Birth of the Demonic Sword

"It's been a while since I last fought cultivators," Skully said when the contenders of the fifth group battle gathered in the sky. She had regained her eyes in those years, and they shone with a yellow radiance.

All the other powerhouses of the Hive had qualified for the mission at the center of the plane, so they couldn't fight anymore.

The terms of the tournament saw some leniency for the organizations in that situation, but King Elbas viewed the lack of other assets as a sign that they shouldn't have too many territories.

Of course, that went against the Hive and the Council, but they couldn't stop King Elbas. Giving a few territories back to the Royals was better than wasting resources and time delaying the inevitable.

Skully opponents were Elder Laura, True Speed, and Third Prince. The tenor of their battle was far less intense compared to the others, but the four of them put up a fantastic spectacle nonetheless.

Having a rank 6 Kesier Ape fighting in the open made it difficult for many weaker cultivators to watch that battle. The runes on Skully's back forced the audience to resort to special methods to watch the fight.

Moreover, seeing that the Hive had such a peculiar powerhouse among its ranks spoke for its variety. The world's forces knew that they were behind the Hive when it came to creating a hybrid army, and they could witness its real power in that fight.

Elder Laura's complexion was a bit pale, but her past injuries didn't seem to affect her battle prowess. She and Skully ganged up on Third Prince before even minding the opponent from the Shandal Empire.

The two powerhouses had decided to kick the Royal out of the battle to eliminate the trickiest threat. Third Prince's inscribed items scared them, and they didn't want to give any territory to the Elbas family.

True Speed could only go with the flow. It felt refreshing for him to express some of his power, but he remained wary of his temporary allies since he knew how the situation would unfold afterward.

Third Prince's battle style was reckless. He couldn't match the three opponents ganging on him with his power, so he relied on many defensive and disposable items to block the attacks coming at him.

Then, he used his spells to attack. The items kept him safe, so he could focus everything he had on launching a mad offensive toward his opponents.

Elder Laura's arrows transformed mid-air and took the shape of huge magical beasts that fought against any fireball or fiery pillars that came in her direction.

True Speed dodged the enemy attacks easily and kicked the air to launch violent lightning bolts that crashed on the Royal's defenses.

Skully had it a bit worse. Noah didn't make her a dantian, and he had yet to even think about that project. She could only rely on the natives' inscription method to launch spells, but their power was quite dull.

However, her defenses were solid. Skully's sea of consciousness had improved a lot since her return to the surface. Her mind was among the strongest in the Hive, and she could even pair her mental waves with the Kesier species' innate ability.

The flames that came in her direction fell apart before they could touch her fur. Skully then condensed them with her consciousness and launched them back at her opponent.

Third Prince initially managed to hold his ground against the three of them, but his stash of inscribed items depleted at high speed due to that relentless offensive.

It only took him an hour to understand that he wouldn't find a way out of that situation no matter how many defenses he used. It was better to invest his resources in easier battles.

The focus of the allied powerhouses moved on True Speed after Third Prince conceded. The expert of the Shandal Empire had to deal with their joint offensive, but he put up a fight at that time.

Elder Laura's arrows struggled to catch True Speed. He was too fast, and his movement technique virtually had no limitations in terms of distance.

True Speed didn't have limits on his stamina either. His lower body had fused with a magical beast, so it carried all the hybrids' fantastic properties.

He could sprint for days without even sweating. He could even launch an endless number of lightning bolts as long as he had "Breath". The audience could finally see that he wasn't weak at all.

Yet, Skully's innate ability countered his high mobility. Thoughts were faster than him, and a Kesier Ape founded its attacks on them.

True Speed continued to dodge the water creatures coming in his direction when he hit an invisible wall. The air around him had condensed so much that it had created a proper cage.

Countless lightning bolts exploded inside the invisible cage as True Speed tried to free himself, but even his element's piercing features weren't enough to penetrate the condensed air.

That was quite normal. Skully was also a hybrid, so the two innate abilities were almost on the same level. True Speed's skills were a bit weaker only due to the lower level of his mental sphere.

True Speed decided to reveal some of his power when he saw a series of bright blue dragons coming in his direction. Elder Laura had exploited the chance created by Skully and had attacked her opponent instantly.

The sky turned yellow as True Speed gathered all the sparks amassed in his fur to execute one of his strongest attacks. Lightning bolts crackled on his whole body as he crouched inside the cage.

Noah was the only one able to understand what True Speed was doing. "Breath" flowed above the expert's skin as he sprinted forward and turned his body into a massive lightning bolt.

That move was similar to Noah's techniques. It fused a spell with a martial art to bring the best qualities of a hybrid body out!

The lightning bolt pierced the condensed air of the cage and flew toward Elder Laura. True Speed didn't want to attack Skully since her physical strength was similar to his.

Elder Laura threw everything she had at the incoming yellow flash. Massive water creatures appeared in front of her and created a tight defense.

'It will fail,' Noah thought when he saw the defensive wall. Cultivators never expected how strong the techniques of a hybrid could be. Simple spells weren't enough to stop it.

As Noah had predicted, the giant lightning bolt pierced the dragon-like creatures that had appeared in Elder Laura's protection. True Speed's figure reappeared with feet aiming at the Elder as the beasts exploded.

The fact that he had become visible again meant that it had lost some speed to pierce the creatures. Skully could intervene in time to entangle her mental waves around True Speed and stop his charge once and for all.

True Speed could only give up when he saw Elder Laura loading her bow while Skully's mental waves restricted him. He had lost again, but no one would underestimate him anymore.

Skully and Elder Laura bowed at each other at that point, and the former conceded to give that territory to the Council. Chasing Demon and Great Elder Diana had already decided on that matter beforehand.

The fifth group battle came to an end, but King Elbas had yet another surprise to show. When he descended to announce the outcome, he assigned the territory to the Council, but he didn't acknowledge Elder Laura's prowess.

In his opinion, the Elder was still too weak. She still needed a few centuries inside the sixth rank to learn how to use her power correctly.