lilian sat on her throne-like chair with relaxed comfort, and the small smirk on her face revealed that she was looking forward to what was going to happen. John then exchanged a quick glance with the Prime Shadow, who sat to the right of the Yang-Sovereign. The Prime Shadow gave him a quick nod, to which John returned.

He also noticed the Sword-Saint nearby, looking down on him with a flat, arrogant expression. As expected, Azurae, the one who had killed Furi, Suri and Luri, was standing behind the Sword-Saint's chair. John gave her a quick glance then looked away, not wanting to draw attention to himself and the fact that he knew of her.

Lastly, John looked to the other side of the Yang-Sovereign, to the chair on his left. That chair had been used by the Mage Sovereign thus far, but she was not sitting in it at the moment.

'Most likely still dealing with the death of Ishnai,' John thought as he studied the features of the one sitting in the chair.

It was a woman he had never seen before. The woman, appearing to be in her early forties, had a regal aura about her, like a queen who had ruled for millennia. She had an alluring and beautiful face, one that her mature age only accentuated her charm, and one that was no doubt able to topple kingdoms in her earlier years.

She wore a dress that was green at the top, fading into red at the skirt. Lastly, her most unique feature was her hair. She had long green hair which changed to red at the ends, which was something that John had never seen before. It appeared to be natural as well, adding to her unique allure. Lastly, her cultivation was in the Early Holy Manifestation realm, surprising John slightly.

After looking at her, John returned his attention to the Yang-Sovereign as he began to wrap up his speech.

"And thus, it is a great honor, for both me," the Yang-Sovereign said, then gestured to the red and green haired woman sitting next to him, "and my wife, who was unfortunately out on important business before today but thankfully made it back in time to witness this historic event, that I announce the start of the Dao Transformation Grand Finals. Elder Tarish, please proceed."

'Wife, huh? Well, I suppose the Yang-Sovereign's partner should be strong as well,' John thought.

The Elder in the arena, Elder Tarish, nodded his head, then turned to the two fighters. Both nodded their heads that they were, with both Ji'Han and John withdrawing their weapon before the fight even started.

"Then, it is my honor to announce that the Grand Finals, between Ji'Han of the Sword-Dao Sect, and John Fenix, begins!"