Birth of the Demonic Sword

"So, you want to return to the Papral nation one day."

Noah spoke when he saw that Roy's story ended.

Roy shook his head as a bitter smile appeared on his face.

"We still have our Demon but we are alone and far away from our home. Dreams are beautiful but often unachievable, we would need to conquer the archipelago before thinking about defeating the Council."

Roy replied, even if he usually acted by instinct and seemingly without thinking, he knew the difference in power between a single sect and the entirety of a big nation too well.

The two continued to walk for a few minutes in silence, Noah had no other questions, he was just eager to see where they were going.

Then, they reached what seemed to be a building dug inside the purple walls of the exoskeleton, it was four-story tall and its entrance was made of a simple but large passage.

"We work in a similar way to other organizations, you complete missions to obtain merit points that you can exchange for resources. As an honorary disciple, your first mission will grant you anything you want in the human ranks. What do you need right now?"

"Rank 3 cultivation technique of the darkness element."

Noah answered immediately, he knew exactly what he needed the most.

His body was at the peak of the lower tier of the fourth rank, only a rank 5 body nourishing method could increase its level.

His mind was in the third rank and he lacked the fourth Kesier rune but the solid "Breath" inside his sea of consciousness was constantly enlarging his sphere, the rune wasn't his priority.

His dantian, instead, had just entered the solid stage of the second rank, his cultivation technique was also in the second rank which meant that it could only allow him to reach the beginning of the third rank, Noah would be forced to stop cultivating after that.

'I can reach the peak of the second rank and use the reagent to become a rank 3 cultivator but then my reserves would be shallow, William had advised me to never advance unless I have a cultivation technique suitable for that rank.'

William's teachings still remained in his mind after all those years.

Noah had received a better education in the academy and deepened his understanding about the cultivation journey but William had been his first Master, he trusted his words more than those of his professors.

"That is not a problem. You can come here after you complete your first mission and request for it. Your tattoo works like a token, it will register your achievements and merit points. Come, I'll show you how to use it."

Roy spoke and led Noah into the building.

The ground floor was a large room filled with youths wearing black robes that inspected a large pillar placed at its center.

At the end of the room, a desk that had a simple diagram on its surface was dug inside the wall.

The students saw Roy and stopped their activities to politely bow to him, Noah could see how the pillar had many tablets affixed on it.

'Those should be the missions for the disciples in the first rank, they are more than I expected.'

Noah thought as he stared at the around eighty youth bowing toward the man next to him.

"Keep going."

Roy ordered with a nod and moved toward the stairs placed next to the desk, Noah felt envious gazes shot on his back as he followed him.

'It seems that Roy is quite important. Well, his mother is an elder in the heroic ranks after all.'

Noah didn't mind the stares and continued to inspect his surroundings, the building was dug inside the exoskeleton which made him further wonder about the actual strength of the Chasing demon sect.

'To excavate so precisely a quasi-rank 6 material means that the sect has a cultivator with a similar power. Was it the so-called Demon? Was it an elder?'

The world in the heroic ranks was still a mystery in Noah's mind but that didn't stop him from speculating about the actual power of his sect.

The first floor was identical to the ground one, just slightly smaller.

Thirty or so cultivators noticed their arrival and bowed toward Roy while keeping their focus on Noah.

"The ground floor is for rank 1 cultivators, the first one for those in the second rank, the second one for the third rank, and the third one is limited to those in the heroic ranks. I'll pick a mission for you this time, I'll properly introduce all the features of the sect after you complete it."

Roy waved his hand to dismiss the bows as he spoke to Noah, the cultivators in the room created a path toward the pillar as Roy neared it.

He picked a tablet rather quickly and he turned to hand it to Noah while pointing at it.

"Touch it with your horned face."

Noah didn't hesitate and followed his instructions.

He easily manipulated the tattoo under his skin and moved it to his palm as he touched the tablet.

A stream of information entered his mind, Noah understood the contents of the mission in just a few instants.

'Assassination of a soldier living on island one hundred and fifty-eight, rank 2 cultivator, escorted by guards of the Utra nation.'

The face of the soldier appeared in his mind as well as the escape routes in the area.

'This is quite detailed, it even explains the reason for the assassination.'

Apparently, Noah's target had once been a spy of the Hive.

Then, he double-crossed them and sold information to the representatives of the continent.

Undergrounds organizations gave a lot of importance to how they were perceived, they couldn't allow anyone to trick them and live, the citizens had to be aware of the consequences for the betrayal.

Noah nodded after reading the contents of the mission, it seemed quite straightforward and also easy, killing a rank 2 cultivator wasn't hard with his current level.

Only one doubt remained in his mind since that part wasn't specified in the tablet.

"Can I kill the guards too?"