Chapter 1012: Running Into Zuri

John smiled widely and greeted her, surprised yet pleased to run into her here. It was the first time he had seen here since entering the guild headquarters over half a year ago. She had been the one to take him into the guild, the one to set up the events that led him to meeting the Prime Shadow, who had already given him many incredible rewards and opportunities.

Without her, none of this would have been possible, and so he felt quite appreciative towards the beautiful woman standing before him.

"Nice to see you again, John," Zuri smiled while eyeing him up and down. A look of slight surprise appeared on her face. "You seem to have grown quite a bit since I last saw you. Middle Dao Transformation...and there's also something different about you that I can't place my finger on," she said with a thoughtful expression on her face, as if trying to figure out exactly what was different about him.

John smiled and shrugged lightly.

"I've had some opportunities recently," he said dismissively, as the subject of his dealings with the Prime Shadow was supposed to be secretive.

"Opportunities huh?" Zuri mused while smiling mischievously. She leaned in close to him to whisper in his ear. "Opportunities like meeting the original Guildmaster?"

John was surprised that Zuri had figured out the truth, but remained calm and shrugged.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he coughed.

"Hmmm, is that so?" Zuri mused smilingly while stepping back from him.

"So, what brings you to the library?" John asked, wanting to change the subject.

"I came to obtain some new assassination arts," she said. "What were you doing in the top floor of the library? You know, even I cannot go to that floor, despite my new rank as Shadow Master," she added, making sure to emphasize how uncommon it was for John to be able to enter the top floor.

"That's just a rumor," John coughed lightly and refused to elaborate further. The smile on Zuri's face widened, and then she nodded as if satisfied with his answer.

"Alright then. Regardless of where you've been these last few months, what are you doing now?" she asked.

"I...I guess I need to go outside," John said thoughtfully. He needed an open place to practice his Art creation without fear of destroying anything valuable.

"Outside? Why?" Zuri asked curiously.

"I need to practice some new battle arts," John explained.

"New battle arts?" Zuri mused, then shook her head. "Going outside isn't really possible, at least not right now."

"Not possible? Why?" John asked with a frown.

Zuri looked at him curiously for a moment.

"Ah, that's right. You just joined the guild recently, so its natural you don't know," she said in realization. With everything that had happened to her and John recently, it was easy to forget this fact. "The Guild Headquarters are located deep, deep underground. So deep that the only way to get outside is through the transportation formations you saw when you entered the Guild."

"Really?" John said, then nodded his head. "I guess that's why there are no windows whatsoever. I always wondered why that was the case."

Zuri nodded, then continued.

"And with the Three Dao Tournament coming up soon, the Guild has been tasked with ensuring the stability and safety of the tournament and its surroundings, at least in regards to the things taking place in the shadows," Zuri continued. "With such an important task delegated to the guild, it's quite busy with task assignment and resource allocations. As such, getting permission to leave the guild right now is a bit tricky to obtain."

"I'm sure I can manage to get permission quickly," John shrugged unconcerned. One message to the Prime Shadow would be able to resolve that issue.

"There's no need, follow me" Zuri said smilingly as she reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his robe, then turned and pulled him with her out of the library. John looked at his sleeve which she was holding and pulling him by, then at her, a curious expression on her face.

He didn't pull his sleeve back, but he was surprised to see her acting this...close...to him. Zuri looked over her shoulder and noticed his expression, her smile widening as if she was enjoying it.

"A while ago I was promoted to Shadow Master out of the blue," Zuri said, studying his face. "In fact, it happened almost immediately after your entrance trial. Did you have something to do with that?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," John shrugged.

"Hmmm..." Zuri hummed, her smile widening. John couldn't help but admit that she was quite beautiful, especially when she smiled. Her long, golden hair and sculpted body only added to the allure she gave off, like a dangerous yet beautiful viper, reminding him a lot of Lilian. With both of them being roughly the same age and cultivation level, the two were incredibly similar beyond looks alone. He held her gaze, wondering what she was up to.

"Regardless," Zuri continued, shifting her gaze forward once more while letting go of his robe sleeve. "My new rank has given me quite a few privileges, including having access to the premium guild training grounds. I'll take you there, and you can practice your battle arts to your heart's desire."

"Training grounds?" John asked, following closely behind.

He followed her through the guild, navigating through dozens of chambers and large hallways before eventually arriving before a large door. Zuri placed her Guild Seal on the formation next to the door, which parted for them soon after. John followed her inside and looked around. He felt himself step through a spatial formation as he did so, one that surrounded the entire room he appeared in...one that seemed to have no boundaries at all.

He looked back, and could only see the door they had entered from. Other than that, the room seemed to stretch for eternity, illuminated by stars hovering above them.

"This training room is surrounded by a powerful spatial formation, making it much larger on the inside than the outside," Zuri said, turning around to look at him. "It's not boundless, but as far as you or I are concerned, it might as well be. So, will this work for your training?" she asked, a radiant smile on her face.

John looked about in all directions, and then nodded, more than satisfied.

"Good," Zuri nodded. "So, what's the occasion for the training? Are you simply learning battle arts...or are you training for the Three Dao Tournament coming up?" she asked with a knowing smirk.

"You know about that?" John asked. He had figured it would have been kept a secret. "Did someone tell you?"

"No, but it was easy enough to figure out," Zuri said, smiling at him. "If you've already forgotten, I was the one to spearhead the mission to find your missing companion. After finding her, hearing about her bet with the Sword-Saint, and knowing your combat prowess, it was easy to figure out her intentions."

"So that's how it is," John nodded his head in understanding. "Oh, and thanks for finding Lilian. I haven't thanked you properly for that yet," he added, truly appreciative of everything Zuri had done for him.

"You can consider us even now," Zuri said while walking towards him. "You got me my promotion, and I found your friend. We can now move forward with our friendship with neither party owing a debt to the other."

She stopped a few feet before John and eyed him up and down again, as if inspecting him.

"That friend of yours is incredibly beautiful, by the way. She's like an ethereal goddess, one blessed by the Heavens itself. She's so beautiful in fact that I must say it ignited my fighting spirit, so to speak. I can see why you were so desperate to find her," Zuri said, her words surprising John at the sudden change in topic.

"Haha," Zuri laughed lightly upon seeing John's bewildered expression, then took several steps back from him. Her aura began to grow, as if preparing for battle.

"Come, let's begin. I'll help you with whatever training you need to prepare for the tournament," she said, adding a subtle wink at the end.

A bewildered expression appeared on John's face as he stared at Zuri.

"Uhhhhhh....."