Chapter 235: Waiting

John's sudden, powerful, rage-filled, and bloodlust heavy aura suddenly washed over all the nearby disciples, shocking them greatly. There were several incredibly powerful disciples in the nearby area, and yet all of them felt shocked by this aura. Not only was it incredibly powerful, but it was also incredibly sinister.

They quickly inspected who the aura came from, and all were shocked to find it came from John. His cultivation was only at the Early Core Formation Realm, yet he was making even the Mid Core Formation Realm cultivators in the area sweat with nervousness.

They had no idea why he had unleashed such an aura, but it was nearly overwhelming.

John's outward explosion of rage was quickly pulled inwards as he slightly calmed himself. However, those looking at him became even more frightful.

He turned to June and spoke up once more.

"How long did it take you to leave your trial?" John asked in a calm but cold voice.

June paused for a moment, completely surprised by John's sudden burst of emotion.

"About an hour," June replied.

John's eyes turned to the third arch once more.

'The third arch is harder than the second, and the Three Emperors just entered. That should give me a bit of time.'

"Adam," John suddenly called out.

"What is it?" Adam asked. Despite John's intense outburst, Adam was standing right next to him, unmoved. He knew the reason for John's outburst, and was feeling the same rage himself.

"Is it in your power to build a formation around the third arch, making sure no one leaves?" John asked with a cold voice.

Adam was slightly surprised by the question, but quickly understood John's intentions.

"If I do, you'll be trapped as well," Adam replied, making sure John knew the risks.

"That's fine. Are you able to do it?" John once again asked.

Adam thought about it for a moment, taking a note of the items he had at his disposal before responding.

"I do know of one such formation. It's similar to the one I used to block Jason from escaping. However, I will need to use many more spirit stones as a power source to activate it," Adam replied.

"That's fine. I'll reimburse you for any spirit stones you use, just make the formation."

Adam shook his head in disappointment.

"We're brothers, and we are both here to avenge our fallen brother. It'll be my honor to help you eliminate Damon," Adam replied in a sincere tone, his attitude quite different from normal.

John nodded his head in approval.

"However, with how strong you and the Blood Emperors are, I can only make it last for thirty minutes. Once that time is up, it'll fade. Also, if you allow them to repeatedly attack the wall several times with full power attacks, it'll crumple also," Adam elaborated on his formation.

"That's fine. Thirty minutes is more than enough," John confirmed.

His blood essence reserves would only last thirty minutes anyways, so he would need to finish the fight before then.

Adam patted John on the back before he got to work.

The arches were all spaced around one hundred yards from each other, making the total area around five hundred yards including the width of the arches. There were plenty of disciples in front of the first and second arches, deciding on if they wanted to enter or not.

"Everyone, scram," John suddenly commanded in a loud voice as he walked towards the arches.

The eyes of all the disciples turned to John, confused as to what he was doing. Some shouted out in protest, thinking he was trying to monopolize the arches.

"You can't do that." one Divine Soul Sect disciple protested.

"That's right. These trials are not for you alone," another protested.

John's cold and ruthless eyes locked on those youths, instantly silencing them. They each swallowed deeply in fear, unwilling to say another word.

John's sinister aura once again radiated outwards.

"I'll say this once more, scram now, or suffer the consequences," John commanded again.

While he seemed uncaring, John did not want any of the other disciples to get caught in the crossfire. He wanted a fight between him and Damon alone.

The other disciples were still upset about this, but decided not to protest. They could tell that John was in a foul mood, and his overwhelming aura told them his threat was real. Despite being in the Early Core Formation Realm, none of the disciples present wanted to fight him in his current state.

The area quickly cleared out, and the disciples stood off to the far side, watching what John and Adam were doing.

Flash!

A flash of light appeared at the first gate, revealing a youth who had just come out. They had a look of delight on their face, as they had clearly passed the trial. They held a unique looking sword, clearly the reward they had been given.

The disciple's delight quickly turned to confusion as they looked around. They noticed the empty area, as well as the sinister looking John, and quickly fled towards their respective sect gathered in the distance.

John frowned as he had inspected the youth that left. When the youth left, they had a lingering trace of the aura from the gate they had entered, acting as a sort of shield. While the power quickly faded away, it was still not what John wanted to see.

'I was going to attack Damon as soon as he left the arch, but it seems as though there's a temporary protection for those who leave. It was probably done for this exact reason, so those who entered didn't get snuck upon and killed for their rewards.'

John shook his head in disappointment, but the plans didn't change. If he couldn't kill Damon with a sneak attack, then he would just kill him head on.

Flash!

Flash!

Flash!

More flashes from the first and second arch appeared, revealing more youths that had passed. They were quite injured, but also had looks of delight on their faces. Similar to the first youth, they quickly noticed the odd atmosphere, and retreated to their fellow sect members.

"John, what is going on?" A voice suddenly sounded out behind John.

John turned around and looked straight at the nearby June.

"Damon, the Blood Emperor, killed Russell," John got straight to the point.

June's face lit up with surprise, and then quickly anger. This was her first time hearing of this.

"Those bastards. Let me help you kill them," her temper instantly ignited. John was slightly surprised to see such reactions from June, as she was unusually emotionless. However, it seemed as if she had grown somewhat attached to the Heavenly Lightning Sect and its disciples.

However, John shook his head, rejecting her offer.

"He's mine to kill. Besides, your battle prowess is too weak," John replied, not mincing any words.

June's cultivation was at the Early Core Formation Realm, while Damon and the other Emperors were at the Mid Core Formation Realm. Despite her impressive combat prowess within the same realm, June's cultivation was just too low at the moment.

June grit her teeth in silence. After a moment, she sighed and turned around.

"Good luck."

John nodded his head at June's words of encouragement, as he once again turned his attention towards the arches.

Several more flashes of light appeared as more disciples left the trials. Eventually, the flashes died down, revealing that only the Bloodfiend Sect Disciples were left, as they had entered last.

John sat down on the ground, a few dozen yards away from the third arch, and calmed his mind as he focused on maintaining his peak state. He appeared like a pressurized cauldron, ready to burst at a moment's notice.

Adam walked next to John, patting him on the shoulder.

"The formation is all set up. You have thirty minutes to complete your fight."

Adam wanted to help, but was powerless to do so. He was too weak in a direct fight, and his only offensive formation strong enough to help at the moment was the strange broken disk. However, that had been attached to Hunter when he left with the spatial talisman, taking away his one way to help.

"Thanks."

John replied with a short thanks, before once again closing his eyes.

At the same time, the reason for John's sudden actions spread out throughout the crowd behind him. They finally understood why John had done such a thing, but shook their heads in confusion.

"While he does appear powerful, he's only at the Early Core Formation Realm. There's no way he can beat a Blood Emperor," a Supreme Battle Sect youth commented.

"You're right. We're about to watch him die," Mason suddenly commented. He was more than happy to see John perish, as it would only elevate his own importance within the sect.

John continued to sit there for nearly an hour in focused meditation.

Flash!

John's eyes snapped open as a flash of light appeared at the third gate, revealing a cultivator clad in blood red robes standing before it.