Ascension of the Immortal Asura

John glanced from Daoist Eternal Weapon to his right hand, which had exploded with that unexpected level of power. He stared at his hand for a moment before looking back at the man before him.

"John Fenix," John mumbled, still in a daze after coming out of a week-long meditative trance, and in such an explosive way as well.

"John Fenix? What power are you from?" Daoist Eternal Weapon asked with an even tone, making it hard to gauge his thoughts. His voice was deep and imposing, adding to his fearsome persona.

"The Heavenly Lightning Sect...and Honorable Alliance," John answered, still slightly dazed as his mind tried to catch up with everything that had happened. After another short silence, his mind lit up with a burning question.

"Wait...did you just say fusion of Dao's?" John asked, almost as if he had misheard. He had never heard of such a thing before, and even though Daoist Eternal Weapon said he had comprehended a fusion of Daos, he was still unsure of what was going on.

It was as if the truth that had been perceived during this trance had been hidden behind the fog once more. However, that fog was much thinner than before, as if breaking through again would be much easier the second time.

Instead of answering John's question, Daoist Eternal Weapon stared at him in silence, closely inspecting him from head to toe. Daoist Eternal Weapon had a hulking figure, and stood a full head taller than John. His body was built like a mountain, making him much wider and more muscular as well.

It was as if a man had been carved out of a massive boulder, giving him a fiercely imposing figure and aura. After inspecting John in silence, Daoist Eternal Weapon reached out and placed his massive hand on John's upper arm, giving it a squeeze. He did so on his forearm, and shoulder as well before removing his hand from the confused John.

"What a formidable body you have there, boy. How would you like to become my apprentice?" Daoist Eternal Weapon asked, his voice steady yet serious.

John was not expecting to hear such an offer, but could only decline, as his journey was not to become a weaponsmith.

"I'll have to decline the generous offer," John replied respectfully. He had become appreciative towards Daoist Eternal Weapon, as he had shown John an entirely new pathway to becoming stronger. While he had not done so intentionally, that did not matter much to John.

"A pity," Daoist Eternal Weapon replied before he turned around and walked back to his forging table. He picked up his hammer once more, and began his hammering process anew, filling the large building with the metallic clangs once more.

John was taken aback by the sudden shift in Daoist Eternal Weapon's attitude, from curiosity, to complete ignoring of him. He walked over to Daoist Eternal Weapon, and studied his hammering process closely for a short while.

Being this close to the hammering made his body ache with the power blasting against him, but he braced himself as he studied the hammer strikes closely. After studying it for a while, he felt as though he was not improving at all, and so he decided to ask Daoist Eternal Weapon again.

"You said fusion of Daos? Is that what you're doing right now...and is that what I did a short while ago?" John asked, as his understanding of the situation was still a bit vague. While he was sure he had somehow combined two Daos...and the lingering aura in the air revealed the Dao's he had used; the Dao of Power and the Dao of Destruction.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Doaist Eternal Weapon ignored John and instead continued his work, which caused John to frown slightly. Doaist Eternal Weapon was like a forging maniac, caring of absolutely nothing else.

"I can sense the Dao of Power, but I can't really tell what the other Dao you're using is, or even feel it at all," John said to Daoist Eternal Weapon. He even started to second guess himself regarding the fusion aspect, as he could no longer detect Daoist Eternal Weapon using a second Dao.

He had managed to do so when he was in the meditative trance due to his heightened senses in that state, but could no longer detect the second Dao in his current state.

"What do you want, boy?" Daoist Eternal Weapon eventually spoke up with slight agitation, as if John's presence was ruining his forging process.

Clink!

A soft metallic sound rang out as John placed the metallic seal he had purchased on the forging table, which caught the attention of Daoist Eternal Weapon. He paused his hammer strike midway through, and placed his hammer on the forging table.

"I had forgotten about this," Daoist Eternal Weapon grumbled, almost as if he had become annoyed by himself for offering the seal for purchase in the first place. After glancing at the seal for a moment, Daoist Eternal Weapon picked up his hammer once more and resumed his work.

"The one who purchased this seal should have the decency to show up in person to request their weapon's creation," Daoist Eternal Weapon replied dismissively. "Go back to whoever sent you and tell them to come in person, or don't come at all. It makes no difference to me either way."

John raised a single eyebrow at Daoist Eternal Weapons words and attitude, which was quite eccentric. However, he could relate to him, as much like he himself was a cultivation and battle maniac, he could tell Daoist Eternal Weapon had the same fervent passion for weapon smithing.

"About that....I purchased this seal myself," John replied, his words causing Daoist Eternal Weapon to pause his hammer strikes once again. He gazed at John with a questioning gaze, as if trying to see right through him and discern the truth of the matter.

After a second, he seemed to have realized that John was telling the truth, but ignored him again as he resumed hammering the metal chunk on the table before him.

"I have no interest in creating a Heaven Tribulation grade weapon. It's best if you sell that seal to a World Expansion expert and find yourself someone else to craft your weapon," Daoist Eternal Weapon said to John.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

"I don't want a Heaven Tribulation grade weapon," John said back. "I want a World Expansion grade weapon, and I was told you were the best weaponsmith for one, or was that a lie?" John asked.

Daoist Eternal Weapon glanced sideways at John for a moment as if stirred by his words, but ignored him once more as he continued hammering.

"Even if you want such a weapon, you would not be able to wield it, and even if you eventually reach the World Expansion realm, that won't be for many years. That would only be a waste of my talents, and a waste of the weapon," Daoist Eternal Weapon replied, his tone still dismissive of John.

John frowned at Daoist Eternal Weapons dismissive attitude, as he had not been expecting it to be so troublesome to get his weapon crafted. After a moment of silence, he felt as though there was only one way to talk to someone like Daoist Eternal Weapon, who was quite similar to himself when it came to his obsessive personality, and that was through action alone.

Dragon-God Shift!

Roar!

A draconic roar boomed thunderously within the building, shaking the walls and even the entire chamber with its might. At the same time, a powerful aura exploded from within the building, as if a dragon itself had just appeared within.

Daoist Eternal Weapon stopped his hammering and looked at John, obvious surprise on his face. That look lasted for just a moment before being replaced by an almost approving look.

"Impressive," he said while nodding his head. "First the fusion of Daos, and now this. You truly are a monstrous freak," he praised as he stepped away from the table and stepped towards John. He stood before him and lifted his arm outwards, placing the hammer just before John.

"If you can swing this hammer, I will craft your weapon for you, provided you have materials of a quality that interests me," Daoist Eternal Weapon said with a deep yet calm voice.

John's draconic gaze turned heated as a confident smile appeared on his face.

"Challenge accepted! But when I win, you better craft the best weapon you've ever crafted, no exceptions!" John replied with heated passion as he pushed his Dragon-God Shift to the limit, and reached out towards the hammer before him.