A Demon's Journey

Noah hesitated slightly before launching himself at Azaroth.

His small body was rather agile and he immediately targeted Azaroth's gut with his iron sword.

Azaroth effortlessly deflected the sword swing and kicked Noah away.

Noah rolled on the ground a couple of times before he stood up, grabbing the sword in his hands.

"Get serious. I don't need someone who hesitates in following my orders." Azaroth coldly spoke to Noah.

Those words seemed to have struck Noah more than that kick. A serious expression dawned on his face as he nodded.

Noah didn't know but the aura around him had completely changed. Azaroth could feel that even the aura near his blade was seemingly vibrating.

Soon, Noah was running towards Azaroth at his full speed. Well, even his full speed was slow as a turtle to Azaroth's eyes.

Noah swung his sword at Azaroth and Azaroth casually dodged it, planning to kick him back on the ground.

Yet, he was shocked when the sword swing that he had dodged suddenly changed direction in mid-air and targeted him.

'Incredible. This kid can actually perform the Swallow Counter technique at such a young age?!'

But still, Azaroth reacted rather quickly and grabbed the sword that was targeting him.

As he held the sharp sword blade in his hands, he was once again surprised to feel the blade actually pierce his skin.

It had to be known that his physical body was now comparable to that of a demon after using the Demon Transformation Method. His durability was off the charts when compared to an ordinary human.

Also, Noah still hadn't officially begun his cultivation. He had no Ardor in his body and hence couldn't strengthen his sword attacks.

'Sword Qi. He possesses Sword Qi. And not a weak one.'

Azaroth understood that he had to get serious as well or he might really get injured here.

He used his other hand and punched Noah away.

Noah's body skids on the ground.

However, he rolled backward and got up while wasting little to no time.

Azaroth moved forwards and attacked Noah with a karate chop.

Before he could even touch Noah though, his hand was whipped away by Noah's quick sword strike.

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Noah then slashed at Azaroth's body.

Azaroth raised his leg and planned to kick the sword.

However, as his leg clashed with the sword, a shockwave occurred and froze the two of them in their current positions.

Azaroth wasn't surprised to see that Noah had managed to hold his ground even though he had used some Ardor in his kick.

The Sword Qi was a form of energy that could combat all sorts of energies.

Azaroth was quick in his movements as he rotated his body and kicked Noah's gut.

Even though Noah saw it and tried to parry it with his sword, his body failed to react quickly.

Azaroth didn't let up and threw some lightning arrows at Noah from a distance.

These were Lightning Arrows formed through Holy Ardor.

He couldn't really use his Demonic Ardor in the Rhodes Estate and since Jonas Rhodes already knew about his Celestial Blood, he thought it would be a good idea to use this element.

Noah rolled away from the danger and was on his feet again. He looked at Azaroth from a distance with that same serious expression on his face.

Azaroth lightly smiled and once again formed multiple Lightning Arrows and threw them at Noah.

This time, the number exceeded 10.

Noah relaxed his grip over his sword for just a moment before clenching it tightly.

In the next moment, Azaroth saw a series of movements from Noah as he quickly slashed those Lightning Arrows with a quick burst of speed.

When Azaroth saw that move, he began to think 'He is truly tapping into his potential now. He probably used his Sword Qi in his arms and legs to get that burst of speed. And it was rather impressive. He doesn't have a scratch even when I attacked him with 13 arrows.'

Noah suddenly jumped and slashed while spinning his body.

Azaroth kept his eyes focused on him and he noted a small spark on Noah's sword.

It was a white spark and before he realized it, a lightning sword slash was heading down his way.

Azaroth side-stepped to dodge that slash attack. As he turned his head towards Noah, he failed to find him.

He heard a faint sound and lowered his head to see Noah standing with his right hand holding the sword stretched out towards him.

As Noah was moving his sword to attack Azaroth. Azaroth didn't stay still, he moved his right hand to grab that sword.

This time, he used more of his Ardor to prevent himself from being injured.

The Sword Qi was truly a dangerous thing. It was the result of gaining insight into the way of the Sword.

However, before Azaroth could even touch that sword, Noah tossed the sword in the sky.

Azaroth didn't understand why Noah did this but he didn't have the luxury to think about it.

Noah attacked him with a chop as he used the Sword Qi to enhance the edges of his hand.

Azaroth grabbed that hand and picked him up with one arm before throwing him away.

As Noah was in the mid-air, he moved his arms and seemingly pointed them at Azaroth.

Azaroth's eyes widened with realization as he looked up and saw Noah's sword coming down, intending to thrust deep in his body.

'This is no mere Sword Insight! This kid has already reached the Man and Sword as One level.' Azaroth thought while narrowly dodging that sword.

Azaroth had fought against multiple sword users who had achieved the same level. But none possessed the Enlightened Sword Heart. Meaning, their attacks were bland and predictable.

The same couldn't be spoken about those possessing the Enlightened Sword Heart. Noah had already reached the level of Man and Sword as One. And his Enlightened Sword Heart allowed him to use his Sword with purely his Sword Qi.

The other Swordsmen have to endure bitter training to get the same result.

Also, Noah was merely 9 years old!

He hadn't even officially begun his path as a Swordsman.

Noah's talent in the sword was so great that even Azaroth envied it a bit.

He had trained so hard, fought against all kinds of people to acquire this sort of battle sense and experience but looking at Noah, it was clear that he was just starting his path.

But alas, there was nothing he could do regarding this.

Enlightenment couldn't be forced. Or else, there would be many individuals possessing the Enlightened Sword Heart.

Suddenly, Noah moved his right hand and the sword near Azaroth immediately turned in his way.

Azaroth was well prepared for it though as he forced his body to rotate backward and kick the sword away.

Soon, Azaroth was standing on the ground while the sword stabbed into a nearby tree and seemed to be jammed.

Azaroth then moved quickly and he grabbed hold of Noah's throat while picking him up.

He used his other hand to grab his right hand and prevented him from controlling his sword.

"It's time to stop. I understand your level now." Azaroth softly spoke.

And suddenly, that impressive aura around Noah dispersed as if it was never there.

Noah nervously asked Azaroth, "H-How did I do, Master? I didn't disappoint you, right?" He looked rather scared as if Azaroth was going to throw him on the streets.

"It was alright. You need to train more and learn more techniques." Azaroth spoke with a straight face.

Noah seemingly breathed out in relief as he understood that his master wasn't angry at him for performing badly.

"Take these techniques and study them." Azaroth's purple ring flashed and soon scrolls appeared in Azaroth's hands.

These were scrolls that Azaroth had prepared just the previous night. He had recorded and given a rough description of the sword techniques he remembered.

They included Heaven Rending Stance, the Quick Draw Technique, the Phantom Step, and so on…

Noah happily grabbed those scrolls as he promised himself to study them and master them as quickly as possible.

"As for your sword, I will get a better sword for you but for now, you can train with it," Azaroth spoke with a monotonous sound.

However, Noah unexpectedly shook his head and replied, "…Master, I don't want another sword."

As Noah spoke those words, he stretched out his right hand and the sword that remained fixed in the tree shook a little before it sliced the tree and moved to Noah's right hand.

"I will take good care of it, master. I don't want any other sword. Please, master." Noah requested with that child-like glint in his eyes.

"Whatever." Azaroth also shrugged his shoulders as he didn't plan to think about it too deeply.

He knew that once Noah's sword broke, he would demand another one. He could give him a better one at that time so it wasn't a big deal to him.

"I will give you a cultivation formula. Make sure to remember it and use it to strengthen your Ardor." Azaroth spoke with a serious gaze.

Noah nodded his head and spoke, "I will definitely remember it, master."

"Alright."

Soon, Azaroth imparted one of the only human cultivation formulas that he knew. It was known as the Mysterious Qin Formula.

He knew other ones but this one was used by the strongest humans during his era. So he guessed that it should be quite good for humans under the 7 Star Rank.

What Azaroth didn't know was that this Mysterious Qin Formula had been upgraded by another talent within the humans after his death and was one of the most heavily guarded secret formulas of the humans. It was cultivated by the Royal Family of the Qin Empire in the East.

Noah was sent away after Azaroth imparted him with this cultivation formula.

He was thinking with a serious expression 'When will it activate?'

Azaroth let out a sigh as he decided to wait for some more time.

Meanwhile, Noah returned to his room with those scrolls in his hands. His gaze fell on Sargan and Ralph…

Ralph was applying some medicinal ointment on Sargan's body that was healing rapidly.

Noah's right hand was on his sword's handle as he spoke with a cold voice, "The next time you dare to hurt Master, you will deal with me. And I give you my word, your state won't be pretty."

The cold light shooting out of Noah's eyes seemed to have stabbed Sargan's body.

Even Sargan felt that cold light piercing his organs and he instantly understood that this was a Sword Qi.

He clenched his fists angrily but didn't dare to speak anything. He wasn't in any condition to speak. He didn't know what Azaroth had done but for some reason, his bloodline wasn't healing him as quickly as it should.

"Even a dog dares to bark in front of me."

Sargan weakly responded with a self-ridicule laugh.

Noah snorted and was unenthusiastic to reply.

"You haven't learned your lesson, have you?" Ralph spoke with a condescending look.

Sargan fell silent at those words as he remembered how it was this very arrogance that had hurt him.