Ascension of the immortal Asura

John relished in the power and nature of the aura he was emitting for a short moment. The power he felt as he unleashed the Immortal Asura Transformation Art was intoxicating, and he couldn't get enough of it.

However, the strain it put on his body was immense, and John knew he wouldn't be able to fight for more than a minute or two before the technique would end.

A smile appeared on his face as he stared at the rapidly approaching lion, and John kicked off the ground violently and dashed forward. The solid stone floor trembled greatly from the force of his stride.

Boom!

Scythe and claw collided once more, and both John and the Lion were knocked back ever so slightly, revealing equal amounts of strength.

"Not bad! Again"

John unleashed his body's strength to his fullest, and dashed forward once more. Scythe and claws collided over and over, causing the room to tremble from the force of the collisions. John slowly but surely started to gain a small advantage over the lion.

However, his arms were shaking greatly from the force of the collisions, and his body was slowly but surely starting to take damage from both the lion and the Immortal Asura Transformation Art.

Blood began to flow from the lion's paws, and it quickly dashed backwards, narrowly dodging one of his scythe attacks.

It opened its mouth, and an incredibly powerful ball of Qi began to gather, before it shot out in a powerful beam directly towards John. The air rippled as the beam cut directly towards John.

"Hmm?"

John had never seen a beast use such a move before, as all the beasts he fought before had used their bodies. This was the first time he had seen a beast use a Qi attack. However, his face remained calm as he stared at the approaching attack.

Boom!

John narrowly managed to dodge the attack, and the attack exploded violently against the wall of the room far behind him. The explosion of Qi radiated outwards and washed over him from behind, causing John to lose his balance slightly.

The lion seized this opportunity and unleashed another powerful Qi attack towards John.

'Dodging these attacks in such a small room is just going to cause more of a headache than taking them head on. In that case…'

John suddenly raised his scythe above his head, and it began to glow powerfully in an ominous color.

Divine Reaping Scythe!

He swung down with all his might and sent out the divine reaping scythe towards the Qi attack. An incredibly sharp and powerful scythe image of black and red Qi cut directly towards the lions attack, and the two attacks collided in mid air. John's face paled slightly as he felt his essence Qi reserves drop by over a third.

The Divine Reaping Scythe cleaved the lion's Qi attack in two, causing the two halves to lose some power and branch off to each side of him.

Boom!

The two halves of the Qi attack collided against the wall behind him once more, but their diminished power didn't cause a problem for John this time around.

The Divine Reaping Scythe cleaved directly into the lion's Qi attack and continued to sail forth rapidly without losing much power at all. The technique focused on unleashing an incredibly fast and sharp scythe image, and was much more profound than the attack unleashed by the lion.

Slice!

The attack landed on the lion's front chest before it could even react. A large wound deep enough to see bones opened up on the lion, and blood began to flow out.

Roar!

The lion roared in pain and sent out another Qi attack towards John. He was already prepared for such an attack, and had started channeling his Divine Reaping Scythe once more.

'Even if I land another attack like that, it still won't be enough to kill it. I need to unleash this attack directly!'

Much like the Myriad Annihilation Scythe, the Divine Reaping Scythe was at its most powerful state when concentrated on the scythe blade itself. Essence Qi cultivators fought at range, and so they would send out the attack at range like John just had. Fighting up close against a beast an entire minor realm above them would be tantamount to suicide, as one landed attack from the lion would be able to threaten their lives.

However, John had his powerful body to ensure his safety up close against the lion, and so decided to unleash the Divine Reaping Scythe directly with the scythe itself.

John stared at the approaching Qi attack, and dodged it at the last moment before kicking off the ground with all his strength. He rapidly approached the lion, and his scythe swung down just as he reached it.

The lion roared once more at his counterattack, and it once again opened its mouth to send out a powerful Qi attack directly towards him in an effort to deter John's attack. The lion felt its immense power, and knew it would be a fatal attack if it landed on its body.

'Hmph, I've already traded blows against an opponent a realm above me before, and I'll do it again!"

Just like when he fought the Stalking Mantis assassin, John was once again fully willing to trade blows to kill the lion. Unlike last time however, John had greatly increased the defensive power of his body by unleashing the Immortal Asura Transformation Art, which gave him much greater confidence in surviving without life threatening injuries.

John swung down with his scythe, and met the lions Qi attack head on.

His scythe directly carved through the Qi beam, while the remaining power of the lion's attack landed directly on his body. John grit his teeth in pain as the attack sheared flesh directly off his body, exposing muscle and bone, but continued unflinchingly with his attack.

Slice!

His Divine Reaping Scythe carved directly through the lion's attack, and reached it before it could react. The scythes blade smashed directly against the lion's skull, and after a brief moment of struggle cleaved into its head. The lion's skull was directly cleaved in two, and its body collapsed lifelessly to the floor.

John stared at the lifeless lion's corpse, before it slowly began to dissipate. His aura rapidly faded, and he once again returned to his normal state.

His breathing was incredibly heavy and his face pale, as he had just used the Immortal Asura Transformation Art as well as two Divine Reaping Scythes. He had also taken the lions powerful attack directly head on, resulting in serious wounds all over his body.

Pain and fatigue washed over him, and John collapsed on the floor, struggling to maintain his consciousness.