Inside Noah's sea of consciousness.
Black roots tangled themselves on the figure of the first Kesier rune.
A complex diagram appeared with the roots as its lines.
The roots then tried to extend on the faint form of the second Kesier rune but its image was too ethereal and they retreated after they failed on grasping it.
The process sent waves of pain on Noah's mind.
However, with it came also the knowledge about the spell.
Its effects, the usage, the strong points, and the weak ones, everything became known by Noah in an instant.
'He wasn't bragging when he said that it was a top tier spell.'
This was his first thought when his mind was freed from the pain and he opened his eyes.
The group from the Balvan family was staring at him with wide eyes.
They could not understand how he stayed in the second stage for so much time and came out unharmed!
He had remained in the test for about one hour more than Lena and she was supposed to be the stronger of their group.
Noah released a cold aura seeing that the attention was focused on him, he laid the sabers on his shoulders and gazed at Trevor and Lena.
He was waiting for their move.
Lena stood up and Trevor did the same, the others behind them didn't quite understand the reason for such tension.
Lena spoke.
"Did you obtain a reward?"
Noah answered briefly.
"Yes."
"What have you got?"
"Why should I tell you?"
Lena's eyes sharpened and the soldiers behind her stood up, insubordination wasn't allowed in the slightest among the guards of a noble family.
Lena continued.
"Because I'm your superior, you serve me."
Noah looked at the fake sky, only an orange color filled his sight.
He spoke.
"I believe that you can't ask about the secrets of a cultivator. My Master once told me that this is an unspoken rule in the cultivation world."
Lena snorted.
"But you are not a cultivator, you are simply a bastard that had the chance to learn some tricks because his mother opened her legs to a noble."
Noah smiled faintly at her remark and moved his gaze back at her.
"And that would make me less of a cultivator? I believed that there was only one way to judge that."
Lena smiled too.
"What would that be?"
Noah's face became stern.
"Strength."
Lena laughed and pointed her hand at him.
"You are so naive! Strength means nothing! So what if someone is powerful? He can always be overwhelmed by numbers! And numbers come with wealth! Hurry and give me your reward, your punishment will be a light one if you stop here."
Noah shook his head.
"That is not happening."
Lena began to lose her cool.
"What, do you think that back at the mansion they will let you keep it for yourself? The Patriarch will personally open your sea of consciousness to retrieve what you learnt and give it to the Shosti family."
She was about to speak more when Trevor stepped in front of her.
"He is not coming back."
As a guard, Trevor too had desired to escape.
He was privileged but he was still the dog of his masters.
No matter how well he was treated, his position remained one of servitude so he could understand Noah's thoughts better than Lena.
In her mind, soldiers could never think about rebellion or escape due to the might of her noble family.
As her eyes widened in understanding, Noah jumped ahead.
Twenty black slashes were sent toward Trevor and Lena.
Except for Lena that had mostly recovered thanks to her resources, the group was tired and wounded while Noah was at the peak of his strength.
Lena created a wall of water and Trevor raised his sword to take on him some of the force of the slashes.
There was no need to do so as Lena's spell absorbed that attacks completely.
However, Noah had disappeared from their vision.
They turned when they heard a scream from one of the soldiers in their group.
Noah was freely swinging his sabers on the exhausted soldiers.
They had given their outmost in the test and even if they had time to restore some of their "Breath" and to stabilize their body, their battle prowess didn't reach half of what they were capable of.
Heads flew in the air and blood poured on the ground as the guards fell lifelessly one by one.
Trevor prioritized securing the descendants and ran toward Neil and Fabian taking them where Lena was standing with her arm raised.
She was trying to aim for Noah with her water bullets but he was always behind some soldier and she never had a clear shot.
In the end, they could only watch as the twenty guards were killed.
Lena didn't hesitate, as the last guard fell on the ground and Noah's figure appeared in the open, she shot five bullets directly at him.
Noah swung his blades and ten slashes shot out to meet the spell.
The bullets pierced the technique but they were slowed enough to give Noah time to dodge.
He rapidly charged toward the remaining four members of the Balvan group.
Trevor put himself between him and the descendants, ready to take the first impact.
Noah clashed with him, two sabers met a sword, their physical strength was equal.
Lena smiled and raised her arm to aim for Noah but then a drop of a warm red liquid fell on her cheek.
Her eyes widened when she noticed that a big black figure had appeared on her side.
On one end of the black body, there was Noah's leg.
The other extremity was behind her with the shape of a reptilian head.
Between its fangs, Neil's body was being crushed and multiple wounds appeared on his body.
An invisible membrane though was protecting him, stopping Assea's teeth from stabbing deeper on his flesh.
Lena yelled and turned to attack the snake.
Trevor's attention was diverted on the beast but when he tried to look at it, its body had already disappeared.
He felt a sharp pain in his low waist and noticed that the snake's mouth had already bitten him there.
"How-?"
He could not finish the phrase as Noah tilted his sabers and thrust them into his chest.
