Birth of the Demonic Sword

The growth of the Hive didn't concern only the old generation of Elders. Too many forces had gathered there in the last years, and they were finally showing results in that peaceful period.

The soldiers from the Odrea nation had accepted their past after God's Left Hand gave them access to Shandal's emotions. Their anger wouldn't vanish quickly, but they took pride in their determination.

After all, they had been able to stir the feelings of a god. That achievement was worthy of being recorded in the historical records of the world.

Many human cultivators reached the heroic ranks too. The Hive had countless methods to stimulate the growth of its assets, and the alliance with the Council gave them a friendly opponent to surpass.

The copying formation taught them how to fight in life-threatening situations, and the events with the assets of the Council provided experience in battles against cultivators.

The Hive gave them access to various cultivation techniques, and Thirty-seven's disciples held many classes that covered multiple inscription methods.

The rivalry among the domes and the sects of the Council gave them another reason to improve. The Hive had reached the point when it could create small conflicts among its forces to stimulate its overall growth.

Noah benefitted a lot from that peaceful period. His power grew smoothly, and his experiments increased his understanding of the world of the laws.

He had also started to learn how to endure his hunger to improve his control over his instincts. Noah would purposely starve himself from time as a form of training, and the results were more than satisfying.

His body slowly changed as it harmonized with the dark matter in the heart. Noah was already a unique existence since his hybrid status came from a technique, but the presence of a fourth center of power modified him further.

The only problem was that his breakthroughs were far away.

His mind had been in the fifth rank for a while by then, but the sixth rank appeared unreachable. His improved spherical rune kept enlarging his sea of consciousness, but Noah had yet to sense the arrival of a limit.

His dantian improved quickly since his expertise with the world of the laws improved day by day. He wielded them with every new creation and destructive ability, and his cultivation level benefited from that.

Yet, he wasn't even halfway through the liquid stage. That wasn't surprising since cultivators usually spent centuries at those levels, but Noah felt eager to become stronger.

His body's growth slowed down in that period, and his starving sessions had nothing to do with it. There were fewer targets that could nourish it enough to cause substantial improvements.

There was a limited number of creatures in the upper tier of the fifth rank in the world, and eating weaker beasts barely satisfied his hunger. The dantians of the Ravaging Demon sect's experts had given a boost to his body, but everything had proceeded slowly after that.

Even the hybrids had started to behave, so Noah didn't have any reason to eat them or turn them into materials. He had reached the point when he needed to move his attention away from the landmasses if he wanted to find suitable prey.

Noah wasn't too worried about his cultivation level. He knew that he was already growing as fast as he could. The only issue was the boredom that came with spending decades repeating the same training.

He loved growing stronger, but he had never spent such a long period secluded in his training area. His mind was becoming tired of the pale environment of the separate dimension. He wasn't keeping track of it, but he felt that he had spent a century there already!

Having power was great, but using it felt nice too, especially when the experience gained in adventures could further push his improvements.

Noah had a map that depicted various areas of the sea laid on the floor. Elements floated on his spread palm as he inspected the locations that could provide him with a fruitful journey.

The Hive had never been better, and he didn't need to pay attention to his tasks anymore since there were a few trusted leaders among the hybrids now. Only the creation of living weapons would stop, but Noah had created many of them already.

He could leave without looking back. The political environment was stable anyway, so the Elders didn't need him there.

The elements in his hand exchanged part of their fabric among themselves as if they wanted to fuse. There was a black spark, a violent flame, a breathing rock, and a drop of dark water that changed form continuously.

Noah's dark matter had managed to copy the water element in that long period of training. Still, the enlightenment didn't come from Faith's individuality or other cultivators with that aptitude.

His understanding had come from the Divine Stele. Noah had studied it for a while when he tried to copy the remaining elements, and he found a match with those divine remains.

The individuality described in the Stele was all-encompassing and boundless. It didn't have specific features because it could take any form. That matched Noah's ambition and his vast individuality. Water that could be anything had identical qualities with his dark matter.

As for the other elements, Noah didn't have any luck with them. Nothing inspired him when it came to the wind aptitude, and he loathed the light radiated by Daniel.

He needed different inspirations, and he couldn't find them if he remained in the alliance's territories.

He intended to set off on his own. Noah missed the freedom that he had when he was a lone cultivator, and he wanted to revive that feeling now that his power allowed him to go almost anywhere in the world.

The only one he would accept in the journey was June, but they couldn't even talk, let along travel together.

The tunnel outside the hunting areas of the seven confirmed rank 6 creatures inhabiting the sea often appeared in his eyes. Not even Shandal had explored that location, but it seemed the only possible target for Noah.

Everything would be more accessible if he could hunt those powerful creatures, but he had to stick with beasts in the fifth rank for now. His breakthrough to the solid stage might give him a chance to fight them, but it was too distant to think about it.

Noah memorized the layout of the bottom of the sea and began to make his preparations once he set his mind. He was going to explore that tunnel and cultivate in the open.

The sole idea that he could ignore the political limitations for a while already cleared his mind and the Elders approved his decision when he notified them.

Noah filled his space-ring with resources that could help him in the journey, but he didn't request any life-saving item. He did get another ring though. He needed that to store the beasts killed as he traveled.

After he settled and prepared everything, Noah left the separate dimension to venture through the sea.