NOVPUB
Chapter 159: One Down
The Greed Devil is a cultivator with high attainment in the space element. Since childhood, he has possessed a natural compatibility with it, marking him as a once-in-a-millennium genius. Few cultivators can match his mastery of the space element—those who can could be counted on one hand. This makes him feared for his spatial control.
His space laws have saved him from countless situations, and they are one reason why he has never been captured or killed by his hunters. To this day, capturing him seems almost impossible, given his vast collection of artifacts and high-level cultivation, combined with his profound understanding of space laws. Whenever he steals or kills, he relies on his space laws—his source of pride.
However, as he looks at this young man, who regards him and Erik with the casual confidence of an adult restraining a child, he feels an irritation he hasn’t experienced in a long time. The sight almost feels like a dream, beyond anything explainable by the logic of this world.
The space laws he so prizes—his foundation and his strength—are useless before this young man. Both he and Erik have tried numerous attacks, especially after Aldrian effortlessly destroyed a low divine-grade artifact with a single sword slash. By now, they realize that this young man cannot be assessed like a typical cultivator. They constantly have to remind themselves that Aldrian is only at the peak of the Earl stage!
Initially, they suspected Aldrian of using an artifact to hide his true cultivation level. The power of his heavenly tribulation could have killed the Greed Devil a thousand times over, yet it wasn’t enough to convince the two devils that Aldrian could survive on his own. But after battling him repeatedly and experiencing his strength firsthand, they are left with no choice but to acknowledge Aldrian as a true singularity.
How could an Earl-stage cultivator possibly fight on par with an Emperor-stage cultivator? Forget holding his own—Aldrian still seems to have energy to spare even while battling Erik with the Greed Devil has mainly been supporting the fight. Greed Devil still assessing Aldrian’s abilities and trying to see what he has up his sleeve but he finally realizes it’s pointless. Aldrian is an existence beyond understanding.
A peak Heaven-grade sword destroying a low Divine-grade armor? That would be impossible unless the technique Aldrian uses is extraordinarily powerful, amplifying the sword’s strength.
The Greed Devil attempts to restrict Aldrian’s movements with his spatial control, even using his domain to make his control over space smoother. Yet, this young man casually breaks free using his own control over space. When the Greed Devil tries to crush Aldrian with condensed space, Aldrian merely slices through it like it’s tofu. This makes it clear: Aldrian’s comprehension of both space laws and sword technique surpasses even his own.
And yet, this young man is only at the peak of the Earl stage, practically an ant compared to Emperor-stage cultivators like them. Meanwhile, Erik continues attacking Aldrian with his spear technique, seeking an opening. Finally, when an opportunity arises, the Greed Devil throws a mid-Divine artifact with a trapping function. This artifact can create a cage that isolates its target, cutting off their access to external energy supplies and capable of imprisoning even high Emperor-stage cultivators. Now, he wants to see if Aldrian can escape without drawing on surrounding energy.
Seeing the incoming artifact, Erik unleashed a wide-area attack, destroying everything nearby. Space trembled and winds whipped around as he tried to obscure the artifact’s approach. Unfortunately for them, Aldrian had already sensed the artifact and was curious about its function.
The spherical artifact remained unaffected by Erik’s assault and rolled near Aldrian. Suddenly, it expanded into a barrier with a 100-meter diameter, trapping Aldrian inside. Without hesitation, Erik followed up, throwing his spear with Mountain Splitting Throw, this time enhanced with his wind laws for added acceleration.
The spear, now traveling faster than the speed of sound and powerful enough to fracture space itself, was aimed to kill Aldrian while he was weakened by the trap artifact. Under the Greed Devil’s control, the spear would slip through the trap’s barrier, making it nearly impossible for even Aldrian to evade this combined tactic.
Aldrian, however, remained calm. With a steady expression, he invoked his Demon Territory domain, a power that seemed excessive for this level of battle. He then executed a simple slash, merging his sword will and golden energy, cutting through the artifact’s trap barrier, the incoming spear, and all other techniques hurled at him. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The Greed Devil and Erik frowned deeper, their combined efforts proving fruitless, while Aldrian seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Come on, use your devil form, show me your full strength; this is starting to get dull." Aldrian said.
Without a word, Erik activated his devil form, unleashing a furious roar as he dashed forward. Drawing a new spear—a low Divine-grade artifact he reserved for situations like this—he prepared his next move. With a stabbing motion, Erik released a dense surge of devil energy from the spearhead, obliterating everything in its path. Space itself began to collapse, unable to withstand the power beyond its limits. This attack was strong enough to kill even high Emperor-stage cultivators.
"Now this is more like it," Aldrian remarked with a smirk. "Why didn’t you bring this out sooner?" Now, he couldn’t rely on a simple stab or slash, given a few critical circumstances.
Glancing down at his Peak Heaven-grade sword in its worn condition, Aldrian noted it would likely only withstand one last strike. Every time he used a basic stab or slash infused with his domain power, the sword’s durability dropped drastically. He knew that if he attempted a full-force technique with it, the sword would shatter instantly. Especially given the power behind Erik’s divine-grade artifact, he couldn’t underestimate this move.
Now that the sword was in this condition, he figured he could use it for one final slash imbued with his technique. He decided on a simplified version of the Slash of the End since its full scale was too vast for this battle. Instead, he would use a technique he called the Slash of the Vanguard. This version retained the exact movements of the Slash of the End but required less comprehension, control of energy and strenght.
When the Greed Devil saw Aldrian taking a stance, preparing to unleash a technique, he suddenly sensed something in his storage ring. Stunned, he watched as all his swords began to tremble, realizing that Aldrian was releasing a sword will so powerful it was affecting every sword in the area.
"This is bad!" he thought. But before he could warn Erik, he felt the sharp surge of Aldrian’s sword will—a force far stronger than before, potent enough to kill even a high Emperor stage cultivator.
In a single, decisive motion, Aldrian slashed with his sword. The sheer power behind it split through Erik’s attack, and the energy of the slash continued straight for Erik. Too late to react, Erik saw only a flash of energy before everything went dark. The slash obliterated his upper body instantly, leaving only his lower half, and continued onward until it collided with the mountainside, triggering a violent earthquake.
Erik, the right hand of the Greed Devil, died without even scratching the hem of Aldrian’s robes, leaving only the lower half of his body from the waist down. The Greed Devil looked at the remains of his fallen right-hand man, his face showed little expression, aside from the frown that hadn’t left since he first faced Aldrian.
"Do you not feel anything? That was your right-hand man, always by your side, wasn’t he?" Aldrian asked, appearing unbothered despite having unleashed the Slash of the Vanguard, even though his sword was now destroyed.
"Well, I do feel bad—he was my trusted colleague. But I can always find another. Anyway, it seems my observations here are complete. I have to admit, you are truly terrifying, but that still isn’t enough to kill me or stop my escape." The Greed Devil’s frown disappeared as he shrugged, dismissing the loss.
"Is that so? I’m genuinely curious if that’s true because I want to test something on you." Aldrian then released his death laws, combining them with the golden energy in his palm. The Greed Devil felt his heart tighten with a sudden sensation of death.
"I want to know how you plan to defend against this," Aldrian said with a smile.
