Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah's roar triggered the dormant compound that had infected most of the magical beasts and humans of that world. Yet, its effects didn't stop there.

A few cultivators from Noah's world had used the mutagen in the Elite beasts to create drugs aimed to improve the walls of the dantians. Some of them had tested their creations on themselves and were inevitably infected by the compound.

Then, as the castles echoed Noah's cry and spread it through the world, even their bodies began to mutate.

The world fell into chaos as the compound activated. Most humans began to transform into magical beasts, improving their natural state as living beings.

The physical strength of the Elite humans improved as their existence strived to reach the beasts' level, and dantians began to grow inside the Flawed humans as the transformation continued. The changes didn't stop there since the compound affected even the fauna.

Most creatures saw their fake dantians reaching a complete form under the influence of the compound, and some of them even developed real seas of consciousness as they strived for a perfect state.

An entire world was evolving right under the ominous clouds that were filling the sky.

June and Faith had gone to explore the inventory in the castle before the snake triggered the compound inside Noah. Still, they didn't miss his roar and the shaking of the walls. However, when they reached the last floor and tried to force the door to the hall open, they realized that a thick layer of mental energy was preventing their intrusion.

The two women could only give up when they saw that even their spells didn't manage to pierce that barrier. The power of a being in the sixth rank was something that they couldn't hope to match.

Meanwhile, Noah continued to roar as the transformation continued. That act was instinctive. It was as if his body wanted to announce the evolution that it was undergoing.

He used the entirety of his concentration to fend off the pressure generated by the transformation, and it took him a while before he managed to become aware of his situation again.

His mind hadn't stabilized yet, but he could sense the changes happening inside his body. He felt his size growing and his form morphing to assume the shape of a Cursed Dragon.

'This is disappointing.' Noah thought as he studied those changes and kept his mind stable.

The transformation wasn't bringing him any benefit. The new features obtained by his body were something that he already had in its human form. Yet, he felt forced to rethink his initial statement when the transformation began to affect his other centers of power.

His dantian was the first to be affected by the surge of energy originated by the compound. Its walls stiffened and contracted, destroying the black ring inside them and absorbing its shards as they closed the wound that had been there for years.

Noah lost his cultivation technique, but his mental sphere began to radiate a peculiar tremor that carried his copy of aura of the Heaven and Earth's will. His existence was craving for harmony as it strived for a perfect state, and it couldn't allow such a difference between his centers of power.

The "Breath" in the matter around him started to converge in his almost-draconic low-waist and turn into primary energy as it entered his dantian. The walls of the organ soon became unable to contain all that energy and began to enlarge, pushing Noah's cultivation level toward the fifth rank.

Noah was aware of the events happening in his dantian, but his mind was elsewhere. As soon as his mental sphere released that tremor, his focus wavered since a stream of information invaded him.

The walls of his mind had been under the influence of the improved spherical runes for a while by then. Still, Noah didn't intend to use that ability until the inscription was completed. However, his sea of consciousness had acted on its own during the transformation. It ordered the "Breath" in the matter around him to fill his dantian.

In doing so though, Noah entered a peculiar mental state where he felt connected with the world.

'This should be the understanding that the snake has talked about.' Noah thought as his mind wandered in that state. 'Amazing.'

What he was sensing couldn't be described by simple words. It was as if his existence had suddenly become aware of its place in the world and could understand the rules set by Heaven and Earth. He had taken a peek in the world of the laws without needing for his level to be high enough.

Pieces of information appeared in his mind, but they didn't cause any internal pressure. Instead, Noah felt as if his sea of consciousness was being emptied while he remained in that state.

He soon understood that the pieces of information weren't flowing inside him. It was his mental energy that was reaching for the outside world and learning its rules.

'I see. Beasts aren't just an enemy.' Noah thought. 'They are the enemy chosen by Heaven and Earth to balance their power. They are an unstoppable force that can take the easiest path toward the higher ranks as long as there is a form of energy around them.'

Noah felt sure about that realization even if he couldn't explain why. After all, he didn't understand laws. His mind was only able to turn a few of them into thoughts that he could review.

'Becoming a hybrid and walking on the path of the magical beasts would make you the strongest enemy of the world according to its rules.' Noah continued to ponder as his mind wandered in that peculiar state. 'Yet, that's still part of Heaven and Earth's system.'

Confusion and hesitation began to fill Noah once he thought that. The secrets of the world were right in front of him, and he didn't like what he was seeing.

Turning into a beast would force him to keep that state permanently, allowing him to become the lifeform that better countered the restrictions of the world. Yet, such perfect form didn't need some of the core aspects of the usual cultivation methods.

Noah felt his dantian enlarging at high speed as more and more primary energy seeped through its walls. The sharp crystal that was his solid "Breath" began to fade when surrounded by that foreign energy.

It was as if the new state didn't need an individuality to progress, so it was simply turning it into primary energy.

'A path where the answers of the world are right in front of you, but you are stuck in a state that allows you only to devour everything.' Noah summarized in his mind what he had managed to understand in that peculiar state.

Noah continued to think. 'It's the easiest path to power, and losing my individuality won't affect my actual prowess. Yet, I would become part of Heaven and Earth's plan. The snake has underestimated my ambition.'

His now-scaled eyelids opened at that point, and he violently bit his front leg.