Ascension of the immortal Asura

"Nine Holy-Manifestation cultivators?" John asked, mouth agape.

Luri looked at him curiously, then nodded.

John leaned back against the cage bars, exhaling deeply.

'Nine Holy Manifestation cultivators. This world has at least nine of them, if not more!'

He could hardly believe it. On his homeworld, the Holy Manifestation realm was practically mythical. There were only three cultivators on the entire world that were known to him to be at that level. The Jade Dragon Emperor. The Grand Abbot. And the Asura.

And yet, this world had nine of them at the very least.

'It seems my initial guess that this world is at a higher-level cultivation wise seems to be true,' John mused, glancing at the two youths before him. Their cultivation level at their age would make them pinnacle geniuses back home, but here…

'I wonder how they compare to the top geniuses of this world,' he thought, curious about the power structure of this world.

"Anyways," Luri continued, "the existence of the Dao-Sovereigns makes it quite hard for one side to outright win over the other without complete annihilation of everyone weaker than them. Even if one side could win without suffering too many losses, there's still the beast race. They would no doubt pounce on the weakened victor, defeat them, and claim dominion of the entire world. Thus, a stalemate of sorts has formed."

"If the beast race is a problem, couldn't the Devil Race and Human race team up to defeat them, then resume the war without care?" John asked.

Suri giggled softly through her hands, as if John had asked the silliest question.

"Neither side would dare to do that," Luri said, staring sideways at his sister. "That's where the fourth continent comes into play. It has many names, but most refer to it as the Continent of War."

"Continent of War?" John asked. "Is that where the wars between the races are fought?"

"For the most part," Luri nodded his head. "Neither side wants the war to destroy their sects and clans, so they fight most of their battles on the Continent of War, trying to weaken the other side enough to gain an advantage."

"So how does that continent make it so that neither side would target the beast race?" John asked curiously.

"Because," Luri said. "While the wars are fought on that continent, that continent belongs to one being. One pinnacle existence. One who allows the wars to be fought on his land."

"The Eternal Serpent," Suri whispered, as if saying the name too loud would bring trouble.

"The Eternal Serpent?" John asked for more clarification.

"While the Nine Dao Powers rule the world, that is only because the Eternal Serpent allows them to," Luri said as if this was all common knowledge. "The Eternal Serpent lives on the Continent of War, deep within the ruins of an ancient civilization. It allows the other races to battle on its continent, although the reason is not really known why, and does not interfere with the world at all as long as no one bothers it," Luri said, pausing for a brief moment to gather his thoughts.

"The Eternal Serpent's strength is undeniable, even for the Nine Dao-Sovereigns," Luri continued. "And some of the beast race is very faintly related to the Serpent. It allows the world to do as it pleases, with one exception. The beast race must be left alone on its continent. What happens outside their continent does not concern it, even if beasts die elsewhere, but within their own continent, they are untouchable. That is why neither our race nor the Devil race even thinks of doing such a thing."

Luri fell silent, allowing John to digest everything he had been told. John fell silent as well, his mind overwhelmed with the details of this world. It was truly a marvelous, and also dangerous world, one filled with powerful beings beyond his imagination.

He thought of the mysterious Eternal Serpent, and his thoughts drifted to the hellish Asura, both beings of unbelievable might.

'I wonder who would win between the two?'

John pondered the question, and then shook his head knowingly, as if there was no other answer. It was as if considering the other option was blasphemy, even with the one gravely injured.

'The Asura, no doubt.'

Still, he thought of such a battle, and what a wonder it would be to see.

The three continued to converse for a long time, John asking many questions, Luri answering them as best as possible. The long day eventually passed into nighttime, the caravan falling deathly silent. John sat with his back against the cage, thinking over everything he had been told.

'So, these slavers are opportunists, selling human slaves to the Devil race at great risk, but also great reward.'

Luri had told him that slavery was not too common on the continent, and was limited to those unlucky enough to be caught by slavers selling humans to the Devil race. Such a practice was outlawed and punishable by death, but the reward was too great for many to ignore.

Traveling in the air with a flying ship was too risky, as all flying ships leaving the coasts were inspected according to Luri. With the risk so great, the slavers traveled slowly through very dangerous areas; areas they were less likely to be spotted.

This Immortal Forest was one of those areas. A forest that stretched nearly from coast to coast, wider than the entire Divine Martial Continent. Within the forest lived many powerful beasts, the most powerful of all being the Serpent of the forest.

The serpent was somehow distantly related to the Eternal Serpent according to legends, and had power equal to a Half-Step Holy Manifestation cultivator. It ruled the Immortal Forest, and any who came across its path were sure to be destroyed. That was why John was rebuked so harshly after the first night, as they were doing their best to hide from the best and avoid detection.

With the forest so filled with life, the serpent would ignore a petty caravan unless it made too much of a commotion. Another important piece of information was the time they had until they could not escape. According to Luri, it would take another three weeks for them to reach the coast, at which point the slavers would use a secret route underneath the ocean to travel to the Devil continent to sell them as slaves.

If that happened, their lives would become horrible nightmares. John still remembered the horrified look on Suris' face as this was discussed, no doubt thinking of what her life was soon to be like. It would undoubtedly be even worse for someone like her, a young, beautiful, talented female.

After those discussions, the topics shifted, revealing a bit more about the power structure of the continent, as well as the identity of the two youths.

'According to Luri, the continent consists of powers broken into Tiers. There are the Three Dao Sects, then there are Tier One powers, Tier Two Powers…all the way down to Tier Five Powers.'

Furthermore, according to Luri, the tiers of a power were determined by two factors. The cultivation of the power's leader, and the talent of its top genius. Genius levels were also broken down into tiers, a much more structured system than what existed in his homeworld.

Luri and Suri came from a Tier Three power, the Light Dao Sect, a subsidiary power of the Yang Dao Sect. Most of the lower tier sects pledged their allegiance to one of the three Dao Sects, getting their protection and assistance, while paying taxes and other things to those sects.

There had been too much to discuss and not enough time before nighttime came, and so there were still many unanswered questions John had. The long night passed by, and when morning came, he regrouped with the two youths.

"I've decided," John said, the two of them raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Decided?" Luri asked curiously.

"Once I'm done healing, I'll break us out of here, kill these slavers, and take you back to the Light Dao Sect," John said calmly, as if it would be no big deal.

The two others stared at him with mouths agape, as if he had said the most shocking thing ever.

"How?" Luri asked, recovering from his shock faster than Suri. "The slavers are too strong! Not only do they have us chained by chains we cannot break, they even have a Half-Step World Cultivation leader. There's no way we can escape."

John smiled confidently, his confidence confusing the two. How could he be so calm, so confident, about such a terrible situation.

"You don't have to worry about all that," John said calmly, "just know that once I'm healed, I'll do what I said, and take you two back to the Light Dao Sect. The only requirement is that you speak to your elders and Sect Leader, and convince them to let me join your sect."

John fell silent, waiting for their answer. He needed to find out about Lilian as fast as possible, and according to Luri, only an official tiered power could get access to the continent's most powerful information network. Joining the Light Dao Sect would allow him to do just that.

"You two do have enough status to achieve that?" John asked. If they were no-names within the sect, then his request would most likely be impossible.

The siblings shared a quick glance, Luri nodding his head at his sister.

"We do," Luri said, turning his now-firm gaze to John. "I don't know why, but I believe you can do what you said you can do. If you manage to return us home, you will no doubt be able to join our sect."

"Good," John smiled. "Then it's settled. In two weeks, your freedom will be returned to you."

The siblings shared another glance, and then tears formed in the corners of Suri's eyes, while Luri's eyes became watery as well. They embraced each other with a warm, loving hug, and then turned to John a moment later, hope returned to their previously hopeless faces. They didn't know how, but they could tell that John was not lying. This mysterious youth that had fallen from the sky was to be their savior, freeing them from a nightmarish fate they had resigned themselves to.

John smiled at them, and then closed his eyes, his mind falling into a trance. He appeared in his palace realm, within the massive room that held the Immortal Asura Tome. He flipped the pages, turning a page that had previously been locked to him.

"Limiter of Life," he whispered, and then got to work.