Chapter 1316: 1316. Laws

Laws were powerful tools, especially when cultivators in the divine ranks used their individualities to fuel their attacks. Gil was only a rank 7 existence in the gaseous stage, but the activation of his true meaning brought his attacks on a superior level.

Noah saw his fiendish armor falling apart when the soundwave engulfed him. His skin also trembled according to that rhythm, and blood amassed in his mouth as internal injuries accumulated.

The echo of the howl shook Noah's insides and forced him to spit mouthfuls of blood. He didn't even charge at the cultivator, but the power of his individuality forced him to retreat.

That was the strength of a god. An individuality could affect the matter in the area and change its functions. Simple spells couldn't defend against that type of power. Noah felt naked in front of that ability.

'So that's how it is,' Noah thought as his black hole sent dark matter toward his injuries.

Noah had brought his dantian on a decent level after his seclusion. In theory, he didn't have any weakness. Yet, his inexperience in battles in the divine ranks didn't allow him to express his real power.

Instead, Gil knew what it meant to be a rank 7 cultivator. He knew how effective his individuality was, so he didn't hesitate to deploy it when Noah was about to kill him.

Zach and Bertha imitated Gil when they saw Noah's armor shake. Their auras surged, and their laws spread in the environment as they affected the matter.

Zach's individuality allowed him to transform anything into a weapon. Spears and blades grew from the air, the ground, and the trees and shot toward Noah.

His true meaning was hard to translate into words, but Noah could sense the smell of a battlefield when his aura reached him. That individuality tasted like blood, sweat, death.

Bertha's belly shrunk as her aura spread in the environment. Pieces in the matter around her absorbed her energy and transformed into multicolored spheres that flew toward Noah.

They were proper bombs that threatened to release the dense energy contained in their fabric. Noah felt tinges of admiration surging inside him when he sensed how her aura affected the environment. The might of her attacks was something that he had to respect as a fellow destroyer.

Weapons and shockwaves flew toward Noah while he dealt with Gil's individuality. Most blades and spears crumbled due to the corrosive properties of his fiendish armor. Still, some of them managed to land on his skin anyway. Also, his spell couldn't stop the surges of energy.

Screeching noises echoed in the area as the black weapons landed on his skin. The spears and blades had lost a lot of power when they crossed the corrosive smoke, so they could only slide on Noah's body when they reached it.

As for the shockwaves, they joined Gil's howl in their assault at Noah's insides. Those individualities found it had to work together, so they depleted each other's power while affecting Noah's internal organs.

'It has been so long,' Noah thought as he bathed in the pain that filled his mind.

Noah had overcome many struggles in his life, but it had been a long time since cultivators on his level could even attempt to damage him. However, those opponents could succeed in that task without relying on their teamwork.

There was a limit to the risk that he could feel when he ventured through danger zones. Noah always accepted their threats when he decided to explore specific areas.

Yet, the danger felt against opponents on his same level stirred his instincts in ways that environments couldn't match. The threat caused by the leader of the forest couldn't equal the drive that filled his mind in front of powerful enemies.

'How can I even decide to hold back in front of this power?' Noah thought as internal injuries continued to open inside him. 'Why would I disrespect such valiant warriors?'

Zach, Gil, and Bertha began to cast their next attack after they revealed their individuality. Their auras fused with their mental waves to give birth to powerful spells, but they felt forced to stop when they sensed a fourth law invading the area.

Noah roared, and his cry carried pure happiness. That battle made him feel at home. He recalled his early days as a lone cultivator and rejoiced when he sensed emotions that he had long forgotten.

Enemies that could threaten his life tried to block his path, and he didn't have any back-up or safe area where he could retreat. Noah felt utterly cornered, and that made him ecstatic.

He could finally feel drives that he had forgotten in the lower plane. He could sense his survival instincts stirring him to bring out every bit of his power.

A defeat meant death. That simple but pure feeling filled his mind and made him reveal the power of his ambition.

Zach, Gil, and Bertha had altered the matter in the area with their individuality, but they suddenly lost control of Noah's surroundings when his aura surged.

The matter around Noah began to evolve when his ambition altered its laws and forced them to transform into their best version. Some of the trees that his corrosive smoke had consumed also regrew in seconds as his aura spread.

Part of the shattered ground condensed and took the form of a sturdy terrain that exuded metallic properties. Noah's ambition forced everything affected by his law to evolve.

Still, the changes in the environment were only a consequence of his individuality. His law mostly affected his cultivation level, which rose until it crossed the halfway mark of the gaseous stage. His body also improved as his true meaning filled his tissues.

Noah continued to roar as that empowerment pushed his centers of power toward a superior level. The world even went dark for an instant when black flames came out of his mouth.

Dark matter was filling Noah's black vessels, so his flames came out far stronger than his actual level. The advantage given by his fourth center of power began to show its effects when he used both his innate abilities simultaneously.

The flames fused with the corrosive smoke released by his fiendish armor and fended off the shockwaves released by Bertha's law. The same happened to Gil's rhythm. His howl didn't manage to affect Noah's surroundings anymore after he revealed his ambition.

Only Zach's weapons managed to continue their flight toward Noah, but they found themselves unable to pierce his skin. The empowerment given by his ambition made his innate defense unbeatable by a single ability.

The trio remained focused on Noah and fended off his flames while his ambition spread in the environment, but shadows never stopped moving through the clouds during those moments.

Pure terror engulfed Gil's mind when Snore pointed its open mouth toward him. The Blood Companion had used the corrosive smoke of the second cloud to get close to the cultivator and prepare its innate ability in secret.

Bertha felt a similar sensation while she defended against the black flames. Cuts opened on her large belly when a shadow flew past her. She didn't even understand what had attacked her, but she sensed that her life was in danger.

Zach could only remain speechless when he saw that his companions were in danger. Tinges of anger also formed inside him since Noah had preferred to attack them instead of him.