Wilfred's attack had brought the cauldron's stability at its weakest, so the discharge of power of his companion's abilities caused far more damage than expected. Still, they would have been enough to ruin the inscriptions even without the hybrid's help.
Divine Demon's cylindrical formation released laws that were the direct opposite of those contained in the cauldron. Of course, his current cultivation level didn't allow him to consider the item as a whole during his attack. Even if his law was incredible, he had to limit the effects of his technique to a small spot.
The cylindrical cannon made of formations ended up releasing a condensed bullet instead of a wave capable of covering the massive item. Moreover, the laws carried by the attack appeared slightly different compared to the last time. They weren't only the opposite of the true meaning inside their target. There was something else in their fabric, but it seemed that Divine Demon had yet to completely manifest that feature.
The bullet didn't create any explosion when it touched the cauldron. The impact opened a fist-sized hole in its structure. The long preparation and the immense amount of energy stolen from the world could only lead to that small effect, but that was already incredible when considering the situation.
Divine Demon had launched an attack capable of cutting a rank 9 item in the middle tier from side to side. He had opened a circular hole in something that had was near the very peak of the cultivation journey, and he had done that without even stepping into the ninth rank.
Sword Saint didn't use any special move. He embodied sharpness. He was the realization of the sword path. Techniques, spells, and complicated preparations meant to enhance his power were useless with his existence. He only had to express more of himself to become able to cut more things.
The method through which Sword Saint decided to release his energy didn't matter. A blink, a sigh, or the simple flicker of his pinky were enough to bring out the entirety of his power and launch his strongest attack yet. At that time, the expert limited himself to close his eyes to attack.
His energy was too fast to appear in the space between him and the cauldron. The fabric of the world was also in pieces in that area. His attack simply cut through laws before opening a long cut on the item.
The cut wasn't deep. Some would even struggle to notice it from a distance. However, it clearly existed in the form of a long, vertical, and narrow line that ran connected two of the cauldron's openings. Sword Saint's sharpness even continued to linger over that cut after the energy carried by the attack dispersed. His understanding of the sword path was too profound to disappear due to a mere lack of power.
Noah's slash was a piercing beam that carried an amount of energy that his centers of power couldn't generate yet. They could barely endure that intense discharge even.
No other existence at his level would be able to endure so much energy and even force it to flow into an attack. Still, Noah's centers of power had reached realms that the world could only envy. His structural limits had reached the ninth rank a long time ago.
Moreover, that massive wave of energy had flown through his centers of power and had executed his technique. It had gained Noah's features and had abandoned its state as a raw mass of fuel, ultimately surpassing the quality of the original idea behind the final slash.
The attack slammed on the tough surface before unleashing its effects. The features of Noah's existences became unstoppable when energy capable of touching the ninth rank fueled them. His destruction and creation even fused to enhance the amount of damage that the ability could inflict.
Noah's destruction dug small holes before his creations condensed the former and generated black lines on the cauldron. The destruction activated again at that point, and the cycle continued until the attack exhausted its energy.
The result of that powerful piercing slash was a spiderweb of deep cracks that spread for a few meters. The damage was more profound at the center of that spot, but Noah's attack didn't manage to reach the other side even there.
Heaven and Earth's angry roar followed that event. The sky shook and reformed as the storms blew back into the area and echoed the rulers' deafening voice.
Alexander had seized his victory by then, and his cultivation level continued to increase, but the arrival of the storms forced him to focus on those chaotic laws. The same went for Noah, Sword Saint, Divine Demon, and Wilfred in the distance. The echoed cry tried to seep inside their mental spheres and crack the rebellious minds that hosted those troublesome plans.
However, Noah and the others had fought against the cauldron fairly. Heaven and Earth had even sent reinforcements to balance the event. The experts had managed to win even after two batches of ghosts, a rank 9 cultivator armed with counters, and a perfect counter had gone against them. The rulers couldn't find any loophole in their fairness to kill those annoying ants on the spot.
Moreover, Noah and the others were even holding their ground against that pressure. Heaven and Earth had limited their power in the hope of finding a loophole in their restrictions, but everything ended up being in vain. The experts endured the cry long enough to make the rulers accept that they had to recall their voice.
The storms slowly lost their deafening voice and returned to a wild state. They slammed on the experts and tried to taint their laws, but their power couldn't even make a dent in those existences, especially after their last achievement.
That seemingly random day had gained a profound meaning that every existence connected to Heaven and Earth could sense. Both allies and enemies of the rulers could hear from the world that something incredible had happened.
A group made of eight rank 8 existences had just established a new record. Noah and the others had surpassed everything and everyone in terms of potential that day. Their joint power had allowed them to defeat something that they should have never been able to approach.
Cultivation levels and labels lost meaning. Noah's team existed, so the world had to invent a new classification. It wasn't a matter of exceptions anymore. The group was creating a new standard that even Heaven and Earth failed to conceive.
Wilfred slowly flew back toward his companions. Blood flowed out of his nose and ears after facing part of the shockwaves of the trio's attack, but he appeared mostly fine.
Noah made Shafu come out of his separate space. The six-armed dragon spat the energy from the ghosts contained in its insides in the distance and allowed it to disperse among the storms. A sorry-looking King Elbas came out of the creature's fabric, but his bloodshot eyes regained some life when he glanced at the inactive cauldron still floating in the sky.
A wave of dark matter came out of Noah's chest when Shafu went back inside the separate space. Robert and Steven were still unconscious, but the higher energy had patched up their external injuries. It was only a matter of time before they woke up and started to handle their wounds on their own.
Alexander also rejoined the group, and his growing cultivation level immediately attracted the experts' attention. They all wanted to comment about his new state and injuries, but the hybrid spoke before they could. "I need to approach the breakthrough to the ninth rank."
"Do it inside the city," Noah promptly suggested. "We also need to have a talk with the old rulers."
Noah glanced toward King Elbas afterward. An understanding smile appeared on his face when he saw that the cultivator had never moved his gaze away from the floating cauldron. The expert was completely captivated by that powerful but inactive item.
"Do you need a hand storing it?" Noah asked, and the expert limited himself to shake his head before revealing the insides of his palm.
His curiosity had gathered there on its own. It had created a proper rank 9 space-ring at the peak of the lower tier while he was in a daze.