Noble Intents

The Frozen Asgard Sect was infamous for their slaughter in multiple lower worlds. They did this to cultivate their yin-fueled apathetic state of mind and to strengthen their killing intent. 

Although such a method resulted in impure killing intent, it was a shortcut most cultivators were willing to take, as stronger killing intent offered far too many advantages.

Hence, if one released a copious amount of killing intent, it was often believed to be due to having performed a lot of slaughter, typically toward crowds of weaker creatures.

The moment Will spoke, he released a wave of killing intent so strong that every Devastated Banshee heading for Achilles stopped in their tracks while the other banshees felt a great threat emanating from Will. As messengers of death, Devastated Banshees were creatures that did not fear death. But they did fear certain abilities related to death, especially ones that could wipe out their souls.

Will had not done anything extreme. He had simply done the opposite of what he had been doing since he arrived in this dungeon. Earlier on, he had practised condensing his Area and releasing mental energy in small amounts. Now, he had expanded his Area!

Thanks to Mana Pool Connection and the other buffs, the range of Will's Area was anywhere touched by Lyra's spells. Will, as a user of Bloodlust, the highest form of killing intent, had a pure killing intent most could not deal with. This, accompanied by the SSS manual's cultivation of death and the way of the sword, made Will a walking supernova of killing intent.

Thanks to Jinsung Ha and Narcissus, Will was more than capable of manipulating the shape of his area and fusing intent into his area. This allowed Will to better focus and direct his killing intent. The Devastated Banshees felt so threatened they could not help but turn around and face Will because their instincts told them that they would perish if they did not focus on him.

"What a pure and overwhelming killing intent," Lisa remarked. She was not one to praise others often, but she could not help but feel respect for Solitary's immense wave of intent.

"How many lives has he taken to have achieved this?" muttered a somewhat disturbed Sophia

"His killing intent is incredibly pure. This means that he did not achieve it by killing civilian lives like we did. Either he has slaughtered tens of thousands of enemies on the same level as him, or he carries an intrinsic mind related to a Noble killing intent in some way," replied Giselle.

If one killed many weaker beings in wanton slaughter, their spirit would be corrupted over time, and their cultivation would deviate. This would give rise to an impure and heterogeneous intent that could easily be broken down by an opponent with a purer mind. This was an undeniable truth of cultivation and was what prevented powerhouses from casually destroying weaker races and carrying out multiple mass genocides.

On the other hand, if one has killed multiple enemies on a similar level, enemies that also had blood on their hands, then one's killing intent would become stronger and sharper. There were also those born with unique spiritual constitutions, allowing them access to unique intents and soul-force abilities.

Empyrean Intents were the peak of intent, but there were other levels below Empyrean when it came to classifying intent. These levels were named after classes of nobility and were thus called Noble intents. Empyrean Intents were the peak of Noble Intents, while the other types of intent were more common as one went down the pyramid of mental talents.

Giselle doubted that he had killed many people on the same level, as that would indicate an abnormal amount of talent in battle. As far as she was concerned, if he was so strong that he could fight hundreds of enemies on the same level, then he would be no different from a freak of nature like Ulysses Rijkaard. She refused to accept such a thought and leaned toward Solitary being born with a low-class Noble killing intent.

"I strongly believe he has a Noble Intent, one that is a killing intent related to the metal element. I'm not sure what type it is, but it's definitely one that can affect spiritual beings as well. Otherwise, the Banshees would not feel threatened."

The other girls agreed with Giselle's words as they saw Achilles take a few laps around the stationary Banshees. No matter how much killing intent one dished out, it only had an effect if the target really believed they were at risk. Devastated Banshees were soul-type creatures that could freely move between the spiritual realm and the physical realm; if they were fearful of an enemy because of intent, then it meant that the enemy was capable of frightening spiritual attacks.

The Agonised Banshee roared in indignation as it saw its troops let Achilles go. It understood the situation and was also shocked. Because unlike the others present, it also felt a familiar aura emanating from Will, one that allowed it to remain above the army of Banshees beneath it and rule as Sovereign of his World.

'This human, he is cultivating death energy!'

The Agonised Banshee could feel a small amount of death aura leaking out of Will's body. This aura seemed insignificant, but it revealed that Will had the ability to spiritually attack using death-type energy. It also revealed that Will himself had some resistance to death-type attacks.

'I can't attack this human with death-type abilities wantonly.'

The Agonised Banshee quickly made a plan of action as it acknowledged the strength of the human before it.

'But just because you can resist death aura doesn't mean your subordinates can.'

The Agonised Banshee covered its right arm in death-type world energy and struck at Achilles once he had returned to its side. It had allowed him to pass a few times so it could make a move at the right moment, and now, it was time to reap the fruits of its patience.

As Lisa and the others saw the Banshee cover its hand in death aura, they all shared the same thought.

'The swordsman's killing intent can stop weaklings, but it can't affect a World Boss.'

They fully expected Achilles' body to get squashed as soon as the hand struck out. Even though the Agonised Banshee had been moving slowly, its movement this time was surprisingly swift as it carried out judgment on its foe.

"Bam!"

A loud noise of steel striking steel echoed into the surroundings. A wave of dust, debris, and ice spread out like a shockwave.

The ladies floating above all had gaping mouths, shock visible on their faces as they looked at the ridiculous scene beneath them.

"Solitary, how did he…what...how is this possible?" Sophia felt power leave her body as she witnessed something she never thought she would ever see in her life as a World Boss had been forced into a situation out of its control by a seemingly ordinary level 99 cultivator! 

Her sisters remained quiet as no one could explain what on earth they were witnessing right now. The reason the ladies were stunned was simple.

Achilles, the original target, was safe and sound. In fact, he continued doing laps around the edge of the riverbank, his momentum surging higher and higher, and the arm of the Agonised Banshee was nowhere near him.

Instead, the arm of the agonised banshee was right above Will's head, with the former blocking the latter's hand with relative ease.

"Why did the Banshee attack Solitary? Wasn't its target that shield warrior?"

"Not only that but how on Earth did Solitary stop that attack with a single arm? What's happening here?"

Alison and Sophia looked towards their more experienced sisters looking for answers, alas, all they got was silence in return.

The Agonised Banshee had clearly released killing intent aimed at Achilles and had launched an attack aiming at him, but for some reason, as soon as its arms started to move, it switched targets and attacked Will's position, with its killing intent solely focused on Will.

Sophia had physically battled Will and had a rough idea of his physical strength. While he was strong, power was not his forte. Agility and control were more his style.

The Agonised Banshee was a dual spiritual and power-type creature, whose single slap could flatten a hill with ease. Even with all her Doors open in her strongest state, Sophia would still be reeling a bit after taking such a forceful hit from a power-type World Boss.

Yet the man whom she had fought with on nearly equal terms earlier had blocked this attack in his normal state.