Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah kept his weapon stretched in front of him as he poured liquid "Breath" inside it.

The Demonic sword radiated an innate sharpness due to the meaning imbued during the forging.

Also, it carried the destructive properties of the corrosive smoke since it was one of its core materials.

Yet, the aura radiated by its shape became violent when "Breath" entered in its form.

The sharpness carried by the blade began to affect the air around it, shattering its matter and returning it to a basic form of energy.

The destruction spread and even threatened to reach the elders around Noah.

However, he quickly stored the Demonic sword back inside his space-ring and turned toward Chasing Demon to hear his opinion.

The rank 4 cultivators on the back of the table showed amazed expressions at that sight.

After all, Noah was only a rank 4 cultivator in the liquid stage, but his individuality had already begun to affect his "Breath"!

He could achieve that feat only because he had created his cultivation technique, which was already an expression of his individuality.

Nevertheless, that didn't stop the rank 4 elders from glancing at him with newfound respect.

Even those in the solid stage showed a sincere interest, the fact that the Demon Prince had a lower cultivation level didn't bother them at all after that sight.

Most of their focus was on the destruction unleashed by his "Breath" and on the threatening aura that it carried.

It was violent but also sharp.

It was as if he had found a way to focus a chaotic force into thousands of small blades.

On the other hand, the rank 5 elders quickly ignored the destructive aspect of his "Breath" and focused on the energy released after the matter fell apart.

Such primary energy seemed incredibly pliable, and many applications in the inscriptions' fields could make use of it.

Of course, they couldn't link it to the magical beasts' world.

Only Noah could know that there were similarities between that energy and the nutrients inside his body due to his hybrid status.

The rank 5 elders could see that there was something else inside Noah's individuality, but they didn't probe further since the Prince had limited himself to that demonstration.

"A focused chaos, spreading destruction. Very interesting and ambitious! Maybe, too ambitious."

Chasing Demon began to comment, and the focus of the elders immediately went on him.

"Individualities need to reflect a pure form of yourself, without being tainted by imitations and external inputs. Yet, they also need to be powerful enough to reach the higher stages of the cultivation journey. Beware of that ambition though, it might be too vast for a single cultivator to handle."

The Patriarch of the Hive purposely gave general pointers at that point.

He didn't want to affect Noah in the slightest for fear of weakening his foundation, but he still wanted to explain how individualities usually worked.

Noah performed a bow at his words before sitting back on his seat.

His mind was already going through Chasing Demon's teachings, which further added to what he was learning about the higher ranks.

'There is a correlation with the might of the individuality and its potential. There is a need for a strong personality to become a law, but something too strong might be unable to be contained. Would I need to tune my ambition down?'

That question rose inside Noah's mind for the first time in his second life.

The thought that his ambition could become his limit seemed impossible, but Chasing Demon's words were clear.

However, Noah lingered on that doubt only for a few instants before steeling his resolution again.

'This is what I am. I'll face my doom with everything I have if my ambition turns out to be too grand. Also, human limits don't apply to me.'

Noah dispersed his doubts with those thoughts.

His ambition was the sole reason why he managed to travel that far in the cultivation journey.

It was the foundation of the meanings in the Elemental forging method and the fire that fueled all his other emotions.

It wasn't something that he could tune down, and he surely wouldn't do it due to some sort of requirements.

He would become more than a single cultivator if his individuality couldn't be contained, he already was more than a human in the end.

The banquet continued for a bit more after that last exposition.

There weren't many occasions to gather all the heroic assets of the Hive in the new continent in one place, and the elders just took their time to discuss what they had learnt.

Many toasts were made to honor the Demons, and some of them even included Noah.

The Hive had gained a lot thanks to his efforts, and the elders could only be thankful to have such a prepared and talented cultivator in their ranks.

Then, Chasing Demon called off the banquet, and the elders began to disperse to return to their duties.

Most rank 4 cultivators were simply busy clearing the areas around the domes from the presence of the magical beast, but some of them had more specific tasks.

There was the management of those territories to take into consideration, and there was an equilibrium to maintain to keep them as sources of income.

The azure plain had finally resumed giving birth to Azure Credits, even if in an impure form.

The poisonous land had become the source of strange and dangerous materials in the last years, and most of them were sold to the Utra nation.

The Elbas family was the only force ready to invest in newfound materials to experiment on them.

It was that behavior that placed them at the top of the inscriptions' fields after all.

Some projects concerned the other lands too, but Thirty-seven's arrival put a hold on them.

His help in the inscriptions' fields could bring the Hive's formations to a new level, and that had immediately become the main priority of the rank 5 elders.

Improving the domes and the shining lakes was paramount if they wanted to exploit the "Breath" in the environment to its fullest, and the automaton could help in that aspect.

Noah was one of the last to stand up from the table.

His mind was focused on searching for insights concerning the darkness element, and the good wine in front of him could only make this mental sphere calmer.

Yet, the three Demons approached him when all the other heroic cultivators had left the underground hall.

"Noah Balvan, the scourge of the Utra nation and hope of all the rebels of the Mortal Lands, come with us!"

Flying Demon said while performing wide gestures with his hands.

Noah wasn't sure if he was mocking him, or just showing his appreciation toward his famous past.

However, he knew that the elder's character wasn't bad, that was just his normal behavior.

As he stood up and followed the trio though, Dreaming Demon asked him a question that hinted something interesting.

"Do you know the meaning behind our titles?"