Birth of the Demonic Sword

'Where are the tricky defensive methods?' Noah thought as annoyance built inside him. 'Where are their secret techniques? Where are their schemes to corner me?'

Noah couldn't believe that his battle had been so short. He had barely exchanged a few blows that the fight was already over.

Elder Laura and True Speed heaved a sigh of relief. Their injuries were deep but not too severe. One healing session would be enough to fix them.

Instead, Second Prince stared at him while wearing a mocking smile. At that point, it became clear that he had never wanted to fight him seriously. His priority was to get him out of the tournament as fast as possible.

Noah felt slightly deceived. That outcome had left a bitter feeling in his mouth. He didn't expect to seize rank 6 dantians easily, but he wished to have a chance at least!

'I can't say that they made the wrong call,' Noah thought as he accepted that result. Except for Second Prince, he didn't believe that the others had a chance to survive if he fought seriously.

Second Prince and the others left to treat their injuries and prepare for the next battles. They could fight again, so that loss didn't affect them in the slightest.

They considered that outcome a victory since Noah didn't manage to inflict any lasting wound. They would be able to express their full power in the next fights.

Noah had to retreat even if he felt disappointed. There was still the mission at the center of the plane, so he had to prepare accordingly.

Thirty-seven was handling the creation of a space-ring capable of containing living beings, and Noah didn't have any project at hand. Still, he could investigate matters that rarely affected the surface.

As an expert in the magical beasts' field, Noah knew virtually any species in his Mortal Lands. His knowledge also covered a big chunk of the extinct and ancient creatures after his adventure in the hidden world.

However, the sea of magma was mysterious. Its fauna had remained the same for eras, but that didn't help the experts since only a few cultivators had explored its depths.

Noah didn't find anything specific even when he researched and purchased records concerning that topic. He knew that there were magical beasts down there, but he couldn't find out which species.

King Elbas didn't reveal much about his journey, and Noah knew that he would be vague even if he tried to investigate the matter. It was up to him to gather as much information as possible.

Noah didn't want to learn about the fauna down there because he feared those ancient species. He felt uneasy leaving that knowledge only to King Elbas.

Yet, he didn't find anything relevant or that had a bit of reliability. That made sense due to the peculiar environment of the sea of magma, but it still troubled Noah.

King Elbas would be in complete control of the mission. The experts with him would be blind unless he decided to reveal something.

'I guess thick skin and fire-related abilities,' Noah thought as he gave up on the matter.

He could guess some of the magical beasts' characteristics in the sea of magma, but that didn't help him too much. It would be up to him and his survival instinct once the mission started.

The next group battle started two months after the first one. That fight featured Dreaming Demon, Elder Regina, First Princess, and True Speed again.

The Shandal Empire only had one newly advanced powerhouse, so True Speed had to fight in every group battle.

That put a lot of pressure on him since his victory could bring the Empire back to the new continent. Yet, he had to accept his limits and go all-out only in battles that he could win.

"I surrender," True Speed announced as soon as the second group battle began, and his three opponents couldn't help but be surprised about that.

The audience saw the matter differently. Elder Regina, Dreaming Demon, and First Princess were among the best new powerhouses in the world. Noah and Second Prince were exceptions since they lived in the realm of the monsters, but those three women were only a few steps behind them.

True Speed's surrender forced the trio to go all-out from the beginning of the battle. The fight unfolded far differently than the first one, and the audience could see how strong those new assets were.

Dreaming Demon expanded her consciousness as soon as the fight began, but her opponents quickly activated countermeasures to her individuality.

Elder Regina summoned a human-shaped puppet that absorbed her opponent's mental waves and left her an area untouched by her influence.

First Princess didn't use any spell, but she relied on a similar method to keep Dreaming Demon's threatening mind away from her. She threw a dark orb that floated above her head and absorbed the mental waves flying in her direction.

Dreaming Demon's opponents had studied her power thoroughly. She had managed to block powerhouses while she was still a rank 5 cultivator in the end. Her achievements made her worthy of in-depth analysis.

Still, that wasn't enough to stop her offensive. The air affected by her consciousness bent and amassed to form a series of human-like shapes that shot toward her opponents.

The wind-shapes carried her mental waves and spread them wherever they went. More puppets appeared as they tainted other parts of the battlefield. It took only a few seconds for an army to form and surround the two women.

A wild fire surrounded First Princess' figure and fended off Dreaming Demon's puppets. Yet, her flames slowly started to bend to the Demon's will as the wind-shapes spread her influence.

It didn't take much before First Princess felt forced to rely on another inscribed item. A cylindric object flew among the puppets' army and exploded in a white radiance that removed the Demon's influence from the air.

Noah was watching the battle. He recognized that inscribed item. It was similar to the flare used by the rebels to shut down the defensive formations in the other world.

'They recovered that study,' Noah thought as the battle raged in front of his eyes.

Elder Regina had summoned an army of puppet-like beasts to fight against the enemy's creations, but she was slowly losing ground.

Dreaming Demon's influence had become too thick around the Elder, and the creatures crumbled without detonating as her will invaded their fabric. Elder Regina appeared unable to do anything against her offensive.

First Princess' next actions surprised the audience. She had just freed herself of the Demon's blockage, but she didn't counterattack. Instead, she launched a fiery snake in Elder Regina's direction.

The powerhouse of the Council was struggling already. The arrival of the snake forced her to rely on a defensive item to avoid deadly injuries. A talisman came out of her space-ring and covered her in a thick rocky armor.

Dreaming Demon didn't understand the reasons behind First Princess' actions, but she didn't waste the chance that she had created.

The intensity of her influence in the environment suddenly spiked, and her mental waves seeped in Elder Regina's armor to destroy its superficial layers.

Then, the flames arrived and crushed what remained of her defensive method. Elder Regina could only give up on the fight when she saw that the army of wind-puppets shot toward her now that she was defenseless.

Once Elder Regina left the battlefield, Dreaming Demon and First Princess went all-out against each other. They didn't exchange any word nor hesitated in unleashing everything they had at their opponent.

The sky became a mess. Dreaming Demon's mind continued to spread until First Princess used her white explosions to get rid of her influence and counterattack.

The two of them didn't manage to land a single direct blow on each other. First Princess' items saved her every time, and Dreaming Demon took control of the flames whenever they became too close.

To the audience's surprise, the two women fought until both their centers of power had exhausted their reserves of energy. That was a clear tie, and the judges above them agreed with that outcome.

As for the territory gambled in the group battle, King Elbas assigned it to the Hive since Dreaming Demon's prowess didn't come from inscribed items.