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nJohn appeared in front of Ryan and slashed down with his sword.

nRyan was prepared for this attack and sent out his own powerful attack to meet John's attack.

nSwords collided and Ryan was sent backwards a dozen yards by John's attack. Ryan quickly steadied himself and struck out with a ranged Qi attack towards the approaching John.

nJohn was prepared to strike out at Ryan again, but was surprised to find Ryan recover faster than he had expected. Ryan had even managed to counterattack before John could reach him.

n'Not bad, he's still stronger than I expected. It seems like I really will have to go all out to beat Ryan.'

nJohn raised his sword and slashed it out at the incoming Qi attack, and was knocked backwards a few steps. Ryan used this opportunity to send another Qi attack towards John, hoping to take John down as fast as possible.

nJohn quickly utilized his movement technique to dodge the attack, and utilized the second step to dodge the next attack that Ryan followed up with. Ryan had expected John to use the second step, and so had prepared a follow up attack before John even dodged, but was still just a hair too slow to land the blow on John.

n'It seems like the Five Step Movement Technique becomes quite predictable once I've used it a few times against an enemy. The same thing happened against the Stalking Mantis Assassin. I need to use it less and only when striking out decisively it seems.'

nJohn used the third step of the movement technique to quickly appear beside Ryan. An explosive surge of Qi was channeled from his body dantian and essence dantian and into his arms at the same time as he struck down with all his might.

nMountain Crushing Sword!

nRyan's eyes opened wide in shock at the power of the oncoming attack. He widened his stance and struck out with his most powerful attack.

nFerocious Cleaving Technique!

nRyan had cultivated one of the other powerful sword techniques that the Fenix Clan had to offer, and used its most powerful attack to strike back against John.

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"Gah!

"

nSwords collided and Ryan was sent flying backwards dozens of yards, crashing head over heels before eventually coming to a stop.

nJohn's hardened eyes quickly went back to normal as he realized that he had struck out with too much power.

n

"Ahh, sorry Ryan!

"

nJohn dashed over to Ryan and found him lying there breathing heavily and covered in dirt.

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"Are you alright?

" John asked with a concerned look on his face.

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"I'm alright, it's not that bad. I just need to recover for a bit

" responded Ryan. A few minutes later, Ryan finally recovered enough to stand up. He sluggishly brushed the dirt off his dirty robe and looked towards John. A smile appeared on his face as he patted John on the back.

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"You really are a monster, you know that? What the hell was that aura you were radiating during the fight?

"

n

"Aura? What aura?

" John asked in confusion. He was completely unaware of the intense aura he had projected while channeling Qi from his body dantian into his body.

nRyan looked at John for a moment before responding.

"Nevermind, I guess. Anyways, you really do have the power to back up your words. Maybe you can win the tournament after all!

"

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"Haha, I hope so. You're not bad yourself. I think you have a good shot at making the top thirty and entering the pocket realm as well!

" John hoped that his friend would be able to join him in the pocket realm.

n

"Haha, I hope so as well. Come, let's go to one of the clan restaurants and grab a bite to eat.

" Ryan was quite famished after that fight, and so was John. John instantly agreed and they both left the martial arena and walked over to the nearest restaurant.

nJohn and Ryan sat and ate at the restaurant while discussing the various things that had happened to both of them over the last half year. John told Ryan all about the happenings in the Dreadel Kingdom. At times, Ryan would be laughing to the point of near tears, while other times he could hardly believe how crazy John had been.

nAfter a few hours of catching up, John bit Ryan farewell and walked back home.

n

"Welcome home John, what do you want for dinner?

" asked Rachel Fenix with a smile on her face.

n

"Oh, I had dinner with Ryan at the Flying Crane Restaurant, I'm all set!

"

n

"Oh, alright.

"

nJohn talked with his mother for a while, and found out that his father had yet to return. John bid his mother good night and walked upstairs to his room. He closed the door and sat on the ground, then spent the next several hours cultivating all the aspects he could, including essence cultivation, strengthening his soul in front of the holy gate, tempering his will in front of the sinister gate.

nJohn was able to last nearly fifteen minutes in front of the sinister gate before he was forced to leave. Each time, he would hang on until he felt he was about to go insane before he left the sinister area.

nJohn continued to study both the Celestial Lightning Script as well as the Divine Reaping Scythe. Both techniques were so profound that John could barely grasp the basics, but he was still making steady progress in understanding the essence of both techniques.

n'It's too bad though. These two essence techniques are my strongest essence techniques, but I can't cultivate either yet. The Celestial Lightning Script needs real lightning to cultivate, while the Divine Reaping Scythe needs a cultivation at the early Qi Condensation stage to even start to utilize its most basic forms. I need to get stronger!'

nJohn continued to cultivate late into the night before he finally felt he was at his limit, at which point he collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

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