Birth of the Demonic Sword

The Shandal Empire made its official return to the new continent after True Speed's victory.

The previous pacts sealed with the invaders became null, and King Elbas even helped remove some of the oaths that God's Left Hand couldn't handle independently.

One region wasn't much, but it saved the Empire from its dire condition. Now it could dispel the blue dome, keep its influence in the Papral nation, and build structures for the heroic cultivators on the new continent.

That was a breakthrough for the Empire, and True Speed was a hero for his achievement. His perseverance, patience, and determination had allowed him to seize the right chance at the right moment.

The alliance saw the gains seized during King Elbas' journey vanish. Losing a few territories wasn't a problem, but its influence on the new continent grew thin as its domains shrunk.

The Hive and the Council couldn't lose vital territories, but many of their plans suffered heavy delay now that the four organizations were on the new continent together again.

There were still a few regions involved in the tournament, but King Elbas had already made his mind on the new powerhouses. He only had to review his evaluation once due to Elder Paul's performance in the ninth battle.

Skully and True Speed had continued to fight in every group battle since their organizations couldn't deploy anyone else, and the Council had only deployed Elder Paul on its side.

Instead, Second Princess and Third Prince alternated themselves in the fights. The situation in the battles was against them, but they tried their best to win nonetheless.

Skully, True Speed, and Elder Paul would always gang up on the Royals before focusing on each other. The Elbas family was too dangerous right now, so they had silently decided to keep its expansion in check.

The Hive and the Council always came out as winners of the next battles. True Speed didn't manage to take his opponents by surprise anymore, so he lost due to the numerical disadvantage every time.

Chasing Demon and Great Elder Diana divided their territories according to their past domains and terms of their alliance, so their underlings didn't fight between each other.

That approach made it harder for them to gain King Elbas' acknowledgment, but Skully didn't care, and Elder Paul didn't seem to meet his standards initially.

However, his living weapon changed in the ninth battle. It didn't have the horrid shape of a beating mass anymore. It had transformed into a tense sack-like membrane that covered his arm.

Elder Paul's flames turned into a scarlet liquid capable of scorching the sky when enhanced with the improved living weapon. They weren't lava, but they resembled some of its features in their liquid form.

The new flames burned the Royal's fire and blocked True Speed's lightning bolts. If it weren't for Chasing Demon and Great Elder Diana's agreement, Elder Paul would win every battle with his new weapon.

The Council sent Elder Laura after King Elbas acknowledged Elder Paul. She did her best to gain as much experience as possible, but her efforts didn't amount to anything.

Elder Laura had already planned what she would do after the tournament was over. She had decided to undergo the procedure with the living weapon after seeing True Speed and Elder Paul.

Losing the possibility to seize raw laws annoyed her. Still, she had to admit that King Elbas was right. Her prowess was inferior to the other powerhouses.

Going into the mission at the center of the plane could cost her life. Seizing every opportunity to advance was the right approach to the cultivation journey, but she had to be alive to do that.

The tournament eventually ended and left the political borders of the new continent almost unchanged. The only difference was in the few regions that had fallen under the Shandal Empire and the Elbas family.

First Prince and True Speed's victories had given one new territory to their organizations. They were even neighbors now that Empire shared the northern border with the Elbas family.

The Council had theoretically lost more in the tournament, but its alliance with the Hive allowed it to retain most of its former power. That kept the two organizations as the overlords of the new continent.

The chaos and excitement created for the tournament quickly dispersed as the battles ended. The fourteen for King Elbas' mission gathered to settle the last agreements before departing toward their respective habitations.

Both new and old assets had to prepare for the journey. Obtaining clothes and defensive items that could work well in the sea of magma was the least they could do before the mission.

Noah returned to his regular training, but Thirty-seven gave him good news soon. It took the automaton only a few years to complete his assignment, and Noah didn't hesitate to claim it.

"Come here," Noah shouted as he floated among the pure darkness of Night's underground area.

"I'm not going inside a cage again!" Night shouted as it hid among the darkness that it had created.

The Pterodactyl had yet to succeed on its task, but Noah guessed that it was close. He had sensed that as soon as he entered the underground area. There was life in that darkness.

"You can come out whenever you want, " Noah said, "But the sea of magma is quite shining. I can't let you swim freely there."

"You want to cage me and prevent me from destroying the light!" Night replied. "Dismantle me already since you are at it."

"Our journey will bring us at the center of the plane," Noah said with a teasing tone. "The core should have the most shining materials in the world. Are you sure you want to miss this chance to see one of your greatest enemies?"

Silence fell in the underground area, but faint steps soon echoed in through the darkness. The edges of a Pterodactyl became visible, and Noah descended toward it to check its condition.

Night's new body carried most of its species' features. Noah had replicated many of those unique creatures' mysterious characteristics, but he had made it far smaller than the original.

Night had the shape of a Pterodactyl now, but it was only two meters tall and four wide when it spread its wings. Noah had yet to make proper modifications, but the dark matter already improved its body by a lot.

"Here," Noah said as he raised his hand toward the creature. Night could see three space-rings on his fingers, but one of them was dark-purple and didn't block the Pterodactyl.

The tip of Night's head touched the dark-purple ring, and its figure slowly disappeared from the underground area.

'How is it inside?' Noah asked through his mental connection with the creature.

Night snorted a few times before returning to the outside world and answering. "It's small, but it's dark, at least. I can even see the outside while I'm there."

Thirty-seven had ideated the new space-ring according to Noah's requests. Since he knew how picky the Pterodactyl was, he had asked the automaton to make the insides without light.

The automaton had been impeccable, and he had even explained to Noah how that inscribed item worked.

The new space-ring didn't work as a regular storage item. It wasn't a mini separate dimension. Thirty-seven had to steal actual space from the outside world and compress it through an unusual formation that covered the metal.

Night wouldn't enter a different dimension. It would teleport to that different space inside the ring. The difference between the two procedures appeared slight with words, but Noah could understand how hard it had been for the automaton.

The Demonic Sword flew inside the new ring and remained there. Night snorted again before following its example and sharing the separate space with the weapon.

Noah was almost ready to leave, and he had already requested the materials that he needed to use before departing from the surface. Still, he had a few years, so he could avoid neglecting his training.