Ascension of the Immortal Asura

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The rhythmic metallic clangs continued ceaselessly as Daoist Eternal Weapon continued his work, almost as if he were oblivious to John's presence. However, a cultivator of such incredible power would not fail to notice John's presence, meaning he had chosen to ignore him for the time being.

John stood just outside the entrance of the building watching Daoist Eternal Weapon work the metal with his hammer. Each stroke of his hammer was mesmerizing, like it encompassed multiple Daos seamlessly. The only Dao John could recognize was the Dao of Power, which he himself was familiar with.

He could tell that Daoist Eternal Weapon's Dao of Power was at a higher comprehension level than his own, but as for how much, he could not tell. However, that was to be expected, as Daoist Eternal Weapon was tens of thousands of years old, while John was only eighteen, and still needed time to grow his grasp of the Dao's.

If it were just the Dao of Power being used, John would be interested in studying it, but would not be completely engrossed in watching the hammer strike down repeatedly. However, John found it impossible to remove his eyes from the hammer, as his mind itched with growing comprehension of something he did not yet understand, but yearned to.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The hammer fell down on the ingot of unknown metal, slowly but surely working into shape. The Dao of Power emanated from each stroke, washing over John with a familiar feeling. Small insights into the Dao of Power trickled into his mind as he experienced the aura and studied Daoist Eternal Weapons movements, slowly growing his already formidable grasp of the Dao.

However, those insights were secondary, as John tried to peer deeper into what he was seeing, as if there was something happening before his very eyes that he could not yet understand.

'The Dao of Power is emanating off his hammer with each strike, but it's completely different to mine. When I use the Dao of Power, my attacks become more brutal, more explosive, more powerful. It decimates everything with pure power as it augments my attacks, but this Dao of Power is different.

It's not that it's less powerful, in fact it's even more powerful than when I use the Dao, but when looking at it with the naked eye, it appears less powerful. If someone who is inexperienced with the Dao of Power watched both Daoist Eternal Weapon and myself use the Dao of Power, they would most likely think I have a better understanding of it, but that's not true at all. Just what is going on here?'

As the hammer struck the ingot over and over again, John decided to sit down and study the hammer strikes. As his eyes locked onto the hammer, his mind drifted into a semi-conscious state as he entered a meditative trance. However, unlike the meditative trances that he entered with the help of his palace realm, John entered this trance all on his own.

It was the once in a lifetime opportunity that many cultivators yearned for, which some managed to achieve several times, while others failed to do so a single time in their entire lives. Entering such a trance was a mixture of the cultivators talent as well as pure luck, and thanks to his monstrous talent, John was able to enter this trance on his own accord.

While the meditative trances he entered with the help of his palace realm were almost perfect, nothing substituted for the real thing. As such, the effects of such a trance were even better.

John's mind drifted off into nothingness as the scene of the hammer striking the metal played over and over. There were no thoughts in his mind at all, as his entire existence naturally focused on the hammer.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The clang of the hammer rang out powerfully, filling the building, the chamber, and John's mind and soul with its profundities.

The hammer rose and fell, over and over, striking into the unknown metal. Just from the aura the metal was giving off, the sound it made when the hammer struck, and the other tiny details he could see, John could tell the metal was harder than any he had seen before on this world.

Working such a metal with physical power alone would be next to impossible, and yet Daoist Eternal Weapon was doing just that. The hammer fell onto the metal ingot, sending sparks in all directions as metal slammed against metal. However, as the hammer struck down onto the metal piece, it did not violently shake the building as much as it should have.

Such a powerful strike was strong enough to kill John outright even if he defended with his full power, and yet all it did was shake the building slightly. There was no massive explosion, no earth-quaking might, almost as if the Dao of Power was being absorbed by the metal ingot itself, instead of radiating outwards.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Doaist Eternal Weapon continued his hammering for two full days, while John sat there in silent meditation. Each strike of the hammer seemed to get him closer to the truth, but there was still a fog before him, as if he could almost see through it but needed to move forward just a little bit more.

After studying the hammer strike, John subconsciously started mimicking Daoist Eternal Weapons movement, striking down with an invisible hammer over and over. His actions became closer and closer to what he was seeing, while the Dao of Power flared in a similar manner as John subconsciously tried to get it to match Daoist Eternal Weapons Dao of Power.

However, the effort was futile, as there was something missing that he could not comprehend. John focused his mind on that missing piece, which remained completely hazy and unknown to him. However, after watching the hammer fall thousands of times more, an idea popped into his mind, almost as if planted there by the heavens himself.

Dao of Power!

Dao of ...!

Dao of Power!

Dao of ...!

Dao of …... Power!

It was as if the fog had parted from before him, revealing an entirely new world of the Daos to him. While he still didn't understand exactly Daoist Eternal Weapon was doing, an idea popped into his mind, one that even he didn't completely understand. In his meditative trance, it was as if he was doing things without being able to control his body, almost as if someone else was controlling his body.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

As Daoist Eternal Weapons hammer struck down over and over, John mimicked the action at the same time as close as he could, using his hand as the hammer instead. His Dao of Power flared as he struck forward with his closed fist, stopping in the air several feet above the ground so as to not slam into the floor and disturb both himself and Doaist Eternal Weapon.

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh!

The power contained in his closed fist caused the air to part loudly as his mind raced to piece together the last piece of information he was missing. He had an understanding of what was going on, but didn't know how to achieve it himself.

Clang!

Fwoosh!

Clang!

Fwoosh!

Clang!

Fwoosh!

The sound of metallic ringing and parting air filled the chamber for another five days, as John's mind raced at his natural limit to understand what was going on, and how to put it to use. Each strike got him closer and closer to the truth, and after a full week of his entranced meditation, his mind suddenly lit up like the sun as if the brightest light of comprehension had flooded into his mind.

Without conscious thought, his fist slammed down once more, stopping the same place in the air as before. However…

Boom!

A loud boom blasted out, flooding into the building's entrance and throughout the rest of the chamber as the power of John's fist blasted the air outwards with horrifying power. The power of the blasting air knocked John backwards and stirred him from his trance immediately, and he quickly stabilized himself before being thrown into the lake of magma behind him.

John's feet rested at the very edge before the magma, and he breathed out in a sigh of relief before taking a step forward to safety. After recovering his balance, John's eyes widened slightly as he realized he had made a loud disturbance, and he glanced in the direction of Daoist Eternal Weapon, who had for the first time stopped hammering and instead was staring intently at John, who felt like he was being stared at by a powerful beast.

"Comprehending the fusion of Daos just by watching me work my hammer…what is your name, boy?"