Ascension of the Immortal Asura

The Yang-Sovereign's words caused many nearby to stand from their seats in shock, while the ten million strong crowd couldn't help but overhear, becoming filled with disbelief themselves. This reaction spread far and wide across the continent, as those watching the fight remotely through formation screens overheard this as well. 

"What! Impossible! No one since the Sword-Sovereign or my son has been born with Heavenly Runes, let alone Origin Runes," the Sword-Saint said hastily, unable to accept that his son was outshone by John in another category. His son, Ji'Han, was the first Nine-Dao World cultivator born with Heavenly Essence Runes in tens of thousands of years, and was a point of pride for the Sword-Saint.

"Stop embarrassing yourself," the Prime Shadow said with a light scoff, clearly enjoying the Sword-Saint's reaction. 

The Sword-Saint gave him a firm glare of displeasure, unhappy by this remark.

"I've already confirmed myself that the boys runes are Origin runes," the Prime Shadow continued. "Not only that, but you yourself should be able to tell the difference. While none of us have ever seen Origin runes before, its abundantly clear that John's lightning essence runes are above Heavenly Runes, such as the ones your son has."

While no one present had ever seen Origin Essence Runes, information regarding Essence Runes was relatively commonplace on the Nine-Dao World, including information on Origin Essence Runes. Unlike John's homeworld, that had been shattered and its ancient history decimated, the Nine-Dao World was left relatively intact, as was its ancient information. 

Essence Runes were broken into four tiers. Common. King. Heavenly. And lastly, Origin. The most common, per the name, were Common Runes. Common Essence Runes were easy to determine from a glance. They were relatively large, approximately three to four inches across, as well as relatively simple in their runic designs. A typical Common Essence Rune cultivator had anywhere from one hundred to one thousand runes covering the exterior and interior of their body.Lastly, they were the most dull of all the rune grades, barely luminescent when activated.

Above that were King Essence Runes, which were smaller, about one to two inches across, more numerous, as well as more complex than Common Runes. As runes were the language of the Heavens, the more complicated the designs, the more powerful they were. The King Essence Runes were also brighter, shining to a point that the cultivators body glowed considerably when fully activated. For a typical King Essence Rune cultivator, their runic count ranged from one thousand to five thousand runes on and within their body.

Heavenly Essence Runes were even smaller, about an inch or less across, and were so detailed that it looked like a thousand lines made up each rune. Typical Heavenly Essence Rune cultivators had anywhere from five thousand to ten thousand runes on their body. 

The runes linked seamlessly across the cultivators entire body, and glowed even brighter when activated. When Heavenly Essence Runes were activated, it looked as though the cultivator was glowing from within, like magma shining from cracks in the skin. Additionally, the aura coming from the runes was more profound than the Common or King Essence Rune. 

Lastly, Origin Essence Runes were completely unlike the other three. They were so small that it was hard to pinpoint one rune specifically without looking closely, and they linked up with one another so perfectly it was as if the entire runic pattern was not thousands of separate runes, but one large rune made of tens of thousands of sub-runes. There was no flaw in the runic design, making it incredibly eye-catching to any who saw it. It was as if the Heavens painted a perfect design on a body, making it impossible to not admire with awe.

The number of runes was also much greater than even Heavenly Essence Runes. Ten thousand runes was already an amazing number, as Heavenly Essence Rune cultivators were like a canvas on which the Heavens wrote on, a perfect work of creativity, power, and beauty. 

John's body contained over thirty thousand Origin Essence Runes, each so intricately detailed that it was almost impossible to avert one's eyes. When seen, it was as if one was looking at the most perfect work of art the Heaven's had ever created.

The runes also glowed differently than the other stages. While the other stage runes glowed like a stable light source was coming from within the body, shining through the runes to make them glow, Origin Essence Runes seemed to be constantly shifting in color and intensity. The shift was subtle, but it was as if the runes themselves were alive, like lightning swimming through the runic patterns.

Compared to the other runes, Origin Essence Runes felt alive while the rest felt relatively muted. Those runes on John's body brimmed with vibrant vitality, flickering and moving within. 

The most important difference between the tiers was their profundity. The more profound the runes, the more power they could lend to the cultivator. Each rune, when activated, acted as a miniature amplification formation, empowering the specific essence type the runes consisted of. The more intricate the runes and the more numerous, the more power they provided.

With all this already known to the Sovereigns of the Nine-Dao World, there was no mistaking the types of essence runes John's body contained. The Sword-Saint stared down at John for a moment, teeth tightly gritted. He exhaled sharply and then sat down, no longer entertaining the subject.

He glanced to his side, giving his son a quick look. Ji'Han's face was rather calm, but his clenched jaw betrayed his otherwise calm expression.

"This changes nothing, son," the Sword-Saint whispered to him. "Your overall talent is still supreme, and you will win the tournament, obtain the Ancient Blessing, and also firm your marriage for the world to see."

He said the last part looking directly at Lilian, who turned to meet his gaze. Her neutral expression turned into a sly smile, one clearly enjoying John's constant undermining of the Sword-Saint and his son. He narrowed his gaze at her, then averted his eyes, returning them to the arena below.

"No wonder you are so defensive of this boy," the Yang-Sovereign said to the Prime Shadow. "I had thought your level of commitment to him odd, but with the natural talents he had displayed thus far, I have to admit that I would be the exact same in your position."

The Prime-Shadow replied with a smile and a headnod, then turned his gaze down below, a small smile on his face knowing what John had revealed thus far was only the tip of the iceberg.

In the arena, Araxus looked at John's glowing Origin Essence Runes, which he had forcefully activated. His shocked expression lingered for some time before fading away, a self-deprecating laugh sounding out a moment later.

"Hahaha, I knew I felt something special coming from your body, but never did I imagine it to be Origin Runes," Araxus said, his laughter dying out as a heavy look appeared on his face.

"Do you still want to fight?" John asked calmly. With his Origin Essence Runes revealed, so too was his advantage in this fight revealed. When two cultivators of the same essence type fought, a great determining factor was essence rune quality. 

Not only did John's Origin Essence Runes make him more powerful when it came to using lightning, it also made him more resistant to lightning damage as well. His opponent, Araxus, was a lightning cultivator, and so while he himself had King Grade essence runes, they were not nearly as profound as John's runes.

The other difference between the two was their stage. John's runes were in the Creation stage, while Araxus' King Essence Runes were in the Awakened stage, allowing him to actively use them to augment his power.

Araxus tilted his head to the side, a confused look on his face. "Do I still want to fight?" he repeated John's words questioningly. He let the question linge in the air for a moment. Then he grinned. It was not a normal grin, but a wild, almost bloodlusted grin normally seen on one caught up in the heat of battle.

"No, I don't want to fight," he said, his words causing many to gasp with shock. Was Araxus, the fourth ranked genius of the tournament, really going to surrender without a fight.

Boom!

Lightning exploded from Araxus' body a moment later, thick and powerful tendrils of lightning coursing into the air, slamming violently against the formation screens and arena floor. His aura began to surge higher and higher, forcing the lightning to become even more powerful and violent.

"No, I don't just want to fight," Araxus repeated himself, each word booming like a thunderclap as he assumed a combat-ready stance. "I want to win!"