Ascension of the Immortal Asura

Ji'Han casually slashed his sword outwards, as if it was an insignificant action. As his sword slashed forward, a beam of white sword light sped outwards at incredible speed. 

As the colossal great sword fell, the beam of white light slashed upwards towards it, almost insignificant in size and aura. It was as if an ant was trying to contest against a giant, making the exchange appear completely one sided.

The beam of white light had almost no aura, and yet looking at it race upwards made the weaker cultivators in the crowd wince with pain, as if their minds and bodies were being pierced by swords. The beam of white sword light met the massive great sword, slamming into the sharp edge of the great sword with incredible precision.

The calamitous explosion of colliding battle arts did not happen as many expected. There was no loud sound. No powerful explosion. Instead, the beam sliced directly through the massive great sword as if the weapon didn't exist at all. The beam of white sword light raced out the other side of the great sword, traveling from edge to edge of the great sword. 

The great sword continued to cleave towards Ji'Han, as if the collision between weapon arts never happened in the first place. Ji'Han stood there unmoving, as if the calamitous great sword cleaving towards him didn't even exist.

The crowd watched with bated breath as the great sword reached Ji'Han, then at the last moment before hitting him, split apart from hilt to tip, splitting in half. The two halves of the great sword then moved apart, each half slamming into the arena on either side of Ji'Han.

Boom!

The arena trembled from the power and weight of the weapon, and even cracks appeared on the arena which at this point had yet to take any damage from the previous battles. After hitting the ground, the great swords continued to press down for a moment before vanishing, the cohesiveness of the great sword art cleaved in half, causing the art to break down and fall apart.

The great sword dissipated into a rushing tempest of Qi, no longer able to hold its form. The storm of Qi enveloped both fighters for a short while before fading away, revealing the outcome of the battle. 

Bastian, on his knees and gasping with fatigue, looked upwards at Ji'Han who calmly held his sword tip to Bastians neck. Bastian looked up with gritted teeth, then took a deep breath and sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"At the very least, I'm glad I was able to force you to draw your sword, even if it wasn't your True Sword," Bastian said dejectedly. "I concede."

Ji'Han removed his sword from Bastian's neck, then extended a hand to help his fellow sect member stand. Bastian took his hand begrudgingly, not wanting to offend the scion of the Sword Dao Sect.

"That final sword art was impressive," Ji'Han replied. "You should be proud."

As Bastian nodded his head, the Yang-Dao Sect Elder announced the outcome of the battle.

"The victor by forfeit, Ji'Han."

Roar!

The crowd burst into thunderous applause, awed by what they had seen. Bastian's sword arts had been incredibly eye-catching and powerful, and yet he had been defeated by a casual attack from Ji'Han. 

Leaning on the balcony miles above, John watched on as the two fighters exchanged a few more words, then left the arena. He remained in silent thought for some time, the roaring of the crowd not even registering in his mind. That casual attack from Ji'Han had caused his mind to go into a meditative trance as he tried to discern the secrets behind Ji'Han's powers.

"John….John!"

Naelia's voice finally broke through, drawing him from his deep thoughts.

"Hmm?" John turned to look at her.

"You're up," Naelia said, pointing to the arena. 

John looked back at the arena, and noticed not only had the other fighters left, but his opponent was already standing on the arena waiting for him. 

"Ah, thanks," John said to her, then took to the sky and flew towards the arena below. He landed a moment later and looked towards his opponent, another girl from the Mage Dao Sect. 

The girl was quite beautiful. She had large hazel eyes, long black hair that flowed down to her lower back, and was rather tall when compared to other girls her age. She wore the signature purple robes of the Mage Dao Sect, and appeared to be in her late teens. A casual inspection of her formation armband revealed some of her information to John.

Name: Chloe

Age: Nineteen

Cultivation: Middle Dao Transformation

Qi Quantity: 95

Qi Quality: 94

Health: 75

Durability: 73

Stamina: 81

Comprehensions: 97

Instincts: 91

Willpower: 93

Soul Talent: 85

Speed/Movement Arts: 91

Battle Arts: 97

Attack Power: 96

Rank: 16

"Not bad," John nodded, impressed by some of her scores, especially her battle art and attack power scores. Unlike the others he faced, it seemed as though she would be able to press him to use some of his true power.

Chloe gave John an even look, as if she wasn't too concerned about him. A small frown lingered on her face, almost as if she were tense or struggling with something. It was a rather odd look for one standing so relaxed, causing John to give her a questioning look.

Chloe did not greet him or speak to him, so he opted not to as well. He had no desire to make small talk with any of the fighters anyways. The Yang-Dao Sect Elder addressed both of them, asking if they were ready. A nod from both fighters followed. 

"Now that both fighters have entered the arena, I will announce the beginning of the next round," the Yang-Dao Sect Elder called out. "The final battle of the round of sixteen, between Chloe of the Mage Dao Sect and John Fenix, begins!"

The crowd roared with excitement at the start of the round, but that roaring was instantly drowned out by an even louder sound as Chloe suddenly exploded with an incredible amount of power, far greater than she should be able to do in such a quick amount of time. At the same time, eight massive gray pillars materialized in the sky, each pillar one hundred yards in height and ten yards in width at the base.

The pillars crashed down to the arena, each powerful enough to shake the entire stadium. In an instant, John found himself surrounded by these eight massive pillars which formed a ring of around two hundred yards. At the very center of this ring stood Chloe, who looked at John with a strained yet confident look.

After a moment of confusion, John instantly realized what was going on. He now realized why Chloe looked tense before the fight started, as if she were struggling with something. She was struggling…to hold in the Qi from her channeled ability she unleashed at the very start of the round.

The weakness of Mar Mages and their channeled abilities was the time it took to activate their mage arts. Chloe had completely removed that restriction by silently channeling her mage art undetected, unleashing it the very second the battle started.

John couldn't help but nod his head in approval, as it was a sneaky yet sound strategy from Chloe. His nod was interrupted halfway through as a powerful energy suddenly pressed down on him, almost forcing him to his knees from the suddenness of it. John exploded with physical power and braced himself against the unexpected energy which filled the entire circle formed by the eight pillars, then took a second to study it after recovering his wits. It was something he had never encountered from another cultivator before, but was a force of nature he was all too familiar with. The power that made even moving a difficult task. 

The power of gravity!