Ascension of the Immortal Asura

While John was able to resist the effects of the explosion and surge through it towards the man, the man was not able to, and after defending against the attack, was unable to react to John's incredible speed and power.

Puh!

The man coughed out a thick stream of blood as he reached out and grabbed onto John's outstretched arm to remove it, his actions completely instinctual. He quickly realized he was done for, and instead dropped his hands to his side as he stared at John with a conflicted expression.

"You truly….are…an Asura…" the man said heavily while coughing out blood constantly.

John's cold and unflinching gaze stared at the man in silence, letting him say his final words before his inevitable demise. The mans pained and dazed expression eventually turned into a small smile, something that surprised John slightly, and he tilted his head sideways in questioning confusion.

"I…had found your….words to be…amusing….but it seems…you truly have the power…to destroy the….Starforge Clan…in the near future…." the man coughed out, reaching the end of his life.

"Good…the Starforge Clan I loved….became something else…something evil…when Clan Leader Kaidel took over…but I did not have the power…to do anything…about it…" the man continued, his breaths becoming ragged and sparse.

John's gaze narrowed slightly as he heard these words, as it seemed the new clan leader of the Starforge Clan, Kadins father, was up to no good, enough to make a man like this disgusted.

"Does the name Adam Starforge mean anything to you?" John asked the man curiously. Adam's true name was Adam Starforge, although he had cast that name out long ago.

"The exiled…young…master!" the man exclaimed as his eyes widened, not expecting to hear that name brought up. John could see respect and sad hopefulness in the man's eyes as he heard the name, and could tell his opinion of Adam.

"Rest easy. When I destroy the Starforge Clan, it will be to build it anew, with my friend, your exiled young master Adam, as the new ruler of the clan," John said to the man, hoping to give him some comfort in his final moments.

The man's eyes trembled as he heard this, as if he had heard a fairy tale come to life. A small smile returned to the corner of his mouth as he stared at John, and placed a weak hand onto his shoulder.

"Good…then I can die…in peace…knowing that my…Starforge Clan…is in good hands! The old rule…can truly be…restored…" the man said, his breaths light and fading.

John felt conflicting emotions as he heard this man's reply, and sighed deeply before asking one more question. He pointed his left thumb over his shoulder, towards the three men battling Kirii currently.

"And what about them? Do they feel the same as you?" John asked, as he wanted to avoid killing potential allies if possible.

The man's weak gaze shifted to the distant battle, and his tired eyes narrowed slightly as he shook his head, while a sinister smile appeared on his face.

"They…fully support…the new clan leader…and his evil ways…," the man's hoarse voice sounded out, although it contained cold malice. "Kill them…kill all who support that vicious man…kill….them…all…." the man's voice trailed off, and his head drooped down as his life finally faded away.

Sigh!

Another deep sigh escaped John's lips as he gazed at the now lifeless man, who had once been his enemy, but could have been his ally, and even friend. However, such was the way of the cultivation world, with death coming quickly, and often coming to those who did not deserve it.

He reached out and brushed the man's eyelids, closing them in respect, and then stored the man's body away. Such a man was worthy of a proper burial, and John would be sure to make that happen within the Starforge Clan grounds when the time came.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

While John dealt with his conflicted emotions, the battle in the distant continued, as Kirii battled alone against three Late Dao Transformation cultivators. The man John had killed had been the strongest of the group, and so their total combat prowess had fallen considerably. However, it was still an absolutely heaven defying feat from Kirii, who once again proved the unparalleled talent and power of the Kirin race.

After wrestling with his emotions and containing them, John's gaze turned cold again as he gazed downwards, and pointed his finger outwards. A powerful beam of lightning Qi blasted outwards towards the ground, at which point he ignored that direction and sped back towards Kirii, his sinister yet regal aura surging out with incomparable might once more.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Calamitous explosions blanketed the sky for a short while as the battle raged on, before it finally faded away. John's chest heaved heavily as he panted for breaths, drawing in Qi from the surrounding area to replenish his lost reserves. Despite the fact that he and Kirii had won, the battle had been arduous, with all three men fighting defiantly until their last breaths.

Blood slicked both John's and Kirii's body, but they ignored it as the wounds were not life threatening. After drawing in many deep breaths and recovering slightly, John felt a wave of fatigue and pain wash through him as he undid his transformations and limiters, and returned to normal. He fought against the urge to pass out, and instead patted Kirri on the head.

"Good Job Kirii!"

"Aye! I was amazing? Wasn't I?" Kirii replied, his voice still somewhat high pitched and child-like.

"Yes you were. Thanks to you breaking through to the Dao Transformation Realm while I was with Daoist Eternal Weapon, your combat prowess has risen considerably," John praised Kirii again. While John had been occupied with his weapon smithing, he had given Kirii the Nine-Convergence Lightning Core to study. Thanks to Kirii's incredible lightning aptitude, he was able to grasp many of the concepts contained within the core, and elevate his cultivation to the next realm, once again greatly surpassing John's cultivation speed.

"Hehehe, I'm just amazing after all. The most talented and amazing Kirin to ever exist," Kirii praised himself.

"Yes you are," John indulged Kirii and praised him once more, before his gaze hardened and he shifted it towards the ground below. He quickly flashed forward, with Kirii following close behind, and landed on the ground before Vivian, who was crying out in pain from the beam of lightning John had unleashed a while ago, which had completely severed her left leg, leaving her crippled and in excruciating pain.

While a normal cultivator would have been able to ignore the pain and flee, the pampered young misses of the Starforge Clan was not used to pain, and was not able to fight against it.

"You!!!" Vivian cried out in fear as she spotted John, and tried to flee but to no avail.

"Pathetic," John mocked as he placed a foot on her chest, pinning her to the ground.

"You…you're finished…you-" Vivian began her typical tirade of threats, but John was not in the mood, and instead pointed towards her chest.

Boom!

A lightning beam blasted out of his finger, slamming against Vivian's chest. Her eyes went wide in panic, but not pain, causing John to frown as he noticed there was a powerful formation protecting her vital areas.

As the beam landed, a powerful aura suddenly surged out from Vivian, and a wispy figure quickly materialized in the air before John, the same size as him. It was clearly a formation hologram, similar to the ones used in the auction house of Five-River Freeport, and  was a human male who appeared to be in forties. He had long black hair tied into a neat bun, a thin yet elegant mustache, and wore the signature robes of the Starforge Clan, only more intricate and ornate than John had seen on any other member before.

The man's gaze shifted from John, to the ground, where his eyes widened, and then turned into furious rage as he stared back at John.

"Who dares to attack my daughter! A young master of the Starforge Clan!" the man bellowed out in furious rage.

John raised an eyebrow as this happened, as he could tell that the man was able to see what was going on, despite him most likely being hundreds of thousands of miles away, or even further. He inspected the hologram of the man for a moment, and could tell that the man was a powerful cultivator, even without being able to feel his aura.

"Release your foot, or you will face my wrath!" the man boomed once more, almost unable to contain his rage.

John smirked and sneered once, unimpressed by the man's threats.

"And who the fuck are you?"