Ascension of the immortal Asura

A wave of shock surged through John, who took a step backwards, raising his guard. He didn't know how this man figured that out so quickly, and he didn't know how the man would react to learning such a truth. If he were to be attacked, he would fight back with everything he had, regardless of the odds against him.

"What? What are you talking about?" Luri asked his father, his face brimming with confusion. Suri nearby had the same expression, her eyes darting between her father and John.

"You are not going to deny this claim?" the man asked John, noticing his guarded demeanor.

"You seem pretty sure you're correct, so what's the point of denying it?" John replied coldly, ready to take action at a moment's notice.

"What? It's true?" Luri exclaimed, his surprise deepening.

"Who are you?" their father asked coldly, eyes narrowed. "What world did you come from? Why did you come here? Are you a spy for the Devil race? Hired to infiltrate one of the Human Dao sect's? Speak! What is your purpose for coming here? If you do not give me a satisfying answer, I'll kill you on the spot, regardless of you saving my children."

John remained silent, thinking about how best to navigate this situation. He had wanted to keep the fact that he was from another world secret, but that secret had been figured out almost immediately. After thinking over the many ways he could answer the man, he decided that the truth was the most likely way for him to get out of this.

If he lied and the man detected that, he would most likely have a fight to the death against a Late World Expansion cultivator in his near future.

"You're right," John said, his voice firm yet calm. "I am from another world."

John's confirmation shocked the youths, while their father's eyes hardened even further, his jaw tightening.

"But it's not what you think," he continued. "I came here from another world after entering a transportation formation that took me from my homeworld to here. I had no idea of your world's existence before coming here, and have no motives for coming here either."

The man studied John closely, looking for the slightest signs of lying, but could obviously find none. Still, that was far from enough to satisfy him.

"You just happened to enter a random formation that took you here?" the man asked, his voice filled with doubt. "And I'm supposed to believe that?"

John shrugged, as it was the truth.

"Not good enough," the man said firmly, stepping forward towards John. "I need more information. More answers. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to kill you out of caution."

John studied the man, and noticed his sincerity in his words. He would most definitely carry out his threat if he thought it necessary to protect his sect.

John shook his head at himself, chastising himself for getting into such a situation. However, he had no way to know this man could figure out his secret.

"If I mention the word 'Asura', what does that mean to you?" John asked the man. He was going to tell the man for his reason to flee his homeworld, but wanted to know the man's stance on the Asuras.

The man's gaze hardened, a deep frown appearing on his face as he heard the word. To the side, Luri and Suri gave each other a quick glance, seeing if the other knew what an Asura was, but neither knew the answer.

"How do you know that word?" the man asked coldly. His aura leaked out and pressed down on John, no doubt trying to force him to answer out of fear.

"Father, what's an 'Asura'," Luri asked curiously.

His father ignored his question, his eyes glued to John's face, studying every detail of his expressions.

"I asked you a question first," John said firmly, not backing down for a single moment. "What is your stance on the Asuras?"

The man's eyes flickered for a moment, clearly surprised John held his ground so firmly in the face of the man's aura. The man remained silent for quite some time, studying John.

"What stance is there to have?" the man said firmly, "the Asura's are mortal enemies of humanity."

The man's words caused John to sigh with relief.

'At least we share the same stance,' he thought. If this world somehow sided with the Asura's, that would have been a nightmare. However, he realized he needed to keep his Asura Transformation a secret for now. Who knew how the man would react if he ever revealed it. Until he knew it was safe to do so, he wouldn't use it unless absolutely forced to.

"Well, at least we agree on that," John said, considering his next question. "And does this world have any Asura's?"

"What? Of course not," the man said firmly, "there hasn't been a sighting of an Asura since the ancient war ended."

'The ancient war!' John thought, feeling both surprised and yet not surprised at the same time. That sounded a lot like the ancient war from his homeworld, a war that was caused by the Asuras. He had put bits and pieces together from what he had learned of the war that it was most likely a war that dealt with more than just their world, but this was the first confirmation of that.

'It seems like the scope of that war was quite large,' he thought, realizing just how little he knew about the war, and what had happened in the past. The man's words gave him some hope that perhaps this world knew a bit more of the ancient war, information that he hoped to obtain. He put the thought aside, focusing on the situation at hand.

"Since I know your stance, I'll explain further. On my homeworld, an Asura still exists."

"What? Impossible!" the man exclaimed, filled with disbelief, and also doubt.

"Why is that impossible?" John asked curiously.

"Because, when the war unexpectedly ended, the Asura's that didn't flee were eradicated without exception," the man said firmly, as if this was not for dispute.

John raised an eyebrow at the man's words.

'Flee? Asura's fleeing? That seems impossible,' he thought. From what he had learned of the Asura's, they were creatures of pure slaughter and carnage, wanting nothing more than to fight, kill, and feast. They did not seem like the type of foe who would flee for any reason whatsoever.

He thought of the Asura on the Divine Martial Continent, the one that had chased them to the ends of the world. He shook his head at the thought of that hellish creature ever fleeing.

'No, that would never happen," John thought, realizing the mysteries of the ancient war were far more complex than he could have ever imagined.