Chapter 961: First Trials
John sped towards the target, body cloaked in a veil of spatial Dao. Space shimmered slightly wherever he passed, as his control over the spatial Dao was still tenuous, and his ability to fully cloak himself still a work in progress.
However, when it came to fooling a Middle Dao Transformation cultivator's senses, it was more than enough.
"He disappeared?" a younger member of the gathered guildmembers exclaimed, surprised to see John vanish from the screen they were watching.
"No, he's just using the spatial Dao to conceal his movements," a nearby Early World Expansion guildmember said, using his expertise to see through John's actions.
The screen they were watching was quite marvelous, in that it transmitted everything happening in the realm visually, as well as projected the aura's as well. The stronger guildmembers could feel the faint presence of the spatial Dao coming from John's image, impressing them.
"His control over the spatial Dao is quite impressive for one his age," the Grandmaster said, nodding his head in approval, "but his methods are too straightforward. He approaches this test with the mind of a fighter, instead of the mind of an assassin."
Zuri breathed out lightly, trying her best to stifle the instinctual scoff she almost let out. The memories of John's battle still fresh in her mind, she wanted to tell the Grandmaster he had no idea just how much of a 'fighter' John really was, but she remained silent. She was sure John's actions in the trials would speak for themselves.
As the guildmembers discussed his methods, John rapidly approached the sitting target. The target's cultivation level was of absolutely no concern to John, and so he approached with the mindset of not caring if he was discovered. The mission said to assassinate, not assassinate without being detected. As long as the target died, it would be considered a success.
An instant later, John appeared directly before the target, who still remained seated, eyes closed. The target's eyes suddenly snapped open, finally feeling John's presence, but it was already too late.
Che!
John's hand swiped outwards, coated with a layer of lightning. It sliced cleanly through his target's neck before the target could react, severing head from body. The targets eyes went wide for a moment, as if it was a true person, and then dematerialized, disappearing into nothing. Silence filled the trial area as John stepped out of his spatial shroud, eyebrow raised.
'Despite only being in the Middle Dao Transformation realm, it noticed me a moment before I landed my attack. How unexpected.'
John had expected to complete the task completely undetected. His spatial shroud was strong enough to fool most Late Dao Transformation cultivators, and yet had been detected by his target who was a minor realm lower.
'It seems the talent level of the target was set to be quite high. I wonder if that will be the case for all the trials going forward,' John wondered. He had thought the trials would be a complete breeze based on the target's cultivation level, but perhaps he was wrong. And this was only the first trial, it was no doubt going to get harder as he progressed deeper into this Heaven's Shadow trial.
Outside the trial, discussions continued, talking about John's results, and his methods of completing his trial. Some were impressed by his combat prowess, being able to kill his target who was a minor realm higher without using a weapon, while others criticized his straightforward approach, which was not the way of an assassin.
"Impressive, and also worrying," the Grandmaster said after a long silence.
"Worrying? Why?" Zuri asked.
"Being able to kill such a target unarmed is no doubt impressive, but his approach was far too juvenile. If that is the way he approaches the other trials, he will not be able to succeed," the Grandmaster explained.
Zuri remained silent, gaze returning to the screen. John had only just shown the absolute minimum of what he was capable of. She was sure that before the trials were over, the audience, the Grandmaster included, would be shocked to their core.
Flash!
The scene before John flashed, changing from a luxurious estate to a bustling city. People walked about the streets, going about their business. Towering buildings surrounded him, while a thick smell of the markets, restaurants, and forges hung in the air. John took a step back, wondering for a moment if he had been transported to the real world.
Soul power flaring with caution, he realized he was still in the trial, only the illusions around him were incredibly real, to the point that it almost fooled him. He reached out and touched a passerby on the shoulder, who looked at him with a displeased look and said a few words of warning before walking off.
John withdrew his hand and looked at it for a moment.
'That person was solid, as if they were truly alive. This illusory formation is incredible,' he thought.
Not only did the city and people seem incredibly lifelike, they were also tangible.
"What a profound formation," he mumbled before focusing up. He was still in the trial, and despite his combat prowess, would not let his guard down.
"Assassinate," the voice sounded out again, indicating it was a similar trial.
John looked about and then frowned.
"Assassinate? Assassinate who?" he grumbled. There were thousands of people walking about, and no one had been identified as the target.
As if answering his question, his instincts flared with warning, and he dodged to the side.
Che!
The ground shuddered slightly as a dagger pierced into the place where he had been standing a moment prior, deadly poison dripping off the tip. The attack had been so sudden and unexpected that it would have killed most cultivators of his cultivation level, with only the pinnacle geniuses being able to detect it and dodge in time.
John glanced at the dagger and then towards the direction it had come from, and noticed a cloaked person speeding away on a nearby rooftop.
"Another Middle Dao Transformation, huh?" John mused, smiling. "When does the real challenge start?"