Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah's consciousness covered the fissure and fused with the aura on its surfaces. Thousands of swords appeared in his mind. Noah felt the weight of countless experiences filling his thoughts and giving birth to an endless number of forms.

One Cut contained hundreds of thousands of minute movements that could bring its power to the apex if executed in perfect succession. There was more than a martial art inside the ancient aura. Noah felt as if that fissure contained the experiences of a divine swordsman!

'This is incredible!' Noah exclaimed, while his awareness wavered. Only a few experts in the cultivation world could claim to have the same experience in swords.

Noah had wielded sabers since he had set his mind to learn martial arts, and swords had accompanied the entirety of his cultivation journey. He didn't abandon that practice even when his centers of power pushed him toward other abilities.

His individuality had the shape of a sword that could pierce the starry sky with its might. The first will that his ambition had fueled concerned his sharpness.

Noah had always been unwilling to separate himself from his trustworthy weapons. Becoming a hybrid had solidified that feeling and had opened a path where his expertise could flourish, reaching levels of power that other existences could only dream of wielding.

The dark star in his chest spun faster, pushing his body toward limits that Noah had yet to experience. His instincts didn't want him to stop his immersion in that divine aura, and his greed desired to absorb all the knowledge contained in the cut.

Humanoid shapes eventually appeared inside his mind. They moved, performing various forms while they wielded ethereal blades.

Noah's mind had harmonized with the sharpness carried by the ancient aura, and his thoughts played any piece of knowledge that they were able to translate.

Understanding filled his whole consciousness as his thoughts kept on materializing the forms of ancient and forgotten martial arts. Noah felt that he was staring at the very origin of every sword art, only to see them become more complex as his mind translated more pieces of information.

Noah activated the Divine Deduction technique when he felt that his mind couldn't keep up anymore with that stream of knowledge. The Divine ability pushed his consciousness's processing skills even more and allowed him to remain immersed inside the ancient aura for longer.

However, he had to give up and cut his connection with the fissure at some point. His mind felt exhausted, and one glance at the condition of his sea of consciousness made him understand that he had reached his limits.

Almost all his mental energy had disappeared during the process. Remaining immersed in that understanding had depleted most of his thoughts, making him feel beyond drained.

His vision was messy, and the sunlight hurt his eyes. Still, his condition slowly stabilized, making able to see a crowd of Elders staring at him with incredulous expressions.

Noah didn't have the strength to speak. He only wanted to rest and recover the mental energy to get back on studying the fissure again. There was too much inside that aura, and Noah didn't want to miss any of it.

Before he could shot toward a mountain to dig a cave, Faith stepped forward and handed him a small basket filled with crystalline water. She didn't speak while she stretched the item toward him.

Noah instinctively grabbed the bucket and drank from its edges. Some of the water fell on his face, and a gray smoke formed due to his body's high temperatures.

A refreshing feeling spread from his throat and face when the water touched his tissues. The tiredness that filled his mind softened and Noah found himself able to think properly again in a few seconds.

The Elders of the Council had become used to the after-effects of the fissure. They had deployed many methods to improve the training sessions near the cut and shorten the time required to recover the mental energy depleted during the enlightenment.

Those methods worked even better with Noah. His dark star purified and improved the crystalline water's healing properties before pushing them toward his mind. In a few minutes, Noah saw the level of the sea inside his sphere rising.

"You are incredible," Faith said when she saw that Noah's face had recovered some energy.

Noah paid attention to the crowd of Elders staring at him at her words, and his questioning gaze hinted that he desired an explanation to that event.

"No one had ever lasted longer than a week when inside the ancient aura," Faith replied. "The rank of the sea of consciousness isn't the only variable in place. Great Elder Diana can last only for five days, while some rank 4 cultivators have surpassed her easily."

Noah understood the meaning of her words. A strong mind was necessary to process more information, but a swordsman would deplete less mental energy to translate those forms.

"How long?" Noah asked, and the experts around him diverted their gazes. Regret appeared in the faces of some of the Elders. It seemed that they didn't like how the events had unfolded.

Yet, Faith showed a happy expression when she replied to his question. "You have been in the same position for two whole months! I knew that this place was perfect for someone like you."

Noah could guess the reason behind the Elders' regret now. They had long since learnt that the cut benefitted cultivators with swords experience, but they wanted a monopoly over that training area.

Even after the alliance with the Hive, they didn't feel the need to share that resource. The Elders knew that Noah would benefit from it more than anyone else. After all, he had swung his weapons throughout his entire cultivation journey.

The Elders didn't want to give more power to such an unruly existence, mostly since it belonged to a foreign organization. Faith had eventually convinced them, but they didn't expect Noah to be so suitable for that resource.

Noah had managed to meditate next to the Cut nine times longer than their best experts. Knowing the benefits that the fissure had given to them, they could only sigh, thinking about Noah's imminent improvements.

"You can negotiate the Kesier species with the Hive," Noah announced to the crowd, "But I can't be the only one to have access to this place."

Noah didn't believe that the cultivators of the Hive could gain much from those divine remains due to how little heroic assets relied on martial arts. Yet, hordes of hybrids filled his organizations now, and some of them had bodies suited for those teachings.

Moreover, those who belonged to the six Bloodlines had experience in martial arts even in the heroic ranks, making them even better candidates for that training area.

"Agreed!" A loud voice broke the silence that had filled the region after Noah's offer. Respectful expressions formed on the Elders' faces as Great Elder Diana appeared in the sky above them.

The Matriarch of the Council had given her official approval to Noah's request. Now both organizations could prepare for the attack at the Elbas family properly.