The four leaders observing the battle revealed surprised expressions seeing Noah's attack.
He didn't use his Demonic Sword, and he had barely depleted any "Breath". However, the slashes that had come out of his fingers carried the power of spells launched by experienced powerhouses!
That should be impossible for a cultivator that didn't even have a rank 6 dantian. The leaders could understand that Noah's sheer power allowed him to fight powerhouses, but they didn't expect him to have such mastery with laws already.
'Creation is lacking,' Noah thought as he analyzed the effects of his attack.
The most significant difference between ordinary and experienced powerhouses was in how intensely they could express their individuality.
In the seventh rank, their individuality would be intense enough to turn into a unique law. That was the evolution of a cultivator from the heroic to the divine ranks.
Noah had stepped on that path by now. Even if his dantian shouldn't allow him to carry laws as well as other powerhouses, he already wielded the intensity proper of an experienced being.
It was as if Noah had already strived to become a law without waiting for his dantian to advance. The shock of the leaders came from the fact that such an event wasn't possible in theory.
"His mind is making up for it," King Elbas explained after he analyzed the issue.
The Royal was surprised too. He could understand that Noah used his body to compensate for his weaker centers of power, but he had never heard of a mind doing the same for the laws of the dantian.
The contenders couldn't see the reactions of the leaders nor hear King Elbas' explanation. Still, they realized that Noah was far stronger than he appeared.
Second Prince, Elder Laura, and True Speed didn't plan to cooperate beforehand. They had charged at Noah together because they had no confidence in doing that on their own. Once Noah was out, they could decide who was the strongest among them.
The power that Noah had revealed forced them to change their approach. They couldn't only launch spells at the same time to defeat him. They had to work together and create a proper strategy.
Noah didn't give them any time to regroup. A human-shaped crack replaced his figure, and a series of tattoos appeared on Second Prince's forearm when he neared the group.
Second Prince quickly activated talisman to create another golden shield, but the ability immediately fell apart since Noah had arrived above them and had launched five more slashes already.
Snore quickly reformed and spewed its elemental attacks. Fire, ice, and lightning bolts came out of its mouth and horns and shot toward the trio running for their lives.
Noah had yet to improve Snore. He had decided to wait for his dark matter to evolve before fusing all the elements with its structure.
Noah had initially planned to wait until he obtained all the elements, but he had eventually set a date for its upgrade since he had no confidence in copying the light element.
Second Prince vanished in a sea of flames and reformed at some distance from Noah. Five drops of blood came out of his palm, and a massive snake formed once they took fire.
A giant humanoid figure made of water surrounded Elder Laura and protected her from the elemental attacks. Her defensive spell fell apart under that offensive, but she managed to endure the blow and load five arrows in her inscribed bow.
Yellow sparks covered True Speed's legs, and the expert disappeared from his spot. Small crackling areas formed on his path as he sprinted toward his opponent.
It had been a long time since a cultivator had tried to engage Noah in a melee battle. Only magical beasts and hybrids could match his physical strength in the end.
However, True Speed sprinted toward him without any fear. His movement technique resembled Noah's in some aspects, but he lacked the physical strength necessary to threaten him.
The power of True Speed's attack came from the yellow lightning bolts gathering on his legs. His acceleration was a consequence of the energy released during their motion.
Noah sensed True Speed coming. He could dodge him or even launch an attack in his direction. Yet, he chose to face him with his bare body to feel how advanced the Shandal Empire's fusions were.
True Speed delivered a powerful kick aimed at Noah's head only to meet his palm. Noah blocked the attack, but his opponent released the amassed lightning bolts at that point.
An intense series of lightning bolts entered Noah's palm and ran through his insides. Noah's arm trembled under the intensity of that blow, but his dark star blocked most of that energy.
'It's not bad,' Noah thought as he clenched his hand.
True Speed held back a painful cry as five long wounds appeared on his right leg. Noah's fingers had even stabbed his ankle, and they continued to dig his tissues to rip his wolf foot apart.
His other leg shot as he tried to hit Noah again. Still, Noah blocked the attack with his free forearm and endured the lightning bolts released in the impact.
Noah had to admit that the Empire had done a great job with the fusion. True Speed's lower body carried the physical strength of a hybrid and its innate ability.
Yet, that wasn't enough with Noah. His body was simply on another level, and his higher energy protected his insides.
Snore launched its elemental attacks against the trapped cultivator while Noah continued to endure the lightning bolts entering his body. He didn't manage to chop the limb in one slash, but he would do it with the second.
Second Prince and Elder Laura's attacks disrupted his plans. The Elder shot the five arrows that turned into dragons mid-air, and the Royal's snake spewed crimson flames that left large cracks on the sky.
True Speed had activated a defensive item before Snore's attacks landed on his body. Thick sparks had surrounded his body and blocked the various elemental blows that tried to kill him on the spot.
Noah analyzed the scene and threw True Speed toward the dragons before creating a human-shaped crack with his sprint. He reappeared behind Elder Laura in an instant with fingers arched to slash at her back.
Another water giant surrounded her figure, but Noah's slashes pierced it and left five deep wounds on her back. Her defenses weren't enough to block his attacks at such close range.
Elder Laura endured the pain to control the dragons and avoid True Speed. Meanwhile, Second Prince reappeared on Noah's side, followed by his massive snake and ready to launch another attack.
A starry sky suddenly covered the area. Noah had launched his flames to damage his opponent and sprint without being seen.
The trio retreated in fear as they used their spells to block the black flames, but a series of thick slashes came from the fire and aimed for the three of them.
The lights of more defensive items shone in the sky as the cultivators blocked the slashes. Second Prince's sensors lit up only to see his snake falling apart and Noah's figure becoming visible among the flames.
Another series of slashes shot out at that point. The battle was utterly one-sided. Noah had cornered them with only his bare hands.
Of course, his fingers were far more than strong weapons. Noah could perform slashes that surpassed his previous might with them due to his intense individuality.
He wasn't a brute anymore. There were precise techniques hidden behind his simple movements.
The trio was out of option. Only a few exchanges had been enough to prove Noah's superiority, even if the three of them never had any doubt about that.
The only problem was that they couldn't compete with Noah even as three, and he had yet to show his real power.
It was with a tinge of unwillingness that the cultivators began to announce their defeats.
"I surrender," Elder Laura said, and True Speed didn't hesitate to imitate her. "I surrender too."
Noah felt surprised by that sudden surrender and glanced at Second Prince with a curious expression. Still, the Royal followed the other cultivators' example.
"I surrender, " The Royal said, and the first battle of the tournament ended.