Birth of the Demonic Sword

Turning time back a bit before Alexander's grand demonstration of power.

Noah, Sword Saint, Wilfred, and Divine Demon had just accepted that they had to reveal the trump cards developed in those years to ensure the destruction of the cauldron.

Robert and Steven had sacrificed themselves to stop the new batch of ghosts, so the cauldron was at its emptiest now. It would take a while to create those dangerous beings, and that gave the four experts the chance to prepare their next attacks carefully.

Noah and the others had enough time to launch multiple techniques before the arrival of the next batch of ghosts, but that wasn't their plan. They knew that numbers wouldn't help in that situation. Their attacks could have enough power to damage a rank 9 inscribed item in the middle tier or not. There was nothing in-between at that point.

The four experts were aware of Alexander's awful condition, but they had to prioritize their target. Their unfolded minds and spread concentration would only go in the way of the gathering of energy for their last attacks. Noah didn't give any order, but they all decided to retrieve their mental waves and focus everything on a single spot.

Wilfred's attacks had always been relatively simple. He wasn't a complicated existence. His power came from his physical strength. His abilities focused on turning that limited type of offensive into ranged techniques that he could apply against every opponent.

However, the cauldron didn't move and didn't have defensive methods. It was nothing more than a giant target floating in the sky. Wilfred could fly forward, plant his feet on its flawless surface, and close his eyes to accumulate his energy.

Divine Demon had used sword attacks during the previous offensive, but Noah's challenge forced him to change his approach. His existence activated and converged all its efforts to a nigh-impossible but simple task. It had to provide the expert with something that could damage an item standing two tiers above his current level.

The gaps among tiers technically were easier to fill than those involving stages due to the difference between the sheer amount of energy required in the task. Yet, that didn't improve Divine Demon's situation too much.

That theory applied only when the difference in power was of one tier or stage. It was nonsensical to think that a single expert could cover a larger difference of strength. The classification of the cultivation levels would lose its meaning otherwise.

Still, that was exactly what Noah had challenged Divine Demon to do. The words used by Noah also forced the expert to damage the cauldron on his own, and he could only consider their literal meaning.

The world had to come up with an attack capable of making Divine Demon win the challenge. The expert's influence spread through the world even if his consciousness remained on the cauldron. Pieces of the sky and parts of the storms shattered to transform into azure energy, but that power didn't immediately change.

The azure energy usually worked together with the Divine Deduction technique's conclusions to create new abilities meant to win the challenges. However, the task was too tough at that time. The world had to improve the expert's iconic ability before the latter could develop a method that could grant him victory.

The energy started flowing inside Divine Demon's mind and fill its insides with power that rushed toward the lines dug into the mental walls. The mental sphere inevitably expanded due to the internal pressure, and the light radiated by the Divine Deduction technique intensified.

The expert's mental sea started boiling as the azure light shone on its surface. Waves surged as the mental energy evaporated to quicken its flow inside the Divine Deduction technique.

Divine Demon saw more than half of his mental energy disappearing in the span of a second. The sudden consumption of his thoughts made him feel dizzy, but a radiant smile appeared on his face once he found a solution to his issue.

A spiderweb of cracks spread from his figure at that point, and strange formations came out of his palm when he stretched it toward the cauldron. The Divine Deduction technique didn't come up with a new skill. It actually made him recall the ability used against the crackling giant and had allowed him to improve it.

The cylindrical structure made of multiple rings formed in front of Divine Demon and began to absorb energy. The sky and the storms paid most of the price for that gathering of energy. The actual creation of laws meant to destroy the item didn't require a lot of power. The parts of the formations that depleted the largest share of fuel were those busy studying the cauldron.

Sword Saint glanced at Noah without raising his long eyebrows, but the latter sensed his gaze and understood the meaning behind that gesture. The expert felt curious about his new technique since it involved his blades, but he already had a vague idea of what it would involve. After all, Noah had asked his help to find something that could surpass his current realm.

The two experts had even performed the final slash together during the trap placed after returning from the other side of the Immortal Lands. It wasn't hard for Sword Saint to understand what Noah had developed in those years, but he remained curious about it anyway. Still, the expert couldn't waste time inspecting him since he also had to do his part in that situation.

Sword Saint's sharp aura surged and created an ethereal world that stretched high in the sky. The raw expression of his energy had the same appearance of a catastrophe ready to fall into the world, but the expert didn't let it disperse in that brutish form.

The aura expanded and cut the laws of the world before returning inside Sword Saint's figure. The expert eventually took it out again and repeated the process until he felt satisfied with its results. His energy grew sharper whenever it cut the laws in the environment. He was sharpening his power by sacrificing the fabric of space.

Sword Saint sat cross-legged in the air at that point and closed his eyes. His energy went silent, and nothing leaked past his skin. It seemed that the expert was preparing his existence for the imminent clash, and no one dared to interrupt him.

Noah knew exactly what to do. He had developed his final technique after being with Sword Saint's memory for a long time. He had even executed it once and tested it after completing all the minor details. He felt confident in his ability not to commit mistakes, especially in that situation.

His understanding of space helped condense his darkness and dark matter in front of him. The two energies thickened and fused before creating a rotating mass of power that soon took a circular shape. Noah had built a black sun, but that wasn't enough for him.

More energy flowed inside the rotating star and forced it to condense. Noah's understanding of space allowed him to use that ability without sending the world is ruin. Everything remained stable, even if a black hole was appearing right in front of him.