Chapter 417 - 417. Conflict
Noah quickly obtained what he had requested, Marcia didn't avert her eyes from the pile of goods even when he left.
He had finally obtained all he needed to go in seclusion and properly absorb the Inheritance, it was a pity that he had to start a war in six months.
'This timing is probably what Chasing Demon needs to learn the copying spell. Well, maybe he has increased it a little to give me more time to prepare.'
Noah explored the possibility that the patriarch had been somewhat kind to him as he walked alone through the corridors of the sect.
He wasn't going to return to his cave in the residential area for rank 2 cultivators nor was he going in the residential area for those in the third rank.
He wasn't even going to the training ground where his faction was, Noah needed a quiet place where to study his many spells, the disciples in the thieves' faction were simply too noisy.
Where he was heading to was another training ground.
The Chasing Demon sect was large, it had many facilities that could help the cultivation of its disciples.
Yet, they were accessible only to those willing to use merit points, Noah had saved for the fourth Kesier rune back then, he couldn't afford those places.
That was, of course, different now.
Noah could freely use all the facilities of the sect, it took him just a few questions sent through his inscribed notebook to Roy to choose the area that suited him the most.
The path to the training area forced him to cross some of the crowded areas of the sect, Noah felt many gazes on him as he uncaringly walked on the purple ground.
Not many disciples knew Noah, he was quite famous among those in the second rank due to his battle with Perry but most of the captains had never seen him.
Yet, the whispers that followed his passage soon informed everyone about his features, he was supposed to lead the human assets to war after all, recognizing him was somewhat required.
"You are just a newly advanced rank 3 cultivator, don't act so haughty."
Of course, the matter of him being appointed as Demon Prince by the patriarch wasn't something that had been happily accepted by everyone.
Noah turned his head toward the cultivator that had spoken.
He recognized Joel, the only survivor of the team sent by the defense faction.
Joel had a dark expression when Noah looked at him, he spat on the ground and snorted when he saw that Noah continued his cold stare.
'He is right but I can't appear weak.'
Noah sighed internally as he neared Joel, the latter was surprised to see that he had chosen to answer to his provocation.
No words came out of his mouth, a black dragon suddenly tore Noah's upper clothes and threw itself at Joel.
There was no warning nor hesitation, Noah had directly attacked!
Heilong pounced Joel but the latter was a solid stage cultivator, he snorted when he saw that the dragon only had the power of the lower tier.
A sword appeared in his hands, its tip traced lines in the air as Joel waved it, the lines then clashed on Heilong, digging deep wounds on its scales.
Generally speaking, small fights were allowed inside the sect as long as the cultivators contained themselves.
That's why Joel was surprised to discover that his tattoo burst with a menacing light and attacked his internal organs as soon as his attack hit Heilong.
A mouthful of blood came out from his mouth, destabilizing him and preventing him from further battling against the dragon that had already regenerated.
Heilong pushed Joel on the ground, its open mouth hung over his head like a guillotine ready to take his life.
The bodies of the cultivators were far weaker than those of the magical beasts, any rank 4 creature was able to inflict a deadly blow to a rank 3 cultivator.
Joel was confused, he had only reacted to Noah's attack, he was completely on the right side in that situation.
Yet, the tattoo had reacted to his actions while it didn't mind Noah's behavior, the latter stared coldly at the cultivator on the ground, no one could understand his thoughts from his expression.
The truth was that Noah's position as Demon Prince gave him special permissions and authority over the other cultivators, it didn't allow for anyone in the sect to attack him.
Heilong senses were shared with his, he suffered its same pain.
Joel's attack hurt Noah, triggering a reaction on his tattoo.
The area where they were was near the residential area for rank 3 cultivators, the commotion generated by the fight had attracted the attention of many disciples and captains.
A small crowd formed around Noah and Joel, the cultivators encircled the two of them, interested in what was happening.
Noah sensed about fifty cultivators in the third rank around him, that number amounted to a bit less than half of all the rank 3 cultivators in the entirety of the sect.
The separate dimension had hit hard the human assets of the sect, there were more than two hundred rank 3 cultivators before the dimension opened but now only a bit more than a hundred remained.
Also, many of them were newly advanced cultivators that, just like Noah, had focused on their cultivation level to enter the dimension.
'I think I should make some sort of speech.'
Noah sighed internally as he thought of that, he was completely disinterested in having a social life but the patriarch had cornered him, giving him the position of a general.
"Listen, I don't like my status more than you do, I just wanted to cultivate in peace."
Heilong returned inside his body as he spoke, even Joel paid attention to his words at that moment.
"Yet, it is true that I was the one able to obtain the Inheritance. The will of our ancestor, Divine Demon, has personally expressed his disappointment toward our power and the patriarch agrees with his view. The incoming war won't only establish our domain over the archipelago, but it will also forge your attitude, making you all more similar to the demons that should fill an unorthodox sect."
Noah spoke the truth, many of those that had survived inside the Inheritance lowered their gazes in shame, after all, Noah had succeeded where they had failed and he was only in the gaseous stage!
"Rest, analyze your battle style, improve as much as you can, a high cultivation level is useless if you can't express its power! In six months, weakness won't be tolerated!"
Noah ended his speech and sent a series of cold gazes to the cultivators around him.
Then, he simply left, the crowd created a path for him when he moved toward the training area that he had chosen.