Birth of the Demonic Sword

The vastity of Noah's law didn't cause problems only when it came to the requirements for its growth. Its many features only increased the number of issues that could appear as his level increased.

His ambition alone made Noah unable to stop, but each aspect could cause different misconceptions. His destruction and creation could work against each other and slow down improvements on both paths. His greed could make him unable to give up on benefits accompanied by great threats. Even his understanding of space could cause dangerous overconfidence in his ability to bend a situation to his advantage.

The same could happen with his pride, and Noah had just experienced how easy it was for flaws to appear in his judgment. It didn't matter how carefully he had analyzed the issue beforehand. He had still failed to modify his approach to a battle that could only bring negative consequences.

Noah could probably defeat his opponent. The world had yet to witness the power of his final slash, but he knew of incredible it could be. Counters wouldn't matter anymore at that point.

However, defeating the cultivator wouldn't bring any benefit. Noah had already proven that his battle prowess put him in the ninth rank. Revealing one of his new trump cards would only allow Heaven and Earth to prepare a counter for the next battle. Achieving that small victory could hurt the rulers, but the damage didn't match the price he had to pay.

"Alexander!" Noah roared, and his cry transformed into a deep roar that shook the sky and left his opponent confused.

The hybrid turned toward the battle in confusion. He didn't expect Noah to disturb him when their time was so short, but the sudden expansion of the dark world made him feel even more surprised.

The rank 9 cultivator snorted and took out another white flask from his sleeve. The expert threw the item and the incoming dark matter, and the pressure carried by the higher energy shattered it to release the white liquid inside the technique.

A massive hole immediately appeared inside the dark world before that destruction continued to expand throughout its entire structure. The dark matter fell under the effects of the white liquid and revealed its insides. The white sky reappeared in everyone's vision, but surprise also spread in the area.

The rank 9 cultivator didn't find Noah in front of him anymore. Alexander had replaced his previous opponent, and the same surprise filled his expression. The hybrid turned to look at the massive cauldron and discovered that Noah had joined the offensive with the other experts.

"I thought you had to be here to control the battlefield!" Alexander complained.

"I was wrong," Noah limited himself to explain, but that simple answer managed to generate a third wave of surprise.

Noah had correctly guessed core aspects of Heaven and Earth with little more than vague clues and crazy ideas. Moreover, his battle prowess was hard to evaluate since none of his companions could calculate how long he had actually fought. Even June would struggle to recall all of them.

Noah wasn't the type to be wrong, especially when it mattered the most. However, he had admitted his mistake quickly in that situation. The matter clearly didn't come from the cultivator's dangerousness. It was something deeper that came from his very existence.

"I guess you are against me now," Alexander announced while turning toward the cultivator and spreading his arms.

The cultivator snorted before raising his arms toward the sky. The stormy area above him lit up and opened to reveal that a pillar of light was falling from the whiteness.

Alexander prepared himself to dodge the attack, but a frown appeared on his face when he saw the light engulfing the cultivator. The beam carried Heaven and Earth's aura, so the hybrid didn't lower his guard. Yet, he remained confused about the actual purpose behind that event.

The pillar slowly dispersed and revealed the same young rank 9 cultivator as before. Nothing seemed to have changed in his hair, aura, expression, and power. Only his robe had gained a series of grey marks on the edge of his sleeves.

"Don't think that Heaven and Earth have prepared counters only for Noah Balvan," The cultivator shouted while placing both hands under his sleeves and taking out two different weapons.

One of the weapons was a silver spiked mace that had lightning bolts running through its metallic surface. Its spherical head also seemed able to store those sparks and turn its spikes into fuming and scorching sharp edges.

The other was a long metal spear that radiated Heaven and Earth's aura as soon as it came into contact with the world. Its white material almost fused with the fabric of space, and its edges became blurry whenever it waved in the air.

"What would they even counter?" Alexander asked as a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Your existence is another troublesome flaw," The cultivator explained while glancing at Noah in the distance. "You used to belong to the fairness, but…."

"Do you have counters or not?" Alexander repeated.

"Of course!" The cultivator announced while pointing both weapons toward the hybrid. "Heaven and Earth have made a list of your most troublesome abilities. I'll deal with the others with my own law."

"It technically isn't yours, is it?" Alexander asked while scratching his chin. "It's a replica created by Heaven and Earth after a fundamental transformation. I'm sorry to say that you actually died when you joined the rulers."

The cultivator snorted again, and energy converged in his two weapons before attacks shot out of them. Lightning bots came out of the spiked mace, and white bullets rained out of the spear.

Alexander raised his hands, and two different abilities activated on his palms. A dark vortex that resembled a weak black hole and a dense green jelly appeared before him and flew forward to endure the incoming attacks.

The jelly clashed with the lightning bolts and absorbed them. It didn't matter if Alexander's spell was one stage weaker than the attack. His ability blocked that enemy attack easily and continued to move forward.

Something similar happened with the black vortex. The rotating darkness generated a suction force that dragged all the white bullets in its insides.

Both attacks came from rank 9 inscribed weapons in the lower tier, while Alexander's abilities were at the peak of the eighth rank. Yet, the rank 9 cultivator never had a chance against the hybrid. The latter had simply deployed techniques that countered those attempted counters.

The cultivator felt forced to switch his weapons. A sharp rapier appeared on the hand that would have to face the green jelly, and a seemingly liquid blue shield replaced the spear.

Both weapons did really well against the incoming abilities. The rapier pierced the jelly and made it explode into a wave of lightning bolts, the same that it had absorbed before. Meanwhile, the shield made the black vortex enter its fabric and fuse with it. The weapon seemed to grow darker, but it endured the attack perfectly.

Still, Alexander had far more to offer. His hands rose toward the sky and gave birth to two more abilities. It seemed that he wanted to turn the battle into a war of counters.

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Authors' notes: The second chapter is basically over. The third will require one more hour.