Chapter 1543: 1543. Influence

Noah glanced at the rank 8 cultivator behind Madame Canson. The expert was ignoring the battles around him and focusing only on the fights happening around the palace.

"You don't have to worry about Monsieur Evan," Madame Canson said when she noticed where Noah's consciousness was moving. "He won't interrupt our battle."

A chill ran down Noah's spine, but he managed to suppress his instincts. Madame Canson had managed to sense his inspection without unfolding her consciousness. Her experience in the eighth rank wasn't something that Noah could underestimate.

'I lose in sheer power and experience,' Noah concluded in his mind. 'I guess I need to rely on my innate advantages.'

Noah had deployed the full potential of his ambition. His law was empowering his centers of power, companions, and abilities. Every aspect of his existence had grown to the point when he could hurt rank 8 beings.

Snore, Duanlong, and Night flew out of his figure and took their position. The Snake unfolded its massive wings, the dragon opened its monstrous mouth, and the Pterodactyl fused with the world, waiting for an opportunity.

Madame Canson wanted to maintain an aloof expression, but her eyes flickered when she sensed the power radiated by Noah's companions. Noah's strength had multiplied. She suddenly had multiple divine opponents in front of her.

"You dare to attack the human domain with an army of magical beasts," Madame Canson sighed. "Then, you rely on those despicable creatures to increase your battle prowess. You are too far gone. My victory will seal the human superiority once and for all."

Noah had enough of that speech. Power had never been good or evil in his mind. It had always been something above ethic and stupid labels.

Snore spat a wave of violent dark matter. Its attack shattered part of the palace but stopped once it reached Madame Canson. Even its destructive energy transformed into purple crystals when it touched her influence.

Duanlong's pulling force began to affect the environment. Tiles and chunks of the palace rose in the air and converged in its mouth. The various energies in the area also flew toward the dragon, and the same applied to Madame Canson's influence.

The pulling force also affected Monsieur Evan's energy. The rank 8 expert couldn't help but turn toward Noah and reveal a surprised expression. He had heard the stories about Noah, but that show of power surpassed his wildest expectations.

Madame Canson tried to raise her hand, but a layer of crystals suddenly materialized on her elbow. A large cut opened on that protection, and the force transmitted in the impact pushed her arm down.

Noah swung his blades. The invisible sharpness launched during the attack fused with the violent dark matter in the area and pierced the crystals defending the experts. A few more appeared on Madame Canson's skin, but even they crumbled under the might of Noah's offensive.

Madame Canson flew backward, but she quickly stopped herself mid-air. Her face still lacked any emotion, but her eyes were slowly starting to show how surprised she was.

Noah couldn't feel happy about that outcome. He was resorting to his full power, but Madame Canson was able to stop his offensive with basic abilities.

'I'm sure I didn't overestimate myself,' Noah thought while inspecting his opponent.

The many battles against rank 8 magical beasts had proven to Noah that he was ready to face rank 8 cultivators. His current struggle could only mean that Madame Canson was stronger than the average rank 8 expert.

"Are you done?" Madame Canson asked while floating above Noah. "Did you think that a few magical beasts and some tricks could be enough to defeat us?"

Crystals grew on Madame Canson's skin. They transformed her figure into a shining armor that empowered her base power. Even her aura thickened and intensified the effects applied on her underlings.

Noah saw the army of cultivators pushing back his pack and the Foolery. A small platoon took care of isolating the rank 8 pig while the others relied on their superior battle tactics to defeat the other magical beasts.

Only Fergie was managing to endure that clever assault. A raging sun rotated above his head and launched massive fireballs toward any cultivator that tried to approach him.

Fergie had already understood that he couldn't let the battle continue like that. He had to do something to regain the upper hand, but his power didn't allow him to do much in that situation.

Miss Nine and the other cultivators who had received Madame Canson's blessing were too powerful. Their power was almost beyond the limits of the seventh rank. They were the strongest existences under the eighth rank.

Fergie could handle one of them, but they would quickly overwhelm him if he didn't let his companions share that burden. Madame Canson's law even worsened his situation since Noah's ambition couldn't keep up with her influence.

Noah was losing on every field. He wasn't inferior only in experience and sheer power. His pack and law were also weaker than Madame Canson and her army.

'She is still playing with me,' Noah concluded while glancing at the crystal armor floating in the air. 'She has yet to launch a single attack. I bet she wants me to watch my army falling apart.'

Noah dispersed his draconic armor and revealed his real body. The copies of the swords also vanished, leaving him with nothing more than a layer of dark matter covering his skin.

The Demonic Form expanded. Its roots thickened as Noah forced the black hole to remove its restrictions.

'I can also play this game,' Noah suppressed the sense of weakness surging inside his mind before teleporting.

His figure reappeared among the enemy army and attracted the attention of the underlings. They all turned toward Noah and launched a reckless offensive, hoping to get rid of that threat.

"No, wait!" Madame Canson tried to warn her troops, but her words were too slow.

The expert tried to intensify her empowerment, but there was a limit to how much she could improve her underlings. Her law couldn't create other rank 8 existences, and that was enough for Noah.

The dense array of attacks vanished when it neared Noah. The roots coming out of his right palm spread further and created an area when even the air couldn't exist.

The corrosive aura radiated by the Demonic Form intensified. The roots tightened on Noah's swords while he lifted his arms. The blades then released a black flash, and the battlefield went silent.

Tens of solid stage cultivators empowered by Madame Canson had neared Noah in the hope to kill him. They had created an encirclement that could even threaten some weaker rank 8 existences.

However, Noah was different. Those cultivators had Madame Canson's crystals, but they couldn't generate them without her power. Noah could kill them as long as his offensive pierced their defenses.

The cultivators around Noah seemed to multiply, but Madame Canson didn't fail to understand the true nature of that gruesome scene. Noah's attack had cut all of them in half, and the corrosive energy that had accompanied his sharpness also devoured their tissues.

In little more than a few seconds, that group of elite peak rank 7 cultivators vanished without leaving anything behind. Noah's cold eyes landed on Madame Canson at that point, and the expert understood the meaning behind his glare.

Madame Canson retracted her purple radiance, dispersing the empowerment applied to her underlings. Noah's ambition couldn't match her influence, but he could force her to focus only on him.

"You have lost the only chance of draining my energy," Madame Canson announced in a cold tone. "I can focus all my power on you now. How long can you last with centers of power in the seventh rank?"

Madame Canson was right, but her aloof expression froze when she sensed that Noah's aura went past the limits of the seventh rank. Noah was stepping in the eighth rank right in front of her eyes.