Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah flew toward the bushland next to the region featuring the forest of Yellow-silvers. His opponents were already waiting for him, but he wasn't late to the appointment.

Five years had passed in complete peace. The region rebuilt by King Elbas didn't show any sign of activity in that period, and no one from the Elbas family had occupied his area.

King Elbas had taken the entire region as his training area. The other assets of his organization overcrowded the few remaining lands in his domain, but he didn't seem to care.

Elder Laura, Second Prince, and True Speed floated on different borders of the region.

Second Prince occupied the southern border, showing his usual golden robes and the small shining crown on his head. The red crystal at the center of his forehead reflected the sunlight, and his smile was wide as he looked at his opponents.

True Speed floated above the eastern coast. He was a youthful tall man with short black hair and no beard. A tight red robe underlined his bulging muscles, but he had a peculiarity that was hard to miss.

The new powerhouse of the Empire didn't have human feet. Both his legs had wolf-like features, and his hairy paws stuck out from the bottom of his robe.

The Empire had met some success with the hybrid transformation. Every organization had done the same, but only a few of them had implemented it to high-ranking cultivators.

Noah couldn't help but praise that type of process in his mind. True Speed had gone through a proper partial transformation to avoid the issues connected with his individuality.

That didn't give the expert a hybrid body, but it unlocked some abilities humans couldn't perform. It wasn't hard to guess that the man's name came from a movement ability.

Elder Laura flew above the northern border. She had long brown hair tied in a bun and a pair of green eyes. She appeared relatively young too, and her green robe enhanced her curves even if it didn't reveal her skin.

According to June, Elder Laura was one of the few higher-ups of the Council who had never tried to pressure Faith. The latter also liked her, so her death wasn't something that she wanted to see.

The three cultivators had a similar cultivation level. They were all rank 6 cultivators in the gaseous stage, with Second Prince being the most advanced.

Those small differences in power weren't enough to declare who was the strongest among them. It only indicated who was closer to become a law.

Noah was the weaker of them in terms of centers of power. Only his sea of consciousness was above theirs, but his body and dantian were far behind. Still, that didn't speak for his battle prowess, and the anxiety lingering on his opponents' gazes when they looked at him proved that.

The four of them flew toward the center of the region when the four leaders appeared high in the sky. King Elbas, God's Left Hand, Great Elder Diana, and Chasing Demon would act as judges for each battle.

Noah didn't say anything when he and his opponents gathered. He bowed only out of respect for the leaders above them, but he wasn't in the mood for political foreplays.

Second Prince felt in the same way, but Elder Laura and True Speed paid particular attention to Noah when they bowed toward him.

"It's an honor to fight against the Demon Prince of the Hive," True Speed said before retreating to the coastline.

"I can't wait to fight the bane of the Elbas family," Elder Laura announced before retreating toward her border.

Noah saw the woman leaving and decided to use his consciousness to send her a mental message. "If you see darkness, run."

He didn't care that the other two could see that action. The Hive and the Council were allies. It was only normal to exchange a few private words between cultivators from those organizations.

Elder Laura stopped her tracks when the mental message reached her consciousness, and she glanced at Noah wearing an interested face. Yet, some fear had appeared in her eyes.

Second Prince snorted before retreating toward his border too, and Noah decided to imitate him to begin that battle.

King Elbas waited for everyone to be ready to throw a fireball that exploded mid-air, releasing small flames that dispersed in the environment. That was the signal decided previously by the four organizations.

The battle had officially begun now, and Noah soon saw how feared he was by all three experts. The fire dispersed only to reveal Elder Laura, True Speed, and Second Prince flying toward him at full speed.

'Are they for real?' Noah thought as he released dark matter to create Snore next to him.

Elder Laura wielded an inscribed black bow and loaded three water arrows as she flew toward Noah.

Yellow sparks crackled on True Speed's legs, and the fur on his feet stood up when he activated his innate ability. Small shockwaves spread from under him, and his figure became hard to see as he accelerated.

Second Prince had quickly summoned his fiery snakes by giving fire to one of his silver hair. He and the beasts flew toward Noah in what appeared to be a planned joint attack against the strongest among them.

The three powerhouses had instantly chosen to join their forces to defeat Noah! Their intense auras filled the environment and cracked the sky at their passage, but Noah couldn't feel any danger at that sight.

'My senses must have dulled after fighting for so long against a divine will,' Noah thought as he lifted his arm and arched his fingers as if they were claws.

Noah wasn't underestimating his opponents, but he had fought Sword Saint for years by then. He knew the terror that divine existences could generate, so he didn't feel anything when against powerhouses.

Attacks eventually shot in his direction. Elder Laura fired her water arrows, and Second Prince commanded the snakes around him to release a torrent of flames. True Speed kicked the air in front of him, and a series of quick lightning bolts flew in the sky.

The attacks converged in Noah's position, but he didn't perform any evasive maneuver. He only lowered his arm with a quick movement, and five black cracks formed as his fingers dug in the fabric of the sky.

The three powerhouses didn't even sense the attack coming. Only Second Prince understood something at the last instant and activated a defensive item. A large golden shield appeared in front of the trio, who could only watch five thick slashes appearing in the sky and cutting their attacks.

The slashes flew through their abilities before landing on the golden shield. The structure of the defensive item began to tremble to no end at that point, and its light eventually dispersed as cracks appeared on its surface.

Second Prince threw away one talisman from his space-ring after Noah destroyed the spell. He didn't even try to hide his surprise at the sight of Noah's prowess.

That shield was enough to endure a few spells launched by cultivators close to the last part of the gaseous stage. It was quite strong as a defensive item, but Noah had pierced it with a single attack.

Moreover, Noah's slashes had crossed attacks before landing on the shield. That had dispersed some of their power, but they still managed to pierce Second Prince's defensive item.

The three powerhouses calmly realized that Noah's battle prowess had already gone past ordinary gaseous stage cultivators.