For the next day, John spent his time in the training room, studying the tiny Chaos Lightning crystal in his hand. He had made significant progress already, although was surprised to find how hard it was to comprehend Chaos Lightning. It was ever changing, ever unpredictable, making it incredibly hard to use. Using Chaos Lightning was much like starting a fire. One only needed the ingredients to start the fire, the spark and the tinder, and after it was lit, the flames moved and acted according to its own will.

It was impossible to control the direction, size, and movement of the flames, just as it was nearly impossible to control Chaos Lightning once it had been sparked into existence. Starting it was doable. Controlling it was next to impossible.

‘Even then, just creating Chaos Lightning is harder than any other type of lightning I’ve dealt with,’ John grumbled internally. ‘It’s even harder to comprehend and create than Destruction Lightning, although only by a little bit.’

Bang!

The door to the training room flew open, revealing a figure standing in the doorway.

“You’re still training, huh?” Naelia asked, looking him up and down. She frowned as she noticed the blood, sweat and grime on his body, revealing that he had not been taking it easy.

“The finals are tomorrow, and yet you are pushing yourself to your limits!” Naelia grumbled with a pout.

“Heh, I’m hardly pushing myself to my limits,” John replied with a light chuckle. If Naelia saw how far he could push himself, what would her reaction be? John could picture her shocked expression already.

“Still, you’re far too antisocial! You missed your ceremony!”

“Ceremony?” John asked with a questioning look on his face.

“Yes! The big, humongous ceremony before the grand finals!” Naelia replied. “Everyone went, even Araxus. Everyone except you!”

‘Ah, so that’s where he went,’ John thought. He remembered Araxus saying a few words to him before leaving hours ago, but was far too focused on his Chaos Lightning that he didn’t even hear what Araxus had said.

“You didn’t miss much,” Araxus said as he appeared in the doorway and entered within. John looked Araxus up and down, a questioning look appearing on his face as he saw Araxus wreathed with ornaments and other eye-catching things.

“Don’t lie to him,” Naelia said with a stern tone. “It was amazing. There was an amazing stage where the top one hundred geniuses were showered with praise, rewards, and other things. There were even majestic beasts flying through the sky, while fireworks exploded overhead constantly. It was breathtaking,” Naelia described with a reminiscent expression on her face, then frowned. “Without you there, it was mostly a Ji’Han praising ceremony though. You should have been there to take some of the spotlight off of him.”

John merely chuckled upon hearing this. “I’ll take that spotlight when I win. Nothign else really matters.”

“Haha, I couldn’t have said it better!” Araxus said through boisterous laughter, then gave John a gesture to get up and follow them. “Come on, let’s go,” he said.

“Go? Go where?” John asked.

…

A while later, John found himself out of his room, exploring the countless hallways, stores, entertainment venues and restaurants with Araxus, Naelia and Zuri. Somehow, they had convinced him to take a break from his training to spend some time hanging out as friends before the tournament ended.

John had eventually agreed, and had spent the last few hours hopping from entertainment venues, such as casinos, to restaurants, and everything in between. While he did miss training, John couldn’t help but admit that taking a break now and then was good for the mind. It helped him reset, allowing him to see things from other angles and perspectives when he resumed his training.

As he explored the mind-bogglingly enormous stadium, the most surprising thing was the attention his group got. Wherever he went, people stared with expressions of awe and wonder, to anger and hate. It was quite amusing, especially the times that the adoring fangirls rushed up to Araxus, begging for his signature.

He received no such greetings, but it wasn’t surprising. He had eliminated favorites of each of the Three Dao Sects, and had garnered quite a bit of hate from the fans and members of those sects.

“Ah, let’s go in there!” Naelia pointed as the group was walking past a row of shops, each specializing in different things.

John gave the store a quick look, then looked at Naelia. “You’re kidding, right?”

The store, named ‘Geniuses of Three Dao’s’ was adorned with bright, colorful signs, indicating the goods they sold within. Novels! Comics! Figures!

“Not at all!” Naelia said as she rushed into the store, followed by Araxus and Zuri. John sighed and entered a moment later.

As he stepped into the large store, he was greeted with a vast floorspace covered with a variety of objects. The objects in question ranged from figurines, ranging from small to life-sized, to books, novels, comics, and more. It was unlike anything John had seen before, as there was nothing like this store back on his homeworld.

“Haha! Look what I found!” Naelia said as she rushed back towards the group, holding a small figurine in her hand. John looked at it, then went wide eyed.

“Thats…me,” he said, flabbergasted. “What the hell is a figurine of me doing in this store?”

The figurine was a foot tall, and depicted John with shockingly accurate detail. It was wearing his robes and holding his scythe in a heroic pose, making it look quite impressive. “It’s not just you!” Araxus said while clapping him on the back, then pointed to a nearby shelf. There, John saw shelves and shelves of figures of youths he recognized, such as Chloe, Ishnai, and more. “It’s all of the high-ranked geniuses who participated in this tournament. This is one of the many stores that sells merchandise relating to the tournament participants.”

He inspected the shelves, then looked back at Araxus.

“Why are there no figures of you then? Or Jaxus, or Ji’Han?” he asked, not seeing any of those three.

Araxus gave him a wide, toothy grin. “That’s because everything related to us three is already sold out. Unlike you, I’m quite popular!”.𝒎

This content is taken from 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝑚