Ascension of the immortal Asura

Roar!

A massive beast roared before John as the earth rumbled violently. The beast was similar in size to the Rot-Breath Drake he had previously killed, but was far more powerful. The cultivation of this Cinderflame Drake was in the Middle Dao Transformation Realm, and was towards the top of the realm almost ready to break through.

The opponent was not something John could take lightly, and would require his full strength to fight against, and even then his victory would be pyrrhic at best. However, he stood before this colossal and monstrously powerful beast with his aura withdrawn, as if he were a normal mortal.

His cold gaze locked onto the drake before him, who stared back after his initial roar, slightly confused. Something far weaker than it should be running in fear, but John stood there as if the drake was of no concern to him. Normally John would relish an opportunity to fight such a strong opponent, but right now he had no time for such things.

"I know you can understand me," John said to the drake. As beasts progressed in cultivation, so did their intelligence. While the drake could not speak back to him or fully understand him fluently, it could more or less understand what John was saying.

The drake stared back at John in silence, its eyes shifting as it tried to figure out what was going on. This was beyond anything it had ever encountered before, and it didn't know how to react. It wanted to kill the human before it, but for some reason held back at the moment, as if its instincts warned it against such an action.

"This isn't a trap," John said out loud, reading through the creature's thoughts. "I have no need for a trap to kill you if I wanted."

Roar!

The drake roared out once again, angered by John's dismissive words. John ignored the powerful roar as he gazed at the drake before him, which hulked over him and made him look like no more than an ant before it.

"I'm in a bit of a rush, so while normally I would just kill you, I'll give you an opportunity to keep your life," he said, his words causing the drake to roar angrily once again.

Not wanting to hear his insults any further, the drake's right claw swiped down towards John, intending to crush him like a bug.

Boom!

The ground exploded as the drakes claw slammed down onto John with incredible power. The drake's eyes shifted towards Laia and Kirii in the distance, but quickly shifted back towards its claw as it felt it moving against its well.

"Motherfucker! I said I don't have time for this!" an angered cry from beneath its claw erupted outward, and the drake suddenly felt its claw gripped by a powerful force while a powerful aura exploded out as well. Before it could react, its entire body was lifted off the ground, upended before being slammed onto its back.

Bang!

The ground shattered from the impact, while the drake roared out in pained anger as it quickly realigned itself and stared down at John, who had slammed the drake onto its back. While the attack had done virtually no damage, it was John's way of showing the drake a bit of his strength. The drake's body was massive, and the strength required to do such a thing was beyond monstrous.

The drake opened its mouth as a glowing flame built up within. It clearly intended to unleash an attack on John once again, but it stopped suddenly, as if unsure of what to do next. It stared at John with heightened caution, while its instincts flared widely.

Two blood red eyes stared back at the drake, while the power erupting from John finally reached a level enough to give the drake pause. However, John's power was not yet at a level that made the drake feel lethal danger, and so flames once again built up within its mouth.

The flames within the drakes mouth slowly faded away as it stared at John, whose cold, murderous gaze stared back. As a Dao Transformation beast, the drake had incredible instincts, far greater than humans had.

With these heightened instincts, it could tell that the puny human opponent before it could threaten its life. It didn't know how such a thing was possible, but it could tell that if it unleashed an attack, its life would most likely end soon after. While it was confident in taking the human down with it, it did not desire to throw its life away for no reason.

"Good, I see you've seen reason," John said coldly to the drake. "Now, my offer is this. Let us ride on your back, and you will guide us through this realm as far as you can take us."

Roar!

The drake roared in anger once again, incensed at the suggestion of being ridden. As a proud Dao Transformation drake, a beast with a tinge of dragon blood in its lineage, such a thing was beneath it. It would rather die than be ridden by someone unworthy.

The drakes eyes widened slightly as it shifted towards an object that had appeared in John's hands. It felt a familiar aura with the object, as if it were an ancient calling.

"This is a true dragon's reverse scale," John said to the drake. "I'm sure you recognize the aura, being part dragon yourself."

The drake stared at the reverse scale, and could clearly tell what it was. It could also tell that the scale had been fully subdued by John, something that shocked it to its core. Such a feat was virtually impossible, and only the most heavenly of geniuses were capable of doing such a thing. It could tell what John was saying by bringing out the scale.

It was as if he were saying, "If I can subdue a true-dragons reverse scale, then I can subdue you."

…

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Powerful footsteps slammed onto the earth in quick succession, trembling the land while a massive creature crashed through a foggy forest of decay and death. The other creatures in the nearby area quickly moved away, not willing to fight against a creature as powerful as a Cinderflame Drake.

Atop the Cinderflame Drake's head stood John, Laia and Kirii, who watched from atop the creature as it made its way rapidly through the Dao Transformation trial.

"You know, I thought your plan was beyond crazy and wouldn't work, but it seems I was the one who was wrong," Laia said to John, who had successfully bargained with the drake.

He had agreed to not kill the drake, if it took him through the Dao Transformation Realm. If he had to travel normally, each creature he ran into would attempt to fight him, seeing him as an easy meal. This would greatly slow his progress down, which was something he could not afford at the moment. The drake was one of the more powerful creatures in the trial, and its mere presence caused many of the other beasts to flee, allowing for a swift journey forward.

"Let's just hope that we make it through in time," John replied, his cold, murderous expression permanently etched on his face.