The Prime Shadow paused for a moment, letting John digest the information.
"The world my master was defending was this world, the Nine Dao World," the Prime Shadow said, his words surprising even the Guildmaster, who was clearly also hearing this story for the first time.
"He received sound transmission from the war-communication channels for some time, detailing that the Asura's had all seemingly left, and that the war was over. A collective effort was carried out after that, to exterminate all lingering Demons, and some Asura's who were for some reason unable to leave with the rest of their horde.
My master settled down on this world shortly after, and with his cultivation mostly crippled from that battle, cut off all communication with the outside world and settled down. He never did learn why the Asura's suddenly left, and wanted nothing to do with them anymore either. He lived in seclusion for all those years until I stumbled upon him, and the rest is of little importance."
Silence filled the room for quite some time, the heaviness of the story weighing down on everyone. John's mind continued to race with unanswered questions, ones he knew he couldn't get answered at the moment.
"Thank you for telling me the truth of the war," John said, truly appreciative of learning the truth. He could feel the weight of Karma bear down on him harder, as if just knowing the truth would lead to dangers in the future, but at this point, he didn't care. Knowing the truth was far more important to him than avoiding the dangers it would bring.
The Prime Shadow nodded.
"With all that said, it's time to return to the matters that still need to be resolved," the Prime Shadow said.
"What matters are those?" John asked, although he had a vague idea of what it was.
"The matter of you becoming my successor," the Prime Shadow said, then sighed. "When I heard that you were not from a Great or Hegemon World, I had intended to make you my successor as Prime Shadow of the Guild. But now, upon hearing your story, and the future that awaits you, I know your journey will not be limited to just this world."
John nodded silently, but sighed with relief internally. The Prime Shadow had most likely realized that he would refuse the offer based on what he still needed to do, and not having to actually reject the offer was something he appreciated.
"However," the Prime Shadow continued with some vigor in his tone. "That does not mean the business between you and myself is concluded."
"What business is that?" John asked curiously.
ƥandasnovel·ƈom "While you would most certainly reject my offer of discipleship, while you are part of the Guild, you will still enjoy all its benefits," the Prime Shadow said, smiling at John's surprised reaction. "You will have access to everything you would have had you accepted to become my disciple. The finest battle arts, the pinnacle resources of the Guild…all of this will be available for you to use."
"What's the condition?" John asked, knowing there was more to this deal, as it was too good to be true without some kind of condition.
While he would be able to help the Guild complete some missions while he was still on this world, he would eventually leave, and with it, take the resources the Guild spent on him with him. It seemed like a bad investment to him, and he knew there was more to the deal than the Prime Shadow was revealing.
"Ah, you saw right through me," the Prime Shadow said, smiling as John rolled his eyes, knowing there was a condition to meet.
"And the condition is?" John asked.
"You will have access to the things I mentioned earlier, on the condition that you agree to learn a single assassination art from me, and master it fully. If you agree to that, the Guild will support you as much as possible."
"You want to teach me assassination art, which I'm assuming is quite profound, and want to reward me with resources and treasures on top of that? How does that make sense? What's in it for you?" John asked, tilting his head to the side.
"The assassination art is one of two assassination arts that my master created," the Prime Shadow said. "You are not suitable for the first one, but the second one…I do not think I could find a better suited candidate even if I looked for one my entire life."
He paused, noticed John's questioning gaze, then continued.
"My master had hoped to hone his assassination arts to the pinnacle, and have his arts known and feared throughout the entire universe," the Prime Shadow said, then shook his head ruefully.
"However, the war stopped his aspirations before he could reach them, and so instead he imparted those assassination arts to me, hoping I could achieve what he could not. Unfortunately, I was not able to live up to his standards, but that does not mean I failed. As long as you agree to learn this art, and in the future, hone it to a level that the entire universe comes to know and fear, then I shall spare no resource to help you achieve that goal. Ensuring the legacy of my master is everything to me."
John felt a weight on his shoulders upon hearing the grand aspirations of the Prime Shadow and his master. However, compared to his other tasks, like finding his mother, or returning the dragon egg to the ancestral origin of the Jade Dragons, this task, while difficult, actually seemed quite reasonable for him.
After a moment of consideration, John nodded his head, agreeing to the terms. With the weight of the Guild behind him, not only would his cultivation speed up, but he would also be able to search for Lilian with much more resources had he not agreed. And to top it all off, he was going to be taught some ultimate assassination technique. It was an obvious decision, one so good that he would be an absolute idiot to refuse.
"I accept," John said.
"Excellent," the Prime Shadow said, a wide, relieved smile appearing on his face. He turned to the Grandmaster, who had remained silent for a long time, listening to the two discuss various matters.
"Those who witnessed his trial are still in the viewing room, per the instructions I gave Grandmaster Three," the Prime Shadow said. "Go there and explain personally to everyone who witnessed John that what they saw is of the S-Tier Classification. They are to treat any information regarding John with that classification going forward as well. Failure to comply with these mandates will result in immediate termination."
The Guildmaster nodded his head, stood, and then vanished in the blink of an eye. John didn't even see the man move, he just disappeared so fast.
'The Holy Manifestation realm is something else,' he thought, turning his head to the Prime Shadow. The Prime Shadow walked over to him and placed his hand on John's shoulder.
"Come, your training starts now."
"Wait," John said, his words causing the Prime Shadow to pause.
"My main intention of joining the Guild is to find someone important to me," he explained, wanting to have the Guild start its search for Lilian as soon as possible. "Zuri said that she can post a High-Priority Mission, or something like that, to have the gui-"
"Zuri huh?" the Prime Shadow mused while scratching his chin thoughtfully. "That girl…ah yes, she's quite impressive. I have high hopes for her."
The Prime Shadow shifted his gaze to John.
"Zuri is the one who found you and brought you into the Guild, correct?"
John nodded silently.
"And she knows of this person you're looking for?"
John nodded again.
A metallic object suddenly appeared in the Prime Shadow's hands, which he infused with his Qi. It then vanished in the blink of an eye.
…
Zuri sat silently in the audience room, waiting for the word that they were allowed to leave. A flash of light appeared before her without warning, startling her and those around her. The light faded, revealing a metallic object hovering before her; an official seal of the Guild.
Zuri inspected the seal with a confused expression, then reached out, took it, and inspected the contents contained within the seal. Her eyes went wide, and lips began to tremble with emotion as she saw her new rank.
"Congratulations," the Grandmaster next to her said, smiling lightly. "It seems the…Guildmaster is pleased with your contribution of finding the boy."
…
Back in the room far beneath the Guild Headquarters, the Prime Shadow looked back at John.
"For her contribution of finding you, Zuri's rank has been increased, from Shadow Captain to Shadow Master. She now holds sufficient authority to mobilize a good portion of the Guild to search for this person you seek, and has also been instructed to take care of this mission personally. Does that take care of that matter?"
John nodded silently, relieved to hear the importance the Prime Shadow placed on finding Lilian.
"Good, then off we go."
The Prime Shadows Qi flared briefly. John felt himself wrapped up in the Prime Shadows power, pulled through space without being able to resist. He appeared in a new location a moment later, the bright light of the sun beating down on him.
"Try not to die during this training," the Prime Shadow said, standing behind him. "That would be awfully anti-climactic. With your talent, you should be fine, I think..."
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