The Shining Star Above The Heaven

The Hydra is one of the most powerful magical beasts since ancient times. Legends say they are among the ancient divine beasts under the command of the ancient dragon god. According to legend, they have nine heads, their size enough to cover the sky, and the power to destroy the world with a single stomp. The one that appeared before Aldrian, though it only had three heads, was still a Hydra nonetheless. Its power was beyond what its cultivation level suggested.

Despite all the horror and legend surrounding the Hydra, Aldrian did not despair. Even though the Hydra in front of him was nearly ready to unleash its extraordinary attack, Aldrian closed his eyes and entered a state of deep comprehension. Inside his mind and senses, he could feel the entire energy within the domain and the power he could harness. He poured his concepts into his comprehension, focusing on the power he hoped to achieve with each attack of the technique he was creating.

"The attack must be enough to defeat the three-headed Hydra with Mid King stage cultivation. No, that's not right. The attack must be able to cut through whatever is in front of me, to bypass everything it touches, an attack infused with my will," he shaped his technique in his mind.

"There is nothing that can escape my will," he thought, pouring his mind into the technique. He touched his sword hilt and slowly began to unsheathe it. Unbeknownst to him, with each centimeter he drew his sword, phenomena began occurring throughout Balin City.

At this exact moment, Livrin was almost at Aldrian's location.

"Damn it! That Hydra is at Mid King Stage. I need to give my all if I want to contain that beast, and even then, there's no guarantee I can defeat it. Those devil bastards can summon a Hydra with that kind of power." Livrin almost wanted to scream in frustration at how the devils had this kind of trump card. If that beast were summoned inside Balin, he couldn't imagine the destruction it would cause.

He started to regret giving Aldrian the chance to face the dukes, but now was not the time for regrets, and he began to plan a contingency. Suddenly, he felt something from the sword at his waist. It started to vibrate and shake, and without his control, it unsheathed itself and floated, pointing in Aldrian's direction. He stopped moving and looked in that direction.

"This is Sword Will!" Livrin trembled. But that wasn't the end of it. He sensed a sudden huge concentration of energy and a strange aura at Aldrian's location. He looked at the World Tree as he heard the rustling sound of its leaves. The World Tree seemed joyous as energy from the entire city began pouring in one direction. The entire populous city was stunned when this strange phenomenon occurred, with all the swords in the city trembling, unsheathing themselves, and pointing toward Aldrian.

Back at Aldrian's location, he had almost fully unsheathed his sword. The Hydra, with its intelligence, sensed something wrong with this puny human. The strange energy and aura exuding from the tiny human felt intimidating. The devils who tried to return to the city also stopped to look at him. They felt the sudden pressure and couldn't move, even the duke-stage devils felt heavy.

"What the hell is this?"

"The pressure is like being in the presence of a heavenly tribulation!"

"Move!" All the devils forced themselves to move, feeling trepidation as Aldrian was just moments away from unleashing his technique.

"Hurry, kill that man! Don't let him unsheathe his sword!" Arman screamed to the Hydra. He, who felt victory within his grasp, was horrified by the strange aura and pressure Aldrian exuded, akin to a divine presence. Sensing the danger if Aldrian successfully struck with his sword, the Hydra unleashed fire from its mouths. Black beams of fire shot toward Aldrian at incredible speed. Aldrian opened his eyes and, in a split second, with a shift of his will, teleported all the devils into the air behind the Hydra.

"One sword slash to end the past, present and future. 'The Slash of The End'" And it happened, He unleashed his technique, and with one slash the dark night instantly brightened with golden energy. The space in front of the slash collapsed, opening fissures along its track. The slash cut through the incoming black fire horizontally, all the way to the giant body of the Hydra. It sliced the Hydra in half right under the base of its neck.

The slash's energy continued until it obliterated the hundred thousand devils behind it into nothingness, leaving no time for them to scream or despair. The energy kept traveling, cutting through the tip of a mountain 700 kilometers north of Aldrian, causing it to collapse, and continued beyond the horizon.

-------------------------------------------------

At an unknown place, an old man sat cross-legged on top of a cliff, his shoulder-length hair blowing in the night wind. From afar, a large city could be seen, its lights creating a beautiful scene beneath the dark sky. He wore casual clothes and kept his aura hidden to avoid alerting any nearby presences.

The surrounding silence added to the serenity, accompanied only by the sound of the wind. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, his eyes trembling at what he saw. The golden energy had split the clouds in half towards the horizon, with residual energy and aura still lingering in the air. He stood up and looked at the track the energy had passed, stretching beyond his perception.

A shadow suddenly appeared behind him, bowing.

"Did you feel that?" the old man asked.

"Yes, the tremendous energy and aura, and the strongest sword will I have ever seen," the shadow answered.

"I have met all kinds of swordmasters on this continent, but I have never felt this kind of sword will. I suddenly feel inferior in front of this technique. Even from here, I can sense the conviction and comprehension of the person who unleashed it. Maybe it's already above a Heaven grade technique," the old man said, still trembling. If what he said is true, then it will mark the birth of a legend because the continent has not seen a divine technique in a long time. He looked towards the horizon to the south and then to the north, where the energy slash had traveled.

"I order you to find this swordmaster. Perhaps we can invite them for guidance, this is a rare opportunity."

"As you wish," the shadow replied before disappearing. The old man continued gazing at the night sky, observing the aftermath of the cut.

--------------------------------------

At another unknown place, a man in a conical hat walked alone in the grassland. He stopped and looked at the sword on his waist, which trembled for a split second. He gazed in one direction, his eyes serene and showing no reaction.

"The one who can comprehend sword intent understands the true power of the sword and becomes one with the sword he wields. The one who comprehends sword will can imbue his own will into his sword intent," he mumbled to himself.

"The will of a swordmaster can be simple, yet it is difficult to materialize into sword will. You must truly comprehend the energy, the sword, and the concept of the technique," he continued, speaking to himself. He changed his direction, heading towards the source of the disturbance.

--------------------------------------

In the city of Balin, everyone stared in awe at the enormous energy slash that had split the Hydra and the distant mountain. The clouds in the sky were also split into two, showcasing the immense power of the slash unleashed from outside the city. The cracks in space slowly began to mend themselves, closing the void visible to the naked eye.

The people of the city gasped, with some even prostrating in the direction of the slash's source, especially those closer to Aldrian. They felt as though divine judgment had arrived and were grateful to be alive. The Hydra lay limp and unmoving, its legendary regeneration halted—a sign that the slash had destroyed its beast core, the source of its life.

Livrin, who now close enough to see Aldrian clearly, stared at him as if he were a monster. His eyes shifted to the Hydra and then to the space behind it, where there used to be hundreds of thousands of devils. The scene of the hundreds of thousands of devil cultivators being suddenly teleported from the ground into midair and then obliterated by the slash was seared into his memory.

Aldrian looked at the aftermath of his technique and sighed. "If I hadn't directed my technique into the air, I'm afraid it would have cut through the entire landscape across its path." He examined his sword, noticing a tiny crack.

"The sword given by Father is truly admirable to have withstood this technique," he thought. Considering the scale of the technique he had just unleashed, the sword had held up well. He planned to find a good workshop to repair his sword or perhaps even improve it.

He sheathed his sword and looked at the unmoving Hydra before spreading his senses to the surrounding area to check for anomalies. Once he was sure there was nothing odd, he disappeared, leaving behind the aftermath of the great battle that would forever be etched in the minds of the people of Balin.