725 Mark of the Divine!
John could instantly tell that activating his Asura Transformation had somehow enraged the source of energy, but he had no time to worry about such things as he felt himself being pushed down onto his knees despite his overwhelming physical power.
John’s teeth nearly shattered from both strain and anger as he decided to no longer hold anything back. He had come here with the intention of earning treasures or rewards, but if need be, he would destroy whatever was attempting to make him submit, and then perish.
Bloodline Ability!
“Fuck off!” John roared with furious anger as his aura exploded outwards once more with far greater power. Overwhelming power surged out from his blood as every single blood cell activated, unleashing a monstrous amount of Qi collectively. This Qi surged through John’s body and further fueled his Supreme Battle Art, and also augmented his essence strength to a monstrous degree.
His body began to tremble violently from the power outside and power within, both lethal threats to his life at the moment. However, John knew he only had one opportunity to get out of this situation, and unleashed everything at his disposal.
With the increased might surging through his body, he managed to raise his arm towards the energy source above. His finger began to glow as his draconic aura began to emanate from it, while a horrifyingly powerful energy began to emit from all around him, as he began preparations to unleash a full powered Dragontail Decimation. While he didn’t know if it would be enough, it was his best shot of destroying the temple around him and freeing himself from the restrictions.
Just as his essence power began to build to unleash his Dragontail Decimation, the energy descending down on him from above vanished. John’s gaze widened for a brief instant as the energy vanished, and he flashed to the side in an instant, leaving the confines of the formation platform.
His wary gaze stared up towards the top of the temple, which was where the source of energy had come from. After what felt like an eternity of silence, the same voice from before spoke out again.
“Why do you have the power of an Asura?” the ancient sounding voice asked, obvious animosity in its voice when it mentioned the word ‘Asura’.”
John remained silent as he heard this question, as he didn’t know to respond. He couldn’t explain the origin of his Asura Transformation, as it was his greatest secret.
As if realizing he wouldn’t answer the question, the voice asked another one instead.
“Who are you? Why do you have that bloodline?” the voice asked, asking about John instead. Its voice contained no malice when asking this question as it had when it mentioned ‘Asura.'”
John’s eyes lit up with surprise as he heard his bloodline ability mentioned, as no one else had ever recognized it. His mind raced with how to answer the question, when he suddenly remembered something that he had nearly forgotten about.
‘Should I reveal it? The voice seemed to have no malice when it mentioned my bloodline, so it may be the only way out of this situation.’
After thinking it through, John decided his course of action. His soul power surged towards his forehead, and a mysterious rune suddenly appeared on his forehead, glowing with profound power.
This rune was the symbol that his mysterious father had long ago marked him with, and told him to reveal it as a symbol of his authority and identity. For those old enough and powerful enough to recognize it, it may just save his life in times like these.
“The Mark of the Divine!” the voice uttered with obvious surprise and also reverence.
John breathed out a sigh of relief at the voice’s tone, but remained guarded for any possible change to the situation. Silence filled the temple for some time before the voice boomed within once again.
“You contain the power of an Asura, and yet are graced with the Mark of the Divine! How peculiar…” the voice mused, clearly thinking things over. The temple fell silent once more, as if the voice was unable to come to a decision about what to do.
“What is your relation to the Asuras?” the voice asked, seemingly wanting some clarification on the situation.
“I have no relation to the Asura’s,” John replied dismissively, “other than to cut down each one I come across,” he continued, his voice tinged with obvious disdain.
Not only was he prophesied to fight to the death against an Asura, he also had a life and death feud with Asuros, who had decided to serve that Asura. The only thing he felt towards them was hateful disdain.
“Hmmm…” the voice mused for a while, while John remained guarded, his body becoming strained from using both his Asura Transformation and Bloodline Ability.
“You can lower your guard,” the voice said, obviously noticing John’s internal plight.
“I’d rather not,” John scoffed, dismissing the suggestion until he knew what was going on.
“You have been marked by the Divine! Even with the taint of the Asuras running through your veins, I would not dare to make a move on you,” the voice replied, making its stance clear.
John felt no falsehoods contained within the voice, and could tell that it had decided to take no further action against him. With his body beginning to break apart from the calamitous power from within, John decided to trust in his mysterious fathers ‘mark’ and finally lowered his guard.
As his transformation and bloodline ability deactivated, John felt an overwhelming wave of fatigue wash through his entire body, while pain wracked every inch as well. Just standing was starting to become a struggle, but John remained calm and stood tall, projecting strength as best he could.
“Impressive resolve,” the voice commented, obviously seeing through John’s charade.
“What now?” John scoffed in response.
“Step onto the platform once more,” the voice instructed, causing John’s gaze to tremble for a moment.
“And why would I do that?” John asked, as the last time he stepped onto it, he had nearly died.
“Because, I have made up my mind. You will be the one I choose,” the voice boomed out. “You will be the one to carry the burden of the Jade Dragon legacy, and as payment for carrying this burden, you will obtain the power of a True Dragon!”