Birth of the Demonic Sword

"Care to explain what was that?" Noah asked after he left his hiding spot and flew toward Divine Demon.

Noah knew that he couldn't even hope to copy the effects of Divine Demon's individuality, but he wanted to understand how he had created higher energy out of nowhere. Noah wanted to leant something that he could implement into his battle style.

"My heir!" Divine Demon exclaimed as energy filled his centers of power. "How was your battle?"

"One of them managed to escape because someone has forced me to fight in the middle of his battle," Noah said without hiding the annoyance that he felt.

"Wonderful!" Divine Demon shouted. "Maybe more of them will come then. Good, good. A Demon should never lack enemies."

"The Crystal City is already after me," Noah said as he massaged his temples. "I only needed you not to reveal my position."

"The Crystal City?" Divine Demon asked. "I think they have forgotten about me."

"Wait," Noah replied. "Can gods even forget things? Also, how did you survive the beast tide with that troublesome individuality of yours?"

"I simply escaped," Divine Demon answered in a plain tone. "I was so fast that the expert from the Crystal City didn't manage to take a good look at me. I'm not a brute. I know when I need to run."

Noah didn't expect that. He already imagined Divine Demon as a mindless maniac who threw himself into unwinnable battles to improve his cultivation level. Still, he felt glad to learn that he was wrong about him.

"I didn't know you could use higher energy," Noah eventually said as the two began to descend toward the ground.

"Higher energy?" Divine Demon answered as confusion appeared on his face. "What's that?"

Divine Demon's answer left Noah's speechless. His expression revealed the sincerity of his words, which made Noah even more surprised about the whole situation.

"That white energy during your last attack," Noah said while he imitated the palm strike. "That wasn't exactly "Breath", was it?"

"Oh, that," Divine Demon said as he put a hand under his chin. "I can't learn too many techniques and spells since they would ultimately hurt my individuality. I create new ones with the Divine Deduction technique during my challenges. They always change, and I don't memorize any of them, so I simply call them Miracles."

Noah reached new levels of speechlessness when he heard that answer. Divine Demon, the expert who had created techniques that had led the Hive to the top of the lower plane, didn't own abilities but only invented them on the spot.

"My individuality is what has allowed me to create such powerful techniques while I was only a heroic cultivator," Divine Demon explained. "I don't follow the normal process. I rely on my desire to win, and an ability eventually appears."

Noah had faced and studied countless individualities throughout his life. Most of them were simple expressions of laws that already existed in the world, and only a few were as complicated as his ambition.

Divine Demon's individuality was simple, but it was also the most complicated law that Noah had ever seen. The need to constantly challenge himself forced Divine Demon to live a troublesome life that other cultivators couldn't even hope to survive.

'He must have created the Divine Deduction techniques to make up for his innate weakness,' Noah thought as the two flew back in one of the cracks. 'His individuality would have killed him countless times already if he didn't have a method to enhance his mental capabilities.'

"The Crystal City might be a troublesome opponent," Divine Demon said after they returned in his underground hall.

Noah showed a confused expression at that remark. He didn't expect Divine Demon to label an enemy as troublesome without showing any excitement.

"I told you that I'm not a brute," Divine Demon continued while taking a jug of wine from his space-ring. "The guilds and all the smaller forces mostly have cultivators that couldn't meet the standards of the big organizations. They are generally weaker than the rest."

Noah reviewed his battle against Lady Lena when he heard those words. His cultivation level was slightly higher back then since his ambition was empowering his centers of power. Still, the expert from the Crystal City had managed to hold her ground for a while anyway.

Instead, the Chiefs of Boss Van's guild couldn't face him even after his cultivation level had fallen and stabilized at the bottom of the liquid stage. Noah had perfected his workshop and his movement technique since his battle with Lady Lena, but those improvements alone couldn't make a fight against five liquid stage experts as easy as it had been.

The Chiefs were clearly weaker than Lady Lena, but Noah didn't give the matter much thought at the beginning. Some cultivators just happened to be stronger than others. That difference of power could have been just a case.

Yet, Divine Demon's words said otherwise, and Noah could only believe them. The expert had lived in the Immortal Lands for far longer than him, and he had surely interacted with the human society more often.

"I need to destroy the Crystal City quickly then," Noah said as he sat on the ground and laid his back on the rocky wall.

"Remember to call me when you do," Divine Demon said as he joined Noah on the ground and prepared two cups. "I need stronger enemies. The secret organization only sends whimps after me. I feel underestimated."

Noah took a cup and drank together with Divine Demon. The duo remained in silence as strong wine entered their bodies and relaxed their mind. Part of the stress accumulated during the battle dispersed under the effects of that warm liquid.

"How are my disciples?" Divine Demon asked at some point.

"They are fine," Noah replied. "The other organizations can't compete with the Hive, and the other world should be more peaceful. The techniques of the other Demon Sects are also alive. They should arrive here in a few millennia."

"The lower plane has become messy after I left," Divine Demon said before giving voice to a short laugh. "That chaos spreads from here, the place closer to Heaven and Earth. Every change in the Immortal Lands affects all the other Mortal Lands. It's a never-ending cycle that will continue as long as the white sky remains above us."

"Have you seen the Outer Lands?" Noah asked. "Do storms fill them? Have you ever witnessed new regions fusing with the Immortal Lands?"

"You will see everything soon enough," Divine Demon replied as he refilled both cups. "The Legion controls a place that I want to explore, but they never let humans get close. I will use you to enter it."

"You could at least try to make it seem like a cooperation," Noah replied as a laugh escaped his mouth.

"What's the point," Divine Demon said. "You are my rightful heir, and you have even led what remained of my disciples to the peak of the world. Some friendships take centuries to form, but this one has needed a simple glance."

The duo continued to speak about various events after that line. They mostly conversed about the other Demons, but they also discussed matters related to their individualities.

When the bottle was over, they separated to cultivate in different areas for a few months. They would then regroup in that underground hall and travel together in the Outer Lands to meet the Legion.