Birth of the Demonic Sword

Second Prince's appearance left everyone on the scene speechless. Those from the secret organization and the hybrids couldn't understand the whole situation, but the expert's feat managed to surprise them anyway.

"Care to explain?" Noah asked before Faith and the others could vent their anger.

Second Prince's cultivation level was in the solid stage of the seventh rank. He was as strong as June, but his presence was faint. Even in his new form, Noah could barely sense him.

"What's there to explain," Second Prince announced. "I fixed the dimensional portal and hitch-hiked a passage to the Immortal Lands. I planned to reveal myself only once I reached my father's level, but this shady guy ruined my big surprise."

"Wait," June shouted. "Have you been with us since before the ascension? Did you watch while the Crystal City tortured us?"

"What do you want me to say," Second Prince shrugged his shoulders. "You are worthy of being Noah's friends. I reached the other world when you were in the middle of a war. I decided to hide since you were too powerful for me, but your situation didn't improve in the Immortal Lands. Then, seeing that my father couldn't sense me felt good, so I continued to remain hidden."

"How did you even shield yourself from our senses?" Noah asked while disbelief still filled his mind.

"I'm not a human, remember?" Second Prince replied. "I can easily turn into an inscribed item, robe, or even something that doesn't radiate any cultivation level. The hardest part has been opening the dimensional tunnel without anyone noticing it, but the rest has been quite easy."

Noah didn't know what to say. He couldn't even understand Second Prince's motives properly.

"Were you too scared to reveal yourself?" Noah eventually asked.

"Of course!" Second Prince shouted. "You are all madmen who do nothing but fight. I didn't want to go through years of battles again, so I remained hidden while accumulating power. Everything was going so well."

"I guess you know each other," Luke exclaimed, but Noah shot an angry glance at him.

The expert fell silent, but he didn't stop smiling. Luke found the whole situation quite funny, and he didn't even try to hide his feelings.

"Did you hide on me the whole time?" Faith asked as anger seeped into her aura.

Daniel reacted in the same way. Clear anger seeped into his aura, but he managed to keep his cool.

"It has never been sexual," Second Prince snorted. "Also, I even helped with your training. Why do you think you are closer to the solid stage compared to the others?"

"Fight back there," Noah said while pointing toward the edges of the blue regions. "I need to talk about serious stuff."

"Won't you protect me?" Second Prince asked, but Noah had already begun to ignore him.

Faith, Daniel, and Second Prince eventually left that area, and the noises of a battle soon echoed through the sky. Noah didn't even bother to check the fight since Luke claimed his full attention.

"You were about to reveal why I should cooperate with the secret organization," Noah said.

"Right, right," Luke replied. "As you already know, the secret organization has the best network in the Immortal Lands. We learn about important events or resources far before other forces."

"You and the other cells," Noah contradicted him. "The other forces will learn everything anyway since the secret organization will continue to help them. You are only balancing the field here."

"Alexander is making a mess in the human domain," Luke explained. "Every organization fears you and the Legion. No force would dare to start a fight now. It's the perfect moment to turn that balance into an advantage."

"This implies that you already have something valuable at hand," Noah added.

"Of course," Luke exclaimed. "Something has appeared at the border with the windy regions. We suspect that it comes from a rank 9 existence."

"What makes you believe that?" Noah asked.

"Even the immense Immortal Lands had seen only a few rank 9 existences," Luke explained. "The secret organization had always kept track of them, so we can understand when a place carries their mark."

"Is it an inheritance?" Noah asked while some curiosity surged in his mind.

"We aren't entirely sure," Luke continued. "It resembles a lair rather than an actual building. We believe you all should be perfect for the exploration."

Noah didn't buy that. That chance sounded too perfect for him. He would rather believe that the secret organization had chosen to give up on one of its valuable locations to create that alliance with the Legion.

The noises of the battle happening in the distance eventually stopped. Noah could see that Second Prince was completely fine, while Faith appeared exhausted. Daniel seemed annoyed, but he didn't feature any injury.

"Let's go then," Noah said. "We must use this chance while Alexander is claiming the human domain's attention, right? I don't see why we should hesitate."

"Well, we have to complete a few preparations first," Luke exclaimed while his smile froze.

"No preparations," Noah rejected his offer. "I don't want to give your force time to prepare stuff. We either go now, or you leave these lands."

Luke gulped. He could sense Noah's seriousness during his speech. He was ready to depart at that exact moment.

"Hurry up!" Noah shouted. "Lead the way. You all are free to come."

Noah broke that encirclement and turned toward the depths of the Outer Lands. Divine Demon, Jordan, June, Fergie, and the others quickly imitated him, leaving Luke no chance but to follow him.

"Are we allies then?" Luke asked once he reached Noah.

"I'll think about it after this mission," Noah replied before focusing on Second Prince. "You must also come. I want a full report concerning what has happened after I ascended."

"Overbearing as always," Second Prince sighed. "There isn't much to say. I rebuilt the dimensional tunnel and remained hidden. End of the story."

"I thought you would rebuild the tunnel for my friends in the other world," Noah replied.

"Well," Second Prince hesitated while trying to find the right words to describe those past events. "You were only a newly ascended god, and my existence is quite peculiar. I broke free of your oath but respected your desires anyway. I just handled them differently."

Noah couldn't help but sigh. He had to admit that Second Prince was as unique as he claimed. The expert's existence was strange since he didn't belong to any of the three major species.

"Don't worry," Second Prince continued. "I didn't forget what you did for me. I am an ally, and I'll eventually prove it. I don't want to fight with you ever again."

Noah didn't answer. He began to ignore Second Prince and moved back to Luke. The expert was leading the group now, but Noah still wanted to probe him about that resource.

"We managed to connect that place to Radiant Eyes," Luke explained. "She has always been interested in hybrids throughout her life, but the reports about her become vague after she approached the peak of the eighth rank."

"We'll see what this is all about soon enough," Noah exclaimed while moving the focus on a different topic. "Now, tell me about the resources that you decided to keep a secret from me."