Ascension of the Immortal Asura

The sound of the crowd drowned out the silence on the platform, the crowd unaware of the discussion taking place at the moment between the powerhouses of the world. Had they been witness to it, they too would be stunned into silence, unable to form words or even think.

Nearby, Lilian listened to the conversation silently, an amused smirk on her face the entire time. She looked at Ji'Han who sat next to her, her smile growing larger as she noticed a serious, contemplative look on his face for the first time. 

Ji'Han was gripping his armrests tightly, his face stoic with seriousness. He eventually noticed her gaze, and looked at her. His eyes narrowed as he spotted her amused smile, clearly not shocked at all by this conversation, indicating one thing. She had known of this power the entire time.

"No wonder you are so confident in him," Ji'Han said softly, not wanting to draw attention to himself. 

"Are you intimidated?" Lilian asked amusingly.

Ji'Han remained stoic for a moment, then against Lilian's expectations, smiled instead. His smile widened into an almost maniacal one, his eyes seeming to pierce into her soul.

"On the contrary," he said, his aura simmering within as if he wanted to burst alight with power and battle this very moment. "It seems I have finally found someone my age that might be able to push me to my limits. I couldn't be happier than I am right now."

Lilian raised an eyebrow, then smirked.

"Don't be too happy," she warned him. "The stronger he is, the greater your odds of defeat."

"Hmph," Ji'Han scoffed, clearly not threatened by John or Lilian's words. His gaze shifted to the other side as the powerhouses started talking again.

"Are you absolutely certain?" the Yang-Sovereign eventually asked.

"I would never make such a serious claim without being certain of it. Just as my blood tells me his inheritance is of a Jade Dragon, my clan's history gives me insights into the nature of which his power was obtained," the Netherfrost Beast nodded. "True Dragons are akin to gods to us beasts. I would never make light of any situation regarding them, especially one as unheard of as this."

Silence filled the platform for a short while again before a snapping sound rang out, drawing the attention of all. 

"That's impossible! Utterly impossible!" the Sword-Saint scowled, the armrests of his chair broken under the strength of his angered grip. "How could that barbaric boy be worthy of such powers? I refuse to believe it!"

"Let's prevail with cooler heads," the Yang-Sovereign cautioned the Sword-Saint, as his words were akin to calling the Netherfrost Beast a liar. 

The Sword-Saint gritted his teeth, then hastily stood from his seat.

"Ji'Han, follow me," he said coldly, then took to the sky in the direction of the Yang-Spheres exit. Ji'Han stood and flew behind his father, the two of them disappearing from sight. Lilian watched them leave, then returned her gaze to the other powerhouses.

She spotted the Prime Shadow looking at her, the two of them never having formally spoken since Ji'Han and the Sword-Saint were always present. She smiled and nodded at him, greeting him warmly.

"John has spoken highly of you," the Prime Shadow said through sound transmission. "From what I can tell up close, his praise still undersold your talent."

Lilian smiled, clearly pleased by the compliment. "Thank you for taking care of him all this time," Lilian replied. "I hope you didn't go easy on him."

"Haha, on the contrary," the Prime Shadow laughed. 

"Good," Lilian nodded, the two of them starting a conversation about everything of importance, from Lilian's arrival to the world, to the current state of things.

…

Bang!

The door to the room flew open as the Sword-Saint strode in, footsteps heavy with emotion. Ji'Han followed behind him, silent since they had left the arena. The Sword-Saint led them into a training room, the most luxurious one on the Sword-Dao Sects flying ship. 

The training room was almost boundless, with a rich Qi environment far greater than the natural outside level of Qi, which helped with long training sessions, and promoted faster cultivation. The Sword-Saint's body flickered, appearing several miles deep into the training room. 

Ji'Han followed him, appearing next to his father.

"What are we doing here?" Ji'Han asked, looking about the training room. He had a fight the next day, and his father had instructed him to be fully rested for each fight thus far. 

"Tch, that fucking brat," the Sword-Saint clicked his tongue, not hearing Ji'Han's questions.

"Father?" Ji'Han asked again, at which point the Sword-Saint finally looked at him.

"I'm going to teach you the ultimate killing sword art I know," the Sword-Saint said, his face serious and voice cold.

"The ultimate killing sword art?" Ji'Han repeated. "If it's so amazing, why haven't I been taught it yet."

The Sword-Saint took a step forward and placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "This art is one of our Sects three most powerful sword arts, taught only to those who have reached the Half-Step Holy Manifestation Realm.

"I'm far from that realm," Ji'Han said, face scrunched up with confusion. "So why would you teach me it now?"

"This Sword Art exacts a grave toll from the user," the Sword-Saint replied. "The main concern is one's control over the Sword Dao. If one does not have sufficient control over the Sword Dao, this Sword Art could end up killing the user. That level of comprehension and control is usually at the Half-Step Holy Manifestation Realm, but I am confident you will be able to use it."

"Why now? Do you think I cannot defeat John?" Ji'Han asked, as this was clearly stemming from the powers John had just revealed.

"No, I do not think that," the Sword-Saint said, "but it's better to be prepared than unprepared. If you are able to unleash this sword art, your victory will be one hundred percent assured."

"So, what's the 'grave toll' using this art will inflict on me?" Ji'Han asked, as such a powerful art would have been taught to him unless it had great side effects.

The Sword-Saint remained silent for a moment before answering.

"Even if you are able to unleash this art successfully, you will sustain significant internal and external damage. If you use this art, you will not be able to cultivate at all for a minimum of three months, perhaps more, and the effects will linger for at least a year afterward, hindering your cultivation slightly until all the wounds are healed, and even the most heavenly of healing items will not be able to speed up the process," the Sword-Saint explained to a surprised Ji'Han.

Three months might not seem like much to an average person, but to a genius like Ji'Han, it was a very significant amount of time. That was three months he was unable to cultivate during the prime of his youth. Such a hindrance could result in his ultimate cultivation peak being impacted by a minor realm or two, and could even be the thing that prevented him from reaching the Astral King realm in the future.

As for the year-long effect, that only made the situation worse. It was an unacceptable consequence.

"I know what you're thinking," the Sword-Saint said, reading his son's thoughts through his doubtful expression. "Such a cost is normally not worth it, but right now it is. If you are pushed to the point of having to use this, do so without question. The rewards bestowed upon you by the Ancient Blessings will vastly outweigh the negative consequences of using this sword art, so victory is the only thing that matters, do you understand?"

The two exchanged a heavy gaze for a while before Ji'Han eventually nodded.

"Good," the Sword-Saint smiled. "This art is called the Sacred Sword Scripture, and is an advanced extension of the Sword Art you already use, the True Sword Mantra. Let's begin"