Chapter 276: Returning to the War Hall

…

Knock! Knock!

"Who dares disturb me during my alchemy session?" an angry voice echoed through the door John was knocking on.

Bang!

The door was flung open violently, revealing a fuming middle aged man. The man was just about to start yelling, when he noticed who it was.

"You! What are you doing here?" Pill Emperor Thunderpill asked with a vexed voice.

"What am I doing here? You should know that already. I want you to make a pill for me," John replied as he strode past the Pill Emperor and into his alchemy chambers.

"You can't just waltz in as you please," Thunderpill rebuked angrily as he turned to look at John.

"Of course I can. Now, is there anything you can do with this?" John asked as a blood red fruit suddenly appeared in the air before him.

Thunderpill was about to reply angrily, but his eyes suddenly locked on to the fruit hovering before John. He quickly dashed forward, and stood directly before it, inspecting it closely.

"Do you know what this?" John asked curiously. He had eaten one of the fruits back in the ancient lands, when he had plucked them from the fruit that had grown out of the large skull. The fruit had greatly improved the constitution of his body, and so he was hoping that Thunderpill could do something with the last remaining one

Thunderpill continued to inspect the pill for some time, his face becoming more and more excited, before replying.

"I have absolutely no idea what this fruit is, as I've never seen it before or even read about it. But I can tell it is an absolutely amazing fruit. How much do you want for it?" Thunderpill asked, his voice eager.

"I don't want anything for it," John frowned as he replied. "I want you to turn it into a pill for me to eat, hopefully to boost my body's constitution."

Thunderpill frowned for a moment, but didn't argue against John. Their agreement was clear, and he had to make John whatever pill he wanted. 

"Fine. As long as I get to improve my alchemy, I'm fine with making this pill for you," Thunderpill replied. He would definitely take any opportunity to work with new ingredients, as such a thing was rare at his level of expertise.

"Also, is there anything you can do with these?" John asked, as several orangish fruits hovered before him.

"Nascent Yang Fruits!" Thunderpill replied, slightly shocked. 

Although he recognized the fruits, they were quite rare, and incredibly valuable. 

"I want you to use these fruits to make pills that will improve my strength. Can you do that?" John asked.

"Can I do that?" Thunderpill replied with a displeased tone. "Of course I can. I didn't achieve my rank of Pill Emperor for nothing!"

Thunderpill quickly gathered the fruits carefully, making sure to keep them intact. He rushed towards his cauldron, and took out several large pieces of paper from a side drawer. An ink quill appeared in his hands, as he began to write formulations and theories regarding the pills he would create.

"Ah," Thunderpill suddenly remembered John. He looked over his shoulder and tossed an object to John. 

"This is a sound transmission disk. It already has my sound transmission signature recorded in it, and so I will use it to contact you when your pills are ready," Thunderpill explained.

John inspected the disk for a moment before putting it away. He was going to get one of these in the near future, but Thunderpill's generous gift would not go unreceived.

John strode out of the Pill Hall, and stood before the building for a short while, thinking of what to do next. He quickly made up his mind, and strode to the martial library, at which point he picked out one of the battle axe battle arts, the Sky Sundering Axe!

While the battle art was not too profound, and left John wanting a bit more, he did not complain. It was the best battle art he could find at the moment for his battle axe, and it would boost his combat power quite significantly.

John also picked up the Meridian Forging portions of the Heavenly Lightning Domain and Lightning Ruin, as he would soon enter that cultivation tier and wanted to be prepared beforehand. 

After visiting the library, John visited a weapon trade hall, and picked up a scythe. It was a high Core Formation grade scythe, and was decent, but nothing too spectacular. Compared to his battle axe, it was quite lacking.

"Is there anything else I need to do?" John mused as he stood outside once more. His mind raced through everything he needed, and could not think of anything else.

"I guess I'll head over to the War Hall now," John grumbled as he began to walk.

After leisurely strolling through the sect, John arrived at the War Hall quite some time later. Wearing the signature robes of the War Hall, John was not stopped by the guards, and was allowed to enter its grounds unhindered.

"John?" A voice sounded out behind John, causing him to quickly turn around.

"Elder Thame, it's been a while," John replied with a smile on his face. Elder Thame was the Elder who had first greeted him when he had joined the War Hall, and had guided him through it.

"John, where have you been?" Elder Thame asked in a hurried voice. His demeanor instantly told John that something was off.

"I-" John replied, but was cut off by Elder Thame.

"The Vice-Sect Leader had been expecting your arrival for nearly half a day now. Where have you been? Ah, nevermind, get out of here and let her cool down before she finds yo-"

Boom!

Elder Thame's words were cut off by a sudden explosion of earth before him, as a pained cry echoed out from within. Dust and dirt was kicked up, and the ground shattered, forming a crater before the Elder.

Elder Thame's face turned into one of pity, as he stared down into the pit before him. The fading dirt and dust revealed John, lying painfully and miserably on his stomach as a foot pressed onto his back from above.

"You dare have the gall to keep me waiting" the voice of the Vice Sect Leader sounded out, as her foot dug deeper and deeper into John's back. "It seems you don't place me highly in your eyes. Don't worry, we'll fix that vision of yours quite quickly."