Ascension of the immortal Asura

The makeshift city that sprung up before the Divine Source Monastary and stone stele continued to grow by the second as more and more people arrived.

Word had quickly spread across the continent of what was happening, causing more and more curious people to flock to the city. Many had not come initially as they didn't think there would be much fanfare to see outside the realm, but the existence of the stele changed that.

What was initially a crowd just over a million strong, had now surged to five million, and was still growing rapidly. Cultivators from all factions and races arrived, keeping the diversity of the city as it had initially been.

The monks watched the surge of people arrive regularly, but made no actions against it as no disturbances were coming from the makeshift city. The people had learned that as long as they did not fight or make a ruckus, they would be left to do what they pleased.

The regular rumbling that shook the makeshift city died down, leaving the stunned onlookers to gaze at the final update on the stone stele.

They had already somewhat braces themselves for the outcome when they saw who the two final participants were, but were still speechless as they gazed the words beneath John's name.

-John Fenix

-Trial Two: Last Standing

-Trial Two Score: Ten

"He did it. He came first again!" A stunned voice in the Honorable Alliance camp drifted out.

"Amazing! To think our Honorable Alliance has such a genius!" Others exclaimed.

"Tch, he must be cheating somehow," many in the areas opposed to the Honorable Alliance spat out in displeasure at the results, although none of them believed their own words. How could someone cheat the Divine Source Monastary unnoticed? It was too absurd to be possible.

Regardless of the feelings one had for John, there was one thing for certain. His name, already linked with 'Asura', had become the hottest topic of discussion continent wise.

All those who had entered the realm were pinnacle geniuses, the best the world had produced over the last century. And yet, the newly arrived John or 'Asura' had bested them twice already, and by staggering margins. Many who were sensible knew they were seeing the meteoric rise of a genius amongst geniuses, one at a level never before seen.

'Asura' had already carved his name in legends due to his Talent Testing Steps score, and appeared to be adding to that legend even more within the mysterious realm. That alone attracted more people towards the makeshift city, as none wanted to miss out in the rising of a future legend.

…

Zeras' piercing eyes calmly gazed at the screen of light before him, although his one raised eyebrow betrayed his otherwise emotionless face.

"First twice in a row, huh?" Zeras mused to himself as he stared at John's name. He had been through both trials himself, and knew the difficulty of both.

John's performance in the first trial had been stunning enough, but his second trial surprised Zeras even more. As a pampered prince of a lofty empire, Zeras had not had to struggle much in his life. This made him softer to pain and discomfort than he would have liked, but he still managed to make it to fourth place again thanks to his immense talent, and special upbringing. His father had made sure he was a proper cultivator through and through.

However, John's time had completely shattered how long Zeras had lasted, and technically he didn't even have a time. It just said "last standing."

A talented genius was one thing, but talented genius capable of withstanding that much pain and agony was a whole different beast. Lasting that long proved one thing for certain; John had most definitely had a grueling and miserable life thus far, filled with dangers and death at every corner.

"And yet…he has managed to keep his life, and thrive. He may be harder to deal with than father initially guessed," Zeras mused with a frown on his face.

He sighed and looked upwards to the sky, his frown replaced with a blank expression.

"And yet…Laia has firmly attached herself to him, so there's no choice in the matter. Either he submits to father, or he dies. There is no third option. I hope it's the former. I'd hate to see sadness on my little sister's vibrant face," Zeras sighed softly and started walking forward as the way before him opened up.

…

The next trial opened up for the participants, allowing them to move forward. While none of them knew this, they had all initially appeared at various locations on the perimeter of the realm, equidistant from each other. It was as if they were the nothings on a clock, each cultivator being an hour notch.

They all moved forward per the monks suggestion, towards the center of the realm. As they did so, the distance between them lessened as they all moved

closer to the same location.

...

The screen of light disappeared before John, while the way forward seemed to open up for him. He could tell that the formation blocking his progress had vanished.

He did not hesitate as he moved forward, all while doing his best to recover. The pain thay he had felt left no damage, but had drained him mentally. He felt his mind was spent, and needed to recover as best as possible before the next trial.

While walking and focusing on recovery, the landscape around him slowly changed, although he hardly noticed this. After some time, John stopped and gazed all around him, shocked that he had failed to notice the changes.

All around him was a thick mist, too thick to see through. The mist also restricted his divine sense, making it mostly useless. He tried to make sense of where he was, but could see nothing at all.

"What's going on?" John said, surprised that he had failed to notice such an obvious change to the environment. The air was completely still and no sound could be heard other than his own breathing, which made the mist around him all the more disorienting.

Within the silence, the familiar monotonous voice sounded out once more.

"Find the true path forward, and do not be led astray!"