Birth of the Demonic Sword

The battlefield as a whole had reached a critical state.

Sword Saint and the old man had long since started to go all-out with attacks that left both of them injured. They were both aiming to finish off their opponent, and that moment appeared closer than ever.

The Foolery and Wilfred had cornered Decumia. The latter seemed powerless in that situation, and even her world was only waiting for its opponents to launch the final blow.

Divine Demon and Marcella were equally matched, but Sepunia's sudden burst of power had turned the battle in his favor. The moment of weakness she had created had left Marcella exposed to Divine Demon's massive attack.

Alexander, Supreme Thief, and Great Builder had locked the Rulers' Resolve into a cage meant to absorb the latter's world. The outcome of that exchange was unclear, but the fact that the privileged cultivator had yet to break free gave the higher ground to Noah's companions.

King Elbas had launched what seemed to be a final attack on Divine Architect, but seeing through his pillar was impossible. The bystanders even had to divert their senses to avoid suffering injuries due to the massive amount of power in the technique.

As for Noah, he was still inside the spherical domain of destruction with Caesar. No one could see what was happening, and it was impossible to predict possible outcomes. After all, Caesar was simply too strong.

However, before the results of those final attacks could become clear, a deafening humming noise came out of the sky and spread through the entirety of the higher plane.

The net that had covered the sky shattered as the soundwave left the white layer and spread through the world. The noise didn't even end, and it slowly transformed into a monstrous roar as it continued to echo through the higher plane.

The soundwave carried proper quasi-rank 10 power and didn't differentiate between allies or foes. It unleashed its might on anything it touched, which involved the entirety of the higher plane.

The spherical domain of destruction shattered under that power and revealed Noah and Caesar. Both of them carried injuries, but their expressions hinted at the result of the clash. Caesar expressed pure confidence, while Noah showed nothing but coldness.

The soundwave also destroyed Great Builder's cage and revealed the four experts involved in that battle. Supreme Thief, Alexander, Great Builder, and the Rulers' Resolve wore solemn faces, so it was impossible to understand who had won.

The roar ended up dispersing Divine Demon's massive attack, saving Marcella at the last second. The blood-red energy shot in every direction and vanished into the void as the experts summoned defensive techniques to endure the soundwave.

Something similar happened to the Foolery and Wilfred. The soundwave flung them away and pushed their innate defenses to their limits, inflicting severe injuries they couldn't avoid.

King Elbas' attack endured the soundwave for a few seconds, but it ultimately dispersed. Still, its golden halo remained in the area and hid the outcome of the clash.

Only Sword Saint and the old man continued to fight while the soundwave clashed on their bodies. The privileged cultivator let it reach his world so that his perfection could take care of the attack, while Sword Saint summoned a torrent of blades that created a hole in that formless power.

The two experts resumed their battle almost immediately, uncaring of the changes happening in the higher plane. The old man prepared himself to counter the imminent attack. Yet, surprise appeared on his face when Sword Saint halted his descending arm before it could touch his opponent's head.

"I found it," Sword Saint announced.

"Your time is over," The old man exclaimed.

"No," Sword Saint responded. "We were one step above you."

"We?" The old man repeated, but a second roar suddenly reached his ears and explained the nature of the situation.

The soundwave shattered some of Shafu's scales and damaged the landmass, which only forced the two to reach an agreement. The immense dragon roared its anger as it put strength in its arms, and the giant sword replied with a deep growl.

The landmass let Shafu control its immense power. The dragon swung the blade toward the sky, and a vast black cloud shot out of it before filling an entire quarter of the higher plane.

The cloud condensed into a slash during its flight, and Sword Saint couldn't help but laugh at its sight. His voice grew even louder when the old man tried to fly away.

"Where are you going?" Sword Saint shouted as he grabbed the old man and kept him still.

"You-!" The old man exclaimed before the big slash engulfed him and his opponent.

The attack continued to fly forward, uncaring of the unfortunate experts who happened to be on its path. Noah and the others decided to dodge it, and the same went for the beings fast enough to avoid the slash.

Some fear spread in the privileged cultivators' minds. The slash carried peak rank 9 power, but there was something else to it. Its energy was too deep, and the same went for its anger toward the sky. It almost seemed that the attack could hurt the white layer.

Nevertheless, the slash never managed to touch the sky. A white radiance spread through the landing area before the attack could reach the white layer and stopped its advance.

The event only made Shafu and the landmass angrier. The dragon thrust the immense blade forward and released a piercing slash aimed at the center of that white radiance.

The attack was fast and landed on the first slash in an instant. The two abilities fused to create an incredible technique, but the white radiance didn't budge. Actually, it began to apply its effects on the dark energy.

The entire higher plane remained speechless when the two massive attacks started to condense. The white radiance shrunk together with the slashes until it completely engulfed them.

The disappearance of the slashes revealed the figure hidden among the condensing white radiance. A big, humanoid figure with lightning bolts instead of skin hovered before the sky and inspected the entirety of the higher plane with its pissed eyes.

Noah, King Elbas, and all the other experts who had dealt with Heaven and Earth instantly recognized the figure. The avatar was slightly different compared to their previous encounters, but the power seeping out of its body was unmistakable. The rulers had finally stepped into the battlefield.

The privileged cultivators didn't hesitate to abandon their position. Many weaker experts who had survived the soundwave also ignored their battles to fly toward the humanoid figure.

Soon, a small army surrounded the figure and kneeled in front of it. Caesar, Marcella, and Decumia were in the lead, and Caesar didn't hesitate to voice a line that his companions echoed. "Your throne is almost ready."

"Your throne is almost ready!" The rest of the army echoed.

The figure didn't care about its underlings. Its eyes released a crackling noise when they moved toward specific spots of the battlefield.

The avatar glanced at the Rulers' Resolve's immobile figure, but the pressure radiated by its gaze revealed its true state. The privileged cultivator's body shattered and turned into dust that didn't carry any power.

The crackling figure then pointed its eyes at a fuming spot near the center of the higher plane. The smoke dispersed as soon as pressure fell on its area, revealing a smiling Sword Saint who stood along among the void.

At last, the figure gazed at an area under King Elbas. The golden halo instantly vanished, revealing a series of broken scanners and nothing else.