“How…how so?” the Lotus asked, its anger gone, replaced by curiosity instead. Its emotions seemed to change at a moment’s notice, truly like that of a child. Despite being hundreds of thousands of years old, the soul of the Yang-Lotus was truly childlike.

“It’s why I started cultivating in the first place, and it’s also the reason that I seek strength,” John replied truthfully. “I wish to become the most powerful cultivator in existence, so that the only one who can control my fate is me alone. In this regard, you and I are exactly alike.”

“So you do understand,” the Lotus soul said, almost happy that someone finally understood it for the first time.

“I do,” John nodded, struggling to maintain his calm composure when his body was being cooked alive, while also falling internally from the damage of his dual transformations and previous battle. “And not only do I understand, I can also help you reach your goal.”

“What? How?” the Lotus asked, its eager tone displaying its emotions on its proverbial sleeve.

“Allow me to draw you into my spatial realm,” John said truthfully, not trying to trick the Lotus at all. If he lied and it detected he was lying, the consequences could be fatal. “I have a way to store you without harming anyone. Join me in my mission to climb to the top of the martial universe, and I promise you I will help you achieve your mission of becoming the ultimate source of Yang.” 𝘪𝘳.𝒸𝑜𝑚

“Liar!” the soul trembled with fury. “You’re lying. You’re trying to trick me, and enslave me as the Yang-Sovereign did.”

John shook his head. “The Yang-Sovereign tried to absorb you, and by doing so, would have snuffed out your self-will, making you a true slave in every sense of the word. What I’m offering is an agreement. Not only do I swear on the Heaven’s that I will not enslave you, I also swear that I will let you go when you desire to be set free. And while you’re under my care, I will do what I can to empower you to reach your goal, you have my word.”

Silence filled the infernal realm for a while, each second more agonizing than the last, his body getting closer by the second to true failure. If that happened before he tamed the Lotus, then all was doomed. John eagerly awaited a reply, which came after what felt like an eternity.

“How…how do I know you can do what you promise?” the soul asked. “You are not nearly powerful enough to do so.”

“Did you not see me kill the Yang-Sovereign?” John replied, gesturing to the arena far below. “I’m a Late Dao Transformation cultivator, and I just killed someone who had the power of an Early Holy Manifestation cultivator. Even you must know the impossibility of such a thing happening. While I don’t have the power now, you won’t meet someone with a greater chance of fulfilling your dream.”

The lotus fell silent once more, no concept of the hastiness and seriousness of the situation for John and the others.

“I can promise you this. This is the best deal you are ever going to get, and when it comes to rising to the top of the universe, I’m the best shot you have.”

Silence again, one that seemed to last for far too long. The Lotus soul trembled as it contemplated its choices, while those outside continued to perish, sucked up by the Yang-Sovereign’s formations.

“Ayy, just accept his offer!” another voice appeared in the realm as Kirii, against John’s wishes, appeared in the infernal realm. “Ahhh, so hot! My skin is burning!” Kirii exclaimed with a yelp of pain, his body exploding with a thick coat of lightning to protect against the hellish Yang Qi.

Even then, he struggled to defend himself, his body defenses crumbling by the second. While Kirii was strong, he would not be able to last for more than a minute inside this realm of Yang.

“Kirii, get back inside my soul,” John exclaimed, worried that Kirii would perish under this immense heat.

Kirii ignored him, instead moving towards the Lotus soul. Unlike when John had approached it, the Lotus soul didn’t intensify in its power, and instead seemed to weaken itself slightly, allowing Kirii to approach.

“You…you are a…” the Lotus’ voice trailed off as it allowed Kirii to approach.

Kirii did just that, moving right beside the lotus soul, which much to John’s surprise, had no wariness towards Kirii at all. In fact, the temperature around Kirii dropped by a great deal, allowing him to withstand the Yang Qi with much greater ease.

Kirii then started speaking to the Lotus’ soul, whispering softly as if telling secrets that could not be heard by others. He looked over his shoulder towards John, noticing that John was listening to their conversation, then leaned even closer towards the Lotus’ soul, whispering so softly that John couldn’t overhear their conversation over the roiling Yang Qi surrounding them.

Kirii nodded vigorously while rambling about something, occasionally looking over his shoulder and looking towards John, making sure he wasn’t trying to peep in on their conversation. In response, the Lotus soul grew dimmer and brighter, flashing as if its emotions were ever changing.

The two continued to converse for a short time, although this felt like an eternity to John, the pain nearly overwhelming, his body close to succumbing to his gruesome injuries. Still, he trusted in Kirii, as he knew his companion wouldn’t waste precious time for no reason at all.

Then, finally, Kirii stopped speaking, and zipped back into John’s soul, his ability to withstand the infernal heat of the Lotus realm nearing its end. Then the Lotus soul spoke once more, the soul core flickering as it spoke.

“I…I’ve made my decision.”

…

The millions of cultivators, from the most lowly of them to the pinnacle powerhouses, all stared up at the Yang-Lotus, and the one they could barely see floating within its confines. Time continued to creep on and on, each second an eternity.

For those who were being sucked up into the Lotus, that eternity was not nearly long enough. At first, everyone’s hopes were fully ignited. If John could absorb the Nine-Petal Yang Lotus somehow, this entire nightmare would be over.

The Lotus was the power source for the repression formation, the spatial lock formation, and even the Yang-Sphere destruction formation. If it was removed from the equation, everything would be solved.

But time continued to tick on and on, and with it, the hopes of everyone started to fade. John had no chance of absorbing the Yang-Lotus in the same fashion as the Yang-Sovereign had attempted, and so in their eyes, either he had a way to succeed rather quickly, or his plan had already failed. .𝒎

They saw another figure cloaked in lightning appear, then after a short while, disappear. They had no idea what that was about, but their hopes continued to fade by the second, while the death count continued to rise.

“Do you think he has a way?” the Prime Shadow asked Lilian, who was standing next to him.

“If he said he did, then he does,” Lilian replied calmly, not a hint of doubt to be found on her face. The Prime Shadow studied her for a moment, then looked back towards the Yang-Lotus.

“That fruit you gave John,” Lilian said, turning to meet the Prime Shadow’s gaze.

“Oh, that’s nothing important,” the Prime Shadow said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Lilian narrowed her eyes slightly, studying the Prime Shadow’s face. “That fruit was beyond incredible. If I’m not mistaken, it should contain properties that increases one’s vitality and lengthens one’s lifespan. If I had to guess, despite your recent breakthrough, you are still nearing the end of your life, with maybe a few thousand years remaining. That fruit was meant to add tens of thousands of years to your life at the very least…

and yet you gave it to John.”

The Prime Shadow gave Lilian a surprised glance, not expecting her to see through everything so clearly. He smiled and shrugged, then looked back at the Lotus. “I’ve lived a long life and managed to find the perfect successor for my Master’s assassination arts. A few tens of thousands of years is worth the cost of keeping him alive.”

Suddenly and without warning, the Nine-Petal Yang Lotus vanished, disappearing as if it had never existed. The process happened so quickly that no one could process what had occurred until several seconds later, as the Yang-Sphere dimmed and the formations surrounding it faded into obscurity.

Almost every single cultivator’s eyes widened like saucers, their mouths falling agape. They felt their powers return to them once more, a feeling of euphoria so great many had never experienced anything like it before. It was as if they were dying of thirst, and were given the most rejuvenating of waters to quench their thirst.

Then, they spotted a lone figure in the sky, falling down towards the ground below.

“He came through, as you said he would,” the Prime Shadow said with a wide smile, sighing the deepest sighs of relief.

Lilian glanced at the Prime Shadow, then smiled as well. “He always does.”

Flash!

Lilian appeared in the air next to John, catching him in her arms before he could fall to the ground. John’s body was ruined and his eyes were closed, already having fallen into an unconscious slumber.

There was stunned silence. And then, as if born of one singular voice, the entire stadium erupted in a cry of joy and elation, its collective power shaking the entire Yang-Dao Sect.

“We…we’re saved!

“He did it! John actually did it!”

“He saved us! Bless the Heavens, he saved us!”

“It’s over! It’s finally over!”

Millions of hearts joined in unison to celebrate the conclusion to the most intense, harrowing, and terrifying ordeal they had ever encountered in their life. They had been caught in a scheme with no hope of survival, and against all odds, the one who had been hated and taunted the most had become their savior.

And thus, after three long months of trials, battles, deceit and betrayals, the Three Dao Tournament finally came to grand and unforgettable close.

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮