John’s words of mockery echoed throughout the area, getting mixed reactions from the crowd watching. Those from the Yuan Continent all laughed in unison at John’s words, as they knew he was just playing with Aaron. Even the likes of Mason Light, who had always hated John, couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.

He had once been just like Aaron, fighting against John and not knowing just how tall of a mountain it was to climb. He now knew that in this world, there were freaks that could never be judged by reason or logic, and that it was best to not compare oneself to them.

It had taken a lot of self reflection and self doubt to resolve this internal demon of his, but Mason finally realized the truth of the matter, and decided to focus on becoming the best he could be, without comparing himself to others like John.

Watching Aaron make the same mistake as he did in the past filled him with a wave of nostalgia, as he sighed in pity for Aaron’s brutal beating to come.

“At least I never made the mistake of fighting directly against him,” Mason mused softly while watching the fight. Although he had been antagonistic with John, he never challenged him or fought him directly, which he now considered a blessing.

Aaron’s surprised expression quickly turned cold again as he heard John’s words. He felt his anger rising by the second, as nothing had gone his way today. He didn’t know how John had blocked his attack, but figured he had employed the help of a powerful formation or something similar.

“Heh, you block a half-powered attack from me and all of a sudden you feel like you’re strong?” Aaron replied with a mocking tone. “Fine, show me the power of your attack. I won’t dodge.”

Aaron opened his eyes wide, revealing his unguarded chest to John. He was one hundred percent confident in his strength, as well as his Common Grade Lightning Attribute Body. With John using a lightning based attack, as well as his essence cultivation being a minor realm weaker, Aaron felt no fear in taking this attack head on.

John smirked slightly, as he could tell what Aaron was thinking.

“Should I add some tribulation lightning into this attack?’ John mused internally, before shaking his head against the idea. ‘I better not. I don’t want to accidentally kill him after all.’

Bang!

Without wasting any more time, John unleashed his Lightning Ruin. An explosive lightning attack, far more powerful than the one Aaron had unleashed pierced towards him. Aaron, as well as everyone watching, widened their eyes in absolute shock at the power of the attack. It was clear at a single glance that this simple attack from John was stronger than Aaron’s previous attack.

Aaron’s widened eyes narrowed once more as he pushed his cultivation to the limit, reinforcing his body with Qi and preparing himself for the attack. However, as he promised, he did not dodge or block the attack, his actions surprising John.

‘I figured he would block or dodge the attack once he saw it, but he’s staying true to his word. Not a bad attitude to have as a cultivation.’

Boom!

John’s Lightning Ruin exploded against Aaron’s chest, which was followed by a grunt of pain as Aaron was knocked back several dozen yards. The explosive lightning Qi quickly faded, revealing Aaron still standing on his own two feet.

John raised one eyebrow in surprise, as Aaron had managed to block the attack. While there was clear damage visible on his chest and arms, he had still managed to stay standing while taking it head on.

‘He truly is quite talented. Although I only used a small portion of my full power there, that attack would be enough to threaten a normal Half-Step Heaven Tribulation expert. No wonder he’s been able to rampage freely in this trial.’

Clap! Clap! Clap!

A series of slow claps echoed out as John clapped for a short while, congratulating Aaron.

“For you to be able to not only keep your word of taking the attack head on, but also successfully doing so, I’ll allow you to keep your badge when I take the rest from you,” John said to Aaron.

Aaron’s attitude, while arrogant, was something John could respect. He would at least allow him to enter the main Heavenly Lightning Sect, instead of taking his badge from him.

“Ahhhhhh!” Aaron suddenly belted out an angry roar, clearly incensed by everything that had happened. His aura suddenly climbed up to a new height, and he clearly was no longer holding back.

Boom!

An incredibly powerful blast of lightning exploded out in all directions, forming a spherical sea of lightning around Aaron for hundreds of yards in each direction. Iris, who had been standing close by, darted away to avoid the blast, leaving only John contained within.

John stood there as the sphere of lightning washed over him, its power truly shocking. The explosive sphere of lightning shattered the earth beneath their feet and carved a hundred yard deep crater into the valley. The powerful sphere of lightning lasted for a short moment, before it faded away, returning the area to normal once more. Only the ruined valley and massive crater remained as evidence of its short existence.

Due to his inability to fly, John now stood at the bottom of the crater

‘This is clearly some sort of short duration domain attack. Its power was actually quite impressive. This would have severely harmed his opponent, had it been anyone other than me.’

However, Aaron was truly unlucky to have John as his opponent, as John was essentially invulnerable to lightning damage from someone close to his realm.

‘Time to end this. I don’t know just how much longer the trial will last for, so no more playing around.’

Supreme Battle Art!

Thunderflash Steps!

Aaron’s gaze pierced into the crater below, trying to see if John was down there. However, his eyes suddenly widened as he turned around and punched out, as he did not have enough time to take out his weapon.

Bang!

John’s leg collided with Aaron’s fist, and the sound of shattering bone boomed out as Aaron’s body was violently slammed into the earth below.

“Gah!” A pained cry echoed out, and the force of Aaron’s body slamming into the earth deepened the already large crater, as more earth was violently ejected outwards.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Giving Aaron no reprieve, John assaulted Aaron with a ceaseless barrage of punches, far greater in power than he could contest against. With John’s body cultivation in the Late Meridian Forging Realm, and powered by his Supreme Battle Art and unlocked Limiter of Power, his power was enough to overwhelm a Heaven Tribulation expert, let alone a Late Meridian Forging youth.

All the youths in the area watched with wide eyes as John pummeled Aaron into the earth, with the latter being unable to resist in the slightest. After a series of incredibly strong blows, silence once again returned to the valley as John bent over and plucked the bag of identification badges from Aaron’s waist.

He rifled through the bag for a moment before finding Aaron’s badge, at which point he tossed it onto the barely conscious Aaron, staying true to his word that he would allow him to become a disciple of the sect.

In the blink of an eye, John had obtained first place in the trial, shocking everyone watching, who still couldn’t believe their eyes.