Birth of the Demonic Sword
chapter-1400

"We found this when we were searching for the end of the second layer," Don explained. "Most of my old team can't fight here anymore since they are approaching the breakthrough or have already moved to the third layer."

"I thought the Legion didn't know how vast the layers were," Noah replied.

"That's true only for the lower ones," Don said. "Any rank 8 expert can travel through the entire superior layers and create a detailed map of all the trials. The Legion doesn't divulge the location of the most difficult ones here for fear that the weaker members would forget about their normal training to chase impossible rewards."

Don's words made sense. It was easy for cultivators to lose themselves in faint hopes, especially when their cultivation level began to stagnate. Hybrids had it even harder in those situations since their instincts would work against their minds.

"The Legion won't do anything if they find them, but all the stronger members know how pointless it is to waste time here," Don continued. "You have understood it as soon as I described the other trials."

Noah fell silent at that point. Don was right. He had already accumulated enough resources to improve his body, and the inheritance had eight more towers that he could explore.

Nothing could force him to waste years in those challenging trials since he could directly cultivate while exploring the other towers and approach the breakthroughs through normal training. The inheritance went far deeper in the end. Noah had barely begun to scratch the surface of that place.

"Why are you here then?" Noah asked.

That was the only flaw in Don's words. If the other trials were so useless as he said, then he had no reason to be in the second layer.

Don exploded into a laugh and turned to show his grin to Noah before explaining his reasons. "I wanted to fight the Steeled Boar. This would have been my ninth attempt. Imagine my surprise when I find you making that creature puke blood."

Don accelerated from time to time to make the hybrids behind them lose track of their position. He wanted to respect the Legion's wishes, so he even relied on his "Breath" to increase his flight speed.

Noah kept up with him easily, which surprised Don even more. The hybrid knew that Noah's prowess was far above the actual level of his centers of power, but he didn't understand how Noah could have so much energy left.

Don had met Noah right after the Steeled Boar died, and they had never stopped flying since then. Even the strongest hybrids in the middle tier would feel tired after fighting for three straight months, but Noah wasn't showing any sign of that.

Even if Noah's body was off the scale, he had to face the after-effects caused by his battle with the Boar. However, his black hole had learnt how to fight any harmful condition that afflicted his tissues after studying the lightning bolts in the Rumbling Region.

Noah felt refreshed every time the black hole redirected energy through his tissues. His fourth center of power knew how to relieve the accumulated stress better than him. Noah could recover even if he didn't rest.

The duo had to fly for a while to reach their destination. Don was leading him toward the edges of the second layer, which took entire months filled with the same scenery.

The second layer was nothing more than a barren land that featured a few living beings. The inheritance did most of the work by providing energy and sustaining the undefeated trials.

Noah wasn't even the talkative type, so they didn't speak for long periods and broke the silence only when Don tried to probe into his past. Still, Noah's answer always managed to make him regret his decision.

"We are here," Don said once the duo reached the end of the second layer.

The edges of the separate dimension were an immense cliff that led into the dim-azure sky. The second layer ended there, and the experts would only find azure walls if they ventured to the areas after the landmass.

Noah landed on the edges to study them. They were in a perfect state. He couldn't find any trace of corrosion or damage. Supreme Thief's work seemed an immortal and indestructible piece of art that could survive any trial.

'How can a single existence create all of this?' Noah wondered as his mind tried to imagine the power that Supreme Thief had wielded when he created that place. 'His existence isn't something that laws can define anymore.'

"I will tell you one more time," Don said, interrupting Noah's thoughts with his voice. "Clearing this is impossible, and it can very well lead to your death. I've seen talented hybrids who were nearing the breakthrough dying because of their greed. Those instincts run deeply in our species. I don't want you to die because of them."

Noah didn't reply. He limited himself to stare at Don and wait for his explanation.

"Fine then," Don said after heaving a helpless sigh. "There is a cave near the bottom of this cliff. Supreme Thief has thrown hundreds of peak middle tier golems there and called it a trial."

Noah's eyes lit up when he heard that. Fighting was far better than digging holes for millennia. If the trial involved battles, he would gladly give it a try.

"Calm your wild thoughts," Don continued, visibly annoyed by Noah's interested expression. "The trial forces you to destroy at least one golem every seven days. Missing this deadline will make them reappear and waste all the time spent fighting."

Noah's interest slightly waned, and Don began to relax when he saw that he was managing to make him understand how unreasonable the trial was.

"The golems never attack on their own," Don explained. "They always seem to know your location, and they can perform simple battle tactics. Some even know basic martial arts. The environment works in their favor due to the low ceiling, and you can't refill your dantian unless you clear an entire area. Trust me when I say that no one at our level has enough energy to reach the first checkpoint."

Noah's interest in the trial had almost completely disappeared, but one of his last lines made it skyrocket.

"Why would I need to refill my dantian there?" Noah asked as his eyes began to shine.

Don froze when he saw his expression. He had already guessed what was about to happen, but he didn't dare to lie to him after spending entire months to lead him to that place.

"You can use your "Breath" and mental energy in this trial," Don revealed, "But don't take it as an advantage. As I have said before, you can't refill your centers of power unless you destroy many golems. It's impossibl-. Where are you going?!"

Noah's sudden actions made Don interrupt his explanation. He saw how Noah had turned and thrown himself over the cliff while he was still speaking.

"Dammit!" Don cursed loudly. "Don't enter the cave, or the trial will start! You should use the surface to recover and cultivate before!"

Don heaved an annoyed sigh, but he felt relieved when he saw Noah's figure reappearing from the cliff.

"It's good that you changed your mind," Don said. "Honestly, something like that shouldn't even be in the second layer. The level of difficulty is clearly between the liquid stage and the solid stage. I don't even know why Supreme Thief has placed it in the "strength" towe-. What are you doing?"

Noah's actions forced Don to interrupt his explanation again. Noah had begun to dig the ground while he was speaking, but he stopped to answer his question.

"I'm following your advice," Noah said in a plain tone. "I'm creating a cave here to prepare for the trial."