Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah would be lying if he said that he wasn't interested in the organic inscribed items. It was a curiosity that had lingered in the back of his mind since the meeting with the Empire's envoy.

However, he couldn't focus on them while he had an empty dantian, and discovering that his "Breath" affected his abilities became his priority ever since the beginning of his cohabitation with June.

Yet, he decided to reserve some time to the study of those schools since the Hive seemed so desperate to become competitive in the hybrids' field.

Of course, he wouldn't neglect this personal power. That was the mistake that most cultivators belonging to organizations did once they became too involved in the political issues of the world.

Nevertheless, helping the Hive meant helping his status too, which was something that he needed since he and June still had to hide from the other forces. Also, the creation of living weapons was a clear expression of his individuality, something that he needed to exercise if he wanted to reach the point where he could wield the laws.

Elder Julia left after his request. She had succeeded in involving Noah in the race currently happening in the outside world. Now it was up to him to decide how much he would help.

"Our time together is always threatened, am I right?" June said before releasing a helpless sigh and lying on Noah's shoulder.

Noah understood how she felt. Even if they were both busy pursuing their power, they still lived together and managed to seize long moments of intimacy every few days. They had also synchronized their training schedules to optimize that.

However, the world wouldn't just stop because of their happiness. There was a high chance that the current race for the power of the hybrids would influence the outcome of future conflicts, and they couldn't just ignore that.

Noah took June in his arms, and she silently sat between his legs, enjoying the warm breath of her lover that hit her neck rhythmically. They didn't need to say anything. They just remained in that position for a few minutes, seizing the last available moments of peaceful life that they could get.

"Hey," June said at some point, "I want a spear. Make it orange."

"I thought you wanted a large, pointy hat," Noah replied only to see June turning and climbing on his lap, pushing him down in the process.

It didn't take much for Thirty-seven to appear above the teleportation matrix and leave a series of scrolls in front of the mansion.

Noah and June sensed his arrival while they were busy exchanging ideas on her cultivation technique.

June centers of power shared a deep connection due to a technique called Perfect Circuit. Her body would work as a vast bridge that improved the exchange of energy between her dantian and mind, and the Heaven's spark absorbed in the past made her lightning incredibly pure.

However, that was just the foundation of her power. The true expression of her individuality had to come from the formations that she added to the Circuit.

June had focused on a particular field of the formations called Perpetual formations, which allowed her to increase the output of energy generated by her centers of power as she kept on fighting.

Yet, there was a set limit to how much energy they could produce, which left her quite worried about her prospects as a rank 5 cultivator.

The mansion didn't isolate its insides from the outside world since they had to sense when June's notebook received a message, and Noah had an idea when he saw the automaton. He rushed outside and stopped him to request a few items before picking the scrolls and returning inside.

"Our inscription methods belong to two very different fields, but the friction described in King Elbas' research should suit you." Noah said when he saw June's puzzled expression, "Thirty-seven will bring what he knows about altering the nature of the lightning element through formations. I've also mentioned your school."

June didn't know what to say. She had experienced a privileged life with the Royals, but they had their reasons, and there was a limit to how much she could ask.

Instead, inside the Hive, Noah had access to basically everything and could take out inscription methods as if they were Obsidian Credits. Also, the fact that he was so concerned about her progress made her feel so loved that she was barely able to contain herself.

Yet, she knew that Noah was busy now, so she just kissed him, whispered that she loved him, and left for another room.

Noah revealed a complicated smile as he stared at her departing figure. As much as he desired her, he knew that there were more pressing matters that required his attention now.

He sat on the mat and started to inspect the scrolls while activating the Divine Deduction technique to quicken his analysis. It turned out that there weren't many inscription methods that dealt with organic items. That field seemed rather unexplored and old according to the amount of data described in scrolls.

The main issue was that something organic had to be sort of alive or work in symbiosis with a living being to express its effects. Achieving that was extremely hard since and products would be either dead or too wild to control.

It was simply better to create an inanimate weapon due to its reliability and easier construction.

Noah studied all the scrolls multiple times for many hours. There wasn't anything too specific since none of the methods led to something that could be considered a success.

There were records about devilish weapons that ultimately revolted against their owners, or symbionts that took control of the user's body and went on a killing spree. There were even many that had failed to keep the organic inscribed item alive.

'Keeping the will of the creature alive would just cause a rebellion in the long-run, but suppressing it would create a weapon weaker than the normal inscribed ones.' Noah thought as he diverted his attention from the scrolls. 'The real issue though is that there can't be a common ground between the two states. Something can be either alive or dead.'

There wasn't a balance available. The experts of the past would have just found it otherwise.

'I need to keep the will of the creature alive while also finding a way to tame it.' Noah's ideas surged under the enhanced mental state created by the Divine Deduction technique. 'I need to use the Body-inscription spell, but not in its current form, and something to contain the will in the eventuality it goes out of control. I need Thirty-seven again.'

The Body-inscription spell was perfect for isolating the will of a magical beast, but Noah wouldn't have a way to take it out from his mental sphere at that point. Yet, even if the spell was rather new and atypical, the automaton might have a way to turn it into something that suited his current task.