Chapter - 2227

- 2227. Respect
Saving power wasn't part of Noah's style. He usually went all-out in every battle, especially since they often featured opponents that his normal level couldn't handle.

The red-haired privileged cultivator was no exception, but Noah had to keep in mind the last stages of the final battle. Winning fights against powerful experts would refill his ethereal blackness quickly, but he preferred to remain on the battlefield as long as possible.

"Dissecting my power?" The red-haired cultivator wondered. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Noah didn't need his opponent to ask twice. He waved his hand to send a rain of slashes forward, and Night also disappeared into the void during the attack.

The privileged cultivator laughed in the face of the offensive. Multiple lights came out of his body as a series of barriers and a vast white halo expanded from his figure.

The slashes crashed on the barriers and infected them with Noah's destruction. Black lines expanded on their surfaces as they crumbled into countless pieces. Even their shards couldn't survive the influence that had invaded them.

Still, nothing managed to reach the privileged cultivator. His last barriers even attacked Noah's destruction and transformed it into energy that gathered before his chest.

Meanwhile, the white halo illuminated the void as its radiance brightened. It didn't take long before that light condensed into a relatively small spot that flew around the privileged cultivator at high speed.

Noah didn't need to inspect the area to understand what was happening. The privileged cultivator had transformed his destruction into fuel for an attack, while the white halo had the sole purpose of locating Night.

Night cried in anger as the white light condensed around its body and made it unable to hide in the space-time fabric. The Pterodactyl already had a hard time fusing with the void, but the red-haired cultivator's halo made that action impossible.

Of course, Night wouldn't let that light stop its attacks. It actually angered it to the point that Noah felt his potential flowing toward its strange body.

The brighter area around Night shattered as multiple black lines shot out of its body. The damage spread through the halo and forced the privileged cultivator to divert the accumulated energy toward the incoming attacks.

The accumulated energy was different from the previous offensive. It wasn't a messy wave of various attacks, so the black lines couldn't replicate the effects of Noah's destructive thoughts.

However, Night had some of the most unstoppable abilities in Noah's arsenal. They severed part of the raw wave of energy crashing on them before causing an explosion that affected the whole white halo.

The privileged cultivator lost track of Night while the explosion unfolded, and Noah made sure to exploit that opportunity. He waved his blades, and another rain of slashes converged toward his opponent, forcing him to address the threat.

The red-haired expert summoned his barriers again, but a shadow flew through his figure during the process. His body suddenly split in half, and the damage spread to his defenses, which became unable to stop the incoming slashes.

Noah doubled down on that new opportunity, and Night didn't hold back either. The two launched a series of attacks that dispersed what remained of the barriers and filled the area with a messy mass of destructive power.

The fabric of the void bent as the destructive power continued to accumulate, but Noah and Night barely kept track of that event. Their offensive was relentless since they aimed to kill their opponents without wasting too much potential.

That trend didn't last long since another detonation soon took control of the spot occupied by the privileged cultivator. Night returned on Noah's head, and the two waited to see what their opponent was up to. They both knew that their attacks didn't cause that reaction.

"I have the fifth and seventh-best defensive abilities of the sky," The red-haired cultivator's hoarse voice echoed past the dark and grey energy released by the explosion. "I have the sixth-best technique when it comes to absorbing energy. I have the fourth-best converting ability. Do you think this is enough to kill me?"

The dark and grey energy began to condense when the announcement ended. Those chaotic waves of power shrunk until the privileged cultivator' maimed figure became visible. He was nothing more than a skeleton with only a few patches of muscles and skin left, but his red eyes continued to shine brightly.

"I know what you are doing," The red-haired cultivator continued as all the energy that had flowed into his figure began to rebuild skin, muscles, and organs. "I even expected you to try something like this. I won't remain silent while you underestimate me."

The red-haired cultivator fixed his body in no time, but the matter didn't end there. His skin started to shine with a scarlet color until it created an immense domain. Noah couldn't avoid ending inside it, but dark matter promptly covered his figure to prevent eventual harmful effects.

"Defying Demon!" The privileged cultivator shouted. "Noah Balvan! You are one of the greatest monsters in the higher plane, but you aren't there yet. I'm carrying the worlds of experts who have survived Heaven and Earth's attempts to absorb them for entire eras. Show me some respect!"

Multiple waves of energy shot out of the privileged cultivator's body and blended with the scarlet domain. The expert was trying a different approach. He was adding his personal influence to all the worlds in his existence to increase his ability to control them.

A spectacle of lights unfolded. Each wave of energy carried different colors, but they all began to add power to the scarlet radiance. They began to work together with the expert's world as they converged before his figure to fuse into an unstable sphere.

"Keep holding back!" The red-haired cultivator mocked. "Cut this attack. Cut the next one too. I'll only grow stronger while your attention remains on the sky."

'I guess it's still too early to take solid stage cultivators lightly,' Noah sighed in his mind while his expression remained cold. He had hoped to exploit the expert's flaws to end the battle quickly, but the matter had turned out to be far more troublesome.

'Night, are you ready for that?' Noah asked through the mental connection.

'I don't want to use that power,' Night complained. 'It's demeaning to rely on something so brainless.'

'It's not that power,' Noah pointed out. 'Your power is our power, and the same applies to all the others. Don't you want to kill the light? We won't get the chance to face Heaven and Earth at this pace.'

'I know. I know,' Night snorted. 'Though I'm still the best at cutting stuff.'

'We are the best,' Noah laughed.

More potential flowed inside Night as dark tendrils came out of its peculiar body. Those odd features quickly went back under its edges, but the privileged cultivator noticed them anyway. Still, that didn't change his approach.

The privileged cultivator unleashed the chaotic mass of energy in front of his figure, and Night shot forward. As for Noah, he stored his swords and crossed his arms as he waited for the clash to unfold.

Night disappeared right before meeting the wave of chaotic energy, but the event didn't cause any change.. The cultivator's ability continued to fly forward until it engulfed Noah in its violent might.
Chapter 2228: 2228. Gardener
Noah closed his eyes as injuries opened everywhere on his body. His skin shattered, the muscles under it broke, and the layer of dark matter protecting his vital organs suffered from a similar fate.

The red-haired cultivator's attack was nowhere near weak. It didn't fully express the power of all the worlds in his existence, but it came really close to that.

Noah couldn't defend against that offensive even if he had the best body in the entire higher plane. The unstable substance brought his physical prowess to incredible heights, but his opponent remained one of the greatest experts from the sky.

Of course, Noah could muster his potential and summon defensive abilities to take care of the attack. He could use Duanlong, Shafu, or even the parasite to reduce the amount of power crashing on his figure. Yet, he held everything back and let his body handle that massive blow.

Merely thinking about saving potential in a fight against a privileged cultivator was reckless. Noah would have been fine against average experts, but the final battle only featured the best assets from the sky.

Still, Noah had one chance to save some energy. The tactic would inevitably lead to severe injuries and a lot of pain, but Noah had never been scared of those. He could let his superior body suffer instead of defending against incoming attacks.

Noah could feel his innate defenses losing ground. His body was strong, insanely strong, but his opponent probably was one of its best counters since he could summon far superior amounts of power.

No levels of physical prowess could match that violent wave of energy that carried different natures. It was simply impossible to face it without relying on defensive techniques. However, Noah didn't care.

Everything was fine as long as Noah survived. He didn't mind if his figure turned into a gory mess. He would face every attack as long as he believed he could survive them.

The wave of energy ravaged Noah's figure before dispersing once it exhausted its power. Noah became visible again, but his appearance had drastically changed. Almost all the skin and muscles on his front had disappeared, exposing his though skeleton, which featured multiple fuming spots.

Blood almost disappeared from Noah's body due to the width of the injuries, and the ethereal blackness instinctively tried to send potential to the healing process. Yet, Noah forced his world to save energy as he let his dark matter apply a patch on those wounds.

"You are crazier than I thought," The red-haired cultivator commented after inspecting Noah's state. "You won't survive to see Heaven and Earth joining the battlefield."

"You cultivators always talk so much," Noah coughed as the dark matter replaced most of the missing flesh. "Did living in the sky make you lonely?"

"I see," The red-haired cultivator sighed as he pointed an arm at Noah. "You must have lost your mind in the last exchange."

The dark matter soon transformed into fiendish armor, and Noah made it show a devilish smirk. The red-haired cultivator snorted since Noah didn't give any answer, and a new wave of energy shot out of his hand.

The privileged cultivator didn't take his time to assimilate all his worlds at that time, but the scarlet domain still improved his offensive. The multicolored wave of energy gained red glows as it flew toward Noah, but it remained inferior to the previous attack in terms of harmony.

An odd growl left Noah's maimed mouth before he spat a cloud of black flames that carried the peak of his destruction. The attack didn't use any potential, but it was enough to divide the different natures unleashed by the privileged cultivator.

The flames burnt part of the expert's attack before sending its energy toward Noah. Part of his injuries disappeared, but his condition remained severe. Yet, he didn't lose power at all.

"How long can you keep that up?" The privileged cultivator laughed. "You won't-!"

"You always say stuff like that," Noah interrupted. "You won't succeed. You won't win. You can't defeat the sky. You always have something to say. I've already hurt your pride. Just accept it."

"What nonsense are you even talking about?" The red-haired cultivator asked.

Noah raised his clawed arm to point a sharp finger at his opponent. The privileged cultivator summoned his barriers to prepare for the imminent offensive, but Noah only sent words. "I've turned Heaven and Earth's world against them. I've created this final battle when Heaven and Earth wanted to hide this power from me. I've already proven that no one is my equal."

The privileged cultivator fell silent. He wanted to deny Noah's words, but he had to admit that they made sense. Sure, Noah's organization had multiple experts who could have achieved similar results, but only he could unite so many forces and create a proper challenge for Heaven and Earth.

"You are correct," The privileged cultivator admitted, "But this doesn't make your statement less arrogant."

The privileged cultivator mustered his power to prepare another attack, but his energy dispersed before it could condense in his hand. The event startled him, but a disregarding smile soon appeared on his face.

"That creature of yours sure is sneaky," The red-haired cultivator commented as he inspected his surroundings to search for Night. "It hurt me without leaving any trace. You must have used all your power to make it so strong."

Noah didn't answer. The fiendish armor continued to show a devilish smirk as he stepped forward to walk toward his opponent.

"Such arrogance," The red-haired cultivator sighed. "Did you forget that I can heal myself?"

White energy seeped out of the expert's body while power gathered in his hand. He seemed able to prepare his technique now, but a tremor suddenly ran through his body and made him disperse all the accumulated fuel.

The privileged cultivator wore a shocked expression. He didn't understand what was happening, but Noah was drawing close, so he activated his healing technique again. However, another tremor ran through his body and forced him to disperse that energy.

"What is happening?" The red-haired cultivator cursed. "What have you done to me?"

Noah eventually reached his opponent. The latter tried to wave his arm to send Noah away, but his limb shattered when it touched the fiendish armor.

Something surprising became visible when the arm shattered. The privileged cultivator saw how black roots had replaced his bones. The parasite had appeared inside him, and its body stretched deep into his flesh.

"What have you done?!" The privileged cultivator shouted.

"Why don't you use your immense knowledge?" Noah mocked as he closed his clawed hand on his opponent's head and started to envelop him with dark matter.

The privileged cultivator didn't know what to do. He tried to summon his energy, but nothing came out. Meanwhile, the dark matter began to express Noah's devouring ability, which consumed his skin and the worlds contained in his existence.

"Did you find an answer?" Noah joked as he continued to devour his opponent. "I've turned Night into a gardener."

A snort resounded behind Noah as Night became visible. The Pterodactyl's appearance had changed. Black flowers had grown from its odd body, but it didn't hesitate to sever them away.

The privileged cultivator didn't understand what had happened even after witnessing that scene. Yet, answers came once the dark matter devoured his whole figure and exposed his worlds. The expert managed to see black seeds inside his existence before his consciousness went dark.
Chapter 2229: 2229. Void
"Don't use words you don't understand so lightly," Sword Saint scolded. "None of you knows the true form of a sword. Even I have merely gazed upon the immensity of the path."

"Who cares about the sword path?" The privileged cultivator responded without letting go of his long grey beard. "I didn't claim to know about blades or the true meaning of your power. I only said that you can't cut me."

Sword Saint loved to talk about blades, but that wasn't the right situation for that. Besides, he had something better than words to prove his point.

Sword Saint waved his hands, and his while figure lit up before unleashing a torrent of silver light. The attack released whooshing noises as it flew through the void, but those sounds vanished once it crashed on the privileged cultivator.

The sharpness radiated by the silver torrent was so intense that even the void couldn't remain still during the exchange. The peculiar space-time array bent and shattered, making the attack almost impossible to dodge. Sword Saint had almost cut through the void during his offensive.

The privileged cultivator didn't execute any defensive technique. He stood still and let the wave of silver energy seep into his figure. Sword Saint could sense that nothing tried to block his sharpness, but his offensive didn't inflict any damage anyway.

"I should probably introduce myself," The privileged cultivator sighed. "I'm sorry for forgetting my manners. I'm Euclio, and my world imitates the void."

Sword Saint didn't need that explanation to understand the nature of Euclio's world. He had seen enough by keeping track of his last attack. His sharpness had entered Euclio's existence, but it didn't find anything to cut.

Most experts would usually feel disappointed or bored to face a similar opponent. Noah and Divine Demon had felt like that against Philto, but Sword Saint was different.

Sword Saint's aura surged in excitement after hearing Euclio's statement. The expert had confirmed Sword Saint's guess, which opened the path for an interesting experiment. He could finally test his power against something theoretically impossible to cut.

"Why do you react like this?" Euclio sighed. "There is nothing to cut inside me. Don't get so worked up about it."

"Do not tell me what to do," Sword Saint announced. "You have given me the chance to sharpen my path. How could I not get excited?"

"The void can't sharpen anything," Euclio declared. "It merely exists in its immensity."

"I sense only ignorance about my path in those words," Sword Saint laughed. "I'll show you how wrong they are."

Sword Saint's aura condensed before gathering in his right palm. That silver radiance slowly took the shape of a blade as tall as him, and he didn't hesitate to wave it.

No attack came out of the blade, but a sharp torrent of silver energy abruptly engulfed Euclio. His entire body ended up immersed in a raging wave of power that desperately tried to cut his very existence, but he didn't show any reaction.

Euclio remained immersed in the sharp energy for a few seconds before lifting an arm to show his palm. He closed his hand into a fist, and the silver attack instantly vanished without leaving a single trace of its past presence.

"I am nothing," Euclio declared. "You can't cut what has no form."

"That's what you think!" Sword Saint laughed as more power flowed into his long blade.

Sword Saint didn't even wave his weapon at that time, but attacks materialized around Euclio anyway. The privileged cultivator found himself immersed in multiple waves of sharp energy that created a bright star-like shape with six tips.

The void seemed to light up. Nothing could stop the light radiated by the star, but Euclio didn't suffer at all while he continued to float at the center of the structure. Waves of energy cut their way through his body, but no injury opened.

"This is pretty," Euclio commented as he inspected the silver structure. "I'll send it flying in my world for a few millennia."

Euclio opened and closed his hand, and the star disappeared. The void reclaimed its dark appearance, and Sword Saint's power stopped affecting its emptiness.

"Can you give up already?" Euclio asked when he saw that Sword Saint gathered even more energy in his blade.

It didn't take long before another star enveloped Euclio. Sword Saint didn't even stop there. He proceeded to wave his blade to create similar but bigger structures that immersed the expert in even stronger waves of sharp energy.

Euclio couldn't hide his surprise when he inspected his surroundings. Three massive stars with no solid edges had enveloped him, and the energy inside them intensified as it continued to flow through their insides.

Sword Saint had created something similar to a formation, but he had only used slashes during the process. That allowed the sharpness to fly freely and intensify as it attempted to cut what dared to stand in its way.

Sadly for the sharp energy, Euclio wasn't really there. His world imitated the void. His existence was the closest thing to non-existence that a cultivator could reach. He was basically empty even if he carried power in the solid stage.

Of course, those features barely affected Sword Saint's mindset. He had found something that he couldn't cut, so he was ready to launch attacks until he succeeded. His devotion knew no bounds. Sword Saint wouldn't stop even if he had to spend eras in that condition.

Euclio didn't mind keeping Sword Saint busy either. After all, that was the main purpose of those reinforcements. Everything would end as long as he bought enough time for Heaven and Earth.

Nevertheless, Euclio wasn't a normal underling. He was a privileged cultivator with desires and plans that went beyond Heaven and Earth's projects. It was better to stand still and let Sword Saint have fun, but he also wanted to play a role in that battle.

Euclio made the three stars disappear, and Sword Saint prepared himself to launch an even stronger offensive. Still, he interrupted his actions when the privileged cultivator teleported in front of him.

"I don't want to be a punching bag now that I've finally joined the battlefield," Euclio stated.

"That's not up to you to decide," Sword Saint snorted as silver energy exploded from every inch of his figure.

The attack passed through Euclio without hurting him in the slightest. He could raise his hand calmly and slowly until his fingers touched Sword Sant's forehead.

The fingers' silhouette trembled when they touched Sword Saint's silhouette. The latter's figure could express a form of sharpness so pure that even Euclio couldn't hide his surprise.

However, that event didn't stop Euclio from following his plan. A strange aura came out of his fingers and enveloped Sword Saint. Sharpness continued to shoot in every direction, but those attacks didn't affect Euclio's energy at all.

"Have fun in my void," Euclio uttered when he finished enveloping Sword Saint in his power.

Nothing special seemed to happen, but Sword Saint disappeared. His presence completely vanished from the battlefield, and his sharpness also stopped expanding through the void.

"That was so boring," Euclio exclaimed before caressing his beard and glancing at the battlefield. "Now, who should I help?"
Chapter 2230: 2230. Empty
Euclio's battle had ended quickly, far before the other fights involving major players. Even Noah was still busy dealing with the red-haired privileged cultivator by the time Sword Saint disappeared from the battlefield.

The scene that unfolded in front of Euclio's vision was messy and disappointing. The sky had sent a precise number of experts to keep all the landmass' leaders busy, so he couldn't find any worthy opponent.

After a quick inspection, Euclio found only two paths worth pursuing. One saw him joining his peers to defeat the landmass' leaders, while the other involved slaughtering the weaker troops.

"I don't want to do either," Euclio muttered as he continued to caress his beard. "I guess dealing with the leaders will put an end to this mess quickly, but I don't want the troublesome ones."

Euclio diverted his gaze whenever he found King Elbas, Noah, Alexander, or Divine Demon. He didn't want anything to do with those four, but the others seemed suitable targets.

His attention eventually converged on Vesuvia. Euclio knew her power and role, so he felt that removing her from the battlefield would inflict a significant blow on the landmass' forces.

Nevertheless, as soon as Euclio turned toward Vesuvia, a bright white light flashed next to him before condensing into a humanoid figure. A liquid stage aura expanded in the area and enveloped the privileged cultivator, but the latter only showed disappointment.

"You are out of your league," Euclio commented.

"A leader must be where he needs to be," Daniel declared as his figure continued to unleash white light. "I can't let you bother the others."

Euclio inspected the white radiance around him before moving his attention back to Daniel. He knew a lot about that expert, and he didn't hold back from voicing honest praises. "Your actions are commendable, truly worthy of a leader. Though, that's not enough to survive."

Euclio closed his hand, and all the light released by Daniel vanished. The void reclaimed its darkness in an instant, and Daniel noticed how his radiance became unable to expand past his figure.

"You might be from Defying Demon's generation," Euclio continued. "But you are not him. You have never been able to consistently ignore the gaps among the stages, and your breakthrough is also recent. You can't win."

"Winning or losing has no meaning to me," Daniel uttered. "My very life can't influence this battlefield. However, I might be able to use it for someone else's victory."

"Heaven and Earth can learn a lot from you," Euclio sighed. "Maybe I can throw your world in the sky to affect their evolution."

"You can try," Daniel smiled.

"I thought you had thrown away your arrogance," Euclio snorted before teleporting in front of Daniel and touching his forehead.

Euclio almost stopped caring about Daniel after that gesture. He had activated his ability, so he felt confident that his opponent wasn't a problem anymore. However, pure shock appeared on his face when he noticed that nothing had happened to Daniel.

Euclio tapped his fingers on Daniel's forehead again, but nothing changed. His shock intensified, and Daniel forced a faintly mocking smile to appear on his expression.

"I see how it is," Euclio eventually announced as the shock left his face.

"Our worlds are similar," Daniel revealed. "You profess emptiness. I do the same with purity. I'm not someone you can send into your void."

"You are correct," Euclio exclaimed as he sealed his grasp on Daniel's forehead. "Still, you forgot the most important aspect in a battle between worlds. Our raw power is in different realms."

The area around Euclio's figure suddenly darkened. A second layer of emptiness expanded through the void and fused with it, deepening its nature.

The light radiated by Daniel's body dimmed until his skin completely stopped shining. It seemed that his world couldn't express its power anymore, and his figure even started to grow fainter under Euclio's influence.

"You also forgot something," Daniel sighed as he raised his almost ethereal arms to grab Euclio's wrists. "I'm not Noah, but my path is worthier than yours."

Nothing came out of Daniel's hands, but Euclio's eyes flickered when he saw that chunks of his arms vanished. They didn't teleport somewhere else or shatter. Their fabric simply transformed into part of the void all around him.

"Your void is wonderful," Daniel praised. "Your world is virtually boundless, but it will always be empty. Don't worry. I'll grant you the power you have always been too scared to seize."

Fear flashed in Euclio's eyes. He tried to retract his arms, but they broke as more chunks of his flesh vanished. Daniel soon had nothing else to grasp, but he promptly flew forward to chase his retreating opponent.

Euclio was faster than Daniel, but he couldn't avoid the new light that shot out of his opponent. The whole area soon lit up again, and Euclio saw other chunks of his body disappearing under that influence.

"You decided to show me your void," Daniel stated while reaching Euclio and grabbing his beard. "You made yourself unable to escape."

"Do you think I will lose over a technicality?!" Euclio snorted as he headbutted Daniel and kept his forehead pressed on his nose.

Daniel's body grew even more ethereal, but blinding light slowly refilled his insides. The glow forced his figure to regain weight on the world and interrupt Euclio's technique.

"You can't force me to disappear," Daniel declared. "I don't have anything you can send into your void."

"You will regret this," Euclio cursed as his beard started to vanish.

"Noah heard similar threats countless times," Daniel commented. "Do you think they would have been enough because you are against me?"

"No," Euclio responded. "Even Defying Demon will suffer after this. You can be certain about that."

Daniel didn't let the threat faze him. He continued to express his power until Euclio completely disappeared. His aura also slowly vanished and gave the void its natural emptiness.

Daniel heaved a heavy sigh as he retracted his aura. He felt exhausted after forcing his purity to influence a solid stage privileged cultivator. The effort had left him with virtually no energy, but the outcome had been worth it.

Sword Saint was the only aspect that worried Daniel. In theory, he didn't kill Euclio. He had only forced him to turn into a real version of the void, so Sword Saint had to be alive somewhere.

Daniel couldn't find Sword Saint on the battlefield, so he guessed that the expert had teleported somewhere in the void. Daniel didn't know if Sword Saint would be able to return to the higher plane, but that didn't matter. Even if he didn't come back, Daniel had taken care of fulfilling his role.

'How many do we have to sacrifice to win?' Daniel sighed in his mind as he tried to find spots where his power could help save lives.

Sadly for Daniel, his world struggled to remain in one piece. His purity wavered and hinted at the need for rest. He didn't want to leave the battlefield so soon, but the event appeared inevitable.

However, a sinister aura suddenly filled his surroundings, and a familiar voice gave birth to an echoing laugh. Daniel didn't know what was happening, but he understood that Euclio was behind it.
Chapter 2231: 2231. Love
"Naïve and pitiful king of the ants," Euclio's voice echoed through the very void. "You dare to step on realms before obtaining the right to look at them. Now, you will pay the price for your stupidity."

Daniel inspected his surroundings, but he couldn't find anything able to answer his doubts. He didn't understand what was happening. It seemed that Euclio's voice was coming out from the emptiness around him, but the sinister aura didn't reveal any clue.

"You don't understand, do you?" Euclio continued. "Don't blame yourself. Your knowledge of the cultivation journey is good, but it doesn't quite involve the peak. You simply aren't there yet."

The sinister aura condensed at some distance from Daniel until a humanoid figure appeared. Euclio rebuilt his body, but his skin revealed far darker shades now. His edges were also blurry and felt on the verge of fusing with the void.

"Your idea wasn't bad," Euclio admitted as the sinister aura expanded once again and enveloped Daniel. "Using the innate features of my world to defeat me was smart. Your ability also suited the task perfectly. Still, you failed to understand that I already represent the apex of emptiness."

The explanation didn't clear Daniel's doubts, and the sinister aura didn't allow him to focus too much on those words either. His body started to turn ethereal again, but that change affected him deeply at that time.

"I imitate the void," Euclio announced. "However, rank 9 cultivators can't gain a complete understanding of this endless blackness since it belongs to a superior realm. I improved through Heaven and Earth's tools, but my mind has always remained limited by my poor level."

Traces of understanding finally dawned upon Daniel, but he decided to ignore the matter to focus on his ordeal. He felt his world was slipping away to reach distant locations that his mind couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"You know," Euclio continued. "Fusing with the void isn't actually possible for experts at my level. Even imitating it only leads to a weaker version. After all, the universe is stuff for beings past the cultivation journey, and you can't have a will while being empty."

Daniel struggled to expand his purity and assert his presence on the higher plane, but everything seemed pointless. Euclio's attack was simply unstoppable. It dealt with realities and dimensions that even Cursed Reality would have a hard time studying.

"The form I had was almost perfect," Euclio revealed. "I could still tweak some aspects, but it was the closest existence to the void that a cultivator at my level could create."

Plans and ideas flooded Daniel's mind, but he couldn't deploy any of them. He was exhausted, and his world barely had energy left. He didn't know if those tactics would work, but he couldn't even try them out.

"Then, you and your purity arrive," Euclio exclaimed. "The nature of your power forced my world to strive to a state that I couldn't reach on my own. I couldn't comprehend the realm that I had to obtain on my own, but you solved that issue."

Daniel could only give up on trying to escape the sinister aura. His attention inevitably went on Euclio and his explanation, which finally made complete sense in his mind.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Daniel sighed. "You managed to retain your power even after I turned you into the real void. I can praise your ability, but I won't blame my lacking knowledge."

"That's correct," Euclio smirked. "I only wanted to add some fun to this victory. Enjoy spending the rest of your life in my void."

Daniel briefly inspected the battlefield before closing his eyes. He had given his everything to reduce the number of casualties on his side, and he had even bought time for his stronger allies.

Euclio probably wouldn't have enough time to disrupt the balance of the battlefield. Daniel felt sure that Noah or someone else would stop him soon enough. That thought reassured him. He could consider his sacrifice as a success.

"Heartless until the end," Euclio commented. "Truly commendable."

Euclio stretched his hand forward to make his aura work faster. Daniel was about to disappear, but nothing affected his calm expression. He appeared at peace, but something eventually affected his emotional state.

Euclio couldn't avoid feeling surprised when he saw his aura changing direction on its own and flowing toward an incoming bright figure. The latter dispersed Euclio's power through its influence as it reached Daniel's left side and revealed its appearance.

"What are you doing here?" Daniel weakly scolded as the break from Euclio's attack allowed his world to shine again. "Your place is on the battlef-!"

Daniel couldn't finish his line since a slap landed on his newly condensed cheek. He didn't feel any anger after that gesture. Instead, faint traces of love and helplessness appeared on his face as he stared at the newcomer.

"I really hate this part of you," Faith announced as she delivered another slap. "You and your damned purity make you disregard your companions' feelings so easily."

"That's how my path works," Daniel sighed. "Now, go away. You are burning yourself only to survive under his influence."

Faith was only in the gaseous stage of the ninth rank. Her world could barely survive Euclio's pressure, but she was letting it suffer injuries without showing any hesitation.

"I refuse," Faith declared. "Do you think you are the only one who can throw his life away?"

"I'm sacrificing myself for a higher purpose," Daniel explained. "Adding your death won't change anything in the grand scope of the final battle."

"It will change something for me!" Faith shouted. "I know you understand this."

Daniel sighed again and took Faith's face in his gentle grasp. His purity didn't make him unable to understand human emotions. He actually couldn't ignore them in his weak state.

"I understand you will have a chance to survive if I do this," Daniel whispered.

"Can't I just decide to die with you?" Faith asked. "That's what my love wants."

"How did you even fall for me?" Daniel half-suppressed a curse. "I've been an awful partner."

"You can say all the lies you want," Faith giggled as she reached Daniel's hands on her cheeks, "But I know the truth. You could have left me long ago, and you probably should have. After all, I am your flaw."

Daniel couldn't stop the warm smile appearing on his face. His purity was at its weakest now, so he couldn't hide his emotions, and that reaction confirmed Faith's words.

Daniel was a being that strived for purity and pure selflessness. Someone like him couldn't have something as personal as a relationship. It would simply go against his nature.

However, Daniel had never shed away his love for Faith. He had the chance to do it countless times, but he had never done it.

"How could I see something so beautiful as a flaw?" Daniel eventually dropped the pretenses. "I'll accept a slow and flawed journey if that means making you happy."

"And you even wonder why I fell for you," Faith uttered in a sweet tone.

"Won't you allow me to die before you?" Daniel asked.

"No," Faith firmly rejected, even if her smile never left her face. "I can have you as my Daniel, without all the leader stuff. I can't think of a better final moment."

"I can't win against you, can I?" Daniel wondered.

"Oh, shut up now," Faith chuckled as she lowered Daniel's arms to pull him closer. "You are the only one I ever allowed to win against me."
Chapter 2232: 2232. Delay
"Touching," Euclio commented after Daniel and Faith ended up close enough to kiss.

"You aren't like the others," Daniel announced while diverting his attention from Faith to focus on Euclio. "Why didn't you kill us already?"

"I wanted to see what your display of emotions caused inside my new being," Euclio explained as he pointed a hand toward the couple. "As expected, I felt nothing."

Daniel disregarded the treat to look at Faith again, and she smiled to reply to his gesture. Neither of them showed fear. They were at peace since they could die in each other's arms. Actually, both felt slightly relieved that their intense struggle was ending on such a happy note.

Euclio's sinister aura shot forward and enveloped the couple. Faith could use her world to slow down the attack, but she suppressed her power. Daniel didn't have the strength to fight back, and she didn't want to die after him.

Daniel and Faith turned ethereal quickly since they didn't try to resist their opponent's attack. Their worlds instinctively summoned defenses, but they couldn't last long under the assault of a privileged cultivator in the solid stage.

The couple didn't divert their eyes during the process. Daniel and Faith were fine as long as they could die looking at their lover's face. Still, the assault suddenly faltered and forced the two to focus on Euclio again.

"I didn't want to ruin your moment," Euclio laughed as he inspected his hand. "I don't have such poor taste. I only need a moment to get used to this power."

"Okay, I should be there," Euclio eventually cleared his throat and pointed his arm at the couple again. Daniel and Faith reestablished their eye contact as the sinister aura enveloped them, but that power abruptly disappeared for no apparent reason.

"Is he playing with us?" Faith wondered in an annoyed tone.

"I'm not really sure," Daniel replied. "My world is even regaining power. I might not be in the mood for all this romance if he keeps delaying our deaths."

"Don't even try to ruin our deaths," Faith glared at Daniel. "I deserve to get your full attention in my final moments after remaining with you for all these millennia."

"I'm doing my best here," Daniel promised, "But I can't go against my world."

"Hey, you!" Faith angrily called while turning toward Euclio. "Hurry up. My partner will turn back into an idiot at this rate."

"I swear," Euclio responded as he inspected his hands and entire figure. "I don't understand what is happening."

"We can't even get a proper final opponent," Faith sighed.

"Don't tell me that we are going to survive," Daniel exclaimed.

"Why do you sound disappointed?" Faith asked.

"Well," Daniel diverter his gaze, "I'd have to find a form of purity that accepts you as a flow if I survive."

"I really want to smack you again," Faith cursed.

"I think you have enough time for that," Daniel stated while glancing at the struggling Euclio.

"I'll do it if we survive," Faith declared. "Actually, I'll claim you all for myself for five hundred years."

"What about the landmass?" Daniel wondered.

"I'll tell the Demons to take care of it if you behave," Faith uttered. "If you don't, I'll claim you anyway and leave the landmass to the rats."

"Not the rats," Daniel gasped.

"Or the pigs," Faith threatened.

"Anyone but the pigs," Daniel begged.

"Is he really not killing us yet?" Faith questioned.

"I don't know what to say," Daniel replied. "You even ran out of awful replacements to my rule."

"I can ask the pigs and the rats to rule together," Faith giggled.

"You are a monster," Daniel exclaimed.

"That's right," Faith snorted, "And it's your job to keep me happy."

"Alright, alright," Daniel gave in as he pulled Faith even closer. "Five hundred years just you and me it is."

The two resumed their silent and loving stare, but Euclio kept failing to activate his technique correctly. The sinister energy enveloped them and disappeared multiple times without ever killing them, and the couple eventually understood that the event had far deeper problems.

"Should we just run?" Faith wondered.

"What if he regains control of his world and lashes out at the others?" Daniel responded.

"We can come back and let him kill us," Faith suggested.

"Is everything okay up there?" Daniel shouted as he and Faith started to hover away from the area.

"What is even happening?!" Euclio cursed as his figure darkened and brightened without listening to his commands.

Daniel and Faith accepted that the situation was working in their favor and made a run for it. They found no reason to remain near their opponent, but their escape was cut short when a massive torrent of silver energy enveloped the whole area.

The silver energy had every intention of eradicating Faith and Daniel from the higher plane, but it stopped targeting them right after their skins opened in multiple spots. The two didn't even realize when the attack had reached them, but they didn't care about that since they recognized the owner of the aura.

"That's not possible!" Euclio shouted since he also recognized the owner of the area.

Euclio's situation was no different from Faith and Daniel's. He found himself immersed in the massive torrent of silver energy. He stood at its very center, and a mixture of fear and awe filled his mind when he realized how much that familiar power had changed.

Of course, Euclio was far more resilient than Faith and Daniel, so his body didn't suffer any damage even if the silver energy continued to treat him as an enemy. Still, his shock only intensified as the aura grew clearer and hinted at the return of a troublesome character.

A fissure suddenly opened on Euclio's torso. The wound ran from his neck to his waist and released a blinding silver light that added more power to the heavy energy that had filled the area.

The wound expanded until an even brighter figure flew through it. The glowing being darted left and right as if it felt confused about its new location, but it stopped once its senses stabilized.

"I'm back!" Sword Saint proudly announced as the sky appeared in his view.

Sword Saint didn't take long to notice that Daniel and Faith were stuck under his heavy silver energy. The expert frowned when he saw that the two were exchanging a loving hug, and the situation made even less sense in his mind at the sight of Euclio's new form.

"Imitating Defying Demon is a good idea," Sword Saint exclaimed, "But you shouldn't aim to replicate that part of his behavior."

Faith and Daniel exchanged a glance before turning toward Sword Saint again. Daniel only inspected the silver energy one last time before asking pressing questions. "You can handle this on your own, right? Can you open a path for us?"

"That's impossible," Sword Saint laughed as he spread his arms. "A blade should run freely, especially after getting further on the path. Though, I can cut you away from this battle."

"Wait!" Daniel complained when he understood what Sword Saint meant, but the latter acted too quickly. The expert waved his hand, and a blinding sword shot toward the couple.

The blade enveloped Daniel and Faith before pushing them all the way back to the landmass. Most of the defenses had to act to protect the immense creature, but the couple didn't find the strength to complain after realizing that their landing had gone well.

"What have you done inside my void?" Euclio asked now that he had remained alone with Sword Saint.

"You put me into the void," Sword Saint explained, "So I learnt to cut the void. Still, the breakthrough came as a surprise."

Euclio could only reveal a grim face, and the same went for all the experts on his side who noticed that scene. Instead, Sword Saint's companions experienced very opposite reactions. It was impossible to remain calm when an expert in Noah's core team had reached the solid stage.
Chapter 2233: 2233. Blades
Euclio couldn't see the shape of the immense torrent of silver energy from his position, and he couldn't unfold his consciousness either since his mental waves shattered soon after leaving his body. Yet, he could imagine what Sword Saint had created.

The situation was different for the rest of the battlefield, especially for Daniel and Faith, since they could inspect everything from the safety of the landmass. A massive silver blade had appeared in the middle of the void, and its sharpness resonated with the dark ground standing under the couple.

The landmass began to tremble, and Daniel and Faith witnessed multiple inscriptions lighting up to prevent its awakening. Vast energy reserves vanished to quell the immense creature's desire to understand what that distant calling was.

Daniel and Faith dropped their previous conversation to get back into battle positions. Daniel shot toward one of the formations' cores, while Faith reached a different significant point in the defensive array to spread her aura.

Daniel knew something about inscriptions, especially when it came to the landmass since he had overseen it for many years. However, his expertise didn't allow him to improve the defenses at work there. He could only use the little energy he had regained to push the formations to express the peak of their power.

Faith found herself in a similar situation. She wasn't June. She couldn't come up with vast waves of energy capable of helping the defenses planted to halt the landmass' awakening.

Nevertheless, Faith's aura carried heavy appeasing properties, and those effects reached their peak when her life was in danger. She put herself in a location that could hurt her deeply if the landmass woke up to call upon those empowered abilities, so her influence expanded farther than usual.

The efforts of the two experts and the defenses prepared by the various inscription masters slowly interrupted the landmass' awakening. The ground stopped trembling, and everything went back to normal, except for Daniel and Faith.

The two found themselves exhausted after the recent struggle. Daniel was even worse off since he had emptied his world twice in such a short time. The couple reunited on the surface to sit on the ground and fall in each other's arms.

Daniel and Faith were too tired to be of any use to the battlefield. They didn't know how long the final battle would last, but they felt sure that their fight was over, at least for now.

Meanwhile, the battlefield continued to rage. Only a few key experts sensed that the landmass had come close to awakening since the massive silver blade had claimed almost everyone's attention.

The chaos on the battlefield also prevented most experts from focusing too much on events outside of their individual fights. The silver blade was impossible to miss, and its magnificence hid the dangerous sensations that the landmass had radiated for a short time.

Sword Saint obviously didn't miss that the landmass had reacted to his return, but he didn't care either. He was busy laughing and bathing in the new connection to the sword path developed during his trip inside Euclio's void.

As for Euclio, he managed to keep himself in one piece inside the silver storm, but he still failed to summon his new power. In theory, he had a chance to defeat Sword Saint even after the breakthrough due to Daniel's actions, but he couldn't get access to his abilities. They felt impossible to reach even if they stood inside his world.

"Performance issues?" Sword Saint mocked when he managed to bring his attention back to Euclio.

Euclio was no idiot, and Sword Saint's behavior only proved his silent guess right. Sword Saint wasn't the type to indulge in jokes on his own unless they involved special situations or King Elbas. There had to be a reason behind his words, and the excitement caused by the breakthrough only covered part of it.

"What did you cut while you were in my world?" Euclio asked in a calm tone. "I don't contain anything. You couldn't have cut anything."

"I told you that I learnt how to cut the void," Sword Saint announced. "You might think to be empty, but emptiness is also something you contain."

"Your friend purified my existence until I could fuse with the void itself," Euclio revealed. "Don't try to lecture me about my power. You know nothing about it."

"That's both true and false," Sword Saint exclaimed. "I don't necessarily have to know something to cut through it, but the void is quite special in that regard."

"What?" Euclio snorted. "Are you an expert in the void now?"

"Your understanding is shallower than I thought," Sword Saint sighed while raising his hand. "Do you know what this is?"

Euclio inspected that gesture thoroughly. He couldn't use his consciousness, but his eyes were more than enough to reveal the truth behind Sword Saint's hand. He didn't do anything.

"This isn't the situation to talk about our paths," Euclio sneered. "I thought your side was short on time."

"I guess you can't see it," Sword Saint sighed again.

"See what?" Euclio angrily reprimanded. "You fill the whole area with your energy, and then you ask me to look through it. Are you having fun mocking me?"

"You should be able to see it through my energy," Sword Saint claimed. "After all, this is something necessary to your power."

"Do you expect your tricks to keep me busy?" Euclio wondered. "You didn't do anything. Even your energy stayed still during your gesture."

"That's both true and false," Sword Saint repeated. "I didn't do anything, but I still did something. I did nothing."

"Did you forget how to use words?" Euclio joked, but the silver energy above his silver shoulder suddenly disappeared, and part of his body vanished with it.

Euclio didn't know how to describe what had just happened. He could only watch his left arm leaving his body and disappearing from his world. He became unable to protect the limb with his energy, so the silver fuel destroyed it.

"Your path is formidable," Sword Saint stated, "But it's not omnipotent. It couldn't cut away my connection to the sword path, so I could study a new power."

Heaven and Earth had done extensive studies on all the experts in Noah's organization. Still, Sword Saint was so unique that the privileged cultivators knew about his power even without their leaders' help.

Euclio knew that Sword Saint had created a connection with the sword path. He had actually turned into an avatar that expressed its essence, so it wasn't surprising that he could talk with it even inside someone else's world.

However, the issue remained. Sword Saint had cut something that technically didn't exist. In theory, that was impossible even after acquiring the knowledge of a superior entity. Heaven and Earth would also struggle to find ways around that.

"What new power?" Euclio asked.

"I needed a blade that could cut the void," Sword Saint explained. "The sword path gave me nothing, so I understood. The only blade that could cut the void is the blade that doesn't exist."

"No one can achieve something like that," Euclio declared. "Summoning a power that doesn't exist simply goes beyond common reason."

"You don't summon it," Sword Saint stated. "You create it by destroying. I sacrifice a blade to create a blade that doesn't exist."

Something connected in Euclio's mind. He finally understood what Sword Saint meant, but the implications of that power were too insane even to consider them.

"You said that I could never cut you," Sword Saint continued. "That's terribly wrong. I'm the only one who can cut you. I can destroy parts of my world to create blades that don't exist freely since the sword path will always refill those missing parts."

"You!" Euclio cursed. "Wait!"

"Too late," Sword Saint announced. "I've already destroyed enough to kill you."

Euclio's eyes widened, but the whole silver torrent vanished before he could speak. He only had the time to glance at the sky in anger before disappearing and leaving no trace of his existence.
Chapter 2234: 2234. Fear
Sword Saint didn't come out of the exchange completely unharmed. Euclio's statement had been on point. Destruction was necessary to create something that didn't exist, which involved Sword Saint's world in that specific case.

The massive silver blade that had appeared on the battlefield during Sword Saint's return represented a part of his world. Its size didn't even make justice to the amount of energy in its insides, and Sword Saint had to remove that power from his existence to create something vast enough to kill Euclio.

The effort wasn't only massive. No rank 9 cultivator could usually recover from such a deep and giant injury. The few who could retain their lives would see their level fall drastically and have no chances to claim their power back.

That's how serious deep injuries to worlds were, and Sword Saint had even made things worse for himself since he had chosen to suffer that damage. Only he knew how to destroy his existence properly, so it was obvious that his actions had been thorough.

An intense wave of exhaustion swept Sword Saint's world and destabilized his power. He felt weak beyond reason, and his cultivation level grew unstable as his face began to lose its liveliness.

Nevertheless, Sword Saint didn't show any regret for his recent actions. He didn't even worry about his current situation. His expression revealed pure confidence as he straightened his back to glance at the scenery above him.

Many ignorant about Sword Saint's power would think that he was looking at the sky. Still, most assets from the sky and the landmass' leaders who had the time to inspect the scene knew that Sword Saint's gaze didn't even try to stop at the white layer.

Only the core members of Noah's team knew that Sword Saint couldn't even see the sky from his position. His gaze was always pointed at something far deeper into the universe, something that even existences past the cultivation journey would struggle to locate.

Sword Saint immersed himself in the sensations that his gesture caused. His devotion allowed the existence of a deep connection with the sword path, which sent knowledge to refill what he had sacrificed during the battle.

It would have been different if Sword Saint had committed a sin against his path. Yet, his actions had been entirely in line with his world. He had created blades that his level couldn't fully comprehend, so he obtained a reward.

A deep and foreign silver radiance started to seep out of Sword Saint's figure. That light belonged to his world, but it was also different. Its true source came from something far vaster than him, but most of that power fused with his world to fix its injuries and improve it.

Sword Saint had just stepped on the solid stage, but his position in that realm slowly advanced as knowledge filled his injuries. He was bound to gain even greater strength once the process was over, but no one knew how long it would take.

Some privileged cultivators tried to assess the new threat whenever they found the chance. Sword Saint wasn't resorting to any defensive ability during his healing process. He merely floated among the battlefield.

The privileged cultivators probably couldn't find a better chance to attack Sword Saint, but none of them dared to make their move. The reason didn't even come from their powerful opponents, not always, at least.

Some experts had the chance to disappear for a few seconds and deliver a significant blow to that defenseless expert. Others could even decide to suffer injuries to reach Sword Saint while wielding enough power to kill him. Yet, everyone opted to focus on their battle anyway.

Fear was the main reason behind that decision. Sword Saint was the only expert in the entire higher plane who had access to a variable that even the timeless beings from the sky couldn't comprehend or predict.

The paths or arrays of worlds deep into the universe were structures beyond what beings stuck in the cultivation journey could understand. Even Heaven and Earth could only gaze at those deeper meanings without fully comprehending them.

Many privileged cultivators were loyal to Heaven and Earth or Caesar's plan, but they didn't want to mess with things they couldn't predict. The landmass' leaders were already a big problem, so the experts unanimously decided to leave Sword Saint to the next reinforcements.

Before Sword Saint could inflict the final blow on Euclio, Alexander and his opponent were entangled in exchanges that carried no grace or strategy.

The young-looking woman that had chosen Alexander as her opponent had claimed that their physical prowess was on par. The declaration had turned the battle into a messy exchange of punches, kicks, and direct attacks that no ordinary cultivator could endure for so long.

Alexander didn't hold back even once. He empowered his body with suitable abilities that pushed his physical prowess to incredible peaks, but his opponent always matched his blows. Moreover, the woman used the same moves, which showed the mocking nature behind her attacks.

"I'm not even close to reaching my limit," The woman laughed after the impact between the duo's punches created a violent shockwave that made the two shoot in opposite directions.

"You have the greatest hybrid as your opponent," Alexander announced. "You won't live to find my limits."

The break didn't last long enough to let the echoes of Alexander's words vanish from the battlefield. He and the privileged cultivator soon shoot forward to engage in their violent battle again, but neither seemed able to prevail over their opponent.

The matter was beyond odd, but Alexander didn't try to find any deep explanation. It was clear that the young-looking woman had access to a strange form of power that allowed him to match his blows, but he didn't care enough to look for potential weaknesses.

Alexander expressed superiority, and a mere cultivator had challenged his physical strength. Nothing could insult him more than that, so he planned to achieve his victory through a barbaric show of power.

Of course, the idea that the privileged cultivator might have challenged Alexander on that specific field to buy time had crossed his mind. Alexander thought about that after every exchange ending in a draw, but he dispersed those worries whenever they appeared.

It didn't matter if the privileged cultivator had a personal agenda. Alexander would still win through his superior power, even if that involved remaining stuck against the same opponent longer than necessary.

Truth be told, Alexander barely consumed energy in that kind of fight, so the approach would benefit him in the long run. He had also sensed that Sword Saint had reached the solid stage, so he didn't feel the need to worry about the other parts of the battlefield.

"So much power," The woman praised when another exchange forced Alexander and her to fly in opposite directions.

"Are you jealous?" Alexander mocked.

"Very much so," The privileged cultivator admitted without showing a single trace of shame. "I had to work hard to gain the slightest grain of strength while you were simply born with it."

"You could have come to the hybrids' side," Alexander revealed. "Many cultivators decide to imitate the magical beasts at some point in their journey. There is nothing wrong in pursuing superior forms of power."

"The thought crossed my mind many times," The woman admitted. "However, where's the value in inborn strength? I can only accept what I claim with my hard work. That's why I can't lose against someone like you."
Chapter 2235: 2235. Fas
"That's quite funny coming from a privileged cultivator," Alexander sneered. "You know how Heaven and Earth's balance works. You know what drawbacks I had to face for my superior abilities. How do you justify that in your view?"

"There is no need to justify it," The woman announced. "If I win, I'm right. If I lose, you are worthier than me."

"I like this," Alexander chuckled. "Shall we continue?"

"Why don't we get serious already?" The woman asked. "I know you can use far more than mere punches."

"You have never forced me to use more than that," Alexander stated. "By the looks of it, I'll win as long as you don't show something stronger."

The woman didn't answer right away. She reviewed the past exchanges and compared the condition of their bodies before heaving a sigh. "Probably."

Alexander didn't expect that confession, but he didn't let it distract him. He was ready to unleash everything he had if his opponent tried something funny, but his instincts told him that nothing complicated would happen.

"I didn't want to lose on sheer strength, and I didn't," The privileged cultivator exclaimed. "Still, I would need to rely on my higher level to trump over your endurance. That won't prove anything."

The woman took a few deep breaths before bending her legs and raising her arms to enter a fighting stance. She seemed ready to use proper techniques, but no power accumulated on her limbs.

Nevertheless, Alexander understood that something was off. He didn't know where that sensation came from, but his instincts warned him anyway. His opponent would be able to hurt him from now on.

Alexander wasn't scared of pain, but he didn't know how to face the new stance properly. Usually, he would inspect his opponents' abilities and come up with counters or superior versions of their attacks. Yet, the woman seemed to have every intention to rely on her body.

Veins popped out all over Alexander's body. Multiple abilities aimed to enhance his physical prowess activated at the same time and turned his body into a proper weapon. He could match the effects of Noah's unstable substance with the right number of skills.

"That's even better than before," The woman exclaimed as a confident smile appeared on her young face. "You were holding back."

"I really wasn't," Alexander revealed. "Using the exact number of abilities necessary to achieve victory is also a skill. You showed me a new power, so I need to do the same to remain on that path."

"Caesar gave you the wrong idea," The woman sighed. "Don't think that all the privileged cultivators here are expendable. Some of us have claimed spots among the core team of the sky."

"Let me guess," Alexander laughed. "You are one of them."

"Not at all," The privileged cultivator declared. "I, Ulpia, stand alone at the peak of the sky."

A tremor ran through Ulpia's feet, and Alexander's eyes widened when he realized that she had suddenly teleported in front of him. He couldn't notice her movements even with many innate abilities enhancing his body and overall senses.

Ulpia's movement technique was only the beginning of her offensive. Her ankles, waist, and shoulders rotated in perfect harmony as she stretched her right arm forward. Everything was so smooth and fast that Alexander found himself unable to react.

A torrent of power slammed on Alexander as soon as Ulpia's knuckles landed at the center of his chest. Alexander's thoughts couldn't move fast enough to study the situation, and his instincts soon took over his standard reasoning due to the danger they felt.

At first, Alexander only experienced utter surprise. Ulpia had unleashed an unreasonable attack that went beyond anything Alexander had ever witnessed. His body became unable to move as soon as that power touched his world.

The shock vanished once the survival instincts managed to replace it. Alexander saw different abilities activating on their own as Ulpia pushed her arm forward. Even his superiority understood that mere physical strength wouldn't be enough to stop what was crashing on him.

Darkness and confusion eventually replaced the survival instincts. Alexander regained control of his body and senses only when the back of his head slammed on a familiar white layer. It took him an instant to realize that he had ended up on the sky, and shock filled his mind again when he noticed his actual location.

Ulpia's attack had sent Alexander to the other side of the battlefield. She had unleashed enough power to make him cross the entire higher plane, and that wasn't even the worst aspect of the matter. The blow had rendered Alexander unconscious for the whole flight.

A fist-sized scar had appeared at the center of Alexander's chest, but his skin had endured the blow. However, part of his internal organs had suffered injuries, while others had directly exploded under the might that had engulfed them.

Blood accumulated in Alexander's mouth as he relied on multiple innate abilities to contain and heal his injuries. Still, his instincts suddenly kicked in and interrupted that process since Ulpia materialized in front of him again.

Alexander opened his mouth to voice a roar that contained multiple cries. Blood came out of his mouth in the process, and flames began to accumulate in his throat.

However, Ulpia disregarded everything happening in her surroundings to focus on her offensive. Her eyes seemed unable to move away from her target. Even her senses had stopped studying Alexander as she used her full attention to launch her attack.

Flames tried to come out of Alexander's mouth, but Ulpia's attack turned out to be faster. She delivered a precise uppercut on Alexander's chin that made him interrupt his ability and sent him flying away.

The flames exploded in Alexander's mouth, but he couldn't assess the damage since his consciousness wavered again. His back never left the sky as the power unleashed by Ulpia's attack made him fly around the whole battlefield.

Alexander didn't panic. When his consciousness stabilized, he disregarded most of the inputs captured by his senses to focus on a single task. Ulpia reappeared in front of him to deliver another punch, but he managed to be fast enough to deflect it with his arm.

Ulpia hesitated for an instant. Alexander had broken her pace by deflecting her attack, and he didn't even let the matter end there. His eyes lit up to send an ethereal attack aimed at her mind, but she restored her concentration in time to avoid that ability.

Ethereal waves of power converged toward Ulpia's mind, but she delivered a kick at the center of Alexander's waist. The impact made him slam on the sky and allowed her to push herself away from the mental attack.

Alexander's consciousness wavered, but he recovered faster than before. Anger and excitement fused in his expression as he understood that he was getting used to Ulpia's offensive, but the latter didn't let that small achievement influence the trend of the fight.

Ulpia materialized at Alexander's side before he could summon an ability before punching his arm. The attack sent Alexander flying along the sky, but he managed to stop himself before Ulpia's power vanished. A smirk even appeared on his face as his eyes followed the incredibly fast figure converging toward him.
Chapter 2236: 2236. Injuries
Ulpia was truly incredible, but Alexander didn't fall too behind. He had to give up on his idea of saving power and proving himself superior with his sole body, but that decision didn't affect his world.

Ulpia wasn't relying only on her body anymore. She was expressing the full power of her world, so Alexander could do the same to prove his superiority. Still, he had to accept that he couldn't surpass her techniques.

Alexander understood that Ulpia's hard work led to results far deeper than mere physical prowess. Her moves escaped reason. Her attacks were so fast and powerful that Alexander struggled to consider her only as a privileged cultivator.

Ulpia really seemed powerful enough to claim a spot at the sky's peak. She wasn't Caesar, and her influence didn't involve deep realms or meanings. Yet, her individual strength was genuinely unfathomable.

Alexander didn't think all of that. Ulpia didn't give him the time to study the situation thoroughly. Still, his instincts were incredible, so those considerations filled his mind as he focused everything he had on facing the incoming offensive.

The fast figure reached Alexander instantly, but the latter managed to follow it with his eyes. Ulpia became clear in his vision as she performed her battle stance to deliver a punch aimed at the center of his head.

The world in Alexander's eyes slowed down as multiple innate abilities fused to enhance his senses far beyond their normal limits. Tears of blood started to run down his cheeks due to his great effort, but his smirk never left his face.

Alexander didn't care if his body suffered from using too many innate abilities simultaneously. His incredible endurance could take care of those issues. He was happy as long as he could follow Ulpia and react to her offensive.

A dark spark exploded under Alexander's left arm and made the limb shoot upward. The detonation opened an injury on his forearm and elbow, but it also allowed him to intercept the incoming punch and deflect the attack.

Ulpia didn't hesitate at that time. Her leg shot toward Alexander's chest, but fire came out of his side and pushed him out of the attack's trajectory.

Ulpia's feet landed on the sky, but she followed with another quick attack. She used her other leg to deliver a circular kick aimed at Alexander's side, but winds shot out of the latter's shoulders to push him forward.

Alexander could barely follow his own movements, and he was even injuring himself to perform them. Yet, some instinctive parts of his mind allowed him to come up with attacks.

Alexander's offensive was the very opposite of Ulpia's. She embodied perfection and smoothness, while he only used raw power to keep up with her.

The sudden charge caught Ulpia off-guard. Alexander had dodged three attacks in a row and was shooting directly at her. He didn't have the time to raise his arms or summon other abilities, but that ferocious advance could become a technique when he used his incredible body as a weapon.

Ulpia crossed her arms right before Alexander slammed on her. The impact flung her in the distance, but she quickly restored her balance to resume her offensive.

Alexander didn't try to challenge Ulpia in raw speed. He could win if he relied on enough innate abilities, but that would deplete his energy reserves quickly.

Instead, Alexander decided to wait for Ulpia to approach him so that he could focus his full attention on winning small exchanges. Ulpia didn't seem to have ranged abilities anyway, so the tactic felt more than sound.

Ulpia reappeared in front of Alexander in less than a second, but the latter attacked before she could enter her battle stance. A shockwave came out of his right elbow and made his arm shoot forward to intercept his opponent.

Alexander's fingers transformed into claws that gained metallic properties as they approached Ulpia. Scarlet sparks also came out of their sharp tips to enhance their destructive abilities, but part of the skin underneath shattered due to the massive amount of power accumulated in such small spots.

Ulpia disregarded the incoming threat to pour more power into her attack. Alexander's clawed hand pierced Ulpia's shoulder, but she used that blow to rotate on herself and deliver an incredible punch to his face.

The exchange saw Ulpia and Alexander shooting in opposite directions. Blood flowed out of Alexander's nose, and his face trembled due to the damage to his skull. As for Ulpia, she noticed that her left arm had stopped moving according to her commands.

Alexander and Ulpia stopped themselves at the same time. The sky shone at their side, and battles raged everywhere around them, but their eyes remained on their opponent.

A single second of hesitation could lead to severe injuries due to how quickly each exchange happened. Outsiders wouldn't even understand who was gaining the upper hand, but that didn't apply to Alexander and Ulpia.

"You hit hard," Alexander commented as he tried to keep his bleeding nose still while his skull mended itself.

Alexander would never waste time talking in similar situations, but the matter was different now. He had to wait for Ulpia to charge at him to express his superiority, and his innate abilities allowed him to recover faster anyway.

"You are a tough opponent," Ulpia sighed as she glanced at her pierced shoulder. "It has been a long time since someone hurt me so deeply."

"You should have come out of the sky more often," Alexander mocked. "You can't expect solitary training to match the benefits of an adventurous life."

"You were too weak to be a worthy challenge back then," Ulpia revealed. "I had to be patient and see if Caesar could deliver as promised. I must admit that he was right all along."

"Did you cut a deal with Caesar just to get a good opponent?" Alexander wondered. "That sounds extreme."

"No deals," Ulpia stated. "He just told me that I would find a good training dummy during the final battle."

"This training dummy hurt you deeply," Alexander laughed as he pointed his eyes on Ulpia's injured shoulder. "I wonder if you can even fight me in that state."

"Do you think I didn't prepare for a similar situation?" Ulpia questioned as a faint white aura seeped out of her back. "My world focuses on physical attacks. I'm obviously able to keep moving as long as life burns inside it."

The white aura transformed into a tall avatar that carried Ulpia's features. It resembled a big copy of her that took its spot behind her back. Yet, the faint puppet soon stepped forward to envelop her in its dim light.

Tendrils shot out of the avatar's edges to land on Ulpia's body and fuse with it. The dim figure began to shrink once it established a connection, and it soon disappeared under her skin.

Alexander inspected the scene carefully. He knew that the avatar didn't carry any unique ability. It was nothing more than energy expressing the results of Ulpia's hard work.

The injury on Ulpia's shoulder also remained open after the avatar fused with her. However, a pale halo came out of the wound to reveal that the copy didn't simply disappear. It only stood right below her skin.

The ability of the avatar became evident when Ulpia stretched her left arm. Blood leaked from her injury, but she didn't seem affected by that, and the same went for her movements. She had regained complete control over that part of her body.
Chapter 2237: 2237. Monstrous
"You can force yourself to keep moving," Alexander commented, "But your body will reach its limits faster than mine anyway."

"We won't know until we try," Ulpia smiled before a shockwave replaced her figure.

Alexander's eyes widened in surprise, and a layer of metallic skin promptly grew over his body, but the ability turned out to be too slow. Something slammed at the center of his torso and made his consciousness go dark.

Alexander couldn't sense anything, but his instincts did their best to send him vague inputs captured among the darkness of his consciousness. They mostly carried pain, but they also indicated specific locations at times.

A vague conclusion made its way among Alexander's dizzy consciousness. Ulpia's offensive was going on while he was in that weakened state. She had grown faster and stronger after fusing with her avatar.

The new strength unleashed by Ulpia stretched the duration of Alexander's weakened state. He slowly learnt how to sense again in the middle of his mental dizziness, but he remained unable to react to the attacks landing on him.

Ulpia's offensive was relentless, but Alexander only felt slight consequences. He was in no condition to sense what was happening to his body, and his attention was also elsewhere.

Alexander trusted his body and innate resilience deeply, so he disregarded any worry involving his condition to focus on the only topic that mattered. He had to regain control of his senses and movements before Ulpia had a chance to kill him.

Innate abilities unleashed their effects and fused, but none of them seemed able to do much against Ulpia's offensive. Alexander couldn't even pour more energy into the process since he had to rely on his instincts to handle everything.

The situation felt desperate, but Alexander didn't give up. He couldn't even have those thoughts in that situation. His mind almost went back to a primitive state as his survival instincts took control of his body and did everything in their power to save him from that condition.

The greatest difference between Alexander and Ulpia didn't involve their bodies. The two experts were pretty similar in that field, even if the reasons behind their power were quite diverse.

Instead, what put Alexander and Ulpia apart was how they used their power. Ulpia relied on techniques perfected throughout the eras, while Alexander used abilities inherited from the magical beasts' world.

It was only normal that Alexander couldn't match Ulpia's sophisticated attacks. He had never aimed to do that. Still, his brutal and relatively reckless approach fell short now that Ulpia had shown herself able to wield a superior power.

The situation worsened as Ulpia kept Alexander locked in a torrent of attacks. The primal mindset achieved in the middle of that darkness couldn't come up with a combination of abilities that could save him. It didn't have the intelligence to find flaws in the enemy offensive.

Alexander's instincts could only opt for a different approach. They couldn't save him by being smart, so they grew even dumber. They dropped any attempt to create something stable and just empowered what they could.

Among Alexander's countless innate abilities, many of them involved temporary mindless states capable of generating immense power. His survival instincts activated all of them simultaneously due to the troublesome situation, and Ulpia didn't miss that event.

Ulpia was punching Alexander all across the higher plane. Her attacks left deep marks in his body and flung him away, sometimes even forcing him to crash on battles handled by weaker begins.

Of course, Alexander's arrival turned those battles into a gory scene, and Ulpia's chase only worsened the situation. The issue became so significant that most underlings interrupted their fights to abandon their spot whenever the two experts got too close.

Ulpia did her best to inflict as much damage as possible. She was suffering in that empowered state. The injury on her shoulder expanded due to the extra effort, but her entire body also started to crack.

Her body couldn't endure that state for too long, but she had to press forward. Something inside Ulpia told her that Alexander was about to regain control of his movements. He was about to show a new power, so she had to damage him deeply to pave her way toward victory.

That moment arrived far before Ulpia's expectations. She had just reached Alexander, and an incredibly fast punch was about to fall on his face, but a clawed arm suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Ulpia was ready to deliver a second attack that could knock Alexander down again, but her wrist shattered under the massive strength unleashed by the grip. Moreover, she noticed that Alexander wasn't awake at all. His eyes had opened, but they carried no reason.

A monstrous roar left Alexander's mouth and created a soundwave that slowed down Ulpia's second attack. She still managed to kick him on his chest, but he had the time to wave his other hand.

Alexander shot far away, and Ulpia disregarded her injuries to chase him. She had lost her right arm, and a long cut had appeared on her torso due to the last attack, but she couldn't stop. That would mean death.

Another wave of surprise swept Ulpia's mind when she noticed that Alexander stopped himself before the energy from her kick could vanish. Alexander's face had long since abandoned its old features due to the many bruises, cuts, and holes on its surface, but Ulpia could still see a monstrous expression behind all of that.

Alexander seemed to have turned into a mindless beast that reeked power from every inch of his maimed body. He was filled with injuries, and some patches of his skin had disappeared to reveal his internal organs. Yet, he appeared stronger than ever.

That unexpected recovery didn't stop Ulpia. She reached Alexander and used her maimed arm to deliver an uppercut. Sadly for her, Alexander voiced another deafening roar, and her movements slowed down.

Alexander instinctively waved his hand to take care of the uppercut, and Ulpia saw her whole arm leaving her body. She couldn't stop Alexander's clawed fingers, but her leg was already up, and her foot soon landed at the center of his chest.

Another chase started, but Alexander recovered even faster than before. Ulpia saw another severe injury opening on her body when she tried to launch an attack, and her expression flickered when Alexander blocked her second blow.

Alexander was getting quicker, while Ulpia's condition continued to worsen. Yet, she still managed to come out of the exchanges. She only didn't know for how long she could keep that up.

The limits of the empowered state stopped being a problem. Ulpia realized that her body would shatter even before she ran out of energy. Her resilience wasn't an issue either. Alexander's attacks were far more troublesome.

The situation turned tragic when Ulpia saw a spark of intelligence flashing in Alexander's bloodshot eyes. She was in the process of throwing a punch when he grabbed her. She expected to lose her arm at that point, but Alexander decided to pull her instead.

A simple pull from Alexander could move entire regions. Ulpia didn't even realize when her body crashed into the sky. The event had been too fast, and what followed also fell in that category.

Alexander instantly landed on Ulpia. His feet crashed on her chest and shattered it. A few chunks of flesh still connected her to her lower body, but Alexander severed them by pulling her from her ponytail.
Chapter 2238: 2238. Helplessness
Ulpia reviewed the previous exchange countless times to find his mistakes, but she failed to put the blame on herself. She had been perfect both in her movements and attacks. Alexander had simply been better.

Alexander had lost his reason for a good part of the last exchanges, but thoughts had managed to make their way inside his chaotic mind. His instincts had stepped down long enough to grant him partial control of his body and perform a smarter offensive.

A pull had been more effective than a mere cut. Alexander had pinned Ulpia down through that action, which had allowed him to inflict deadly injuries.

Ulpia was only a shadow of her former self now. She had lost her right arm and her lower body. A long injury ran through her torso, and Alexander kept her head still from her ponytail. Her battle appeared over.

"You are a tough one," Alexander commented as blood flowed from his mouth. "I can't remember the last time I suffered so many injuries."

Alexander's state was far from ideal. His face had lost its original shape since his nose, mouth, and skull had endured countless attacks. His head actually appeared flabby, but he kept it together through his energy.

Holes, bruises, and far more gory injuries covered Alexander's body. He seemed on the verge of falling apart, but his immense resilience kept everything together. He could still stand and fight at his peak power, but he could sense his energy reserves vanishing quickly to retain that level.

"You had me for a bit," Alexander admitted as growls fused with his human voice. "I didn't think you would force my survival instincts to come out. That was some feat."

Alexander was gradually regaining the entirety of his mental faculties. His instincts still raged loudly, but he was almost entirely in control. The only feeling he couldn't disperse was the constant dizziness caused by the many blows he had suffered.

"Why would I take pride in something so meager?" Ulpia weakly sneered. "Don't try to add beauty to defeats."

Alexander tried to smirk, but his muscles didn't follow his orders. Still, Ulpia seemed to recognize his expression from behind his wounded face. She could feel it even with her eyes closed.

Alexander had every intention to end the battle quickly. He had lost enough time getting beaten throughout the higher plane, and he even needed to rest for a bit. Wasting time talking would only hurt his side.

However, when Alexander threw his clawed hand toward the center of Ulpia's wounded chest, he heard a clanging noise accompanied by a white radiance. His fingers had pierced Ulpia's skin, but they couldn't dig past that.

"Did you forget what I said?" Ulpia chuckled as her white avatar grew under her skin and gave her a humanoid shape. "I'll fight as long as life burns inside me."

Alexander mustered multiple abilities to push his arm forward, but a shining right hand grabbed his wrist and slowly pushed his clawed fingers back. Ulpia's new arm shone with power and allowed her to match her opponent's sheer physical might.

A kick faster than anything Alexander had experienced before landed on his waist and flung him away. Multiple abilities still empowered him, so he stopped himself after flying for a while. His consciousness didn't turn dark either, which allowed him to inspect Ulpia's transformation.

Multiple cracks opened on Ulpia's skin until what remained of her body transformed into a mess of tiny shards laying on a white avatar. It seemed that her energy was reaching levels of power that her flesh couldn't withstand, but the transformation didn't end there.

The various chunks of flesh began to melt and fuse with the avatar. Ulpia soon transformed into nothing more than pure energy that shone with power but carried no solid form. She retained her features, but she was only power kept together by her will.

Alexander didn't need to use any of his many abilities to know that Ulpia wouldn't survive that transformation. That form was a desperate attack that exchanged her very life for a burst of power.

Running away was the best tactic. Alexander didn't know how strong Ulpia had become, but he was confident the many innate abilities accumulated throughout his life. He could escape and force Ulpia to deplete her energy until she turned into nothing.

In theory, Ulpia should have never resorted to something so easy to counter, especially when she was against someone like Alexander. That was a dumb move from a strategic perspective.

Nevertheless, Ulpia and Alexander had reached a deep understanding of each other while exchanging blows through the entire higher plane. They knew what kind of maniac they were fighting, so Ulpia felt beyond confident that Alexander wouldn't run away.

As Ulpia expected, Alexander's aura burst forward, and his laugh spread through the void. Roars and human cries came out of his mouth as he expressed his anticipation for the incoming clash.

Instincts and thoughts fused inside Alexander's mind to bring out the best innate abilities accumulated in his world. Dark strands of energy came out of his injuries during the process, and chunks of his body exploded due to the massive amount of energy flowing inside him.

Alexander was also going all-out. He wouldn't achieve victory by running away. Even if the effort would worsen his condition, he had to prove his superiority.

"Maybe it was fate that put us on opposite sides," Ulpia spoke through her bright figure. "Today, the world will witness the peak of the fighting arts against the apex of brute power."

"You shouldn't waste that little power you have left," Alexander mocked. "Come at me with everything you have."

"You are right," Ulpia stated. "Let's talk through our fists."

Ulpia disappeared, and torrents of dark energy shot out of Alexander. Ordinary experts would fail to follow to understand when the exchange started, but the shockwave that spread through the entire higher plane made sure to tell them when it ended.

In an instant, a giant chunk of the battlefield saw white and dark energy taking control of its space. The two attacks unleashed waves of power that filled the area with their respective shades before dispersing among the void.

Everything had happened so fast that no one could understand who had won. Moreover, the void's space-time array had suffered enough damage to make inspections impossible. Even peak rank 9 inscribed items would struggle to gather details in the areas involved by the clash.

The space-time array quickly stabilized and revealed two maimed figures. Alexander stood proudly, but he was impossible to recognize from his figure.

The muscles on Alexander's chest had disappeared, leaving his fuming rib cage in the open. That damage also expanded on other parts of his body, involving his neck, shoulders, and abdomen. His skin reappeared only in his arms, waist, and chin.

Meanwhile, Ulpia appeared quite fine. Her radiance had dimmed, and holes had opened on her figure, but her new state prevented anyone from understanding how serious her injuries were.

A tremor ran through Alexander's body and forced him to bend forward. A violent cough took control of his lungs, which only made his maimed figure spurt blood in every direction. His resilience tried to fix some injuries, but he wasted most of those efforts during his spasms.

"I can barely float," Ulpia sighed in a cracked voice, "And you are still alive."

The cough made Alexander unable to answer. His spasms also affected his consciousness, which struggled to remain awake.

"Congratulations, you win," Ulpia announced. "I guess I can consider my debt to the sky paid since you'll need to leave the battlefield for a while."

The holes on Ulpia's body started to expand. In a few seconds, her bright figure turned into nothing more than a floating head that stared at Alexander. She appeared slightly annoyed, but helplessness eventually replaced that feeling.
Chapter 2239: 2239. Phoenix
Alexander felt odd, and that didn't come from his awful state. He struggled to regain control of his injured body and suppress his cough, but strange thoughts filled his mind once he could focus on the scene.

Ulpia seemed to have lost interest in her surroundings. She was nothing more than a floating head immersed in her thoughts. She probably wanted to speak, but she found it pointless since her death was coming.

Alexander forced himself to straighten his back and improve the efficiency of his healing abilities. A layer of metallic skin grew over his figure to contain all the new blood and flesh that his body was generating, but his attention soon moved elsewhere.

Ulpia had expressed the power of a completely different field during the battle, and she had almost managed to overcome Alexander. She could also show superiority, but Alexander had managed to seize victory due to his incredible body.

'What am I even thinking now?' Alexander wondered as he sorted out his jumbled thoughts.

Ulpia's head was disappearing quickly. Her face remained in one piece since her will still kept it together, but her light never stopped dimming. It wouldn't take long before she stopped existing in the higher plane.

Alexander found himself glancing at different spots of the battlefield. He felt deep respect toward all his companions, but there was someone that he put even above them.

It was safe to say that Noah had saved Alexander's life. The latter would have remained a crazy mess of innate abilities without Noah's help. He had also allowed Alexander to reach higher realms of the cultivation journey, and the current battlefield only proved how incredible he was.

Moreover, Noah was a being that stood beyond hybrids. Alexander almost saw him as the natural evolution that every member of his kind had to strive to achieve and surpass.

Their connection went beyond normal feelings. Noah's pride could affect Alexander, but that didn't come from a difference of power. Alexander had acknowledged Noah as his leader, so his orders could influence his mindset.

Alexander ended up looking for June at that point. She had turned her side of the battlefield into a mess of lightning bolts and sparks. Her body was full of injuries, but her face expressed pure ecstasy. She was crazy, but Alexander found similarities between her and Ulpia.

The details behind Noah and June's relationships weren't exactly a secret. Noah never spoke too much about it, but he had been together with his core allies for entire millennia. Even random short statements could depict a relatively complete picture after so long.

Noah and June were quite different, but their paths were suitable for each other. They could draw out the best of their aspects when they were together. That part actually was quite necessary for their relationship.

Alexander respected Noah so much that he felt the need to imitate that part of his life. He obviously wouldn't have come up with that idea randomly. He had to meet a suitable expert to consider that option.

"You said that your debt with Heaven and Earth is no more," Alexander commented as he tried to retain a human voice.

"What?" Ulpia asked when Alexander pulled her out of her helplessness. "They have given me time and resources to perfect my techniques. I used those arts to damage you. The rulers can't ask anything else from me."

"I see," Alexander sighed as a scarlet vortex appeared at the center of his right palm.

"Do you plan to eat me?" Ulpia wondered. "Hurry up. I don't have much energy left."

"I wouldn't have hesitated to take a glimpse of your determination if you were a magical beast," Alexander explained.

"What are you doing then?" Ulpia asked.

Alexander didn't answer. His concentration was far from ideal, and his injuries only worsened his efforts. Still, he could spare some attention for a single innate ability.

The scarlet vortex shrunk until it transformed into a dark-red pebble that contained the energy generated by the innate ability. Ulpia couldn't understand its purpose, but her consciousness was too weak to perform a thorough inspection.

Alexander moved the pebble on his forefinger before reaching for Ulpia's vanishing head. She couldn't oppose the process, but understanding dawned upon her when the item fused with her disappearing light.

The pebble reached the center of Ulpia's head before sending scarlet tendrils that expanded throughout her vanishing fabric. The item resembled a seed feeding off her energy, but she found it odd how her thoughts remained clear.

The seed wasn't hurting her. Actually, Ulpia noticed how her consciousness stopped striving toward dark areas. A warm and cozy sensation filled her thoughts and made her feel safe, but that also brought answers to her doubts.

"That's," Ulpia gasped. "Why?"

"Superiority isn't an eternal power," Alexander revealed. "I stand on a sea of innate abilities gathered during my long life, but that might not be enough after leaving the higher plane. I need something else, someone else."

"I won't become a slave," Ulpia coldly remarked.

"You won't," Alexander stated. "It would be pointless to remove your free will. I want you to keep improving without the limits of your human body."

"You know who I am," Ulpia uttered. "You know the nature of my world. I will fight you again to test the limits of my hard work."

"And I will defeat you again," Alexander replied. "I will defeat you as many times as I need to remain superior to everyone else."

Ulpia fell silent. Her head started to disappear as the tendrils absorbed her energy, but the process didn't hurt at all. It was actually pleasant. Ulpia felt as if she was going back to the safety of a womb.

"I'll have a lot to learn about hybrids," Ulpai eventually continued. "I'll have to review all my arts and adapt them to my new form. It will take me a long time."

"That's the only thing existences like us have," Alexander declared. "You'll be reborn through the fire of the ancestral phoenix without losing your memories or world. Who knows? I might even decide to learn something as you adapt your techniques to your new form."

"I'll let you see them if you teach me how to be a hybrid," Ulpia responded.

"That should be a good deal," Alexander laughed. "I bet even Heaven and Earth couldn't offer something so good."

"They can," Ulpia corrected. "Their power is immense and stretches past what you can imagine. Still, I might prefer this deal."

"Did you finally acknowledge the hybrids' superiority?" Alexander proudly asked.

"No, I acknowledged yours," Ulpia replied. "Though I won't let it stand unmatched."

"You'll have to work hard to overcome me," Alexander sneered.

"That's not a problem," Ulpia smiled before her mouth completely vanished.

Alexander could only see Ulpia's eyes at that point, and they seemed to express some conflicting emotions. They glanced at the sky, at Noah, and at June before falling back on Alexander.

"Don't think that I'll be overwhelmed by instincts," Ulpia's voice came out of the pebble as the last traces of her face vanished. "You won't win me over so easily."

"I didn't expect anything less," Alexander announced. "I wouldn't have chosen to do this otherwise."

"Good," Ulpia's voice resounded again as the tendrils returned inside the pebble. "I guess I'll consider you if I wake up in a world without Heaven and Earth."

Alexander wore a smirk as he retracted the pebble. Ulpia's consciousness went silent as the rebirth started. It would take her a while to generate a suitable hybrid body, but that was fine. Alexander had far different matters to handle now.
Chapter 2240: 2240. Boring
Divine Demon's battle had been quite odd compared to the others. He didn't move much, and the same went for his opponent. The two mostly remained in their original position as they let their energy fight.

The blood-red energy created marvels as its waves rotated around Divine Demon and refilled his cup. He appeared utterly relaxed, but it was clear that some annoyance was making its way into his expression.

As for his opponent, the middle-aged woman had decided to imitate his stance. She sat cross-legged among the void as columns of grey energy shot out of her figure to meet what Divine Demon threw at her.

Divine Demon's offensive wasn't something normal methods could oppose, especially in the long run. His world always came up with new ways to pierce his opponent's defenses, but all of them seemed pointless against the privileged cultivator.

It didn't matter how complicated and powerful Divine Demon's attacks became. The privileged cultivator's energy seemed able to disperse those blood-red attacks easily, without even resorting to any specific technique or method.

The event didn't need any specific explanation. Anyone would understand the reason behind that odd interaction between the two types of energy. It was something that went beyond the counters created by Heaven and Earth. It was something so evident that Divine Demon had accepted the truth after the first exchange.

"You aren't the brightest of your group," The woman announced after another exchange unfolded in her vision. "You don't even try to think too much during a battle, but you should have understood what is happening."

Divine Demon snorted without adding anything. His blood-red energy gave birth to another massive technique, but the privileged cultivator easily defeated it by sending seemingly casual torrents of power forward.

The clash ended in an instant. The grey energy made the blood-red techniques disperse as soon as they touched. The privileged cultivator's power carried something that went deep against Divine Demon's attacks and made them disintegrate immediately.

"What's even the point of this?" The privileged cultivator asked. "Did you really think that your power was omnipotent? Natural counters exist in this world, especially for abilities like yours."

Divine Demon sighed. He appeared annoyed by the hindrance. He didn't show his usual ardor, even if the opponent won every exchange.

"Your power is indeed miraculous," The woman stated while spreading her arms, "But I can destroy those miracles easily. It doesn't matter what you send forward. I only need to make your energy touch my power to render it useless."

"I've seen that," Divine Demon sighed again. "It's quite boring."

"You didn't really expect Heaven and Earth to let go of this power," The privileged cultivator announced. "They weren't in the best state back then, but they prepared countermeasures anyway. They had partially predicted that someone like me would be born after severing ties with the "Breath"."

The privileged cultivator's explanation was perfectly in line with Heaven and Earth's behavior, and it was also reasonable. The world naturally gave birth to counters, and their power reached extreme levels in the presence of another extreme.

Heaven and Earth had ditched the "Breath" to move to the chaotic storms, but that didn't prevent the world from creating a natural counter. The expert basically claimed to be something similar to the four dragons, but in the form of a privileged cultivator under Heaven and Earth.

"Yes, yes," Divine Demon sighed for the third time. "Everything makes so much sense that it gets boring."

"What can you even do about it?" The woman asked. "You can drink and complain all you want, but I'll remain here to hinder your path."

Divine Demon glanced at the sky behind the privileged cultivator before moving his attention toward the rest of the battlefield. Most fights were about to reach their end, and Noah's side seemed on the verge of achieving a general victory. Still, that didn't bring any happiness to his mind.

"You know," Divine Demon exclaimed. "The final battle should be the peak of a demon's life. It should be the culmination of a lifetime of struggles against the greatest monsters of the sky."

"What do you think this is?" The privileged cultivator smirked. "Heaven and Earth are sending their best warriors to stop you. You might win this exchange and maybe even triumph in the next, but you will lose in the end."

"I heard this already," Divine Demon pointed out. "Still, you are wrong. You aren't Heaven and Earth's best warriors. You are a mere tactic hidden in another tactic that belongs to a broader strategy."

The privileged cultivator didn't like that comment. Divine Demon wasn't wrong, but she still had her pride as an expert who had reached the peak of the journey to defend.

"We aren't stepping stones," The woman exclaimed as her face grew cold. "Caesar might have his plans, but our orders are to kill all of you."

"You said that we would win the next exchanges," Divine Demon snorted.

"Victory is relative," The privileged cultivator stated. "How many of you will be too injured to keep fighting after this round of battles? How many of you will last until the end? How many of you will actually win?"

The privileged cultivator's statement also made a lot of sense. The other battles were reaching their end, so it was already clear that many leaders on Noah's side would be too tired or injured to join the next round.

Even experts like Sword Saint would probably have to skip the next round to solidify his gains. His breakthrough was incredible news, but it would take him some time to gain access to the entirety of his new power.

"Boring," Divine Demon sighed again.

"To quote your friend," The privileged cultivator continued, "We aren't mindless brutes. Heaven and Earth are using their best advantage to wear you down and ensure their victory. Whoever survives the process will live to see the rulers paving the way toward new heights of power."

"How can I even get interested in something like this?" Divine Demon wondered.

"It's not my problem if you find basic battle tactics boring," The woman mocked.

"That's not it," Divine Demon explained. "This is the final battle, but it feels like a mere gathering of pawns. You are the worst part of all of this since you decided to face me only due to your innate advantages."

"That's a standard tactic," The privileged cultivator repeated. "Emotions are useful, but we can't allow them to get in the way of victory."

"What victory?" Divine Demon asked. "Are you talking about your victory? Do you mean Heaven and Earth's victory? I don't get you, all of you. The cultivation journey has given you the chance to go beyond godhood, but you use it to serve the safest bet."

"We can't all fly around and shout like idiots," The privileged cultivator declared. "Besides, if you have problems with our path, you only have to defeat us to prove that you are right. That's how the cultivation journey works."

"I know," Divine Demon replied while glancing inside his empty cup before throwing it away. "I'm only disappointed. I thought that moment would arrive sooner. Instead, I have to force your hands."

"You can't even defeat me," The woman laughed. "What makes you think you can force Heaven and Earth's hands?"

"Oh, defeating you isn't a problem," Divine Demon revealed. "I simply didn't want to do this against such a boring opponent."
Chapter 2241: 2241. Too much, too little
"This?" The privileged cultivator wondered before falling silent as soon as she sensed a change in Divine Demon's aura.

Divine Demon remained with his legs crossed. He didn't move from his position or change his stance, but the blood-red energy around him began to condense and transform.

"What are you even doing?" The woman asked. "You have tried the higher energy already. Your attack won't work as long as they retain their original nature."

"That's not correct," Divine Demon revealed. "The problem isn't in its nature. A variant of the higher energy would be enough to solve that. The "Breath" itself is the problem against you."

"What's the difference?" The woman continued. "That's still your power. You can achieve miracles, but you can't change your world. That's not how the cultivation journey works."

"That's also not correct," Divine Demon exclaimed. "You would be right in most cases, but I'm a different monster. The world has given me this power, but it's not fully mine."

"You are its king," The privileged cultivator announced. "You are its heir. You are the chosen son of the world "Breath". That makes it yours."

"It makes it under my control," Divine Demon pointed out. "It makes it my servant, my helper. It's mine, but it also isn't."

The middle-aged woman's eyes flickered in understanding. She knew where Divine Demon was going, but the matter didn't make too much sense, or, rather, it didn't suit his mindset.

"I wanted to reveal this power against a worthier opponent," Divine Demon sighed as his blood-red energy continued to condense and transform. "I hoped for an actual gruesome battle that could force my power to its limits until I used this trump card. It's disappointing to use this against you."

"Are you an idiot?" The privileged cultivator snorted. "Why would you hold back a trump card during the final battle? Don't you care about the losses of your organization?"

"Of course," Divine Demon announced, but his tone wasn't too convincing. "Well, a few deaths are necessary to improve. How do you expect us to win if even the weaklings are allowed to survive?"

"What a ruthless character," The privileged cultivator commented while shaking her head.

"It's not ruthlessness," Divine Demon corrected. "The weaklings must die of find paths toward power. There are no alternatives to this rule. Heaven and Earth tried that, and look where it brought them."

That topic wasn't new or unusual. Heaven and Earth and Noah's organization had opposite mindsets due to the different natures of their paths. The rulers accepted weaklings and pushed their power toward greater heights, while the landmass' forces were the result of countless struggles.

"Where are you getting at?" The privileged cultivator eventually asked. "This still doesn't explain your intentions."

"I didn't expect you to understand," Divine Demon revealed. "You lack style."

"Style?" The woman sneered.

"A trump card should be used to turn the tables of a battle," Divine Demon continued. "It almost feels like a waste to reveal it now, against someone so boring. I can't even pull it back afterward."

The blood-red energy began to release screeching noises as the process continued. It suffered during the transformation, but Divine Demon remained unfazed by the event. Everything was unfolding according to his expectations.

"You are hurting your power," The woman noticed.

"Transformations rarely are painless," Divine Demon explained. "My case is also unique. This energy was originally supposed to fill the higher plane, but I'm condensing it into my world."

"I can see that," The privileged cultivator declared, "But the pain I'm talking about goes beyond mere headaches. You are about to give up on your miracles."

"No," Divine Demon contradicted. "That will depend on the capabilities of my mind."

It wasn't hard to understand what Divine Demon was doing. The "Breath" was part of his world, but he remained a mere ruler over that energy. The transformation aimed to make him the true owner and creator of that power.

Nevertheless, gaining that new position would force Divine Demon to rely solely on his power. The world would stop helping him come up with attacks or abilities. The Divine Deduction technique would have to bear the full weight of that process.

Heaven and Earth had faced a similar issue in their previous state when they had too many laws and worlds at their disposal. They had to use the ordinary cultivators under their rule to improve their computing capabilities.

Divine Demon was going in that same direction, but he lacked assets that could improve his mind. He didn't have Noah's potential or Alexander's innate abilities. He would have to rely entirely on his centers of power, which obviously hinted at problems.

Those problems were so evident that the privileged cultivator didn't fear the imminent transformation. Something even told her that Divine Demon would become overall weaker due to the new limits he would gain.

Various thoughts flowed through the middle-aged woman's mind. She could probably hinder the procedure, but she lacked the knowledge to understand which path to follow.

The only option was to ask her superiors about it. The privileged cultivator lifted her head to glance at the sky and at Caesar in the distance as faint mental waves shot out of her figure.

A silent conversation happened, and an answer quickly became clear. Both Heaven and Earth and Caesar wanted Divine Demon to complete the transformation, even if they had different reasons in mind.

Divine Demon almost expected that outcome, and he didn't hide how disappointed he felt to see the privileged cultivator holding back her power.

The blood-red energy continued to condense until it began to seep into Divine Demon's figure. It fused with his core and expanded his world to improve its overall power and quality.

The transformation was triggering a breakthrough, but that was within Heaven and Earth's predictions. After all, Divine Demon was striving toward superior forms of power. It was only normal for his liquid stage state to lack space.

Divine Demon slowly started to shine with bright blood-red light. The radiance seemed blinding, but the privileged cultivator could easily see past that to inspect his figure.

The breakthrough matched the levels of power reached by Sword Saint. It actually seemed to fall slightly short compared to that mighty expert, but Divine Demon remained confident. His cultivation level slowly surged until it stabilized on a higher realm.

The blood-red radiance dimmed to disappear inside Divine Demon's body. The breakthrough ended uneventfully without unleashing storms or causing any major mess. Even the void's fabric remained unaffected by his new weight.

"That's it?" The privileged cultivator asked. "I thought you would have done something far flashier. Why did you even hold back something so plain?"

"It sure is heavy," Divine Demon sighed, ignoring the woman's question. "I can feel the weight of a higher plane on my mind. It's as annoying as I imagined."

"I bet you can't even control so much power without the world's help," The privileged cultivator sneered.

"Shut up for a moment," Divine Demon showed his palm as he mustered his power. "I need to drink."

The woman snorted in annoyance, but her eyes widened in shock when she found herself immersed in a reddish liquid. She instinctively recognized it as strong wine, but her amazement intensified when her consciousness expanded.

The privileged cultivator sent mental waves in every direction to study the situation, but she found herself unable to find areas without wine. Only the sky and the landmass had remained untouched by that liquid. Instead, the rest of the battlefield had fallen under that reddish sea.

The event became even more surprising when the woman noticed how the sea expanded into the void. She couldn't find its edges since they crossed the limits of her consciousness. Divine Demon's creation stretched far beyond what she could comprehend or study.

"I used too much power," Divine Demon commented as he forced the whole sea to converge in his hand.

The process caused many complaints since the currents pulled many experts out of their fights, but Divine Demon didn't bother to address them. He focused on creating a cup, which ended up having a single drop of wine inside it.

"Too little power, "Divine Demon sighed.
Chapter 2242: 2242. Outcome
Cultivators in the solid stage had powers that went far beyond reason, but affecting the entirety of the higher plane remained a bit too much even for them. However, that rule didn't seem to apply to Divine Demon, and the whole battlefield learnt about that at the same time.

Only the experts in the ninth rank could resist the pulling force generated by the wine converging in Divine Demon's hand. The others found themselves in random spots on the battlefield when the sea disappeared. Some even ended up too far or too close to the landmass.

The middle-aged woman didn't know how to react to that display of power. Divine Demon clearly was a solid stage cultivator now, but the danger that he radiated couldn't reach the peaks of his previous state.

The qualitative difference in Divine Demon's power was impossible to deny. The entire world was backing him up before, which made him able to achieve miracles with little to no effort. Instead, he was a mere expert now, with everything depending on his mind.

Nevertheless, a single desire had been able to generate an incredible amount of power. The privileged cultivator didn't even see the expansion of the sea. She just found herself immersed inside that strong liquid.

Explanations tried to form inside the woman's mind, but she failed to grasp the limits of Divine Demon's current power. If a mere desire could generate so much energy, what would happen once he gained complete control over his new state?

"A little more," Divine Demon muttered while focusing on his cup.

His control was still awful, so the cup transformed into a giant lake that expanded for a whole quarter of the higher plane. Complaints resounded again as countless experts found themselves submerged in wine again, but those words turned into cries once currents began to drag them.

The lake condensed into a cup, but Divine Demon voiced an annoyed growl when he noticed that the wine filled only half of it. He ended up repeating the process a few times to create a suitable drink, and the experts around him could only suppress complaints since he didn't bother to mind them.

The middle-aged woman didn't know what to do. She wanted to speak, but her instincts told her that it was better to study Divine Demon for now.

Something strange was going on. It made sense for Divine Demon to have immense power, but what he could do defied logic. Even Heaven and Earth would struggle to affect the whole higher plane so easily.

Her curiosity and faint arrogance had the best of her in the end. The privileged cultivator released a cloud of grey energy around her as a question left her mouth. "How did you seize so much power?"

"What?" Divine Demon exclaimed as he lifted his gaze and noticed his opponent. "Why are you still here?"

The privileged cultivator wanted to voice an arrogant remark, but the world in the eyes suddenly slowed down. She could keep track of what was happening, but she couldn't react to those events.

The woman soon realized that the world had no problems. Her survival instincts had kicked in when Divine Demon had started to move, but his actions were too fast for her.

Divine Demon raised his free hand to point two fingers at his opponent. He didn't blink nor struggle to muster his power. He had desired to unleash his power, and his world reacted accordingly.

Only an instant had to pass before the privileged cultivator's vision turned red. Initially, she believed that her forehead had exploded and had covered her eyes with blood, but the truth turned out to be far different.

Darkness appeared in the corners of the woman's vision and expanded through the mass of blood-red light before taking complete control of the scene. She understood what happened only when her thoughts began to disperse. Her life ended during that realization.

"Too much again," Divine Demon sighed when he saw the massive pillar that had come out of his fingers.

The attack connected Divine Demon's fingers to the sky and enveloped countless experts due to its width. However, none of the existences touched by the wave of energy suffered injuries. The technique actually felt harmless to them.

"Boring," Divine Demon commented as his energy dispersed. He stretched his legs to lay on the void as he brought his cup to his mouth. He felt too annoyed to care about the battlefield, but his eyes flashed with anticipation whenever they fell on the sky.

The other major battles saw Noah's side as the clear winner of the clash. Emperor, Queen, and Cursed Reality had no problem defeating their opponents, especially since Heaven and Earth didn't try their best against them.

The same went for Great Builder since he had established his position in the solid stage for quite some time. He could defeat his opponent easily, but it was clear that Heaven and Earth didn't send a suitable threat against him.

Supreme Thief didn't have any trouble either, but he felt no happiness after his victory. He angrily muttered as he voiced vague comments about his incomplete solid stage.

The situation was slightly different for June, Sepunia, Maribel, and the Foolery. Heaven and Earth had gone easy on Maribel and Sepunia, but they had to suffer serious injuries to achieve their victory. The only positive aspect was that Maribel seemed close to the breakthrough.

As for June and the Foolery, Heaven and Earth didn't hold back, but the two managed to win anyway. Still, they also suffered greatly.

Steven was the only exception among those relatively weaker experts. Heaven and Earth had tried their best against him, but he had won easily, without even suffering injuries. His power was also on the verge of moving up, but he still fell slightly short.

As for Wilfred, he had suffered injuries, but only because he had started playing with his opponent. Those wounds didn't even affect his battle prowess, so he didn't need any long period of rest or similar.

Soon, King Elbas remained the only major expert who had yet to end his battle. Actually, he didn't even start to fight. He had merely summoned a series of scanners to inspect his opponent while he focused on the rest of the battlefield.

"Are you sure you want to spend your time like this?" The inscribed cultivator's sizzling voice came out of its strange figure.

"You can attack me if you want," King Elbas commented in an uncaring tone while he continued to inspect the battlefield.

"Oh, I wouldn't dare," The inscribed cultivator replied. "Only an idiot would attack an inscription master recklessly. Defense is our strong point."

"Don't put you and me in the same category," King Elbas snorted. "Our realms are so distant that you should describe them with different words."

"That doesn't change the fact that your side has suffered heavy losses," The inscribed cultivator continued. "Sword Saint and Alexander won't be able to fight for a while. The same goes for many other major players. I wonder if you'll survive our next assault."

"Are Heaven and Earth about to send their main forces?" King Elbas asked and diverted his gaze now that every interesting fight on the battlefield had ended.

"Not at all," The inscribed cultivator stated. "Heaven and Earth have prepared four different rounds for all of you. Though, I'm afraid they will become five or six due to how many injured your side has."

"Five or six," King Elbas repeated. "I'm sorry. This isn't my style, but I must mess with Heaven and Earth's plans."
Chapter 2243: 2243. Summon
"Style?" The inscribed cultivator repeated. "My predictions reveal that you'll continue your tests for a while, even employing multiple items to discover the limits of my body. You'll reveal your fake quasi-rank 10 stage afterward, and I'll die in three exchanges."

"What's the point of this fight then?" King Elbas wondered as he summoned a series of inscribed items and retrieved the various scanners.

"To gather data, obviously," The inscribed cultivator stated. "You are a peculiar existence. Even Divine Architect has expressed her interest in your power."

"Is she also part of Caesar's plan?" King Elbas asked as he dismantled and reassembled his items.

"There are multiple ploys and tactics at work inside the sky," The inscribed cultivator revealed. "Still, all of them see Heaven and Earth coming out victorious from this battle. The tenth rank is theirs to seize."

"I expected as much," King Elbas revealed. "Yet, your predictions are quite arrogant. Surviving three exchanges while I'm in my fake quasi-rank 10 stage is way too optimistic."

"My words carry no arrogance," The inscribed cultivator declared. "They merely are the result of gathered data and studies. I do not carry something as useless as emotions."

"Such limited creations," King Elbas commented. "Is that fine with you? Are you really willing to live at your pre-established level?"

"Your concept of limits is flawed," The inscribed cultivator pointed out. "I serve my creator and my purpose. There is nothing beyond that."

"Noah would have turned you into a pretty being," King Elbas chuckled. "It's a pity I won't see that transformation. I have other plans for you."

King Elbas finished reassembling his items until he created a giant cube that slowly turned ethereal as its functions activated. The inscribed cultivator's body released a few flashes as it inspected the new tool, but the process didn't seem to lead anywhere.

"That's something new," The inscribed cultivator stated. "I can see similarities with some of your past creations, but its purpose escapes my intellect."

"That's not surprising," King Elbas uttered. "Limited beings can't look past their functions. Divine Architect probably never wanted you to invent something similar, so she had made you unable to think about it."

A different shade of white abruptly appeared inside the inscribed cultivator's strange body and generated a faint tremor. The natural aura radiated by that strange being quickly changed, and King Elbas smirked at that event.

"Did you receive orders from Divine Architect?" King Elbas mocked. "She must be worried."

"I must terminate you immediately," The inscribed cultivator announced as it raised its glowing arms to generate a series of orbs that enveloped its figure.

The orbs had multiple purposes and shades of white. They actually resembled some of King Elbas' attacks due to their diverse nature. The inscribed cultivator was ready to unleash a proper attack that aimed to exploit its opponent's weaknesses.

King Elbas didn't care about that display of power. He continued to tinker with his giant cube to perfect its functions. The inscribed cultivator didn't let him do as he wished, and its offensive soon shot out.

A series of rays of white light converged toward King Elbas, and they transformed during the flight. Some gained the shape of lightning bolts that radiated pure destructions, while others turned into dark attacks that aimed to inflict serious damage.

The offensive continued to fly toward King Elbas before performing a sharp turn and converging toward the ethereal cube. The various attacks also transformed again, gaining ghostly properties that seemed to target the item's specific nature.

King Elbas seemed to have predicted that sudden turn since a series of items materialized all around the cube before the inscribed cultivator's attacks could land.

Multiple barriers appeared around King Elbas and the cube, forcing the incoming attacks to land on them. A series of explosions and a bright white light followed, but the defenses soon took over that glow with their golden radiance.

The inscribed cultivator's offensive had been useless. King Elbas' barriers had endured the attack perfectly without suffering any damage.

"Divine Architect must be really worried," King Elbas mocked as he kept his attention on the ethereal cube.

The inscribed cultivator didn't give up. It adjusted the nature of its orbs in a few seconds before launching another offensive. King Elbas did something similar with his barrier, and another impact happened.

The second exchange saw King Elbas' barrier enduing what had landed on them without suffering damage again. Moreover, they seemed to have countered the inscribed cultivator's offensive even better at that time since the impact released no sound.

The inscribed cultivator knew that it was losing ground. King Elbas was adapting his items faster, but there was something else to the issue.

"You are remarkable," The inscribed cultivator commented while retrieving its orbs and flashing with various shades of white. "You figured me out in such a short time."

"You are a marvelous being," King Elbas declared, "But a limited one nonetheless."

The inscribed cultivator knew why King Elbas could fend off its offensive so easily. King Elbas had already studied its fabric deeply enough to come up with perfect counters.

That wasn't as easy as it seemed, especially since the inscribed cultivator had also prepared attacks after computing everything known about King Elbas. However, the latter had still managed to come out on top of the exchange.

King Elbas' computing abilities weren't only incredible. He had also shown how his scanners stood in a completely different realm. All of that obviously led to his victory when adding the final energy to the equation.

Nevertheless, the inscribed cultivator had prepared for a similar event. It didn't expect the battle to reach that phase so soon, but it had attacks ready to counter the fake quasi-rank 10 stage.

The inscribed cultivator's body dimmed as a giant cloud expanded from its figure. The white gas enveloped King Elbas and the cube, but it didn't try to attack the barriers. Instead, it quickly condensed into a tiny sphere that hovered in front of the odd expert's chest.

"A controlled self-destruction," King Elbas spoke. "You were born to die."

"I wasn't born," The inscribed cultivator corrected. "I was created."

"Well, I need you alive," King Elbas announced, and his fake quasi-rank 10 stage expressed its power for an instant as he teleported.

The inscribed cultivator abruptly lost control of its energy. It found itself inside the ethereal cube, with King Elbas showing his curious smirk right outside it.

The tiny sphere inevitably exploded without the inscribed cultivator's control, but its energy struggled to expand inside the ethereal cube. Its power lost the violence gathered during the detonation and started to move according to the orders conveyed by the golden light.

"Don't blame your creator," King Elbas exclaimed as he modified the ethereal cube. "Divine Architect did her best by stuffing you with higher energy and all the data she had about me. I'm simply someone that she can't hinder through these methods."

The inscribed cultivator went all-out when it realized that King Elbas was altering its nature. Its failsafe tried to make everything inside its body explode, but only small detonations happened since the cube suppressed those functions.

"Now, now," King Elbas laughed. "I told you that I need you alive. How could I summon Divine Architect otherwise?"
Chapter 2244: 2244. Pushing
The inscribed cultivator had only received orders, but the modifications that King Elbas was applying to its body through the ethereal cube revealed his intentions.

The plan was relatively simple. King Elbas wanted to use the connection that the inscribed cultivator shared with Divine Architect to summon her on the battlefield. At least, that was what King Elbas wanted the odd being to understand.

King Elbas had plans that went beyond what the inscribed cultivator could see. He had actually made sure that the odd being's sensors couldn't understand what he had in mind.

King Elbas' had never taken his opponent seriously. His focus had always been on the master behind the inscribed cultivator. He had to trick Divine Architect to prevent her from unleashing countermeasures.

The inscribed cultivator was powerless inside the ethereal cube. Its functions were still active, but they couldn't reach the higher energy that flowed inside its body.

Still, other protections appeared once self-destructing became impossible. The inscribed cultivator focused on getting rid of the higher energy inside its body to hinder King Elbas' tampering, but the effort turned out to be pointless.

King Elbas seemed to have the inscribed cultivator completely figured out. He even exited his fake quasi-rank 10 stage to save energy as he continued to modify his opponent.

Flares of golden flames and bright flashes came out of his body as he fought and won against the various hidden defenses. King Elbas even laughed as he sent energy and items inside the ethereal cube.

The inscribed cultivator saw its body changing under those modifications. A golden seed appeared at the center of its strange chest, and the light it radiated took over the white shades that it carried.

The strange being slowly understood what was happening, and its programming forced it to warn Divine Architect. However, King Elbas had already disabled any communication device by then. He had even placed a filter on the innate connection between those two existences.

"You will bring destruction to your whole organization like this!" The inscribed cultivator shouted after giving up on stopping King Elbas.

"What's this?" King Elbas laughed. "Did you move to a different approach already? Divine Architect surely went all-out with you."

"There can't be any victory through this path," The inscribed cultivator responded. "You will only shorten your companions' lives."

"It would be such a pity if some of them were to die," King Elbas replied in an unconvincing tone.

"Do you wish to see the death of your organization?" The inscribed cultivator asked. "Heaven and Earth won't take you into their sky even if you succeed."

"Be a good inscribed item and shut up," King Elbas snorted. "I'm working here."

"You fail to understand what you are bringing upon your organization," The inscribed cultivator continued.

"My organization, my companions," King Elbas sneered. "I think Divine Architect made a mistake when she implemented this function. You should use different topics if you want to have a chance at distracting me."

"You won't get to see what Heaven and Earth, Caesar, and Divine Architect had prepared for you if you keep this up," The inscribed cultivator declared.

"That was far better," King Elbas praised. "You tried to use my curiosity against me. Nice try. It's a pity it won't work against me, not right now."

The inscribed cultivator wanted to speak again, but a golden line suddenly appeared on its surface and made its body open. Its white shades tried to escape, but the ethereal cube forced them to condense.

King Elbas' grin broadened as he stuck his hands inside the cube and reached for the opening. The white shades continued to condense during the process, and a blinding orb materialized in his palms when they arrived at the center of the inscribed cultivator's chest.

"Nice core," King Elbas commented. "It's almost a waste to destroy it before performing extensive studies."

"Don't," The inscribed cultivator muttered in a broken voice. "Death. You. Bring. Death."

"We'll see about that," King Elbas exclaimed as his expression turned serious.

The ethereal cube shattered to transform into strands of energy that flowed inside the blinding orb to alter its nature. The inscribed cultivator also crumbled, and its power converged toward the core too.

King Elbas altered the item for a while before raising a hand. A lump of quasi-rank 10 flames came out of his palm and darkened until it gained properties similar to the odd dragon's black liquid.

The sky shook as King Elbas poured that dark flame inside the core. White figures also appeared behind its surface, but the orange net shone brightly during the event.

It was clear that Heaven and Earth didn't like what King Elbas was doing, but their reaction was too slow. King Elbas could fuse his flame with the core before throwing the item toward the sky.

The core continued to transform during its flight. Shards fell from the sky as Heaven and Earth tried to force themselves past the blockade, but their struggle failed to produce results.

The tampered core changed direction before it could hit the sky. It turned to fly toward the orange net and fused with its fabric before disappearing from the higher plane.

The major players on the battlefield went silent as they waited to see what King Elbas had done. The other important fights had already ended, so everyone could focus on the orange net.

Heaven and Earth stopped struggling after the core entered the net. The reinforcements also didn't leave the sky anymore as they waited to see what King Elbas had caused.

The net started to change color. It remained orange, but dark shades seeped inside it and stretched until proper black lines expanded throughout its surface.

The core was modifying the old rulers' defenses without hurting them in the slightest. King Elbas wasn't crazy enough to allow Heaven and Earth to join the battlefield again. Yet, his plan wasn't too distant from that.

The lights that had started to disappear returned. Humanoid figures materialized behind the sky's surface, and everyone could see how there were far more of them now.

The same went for other strange figures. Giant and non-humanoid shapes had appeared right behind the sky and had almost filled the entirety of their surface.

The net shook at that point. A shockwave spread throughout the sky without inflicting any damage. Its effects attacked deeper aspects of that material, and a few leaders inevitably felt shocked when they realized what was happening.

Privileged cultivators, avatars, and giant items with different natures slowly seeped out of the sky. The process clearly went against their will since they all struggled to remain inside the white layer, but they appeared unable to oppose the pushing force.

The net released another tremor when the pushing force generated by the shockwave dispersed. The countless assets found more of their bodies leaving the sky under that power, and nothing they did seemed able to stop the process.

King Elbas wore a satisfied expression while he watched the sky spitting out its assets. Countless powerful auras filled the battlefield and stretched in the void, but he didn't care. He wouldn't let Heaven and Earth do as they wished during the final battle.
Chapter 2245: 2245. Awakening
Noah teleported next to King Elbas without saying anything. The latter also remained silent, and the two limited themselves to watch as the sky released all the experts and assets it contained.

"It's better like this, right?" King Elbas eventually asked. "We don't want to stick to Caesar's plan too much."

"I stopped taking his fate into consideration long ago," Noah sighed. "He might have predicted something like this, but who cares? We'll act as we please."

"That's the whole point of this organization," King Elbas stated.

"Are you defending maniacs now?" Noah teased.

"Do you think a regular cultivator would have chosen to create all of this?" King Elbas asked.

Noah smirked as countless lights filled his vision. Most of them belonged to avatars, disposable weapons, and strange creatures, which created an overall white environment. Still, that halo didn't prevent Noah and the others from finding the privileged cultivators.

"Are you sure this is all of them?" Noah asked as he tried to evaluate the army's strength.

"Only one of them had a chance of resisting my creation," King Elbas announced while glancing at a massive structure hovering right past the sky. "She is here, so it's safe to say that this is everyone."

Noah followed King Elbas' line of sight. He was studying a giant castle that had nine towers rotating around its main structure. Its upper part featured a vast balcony, and a middle-aged woman was sitting at its exact center.

The solid stage aura radiated by the woman was intense and familiar. King Elbas couldn't possibly fail to recognize her, and Noah's instincts also helped him find an answer.

The middle-aged woman on the balcony could only be Divine Architect. She had replaced her eyes with white crystals, and her long black hair seemed alive as it fluttered behind her back.

Divine Architect wore an aloof expression. She seemed unable to gaze at the environment, but Noah and King Elbas sensed that her attention was on them. She was watching them, and her strange eyes also carried a faint annoyance.

"She is definitely mad," King Elbas laughed, and Noah couldn't help but smirk while he continued his inspection.

Divine Architect wasn't the only major expert who had left the sky. Noah could find four more incredibly powerful auras that managed to stand out from the rest of the army, and his eyes met theirs for a few seconds.

'They are strong,' Noah instinctively thought, and the problems didn't end there.

Heaven and Earth had accumulated assets for entire eras, and they had also adapted them to the various threats that appeared on the higher plane.

A few assets were clearly incomplete, but others were incredibly strong. Noah could see rank 9 avatars fueled by higher energy that could adapt to their opponents, entire swarms of insect-like creatures with a wide variety of attacks, and proper giants that carried unfathomable amounts of power.

A third figure materialized next to Noah and King Elbas, and the stench of blood filled the area. Alexander inspected the battlefield for a few seconds, but his hand eventually rose to pat King Elbas' shoulder.

"That was smart," Alexander announced in a rough voice.

"You are filthy," King Elbas snorted while burning the spot of blood that had tainted his shoulder.

"And hungry," Alexander continued. "At least there is food now."

"I'll also have some fun before going for the big ones," Noah added. "We can't really let our army fight so many opponents."

"It would be proper to let them handle them on their own," Divine Demon's voice resounded in the area before his figure materialized at Noah's side.

"Did you already pick your opponent?" Noah asked.

"I'm still thinking," Divine Demon revealed. "I'll drink in the meantime."

"I have a date in the castle," King Elbas stated.

"We know," Noah sighed. "I'm more worried about the other maniac."

"Isn't he having some sword-related dream?" Alexander wondered while glancing at Sword Saint.

"He will wake up," Noah exclaimed. "He won't remain asleep when the landmass wakes up."

Alexander and Divine Demon glanced at the landmass, but Noah and King Elbas didn't bother to turn. They knew what was happening even without sending their mental waves in that direction.

King Elbas obviously knew what his actions would have caused, and Noah understood the landmass deeply. Countless new auras had filled the higher plane, and most of them were heavy.

The general danger level on the battlefield had multiplied. Heaven and Earth's army couldn't reach those numbers and quality even during the initial stages of the fight, and the landmass' instincts inevitably reacted to that change.

Daniel and Faith did their best, but nothing seemed to work anymore. Earthquakes spread through the landmass as the creature sensed the countless threats that had appeared on the world and prepared to fight.

The whole defensive array that had taken many years to place expanded and flashed with multiple lights as a deep growl came out of the landmass and made the entire higher plane shake.

Many buildings shattered even if they were proper rank 9 items. Everyone's attention inevitably fell on the creature, and King Elbas glanced at Noah only to snort when he shrugged his shoulders.

"What do you even want me to do?" Noah asked. "I would also be pissed if I had countless useless buildings on my back."

"I can't believe you actually made us build on that thing," King Elbas scoffed.

"Don't be rude toward our home," Alexander scolded.

"Why do I even try?" King Elbas sighed.

"Come on," Noah laughed. "We have countermeasures for this."

"You mean that I built countermeasures for this," King Elbas corrected.

"That's not completely true," Cursed Reality's voice resounded in the area as he materialized above the group. "You still had to rely on my dimensions."

"And on my centers of power," Great Builder added while teleporting next to Cursed Reality.

"Where is the pig when we need a joke?" Divine Demon wondered.

"It was still fuming after its battle," Noah revealed, "And I mean that literally. I think it will need some time to recover."

"Call the tea maniac," King Elbas ordered.

Pellio teleported in front of King Elbas before Noah could do anything. The expert opened his eyes to inspect the landmass before turning to talk with the group. "Is it time?"

"Yes," Noah stated. "Preserve the inscriptions and everything else. We will need them soon."

"I won't be able to help right away if I do that," Pellio warned.

"It's fine," Noah reassured. "Everything is about to turn into a mess. I bet Heaven and Earth's forces didn't know how to move inside it."

"They have probably forgotten," Alexander chuckled.

"Even if they recalled how to do it," Divine Demon stated, "Our chaos isn't something that these cultivators can handle."

King Elbas rolled his eyes before whispering a simple "well said".

"I'll start then," Pellio exclaimed before turning toward the landmass again and opening his eyes.

All the structures and inscriptions around the landmass slowly turned ethereal and slid past the central structure. The creature was too big to allow their passage quickly, but another event happened before at the same time.

Silver light flashed at one end of the landmass. Sword Saint shook his head as he glanced at the trembling creature and at the buildings seeping past it.

"You want to show what kind of sword you are," Sword Saint whispered. "I shall help you."

Sword Saint touched the landmass at that point, and his silver aura spread over the dark surface. The process continued until the creature's edges lit up and unleashed thick sharpness that filled the whole higher plane.
Chapter 2246: 2246. Mess
The landmass released a growl that pushed Cursed Reality's defenses and forced him to join the scene. The expert flew toward the center of the higher plane and disappeared inside his creations to apply changes that could help them survive the awakening.

Meanwhile, Sword Saint wore an ecstatic expression as his aura resonated with the landmass' sharpness. The birth of a new blade was filling his existence with power and was helping him solidify the improvements achieved through the breakthrough.

Heaven and Earth's army remained still during those world-shattering events. The main players on that side glared coldly at their various opponents, but they didn't move. They were waiting for the rulers to give orders or for the battlefield to change, but Noah's side didn't share their coolness.

The dragons and the modified magical beasts voiced roars and cries that fused with the landmass' growl. Those creatures couldn't remain still for too long when the higher plane had become full of their designed targets, and they soon launched a massive offensive.

The two upper tier dragons shot toward the closest threatening auras, and their underlings imitated them. Heaven and Earth's side couldn't stay still anymore at that point, and a massive battle started.

Noah, King Elbas, Divine Demon, Alexander, and the others didn't need orders anymore. The first clash brought their conversation to an end and made them teleport away to join the battlefield.

Alexander laughed wildly as he appeared in an area full of rank 8 assets that radiated Heaven and Earth's energy. They were nothing more than weaker avatars of cultivators who had been lucky enough to survive the previous exchanges, but their life ended in that very instant.

The avatars and cultivators saw their bodies wilting as soon as Alexander appeared among them. The presence of a rank 9 hybrid would typically make them crumble instantly, but Alexander had far different plans.

Waves of energy left the avatars and cultivators to converge toward Alexander. He absorbed everything those assets had in a single second before teleporting himself away and leaving behind mere shells that dispersed into the void.

Similar scenes unfolded multiple times across the higher plane. Alexander didn't care about the level or nature of his opponents. He wanted food, so he teleported to various areas easy to exploit to refill his energy reserves.

Heaven and Earth's side couldn't let Alexander do as he wished. The privileged cultivators had to preserve the immense numerical advantage to solidify their winning position, so one of them shot forward to stop the hybrid.

Alexander was about to teleport away after devouring a vast platoon of weaker experts, but a fiery lake suddenly filled his surroundings and interrupted his technique. Multiple figures even came out of those flames while a privileged cultivator in the solid stage descended toward him.

"You should respect the rules of the battlefield," The old woman who had created the flames announced as she hovered above Alexander. "Why don't you fight me?"

The woman raised her arms to summon flames in her palms, but a fiery flare abruptly came out of the lake to cover her side. That defense instantly exploded and forced her to glance at the new threat, and her expression darkened when she noticed a burly humanoid figure.

"Why don't you fight me?" Wilfred laughed as he bent his legs and retracted his big arm to prepare for another attack.

The old woman snorted, and her annoyance only intensified when she noticed that Alexander had already left the lake. She had left her chance to trap the expert, but she had every intention to vent her feelings on Wilfred.

Noah imitated Alexander, even if his offensive was more precise. He shot through the battlefield, unleashing the full power of his movement technique to reach powerful targets that were bound to create problems for his side.

The areas right past the sky had countless experts from Heaven and Earth's side. They lacked assets from Noah's army, so he could unleash the full power of his destruction without worrying about hurting his companions.

Noah appeared in front of a giant avatar that reeked of higher energy. Chaotic laws seeped out of its massive figure and adapted to Noah's influence to create partial counters, but a series of black lines suddenly dug into its body.

Night voiced an annoyed cry when it noticed that its attacks couldn't cut the avatar from side to side, but the offensive didn't end there. The Pterodactyl had planted seeds inside the giant that quickly generated expanding roots.

Noah's destruction came out of those roots and helped the parasite branches expand. The avatar soon found its insides filled with that dangerous presence, and its radiance dimmed as its higher energy vanished.

"Noah Balvan!" A loud voice resounded in the area as multiple presences appeared around Noah.

Noah could sense that a small team of privileged cultivators was trying to encircle him, but a cold smile appeared on his face when a familiar aura showed its power at the edges of his consciousness.

The privileged cultivators wanted to speak, but a dark-red wave of energy suddenly engulfed the whole area and forced them to summon their best defensive abilities. Noah was also in the middle of the attack, but that fuel seemed unable to hurt him.

"You should let demons behave as demons," Divine Demon sighed as he teleported into the area, but his attention soon fell on his free hand. "Too much power again."

The team of privileged cultivators showed cold faces at Divine Demon's sight. Fear also seeped into their expressions. They were five against one, but none of them felt confident in the battle. They actually liked how Noah had decided to leave during the chaos instead of helping his companion.

Divine Architect didn't seem to care about the battlefield at all. She pressed her fingers on the floor to activate a few formations before disregarding the environment. Her attention had to go to a golden figure that was approaching her castle calmly.

King Elbas had countless inscribed items around him, and he tinkered with all of them. He had many inscriptions to handle, and the orange city also required his full attention, but he would be unable to focus on them soon.

King Elbas landed on the balcony without retrieving his inscribed items. He was applying the final plans and tactics, and Divine Architect seemed to respect that process. Some smugness actually appeared on her expression since she had completed the process faster than him.

"I'm almost done," King Elbas sneered as he continued to give orders and set priorities. "Those idiots would die instantly without this."

"You are showing your items to me," Divine Architect exclaimed. "Such arrogance."

"I know you are learning how to counter them," King Elbas replied.

"So, why are you showing them to me?" Divine Architect asked. "I can create counters before you can reach me."

"But you aren't," King Elbas chuckled. "Even your castle isn't doing anything specific. You know that I wouldn't give you the time to act."

Divine Architect's fingers trembled, but a series of cracks abruptly spread on the balcony's floor. Golden flames seeped out of those fissures, and King Elbas' power expanded in the area even if he continued to focus on his items.

"Do you think you can scare me with this?" Divine Architect asked.

"I would be disappointed if you did," King Elbas revealed as he finally retrieved his inscribed items and focused on his opponent. "I was just stating how you won't have the time to affect the battlefield while fighting me."
Chapter 2247: 2247. Food
Many major players didn't join the battlefield even after chaos unfolded. The strongest privileged cultivators inspected the area as they waited for something meaningful to happen. Moreover, they felt the need to keep the landmass in check for now.

Divine Architect had prepared a series of countermeasures for the landmass. The nine towers around her castle opened while she was busy talking with King Elbas, and small platoons equipped with inscribed weapons came out of them.

The platoons didn't only have cultivators. Some had inscribed humans or different creatures made of formations and inscriptions. Also, their items allowed them to create ethereal barriers that improved their movement techniques.

The platoons shot through the battlefield and avoided all the small fights on their path. Even the dragons seemed unable to sense them while they flew across the void to converge toward the landmass.

Sword Saint didn't care about those incoming opponents. Multiple rank 9 auras filled those ethereal barriers, but the expert didn't mind them. His whole attention was on the landmass, and his ecstasy only intensified as more sharpness came out of it.

"Hear your instincts, newborn sword," Sword Saint whispered. "Feel your nature take over your greatness. Let it fill the entirety of your fabric and express its true power."

The landmass seemed able to understand Sword Saint's words. Another growl came out of its dark surface, but that cry didn't carry the same violence as before. It was almost peaceful and calm.

Sword Saint patted the landmass as more of his aura flowed into it. His power never fused with the creature. He only aimed to awaken all the different aspects that resonated with his path.

The landmass began to move on its own. The array of inscriptions and various structures were still sliding through its body, but that didn't affect its actions. The creature started to turn toward the strongest auras hovering right past the sky, and the entire higher plane experienced those changes.

The landmass was immense, so its slightest movements could generate massive gales and storms that expanded in every direction. Cursed Reality had to work extra hard to redirect those violent winds and send them to areas that wouldn't hurt his defenses or underlings.

The storms disappeared after leaving the landmass to teleport near the sky. The experts there were too powerful to get affected by those events, but some weaker underlings fell prey to those wild gales.

The stronger privileged cultivators didn't have the time to help their underlings. The landmass was moving to point at them. They couldn't disregard that threat, especially since its power continued to increase as Sword Saint awakened its abilities.

Divine Architect's teams eventually arrived in the landmass' range. Their ethereal barriers allowed them to seep past Cursed Reality's defenses and get quite close to the creature, but they didn't dare to land on it.

The platoons took specific positions to surround the landmass before revealing specific inscribed items meant to counter its sharpness. The strongest assets in those teams self-destructed to generate massive waves of energy that their companions used to create cannon-like weapons and point them at the creature.

The cannons became ready to unleash their power in mere seconds, but the platoons didn't immediately use them to attack the landmass. The various assets also self-destructed to add energy to the barriers and stabilize the weapon's footing.

Divine Architect's approach had no room for mercy. She had created those platoons with the sole intention of turning them into weapons, and the power they radiated forced some leaders in Noah's army to turn their attention on them.

The cannons and barriers created nine different upper tier arrays of inscriptions that hovered around the landmass. They weren't only powerful. The meanings carried by their auras destabilized the giant creature's sharpness and slowed down its awakening.

Sword Saint didn't care about that hindrance. He continued to talk with the landmass and send his energy to explain how to use specific abilities. His mind couldn't even see the rest of the battlefield while he was taking care of that new blade.

The cannons didn't care about Sword Saint either. They waited for their arrays to stabilize before unleashing their energy. Thundering noises filled the higher plane as dark-blue pillars came out of those weapons and converged toward the landmass.

The attacks were immense, but they paled compared to the landmass's size. However, Divine Architect had never planned to destroy the creature through sheer power.

The dark-blue pillars shattered to transform into countless smaller strands of energy before they could touch the landmass. Those many lines flew in different directions and fused until a net-like structure surrounded the giant creature.

More power flowed into the net at that point. Spheres began to expand in each intersection as the nine weapons shattered to send the entirety of their energy to the structure.

It didn't take long before an ethereal barrier appeared around the net and protected it from eventual incoming attacks. Meanwhile, the various spheres continued to accumulate power and prepare an offensive that seemed able to affect the entire higher plane.

Sword Saint was the only expert currently standing on the landmass, but the net had ended up enveloping the inscriptions and buildings that had yet to leave the aura.

Daniel, Faith, and the other experts who had returned to their homes to rest found themselves inside that dark-blue prison. They didn't have enough energy to fend off the incoming attack, and they would struggle to fight back even at the peak of their power, but they still left their position to help protect the landmass.

A series of silver swords appeared around their figures as soon as they tried to affect the imminent exchange. Daniel and the others saw Sword Saint's energy blocking their path, but they only found reassurance in that event. They understood that they could leave the matter to their leader.

"What an unsightly scene," Sword Saint sighed while glancing at the net. "Do you think barriers are enough to trap a blade?"

The net unleashed its accumulated energy as soon as Sword Saint finished speaking. Countless dark-blue rays shot out of the various spheres and converged on the landmass. The attacks landed on its dark surface easily, and multiple explosions resounded.

It became impossible to see the landmass due to the many explosions that filled its surface. The net had delivered a successful offensive, but a massive pulling force suddenly made the whole dark-blue structure shake.

The smoke released during the explosions vanished to reveal a perfectly intact landmass. The creature absorbed all the power lingering on its surface before voicing a violent roar that made the net shake again.

"Go on," Sword Saint laughed. "Show them what kind of sword you are."

The landmass didn't need Sword Saint to repeat that order. Another roar came out of the dark surface, and multiple whooshing noises mixed with that cry.

Sword Saint nodded as he glanced at the net. His satisfied smile hinted at something, but most experts glancing at the scene found themselves unable to understand what that expression meant.

The answer arrived in the next second. The whole net exploded into a storm of dark-blue energy that created multiple tornados as it converged toward the landmass. Divine Architect's platoons had turned into food for the giant creature.
Chapter 2248: 2248. Resolve
"Not a great plan," King Elbas commented while inspecting the outcome of the assault on the landmass. "Though I believe you were only testing our creation."

"Why do you feel the need to speak if you already know the answer?" Divine Architect sighed before waving her hand.

The cracked floor of the balcony quickly fixed itself and suppressed the golden flames coming out of the various cracks. The multiple tiles even improved and adapted themselves to King Elbas' power during the process.

The castle didn't remain still after Divine Architect's answer. Its nine towers rotated on themselves until they pointed at the landmass. Multiple inscriptions lit up on their surface as their overall structure turned ethereal and allowed them to shoot at high speed through the higher plane.

"Predictable," King Elbas sneered before snapping his fingers.

The parts of the now-golden city that had turned ethereal due to Pellio's power escaped the technique and flew around the landmass to get in the towers' trajectory. Multiple buildings filled the void and regained their solid fabric, creating a barrier that occupied a fifth of the battlefield.

The nine towers tried to fly through the blockade, but an ethereal barrier appeared on their path before they could reach those structures. King Elbas had prepared for that sudden attack and had unleashed suitable countermeasures.

The ethereal barrier appeared impossible to pierce for the towers, but Divine Architect's buildings didn't give up there. They rotated on themselves again before spreading over the blockade of golden structures and summoning their power.

The nine towers created nine different oval shields that expanded from their surfaces and isolated safe areas where various assets could deploy multiple battle formations.

More inscribed creatures, items, and actual cultivators left the towers to set up workshops where they prepared inscriptions and weapons. They were proper teams that acted independently without Divine Architect's supervision.

King Elbas didn't lose in that field. The countless buildings in the blockade opened to reveal entire packs of modified magical beasts and avatars that didn't hesitate to shoot forward.

A messy battle immediately unfolded. King Elbas' troops attacked recklessly and relied on the influence of the buildings behind them to avoid deadly attacks. Meanwhile, Divine Architect's assets focused on defending and counterattacking while adapting their offensive to the threat.

No one dared to affect that part of the battlefield. Both sides let King Elbas and Divine Architect have their personal challenge while they focused on other fights.

Noah and Alexander continued to spread chaos on the battlefield. Alexander mainly aimed to absorb energy, while Noah tried to destroy strategic targets to help contain the losses.

Their efforts obviously added chaos to the battlefield. The experts on Heaven and Earth's side felt unable to put the entirety of themselves into their fights since Noah and Alexander could come for their lives at any moment.

That gave a sharp advantage to Noah's side, but the numerical disadvantage often prevented Noah's underlings from exploiting that situation. Everyone did their best, but Heaven and Earth's forces appeared genuinely endless.

Heaven and Earth's army was a bright sea capable of covering the entirety of the higher plane. The areas right past the sky felt crowded due to the incredible number of assets stuffed there.

The strongest assets in that army only worsened the situation. The various privileged cultivators, the structures, the special platoons, and the giant avatars required large chunks of space to express their power, which naturally affected their underlings.

Nevertheless, those assets soon had new problems to take care of. Noah flew left and right, using Night to launch deadly attacks and plant seeds that gave birth to branches of the parasite.

It didn't take long before multiple forests made of corrosive roots took control of different parts of the battlefield. The parasite had every intention to expand as long as it found energy, and Noah redirected most of his potential to his mind to endure the pressure generated by that growth.

The parasite didn't only spread destruction. Noah added multiple aspects of his world to the plant to improve its corrosiveness and defense.

The roots ended up launching slashes, spreading dark-red and dark-purple liquid, and discharging beams made of destructive dark matter. The parasite was using multiple powers freely, without endangering its structure, but Noah had to face heavy pressure as it expanded.

Noah didn't care about the pressure falling on his mind. He used the entirety of his experience to compensate for that heavy force. He turned into an untouchable shadow that flew everywhere on the battlefield to gather energy and plant even more seeds.

Needless to say, Noah was more than enough to turn the tides of that battle. He had always excelled at killing weaker beings, especially in chaotic environments, and the only ones capable of stopping him found themselves unable to intervene.

One of the four privileged cultivators that had stood out during Noah's inspection eventually decided to address the issue caused by the expanding roots. The young-looking man crossed his arms as he teleported before one of the largest forests, and a simple wave of power released by his figure managed to turn it into dust.

The privileged cultivator didn't stop there. He teleported in front of another forest to eradicate the parasite, but a yellowish light abruptly materialized between him and the roots.

"You seem too strong to be left alone," Great Builder announced while teleporting before the privileged cultivator.

The young-looking expert glanced at Great Builder before focusing on the giant structure under him. Great Builder was sitting on top of a huge pyramid that reeked upper tier power filled with multiple meanings.

The privileged cultivator's cold grey eyes quickly went back on Great Builder before a shockwave left his figure. Still, some bricks in the pyramid moved to reveal an opening that absorbed that energy and nullified the attack.

"Why don't we move elsewhere and let these roots expand?" Great Builder asked while wearing a calm smile.

The privileged cultivator remained silent as he stretched an arm forward to point at the pyramid. Grey energy gathered before his fingers to create a small sphere that quickly released a beam.

The pyramid struggled to deploy a defensive ability. The beam slammed on one of the bricks and pierced it before disappearing inside the structure.

The cultivator's cold face flickered when he saw that the beam didn't pierce the entirety of the pyramid, but Great Builder couldn't keep his calm expression either. Faint sounds of explosions came out of his structure, and grey fumes eventually seeped out from the spaces among the bricks.

"I knew you were strong," Great Builder chuckled. "Who are you?"

The privileged cultivator didn't break his silence. He kept his arm stretched as more grey energy gathered in front of his fingers. However, Great Builder soon noticed that the expert wasn't limiting himself to a single sphere.

A vast array of grey spheres expanded past the privileged cultivator's fingers. Great Builder saw that each orb contained as much power as the previous attack, so he quickly sent energy to his pyramid.

The privileged cultivator didn't delay his offensive. The many spheres unleashed hundreds of grey rays that created an array too vast to block. Great Builder was ready to face those attacks head-on, but he eventually opted for a different approach.

The pyramid and Great Builder disappeared in an instant, and the grey rays flew forward to land on the forest of roots. That branch of the parasite crumbled among shrill cries and multiple explosions. The event was so massive that a proper storm took control of that part of the void.

Great Builder reappeared at the privileged cultivator's side. He was still sitting on his pyramid, but his expression had also turned cold. Meanwhile, the expert disregarded his presence and prepared to teleport toward another forest.

The pyramid suddenly released humming noises that filled the area with its yellowish radiance. The void lit up as the structure unleashed its power, and the privileged cultivator saw his movement technique losing energy before deactivating.

"You won the first round," Great Builder exclaimed. "You might win the next. You won't win the last."

The privileged cultivator exploded with power as his heavy aura expanded forward. Dense waves of energy flared in every direction and shook the pyramid as the expert tried to force his way out of that domain.

However, Great Builder added energy to the pyramid to multiply the power running through the yellowish halo. A battle of sheer power unfolded as the privileged cultivator and Great Builder did their best to overwhelm each other's techniques, and no one felt able to affect that clash.

The pyramid soon became a blinding item that left no space for the void's darkness. The yellowish halo it radiated suppressed the waves of energy unleashed by the privileged cultivator and forced him to give up on escaping. Still, a chill ran down Great Builder's spine when the expert finally glanced at him again.

"You want my name," The privileged cultivator eventually whispered in an emotionless voice. "I don't have one. I only have a title. I'm the Rulers' Resolve."
Chapter 2249: 2249. Lie
Great Builder's expression didn't change. He continued to wear a confident face that hid the raging thoughts flying inside his mind.

It didn't often happen that the experts on Noah's side met opponents capable of making them experience genuine fear. Of course, the event wasn't too surprising when the battles involved vast differences in power. Yet, it was shocking when it happened between beings at the same level.

Great Builder wasn't a core member of Noah's team, but he remained a monster. He had survived death itself and had come back to life stronger than ever. He had even reached the peak of the cultivation journey. In theory, very few experts could match his power.

Great Builder wasn't arrogant. He knew that Heaven and Earth's army had to feature some truly troublesome experts. Caesar and Divine Architect were good examples, but the Rulers' Resolve seemed to stand at the same level.

Still, the issue went beyond simple power. Great Builder had felt genuine fear when his opponent had focused his attention on him. That shocked him to his core and forced him to prepare to unleash everything he had.

'Is he stronger than me?' Great Builder found himself wondering while inspecting the grey-eyed expert.

The Rulers' Resolver seemed to carry no emotions. Some would mistake his aloof expression for annoyance, but Great Builder could see the truth. The privileged cultivator simply didn't care about the final battle or his opponents.

"What a pitiful title," Great Builder mocked as some bricks left the pyramid to expand into the void.

The bricks transformed into large rectangular structures as big as the giant pyramid before generating power. Their surfaces turned transparent and revealed multiple currents of energy converging at their center to give birth to humanoid shapes.

The Rulers' Resolve didn't bother addressing the insult. He pointed his fingers at the two massive structures and unleashed his array of grey spheres to launch countless fast rays.

The giant bricks summoned barriers and released their yellowish aura to weaken the incoming attacks, but they couldn't stop the rays. Countless attacks landed on their ethereal surfaces and pierced them before continuing to fly forward.

Great Builder voiced a snort when he saw the grey rain flying toward him. The maimed bricks exploded to release the accumulated energy and affect the incoming offensive, but he found himself forced to use the pyramid even after that sacrifice.

The violent waves of yellowish energy crashed on the rays and destabilized their fabric. Part of their power dispersed, and some ended outside their established path. Yet, many attacks continued to fly toward the pyramid.

The holes in the pyramid released a series of shockwaves that fused mid-air to create a series of peculiar shields. The tremors running through those ethereal barriers altered the incoming rays' fabric and made them lose even more energy, but a few still crashed on the structure.

Explosions resounded on the pyramid, but its yellowish surface remained mostly intact. A few small cracks had opened after the attack, but Great Builder disregarded that damage as he forced his building to open in half.

The many bricks separated to create a vertical opening that revealed the very center of the pyramid. A flaring yellow core became visible, and its blinding light removed any trace of darkness or greyness from the void.

Multiple figures came out of the yellow core. Proper giants shot out from the pyramid's center and flew forward to converge toward the Rulers' Resolve. However, the expert managed to recreate his array of spheres before those creatures could reach him.

Another grey rain shot forward and pierced the many humanoid giants. Those creatures couldn't do anything against those powerful rays, but they self-destructed before losing control of their energy.

The chaos generated by the many detonations seemed to slow down the grey rays, but they eventually managed to fly past the messy area and converge toward the pyramid.

Countless attacks crashed at the pyramid's center and filled the yellow core's surface with explosions. Flares escaped that blinding sphere as the rays dug holes in its fabric, but that shielded the item from the offensive before it could cause too much damage.

The Rulers' Resolve showed no emotions at that sight. He recreated the vast array of grey spheres to launch another attack, but he abruptly interrupted the offensive to move his attention above him.

A massive figure became visible in a mere second. A giant version of Great Builder teleported above the Rulers' Resolve and threw a punch that aimed to kill the expert in a single blow.

Great Builder had used the previous exchanges to develop fake cores that could counter his opponent. His giant puppets had been a diversion that had allowed him to fuse with those artificial centers of power and disappear inside the void.

According to Great Builder's calculations, the Rulers' Resolve should have noticed his presence only when the giant punch was about to reach him. However, the privileged cultivator had surpassed Great Builder's expectations.

A dark-yellow defensive layer grew over Great Builder's giant figure to prepare for the rays. He expected the privileged cultivator to use the spheres to attack him, but the expert surprised him once again.

The Rulers' Resolve didn't move as the giant punch fell on him. He let the attack land on his head as he added more power to his array of spheres. That made Great Builder pour more energy into his attack, but the outcome of that offensive left him speechless.

The void seemed to shake when the giant punch landed. Great Builder was unleashing the entirety of his power during his offensive. He was one of the few monsters in Noah's organization who had reached the solid stage, so his attack went far beyond what cultivators at that level could achieve.

Yet, the Rulers' Resolve didn't budge at all when the punch landed on his head. His neck also remained still. One of Great Builder's serious attacks had failed to inflict any damage.

The array of grey spheres unleashed their power at that point. The Rulers' Resolve had let Great Builder complete his attack to catch him unprepared for his offensive.

The rain of grey rays shot toward the giant and filled its entire body with countless explosions. Great Builder's dark-yellow barrier protected him from the offensive's piercing power, but it couldn't stop the violent energy released during the detonations.

The grey offensive shattered the dark-yellow shield and affected the giant's core. Great Builder had to separate himself from chunks of his figure due to the damage he had sustained. Entire pieces of his body had become useless, so it was better to destroy them.

More explosions happened, but the Rulers' Resolve remained still. He let those violent waves crash on him while Great Builder retreated to return to his pyramid.

When the explosions stopped filling the void, Great Builder could see that the Rulers' Resolve didn't suffer any injury. Even his expression had remained the same. The expert wasn't even fighting seriously, but Great Builder couldn't hurt him.

"What a troublesome opponent," Great Builder sighed.

The Rulers' Resolve didn't bother conversing. He summoned his array of spheres again, making Great Builder snort loudly.

The grey rain shot toward Great Builder, but he flew toward the pyramid's yellow core to draw part of its energy and launch it forward. A wave of power engulfed the rays, and they dissolved into the void.

"Did you really think you could use the same attack through the entirety of our battle?" Great Builder cursed. "I'm one of the greatest inscription masters in the entire world. You are troublesome, but that won't stop me from figuring out your weaknesses."

The Rulers' Resolve didn't care about Great Builder's words. He launched his grey ray again, and Great Builder summoned the yellow core's power to disperse it. Another exchange ended up in a draw, but the privileged cultivator showed no emotions at that sight.

"Did living in the sky make you forget how to have a conversation?" Great Builder asked. "We should insult each other a bit to keep this battle lively."

"Lively," The Rulers' Resolve repeated. "You have the wrong idea. This isn't a battle. This is an execution."

"Can't you look at the battlefield?" Great Builder laughed. "My side isn't winning, but it's getting there. Our quality isn't something that a mere numerical advantage can overcome."

"Quality," The Rulers' Resolve repeated. "That's a lie."

The Rulers' Resolve teleported above Great Builder before pointing his fingers at him. The array of spheres unfolded again, but Great Builder laughed as he reached for the yellow core.

"That attack won't work against me anymore," Great Builder declared, but his expression soon froze.

The many spheres didn't immediately release rays. They quickly converged in front of the expert's fingers to create a single unstable orb that radiated sizzling noises due to the immense amount of power condensed in its small shape.

The attack that followed forced Great Builder to use the core's energy to perform an evasive maneuver. A grey pillar shot downward and flew across the entire higher plane before crashing on one of Divine Architect's towers.
Chapter 2250: 2250. Strong
The grey pillar carried so much energy that the barrier around the tower crumbled under its might. The weapons and platoons around the structure also died immediately, and vast cracks opened in the tall building.

It didn't take long before the tower crumbled. A single attack from the Rulers' Resolve had been enough to destroy one of Divine Architect's creations, something that even King Elbas was struggling to defeat.

"How nice of him to help my side," King Elbas joked to hide the surprise that he experienced when watching the scene.

"I knew this situation would have caused problems," Divine Architect sighed. "The higher plane is too small to hold so many experts."

"Why do you think I've forced you all to come out?" King Elbas laughed.

"That arrogance again," Divine Architect commented. "You succeeded because the old rulers had prepared the field for you. It was a smart move, but not something you can claim as completely yours."

"Trying to demean me won't help you," King Elbas stated. "You have lost one of your main assets due to my plan. That's a fact."

"Fact?" Divine Architect repeated. "I'll show you a fact."

Divine Architect waved her hand, and dark-blue light shone among the debris of the destroyed tower. The radiance brought those boulders and shards together to turn them into a liquid mass that condensed before expanding.

The dark-blue mass quickly gained a rectangular shape before retrieving a familiar silhouette. The tower reappeared before King Elbas' blockage, and platoons similar to those revealed before came out of its openings.

"Did you really think that I didn't predict a similar outcome?" Divine Architect asked. "I've used those assets because I was ready to suffer collateral damage."

"Do you ever create something that isn't disposable?" King Elbas mocked.

"Obviously," Divine Architect declared, "But it's pointless to reveal them if you can't get past this much."

"Are you testing me now?" King Elbas asked without hiding the usual arrogance that filled his voice.

"Why would I bother to do that?" Divine Architect questioned. "I'm merely saving assets since your side can't deal with my disposable items."

King Elbas revealed a smirk but didn't answer. He didn't even advance any further through the balcony. Most of his attention remained on Divine Architect, but he took his time to glance at the battlefield when he felt like it.

"Ooh?" Divine Architect voiced in a surprised tone. "I was sure my words would have forced you to take out secret weapons or similar items."

"It's quite pitiful," King Elbas exclaimed. "You and all the other so-called experts in the sky have spent so long studying us, but you still fail to understand our potential."

"My calculations are perfect," Divine Architect announced.

"Then you should know why I didn't reveal anything," King Elbas responded. "I don't need to do that."

Great Builder reappeared with his pyramid at some distance from the Rulers' Resolve. He was still close enough to be considered on the same battlefield, but he had clearly retreated after the previous attack.

The Rulers' Resolve didn't care that his attack had destroyed one of Divine Architect's towers. He diverted his gaze even before the expert rebuilt it through her dark-blue light. His attention went on Great Builder as his eyes converged on the pyramid.

The pyramid seemed on fire due to how much smoke came out of its bricks. Still, no flames affected the building. Instead, a giant channel had opened on its right side, and thick fumes came out of that hole.

Great Builder had used the power of the pyramid's core to perform his previous evasive maneuver, but the privileged cultivator's attack had hit his building anyway.

Moreover, the pyramid's innate defenses had been useless against the grey pillar. A mere touch had been enough to dig a vast hole on the structure's surface, disabling some of its frailer functions.

Great Builder had already accepted that the Rulers' Resolve was strong, but the latest attack had proven something far more shocking. The privileged cultivator's basic offensive was completely capable of obliterating peak rank 9 items easily.

The fear that Great Builder had experienced before came back stronger than ever while the Rulers' Resolve studied him. The process barely lasted a few seconds since the privileged cultivator felt no interest in Great Builder, but the latter still sensed the vast difference in power between them.

The realization that hit Great Builder sounded incredible but also reasonable. The sky had experts who could achieve the same level of power as Noah and the other members of his core team. They actually appeared slightly stronger than what those beings could reach.

Great Builder knew that his world didn't lack anything. He was one of the strongest experts in his organization right now. He felt confident in holding his own against Divine Demon if the situation required it.

Yet, the Rulers' Resolve seemed even stronger than that. The privileged cultivator had something more than regular experts at the peak of the cultivation journey. He was beyond completeness.

'He is as strong as Caesar,' Great Builder concluded. 'He is stronger than any other expert on my side.'

Great Builder knew that he had the chance to escape if he summoned most of his power. The Rulers' Resolve didn't intend to follow him either, so the evasive maneuver would have probably succeeded.

Nevertheless, Great Builder didn't move. His gaze remained steady as the Rulers' Resolve raised his arm to recreate the array of grey spheres that condensed to unleash a single, massive pillar.

The pyramid moved to shield Great Builder, but the pillar was simply too powerful. The giant building saw the grey attack digging through its insides and piercing it from side to side.

The privileged cultivator also forced the attack to expand now that he had inflicted a direct hit. The central part of the pyramid vanished as the grey pillar ravaged its insides.

The building lost its shining halo due to the heavy damage it had suffered, but Great Builder didn't seem to care. He appeared at the pyramid's side with the yellow core in his palm. He had saved that essential component of the structure, but he had lost the latter in the process.

The Rulers' Resolve quickly launched another attack, and the pyramid's debris shot forward to hinder the offensive. Yet, they didn't carry enough power to stop or deflect the pillar, which ended up engulfing Great Builder before continuing to fly to the other side of the battlefield.

The attack killed countless weaker experts, but most of them belonged to Heaven and Earth's side. The numerical advantage was a flaw in that situation, but no one rejoiced at that sight. Those who could focus on Great Builder's battle waited for the grey energy to disperse and show the outcome of the exchange.

The grey energy dispersed, and Great Builder's figure reappeared in the void. He didn't carry any injury, but the yellow core had disappeared from his palm.

Everyone understood that Great Builder had used the yellow core to protect himself from the attack, but he was defenseless now. The Rulers' Resolve didn't even give him time to prepare techniques, and another grey pillar soon shot through the higher plane.
Chapter 2251: 2251. Determination
The Rulers' Resolve diverted his attention even before his grey energy dispersed. His eyes went to the sky as he searched for forests made of roots to destroy.

The parasite's branches had continued to expand while Great Builder kept the privileged expert busy. The roots had become a real problem since they had never stopped feeding off weaker experts. Yet, none of the other leaders on Heaven and Earth's side had moved to contain them since the Rulers' Resolve had already decided to take care of the issue.

The Rulers' Resolve had every intention to go back to his task, but a familiar aura appeared in his consciousness' range and forced him to turn. The expert almost couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Great Builder hovering where the grey pillar had dispersed.

"You have finally shown some emotions," Great Builder commented as he patted his sleeves to remove the fumes caused by the grey energy.

The Rulers' Resolve kicked away his amazement to retrieve his aloof face, but his eyes flickered again when he saw that Great Builder didn't suffer any injury. He was completely fine. His level had actually slightly improved.

"What is it?" Great Builder mocked. "You can't understand what happened, can you?"

The Rulers' Resolve didn't answer. He launched another giant pillar that engulfed Great Builder before flying to the other side of the battlefield. Still, the privileged cultivator didn't turn at that time, and his eyes flickered once more when his opponent reappeared without carrying a single injury.

"I've warned you about inscription masters," Great Builder announced. "How many times do you think your attacks will work against me? I won't die against such a lack of creativity."

The Rulers' Resolve teleported before Great Builder and pointed both arms at his chest. The array of spheres didn't appear at that time. Instead, his fingers lit up before unleashing an oval wave of energy that made that chunk of the void twist and shake.

"I have to admit that your power was hard to counter," Great Builder's voice seeped out of the grey energy as that fuel dispersed inside the void. "Your title gave out your energy source, but I still had to go all-out to resist it."

The oval mass of grey energy dispersed and revealed Great Builder. The expert didn't suffer any injury again, and his right arm rose to grab one of the privileged cultivator's hands.

Great Builder's hand shone with a yellow light that seeped inside the privileged cultivator's limb and opened cracks in its structure. The radiance started to come out of the expert's arm until it directly shattered.

The Rulers' Resolve didn't show any surprise now. He saw his arm's fabric dispersing in the void, but he felt nothing. Yet, he decided to teleport away.

Great Builder couldn't help but show a smirk. The Rulers' Resolve's missing arm regrew instantly, but the atmosphere on the battlefield changed. It was clear that Great Builder had found a way to hurt the privileged cultivator.

"I figured you out," Great Builder exclaimed. "Well, partially. Your title doesn't come from achievements. It's a real description of your world."

"Indeed," The Rulers' Resolve responded.

"How does it feel to have a world that doesn't belong to you?" Great Builder mocked in an attempt to cause a reaction in his opponent.

"Your words won't create flaws in my existence," The Rulers' Resolve stated. "I have honed myself under Heaven and Earth's light for entire eras. You can't win against me."

"That's what everyone says before dying," Great Builder laughed. "Do you know how many times my companions heard similar lines?"

"I do," The Rulers' Resolve replied.

"Really not the talkative type," Great Builder sighed.

"Words won't benefit me," The Rulers' Resolve declared. "Though they do help you."

The Rulers' Resolve teleported forward again and unleashed a barrage of grey rays as soon as he reappeared above Great Builder. The latter flew through the attacks without suffering any damage, and his hand soon stabbed his opponent's abdomen.

A wave of yellow energy shot out of Great Builder's palm and destroyed part of the privileged cultivator's stomach, but the latter fixed his injury in no time.

Great Builder found his arm stuck in the Rulers' Resolve's belly while a grey shockwave exploded in his face. The attack didn't hurt him, but the privileged cultivator had far more in store for him.

The Rulers' Resolve placed his hands on Great Builder's shoulders and closed his eyes. His figure shone with grey light as his short black hair fluttered violently.

The darkness of the void vanished as a massive explosion unfolded. Some of the battles nearby ended up being pushed away, and their fighters also suffered due to the power that reached them.

The various experts instinctively migrated toward the other side of the higher plane since Great Builder's battle had become too dangerous for them. The Rulers' Resolve's power wasn't something that weaker cultivators could handle. Even regular rank 9 beings would die if they were too close to the clash.

Great Builder's light shone among that greyness while his figure became visible among the storm caused by the explosion. He was fine, but his body released thick waves of smoke. Moreover, his expression had lost the confident smirk from before.

The Rulers' Resolve lit up again to launch another massive explosion, but Great Builder promptly unleashed two piercing beams from his eyes. The attack broke the privileged cultivator's abdomen and allowed him to retrieve his arm.

The exchange ended with Great Builder's retreat. The Rulers' Resolve exploded with power, but Great Builder teleported away. Part of that violent grey energy hit him anyway, and his figure flickered during the impact.

The Rulers' Resolve found Great Builder in no time and teleported before him. The expert wanted to grab his opponent again, but Great Builder suddenly turned into a giant that slapped the privileged cultivator away.

The Rulers' Resolve stopped mid-air after a couple of seconds and resumed his offensive. Great Builder shrunk to a normal size to side-step the giant grey pillar flying in his direction, but the gesture prevented him from dodging the detonation of that attack.

Great Builder's fuming figure flew away, but the Rulers' Resolve didn't let him go. The privileged cultivator reappeared above Great Builder to unleash another grey pillar, but the latter shot through it easily to reach his opponent.

The Rulers' Resolve saw a hole opening on his chest, but his expression remained aloof. He didn't care about the injuries that his body suffered as long as he could get his hands on his opponent.

Great Builder's hands turned into blades that severed the Rulers' Resolve's arms. The privileged cultivator tried to grab his opponent with his legs, but two additional limbs came out of Great Builder's torso and allowed him to cut them too.

A shockwave came out of Great Builder's body at that point, and he even ripped off his additional arms to throw them at his opponent. The Rulers' Resolve was still trying to stabilize his stance when the two limbs reached him and detonated to unleash their energy.

A yellow light filled the void, but the Rulers' Resolve soon walked through it to step inside the blackness. The exchange didn't hurt him, and his power had remained steady throughout the entire battle. Still, his gaze seemed to have gained piercing properties due to how attentively he inspected Great Builder.

"What a troublesome power," Great Builder commented while looking at the incoming opponent. "This is no different from fighting Heaven and Earth."

"No," The Rulers' Resolve corrected. "Heaven and Earth are far stronger than this. You are only facing their determination."
Chapter 2252: 2252. Fun
"That guy is getting talkative," One of the major experts on Heaven and Earth's side exclaimed while playing with her long brown hair and inspecting Great Builder's battle.

Two figures teleported to her sides, a middle-aged woman and an old-looking man. The two were the remaining major experts on Heaven and Earth's side, and they didn't say anything while inspecting Great Builder's battle from that new position.

"You don't talk much either," The first woman sighed. "Spending so long inside the sky made you silent."

"You can always switch sides," The middle-aged woman teased. "Our opponents like to waste time talking."

"They didn't live as long as us," The old man commented. "Some of our last training sessions have lasted more than their lives."

"You don't have to be so wise all the time," The first woman scolded. "We finally have the chance to have some fun. We should seize it."

"You can go first," The middle-aged woman chuckled.

"The Rulers' Resolve has taken that spot," The first woman complained. "Divine Architect is also busy with her boyfriend. Most of the fun is already gone."

"We still have many valuable opponents," The middle-aged woman stated. "Look at Noah Balvan. He is causing his usual mess."

"Caesar wants us to leave Defying Demon on his own," The first woman whined.

"Did he?" The middle-aged woman asked. "He didn't tell me anything."

"What?" The first woman gasped. "What about you, old man?"

"I think Caesar decided to talk with you due to your peculiar character," The old man guessed.

"Does he think that I'm troublesome?" The first woman questioned.

"You are," The middle-aged woman sighed. "You are the most troublesome and annoying expert in the sky."

"I agree," The old man added.

"What?!" The first woman gasped again. "You are so mean."

"You wanted us to talk," The middle-aged woman giggled. "You can always go against Divine Demon."

"But he is so boring to fight," The first woman complained again. "I don't want to remain stuck in a pointless fight."

"Talking with us won't solve your boredom," The old man stated. "Besides, I know you have already made your decision."

"You are as knowledgeable as always," The first woman sighed. "So, I believe I'm free to do as I wish while the rulers are restrained."

"We never had limits in the first place," The middle-aged woman responded.

"You didn't have Caesar as a nanny," The first woman snorted before glancing at the battlefield. "Still, we might really lose if things stay like this."

King Elbas' actions had kicked out the entirety of the experts hidden inside the sky. Those forces could theoretically keep the landmass' leaders busy for multiple rounds, but the battlefield didn't reflect that feature.

The weaker assets on the landmass' side were suffering greatly due to the numerical disadvantage, but their leaders were quickly turning the tables of the battle. Alexander and Noah had unleashed a slaughter that no one wanted or seemed able to stop, which was only part of the issue.

Emperor, Queen, and the other leaders who didn't suffer any injury during the first round were turning the battlefield in their favor. Their power was more than impressive, especially when it came to experts already in the solid stage, and Heaven and Earth's side struggled to keep up.

That didn't only come from the higher quality of the landmass' side. The now-golden city, the dragons, and the various improved magical beasts were simply too much for the mindless assets that Heaven and Earth had kept stored inside the sky.

The avatars made of higher energy were troublesome, but they remained assets that the two upper tier dragons could face easily. The same went for Noah and Alexander since they were focusing on the weaker experts on the battlefield.

Moreover, Divine Demon, Emperor, and a few other solid stage experts were keeping multiple privileged cultivators busy. Their power was too overwhelming for assets that couldn't be classified as leaders, which forced the existences from the sky to use their numerical advantage to contain them.

That made it easier for the weaker experts from the landmass. Their leaders were forcing most of their major opponents to focus on them, which left them with assets they had already learnt how to counter.

Of course, the dragons were doing most of the hard work. The two upper tier dragons were unstoppable, and they instinctively avoided any fight that could hinder their incredible advance.

The various buildings spread across the battlefield were equally important. They supported countless battles with their influence, and they even allowed the experts on their side to take breaks or heal quickly.

The landmass was also on the move. The giant structure was turning on itself as Sword Saint continued to oversee its awakening. It wouldn't take long before it showed its true power.

The landmass was by no means the favorite on the battlefield, but it was clear that its army had a chance to win. That outcome obviously depended on the result of the fights among the various leaders. Yet, when it came to mere weaker experts, Noah's organization had a path to victory.

The first woman wasn't talking about the overall battle. Her attention mostly was on the clash among the weaker troops. She could see that the landmass' forces had a chance to win, and she couldn't accept that.

"Fine," The first woman eventually sighed. "I'll have some fun until someone tries to stop me."

Her two companions didn't bother to answer. The first woman didn't wait for their reply as she shot forward to appear in the void between the landmass and the sky.

Her appearance caused a massive shift in the various battles. All the experts fighting among the void knew that the privileged cultivator was too strong for them, so they flew away to avoid getting caught in her power.

Nevertheless, the first woman had no intention to target specific experts. Her eyes closed as her faint consciousness unfolded and spread to every corner of the higher plane. She could fill the entirety of the world inside the sky with her mental waves, and the event naturally attracted everyone's attention.

The privileged cultivator remained still as her consciousness seeped into the very fabric that filled the higher plane. She could see every battle, victory, or death, but her attention slowly moved to the experts on her side.

"Assets nurtured by Heaven and Earth for so long shouldn't fight so poorly," The first woman exclaimed as her mental waves shook to unleash purple energy.

The whole higher plane turned purple for an instant before retrieving its darkness and lights caused by the many battles. Still, the purple color didn't vanish. It remained in the form of countless tendrils that attached themselves to Heaven and Earth's assets.

The experts touched by those purple tendrils remained stunned for a second. Their opponents exploited that chance and killed many of them, but the matter didn't end there.

The cultivators and assets that survived the offensive saw their worlds and laws exploding with power. Their eyes also turned purple as the first woman's energy took control of their existence and forced them to radiate her influence.
Chapter 2253: 2253. Changes
The first woman's power didn't increase the cultivation level of her underlings, but it gave them the chance to explore the true depths of their power.

The privileged cultivator was basically forcing the various experts to get their hands on the true potential of their worlds and laws. She was sharing part of her energy and insights on the cultivation path, and the outcome of her technique ended up being beyond shocking.

A large chunk of Heaven and Earth's army had died during the second spent stunned, but the surviving assets saw their existences exploding with power.

That change didn't only affect the amount of energy that those experts could draw out of their worlds and laws. Their mindsets also improved and saw them gain new resolve.

The first woman had been clear. She didn't want to see beings belonging to Heaven and Earth's side in such a pitiful state, and their power was only part of the issue. Their weak minds and poor determination weren't worthy of the rulers, so she had to improve them.

The landmass' forces experienced losses due to qualitative differences for the first time since the beginning of the final battle. Their only advantage had always been their superior power, but the first woman had changed that.

The various experts from Heaven and Earth's army managed to fight back without relying on their numerical advantage. Each of their attacks also intensified the purple influence radiated by their figures. They transformed into humanoid cores of the privileged cultivator's technique, which improved its effects as they kept fighting.

As the first woman's influence intensified, the various underlings managed to gain access to deeper parts of their power. Their mindsets also continued to improve, which slowly brought them closer to their opponents in that field.

One of the greatest weaknesses of Heaven and Earth's army came from its lack of experience and dedication to the cause. The various cultivators didn't want to give up on their lives to achieve major victories, but that quickly changed.

Explosions and reckless attacks began to happen everywhere on the battlefield. Heaven and Earth's forces abandoned their defensive stance and stopped retreating to launch powerful techniques that often led to their death.

The landmass' side could only respond with a similar approach. The various forces in Noah's organization shot forward to unleash their best attacks, and many decided to sacrifice themselves to prevent losses too great to bear.

The changes in the battles among weak assets couldn't claim the leaders' attention, but the situation was different when it came to the stronger existences.

The two upper tier dragons, Divine Demon, Emperor, and other experts who were forcing many opponents to gang up on them saw the number of their enemies increase. The first woman was filling her side with bravery, which allowed her underlings to make decisions based purely on what could benefit Heaven and Earth.

The number of enemies around the most troublesome leaders from the landmass became so high that the battlefield finally achieved balance. Both sides became equally matched, and that situation benefitted Heaven and Earth's army.

"More, more," The first woman chuckled. "Show more of your power. Fight for Heaven and Earth. Win for Heaven and Earth. Die for Heaven and Earth."

The sky's army voiced battle cries that filled the entirety of the higher plane. The landmass' forces lost ground and ended up pushing back toward the center of the world.

The number of casualties on both sides was unfathomable. Death filled the higher plane as experts self-destructed or burnt the entirety of their cultivation level to achieve temporary bursts of power. The overall chaos intensified, and nothing seemed able to stop that trend.

"Finally," The first woman eventually exclaimed when a lump of dark light crashed before her. "I was getting bored of waiting."

"Can you stop this?" Steven asked as his body materialized in front of the privileged cultivator. "Our respective underlings should have the chance to prove themselves without getting influenced by beings at the peak of the cultivation journey."

"You should tell that to your companions," The first woman announced while glancing at Alexander and Noah. The two were still avoiding fighting the other leaders to spread chaos on the battlefield.

"Well, trying to reason with them is pointless," Steven exclaimed. "You should know that."

"Indeed," The first woman laughed. "They are a fun bunch. That's why I'm quite disappointed. Why did you decide to face me? You are the most boring expert in your army."

"Boredom isn't something that I take into consideration," Steven revealed as his figure shone with dark light. "I only want to annihilate Heaven and Earth and their assets."

"I know," The privileged cultivator answered. "You are still clinging to that petty revenge. Your previous organization and your companion died because they were too weak. Just deal with it."

"Robert was a monster far worthier than me," Steven declared. "As for my old organization, Heaven and Earth made it dirty. My underlings would have loved to join this battle."

"So, you took it upon yourself to fight for them," The first woman continued. "I must admit that I envy those feelings. My side barely cares about life and death. We only play along in Heaven and Earth's game."

"That's why we will win," Steven stated as his dark light expanded to take control of part of the void.

"I wasn't trying to praise you," The privileged cultivator explained. "You are fun. That's a fact. Still, you lack the power to achieve victory, especially in your case."

"We'll see about that," Steven exclaimed as he unleashed his power.

The dark aura that had taken control of the void revealed its effects and forced Heaven and Earth's influence to disappear. That power converged on the privileged cultivator and seeped into her figure to remove the improvements she had seized inside the sky. Still, nothing seemed to happen to the expert's cultivation level.

"What is it?" The first woman teased. "You can try again if you want."

"That would be pointless," Steven uttered. "You are shielding your power from my influence. I can't pierce it yet."

"That's wrong," The first woman laughed. "Did you ever consider that some of us are simply too strong for you? Take a look at the battlefield. You would have to burn yourself to counter my technique."

"I know," Steven agreed. "It seems that I have no other option."

A crack suddenly opened on Steven's forehead as his figure exploded with power. Dense waves of his dark aura shot in every direction and expanded past their natural limits.

Steven's cultivation level seemed to go through a qualitative change as it rose to reach the very peak of the liquid stage. Meanwhile, his dense aura continued to expand and used Heaven and Earth's influence to spread even further.

It didn't take long before the whole higher plane darkened, but Steven didn't stop there. He activated the effects of his aura and targeted the countless purple tendrils created by the privileged cultivator.

The first woman's technique lost power under the effects of Steven's actions. Her underlings snapped out of their improved mental state and experienced fear once again.

That change led to hesitation that their opponents exploited right away. The landmass' forces finally put an end to their losing trend and began to gain ground. Even the dragons and the leaders achieved some major victory during that event.

"Interesting," The privileged cultivator stated while inspecting the changes on the battlefield. "Your resolve is incredible. Yet, I can see your life vanishing. How long can you even keep this up?"

"As long as it takes," Steven declared as the crack on his forehead expanded, and an even darker aura left his figure.
Chapter 2254: 2254. Chaos
Steven was imitating King Elbas. He was burning his world to achieve power that went beyond his limits. Obviously, his actions didn't lead to a personal level, but they still got the job done.

The dark aura that filled the higher plane countered the privileged cultivator's technique, but Steven had far more in store. As the crack on his forehead expanded, a new, darker light left his figure and invaded the area occupied by his opponent.

The privileged cultivator didn't care about the incoming aura. She seemed amused by Steven's efforts, and she even enjoyed watching her technique being suppressed.

The fact that Heaven and Earth's army suffered heavy losses after Steven's actions didn't affect the privileged cultivator at all. She shook her head after seeing how her underlings couldn't achieve much without her power, but that was it.

"Those dragons of yours are quite incredible," The first woman eventually spoke. "The sky lacks assets willing to go to such lengths. There are a few exceptions, but that seems to be the norm in your organization."

"We believe in our cause," Steven announced. "You only wanted to be safe."

"Most of us," The first woman corrected. "As I said, even the sky has a few exceptions."

"They won't be enough to defeat us," Steven claimed.

"What makes you think that?" The first woman laughed. "Let's say that you can destroy most of our army. Let's even imagine an outcome where all the major players from the sky have died at your hands. You'd still have to defeat Heaven and Earth at that point."

"We will defeat your underlings," Steven declared. "We will defeat all of you, and we will defeat Heaven and Earth. The sky will crumble, and we'll bathe in the unbound darkness of the universe."

"That sounds like a great plan," The privileged cultivator stated. "Now, I wonder how you'll fulfill it."

"Killing you is the first step," Steven uttered, and his darker aura suddenly grew violent.

Steven's aura didn't have a clear shape. It had expanded from his figure to create a black lake that managed to stand out even among the void, but its form transformed when he decided to attack.

The lake shrunk as currents came out of it to lash out at the privileged cultivator. The latter covered herself in a purple aura, but the incoming attacks seeped right through it without meeting the slightest hindrance.

The privileged cultivator saw Steven's energy entering her body and searching for her core. The new attack could go past the woman's innate defenses and reach her world. Yet, Steven found nothing to remove after his power arrived at its destination.

"Do you understand now?" The woman asked while the dark energy flew through her body. "You forced your world to turn into a counter of Heaven and Earth's power, but you forgot one important detail. Some of us merely used the peace of the sky to perfect their existence."

The dark energy inside the privileged cultivator's world gained purple shades as the expert turned it into her own power. Steven couldn't interrupt the event, and he soon lost control of those black waves.

"I can still take away the results of that peace," Steven shouted as the crack on his forehead expanded even further.

More dark energy came out of his figure to add power to the black lake. No currents appeared at that time. The blackness condensed to create an area that suppressed part of the privileged cultivator's power.

The woman saw her cultivation level falling, but the process ended before the changes became significant. Steven couldn't help but frown at that sight. He was burning his world to affect his opponent, but the latter had remained a peak solid stage cultivator nonetheless.

"Did I surprise you again?" The woman asked as she inspected her arms. "I must admit that this state feels nostalgic. I can't even remember what I gained from studying the paths past the sky."

Steven tried to increase the effectiveness of the lake, but the process didn't change the outcome of his technique. The woman's cultivation level didn't fall any further. She remained firmly at the peak of the ninth rank.

"I must admit that your power is interesting," The privileged cultivator announced. "Limited, sad, but interesting. You ruined your potential to achieve all of this, but I'm the wrong target. You should probably go help Great Builder instead of fighting me."

"I can't leave you alone," Steven uttered. "You are too troublesome."

"I am," The woman laughed. "I'm Decumia, and I spread chaos. Nice to meet you."

Decumia performed a half bow while wearing a bright smile that highlighted her young facial features. Her eyes even flickered with purple light during the gesture. She barely looked like a rank 9 expert with that expression on her.

"Spreading chaos?" Steven repeated before sighing. "It doesn't matter. I only have to stop you."

Decumia took a step forward to appear in front of Steven. Her move was so quick that Steven never had a chance to react. He could only unleash his dark aura when he noticed what had happened, but Decumia was faster once again.

The privileged cultivator lightly tapped Steven's chest. Her fingers released a purple flash when they touched his figure, and the power generated by the event flung him far away in the distance.

Steven mustered the entirety of his concentration to keep his influence over the higher plane stable. The purple tendrils would start adding power to Heaven and Earth's army again if his dark aura crumbled, and he couldn't allow that.

Of course, enduring the blows of a solid stage cultivator like Decumia was no easy feat. Steven couldn't focus on his defenses since most of his attention was on his technique, so his figure ended up suffering.

Steven was so focused on the higher plane that he didn't even stop his flight. He let Decumia's blow send him to the other side of the world, but she had no intention of stopping her offensive so early.

"What are you even doing?" Decumia asked while materializing next to Steven and following him on his flight. "That was a mere touch, but your chest is already a mess. Just interrupt your technique and run away."

Steven didn't use defensive techniques, so his chest now featured a fist-sized hole that leaked blood and a dark aura. Decumia's simple attack had damaged his world, which was losing energy from that opening.

Steven revealed a smirk when he heard Decumia's words, and the latter responded by touching his abdomen. Purple light flashed again, and Steven's flight changed direction while another injury appeared on his figure.

Decumia followed Steven closely. She was far faster than him, but he wasn't even trying to escape. Steven was willing to let Decumia have fun as long as he could keep his technique active.

"I'll really kill you if you don't fight back," Decumia stated while flying next to Steven. "Come on. Don't you have a big attack or something? You have set your world on fire. You must have been quite confident about stopping me."

"I am stopping you," Steven laughed without opening his eyes.

The dark aura that Steven had spread all over the higher plane was keeping him updated about the outcomes of the various battles. His side would win as long as he suppressed Decumia's influence, and that was enough for him. He didn't care if the expert killed him in the meantime.
Chapter 2255: 2255. Purple
Decumia wasn't taking her fight seriously. She didn't know if she could kill Steven in one blow, but she wasn't even trying to hurt him deeply. Her attacks were simply too powerful for her opponent, so they reached his world.

Steven's intentions also became clear in Decumia's mind quite soon. She had studied the experts in Noah's organization as deeply as everyone else in the sky, so she knew Steven's character.

The expert was part of Noah's core team, but he was unique. He had met Noah and the others relatively late in his cultivation journey, and his improvements had never stopped him from being one of the group's weaker links.

Strength was obviously relative. King Elbas excelled in many fields, but he lacked Divine Demon's ability to perform miracles. Noah and the others also shared similar peculiarities, and Steven wasn't an exception.

In theory, Steven was the best when it came to fighting experts who had benefitted from Heaven and Earth's influence. However, he had to hurt his foundation and limit his potential to achieve that power.

Steven's ability to counter Heaven and Earth's assets wasn't innate or natural. He had developed that power due to anger and necessity. The change had also happened during his breakthrough to the ninth rank, which was far from ideal.

The breakthrough to the ninth rank always brought changes, but they usually remained inside the range of the experts' laws. Yet, Steven had experienced a proper transformation. His determination had turned into anger that had further evolved into power only meant to target Heaven and Earth.

That alone couldn't make Steven strong, not as strong as his companions at least. Still, the nature of the final battle allowed him to perform important tasks anyway. He was actually more helpful than many others at the same level, but Decumia seemed able to exploit his flaws.

Decumia wasn't even doing that on purpose. Her world was simply complete even after removing Heaven and Earth's influence. She had obviously lost some power, but she remained incredibly strong, too strong for Steven.

"So, you want to make a noble sacrifice," Decumia sighed while grabbing Steven and forcing him to stop. "I guess that's not a bad way to go. You must have also planned countermeasures that will activate after your death."

"Wills are powerful tools," Steven stated as a smirk appeared on his face. "You can kill me, but you can't destroy my will, not if I put my whole life into it."

"Tricky," Decumia exclaimed. "Well, I suppose this is the end of our battle. I'll see how long your dying wish can keep your dear underlings alive."

Decumia closed her hand into a punch before throwing it toward Steven's face. Still, her eyes flickered when she sensed energy leaving her arm and turning her attack into nothing more than a harmless bump.

Steven was as surprised as Decumia. The punch landed on his cracked forehead without inflicting any damage, but his consciousness eventually sensed something. A massive boulder was flying at high speed toward his position.

"What is it-?!" Decumia asked, but the boulder suddenly accelerated and slammed on Steven and her.

Steven flew away again, but his back eventually slammed on a firm surface. That wasn't the sky or the landmass, and a squeal reached his ears before his mental waves could reveal the nature of the situation. He didn't need to inspect his surroundings anymore after hearing that cry.

"What are you doing here?" Steven asked as he straightened his position and made his way out of the fumes that had surrounded him.

"I'm saving your life!" The Foolery announced while lifting its head.

Steven knew that the pig had performed its usual gesture, but he couldn't see it through his eyes. The Foolery was surrounded by smoke that came out of its very skin. It seemed that every inch of its body had recently been on fire.

"Shouldn't you focus on recovering from your injuries?" Steven gasped.

"What injuries?" The Foolery asked.

"Your whole body is fuming!" Steven responded.

"The smoke makes me go faster," The Foolery claimed without lowering its head.

Steven spared some mental waves to check the grey smoke, but he didn't see anything connected to techniques or energy in its fabric. It was simply gas released by the pig's charred flesh.

"No, these are injuries," Steven tried to correct.

"I did take you by surprise, didn't I?" The Foolery exclaimed. "That's because the smoke makes me faster."

Steven opened his mouth to speak, but only a sigh left it. He knew that reasoning with the Foolery was impossible, so he limited himself to a brief scolding. "You shouldn't have come here."

"Why is that?" The Foolery questioned. "You were dying. I saved you. Wait, you are still dying."

The Foolery finally lowered its head to sniff Steven. The latter's world was still burning to keep his influence active. The injuries on his chest, abdomen, and forehead only worsened his overall poor complexion.

"I need to keep this up," Steven declared. "Our army will die otherwise."

"I don't get it," The Foolery exclaimed. "You are hurting yourself, right? Just stop."

Steven didn't know how to explain the situation better than that, so he heaved another sigh before adding something that even the pig could understand. "I've already made my decision. I ask you to respect it."

"I refuse," The Foolery promptly replied.

"What?" Steven shouted. "You can't do that."

"I just did," The Foolery responded.

"I decided what to do with my world!" Steven uttered.

"I don't care!" The Foolery squealed. "Wait! Oh, no!"

"What is happening?" Steven gasped as he tried to understand if something was off on the higher plane.

"My smoke is going away," The Foolery revealed while glancing at a spot on its left side. "I'll get slow now."

Steven found no words to address the situation. He could sense most of the battlefield due to his dark aura. The entire higher plane was raging, but he was using his limited time to listen to that idiocy.

"Just leave," Steven eventually sighed. "I've always known the price for my current power. I'm doing the best I can to give it some meaning."

"But that's wrong," The Foolery announced. "You won't play your role like this."

"What role?" Steven questioned.

"You need to hinder Heaven and Earth's influence," The Foolery stated. "Solving troublesome problems is Xavier's job."

A golden light lit up on the Foolery's belly and released a soft shockwave that dispersed all the smoke flowing out of its flesh. King Elbas' influence spread in the area, and his voice eventually resounded. "I've adjusted some buildings for the issue. Steven, withdraw your energy. You are in the way."

"I told you!" The Foolery proudly exclaimed while lifting its head before lowering it right away to stare at its belly. "Hey, why did Xavier's voice come out from there? Did I eat him?"

"I planted a communication device on you," King Elbas answered.

"Does everyone have it?" The Foolery asked.

"No," King Elbas snorted. "You are the only idiot who wouldn't notice something like that."

"It makes sense," The Foolery nodded. "Well, you heard him. Your energy is in the way."

Steven would have never trusted the Foolery, but hearing King Elbas' voice forced him to accept the reality of the situation. He calmed down and stopped setting his world aflame to retrieve the dark energy and stabilize his condition.

The purple tendrils immediately regained power and tried to affect Heaven and Earth's army. The sudden power-up stunned those assets for an instant and made them suffer heavy losses, but those who survived failed to experience Decumia's influence.

A series of huge golden buildings materialized in different spots on the battlefield and began to radiate their influence. Their radiance was faint and soft, but it countered the purple tendrils and forced them to crumble.

The Foolery's words sounded perfectly on point in Steven's mind while he inspected that scene. King Elbas had performed the same task more efficiently and without hurting himself. He was the problem-solver of the team.

"I guess that leaves us with a different task," Steven whispered while glancing at the privileged cultivator who had waited for the conversation to end.

"Exactly!" The Foolery shouted as it pointed its eyes on Decumia. "We have to eat purple!"
Chapter 2256: 2256. Gas
"Why did you wait for us?" Steven asked as his dark energy condensed inside his figure to close and put patches on all the injuries caused by his recent actions.

"It seemed that a decent fight was about to arrive," Decumia announced. "Why would I ever prevent it?"

"Do you have no loyalty toward your leaders?" Steven wondered.

"We all have different paths," Decumia laughed. "Even the assets living through Heaven and Earth's light must strive for their personal journeys to achieve power. I'm just one of them."

"Having fun among so many deaths," Steven sighed. "You sure have a despicable character."

"I can name a few experts on your side with my same inclinations," Decumia chuckled while glancing at Noah and Alexander still going crazy on the battlefield.

"They aren't disregarding the deaths on their side," Steven explained. "They would help if they could, but that would hinder the path to victory. As my companion said, they have a different role."

"I can understand yours," Decumia exclaimed before pointing her curious gaze toward the Foolery, "But the pig remains an interesting variable."

"Even Heaven and Earth's experts tremble before my might," The Foolery squealed as it wore its usual proud stance.

Steven had no intention to fall prey to the Foolery's idiocy again. He would use it to his advantage if the situation required it, but it seemed that Decumia didn't want to waste time anymore. She was waiting only to improve her imminent fight.

Steven glanced at the Foolery before bringing his focus back on his opponent. The situation didn't drastically change. The two of them remained on the losing end of that battle.

Decumia was simply strong, too strong for two liquid stage beings. Defeating her would require more than tactics, but Steven had to try anyway. Even if he couldn't beat Decumia, his efforts would still make things easier for his stronger companions.

"How many times can you use that speed from before?" Steven whispered while inspecting his opponent.

"I can't fly that fast without my smoke," The Foolery sighed in disappointment.

"Please, be serious," Steven requested. "We must work together against her. I need your power."

"I can eat what she throws at me," The Foolery suggested.

"I need you to do a bit more than that," Steven stated. "I'll burn my world again to contain her power. You'll have to kill her during that window."

"Why would you burn your world?" The Foolery asked. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"We must go past our limits against her," Steven declared. "That's the only method I have."

"But that's bad," The Foolery complained.

"I don't have a better plan," Steven uttered.

"I do!" The Foolery announced.

"Do you?" Steven asked without hiding his surprise.

"Of course!" The Foolery squealed. "Follow me!"

Steven didn't have the chance to talk anymore since the Foolery abruptly shot forward. Steven followed the pig and unleashed his usual dark aura, but Decumia's power didn't experience any suppression as she waited for her opponents to reach her.

"You have really gotten slower," Decumia said in an amused tone as the Foolery approached her.

The Foolery tried to headbutt Decumia, but she easily side-stepped the attack before tapping on the creature's left side. That simple touch unleashed a purple shockwave that flung the pig away.

Steven tried to exploit that opportunity. His dark aura condensed in the shape of a giant arrow that he threw at Decumia while she was busy dealing with the Foolery.

Yet, Decumia didn't bother to dodge the attack. She let the arrow fall on her figure and enter her world to apply its effects. Her level dropped, but she remained at the very peak of the ninth rank.

"What are you trying to achieve with this little power?" Decumia asked. "You both need to surpass your limits to force me to fight seriously."

Steven revealed a cold expression at that statement. He knew that Decumia was right, but that approach also featured problems. The Foolery was the main issue since it was impossible to reason with it.

The Foolery had to crash into the sky to stop the momentum accumulated after the attack. The landing was violent, but it recovered quickly and set off again. Its side featured a big bruise, but it seemed fine otherwise.

"Let me taste your purple!" The Foolery cried as it shot toward Decumia, but she saw no danger in that incoming attack.

Steven snorted while he inspected his companion's offensive. He couldn't tell the Foolery what to do, but he could do his best to support it. It didn't matter if his efforts ended up being pointless.

Steven set his world aflame again to get his hands on his darker aura. Cracks opened on his figure as his old injuries and new ones fused to affect his condition, but his actions finally forced Decumia to pay attention to him.

The dark aura expanded quickly and trapped Decumia in a cubical area that suppressed her power. Steven was going all-out. His attack targeted Decumia's very foundation to affect her ability to react to the incoming offensive.

That suppression failed to give the Foolery a chance to hurt Decumia. The latter performed the same evasive maneuver as before and lightly tapped on the pig side to fling it away.

Steven launched another massive arrow during that exchange, but Decumia disregarded it. Her world welcomed the offensive and let it apply its effects, which turned out to be relatively meager compared to her overall power.

"I've had enough!" The Foolery shouted after crashing into another spot of the sky. "I will show you my secret technique!"

"Oh, I'm waiting," Decumia teased.

Steven didn't know how serious the Foolery was, but he unleashed even more of his power to limit Decumia's movements. He needed to create a chance to hurt her, even if he had to sacrifice his life during the process.

Decumia showed an amused smile toward Steven before moving her attention to the incoming Foolery. Steven knew that his efforts weren't doing much, but he didn't let that reaction affect his power.

"It's coming!" The Foolery shouted during its flight. "If the smoke isn't around me, I'll just discharge it!"

"Discharge it?" Decumia repeated before spreading her arms. "Come then."

The Foolery voiced a low squeal as its aura intensified. Its hunger spread in its surroundings and forced its body to accelerate. Its world was making it stronger to hunt down its prey.

"Good, good," Decumia commented as the Foolery accelerated. The pig was nowhere fast enough to hurt Decumia, but she liked seeing the battle growing more interesting.

Nevertheless, the Foolery suddenly released a loud fart that unleashed a wave of blue gas from its butt. An awful smell filled the void as its figure accelerated even more and almost teleported in front of Decumia.

Decumia's mind almost froze while watching the event, and Steven also experienced similar effects. The fart didn't do anything. It only filled a chunk of the void with smelly blue gas, but the Foolery became incredibly faster anyway.

The Foolery slammed on Decumia and flung her away. The impact even forced Decumia to release part of her purple energy, and the pig didn't hesitate to devour it. Of course, it proudly lifted its head once the meal was over.
Chapter 2257: 2257. Funny
The amazement caused by the Foolery's strange technique didn't last long. Steven quickly stopped burning himself to save power and patch up what he could fix, but his mind never stopped coming up with plans and tactics connected to the battle.

As for the Foolery, it stood proudly in the middle of the void uncaring that it could use that chance to attack Decumia. Its aura even intensified during its motionless stance, but that only made its fart smellier.

Decumia didn't oppose the attack. She had let the blow hit her, and she even allowed its momentum to push her near the sky. Still, the impact with that white surface didn't cause any damage.

The privileged cultivator was perfectly fine even after avoiding summoning defenses. It almost seemed that Decumia was mocking her opponents' power, but Steven guessed that the situation was far different. She only wanted to make the battle more interesting.

The black roots had continued to expand while everyone was busy fighting, and some of them stretched toward Decumia as soon as they felt her presence.

The privileged cultivator didn't even glance at the incoming roots. A laugh left her mouth as her figure exploded with purple energy that destroyed everything in her surroundings.

The roots crumbled under the might of the purple energy, but the same went for the unlucky assets that happened to be in the range of Decumia's ability. Many white puppets, avatars, and inscribed weapons shattered as the privileged cultivator expressed her ecstasy.

"She is a battle maniac," Steven commented while teleporting next to the Foolery and patting its side. "We can use this to our advantage."

"Indeed," The Foolery exclaimed. "We can fight harder than her!"

"That's not what I meant," Steven scolded, but the Foolery didn't hear reasons.

"Charge!" The Foolery squealed before unleashing another smelly fart and charging forward.

Steven had to ignore his thoughts and sprint forward to keep up with his companion. The two flew at high speed toward Decumia to create a frontal attack that stuck to no tactic, but Steven still tried his best to avoid being completely reckless.

An array of dark arrows materialized behind Steven and shot forward. The Foolery, Steven, and the dark weapons converged on Decumia at the same time, but a purple explosion pushed everything back.

The Foolery had a tough body and could rely on the hybrid's superior endurance. The purple shockwave flung it away while destroying the superficial layers of its body.

The pig's skin and muscles became a shattered mess that released dense smoke. The attack also affected its balance and consciousness, preventing it from stabilizing its position mid-flight.

The exchange hurt Steven far more. His arrows vanished under the purple power, while his world suffered severe injuries that added themselves to his already poor condition.

Steven saw large cracks opening on his figure, and his cultivation level also wavered as he flew across the battlefield. His consciousness struggled to remain awake, and the same went for his overall control over his body.

"Let's go at it again!" The Foolery squealed, and its voice forced Steven to stabilize his mind.

Steven found himself far away from Decumia, but he mustered his strength when he saw the Foolery shooting toward her. He couldn't leave his companion alone, so he set his world aflame to perform a sprint that went beyond his limits.

Decumia waited for her opponents to reach her, but her eyes widened in surprise when the Foolery released another fart. The event made it accelerate even faster than before, which caused an immense explosion once it landed on the sky.

The explosion was so violent that even Steven ended up pushed away by the shockwave that followed the impact. The Foolery's surprising speed wasn't something that Steven and Decumia expected, but the attack didn't have significant effects.

Decumia appeared among the bluish explosion unharmed. She was smiling happily as both her hands kept the Foolery's head still. She had endured the attack without resorting to any special method, but she was clearly enjoying how her opponents were using better attacks.

As for Steven, he stopped himself after a few seconds to create another giant arrow. His darker energy flowed into the weapon until he launched it toward Decumia.

The Foolery released another fart to keep Decumia stuck on the sky, and the arrow eventually landed on it. Still, the attack seeped through its body without inflicting any damage.

Decumia saw the giant arrow coming out of the Foolery's head, but she let it crash on her. Steven could feel his energy entering Decumia's world and hurting her cultivation level, but those effects remained quite superficial.

"Did you get faster because of the smoke?" Decumia asked in an amused tone.

"That's right!" The Foolery announced as it tried to squash Decumia on the sky. "My farts and the smoke have fused to create the ultimate movement technique."

"You are so funny," Decumia laughed. "Still, your power is not even close to enough."

Decumia's purple aura came out of her hands and seeped inside the Foolery. The pig's thoughts and power grew messy as Decumia's influence released its effects.

The Foolery's eyes began to shine with a purple light as its innate violence calmed down. The pig was falling prey to Decumia, but a wall of darkness suddenly crashed on them and cleansed its centers of power.

"Get out of there!" Steven shouted while charging toward Decumia.

The Foolery instinctively followed those directives while trying to sort out its thoughts. Steven could crash on Decumia and unleash a giant sphere of dark power that carried intense anger, and the explosion that followed even dimmed the light in that part of the sky.

Steven quickly retreated to reach the Foolery. His world lost power as it stopped burning, but he still filled the pig with his energy to remove every trace of Decumia's influence.

"What happened?" The Foolery asked as its body slowly mended its injuries and put an end to the grey fumes coming out of them.

"She tried to implant herself into your centers of power," Steven explained. "Honestly, I have yet to understand the full extent of her abilities."

"We should just eat her," The Foolery snorted. "I'll tell you her taste afterward."

"Didn't you already eat some of her energy?" Steven asked.

"Yes," The Foolery admitted, "But it felt strange. It didn't have a single taste."

"I obviously don't have a single taste," Decumia's voice resounded next to Steven and the Foolery, forcing them to turn toward the purple light that began on their right.

The Foolery promptly bit on the purple light and ate what it could, but Decumia materialized in front of it anyway. Moreover, the energy that the pig had eaten began to affect its mind again, but Steven took care of removing that influence right away.

"Stop doing that!" The Foolery complained when its thoughts stabilized, but Decumia barely cared about her situation as she took its head between her hands.

"Why would I do that?" Decumia chuckled. "You are too funny. I can feel that you can spread a lot of chaos through my power."

"So, you acknowledge my power," The Foolery commented while trying to lift its head, but Decumia's grasp prevented it from moving.

"Only idiots wouldn't acknowledge your value," Decumia said.

"Hey, Steven," The Foolery called. "I'm starting to like her."

"What do you have in mind?" Steven cursed as his aura spread to prevent Decumia's influence from entering the pig.

"You have become boring," Decumia sighed while glancing at Steven. "Your time is over."

"What-?!" Steven tried to ask, but his torso exploded. Purple light took over the entire area and pushed Steven's damaged world away.
Chapter 2258: 2258. Trade
'What happened?' Steven thought as he tried his best to stabilize his messy mind.

Strands of mental waves left Steven's maimed world and sent information back to his core. He slowly understood what had happened, and his condition only brought sadness.

Decumia had destroyed Steven's torso. His limbs had turned into dark shards that had dispersed into the void, while his head had remained mostly intact. Still, it floated aimlessly through the battlefield now since Steven found himself unable to muster his power.

'I see,' Steven commented. 'I lost.'

The realization wasn't too surprising. Steven had always known that Decumia was too strong for him. He couldn't hurt her even after setting his own world aflame to release more power.

That sheer difference of power wasn't something Steven could fill with mere determination. Even his anger toward Heaven and Earth couldn't achieve that much. It was simply impossible for an expert at his level to defeat Decumia.

'What now?' Steven wondered as he struggled to keep his thoughts steady.

Recovering was possible. Steven could join the structures turned ethereal by Pellio and spend time healing. His injuries were deep, but his journey wasn't over. It was unclear whether he had the potential to surpass the ninth rank, but he definitely had the chance to reach its peak.

Nevertheless, retreating now would inevitably lead to a single conclusion. Steven wouldn't have the time to recover completely before the end of the final battle. He could preserve his life and his cultivation journey, but the price to pay was his presence in the last struggle against Heaven and Earth.

Difference existences would have taken their time to ponder over the issue. After all, retreating among the inscriptions wouldn't make them completely useless. They could still help coordinate eventual defenses or provide information.

However, Steven wasn't a common existence. He was part of Noah's core team. He had already accomplished decent feats on the battlefield, but his status asked more from him.

No doubts appeared in Steven's mind. He had been ready to die before. The arrival of the Foolery had delayed that choice, but the situation didn't change even after those reinforcements.

Decumia was an opponent that had to die to pave the path toward victory, and Steven could help there. To use the Foolery's words, that was his role on the battlefield.

The Foolery remained confused. It wanted to eat Decumia, but its head was stuck in her grasp. Moreover, the energy that she released affected its mind and enhanced aspects of its character that didn't perfectly align with Noah's group.

The Foolery was more than a simple magical beast, but its instincts remained strong. Also, its idiocy was a core part of its personality. It could ignore it at will, but Decumia could exploit it anyway.

The winged pig's eyes turned purple as Decumia continued to pour her energy inside its body. She even allowed the Foolery to eat pieces of her whenever it risked breaking out of her control. She wanted to subdue it thoroughly, but her power suddenly left the area.

Decumia didn't know what had happened. She didn't feel any change in her surroundings, but her influence had vanished. That effect didn't only affect the power inside the Foolery. Even her body lost the purple energy that ran through it.

Usually, a technique able to affect the power of a privileged cultivator in the solid stage wasn't something that could go unnoticed. Decumia was even special in that category. In theory, the sole act of suppressing her power would require a massive ability.

Yet, Decumia didn't feel anything. Also, she didn't only see her influence losing power. Her very energy had disappeared. Her world was refilling her figure quickly, but that didn't change how amazing the event had been.

"What?!" The Foolery gasped now that it could think properly. "What happened?"

"I guess he wasn't so boring in the end," Decumia sighed as she glanced at a spot on her right.

The darkness of the void seemed to condense, but Decumia knew that her eyes were lying to her. She couldn't actually see what was happening, but she could understand the nature of that event by studying what she couldn't sense.

A dense power that Decumia's mental waves couldn't touch was condensing at her side. That black power quickly took a humanoid shape, and a dark version of Steven eventually materialized.

"What have you done to yourself?" Decumia chuckled. "Do you think that achieving a temporary superior stage will be enough to defeat me?"

"Pig, I need you to promise something," Steven announced as his solid stage cultivation level exploded outward and filled the area with his dark energy. "When the moment arrives, don't hesitate."

"Wow!" The Foolery squealed. "I told you that-."

"Pig, I'm serious," Steven interrupted. "Be ready."

"What?" The Foolery repeated while tilting its head to its left. "I don't understand what you mean, but sure. I'm always ready."

Steven glanced at the confused pig before heaving a sigh. He would have normally chosen someone else, but the situation didn't allow him to be picky. Also, the Foolery strangely suited his plans, so he had to stick with it.

"Nice energy!" Decumia exclaimed as she inspected her hands and tried to summon her purple energy. "It seems that you can finally affect me properly. Still, shouldn't this go against your world? You are suppressing power that I obtained on my own even before joining Heaven and Earth."

"You are an asset of the sky," Steven declared. "I exist, so I can suppress you."

"Something so vague wouldn't have the power to suppress me," Decumia stated. "I would understand if you were at my level, but you are still far weaker than me. Reaching the solid stage didn't change that."

"Is that so?" Steven asked before pointing his hand forward.

An arrow shot out of Steven's hand, and Decumia summoned her aura to shield herself from the incoming attack. However, her energy suddenly disappeared, and the same went for the weapon.

Decumia prepared herself to explode with power and overcome the suppression of the dark aura, but the arrow suddenly reappeared inside her chest. The weapon actually created a hole that pierced her from side to side and left a mark on her world.

"Ooh," Decumia voiced before grabbing the arrow and shattering it seemingly through raw strength.

Steven didn't stop there. He teleported in front of Decumia before stabbing his hand in the hole. A shockwave followed the gesture, and Decumia soon found herself flying away with an even larger injury.

"I'm starting to get it," Decumia exclaimed as a laugh escaped her mouth.

Steven materialized in front of Decumia again to place a hand on her forehead. A dark wave of energy left his palm and seeped inside her world to cause as much damage as possible.

The attack caused an explosion that pushed Decumia on the sky. She slammed on the white layer without trying to stop her descent. Cracks opened on her figure, but her body instantly healed now that she could gain access to her purple energy.

"I get it now," Decumia laughed. "You have purified your existence to make it perform a single task. Am I so important to you?"

"You are a hindrance on the path to victory," Steven declared. "Removing you is necessary. Trading my existence for that is more than worth it."

"That only if you can defeat me," Decumia replied as multiple purple tendrils came out of her back. "Bring it on."
Chapter 2259: 2259. Evaluation
"Your power can't exist in my presence!" Steven announced while launching a wave of black energy toward Decumia.

Decumia didn't stay passive anymore. Her purple tendrils shot forward and expanded to take the shape of multiple barriers, but her efforts turned out to be pointless.

Steven's wave of energy seeped past the purple barriers as if they weren't even there. The latter vanished among the blackness, and Steven's attack crashed on his opponent before unleashing the entirety of its power.

Multiple gory injuries opened on Decumia's body, and a torrent of blood even came out of her mouth as she endured the damage. The sky behind her also darkened due to the effects of Steven's power, but the battle intent carried by her eyes never dimmed.

The sky regained its light in no time, and the same went for Decumia's injuries. She fixed her condition as soon as energy flowed inside her body. Also, a shockwave spread under her feet to fling her toward her opponent.

Decumia's dash was incredibly fast, but Steven couldn't be taken by surprise in that state. Decumia reached him in an instant and pierced his body, but his dark figure exploded in a cloud of smoke that trapped the privileged cultivator.

Decumia saw her energy abandoning her body again even if she tried to shield herself from the smoke. Her power appeared useless against Steven, but the battle intent in her gaze only intensified as she continued to lose exchanges.

Steven materialized above Decumia with a giant arrow in his grasp. The black gas converged toward him to add power to his weapon, and the process trapped Decumia inside a dense suction force.

Steven threw the arrow, and Decumia found herself pierced from head to toe. The damage expanded to her world, and she remained stuck in that position due to her lack of energy.

Black smoke left Steven's figure once again and prevented Decumia from accumulating power. She remained impaled in the giant arrow, and the gas around her quickly condensed into multiple needles that converged toward her body.

Countless holes and injuries opened on Decumia's body. She turned into an impaled and spiked mess, and Steven had no intention of letting her go just yet.

Steven appeared tired from his effort. His dark figure had lost part of its blackness and had started to regain proper colors, but he forced more energy to come out of him and take the shape of multiple weapons.

Swords, arrows, needles, bolts, and formless waves of energy crashed on the powerless Decumia to add injuries to her figure and world. She remained stuck in that relentless assault for multiple exchanges, and her aura finally started to show the effects of that offensive.

Decumia wasn't only losing power. Her influence dimmed to the point that King Elbas' buildings could save energy and divert part of their focus on other aspects of the battlefield.

Decumia's cultivation level had also started to waver. It finally abandoned the peak of the solid stage and began to fall. The process was by no means quick, but it showed how Steven's efforts were effective.

The two leaders from Heaven and Earth's army who had yet to join the battlefield inspected the scene calmly. The middle-aged woman appeared interested in the main fights, while the old man remained relatively cold.

"Should we help Decumia?" The middle-aged woman wondered from behind her smile. "She is losing ground."

"Focusing our forces on a single opponent will work against us," The old man replied. "Letting go of our numerical advantage is a tactical mistake."

"I think we already lost that," The middle-aged woman chuckled. "Our opponents are a bit too resourceful."

The battlefield appeared relatively even now. Decumia's technique had led to many casualties on her side, even if they mostly involved weaker experts.

As for the stronger existences, the roots, Alexander, Noah, and the dragons were claiming most of their attention. Heaven and Earth's side still had more assets than its opponents, but that wasn't helping in the current state of the battlefield.

"Even the Rulers' Resolve is fighting at full power," The middle-aged woman commented. "We might really need to do something at this pace."

"Don't forget our orders," The old man reminded.

"You are always so serious," The middle-aged woman sighed.

"Everything is going according to Caesar's predictions," The old man replied. "Affecting the battlefield now won't bring any benefit."

"You are right," The middle-aged woman uttered.

"Besides," The old man continued, "I don't think they would lose so soon."

"That's obvious," The middle-aged woman responded. "I guess I was getting bored. Decumia's influence must have gotten to my mind."

"It's not only Decumia's fault," The old man explained while inspecting his hands. "This battlefield is unique. I can feel its influence trying to affect my thoughts. There is a constant force attempting to draw me into pointless fights."

"Is that Noah Balvan's doing?" The middle-aged woman asked while expanding her consciousness to inspect the battlefield thoroughly. "I can't sense anything specific."

"I might have failed to explain myself properly," The old man exclaimed. "It's not a single force. Every asset on this battlefield is affecting the universe in some way. The higher plane is striving toward chaos and wants us to join it."

"I bet only you realized that," The middle-aged woman teased.

"I'm sure some of our opponents experienced similar realizations," The old man revealed. "Maybe they have happened unconsciously, but we can clearly see their effects. Limits are crumbling everywhere on the battlefield. Even ants are starting to leave their mark on the universe."

"This outcome is proper of a final battle," The middle-aged woman stated. "It wouldn't make sense for the universe to remain silent when an entire higher plane is at war."

"Heaven and Earth wouldn't have managed to cause something so profound on their own," The old man added.

"Are you praising our opponents now?" The middle-aged woman mocked.

"Their will is stronger than ours," The old man admitted. "They are worthy final opponents."

"It almost sounds as if you want them to succeed," The middle-aged woman hinted in a cold tone.

"Maybe part of me wants that," The old man responded. "How funny."

"Do I have to kill you now to avoid troubles?" The middle-aged woman asked while hiding her smile behind her hand.

"I was only giving a fair evaluation of our opponents," The old man explained. "Also, you should save your strength. Our time is about to arrive."

Steven threw everything he had at Decumia without ever taking breaks. He could feel his world getting close to running dry of energy, but he never stopped attacking.

Meanwhile, Decumia remained powerless. Her energy never had the chance to fill her body since Steven destroyed it as soon as it tried to come out of her world.

Decumia could only continue to suffer injuries, but Steven knew that she was planning something. That was the very reason behind his relentless offensive. Even if she managed to counter him at some point, she would be too weak to be a threat to his companions.

Steven believed to have enough time to damage Decumia's world thoroughly, but she ended up surpassing his expectations. Steven had launched another array of black weapons, but they suddenly left their trajectory and failed to crash on Decumia.

The event stunned Steven, but he promptly prepared another wave of attacks. However, Decumia used that chance to burst out with purple power and free herself from the many weapons stabbed in her body.

The explosion of power didn't affect Steven. He let the purple energy envelop him as he unfolded his black gas again. He wanted to suppress his opponent, but his smoke ignored his orders and flew in random directions.
Chapter 2260: 2260. Rotation
Steven didn't know why his energy had started acting on its own. He couldn't believe that Decumia had managed to affect it, but he didn't find other explanations for the event.

Purple energy exploded in every direction around Decumia, but Steven could hover among it without suffering any damage. His black smoke also protected him from that purple halo, but his expression was far from happy while he inspected the scene.

Something was forcing his energy to escape his control. Moreover, Steven couldn't even find the source of that event. In theory, his very power went against Decumia's existence, but he knew that his battle wasn't going through external influences.

"Your confused expression is nice," Decumia said in a rough voice as energy flowed into her body and closed the many injuries to restore her appearance.

Steven didn't answer. He kept his attention on the clashing attacks to study their behavior. His black cloud continued to expand randomly, and its properties partially halted the destructive power carried by the wave of purple energy.

The clash caused no explosions. The two powers blended and dispersed as they tried to affect the universe. The void didn't react to those waves of energy, so they both vanished in the blackness around Steven and Decumia.

"How did you counter my existence?" Steven directly asked since he couldn't find answers. Testing his theories with more attacks would also work against him, so he hoped that Decumia's ego would help him out.

"I already told you everything," Decumia laughed. "Also, I didn't affect your existence. Your energy simply fell prey to my chaos."

'Chaos?' Steven wondered as he reviewed everything he knew about Decumia.

Decumia had yet to use specific attacks. The tendrils that had empowered her underlings had been her most peculiar ability, but that didn't express anything unique. She had simply shared her experience and energy to broaden those experts' minds.

It was clear that Decumia's world didn't focus on supporting others. Her character gave too much away, and someone like Steven could see through that. Her ability had to involve something that she could use on her own and everywhere, even without entire armies around her.

"What?" Decumia asked. "Are you exhausted already?"

Steven snorted while pointing his hand downward. He couldn't understand what had gone wrong with his previous attack, and thinking wasn't helping. He could only resume his offensive and hope to find a solution before running dry of energy.

Steven didn't summon his usual arrow. He diversified his offensive by creating multiple weapons and shapes around him before launching them forward.

Decumia could understand Steven's plan right away. The vast offensive with different assets would give Steven the chance to study which attacks suffered from Decumia's influence. That would hopefully give him ideas on how to prevent the event.

Decumia revealed a smirk as she stretched her arms and exploded with purple power. Her offensive carried no unique traits, and Steven's weapons pierced it easily. However, some of them ended up changing their trajectory and missing their target.

Many attacks still fell on Decumia and pierced her figure. Steven didn't hesitate to follow with another offensive, but his opponent flew away before his new weapons could converge on her.

Steven had injured Decumia. Her lever wasn't at the peak of the ninth rank anymore, so he could follow her movements and launch another wave of attacks toward her escaping figure.

Decumia laughed as a purple wave came out of her body and made her figure disappear. The incoming attacks vanished among her energy, but Steven could still sense her, and he didn't hesitate to launch more weapons toward her.

That scene happened a few times. Decumia stopped moving only when Steven's surroundings had fallen prey to intense purple light. His black aura quickly shot out of his body to disperse that power, but he remained speechless when he saw his energy flowing backward.

Steven almost couldn't believe his eyes. He had turned his black energy into currents of power meant to pierce through the purple halo, but those attacks were flowing back into his body.

Steven confirmed that he could control his energy, but that only made the situation more unbelievable. His power heard his orders but seemed unable to follow them.

Dots suddenly connected in Steven's mind. Understanding dawned upon him when he took Decumia's words literally. She wasn't talking about was a proper ability or, rather, an influence impossible to escape.

"You," Steven gasped without adding anything. He couldn't find words to describe that idea.

"Did you get it?" Decumia wondered. "I admit that my power isn't easy to understand. It goes against the natural functioning of most things in the end."

"It doesn't go against anything," Steven corrected. "You simply cause chaos."

Decumia revealed a meaningful smirk at that statement. Steven didn't need to ask more questions to know that his guess had been on point, but his stupor didn't vanish.

The ability to cause chaos sounded ridiculous among experts who had spent entire millennia or eras learning to control their abilities. Yet, Decumia seemed able to do just that, and the consequences of that power felt impossible to predict.

Everything made sense when Steven thought about it. His side was slowly gaining ground, so Decumia's chaos had made her underlings grow stronger.

The Foolery wasn't too problematic, but Decumia liked its idiocy, so her chaos was turning it into her puppet.

As for Steven, his power could hurt Decumia, so her chaos was making the dark aura go out of control.

Decumia's power seemed to have no limits in terms of applications. She resembled Divine Demon in that field but with more control over her energy.

Nevertheless, that was also a weakness. Decumia didn't have access to the energy of the world. She had to rely on her existence to express those effects, which meant that she could grow tired. Injuries could even affect her performance, and Steven only needed that to explode with even more resolve.

Steven seemed to call upon the entirety of his power as he summoned an immense array of arrows. He didn't waste time testing which attacks had a higher chance of reaching his opponent now. He only wanted to launch everything he had before Decumia's chaos affected him.

"Smart move," Decumia commented. "I didn't think your existence would have resisted so long against me. Yet, I'm glad that my first opponent in this battle can offer a decent fight."

"Enough with words," Steven snorted. "You will die, Heaven and Earth will die, and the sky will crumble. I might not live to see any of that, but I'll still be a core part of that path."

"We'll see about that," Decumia laughed as she summoned her orange energy to create an exact copy of the array of arrows.

The battlefield lit up with black and purple light as Steven and Decumia sent energy to their offensive. They were almost ready to have one last exchange, but both felt forced to divert their attention and perform evasive maneuvers.

A monstrous roar filled the higher plane and killed all the weaker experts who found themselves without defenses or superiors around them. Then, countless currents of sharp black energy flew randomly and cut severed anything that dared to stand in their path.

The entire battlefield turned toward the source of that attack once the waves of energy crashed into the sky. Every asset could see that the landmass had completely rotated to point at Divine Architect's castle, and more sharp power was accumulating on its edges.
Chapter 2261: 2261. Guardian
"It's time," The solid stage old man hovering before the sky announced.

"It's more powerful than I expected," The middle-aged woman commented while inspecting the landmass.

"Almost every major expert among our opponents has added something to that landmass," The old man stated. "It would be strange if it lacked power."

One thing became clear to the entire battlefield. The landmass had completely awakened, and its heavy power spread to every corner of the higher plane.

Violent sharpness unfolded. The landmass had released random waves of energy during its awakening, and they had ended up invading almost every fight on the battlefield. Yet, its sole presence was enough to fill the higher plane with heavy power that threatened to cut anything on its path.

The landmass had transformed the environment. It was awake now, so the higher plane had turned into something that weaker beings couldn't endure. The various rank 8 leaders had to unfold their auras to protect their underlings, but the effort depleted their energy quickly.

Only rank 9 existences could survive in that new version of the higher plane without relying on defensive techniques. However, a few of them still preferred to deploy protections since their worlds couldn't endure that pressure for too long. Their very structure would suffer damage otherwise.

"Roar to your fullest!" Sword Saint shouted while flying next to the landmass. "Announce to the whole world that a new blade has stepped into the battlefield!"

The landmass seemed to understand Sword Saint's orders, and another roar followed them.

The deep cry was loud enough to disperse and destroy all the techniques summoned by beings below the ninth rank. Still, that was only the beginning of the attack.

Countless strands of dark energy shot in every direction and filled the higher plane. A wave of blackness covered the void and carried intense sharpness that aimed to kill anyone daring to fly on the battlefield.

King Elbas and Divine Architect snorted almost at the same time as they gave different orders to their structures.

The nine towers turned ethereal before teleporting into different areas of the battlefield and releasing dark-blue light. That halo didn't bother trying to stop the incoming sharpness. Instead, it focused on creating multiple shields and barriers to keep the underlings safe.

King Elbas' wall also split into different buildings that flew toward various spots of the battlefield. Their movements created various currents and golden bubbles that opened separate dimensions where his underlings could hide.

Both experts had tried to limit their losses, but the landmass ended up escaping their calculations. The black waves of sharp energy pierced some of the protections and killed the experts inside them without caring about their side.

"They are always so messy," King Elbas complained, but a faint smirk appeared on his face anyway.

Divine Architect remained silent to inspect the sharp waves of energy. They continued to fly until they reached the areas near the sky, where they found hindrances strong enough to stop them.

Many rank 9 experts and weapons were still hovering near the sky, so those powerful but random waves of sharp energy ended up dispersing during the clash. Even the forests of roots were too powerful for those casual attacks. Still, that didn't speak for their might.

The landmass had simply roared. The energy that had followed that cry was strong enough to be classified as an attack, but it wasn't an actual ability.

The giant home that Noah and the others had created had yet to reveal its full power. It had merely decided to step on the battlefield, but its might was something that even King Elbas and Sword Saint would struggle to predict.

Of course, Sword Saint didn't even bother to check the landmass' power. He was happy to have witnessed the birth of a new blade, but the latter had to live on its own now.

The landmass gathered energy as it remained pointed at the castle. Its sharp edges grew darker, and its structure thinned, but its presence intensified.

The raw weight that the landmass unleashed on the higher plane forced many fights to end. The experts involved in those battles couldn't summon their energy or exchange attacks when that sharp atmosphere destroyed them as soon as they left their bodies.

The weapons and avatars had it far worse since they weren't programmed to defend against that threat. They tried to keep fighting, but their efforts only depleted their energy and damaged their structure.

A low growl eventually came out of the landmass, and everyone's survival instincts suddenly screamed. Something big was about to arrive, and even the rank 9 experts couldn't afford to be distracted during that event. Their very lives were about to be in danger.

A massive amount of energy gathered inside the landmass and intensified the effects that its presence was unleashing. An attack would arrive at any second, and the entire battlefield opened to leave a path where that power could travel.

Clouds and storms appeared around the landmass. Its energy was so thick that the environment couldn't remain still during the event. Then, a second, deeper growl came out of its dark surface, and everything went still for an instant.

The very void seemed to tremble as the landmass gathered everything it had on its tip and unleashed its offensive. A shadow as big as the creature shot forward before disappearing in the next second.

Countless defensive techniques lit up as every expert on the battlefield expected a massive wave of energy to fill the higher plane. However, the attack didn't cause any consequences. It simply disappeared.

The underlings couldn't see what had happened, but Noah and the other leaders frowned or showed surprised expressions after the exchange. Their eyes went to a spot right above the landmass, and the same went for their mental waves. Everyone wanted to study the expert who had stopped the attack.

"Quite powerful, aren't we?" The old man announced while hovering above the landmass.

The privileged cultivator shook his fuming hand to disperse the smoke generated during the impact. His palm soon revealed a small cut, but that injury closed in a few seconds.

The landmass took a while to understand what had happened, but a deafening roar followed that realization. Its cry was so loud that even more barriers and experts shattered, but the privileged cultivator remained unfazed by that attack.

The landmass didn't stop there. It amassed power to unleash another giant attack, but the privileged cultivator dashed downward to place his palm on the sharp tip.

That simple gesture dispersed the energy accumulated by the landmass and prevented the arrival of the attack. Nevertheless, the privileged cultivator had to retract his arm since the black fabric of the creature was devouring his skin.

"You shouldn't touch it without its permission," Sword Saint exclaimed while teleporting next to the privileged cultivator.

"The guardian," The old man sighed. "I expected you."

"A sword must run free," Sword Saint declared. "You are on its path. I can't have that."

"There is no path," The old man stated before performing a side-step.

Sword Saint's arm suddenly materialized next to the privileged cultivator's cheek. An injury even opened on that spot and leaked a few drops of blood. Meanwhile, the rest of Sword Saint's body appeared and revealed how he had already teleported into that new position.
Chapter 2262: 2262. Storms
Sword Saint was one of the greatest maniacs in the entire higher plane, but he was by no means dumb. His intelligence was mostly sharpness-related, but that didn't make him unable to understand basic things like the fantastic feats of his existence.

King Elbas and the other major players who watched the short exchange between Sword Saint and the old man also understood that something incredible had just happened. Sword Saint's casual attack had hurt one of the strongest privileged cultivators on Heaven and Earth's side.

The injury suffered by the old man was nothing significant. It was a small cut that leaked a few drops of blood before closing. The wound didn't even stretch to his world, but it had opened nonetheless.

The event proved something amazing to both sides involved in the final battle. The leaders from Noah's organizations could match the best assets in Heaven and Earth's army. Great Builder's fight had left that matter unclear, but Sword Saint's attack had brought a definite answer.

The landmass didn't care that Sword Saint had come in its defense. It barely noticed that something so tiny was unfolding before its tip. The creature wanted bigger targets, and Divine Architect's castle was a good start.

Dense energy began to flow inside the landmass to fill every corner of its structure. The areas around the creature darkened due to the weight of its sharp aura, and danger appeared in everyone's minds.

"Are you really set on letting this creature attack?" The old man calmly wondered without moving away from that odd position. "It will hurt you. It will hurt everyone."

"That's one of the many natures of a blade," Sword Saint responded. "Those who can't stand it will simply die."

"Quite merciless, aren't we?" The old man commented while showing a faint smirk.

Sword Saint ignored that answer and waved his arm. The attack aimed to cut off the privileged cultivator's head, but the latter half-crouched and let the limb sever only a tiny chunk of his flesh.

Normal humans would have died after suffering a similar injury. However, the battle involved gods at the peak of the cultivation journey. The old man lost a small chunk of his head, but he regrew it in no time. The wound didn't even reach his world.

Sword Saint didn't stop there. His figure lit up with silver light as his arm descended in an attempt to cut his opponent in half.

The privileged cultivator couldn't perform his previous slight dodges against that attack. Sword Saint would cover a vast area with his sharp energy, so a mere side-step or slight movement wouldn't get the old man out of the technique's trajectory.

Nevertheless, what happened left speechless all the experts who were paying attention to those exchanges. Sword Saint swung his arm downward, but his energy dispersed when the old man performed a strange movement.

The privileged cultivator's hands seemed to turn into snakes as he stabbed his fingers on precise spots of Sword Saint's arm. Some went on his wrist, while others on his elbow, which forced the limb to bend in an unusual way and release the accumulated energy.

The attack failed due to the privileged cultivator's technique. Sword Saint's energy still unleashed its sharpness during its violent release, but the old man only suffered superficial injuries due to the innate defenses protecting his world.

The surprising event wasn't the end of it. The landmass had continued to accumulate energy during the exchange without caring or paying attention to the two powerful experts fighting right above its tip.

The landmass finished accumulating energy when the privileged cultivator performed his technique, and it didn't hesitate to unleash it. A massive shadow came out of the creature and shot forward, but its path was cut short by a giant green barrier that endured the entirety of its might.

The clash created a shockwave that made the entire higher plane fall into pure chaos. The landmass' attack contained so much energy that even multiple solid stage cultivators would struggle to endure it. The impact on the barrier created violent storms that spread everywhere on the battlefield.

Those storms carried only a fraction of what the landmass had planned to release into a single attack, but they remained strong enough to endanger most of both armies.

Divine Architect disregarded the danger that fell on her army, but King Elbas couldn't be as uncaring as her. His whole figure lit up with golden light as he summoned the full power of the now-golden city.

Countless buildings materialized on the battlefield and created portals, teleports, and separate dimensions that absorbed the many underlings on the landmass' side and brought them to safety.

The formations that Pellio had turned ethereal to let the landmass run free found themselves filled with platoons and injured experts. King Elbas had teleported everyone there. Still, he couldn't add protections to their figures.

Pellio promptly interrupted his technique and let the arrays of formations apply their power on the higher plane. Countless inscriptions lit up with multicolored lights and shielded the experts inside them from the violent storms flying everywhere on the battlefield.

Thousands of explosions resounded at the same time as the storms crashed on avatars, weapons, defenses, and formations. The dark energy unleashed by the landmass appeared endless, so the low rumblings continued for many seconds.

Only the sky seemed immune to those sharp storms. The dark energy fell on the white surface in countless spots, but the event didn't cause explosions. The dark power dispersed in front of walls that it couldn't pierce.

Of course, the battlefield didn't suddenly become empty. King Elbas had made sure to save most of his underlings, but the other leaders had handled their own protections.

The same went for the leaders in Heaven and Earth's army. The higher plane transformed into a raging mass of dark energy interrupted only by small multicolored lights created by the various experts' defenses.

The bigger ones were green, the same green as the barrier that had stopped the landmass' attack. Noah's black aura came second in that field since the roots unleashed the peak of their corrosive properties to defend against the incoming storms.

It became impossible to fight on the battlefield for a few seconds. Battles couldn't happen in that environment, but Noah and a few major experts used that chaos to press on with their offensive.

Noah didn't care that his mind felt about to explode. He was letting the parasite's desire to consume the whole world take control of his actions to reduce the pressure on his consciousness.

Noah became a pure embodiment of destruction as he created even more forests. The parasite had every intention to cover the entire sky with its branches, but some privileged cultivator or powerful avatar always prevented it from expanding too much.

That didn't stop Noah from releasing even more seeds. He knew that the branches were keeping many powerful experts busy, so he never stopped the parasite from going wild.

The parasite was part of Noah's world, so filling the higher plane with branches benefited his existence. He could feel raw potential building up inside him as he flew non-stop alongside the sky, but he could also sense how he would eventually run dry of power.

However, those worries never became able to take control of Noah's mind. He wasn't ignoring his condition, but he had far sadder matters to think about. He was keeping track of the major battles, so he knew that many of his friends wouldn't live to see the fall of the sky.
Chapter 2263: 2263. Sides
Great Builder was going all-out against the Rulers' Resolve. Their battle was massive and captured vast areas of the battlefield in explosions and incredible attacks.

It was impossible to predict who would win, but Great Builder appeared on the losing end. He was hurting his opponent, but the effort depleted his energy quickly, and it was unclear how long he could keep that up.

Steven's situation was even worse. The landmass' attack had interrupted his offensive, but he was still relying on all the energy inside his world to match Decumia's power. Moreover, he couldn't inflict serious injuries even while going all-out.

Emperor, Vesuvia, Pellio, Queen, Cursed Reality, and Supreme Thief were fine. The landmass' storms couldn't hurt them, and their opponents weren't their match.

Some experts among Heaven and Earth's army could cause trouble for those leaders, but the battles became even only when the former relied on their numerical advantage. Many fights involved more than a couple of assets, which prevented losses or victories on both sides.

Alexander and Noah were in a similar situation since they had attracted enough attention. Both of them had a group of privileged cultivators chasing them closely, but they were avoiding a direct battle for now.

Wilfred was having fun with a solid stage cultivator, while Sepunia, Maribel, and June had to use King Elbas' assets to avoid the dark storms. They didn't need those buildings to protect themselves, but saving energy was too crucial since they had already suffered injuries.

Instead, the winged pig was too proud or dumb to use King Elbas' assets. Steven had even asked it to be ready, which was quite confusing as an order.

That confusion forced the Foolery to remain in its position and endure the full might of the dark storms. Noah didn't know if the pig could deploy defensive abilities that didn't involve farts, but the latter didn't bother to try and let those attacks land on its body.

King Elbas appeared completely fine, especially since the castle had protected him. However, commanding the entire golden city and managing so many teleports at the same time had affected his mind, and he was sure that Divine Architect had noticed that.

Divine Demon was the only expert who had yet to meet a proper hindrance or someone who could slow him down. He was unstoppable even with multiple privileged cultivators attacking him at the same time.

No one seemed able to face Divine Demon's attacks, but Heaven and Earth's assets couldn't let him roam freely. They had to do their best to suppress and isolate his power so that the battlefield as a whole wouldn't suffer.

The underlings were also winning, but Noah couldn't find any happiness in that. King Elbas had saved many of them, but a lot had died, and Noah could only accept that as an inevitable outcome of the final battle.

Noah was ready for that outcome, but seeing it first-hand generated emotions too intense to suppress or ignore. Everything had moved quickly due to King Elbas' ploy, so many losses had happened earlier than Noah expected.

'Life is frail,' Noah couldn't help but think while his thoughts remained on the battlefield.

A few storms still raged in Noah's vision, but he could go through them easily. His body could endure that destruction, especially since part of it resonated with his world.

Multiple presences appeared in the range of Noah's consciousness. Many of them only paid attention to him without doing anything special, but others actively followed him in a desperate attempt to contain the expansion of the roots.

Noah acted almost on auto-pilot. He was faster than the experts behind him, and his understanding of destruction had reached depts that allowed him to predict where to fly to inflict more damage.

That understanding also involved the areas that were about to go through a vast storm or a powerful attack. Noah's predictions could be far off when it came to solid stage experts, but they became strangely on point whenever he focused only on the path ahead.

Noah knew that he was improving from that destruction. He was getting closer to the last stage of the ninth rank due to the many experts radiating his influence.

The landmass' forces were Noah's forces. He had created that organization and had allowed it to join the final battle. Even the losses could give him power.

Still, as much as Noah sensed his power deepening, he couldn't close his eyes before all the sad moments that the battlefield featured. Moreover, the threats his opponents had yet to show filled his thoughts and forced him to focus on more than his level.

Caesar had yet to do anything significant. The expert was watching every battle unfold and end without intervening or using his power. Yet, a smirk never left his face, even when the scenery mostly offered the many deaths of his underlings.

Noah even knew that Caesar was only another expert to overcome. The actual final battle wouldn't feature him or the other leaders. Everything would be decided once Heaven and Earth broke free of the old rulers' restrictions and descended on the battlefield.

'How long do we have?' Noah wondered while inspecting the dimming net that covered the sky.

It was clear that Heaven and Earth were slowly overcoming that restriction. It was actually incredible that the old rulers had managed to keep such mighty opponents away for so long.

Noah couldn't achieve such a feat, even if he summoned the help of his entire organization. Only the old rulers could have done that, and their sacrifice had opened a path to victory that would have been far bloodier otherwise.

'Maybe it's time to fight seriously,' Noah wondered as his attention moved toward the green lights that had appeared during the chaos generated by the dark storms.

Blocking the landmass' full might wasn't something that simple experts could accomplish. The old man had stopped two attacks, while the green barrier had blocked the third. Moreover, that green energy had also taken care of protecting a few core underlings in Heaven and Earth's army.

Finding the source of that green energy wasn't an issue. Only one expert on Heaven and Earth's side could wield such incredible power, and only one cultivator among the leaders had yet to show her abilities.

The middle-aged woman reappeared right before the sky once the black storms dispersed. She appeared curious about the landmass, but that expression was probably a pretense.

Noah could see evident understanding in the privileged cultivator's eyes. She had seen through the raw power of the landmass during the previous exchanges, which probably explained how she had managed to counter its last attack.

Taking that cultivator down seemed one of the keys to victory. The old man was busy with Sword Saint. Caesar wasn't fighting, and Great Builder and King Elbas were handling the Rulers' Resolve and Divine Architect. Keeping the last leader busy was mandatory, to say the least.

Noah stopped his flight and watched as the privileged cultivators flying after him interrupted the chase to launch massive abilities. Multiple solid stage auras fused to converge toward his figure, but those torrents of energy vanished as soon as Shafu made its move from inside his body.

'I'll kill her and achieve the solid stage,' Noah declared in his mind as he ignored his pursuers and performed a movement technique to shoot toward the privileged cultivator.

Nevertheless, Noah felt forced to interrupt his advance since a few figures appeared in front of the middle-aged woman before he could do anything.

June, Sepunia, Maribel, the odd dragon, and the space dragon teleported in front of the privileged cultivator and prepared themselves for the fight. June even glared at the incoming Noah to express that she wanted that opponent for herself.
Chapter 2264: 2264. Teleports
'I missed my chance,' Noah laughed in his mind as he watched his companions teleporting in front of the privileged cultivator.

June's presence wasn't a surprise. Injuries still filled her body, but her condition was somewhat stable, which was enough for her.

Sepunia, Maribel, and the odd dragon were surprising additions to that team, but they also made sense. June wasn't strong enough to fight the privileged cultivator on her own, and those experts were the only available reinforcements. Everyone else was either injured or busy in other important battles.

Instead, the arrival of the space dragon was an unexpected event that Noah didn't know how to take. In theory, the creature didn't have proper intelligence anymore. It only had instincts meant to prioritize Heaven and Earth's destruction.

Of course, Noah could quickly guess that the space dragon had reached the same conclusions through its instincts. The current state of the battlefield required someone to defeat Heaven and Earth's leaders, so the upper tier creature had chosen to step forward.

Noah didn't answer June's glare. They had long since stopped requiring words to express their thoughts. His attention quickly went to the incoming privileged cultivators, but he flew away before entering their range.

The privileged cultivators didn't hesitate to chase after Noah, so June and the others could focus on their opponent without worrying about the rest of the battlefield. Nevertheless, the middle-aged woman only showed a playful smile as those experts encircled her.

"You shouldn't keep me busy," The middle-aged woman warned. "I'm saving countless lives by stopping the attacks of that creature."

The privileged cultivator wanted to go through the usual foreplay that preceded a battle, but her opponents had no intentions to waste time talking. Actually, some of them didn't even try to hold back their attacks.

The space dragon voiced a roar that vanished before it could create a soundwave. The void seemed to absorb that cry, but multiple orange portals soon materialized around the privileged cultivator to release that deafening noise.

Sepunia, Maribel, and June had to summon techniques to protect their senses since the portals had improved the cry to levels they couldn't normally endure.

Instead, the odd dragon experienced a power surge when hearing that cry. The creature's instincts ended up taking control of its actions and made it shoot forward to attack its opponent.

The privileged cultivator revealed a smirk as an oval barrier materialized around her body and shielded her from the incoming soundwave. The green energy in her surroundings also altered the nature of that attack and removed its most dangerous properties.

The odd dragon slammed on the barrier but failed to inflict any damage. Its physical strength alone couldn't do anything against that defense, and nothing changed when it released its black liquid.

June didn't hesitate to jump into the battle. The privileged cultivator had taken care of the cry, so she could retract her defensive technique and explode into a storm of lightning bolts that flew toward the green barrier.

Sepunia and Maribel were only one second late. Sepunia turned the whole area around the privileged cultivator pink to alter the nature of that chunk of space, while Maribel unleashed a beam made of dark energy.

The lightning bolts, the black beam, and the dark liquid crashed and expanded on the green barrier before turning everything into a fuming mess. The exchange didn't generate any explosion, but the group knew that their attacks had reached their targets.

The space dragon shot forward before the smoke could disperse. Its strange figure absorbed the fumes as it advanced and revealed what had happened after the many attacks had landed on the green barrier.

Sadly for June's group, the privileged cultivator's defense didn't suffer any damage. It had endured all those powerful abilities without even flinching, and that wasn't even the end of it.

The space dragon revealed a new ability of the privileged cultivator's barrier by crashing into it. The creature wasn't too big, but it carried the physical might of one of the strongest upper tier magical beasts in the entire higher plane.

Only some hybrids or magical beasts with an innate focus on physical strength could surpass the space dragon in that field, meaning that the offensive was incredible. However, the barrier didn't flinch. It even prevented the crash from creating shockwaves.

It became evident that the middle-aged woman's energy wasn't only powerful. It could deny specific effects or consequences, which added a lot of value to that power.

Yet, as much as June, Maribel, and Sepunia wanted to study their opponent, the space dragon didn't bother to waste time on those matters. The creature activated its innate ability, and the whole area turned into a mess.

The space dragon absorbed part of the green energy into its body before forcing it to appear in different areas. The barrier soon transformed into a series of messy chunks of dense power that conflicted with each other and left the privileged cultivator unprotected.

The odd dragon didn't hesitate to shoot through one of the openings created by the space dragons, and its companions helped with a dense offensive. June launched lightning bolts, Maribel used her destructive energy, and Sepunia tried to take control of the unprotected areas.

The privileged cultivator teleported away, but her technique seemed to malfunction since she didn't reach her intended destination. She reappeared pretty close to her previous spot, and multiple portals promptly materialized around her.

The abilities that the group had launched came out of those portals and converged toward the privileged cultivator. Chaos immediately spread, but the group couldn't rejoice since they didn't hear any explosion.

The smoke vanished instantly and revealed the privileged cultivator's green figure. Her aura had seeped out of her skin, and she managed to avoid any injury thanks to that.

The odd dragon suddenly came out of one of the portals, but a wave of green energy shot out of the privileged cultivator and slammed on its strange neck. The creature returned inside the teleport before coming out of another orange opening.

The privileged cultivator felt forced to launch another wave of energy, but the outcome of her attack didn't change. She pushed back the odd dragon inside the teleport, but it came out of another opening to resume its offensive.

June didn't hesitate to jump into that array of teleports, and the space dragon's incredible ability quickly became clear in her mind. The middle-aged woman launched a wave of energy toward June as soon as she came out of a portal, but that attack dispersed when she went back inside the opening.

The space dragon wasn't only allowing the group to attack from different spots. It was also teleporting the privileged cultivator's energy before it could hurt its companions. The orange openings were basically safe areas that could deny any damage.

June couldn't help but feel excited at that discovery. The space dragon was giving her the chance to attack recklessly without bothering about summoning defensive techniques. That was more than perfect for her.

"We can exhaust her energy if the dragon can keep up," Maribel stated as she approached the array of teleports.

Sepunia nodded as she chased after Maribel, but the privileged cultivator abruptly exploded with power and destroyed all the teleports around her. June and the odd dragon reappeared next to the space dragon, and that favorable offensive ended right away.

****

Author's notes: Shoutout to IndraDeus for the Golden Gachapon, and thank you to all the others sending gifts or dealing with the poor schedule. I'm doing my best.
Chapter 2265: 2265. Marcella
"Hey, use that technique again," June ordered as sparks began to flow over her figure.

The space dragon couldn't understand June's words, but it still followed that plan. A growl escaped its mouth, and a series of orange portals materialized around the privileged cultivator.

June's eyes lit up at that sight, and she quickly shot forward while leaving a trail of crackling sparks. Her figure was okay, but cracks appeared on it as her surge of power reopened some of the wounds that she had managed to patch up.

June disappeared as soon as she entered the array of teleports, but her figure didn't come out. Even the privileged cultivator seemed interested in the incoming offensive, but a sigh escaped her mouth when she saw multiple lightning bolts shooting out of the various portals.

"So, it's not just about portals," The middle-aged woman stated as she waved her hand to launch green rays toward every lightning bolt. "You can create a separate space connected to my position."

The rays overwhelmed the lightning bolts and continued to fly until they pierced the various portals. The array of teleports shattered once again, and June reappeared next to the space dragon.

"Again!" June ordered, but the space dragon tried something different at that time.

The space dragon suddenly vanished, which startled its companions. Only the privileged cultivator seemed able to follow its movements since her eyes darted among her surroundings.

Four huge portals opened around the privileged cultivator to unleash a torrent of green energy that carried faint orange shades. Moreover, the space dragon materialized among one of those attacks to crash on its opponent.

The privileged cultivator tried to perform an evasive maneuver, but the technique failed due to the space dragon's restrictions. Still, a barrier appeared around her and blocked the incoming attack, stopping even the creature's frontal charge.

Nevertheless, the space dragon unleashed its presence while pressing on the barrier. The defensive technique's energy suddenly shattered and teleported to different areas to open a path for the frontal charge.

The privileged cultivator couldn't do much in that situation. The space dragon had blocked her escape paths, so everything fell on her figure. The creature even bit her, but a painful cry escaped its mouth after the attack.

"That's the limit of the magical beasts," The privileged cultivator announced as dense green smoke came out of her body. "Defending against your attacks is far too easy."

The privileged cultivator was still immersed in the four torrents of energy, but they appeared unable to hurt her. The green smoke destroyed those attacks before they could reach her skin. Similar fumes came out of the space dragon's mouth, and the latter struggled to get rid of them.

"You shouldn't push your luck," The privileged cultivator exclaimed as four figures appeared around her.

June launched her lightning bolts, Sepunia tried to alter the green smoke, Maribel used a mixture of white and dark energy, while the odd dragon spat its black liquid. The four experts attacked at the same time, but their techniques vanished as soon as they touched those seemingly toxic fumes.

The exchange didn't end there. The smoke began to spread in the various techniques to fly toward their sources. June and Maribel managed to sever the connection with their attacks before touching those fumes, but Sepunia and the odd dragon were one second too slow.

The odd dragon saw the smoke seeping into its unique neck to taint its fabric. Its scales and teeth turned green even if it tried to prevent that change through its black liquid.

As for Sepunia, she experienced a similar transformation. A green spot appeared at the center of her chest and expanded to stretch toward her shoulders and waist.

The odd dragon seemed unable to stop that transformation, especially since its senses were still under the effects of the space dragon's roar. Instead, Sepunia studied the situation calmly, and a pink light soon shone from her eyes as she activated a technique.

Bright pink patches materialized in the void before flying toward Sepunia and the odd dragon. The latter was too busy focusing on the expanding green spots to avoid the technique, while Sepunia obviously let it land on her body.

The pink patches fused with the green spots and swapped them with chunks of the old flesh. The process was seamless for Sepunia since she knew exactly what the smoke had tainted, but the odd dragon ended up with weaker replacements.

Power quickly flowed inside the weaker replacements and started to harmonize them with the rest of the body. The odd dragon even managed to escape the frenzied state caused by the space dragon during the process. It took it a bit to understand what had happened, but it nodded toward Sepunia afterward.

"You countered that," The privileged cultivator stated while inspecting the odd dragon and Sepunia. "It seems that you also have the potential to become a monster."

"I would be a failure if I couldn't achieve so little," Sepunia smiled.

"You are still too late," The privileged cultivator responded. "Why don't you come back to Heaven and Earth's side? Destroying your existence is a waste."

"You didn't give the same offer to the others," Sepunia uttered. "How am I different?"

"You switched sides once," The middle-aged woman teased. "You can do it again."

"I guess I didn't prove my loyalty enough," Sepunia declared as her aura expanded and filled that part of the void with her pink radiance.

"Don't overdo," The privileged cultivator mocked. "I know how strong my previous attack was. Getting rid of it must have consumed quite a lot of your energy."

"You talk too much," June stated as she turned into a lightning bolt that crashed on the privileged cultivator.

June regained her human shape as soon as she slammed on her opponent. The sparks that enveloped her body destroyed part of the green smoke, but she soon found herself overwhelmed by that attack.

"I told you not to push your luck," The privileged cultivator smiled as she raised an arm to point her hand at the center of June's chest.

The smoke condensed to create a piercing attack that dug a hole in June's chest, but a massive lightning bolt promptly came out of it and separated the two experts. The privileged cultivator wanted to chase after June, but the space dragon suddenly appeared behind her and teleported her energy into different places.

Maribel also joined the offensive and used the openings created by the space dragon to launch an attack aimed at her opponent's core. Meanwhile, June flew for a while before stopping herself and releasing violent lightning bolts that burned away the flesh that had turned green.

Maribel's offensive didn't lead anywhere, and the privileged cultivator soon sent the space dragon flying. The expert showed her perfect state once again while smoke seeped out of her figure. She appeared unbeatable in that state, but her opponents had no intention to give up.

"We should fight this smartly," Maribel suggested. "We can rely on the dragon's endurance to trap her in a series of disadvantageous exchanges."

June didn't like that idea, but the hole in her chest proved how the privileged cultivator was quite deadly. The space dragon could give her the chance to launch attacks without suffering injuries, and she found no reason to refuse it.

Sepunia and the odd dragon were more than willing to use tactics and ploys. The space dragon's intelligence was the only hurdle to overcome, but the hint of a problem appeared before they could even deploy that plan.

"Do you want to deplete my energy now?" The privileged cultivator asked. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. My energy reserves are almost endless. My latest title was Marcella the Boundless."
Chapter 2266: 2266. Mood
In theory, Marcella's situation should have moved the balance of the battlefield in Heaven and Earth's favor.

The fact that so many of the landmass' powerful experts were ganging up on a single privileged cultivator would normally give Heaven and Earth's forces the chance to use part of their numerical advantage.

Decumia's actions had moved that advantage to Noah's side, but only when it came to the underlings. Heaven and Earth's forces still had more rank 9 assets, and Marcella was absorbing a lot of pressure on her own.

Heaven and Earth's forces could divert their attention to easier targets to widen that numerical gap among elite experts. However, Noah, Alexander, the time dragon, and Divine Demon were so troublesome that they prevented that outcome.

Truth be told, Divine Demon was handling most of the heavy-lifting there. Noah and the forest of roots were immense, Alexander was an untouchable vortex of hunger, and the time dragon was incredibly troublesome, but Divine Demon was beyond incredible.

Divine Demon was the only expert actively fighting the many privileged cultivators after him. He wasn't even escaping. Actually, it seemed that his opponents were the ones running away during the exchanges.

The reason behind that outcome was pretty evident. Divine Demon's bright red energy was so powerful that even solid stage cultivators had to run away from it. Their very lives were in danger whenever Divine Demon aimed at them.

Due to Divine Demon's exceptional performance, June and the others could gang up on Marcella without worrying about the battlefield. Still, that didn't ensure their victory. It even seemed that they fell short compared to the privileged cultivator.

Marcella's announcement didn't dishearten her opponents. June and the others still used the odd dragon to ask the space dragon to collaborate.

That collaboration took a few exchanges to activate, but the group eventually managed to actuate their plan. The space dragon focused the entirety of its efforts on running a series of teleports that surrounded Marcella and kept its companions safe from her attacks.

June, Sepunia, Maribel, and the odd dragon used the teleports to launch massive attacks from safe positions. Meanwhile, the space dragon absorbed any counterattack and gathered that energy to deploy it in following offensives.

The plan appeared flawless. The space dragon's incredible innate ability removed any threat from Marcella's offensive and allowed its companions to focus only on attacking.

That tactic involved far more than simple safety. June and the others could save energy since they only had to focus on attacking while Marcella was fighting normally.

Marcella's world had an immense amount of fuel, but the group believed that the plan could drain her of her power before they reached their limits. Some exchanges even relied only on the absorbed energy, which only enhanced the advantage created by the space dragon.

However, it soon became clear that Marcella wouldn't get tired. She flawlessly answered every attack without ever losing her ground. She didn't suffer injuries even as the space dragon continued to teleport her defenses away.

The matter was initially expected. June and the others knew that Marcella was one of the best experts among Heaven and Earth's forces, so they predicted that killing her would be far from easy.

Still, as more exchanges unfolded, June's group noticed that they were the only ones getting tired. Even the space dragon was slowing down in its counterattacks and techniques, but Marcella remained at her peak.

Moreover, Marcella wasn't even relying on special attacks to fend off the incoming offensive. She only launched waves of energy and alternated them with her dense smoke from time to time. It almost looked like she was having fun dealing with such weaker techniques.

"Here it comes again," Marcella announced when a threatening aura filled the entirety of the higher plane.

The landmass unleashed another massive attack, but a green barrier appeared in front of the dark shadows that shot forward. The impact didn't generate any shockwave at that time. It even prevented the creation of wild storms.

June and the others couldn't help but feel depressed in front of that scene. Marcella wasn't only dealing with their offensive. She was also dealing with the landmass, and nothing seemed able to stop her from doing that.

The effort should have drained Marcella of her energy in no time, especially since she had already blocked six of the landmass' attacks by then. However, June and the others remained on the losing end of the battle, and they had yet to find a way to break through the privileged cultivator's defenses.

"This isn't working," Maribel sighed as she witnessed another of her attacks dispersing right after touching the dense green smoke coming out of Marcella.

The mood was pretty poor. Seeing a series of attacks failing even to hinder Marcella's task wasn't the best scene in the world, but one expert among the team couldn't contain her excitement to be in front of such a powerful cultivator.

June's attacks grew stronger after each failed attempt to hurt Marcella. The space dragon was also keeping her safe, so she could focus her full attention on unleashing stronger attacks.

Needless to say, June's body transformed into a gory mess after her attacks barged past the limits of the solid stage. She was summoning energy strong enough to hurt privileged cultivators at the peak of the ninth rank, so her flesh suffered greatly.

The injuries didn't affect June's excitement. She had finally found an opponent that required her to go far past her limits, and she wouldn't miss that chance. She didn't care how much her companions would have to suffer due to her approach.

Maribel, Sepunia, and the odd dragon didn't complain. June's behavior actually pushed them to unleash stronger attacks, even if that could lead to their exhaustion. They were risking their presence in future battles, but their task was too important to worry about that.

"You are almost there," Marcella commented when hundreds of lightning bolts fell on her figure. "You might reach my level if you are willing to throw away your life."

"Why don't you decide to get serious already?" June's voice came out of multiple teleports.

"I'm afraid I also have limits," Marcella smiled. "I can't stop the landmass and kill you at the same time. I'll do that if you become more dangerous than that creature."

"You don't even need to ask!" June shouted through the teleports as more lightning bolts came crushing on Marcella.

Marcella's expression flickered when she noticed the level of power expressed by the attack. June was turning herself into something threatening, but the greatest danger in that scene was the intense aura that had spread in the higher plane.

"You aren't as brainless as you look," Marcella scoffed as she stretched her arms to launch her corrosive smoke in multiple directions and free herself from the restrictions of the portals.

The teleports crumbled, and Marcella seized the chance to send her energy toward the landmass. A massive shield appeared and prepared itself to face the incoming offensive, but its outer layer suddenly turned pink due to Sepunia's influence.

"You aren't the only one who studied our assets," Sepunia declared before a low noise filled the entire higher plane and made the expansion of mental waves impossible.

A massive dark shadow had landed on the tainted barrier and had pierced it, unleashing shockwaves so intense that King Elbas felt forced to sacrifice some buildings to give birth to safe areas.

Meanwhile, the landmass' attack continued to fly forward and severed anything on its path, be it allies or enemies. The offensive eventually crashed into the sky, and some roots shattered due to the immense power it carried.

The sky's radiance seemed to flicker for an instant, but everyone could soon see that no crack had appeared on its surface. That massive attack had been unable to inflict any damage, but the landmass only saw disrespect in that outcome.

"Let's keep opening a path for the landmass!" Maribel ordered, and her companions seemed to share her idea as they reassembled the offensive formation around Marcella.

Yet, a shocking scene entered the group's vision as they prepared to clear a path for the landmass. In the distance, the experts saw Great Builder free-falling and leaking his energy.
Chapter 2267: 2267. Reques
It was finally happening. Noah's forces were gaining ground on a battlefield that barely showed paths toward victory. The landmass could attack the sky and unleash its true power while most of the enemy leaders were busy, but that phase couldn't last forever. It barely survived one successful exchange.

Great Builder fell through the shattered higher plane with seemingly no control over his body. His yellowish energy also left his figure in a motion that had no intention to end.

The event caught the attention of most big players on the battlefield. After all, there were only so many important fights, and Great Builder was fighting one of them. His opponent also appeared unique, so many had kept track of how those exchanges progressed.

Great Builder had given his everything, resorting to every trick in the book to hurt the Rulers' Resolve. His efforts had even led to seemingly significant results since his opponent had finally shown signs of slowing down, but the same had happened to him.

The truth behind Great Builder's power became visible to everyone once he lost enough power. The many injuries that had opened on his body had revealed the bright yellow core shining in his insides.

Many would still fail to understand the meaning behind that scene, but Noah and the others could see right through it. The yellow core was almost identical to the one inside the pyramid. Great Builder had basically fused with it.

The implications of that fusion were self-explanatory. The pyramid could complete different functions due to its power source, so it was safe to assume that Great Builder had gained the same power now.

Moreover, there was something more specific to all of that. The yellow sphere was a core, a center of power that had allowed Great Builder to turn himself into a living workshop.

The powerful techniques and attacks that Great Builder had unleashed came from his constant creation of new abilities. He wasn't only adapting to the Rulers' Resolve's power. He was also improving on everything that seemed to work while defending against what came at him.

That struggle obviously wasn't sustainable, and Great Builder knew that his new core couldn't survive too many exchanges. Yet, he had no other option in that battle, so he did his best to win before depleting his energy.

Sadly, it seemed that Great Builder had fallen before he could claim his victory. Still, his efforts weren't wasted. The Rulers' Resolve took part in a surprising scene as he came out of the yellow cloud that had surrounded him.

The Rulers' Resolve's grey halo had dimmed. A few cracks had opened on his figure, and his eyes didn't shine with the same intensity anymore.

Those injuries vanished quickly, and his energy soon resumed shining with the same intensity as before, but he could only hide that damage. The whole higher plane learnt that Great Builder had inflicted wounds on his core.

Nevertheless, that seemed to be Great Builder's limit. He had hurt a world inspired by Heaven and Earth's resolve, but the effort had taken his entire energy.

The Rulers' Resolve silently inspected in own figure. He watched as his injuries closed and restored his mighty and incredible appearance. His expression tried not to give anything away, but there was an evident surprise inside it.

Even the Rulers' Resolve didn't expect Great Builder to achieve so much. In theory, the privileged cultivator's power was boundless since its power source was beyond incredible. However, a mere monster among his enemies had managed to hurt him.

The Rulers' Resolve couldn't help but feel slight respect toward his opponent, but that didn't hinder his actions or change his mindset. The privileged cultivator glanced at the falling body before pointing his hand at it and summoning his array of grey spheres.

It didn't take long before a rain of grey rays came out of the array and fell toward Great Builder. The attack was incredibly fast, and a series of explosions resounded once it reached Great Builder.

The Rulers' Resolve normally wouldn't show any emotion after a victory, but his eyes flickered before moving to point at a distant spot on his left. His expression soon retrieved its usual coldness, and his arm moved to point at that new area.

Another array of grey rays shot forward, but an azure vortex appeared on their trajectory and drew them toward its center. The grey energy disappeared, and the defensive technique crumbled to reveal the two figures behind it.

"What are you doing?" Great Builder weakly asked.

"I should be the one to ask that," Supreme Thief snorted. "When did you become so pitiful?"

"Don't talk about stuff you don't understand," Great Builder sighed. "That guy is strong, stronger than me."

Supreme Thief glanced at the Rulers' Resolve in the distance before moving his attention back to Great Builder. Supreme Thief had grabbed his friend right before the attack could land on him, but he had to hold his arm to prevent him from falling again.

"So what?" Supreme Thief asked. "Do you just give up and die in front of a powerful opponent?"

"Don't be stupid," Great Builder cursed. "I've hurt his world. He can't fight at his full power anymore. That flaw is enough to cause a chain reaction inside his whole world. He will lose against his next opponent."

Supreme Thief knew what Great Builder's meant. He could see the damage inside the Rulers' Resolve's world, and ideas on how to exploit that flaw even formed in his mind.

However, Supreme Thief didn't like that outcome. Leaving Great Builder on his own now would only confirm his death. The privileged cultivators after him would just switch targets if he started fighting against the Rulers' Resolve.

"Why do I always have to take care of you?" Supreme Thief sighed.

"When did you ever take care of me?" Great Builder complained as his figure dimmed even further. His very flesh was losing power. He was turning into nothing more than rank 9 materials.

"You should save your energy," Supreme Thief pointed out.

"Stop worrying about useless stuff," Great Builder scolded. "Go away and take care of the experts chasing you. I can deal with another exchange, so don't ruin the balance we have sacrificed so much to reach now."

Supreme Thief wasn't an idiot. He liked to act like one, but he knew when a situation required him to be serious.

The scales of the final battle were finally tilting on Noah's side. The landmass was awake, and every major expert was too busy fighting to mind the attacks that flew toward the sky.

Great Builder wanted to fight the Rulers' Resolve a little longer to preserve and deepen that advantage. Still, he needed Supreme Thief to keep the other privileged cultivators busy to do that. Supreme Thief understood everything, but his answer seemed to lack any interest in those matters.

"Do you think I would care about the balance of the battlefield?" Supreme Thief scoffed as a mass of azure energy converged in his palm.

Supreme Thief slammed his palm on Great Builder's chest and gave him as much energy as possible. Great Builder saw most of his functions activating as his fake core regained fuel, but that happy moment didn't silence an answer filled with anger.

"What are you doing?!" Great Builder shouted. "Don't waste your energy! Used it to kill those bastards!"

The privileged cultivators who had targeted Supreme Thief had already reached the duo's position. They were ready to combine their attacks with the Rulers' Resolve.

"I like that guy," Supreme Thief announced while pointing at the Rulers' Resolve. "I want his world, so help me seize it."

"We'll die under the cross-fire," Great Builder scolded as he pushed away Supreme Thief's arm since he could float on his own now.

"What cross-fire?" Supreme Thief wondered before voicing a shout that echoed through the whole higher plane. "Noah!"

Countless gazes turned toward the black figure flying at high speed through the higher plane and launching seeds whenever it got close to the sky.

Noah felt forced to stop under that global attention, and he shrugged his shoulders before agreeing to that silent request. "I'll take care of it."
Chapter 2268: 2268. Look
Noah wanted to save energy until worthier opponents appeared on his path, but he couldn't refuse the request of one of his companions. Moreover, Great Builder needed help, and Noah couldn't deny it.

Attracting everyone's attention had been easy. Supreme Thief's shout had forced every available troop to look at Noah, but it was up to him to retain that focus. Luckily, he was the best when it came to causing a mess.

'Snore,' Noah called through the mental connection, and a massive snake quickly came out of his back.

Snore voiced a deafening hiss as it unfolded its giant wings and prepared its feathers to unleash their power. However, Noah didn't stop there. Snore alone wouldn't be enough to force most of Heaven and Earth's troops to chase him.

A black gas came out of Noah before condensing into a mass of crystals that expanded and gave birth to the dark world. The sphere grew until it enveloped Snore in its insides, and a dense aura soon filled its surface.

The Rulers' Resolve, Decumia, Marcella, Divine Architect, and Caesar couldn't help but focus on Noah. Some of them only diverted their attention for an instant since they had to defend against their opponents' attacks, but they still wanted to take a peek at the source of that dense aura.

Noah's aura had gone through a significant qualitative change, and the experts at the peak of the cultivation journey weren't the only ones who noticed that.

The sole fact that Noah had created a situation where Heaven and Earth could lose had been a significant boost to his power. Everything that had followed the beginning of the final battle had deepened the improvements generated by that event, and the results were clear now.

Dense destruction filled Noah's aura. The pure desire to rip apart Heaven and Earth and achieve that impossible victory flowed through the dark world and enhanced its effects.

Noah wasn't a mere monster anymore. He had touched a level of power that went beyond his previous status. He wasn't only overcoming the limits of his stage. Noah was rewriting them in ways that his opponents couldn't fully understand.

That was fine for most experts, but the leaders of Heaven and Earth's army couldn't accept the event. They represented the peak beyond the peak, but there seemed to be something past that now.

A doubt had filled every major expert in Heaven and Earth's army since Noah's organization had become a real threat. Those cultivators wondered whether Noah and the others could reach new heights of power, and the answer had finally arrived.

Noah was still a liquid stage world, but the power he radiated belonged to a different realm. It wouldn't be fair to label it as "solid stage". It was too deep to be part of the same category.

The lack of a breakthrough was the most problematic aspect of that event. Noah didn't advance to the solid stage, but Heaven and Earth's experts felt the need to view him as someone at the peak of the cultivation journey due to the lack of comparisons.

Something similar had happened with Divine Demon, but a breakthrough had preceded that event. Instead, Noah had simply turned into something that his opponents couldn't understand for no apparent reason.

A different doubt replaced the previous. A simple question popped in the minds of Heaven and Earth's major players, and tinges of fear inevitably followed. Those experts couldn't predict how strong Noah would become after experiencing his breakthrough.

'Flow out of me,' Noah ordered to his mind as he lost himself in his violent thoughts. 'Seek the deepest parts of my world and give them a shape.'

Noah had created countless creatures and items through the dark world, but he felt their limit now. He finally saw that the sole idea of condensing something as boundless as destruction into a fixed form would only hurt the technique's power.

Yet, his ethereal blackness had expanded and deepened greatly during the final battle. Noah could inspect his power through a new understanding, and the dark world didn't hesitate to implement those improvements.

The dark world seemed to become alive and gain a separate will as it sent energy into the deepest parts of Noah's existence. The technique had a specific target. It wanted to find a pure version of his destruction to complete its creations.

Noah felt a bit uncomfortable. The dark world was part of him, but he experienced a sucking force in the deepest parts of his mind, a place that he would typically struggle to reach on his own.

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Of course, Noah didn't dare to interrupt the process. He even lowered his innate defenses to let the dark world drain him of the violent ideas that filled his mind. He would let the technique use everything it could to generate something worthy of the final battle.

The dark world's aura grew heavier during the process, and some of Noah's creations found themselves attracted by it. The landmass and the parasite's branches halted their offensive for a few seconds as they lost themselves in a power that expressed specific peaks of their existence.

The privileged cultivators who had chased Supreme Thief in the last period didn't even need to exchange glances. They silently took a step toward Noah since they knew they couldn't ignore that new threat.

The same went for the experts who had chased Noah until now. However, their reaction was slightly different. They had struggled to catch Noah, so they dreaded what that technique would bring.

The dark world was solid. Its crystals created a seemingly impenetrable surface that prevented anyone from inspecting its insides. Yet, that material bent and gained liquid properties as figures started to push to come out.

The crystals opened as if they were made of a flexible membrane. They resembled a chrysalis when multiple figures burst out and unleashed their auras into the higher plane.

The privileged cultivators heaved a sigh of relief when they recognized Noah's usual six-armed dragons. Those creatures were wielding swords, but they weren't too different from what Noah had created in the past. Their auras had changed a bit, but that was still fine.

Nevertheless, the dark world was far from done. Soon, more crystals bent outward and burst open to reveal different creatures. Fiendish avatars wielding swords came out in the open and jumped on the dragons' backs.

That wasn't even the end of the process. A third batch of creatures came out of the dark world. Countless swords pierced the crystals before hovering around the many six-armed dragons.

The dark world transformed into trails of smoke that converged inside Noah once the process was over. A small army made of six-armed dragons, fiendish avatars, and flying swords had appeared, but the privileged cultivators couldn't focus on them. They had something far bigger to worry about.

The destruction of the dark world allowed Snore to show its presence again. Its appearance was mostly the same, except for two additional pairs of wings that had grown on its back.

The dragons, the swords, and the avatars were solid stage creatures, and their power was incredible, but they paled in front of Snore's additional wings. Each of those new limbs was a disposable weapon at the peak of the ninth rank, and their mere weight seemed able to bend the void's fabric.

"You look better like this," Noah commented.

Snore voiced an annoyed growl before fixing its piercing eyes on the platoon near Supreme Thief and Great Builder. They were its opponents.

****

Author's notes: Shoutout to Devoted_scream for the Spacecraft!
Chapter 2269: 2269. Environmen
A tense silence followed Snore's growl. The privileged cultivators who weren't involved in any battle eyed the giant snake, Noah, and the various creations to understand the limits of their power, but that wasn't an easy feat.

Snore appeared at the peak of its power, and the dark world's creations didn't have clear functions. They were the products of Noah's destruction, but that didn't define specific abilities or limits.

Noah even seemed to have reached a new level of understanding of his world, which naturally flowed into his creations. A few exchanges were needed to define the power of Noah's army, but the privileged cultivators didn't know how many of them would survive that process.

Snore moved its new wings a bit to get used to their power, but its reptilian eyes never left the privileged cultivators near Supreme Thief and Great Builder.

Meanwhile, the fiendish avatars voiced high-pitched noises that made the six-armed dragons and the array of swords turn toward the other platoon of privileged cultivators.

As for Noah, he remained among his creations and studied the two platoons. Seventeen privileged cultivators with power in the liquid and solid stage were against him, so he couldn't approach the fight recklessly.

Still, prolonging that battle would also have adverse effects. The final battle had yet to enter its last phase, and Noah couldn't let mere underlings tire him out.

'Why do I even bother?' Noah cursed in his mind before waving a hand.

Snore hissed as soon as Noah gave the signal and shot forward to fly toward its opponents. Noah's army did the same, and their dark figures seemed to fuse with the void as the space-time fabric churned and bent to improve their movements.

The privileged cultivators near Great Builder and Supreme Thief ignored their previous opponents to focus on Snore. The platoon relied on multiple movement techniques to materialize around the giant snake and prepare various abilities.

The nine experts who had chased Supreme Thief were all capable solid stage cultivators. They immediately set up a battle formation to contain Snore's destructive power and give them a stark advantage in the imminent fight.

Five of those privileged cultivators took place in the frontlines, while the others occupied opposite spots in the backlines. Those experts knew how to make the best out of their worlds, and they didn't hesitate to exploit their numerical advantage.

The experts on the frontlines exploded with power as their revealed their abilities. One expanded her figure until she became as big as Snore, while another covered his body with a scarlet liquid that shone with bright light.

The other three limited themselves to filling the area with their energy. Green, blue, and orange waves of power flowed through the void and surrounded Snore while they tried to support their companions.

As for the privileged cultivators in the backlines, they also summoned their auras, but they kept them limited to their surroundings. They even condensed their energy to prepare powerful but precise attacks to unleash at the right moment.

Snore didn't care that its opponents had surrounded it. It didn't even bother to try to escape that encirclement. The privileged cultivators had chosen to get in its range, which was exactly what it wanted.

The giant expert charged at Snore and wrapped her arms and legs around its huge body, paying attention to avoiding the disposable wings. Meanwhile, the scarlet expert approached those feathered limbs to cover them with his bright liquid.

The other three experts used their energy to take complete control of the area. The void around Snore lit up as waves of power tried to seal its abilities and influence. Those techniques weren't proper barriers, but they behaved in a similar way. They even felt more troublesome to deal with compared to average defensive abilities.

The cultivators' tactic was quite simple. They held the advantage both in terms of numbers and general power, but Snore had some of the best destructive abilities in the higher plane.

Containing Snore was a must in the cultivators' minds, but mere techniques would directly crumble under the sheer might that it was able to unleash.

However, the situation would change if they used auras that Snore could pierce relatively easily. A barrier would explode after too much energy accumulated in its insides, but something without a fixed form could break while forcing the opposing ability to deplete part of its power.

A smart approach to that containment would involve precise attacks capable of retaining their power even after piercing the auras. Snore would be able to target the sources of that energy like that and improve the trend of the battle.

Yet, Snore wasn't Night. Noah's violent thoughts also flowed through its mind and enhanced its innate abilities. Moreover, Noah's destruction was at its peak, which naturally influenced Snore's decisions.

The privileged cultivators initially thought that Snore was studying the situation since no attack arrived from its side. The giant expert didn't hesitate to add strength to her grasp, while the other released even more of his scarlet liquid.

Still, a faint high-pitched noise soon resounded and flowed into the various abilities. Black lines that radiated dark-red light slowly spread through the dense auras around Snore and on the scarlet liquid on its wings, and the strange sound grew louder as the seconds passed.

The privileged cultivators could quickly connect that event to the Cursed Sword, but they pressed on with their offensive. Suffering damage wasn't a problem as long as Snore ended up in a worse situation, but things didn't go according to their expectations.

The Cursed Sword could accumulate destruction to unleash it into a single attack, but things were different now under Noah's new understanding of his world.

The black lines picked up speed in no time and expanded all around Snore while taking the privileged cultivators by surprise. Even the giant expert saw her body filled with those marks, and nothing in her power seemed able to remove them.

Panic began to build among the privileged cultivators, who moved their tactic to the next step. The four experts in the backlines launched their dense abilities toward the wings' base in an attempt to sever them and stop their offensive. Yet, their attacks stopped mid-air.

The privileged cultivators couldn't believe their eyes. Four pillars of energy had converged toward Snore, but a net of black lines had appeared at their bases before they could get too close to the giant snake.

The whole area was filled with destruction, which had created something similar to a shield that the cultivators' abilities couldn't pierce without triggering its effects.

Snore didn't even give the privileged cultivators the time to inspect the situation. Two of its wings exploded during that moment of surprise, and the nine experts saw their mental waves vanishing from the void.

Only chaos, loud noises, and faint sensations remained in the experts' minds while they were still busy stabilizing their consciousness. They found themselves almost entirely in the dark, unable to unfold their mental waves. The situation was so strange that some believed that they had died.

Yet, once everything began to quiet down, the experts managed to send slivers of mental energy outside their minds to inspect the area, and what they saw left them speechless.

The ever-present void had ended in the backlines. It had turned into a mere background of the scenery created by Snore. Violent waves of destructive energy had filled everything else, giving birth to an environment that couldn't theoretically exist.

The surprise experienced by the privileged cultivators only intensified as more of their senses regained power. They slowly became able to see a ground, vague buildings, and a sky, but none of those images had a fixed form. Everything was made of violent energy.
Chapter 2270: 2270. Dark world
An environment made of violent energy had taken control of part of the battlefield, and the nine privileged cultivators found themselves inside it. Still, their minds struggled to comprehend what had enveloped them.

Snore proudly stood at the center of that environment. Its reptilian eyes were cold, but it was possible to notice some surprise inside them. Even the snake didn't expect its new power to give birth to something so incredible.

However, everything felt in line with its power. Snore closed its eyes to experience the influence of the violent energy around it to its fullest. The environment radiated familiar sensations. It expressed something that Snore had always been meant to create.

Noah inspected the vast oval environment from a distance. He couldn't help but nod at that sight. The cycle was finally complete. Snore had gained access to the power that had always belonged to it.

The privileged cultivators had studied Noah's power deeply and for countless years. They had kept track of his improvements and new techniques, so finding answers to that strange event turned out to be pretty easy.

Nevertheless, the answers didn't make it easier for the privileged cultivators. Astonishment still filled their minds, and that feeling showed no sign of vanishing. It was simply impossible to calm down when everything around them reeked of pure destruction.

Snore and the dark world had always shared a deep connection. The two had basically improved and grown together until the last transformations had enhanced their individual traits.

However, Snore's core remained almost identical to the dark world. It even expressed a specific aspect of that technique. The snake was the destructive part of the dark matter. It was the embodiment of one of its greatest features.

Snore alone didn't have the knowledge or ability to summon a dark world. It was simply outside its nature to create, but everything had changed now that Noah had reached a new level of understanding of his power.

Snore could use everything inside the ethereal blackness, including Noah's techniques and mental capabilities. That had given birth to a different version of the dark world, something that perfectly reflected its nature.

The violent energy around the privileged cultivators failed to retain a solid form, but it tried its best to preserve some vague shapes.

The vast ground wanted to imitate the landmass, but it ended up being a dense sea of destructive energy. Violent waves and flares also filled its surface and created black gales above it.

The sky wanted to take the shape of a faint gas, but the violent dark matter was too dense. Snore had ended up creating an array of clouds that absorbed some of the gales before releasing even bigger ones in the environment below.

As for the buildings, Snore couldn't possibly have precise shapes in mind. Yet, it still tried to create something that resembled mountains or simple structures.

Of course, those buildings weren't solid. They actually shattered into gales that fused with the ground or the sky before reforming somewhere else.

The ground and the sky seemed to share that ever-changing nature. Nothing stood still in Snore's world. Its creation was nothing more than a mass of destructive energy divided into different types of gales that never stopped blowing.

The privileged cultivators didn't know what to expect from that destructive dark world. They had already seen what Snore was capable of, so they guessed that the technique would enhance its overall power. However, they would have to test it to be sure.

The experts eventually glanced at their giant companion. She had the highest defensive capabilities among the group, so it was her job to test the technique.

The giant privileged cultivator didn't shy back from that role. She took a step forward to press her feet on that sea of destruction, but her movement triggered a chain reaction that involved the whole technique.

The entirety of Snore's dark world released a high-pitched noise as countless gales shot out from the ground, sky, and air to converge on the giant cultivator.

The expert performed an evasive technique, but that movement only enraged the dark world further. Even more gales shot out to chase after the privileged cultivator, which soon cornered her and forced her to summon a defensive technique.

The giant's skin turned dark right before the gales could crash on her, but that technique made the dark world send even more violent energy. A series of explosions resounded in that spot, but all the destructive power released in the environment quickly fused back with the technique and prevented the appearance of fumes.

The privileged cultivator became visible in no time. Everyone could soon see her wounded body. The violent energy had destroyed her protective skin and had dug holes in her body, and her world had also suffered.

The damage would typically force the privileged cultivator to disperse her technique to focus on recovering. However, the expert didn't dare to move. She had understood that even the slightest gesture would turn her into a target.

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The other privileged cultivators also stood still. One of them turned her mental waves into faint strands of energy that tried to expand into that environment, but they shattered due to the dense destruction that filled the dark world.

Studying the environment was impossible. Moving would trigger a worldwide reaction. Standing still seemed the only safe option, but Snore wouldn't let its opponents rely on that tactic.

The privileged cultivators didn't know how to recognize the expressions of the magical beasts, but they felt that Snore smirked as it unfolded its two pairs of wings and created an array of black spheres right before them.

The wings didn't have a specific target. They merely pointed at the nine privileged cultivators before unleashing black rays made of dense, destructive energy.

The dark world reacted to the attack by sending violent energy toward the rays and enveloping them into storms that released high-pitched noises.

The attack was fast, but the privileged cultivators could still make a single thought run through their minds. Of course, its contents were far from happy. They simply understood what was about to happen.

The privileged cultivators felt forced to use techniques, move, or deploy evasive measures before the incoming attacks, which triggered a chain reaction that spread through the entire dark world.

The ground surged and the sky fell as countless flares and gales shot toward the nine experts. The privileged cultivators were against a world and their king now, and retreating wasn't an option.

Studying what was happening inside Snore's dark world was more than hard for the experts outside. The matter wasn't too challenging when everything stood still, but the situation changed once everything turned into a mess.

Still, most experts were busy with their battles, so they put everything they learnt in the back of their minds. The only ones who had to worry about Noah were the privileged cultivators who had chased him until now.

Noah casually glanced at the second platoon. He showed no interest in those experts, but he still showed a smirk at the sigh of their evident worry.

"What is it?" Noah mocked. "Aren't you ready to die for Heaven and Earth?"

The leader of those eight experts was a bald old man that kept his arms crossed inside his large sleeves. He was the only one who could hide his worry, but Noah felt able to sense it anyway, and that emotion only intensified at his question.

"You can't kill us with mere creations," The old man eventually responded.

"What are you even saying?" Noah laughed. "This whole battle is my creation."
Chapter 2271: 2271. Trap
The statement was beyond arrogant, but none of the privileged cultivators felt able to contradict it.

A final battle would have happened even if Noah didn't affect the higher plane. Yet, Heaven and Earth would have only faced the dragons in their previous form, the hybrids, and the cultivators who had remained hidden in that case.

There wouldn't have been any organization, army, or actual joint front against Heaven and Earth. The rulers would have won without needing to unleash the entirety of their assets. Their sole presence would have been enough to win that final battle.

The privileged cultivars couldn't help but compare that version of the final battle with what was standing right before their eyes.

Heaven and Earth couldn't join the battlefield due to the seals. The sky could only watch as its army fought and the landmass sent attacks toward its powerless surface.

The many underlings, weaker avatars, and countless creations had significantly shrunk due to all the defenses that they had to face. Their numbers now matched their opponents, and Heaven and Earth couldn't do anything about that issue.

The leaders of Heaven and Earth's army couldn't show their power either. Noah's forces were keeping them locked in battles that prevented them from affecting the battlefield.

The major battles were still in Heaven and Earth's favor, but the privileged cultivators never expected the situation to reach that point. Divine Architect, Decumia, Marcella, the Rulers' Resolve, and the old man were facing relatively strong opponents. That alone was astonishing.

The other privileged cultivators in the solid stage couldn't affect the battlefield either. Noah, Alexander, the time dragon, and Divine Demon were simply too strong and required their full attention.

It felt simply incredible that such a small organization had managed to force Heaven and Earth into that state, but the reality of the battlefield was undeniable. Noah's forces had given birth to something worthy of its name, and things were far from over.

The eight experts watched as the many creations slowly approached their position. Noah wasn't flying with his army, but that didn't make the scene less threatening.

The dragons, the avatars, and the swords released faint high-pitched noises that revealed their ability to summon the Cursed Sword's power. Still, it was safe to assume that they could also generate the parasite's seeds.

The eight experts didn't fear those abilities, but their sum could be troublesome. Snore was also showing the results of Noah's recent improvement, so the privileged cultivators knew that they couldn't treat those creations like mere disposable weapons.

"Let's not play by his rules," The old man eventually ordered while pointing his arms forward.

His seven companions understood the meaning of that order and raised their hands to summon their energy. A series of abilities quickly shot forward and flew toward the incoming army to stop its advance.

The high-pitched noises grew louder as the army split to avoid the incoming attacks. Multiple teams formed and accelerated to reach their opponents faster, but the latter had predicted a similar event.

The privileged cultivators had sent simple energy beams, but those attacks transformed once the army split. Some turned into walls that aimed to seal every path, while others gave birth to different abilities that targeted specific teams.

One of the attacks transformed into a grey gas that expanded at unfathomable speed. Even Noah struggled to keep track of its movements. The technique only took an instant to reach the nearest team, but the entire army disappeared at that point.

The privileged cultivators expanded their consciousness while their techniques exploded or dispersed into the void. They even activated all the abilities meant to counter the Shadow Domain, but they didn't get the chance to show their power since the army reappeared above the platoon.

The unfolded mental waves warned the eight experts and allowed them to unleash abilities above them, but the army disappeared again. Still, the swords materialized around the platoon and launched themselves forward in a reckless assault.

The privileged cultivators didn't let the swords take them by surprise. They immediately launched more attacks at the incoming weapons and overwhelmed them with energy that they couldn't hope to overcome.

However, the swords gathered into small groups before the waves of energy could hit them. High-pitched noises also filled the area before a series of figures materialized before the flying blades.

The dragons and the avatars reappeared, but the swords in their hands had already gathered enough energy to launch attacks. Sharp waves of power shot out of them as soon as their figures became completely clear, and silence followed as soon as those techniques hit the incoming abilities.

The multicolored waves of energy released by the experts saw black lines invading their fabric even before they touched the incoming attacks. The clash made all of them unleash their destruction, and massive holes inevitably appeared in the offensive.

The swords shot forward at that point. They used the holes created by their companions to sever the destabilized fabric of their opponents' attacks and dig a path where the army could pass.

The privileged cultivators didn't hesitate to launch more attacks, but the army disappeared again. Still, a rain of black slashes fell on their techniques and surroundings, destroying every trace of their power.

The experts couldn't help but glance in the distance. Their expression became ugly when they saw Noah with his swords on his forehead. His mocking smirk was more than enough to explain what had happened.

The army had allowed Noah to prepare an attack without getting noticed by the privileged cultivators, but he couldn't simply unleash it on his opponents. They would have seen and reacted to it.

Still, the situation was different when it came to the attacks. Noah could destroy them without alerting the experts' survival instincts.

The army could safely materialize around the privileged cultivators and resume their offensive. The experts found their battle formation shattered with the swords, dragons, and avatars flying everywhere around them.

The swords began to fill the entire area with black lines as high-pitched noises continued to leave their structures. Instead, the avatars voiced cruel laughs as they waved their arms and sent countless slashes in every direction.

As for the dragons, they launched slashes, but they also released black flames that burnt every lingering trace of energy and used them to add power to their attacks.

The privileged cultivators couldn't avoid suffering injuries in that chaos, but they soon discovered that their opponents were too frail to stand a chance against them.

The first counterattacks from the privileged cultivators' side shattered many creatures, but that destruction only released seeds and even more slashes. Those attacks came directly from Noah, so the experts couldn't prevent the birth of roots and more branches of the parasite.

The situation was still manageable. After all, there were eight privileged cultivators on the scene. Destroying the roots and a few upper tier creatures was challenging but doable.

Yet, multiple pulling forces suddenly came out of the dragons and drained the cultivators of their energy. That effect only lasted for an instant, but the parasite used it to expand the roots and create a spherical cage.

The privileged cultivators could only accept that they had fallen into a second trap. They found themselves surrounded by disposable creatures and isolated from the rest of the battlefield. Getting out would take time, and they couldn't imagine what Noah would do in that period.
Chapter 2272: 2272. Vortex
Noah could move his attention on the battlefield now that the two platoons were trapped inside his techniques. Killing those privileged cultivators would help his side, but he wanted to see if he could do more than just that.

His eyes inevitably went on the six leaders among Heaven and Earth's army, but he felt forced to exclude some of them right away, especially Caesar. The latter wasn't a problem for now.

The old man couldn't be a potential target either. Sword Saint was having a hard time dealing with him, but Noah didn't believe that his companion could lose.

Divine Architect was also out of reach. It was probably better to kill her right away, but Noah couldn't butt in when King Elbas was handling her. He had to leave that fight to his companion to allow him to improve.

The Rulers' Resolve was troublesome, but he now had Supreme Thief and Great Builder to worry about. Noah didn't know if they could win, but giving even more attention to a single privileged cultivator would only make it harder for his side.

Only Decumia and Marcella remained as potential targets in Noah's mind. June didn't want interferences in her battle, but Noah believed he could help a little, especially since she wasn't fighting alone anyway.

Still, Decumia seemed far more problematic. Steven was literally dying to fight her, and the Foolery had yet to join those exchanges. They needed help, and Noah didn't mind flying there to send a slash or two.

Nevertheless, a surge of power suddenly appeared in the range of Noah's consciousness and forced him to turn toward the spherical cage made of roots. A wave of energy had pierced the parasite's branches, and a figure had used it to escape that trap.

Noah didn't feel any surprise when he saw the old man coming out of the violet energy. The latter was the only cultivator in the platoon who could pierce the roots so quickly, but Noah didn't let the other experts use that hole to escape.

The ethereal blackness sent potential to all the assets involved in the cage, which exploded with power and forced the experts to interrupt their movement techniques. That delay allowed the roots to grow and seal the hole created by the old man.

"Things won't be as easy as you think," The old man announced as he crossed his arms and hid his hands inside his sleeves.

Noah coldly eyed the expert without giving any answer. The Demonic Sword growled, and the Cursed Sword voiced a single high-pitched noise before going silent. They were both preparing themselves for the imminent battle.

"Your weapons are restless," The old man commented. "I bet you share that feeling."

Noah remained silent while the space-time array replaced the world in his vision. He still struggled to affect the void with his understanding, but his destruction had reached new depths, which allowed him to alter the environment to improve the effects of his movement technique.

Small spots on the lines of space shattered before Noah shot forward. Those gaps in the space-time array allowed him to skip entire areas of the void, transforming his sprint into a series of teleports that shortened the overall time required to reach his opponent.

Noah reached the old man in less than a second, and his sword darted forward before the latter could summon his energy. The space-time array bent due to the massive power generated by the two blades, and the privileged cultivator found himself unable to react to the offensive.

A black and dark-red explosions enveloped the old man before flinging him in the distance. His right arm had disappeared, while a huge hole had opened on the left side of his chest. Black lines had also filled his figure, and his expression showed nothing but surprise while he flew through the void.

Noah resorted to his movement technique again to reach his opponent, but the latter was ready at that time. The old man had predicted that Noah would come again, so he had summoned his power even before sensing the incoming attack.

A violet shade filled Noah's vision, but he roared to spit a wave of black flames. The fire shot forward while condensing to transform into a rain of black swords that pierced the incoming energy, but the old man didn't let his attack crumble so easily.

The violet energy began to spin and condense to send the fiery swords at its center. The old man gave birth to a vortex that destroyed Noah's attacks and used it to increase its power.

Noah wanted to wave his swords, but the pressure coming from the vortex became so intense that his body struggled to move properly. Even his incredible physical strength seemed unable to get him out of those restraints.

The old man used that chance to jump upward and enter his vortex. The missing pieces in his figure reappeared, and the black lines shrunk back under the effects of the pulling force, but he didn't stop there.

Violet trails of energy left the old man to fuse with the vortex and alter its properties. Two series of gales came out of the raging structure and started to rotate to create arm-like limbs that converged toward Noah.

The pulling force became far stronger now that Noah ended up at the center of those two arms. He could feel the technique attracting him from three different sides, but he remained calm.

Something was off there. The old man had been part of the team that had chased Noah throughout the higher plane. Yet, he had never used that powerful pulling force to alter Noah's movements.

Noah could only find one explanation for that odd situation. The old man didn't use his technique before simply because he couldn't, so there had to be a trick behind it.

'He absorbed my energy,' Noah thought before closing his eyes and filling his mind with potential to search for remnants of his energy.

The whole higher plane had traces of Noah's influence, but faintly familiar sensations also came from inside the vortex. Noah had to push his mind beyond its limits to find the nature of that familiarity. Still, a smirk appeared on his face at that point.

The old man had used Noah's energy to create a technique that could suppress him, but he had to keep that power alive during the process. That feature made sense due to the overall strength and efficiency of the ability, but it turned out to be a fatal weakness against Noah.

The ethereal blackness sent even more potential to Noah's mind and forced it to redirect that power toward everything connected to him. Snore, the roots, and his influence grew stronger, and the same happened to the energy inside the vortex.

That empowerment alone couldn't change Noah's situation, but it allowed him to gain a better grasp of the connection between him and the vortex. Once Noah found it, he sent potential directly through those channels, forcing the energy inside the vortex to express power far beyond its limits.

The old man's eyes widened in surprise when he saw black spots appearing in the middle of his vortex. That darkness gave birth to black lines that stretched through the whole technique before releasing their destruction.

The vortex crumbled once the destruction became too much to bear. The old man enveloped his figure with violet energy and started to retreat, but a black flash filled his vision before he could leave Noah's range.

Noah reappeared behind the old man, and his swords didn't hesitate to announce their anger. Meanwhile, the privileged cultivator exploded with violet power to hide the fact that his body had split into two halves.
Chapter 2273: 2273. Confidence
The old man used his energy to bring his halves back together, but Noah didn't hesitate to turn and wave his swords. A thin, horizontal slash came out of his weapons and pierced the violet aura to sever the privileged cultivator's chest from its lower part.

The privileged cultivator released even more energy in a desperate attempt to gain enough time to heal, but Noah was relentless. A slight tremor ran through his wrists, and slashes rained out of his swords to crash on his opponent.

The violet halo crumbled into a wave of bright shards as soon as black lines spread through its structure. The privileged cultivator saw his figure vanishing and leaving his world exposed, but that didn't stop him from releasing more energy.

Noah didn't let the surge of power scare him. The privileged cultivator was clearly struggling to defend against his attacks, and he didn't miss the chance to double down on his offensive.

Only a second had to pass before countless slashes took control of the privileged cultivator's surroundings. The ability created multiple layers of attacks ready to fall on the old man, but Noah didn't unleash them right away.

The privileged cultivator couldn't heal in that situation. His surroundings were under Noah's control, and destruction filled every inch of that area. Black lines expanded on their own even if Noah didn't send any energy to his offensive, and any trace of power that tried to touch those slashes crumbled before it could turn into an attack.

The old man felt trapped, but he didn't give up. His world was in the open, but no energy could leave its edges since the destruction in the area would instantly shatter it.

Fighting back was impossible, so the privileged cultivator employed the opposite approach. He made the energy inside his world spin to generate a pulling force that attracted part of the destruction in the area.

A cold smirk appeared on Noah's face when he understood the privileged cultivator's plan. It wasn't hard to predict what the expert had in mind after facing his previous attack. The old man wanted to use even more of Noah's energy to summon an offensive that he couldn't theoretically overcome.

Noah could interrupt that procedure by unleashing all the slashes hovering in the area, but he decided to wait. His initial plan was to end the battle with one last attack, and he wanted to stick with it. That new development would only force him to overcome the old man's technique.

Snore voiced an excited hiss from inside its dark world when it sensed Noah's intentions. The snake was beyond happy to know that Noah was resorting to its ability to deal with his opponent.

Noah closed his eyes and raised his swords as he focused on the energy contained inside the countless slashes. The power behind their destructive nature skyrocketed and forced them to collapse to create dense black waves.

Those waves resembled Snore's destructive energy, but they didn't abandon Noah's iconic sharpness. Moreover, growls and roars seemed to come out of their fabric whenever they clashed with each other. A spherical lake had appeared around the privileged cultivators, and the transformations had only begun.

The old man absorbed as much of Noah's destruction as possible, but the transformation of the lake made him interrupt the process. The scenery filled his mind with disbelief and helplessness.

The waves of energy churned and condensed until they gave birth to a thick array of sharp feathers that shared a stark resemblance with Snore's old wings. That shape and the power they carried revealed the nature of the imminent attack, which made the privileged cultivator experience true despair.

Knowledge was a powerful weapon, but it only destroyed the privileged cultivator's hopes in that situation. He had studied Noah's power long enough to know what was about to fall on him, and he knew that nothing in his world could oppose it.

Tremors ran through the feathers and made them release even louder roars. Their blackness intensified until any other trace of light disappeared from the area.

The privileged cultivator saw the purple shades inside his world vanishing now that Noah's attack had forbidden the existence of other colors. Everything in the area had to belong to his destruction, and the old man could only succumb to the order.

The feathers eventually reached the peak of their power and began to descend toward the exposed world. The privileged cultivator instinctively summoned a defensive technique, but his energy crumbled even before reaching the incoming attacks.

The first clash triggered a chain reaction that made all the feathers shoot forward to unleash their energy on their target. A storm unfolded, and Noah forced himself to remain still while flares of energy flew past him.

The pressure generated by the explosions was immense. It matched and even slightly surpassed Snore's peak power. Noah had adapted his companion's attack to his abilities, turning his slashes into a deadly storm that he struggled to endure.

The black energy raged for a few seconds until imploding at the center of the storm. The event generated a shockwave that expanded for more than half of the higher plane, but Noah still forced himself to remain still. He couldn't divert his eyes from his own destruction.

The black energy finally dispersed at that point. The void regained control of the area, and its space-time array stabilized. Noah couldn't find any trace of the old man, but his eyes remained in the now-empty spot.

Noah's expression remained firm, but his ethereal blackness raged with power as it generated more potential. He had become strong enough to kill solid stage cultivators in a few attacks. His world couldn't remain silent in front of that feat.

Power ran through the very core of Noah's existence. He could feel his world striving to reach the peak of the cultivation journey, but a single solid stage cultivator wasn't enough to fill the gap that separated him from the breakthrough.

Noah was close to the solid stage, extremely close. However, that short gap felt immensely deep. There was a chance that no number of average privileged cultivators could fill it.

'So, that's how it is,' Noah calmly concluded in his mind. 'I can't advance like this.'

Noah moved his attention to focus on a spot near the sky. He found a smiling face waiting for him there. Caesar seemed to know what was going through his mind, and he showed nothing but excitement at that sight.

'He knows that I need to kill one of them to advance,' Noah thought.

Noah's cultivation level had reached the point that he had always predicted and feared. Affecting the entirety of the higher plane and becoming able to defeat peak rank 9 experts couldn't bring him to the solid stage. He needed a bit more than that.

'Does he expect me to ignore the other privileged cultivators to focus on the leaders?' Noah wondered as his cold smirk widened. 'As if I cared.'

Noah roared and exploded with power. The new potential running through his ethereal blackness flowed toward the cage of roots and Snore's dark world to further enhance their attacks.

Caesar's smile also widened when he inspected the scene. He expressed complete confidence, and he diverted his gaze only to force Noah to follow it.

Noah glanced in the direction of Caesar's gaze only to find an exhausted Steven hovering above Decumia. His black figure featured countless holes, but his opponent's cultivation level had also fallen a bit. Yet, he couldn't keep fighting anymore. His battle was over.
Chapter 2274: 2274. Sacrifice
Steven inspected the injuries on Decumia's figure. He had managed to hurt her world, but the damage was far from significant. Yet, it was enough to dethrone her from the very peak of the cultivation journey.

A privileged cultivator at the peak of the solid stage was a formidable opponent, but many inside Noah's organization could face such a threat. The leaders were the issue, and Steven had removed one of them from that position.

Of course, the damage wasn't permanent. Steven had gone overboard and burnt everything he had to accomplish that incredible feat, but Decumia would regain her original power as long as she had some time to heal.

The healing process would also be faster once Steven died. The dispersion of his power would remove the barriers hindering Decumia's recovery. His death could render his efforts pointless.

"Don't look so disappointed," Decumia chuckled as she patted the sky behind her. "You have almost cornered me. Take pride in your power."

Steven was using the faint remains of his power to keep his figure in one piece. He was in no condition to reply. Talking could break his concentration and shatter what was left of his world.

"You never fail to surprise me," Decumia praised, "And I'm talking about all of you. Your organization is incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better opponent."

Steven wanted to breathe roughly, but he suppressed that urge. He was on the verge of falling apart. He had to remain as still as possible to prevent the expansion of his injuries.

"You were nothing more than a liquid stage expert," Decumia continued. "Average cultivators would have never managed to achieve so much even if they sacrificed the entirety of their existence. Only a monster could have inflicted so much damage to me."

The praises couldn't snap Steven out of his condition. He was exhausted. Anyone could see that death was looming over him.

"That being said," Decumia sighed, "Your fight is over. You have accomplished your task. You can die now."

Decumia didn't launch any final attack. She limited herself to watching Steven struggling to remain alive. She didn't see any reason to waste her energy on destroying a floating corpse.

'Prolonging my life in this condition will only give her time to recover,' Steven thought as helplessness took control of his mind. 'It's time.'

"Pig," Steven whispered, and the efforts made cracks expand from the holes that filled his body.

The whisper was so faint that many would fail to hear it on that messy battlefield. However, the Foolery had never diverted its attention from Steven. The order reached its senses and made it shoot forward to help its companion.

"My time has come!" The Foolery squealed when it reached Steven's side, but the pressure radiated by its voice ended up expanding its companion's injuries.

"Sorry!" The Foolery promptly said in a quieter tone, but Steven's injuries expanded anyway. It seemed that the softest gale could make his body shatter and disappear.

The Foolery shut its mouth, but its cheeks inflated since it tried to speak. The pig knew that it couldn't control its instincts, so it forced itself to remain silent.

Steven ended up smiling at that sight. His companion was really an idiot, but he had to put his hopes on it anyway. There was no other option to defeat Decumia.

The smile created cracks at the corners of Steven's mouth. Small shards of his flesh also separated from his body and fell into the void, where they turned into powerless dust.

The Foolery wanted to ask Steven to remain still, but its sealed mouth helped keep it silent. Yet, its efforts didn't change the nature of the situation.

"Your potential is above mine," Steven whispered to the Foolery. "Maybe your idiocy makes your approach to the cultivation journey purer. I don't really know, but that's not important."

Decumia's gaze flickered with interest. She had already guessed that Steven's plan stretched past his death, but she didn't know what it involved. Still, the answers were about to arrive.

"Neither of us can defeat her in our current state," Steven continued. "You might even end up switching sides if I leave you like this. I can't let our organization lose two major experts against the same opponent."

The Foolery remained confused. It couldn't understand where Steven was going, but it agreed with the core of his speech. They had to kill Decumia no matter what.

"My current power is the result of a sacrifice," Steven explained. "It can't last forever. It's already fading even, but its core is authentic. It expresses the peak of my existence."

Steven turned toward the Foolery, and his neck almost shattered during the gesture. Steven had turned into a mere shadow of his former self after speaking so much. He had more holes and cracks than flesh now.

"Take it," Steven ordered. "Seize the core of my world and turn into something that Heaven and Earth can't corrupt."

A chilling and deep meaning accompanied Steven's lines. The Foolery's cheeks deflated as it finally opened its mouth to speak. Yet, no words came out of its throat. The pig was speechless.

"I told you already," Steven reminded. "Don't hesitate. Eat me and seize my power. I've already prepared it for the fusion."

The Foolery wasn't stupid. It liked to act like an idiot since that behavior was in line with its nature, but it was capable of intelligent and deep thoughts.

Still, that idiocy added a troublesome feature to the Foolery's personality. The pig was a bit naïve, especially when it came to its allies. It didn't want to see its close friends sacrificing themselves or dying.

"I get it!" Decumia spoke before the Foolery could find its resolve. "You never had any intention of leaving me injured. You were only testing your new power to prepare it for your companion."

Steven revealed a weak smile while keeping his attention on the Foolery. Acknowledging his weakness had allowed him to come up with that ploy. He only needed his companion to complete that plan.

"That's quite boring," Decumia declared. "I've already defeated your power. I don't want to fight it again. Besides, I like the pig."

Decumia spread her arms, and an array of purple tendrils came out of her back. Her influence expanded in the area, which forced Steven to speak again. "Quick. Eat me before she creates a flaw in my plan."

The Foolery didn't like what was happening. It hesitated for a mere second before summoning the resolve to follow Steven's plan. However, that delay allowed Decumia to affect its actions and restrain its body.

The pig felt unable to move as the purple halo expanded past its figure. Desperation took control of its mind when it saw the feeling of defeat filling Steven's expression. The Foolery suddenly understood that it had failed to fulfill Steven's dying wish.

Nevertheless, darkness abruptly expanded between the Foolery and Decumia. Violent anger destroyed every trace of the purple halo and removed Decumia's influence. Black lines also appeared in the area and enveloped that chunk of the void.

"Noah," Steven sighed as dark matter covered his body and prevented it from crumbling even further.

Noah materialized between his companion and Decumia. His reptilian eyes expressed nothing but killing intent as he stared at the privileged cultivator, but the latter showed no fear. She even smiled when sensing such intense destruction.

"I might have to ignore Caesar's orders," Decumia uttered. "I can't ignore such an interesting opponent."

"Noah," Steven called again, and Noah turned to face his companion. The scene turned Noah's killing intent into sadness, but he tried his best not to show those feelings.

"Noah," Steven said a third time, "I'm useless in this condition. Let me do this."

Countless ideas ran through Noah's mind. He came up with many ways to keep Steven alive and even restore part of his power. Yet, he knew that his role in the battle was over.

"Are you sure?" Noah eventually asked. "We can manage even if you don't do this."

"My existence wants me to fight Heaven and Earth," Steven stated. "Stopping me is worse than letting me die."

Noah already knew that, but he had still felt the need to ask. Yet, the situation was undeniable, so he voiced a simple order. "Pig, you heard him."
Chapter 2275: 2275. Honor
"Quite merciless," Decumia chuckled. "Though, can you really afford to lose such an important companion? The balance of the battlefield has yet to fall completely in your favor."

Noah could sense a faint force making its way through his mental waves and trying to invade his mind. Decumia's words expressed her chaos and attempted to disturb Noah's thoughts to create doubts and hesitation.

The ethereal blackness sent potential to Noah's mind to empower his violent thoughts. A clash that no one could see happened among faint but powerful influences while the two experts remained still.

Decumia's chaos fought the violent thoughts but failed to advance. Noah's destruction was too intense since he was actively defending himself against that influence.

Instead, Decumia was merely expressing the innate nature of her world. She wasn't sending any energy to that process. That depleted Noah's reserves quickly, but he didn't care since he wouldn't be the one to face Decumia.

Noah's presence allowed the Foolery and Steven to remain protected from Decumia's influence, but that didn't help the situation. The Foolery hesitated even after hearing Noah's orders, and nothing seemed able to make it move.

"What are you doing?" Noah asked.

"Noah," The Foolery squealed in a pleading tone.

"I know," Noah sighed. "Do it anyway."

"But," The Foolery continued.

"You are wasting Steven's precious time," Noah scolded. "Do it already!"

A low growl accompanied the end of Noah's line. Forcing the Foolery to accept that power wasn't ideal, but he couldn't find quicker ways to fulfill Steven's wishes.

"Pig," Steven called in a louder voice since Noah's dark matter was bringing temporary stability to his figure, "I know you understand what it means to be part of this organization. It's time to accept your role, just like I accepted mine."

"Things won't be fun anymore if I do this," The Foolery complained.

"Look at the battlefield," Steven uttered. "How many members of your species have died already? How many companions did we lose against Heaven and Earth's forces? The time to laugh will arrive, but now you have to fight."

"A true demon can always find the time to laugh," Noah joined the conversation. "Once the battle ends and the sky falls, we'll laugh, cry, and tell stories to honor the fallen."

The Foolery wanted to find alternative paths to victory, but it couldn't deny Steven and Noah's words. The battlefield needed its power, even if that meant sacrificing some of its companions.

Countless deaths filled the Foolery's vision and forced it to accept its companions' orders. A sigh left its mouth before it lifted its head. That gesture usually tried to convey pride, but Noah and Steven could see that there were far different emotions contained in it now.

The Foolery tried to convey its sadness and respect for Steven. It wanted to tell him how much it pained him to follow through with those orders, and the scene made Steven reveal an honest smile. He even patted the pig's back to reassure it.

Noah retracted the dark matter at that point, and the Foolery knew that the time had come. Steven's body shattered as soon as it lost its temporary stability, leaving only a dark sphere of power behind.

The Foolery opened its mouth and unfolded its aura. Hunger filled the void while the pig applied a pulling force on Steven's world. The process made his existence transform into a faint dark gale that flowed toward his companion and began to fuse with its body.

Generally speaking, the Foolery couldn't gain abilities from the existences it ate. That wasn't part of its skillset. However, Steven had altered his world to suit the pig and become part of its power.

Noah could sense Steven's existence vanishing while he hindered the advance of Decumia's chaos. The process felt too quick, but more potential flowed toward his mind to make him experience all the transformations of his friend.

Steven was barely awake. He was using the last trace of his concentration to focus on the fusion. He wanted the process to be flawless so that the pig could go back to the battle right away, and its final phases arrived faster than he expected.

The event marked the irreversibility of the process. Steven could see how his world had already become part of the Foolery's existence. He didn't even need to help the fusion anymore. The pig's hunger would do the rest.

That allowed Steven to take a break and use what remained of his concentration to inspect his surroundings. The battlefield featured screams, battle cries, and death, but its immensity made it marvelous.

Steven had gone from being one of the leaders of the secret organizations to playing an essential role on the final battlefield. His reach had stretched far past his expectations. His existence had affected the entire higher plane.

'Noah,' Steven said through his mental waves while the Foolery was immersed in the fusion.

Noah was keeping track of the procedure, so Steven's thoughts reached his mind in no time. Still, he limited himself to turning toward his companion. He simply had no words in that situation.

'It was an incredible journey,' Steven conveyed.

'The journey is not over,' Noah replied through his mental waves. 'You'll keep on living through the Foolery. You will see the sky fall.'

'You don't need to reassure me,' Steven laughed. 'My mind is at peace. I know that you will defeat Heaven and Earth.'

'Yes,' Noah stated. 'I'll destroy them.'

'I'm sorry for my weakness,' Steven continued.

'You stood your ground against one of the enemy leaders,' Noah snorted. 'That alone shows strength.'

'I guess you are right,' Steven responded. 'Maybe it's in our nature to keep striving for greater heights. I can feel the cultivation journey calling me even now.'

'That's how monsters are,' Noah said. 'We desire power even when our end is near.'

Steven didn't answer right away. It bathed in the beauty of the battlefield for a few seconds before voicing a simple request. 'Make them pay. Show them that they never had the right to stand above us, above you.'

'I told you already,' Noah sneered. 'They will fall.'

'No wonder I ended up following you,' Steven laughed. 'Fighting at your side was an incredible honor. Thank you.'

Noah didn't say anything, and Steven also fell silent. What remained of his existence shattered and split into multiple waves of energy that fused with the Foolery and started altering its body.

Steven was no more, but Noah still watched the spot where his world had disappeared. The shards of his body had long since dispersed into the void, but his mark remained. Noah could see how the universe had changed due to his companion's life.

'You couldn't become one of the distant stars,' Noah thought as his eyes finally left the spot where Steven had died to focus on the Foolery. 'You have chosen to turn yourself into fuel for a different star.'

Noah turned to glance at Decumia, but his gaze soon ignored her to focus on the sky behind her. That white layer was impenetrable, but Noah felt able to imagine the forces living past it. There was far more to explore and kill. His journey had barely begun.

"Don't let your mind strive for unreachable goals," Decumia joked since she understood the meaning behind Noah's expression. "You have a lot to overcome to see that path."

"You aren't one of those hindrances," Noah declared. "Someone else will take care of you."

A deafening squeal followed Noah's words. The cry made the destruction and chaos in the area disappear before darkening the patch of the sky right behind Decumia.
Chapter 2276: 2276. Pity
Decumia couldn't contain her smile. A single squeal had managed to get rid of the destruction and chaos before affecting the sky behind her. The cry's power was undeniable, and she couldn't wait to face it.

Noah had a far calmer approach. His reptilian eyes darted across the area before falling on the expanding dark patch in the sky. Heaven and Earth couldn't express their real power due to the old rulers' net, but that feat remained incredible.

'Hunger and anger,' Noah thought as he turned. 'That should create something worthy of this battlefield.'

The Foolery's figure appeared in Noah's vision and revealed its changes. The pig was still transforming, but it was already possible to notice a few key features.

The Foolery's skin had darkened, but that process was far from over. Steven's blackness was taking over the pig's colors, replacing them with shades that reflected a power meant to oppose Heaven and Earth.

The wings didn't escape that transformation, and they also grew to remove the last traces of their funny size. The remaining chunks of fat on the pig's body also vanished and retracted to show the massive muscles hidden underneath.

The Foolery never stopped squealing during the transformation. Something inside its existence forced it to express the raging feelings running through its mind.

Its world expanded and condensed to give birth to new energy. The Foolery had always been lacking in that field due to its naivety and short time spent as a hybrid, but Steven's existence was fixing those issues.

Noah could see a new world coming to life. The Foolery's innate features fused with Steven's experience as a cultivator and gave birth to something entirely different without abandoning the unique powers of the two experts.

The Foolery mostly expressed hunger, but its power was relatively young. Instead, Steven's world had initially carried pure determination, which had transformed into intense anger that targeted Heaven and Earth.

Steven had also empowered his world during his last moments, turning his anger into something focused on Decumia. That was a flaw in the grand scope of the final battlefield, but the pig's existence fixed the issue by adding new aspects.

The fusion of those aspects created a hunger that was incredibly effective against those belonging to Heaven and Earth's side, but that wasn't the end of it. Something powerful but faint had appeared in the depths of the Foolery's existence, and Noah couldn't understand its nature even when he focused on that feature.

"That's interesting!" Decumia exclaimed when she sensed that faint power.

Noah instinctively glared at Decumia, but she paid no attention to him. Her new opponent had captivated her so much that she refrained from releasing her aura.

The intense hunger still filled the area, but Noah could release his energy after getting used to that new environment. The Foolery wasn't focusing on anyone, so a higher density of power was enough to make other fuels survive under its influence.

Decumia learnt about that feature through Noah, but she still held back from unleashing her chaos. She wanted the Foolery to complete the transformation and give her the battle she had long yearned for.

Noah remained in his position even if he felt no danger coming from Decumia. Snore and the roots were handling his pursuers, so he could take his time to help a friend.

Nevertheless, the wait forced Noah to become more aware of the state of the battlefield. The chaos, the deaths, and the cries seemed endless, and the sourness of Steven's departure added different urges to his mind.

'Playing with the weaklings is my task for now,' Noah reminded himself. 'My efforts are bringing us closer to victory.'

Noah's attempts to calm himself down didn't lead anywhere. His world grew restless as he waited for his chance to dive back into the battlefield. He wanted to do more for his organization. His very existence pushed him toward reckless actions.

The void darkened while Noah remained focused on his mental state. Holding himself back had never been his forte, and the change in the environment soon attracted Decumia's attention.

The privileged cultivator began to have doubts. Decumia could feel the danger that Noah radiated, but she couldn't decide between the Foolery and him.

Both experts seemed worthy opponents, and Decumia was ready to abandon Caesar's plan to seek the entertainment that the final battle had yet to provide. However, the squeal suddenly stopped and prevented her from making that choice.

The hunger dispersed before a heavier aura spread in the area. The new influence still carried the Foolery's initial power, but it also expressed something different. Moreover, it didn't destroy random waves of energy anymore.

Noah and Decumia noticed that they didn't have to use any special method to release their energy now. However, the sky behind Decumia remained dark, which showed how the Foolery's passive influence still affected Heaven and Earth.

"Noah," The Foolery called in a deep voice.

The seriousness expressed by the Foolery surprised both Noah and Decumia. They didn't expect the pig to turn so stern after that transformation, but the change sounded reasonable. After all, the Foolery had to pay the steepest price for Steven's death.

Noah couldn't help but nod when he gazed at the Foolery and saw its cold gaze. That was a face befitting of a demon. Noah could almost sense the pig's chilling killing intent by merely looking at its expression.

'Steven would be proud,' Noah sighed before voicing a question. "Can I leave her to you?"

"Of course," The Foolery replied in its new tone. "It's my responsibility to take her down."

"I'll leave then," Noah stated.

"Do not worry!" The Foolery shouted before raising its head. "I will prove myself worthy of Steven's inheritance. Decumia, watch in fear as my power reaches the next level."

Noah couldn't believe that the Foolery recalled Decumia's name, but the intense aura that followed its announcement distracted him from his surprise. The pig's cultivation level increased rapidly and pushed it toward the limits of the liquid stage.

The Foolery seemed about to face its breakthrough, but a loud and long fart suddenly came out of its rear. The skyrocketing power began to fall, and its cultivation level returned to its previous height by the end of that smelly gesture.

Noah and Decumia had no words to describe the event. Their expression froze, but their eyes flickered when the Foolery began to accumulate power again. Its cultivation level rose, but the process ended when another fart came out of its butt.

"Is it for real?" Decumia asked.

"You won't get the fun you were seeking," Noah shook his head. "Even your chaos will go crazy."

"What do you mean?" Decumia questioned.

"You are confident in taking her down, right?" Noah repeated.

"I can't possibly lose," The Foolery replied without lowering its head. "I only have to accumulate enough power to advance. This battle will mark my rebirth!"

"Show no mercy," Noah casually said while shrugging his shoulders.

Decumia frowned when she saw Noah leaving the area to fly toward the spherical cage made of roots. She could see that she had missed something, but Noah had no intention of wasting more time there.

As for Noah, he didn't feel too happy with the Foolery's breakthrough, but its power was undeniable. The nature of that influence was the only issue. He had finally understood what Steven had created with his world, and the answer almost led to headaches.

'Hunger, anger, and idiocy,' Noah cursed in his mind. 'I'd pity her if she didn't cause Steven's death.'
Chapter 2277: 2277. Rules
Decumia followed Noah with her eyes, but a new surge of power forced her to bring her attention to the pig. The Foolery's cultivation level was striving toward the solid stage again, but a fart interrupted the process and brought it back to its previous heights.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Decumia asked before her usual smile reappeared on her face. "You have my interest, but you need to do far more to defeat me."

"Ignorants shouldn't speak!" The Foolery announced. "Steven has given me the power to overcome my limits. Even Xavier would have to acknowledge my value now."

King Elbas and Divine Architect obviously heard that conversation. Their battle had already begun, even if they weren't actually fighting.

Their clash had started when their assets first met on the battlefield. The help they could provide to their respective sides was an extension of their power, so they could decide a winner without falling into a series of exchanges.

Keeping attention on the entirety of the battlefield was mandatory for those two experts due to their essential role. King Elbas and Decumia had noticed Steven's death, but their seemingly tense balance shook when they heard the Foolery.

Divine Architect's crystal eyes flickered with white light when she noticed that King Elbas' complete concentration wavered for a second. That event didn't lead to a proper distraction, but it was enough to attract Divine Architect's attention.

Of course, Divine Architect knew that the Foolery had a significant influence on King Elbas' sanity, but his dark expression now carried something deeper than a simple annoyance. He seemed to resent the curiosity trying to take over his mind.

"It's unbecoming of your role to experience such strong feelings," Divine Architect commented. "All the members of your organization share this flaw, but I didn't expect you to be afflicted so deeply by it."

"Are you worried about me now?" King Elbas mocked as he kept his attention on the Foolery. His curiosity was reacting on its own, but he despised what he was learning.

"Nonsense," Divine Architect sighed. "I was only pointing out another field where I'm superior."

"Superior," King Elbas repeated. "Shall we make a bet?"

"Do you really think that pig can defeat Decumia?" Divine Architect asked.

"Would you be interested in it?" King Elbas wondered.

"No," Divine Architect firmly replied. "Bets are pointless when the higher plane has reached this state."

"That stoic attitude is a flaw," King Elbas stated.

"Only an ignorant would say that," Divine Architect replied.

"Well, I don't need you to accept to win," King Elbas declared. "I made you experience defeat once already. The pig's battle will remind you of that feeling."

"You use "victory" too casually," Divine Architect uttered. "The bigger plan still escapes your vision."

"Remember those words when the feeling returns," King Elbas snorted.

His curiosity had brought answers that gave birth to intense annoyance inside his mind. King Elbas knew what kind of power the Foolery had achieved.

King Elbas had his personal classification of powers, abilities, and worlds. He stood alone in his own category, but his organization had many experts worthy of unique labels.

Noah, Sword Saint, and Alexander were obviously among them, but King Elbas had come up with an even more unique category. Still, only Pellio and Divine Demon had fallen under that label, at least until now. The Foolery had just joined them.

Decumia and the Foolery didn't do much while King Elbas and Divine Architect argued. The Decumia limited herself to watching the pig accumulating and losing energy without ever leading anywhere.

The process had been interesting at first, but Decumia grew bored of it after hearing the seventh fart. It was clear that the Foolery couldn't achieve the breakthrough in its current state.

"Stop it already," Decumia announced as she unfolded her aura and applied her chaos to her surroundings.

The sky behind Decumia regained its white shades now that her chaos shielded it from the waves of hunger that flowed through the area. The Foolery had already failed to influence its main target, but that issue didn't bother it.

"I need more power," The Foolery exclaimed before pointing its dark eyes toward Decumia. "You will push me to the peak."

"Ooh?" Decumia murmured in a curious tone. "And how would I do that?"

"By feeding me your chaos," The Foolery declared before releasing another fart and shooting forward.

Decumia couldn't help but notice how the pig's speed had significantly increased. The Foolery wasn't as fast as Noah, but it remained an opponent that average solid stage cultivators would struggle to follow.

Of course, Decumia wasn't one of those average cultivators. Part of the damage that Steven had inflicted on her world still afflicted her power, but she remained one of the greatest experts among Heaven and Earth's army. She didn't even have to take the battle seriously to follow the Foolery.

The pig charged ahead while folding its wings to create a straightforward charge that had every intention of squashing Decumia. However, the latter easily sidestepped the attack and smiled at the sight of the Foolery crashing into the sky.

The white layer didn't suffer any damage, but its white shades disappeared again now that the Foolery was touching its surface. The chaos that had floated right above the sky vanished due to the pig's aura, leaving Heaven and Earth relatively powerless in that part of the battlefield.

Decumia shook her head without retracting her smile. The sheer power radiated during the impact had caused a slight reaction in her survival instincts, but that was still too little to worry her. She even opened her mouth to voice a few mocking words that suited her world, but the Foolery didn't let her speak.

Another fart came out of the Foolery, but Decumia's eyes widened in surprise when she saw that the smelly gas had shot out of its right wing. That limb had no real orifices, but she couldn't deny what had happened.

What followed the fart shocked Decumia even more. The pushing force generated by the release of the smelly gas made the Foolery shoot toward its left and sprint toward Decumia again.

The sprint was far faster than before, but it still fell short in Decumia's eyes. The delay caused by her surprise didn't prevent her from dodging the incoming charge with another precise sidestep.

The Foolery crossed Decumia's position without even coming close to hitting her. Its figure started flying deeper into the void and threatened to leave the battlefield altogether, but its head performed a sharp turn upward, and the gesture gave birth to another fart.

The gas allowed the Foolery to reverse its momentum completely. The pig shot toward Decumia again, and the latter remained speechless in front of that movement technique. The farts were odd but okay. The issue came from how easily the Foolery ignored basic regulation of the space-time array.

A powerful and quick sprint would typically take a while to disperse its momentum. The cultivators and other experts changed direction by applying an even stronger force, which led to short seconds of complete stasis.

The Foolery was ignoring those rules. Its farts made it change direction instantaneously, without even having to disperse the momentum accumulated until then. Actually, it seemed that the pig was sorting that energy to collect it inside its world.
Chapter 2278: 2278. Assaul
Noah and his companions had become quite famous for ignoring the rules of the cultivation journey. Some experts in his organization even affected deeper meanings with their worlds, and a few were also able to rewrite entire innate behaviors of the laws.

However, the Foolery had never been one of those experts. Its power had always been relatively straightforward since it had deep connections to the magical beasts' field. Still, that had greatly changed after the fusion with Steven's world.

The Foolery wasn't only ignoring the laws of the world. It was also affecting fields that its power didn't usually touch. The space-time array of the void was even too deep for its current level, but its movement technique didn't seem to care about it.

The pig didn't realize how amazing its sprints were. It simply focused on charging at Decumia with everything it had without worrying about the unique properties of its technique.

Meanwhile, Decumia's amazement intensified. She could easily dodge that offensive, but the pig's power remained surprising. Even her chaos appeared unable to affect it due to its inconsistent foundation and abilities.

"Stay still for a moment," Decumia eventually ordered after successfully dodging another reckless charge.

The Foolery had just begun to reverse its momentum. Its body made a U-shaped turn without slowing down or wasting time, and that energy remained around its figure even when it decided to stop itself to listen to Decumia.

"Why are you using farts to move?" Decumia directly asked. "They aren't a core part of your power, so there must be better ways to use your abilities."

"What abilities?" The Foolery wondered.

"Your movement technique," Decumia replied while pointing at the energy around the Foolery. "Can't you see your body retaining momentum even after stopping completely?"

The Foolery glanced at the smelly dark energy that surrounded its body and frowned before mustering a confident tone. "I have always known that this energy was here!"

Decumia's expression froze. The Foolery's unconvincing tone had revealed that it had no knowledge about its current power. It didn't even realize that its farts were making it accomplish something incredible.

"Do you even realize what you are doing?" Decumia asked. "You are rewriting the rules involving movement and flight. You are sprinting in a straight line even if your body performs turns."

"Praising me won't save your life," The Foolery announced while lifting its head. "Your fate is sealed!"

Decumia didn't know how to approach the Foolery. A smile appeared on her face, but she also wore a deep frown. Confusion and excitement mixed in her head while she tried to figure the pig out.

"You have wings," Decumia continued. "Why do you use them to accelerate? They must deplete less energy, right?"

The Foolery lowered its head to focus on Decumia for a few seconds. Its eyes then went on its wings. The pig flapped them a few times before releasing short farts from their base to study how much energy the two gestures depleted.

The pig soon brought its attention back to Decumia before showing a proud smile. Decumia didn't know what that expression meant, but the Foolery didn't hesitate to explain it. "I knew you would have pushed me to the peak."

"What?" Decumia asked before raising her arms due to the scream that her survival instincts voiced.

Everything happened in the span of an instant. The Foolery flapped its wings and released farts from their base at the same time to perform a sprint that even Decumia couldn't trace properly.

The movement technique made the Foolery crash on Decumia before she could summon any trace of energy. The impact flung her in the distance and made her slam on the white layer again.

Part of the Foolery's energy had attached itself to Decumia and had empowered the impact. That power ended up dispersing after she slammed on the sky, and the whiteness carried by that solid layer vanished due to its influence.

Decumia wasn't hurt. Her energy flowed through her body, so her figure could withstand that simple offensive. However, she soon became aware of something far worse than a physical injury.

Decumia had to study her world to notice what had changed. Her existence had remained intact, but part of the energy inside it had vanished.

The privileged cultivator didn't take long to find her missing energy. A connection between her world and that power still existed. She could feel how the pig's belly was slowly digesting that fuel to turn it into nutrients.

The Foolery's cultivation level rose as it lifted its head. Its power tried to cross the limits of the liquid stage again, but a fart ended up coming out of its butt and dispersing those improvements.

Nevertheless, Decumia noticed how the process didn't waste her energy. That power still existed inside the Foolery even if the fart should have dispersed it.

"How do you even work?" Decumia couldn't help but wonder.

"A true expert must do what it feels," The Foolery proudly announced, "Without worrying about potential dangers and theories."

"Not really," Decumia chuckled before shaking her head and exploding with power.

Purple energy filled Decumia's surroundings and created an area brimming with her chaos. Her intense energy removed the Foolery's influence and allowed the sky to shine with its light again. Actually, it seemed that its whiteness had grown more intense.

"Your power is interesting," Decumia exclaimed. "I can't wait to make you change sides to keep you as my personal pet."

Those words seemed to trigger something inside the Foolery. The pig lowered its head to study Decumia with its cold eyes. Its expression radiated proper anger, but that reaction only widened Decumia's smile.

"I almost forgot," Decumia stated. "Your species has already been in chains once. What is it? Are you angry now? Come at me then."

"My anger fused with Steven's power," The Foolery declared. "Even I don't know what will fall on you."

"Let me guess," Decumia mocked. "You are going to fart again, aren't-?"

Decumia couldn't finish her line since a threat suddenly appeared above her. The Foolery had materialized among her chaos without giving any warning or releasing any wave of energy.

The technique resembled a teleport, but Decumia realized how different that ability had been. The Foolery didn't actually move. The space-time array didn't carry any alteration either. The universe itself believed that the pig had always been there.

The Foolery didn't let Decumia ponder about its new technique. It directly sprinted downward to crash on her and flung her away. The impact made Decumia fly in the distance, but she managed to disperse that momentum quickly.

Decumia noticed how her world had lost energy, and she felt no surprise when she found that missing power inside the Foolery. Still, the pig didn't try to approach the breakthrough at that time.

The Foolery materialized in a spot above Decumia before performing another reckless charge. Yet, Decumia transformed into a purple current that allowed her to dodge the attack and condense into a different area.

The pig didn't stop there. Its power increased and its hunger flowed out of its figure as it performed another teleport to catch Decumia by surprise. However, she had understood that attack pattern by then, so she dodged the following charge again.

"Is that it?" Decumia asked after she reached another part of the battlefield.

The Foolery didn't answer, but its silence didn't satisfy Decumia. Something was off, and she quickly realized the reason behind that feeling. Part of her hand had disappeared even if the pig didn't land its attack.

"How did you hurt me?" Decumia questioned while her energy rebuilt her hand. "Your attack failed."

"Who said that an attack has to succeed to apply its effects?" The Foolery sneered.
Chapter 2279: 2279. Turn
Noah felt a headache trying to take control of his mind while he inspected the Foolery's battle. The pig had obtained a troublesome power, and even the clearly superior Decumia was struggling to face it.

Noah soon stopped focusing on the Foolery to bring his attention back to his task. Snore was keeping its opponents busy inside its dark world, so only the spherical cage made of roots required some work from his end.

Nevertheless, the parasite was enjoying the influx of potential coming from the ethereal blackness. Noah had even killed one of the privileged cultivators from that team, which made escaping the cage quite hard.

The privileged cultivators still tried their best to defeat the disposable assets and create holes in the array of roots. Yet, Noah launched piercing slashes whenever someone came close to escaping the cage.

That approach was slow, but it allowed Noah to save energy when fighting against multiple powerful assets. None of those privileged cultivators were at his level, but they could create problems if they managed to corner him through a joint offensive.

The issue didn't involve the overall amount of power that those experts were capable of summoning when working together. Noah had to be careful about their energy reserves since even his incredible world couldn't overcome that hurdle in that situation.

Truth be told, Noah had come close to approaching his limits a few times already since the beginning of the final battle. After all, fighting a fully-fledged privileged cultivator in the solid stage required him to go all-out.

However, the nature of the ethereal blackness had allowed Noah to keep fighting. Every victory generated more potential and refilled his world with valuable energy. He couldn't approach the breakthrough with that method, but he could remain a significant threat to his opponents.

That was Noah's task. His organization had a vague plan for the final battle, and his role was quite important. Keeping so many privileged cultivators busy greatly helped his side and would eventually grant it a stark advantage during the last phases of that war.

Still, Steven's death had added sourness to that role. Noah kept diverting his attention from the trapped experts to glance at other significant battles. He didn't want to get in the way of his companions, but he felt the urge to fight against stronger cultivators.

Noah knew that the urge probably had roots stretching deep into his world. He had already confirmed that he would need to defeat one of the enemy leaders to advance. His constant desire to obtain more power naturally pushed him toward those opponents, and he had to suppress that feeling to stick to his role.

Yet, Noah had never been great at holding back. He could feel that desire fusing with his violent thoughts and the emotions caused by Steven's death to create something unstoppable.

Of course, that alone couldn't distract Noah from his role. He had responsibilities, and a mistake from his end could be fatal in the grand scope of the final battle.

The problems started at that point. Noah could suppress an urge, but proper thoughts were harder to ignore. Dealing with instincts wasn't an issue, but he found it difficult to face them once they became somewhat reasonable.

'This is our best shot at retaining energy,' Noah reminded himself. 'Heaven and Earth will free themselves at some point. We need to be ready for them.'

'I need to trust my companions,' Noah continued in his mind. 'This is only the beginning. Everything will change once Heaven and Earth arrive.'

'Why is he still staring at me?' Noah eventually thought while glancing toward Caesar.

Caesar wasn't affecting the battlefield in any way. He was also holding back his influence as he hovered in a relatively empty spot before the sky. Still, he had long since decided to keep his attention on Noah, and the latter didn't know why.

'Does he know that I'm about to snap?' Noah wondered. 'Is he doing this to make that happen quickly?'

Noah couldn't find answers, but the issue remained. Caesar's smug smile was a scene that he couldn't ignore. That gesture also influenced the sore feelings caused by Steven's death, making them stronger than ever.

Everything was going fine on the battlefield. The landmass' forces were still suffering defeats from time to time, but their momentum was set in stone. Heaven and Earth's leaders were the only exception, but Noah expected as much.

In theory, Noah could find replacements for his task. Emperor and Queen could handle more opponents, and Snore didn't need his help to deal with the experts trapped in its dark world.

Yet, Noah knew that going after Caesar right now wouldn't lead anywhere. He wasn't strong enough to affect his world. The exchange at the beginning of the final battle had already proven that.

A series of exchanges followed those thoughts. Noah focused on sending the cultivators who tried to escape his cage back to its center, but he failed to inflict deadly blows.

Noah would have to enter the cage and summon some of his strongest attacks to kill the experts, but the roots were already wearing them down. He would win as long as he kept his opponents trapped there.

The wait didn't benefit Noah's mental state. He could feel Caesar's gaze on him while he dealt with his opponents. The arrogance and challenge behind that gesture triggered instincts that he wanted to keep under control, but he still didn't let his emotions take over his mind.

A random slash eventually led to a surge of potential inside the ethereal blackness. Noah noticed how one of the cultivators inside the cage had finally fallen prey to the many threats contained by the roots. That death had partially refilled his world, but he quickly used that energy to send more power to his technique.

That trend seemed indestructible. Noah and the others were doing it. They were cornering Heaven and Earth's forces, and the final battle almost appeared on the verge of falling completely in their favor.

"Come on," Caesar eventually spoke. "I know you aren't happy with this."

Caesar's voice spread through the entirety of the higher plane, but everyone knew the target of those words. Noah ignored that challenge and continued to focus on his opponents. Snore even ended up killing one of the privileged cultivators, so he could distract himself by enjoying the new potential filling his world.

"You know that these victories don't mean anything," Caesar continued. "You must kill some of us to advance in the right direction."

Noah revealed his cold smile toward Caesar before sending more potential toward the cage. Flowers grew from the roots and gave birth to seeds, which generated more branches of the parasite.

The new branches stretched inside the cage and filled the area with corrosive energy. Only the dark world's creations could survive that new environment without using any additional power, so the privileged cultivators' situation greatly worsened.

"I never thought the great Defying Demon would be happy squashing ants," Caesar announced. "The cultivator who gave you that title would be greatly disappointed."

"Why are you even trying to bait me?" Noah asked. "You know what you have to do to force my hand."

"So cold," Caesar laughed. "Did you even feel anything for your friend's death?"

"I will kill you," Noah calmly stated. "It's up to you to decide when."

"I guess I have to make the first move," Caesar shook his head while his bright smile remained on his face.

Caesar waved his hand, and Noah shot backward when he noticed changes in the void's space-time array. Faint energy was affecting that structure, and his technique suffered during the process.

The cage of roots shattered, but the power it contained returned inside the ethereal blackness. The same happened to Snore's dark world. The snake saw its destructive energy disappearing while its body teleported next to Noah.

The privileged cultivators who had been trapped inside Noah's techniques didn't hesitate to run away. They appeared exhausted and full of injuries, and their poor state reassured Noah.

"You reverted the very existence of my techniques," Noah exclaimed, "But you couldn't remove their effects. I'm getting there."

"Is this enough to make you come here?" Caesar wondered.

"You know it is," Noah replied. "The time has come then. Shafu, it's your turn."
Chapter 2280: 2280. Advance
Noah and Caesar kept their eyes on each other for different reasons. Noah wanted to see if his announcement caused some reactions in his opponent. Instead, Caesar did his best to show his usual expression.

Still, even Caesar's usually confident behavior shook at the sight of the massive figure coming out of Noah's body. At first, Caesar only saw a shadow as big as multiple regions, but that giant spot enlarged until it occupied a massive area of the higher plane.

Shafu had grown together with Noah, and its current size was incredible, to say the least. The dragon wasn't as big as the landmass, but it could occupy a whole quarter of it on its own.

Shafu's size wasn't the only surprising aspect of its existence. The dragon stood in the upper tier even without Noah's potential. It didn't need any artificial empowerment to reach the last stage of the cultivation journey.

Of course, Shafu wasn't at the very peak of the ninth rank, but that detail remained surprising. Its heavy presence, its incredible size, and its overall power made the dragon a creature that forced even Caesar to drop his confidence for an instant.

Shafu didn't scare Caesar, but his fate couldn't predict everything, so he allowed himself to be slightly surprised. Still, what followed remained inside his calculations.

A roar that forced most experts on the battlefield to summon defensive abilities came out of Shafu's mouth right after it landed on the landmass, but that wasn't the end of it.

Shafu stretched its six arms, which grew as dark matter came out of its body to alter part of its structure. The entire battlefield seemed to go silent and gasp when the dragon sealed its claws on the landmass' base and began to put strength in an attempt to lift it.

The experts from both sides watched as Shafu wielded the landmass as if it was a proper sword. Yet, merely grabbing its base wasn't enough to gain its power. That gigantic black home was more than a weapon. It was a creature with will and urges.

A deep growl came out of the landmass. The creature didn't like how Shafu had interrupted its relentless offensive toward the sky, but the event didn't lead to an immediate clash.

Shafu growled too. The dragon was smarter than the landmass in terms of pure intelligence, and its experience also had great value in that situation. Shafu tried to convey its intentions in a language that the creature could understand. After all, it sought cooperation.

Strangely enough, the landmass seemed to listen to Shafu. It didn't immediately give in, but it grew calmer as a softer growl came out of its surface.

Shafu and the landmass eventually fell into a conversation that only they could understand. Even Noah couldn't put those cries into proper words. The exchange of growls expressed complicated intentions with various depths, so it was quite impossible to find a single meaning.

Nevertheless, the scene hinted at the imminent events even if Shafu and the landmass had yet to find an agreement. The sole thought that the massive dragon could wield that giant sword filled Heaven and Earth's army with fear, and part of Noah's side also shared those worries.

Meanwhile, Noah flew toward Caesar. No one dared to stand on his path, even if he was advancing slowly. Everyone knew that the imminent battle was inevitable, and opposing Caesar's will didn't fall into their plans.

"Cursed Reality," Noah called during his flight, and his companion promptly materialized at his side.

"I can't spend too long talking," Cursed Reality announced. "I'm already going all-out to support the various buildings."

"You'll need to do far more soon," Noah exclaimed. "We can't let everyone die simply because we have started fighting."

"I have created a failsafe already," Cursed Reality pointed out. "You know that."

"Will it be enough against that?" Noah asked while glancing at Shafu and the landmass.

"Will they attack us?" Cursed Reality questioned.

"Do you really think they'll care about their allies?" Noah replied.

"This is the end then," Cursed Reality stated.

"Not quite," Noah uttered. "Though we are almost there."

"I'll try to keep everyone safe," Cursed Reality declared. "You can go all-out. Don't worry about the others."

"That's the problem," Noah sighed. "I wouldn't have worried anyway."

Cursed Reality shot a cold glance toward Noah, but his expression melted when the entirety of the battlefield returned to his senses. Only a ruthless leader could have created that situation, and their organization probably required even more brutish methods to seize victory.

Noah and Cursed Reality didn't speak anymore. Cursed Reality teleported away and reached the ethereal array of inscriptions to add defenses and separate dimensions to their structure.

King Elbas was already handling the various teleports that led directly inside the array of inscriptions. Cursed Reality only had to reinforce those defenses since Pellio's ability probably wouldn't be enough to handle what was about to come.

Most of the experts who had nothing to do with the defenses kept their attention on Shafu and the landmass. Yet, a few leaders felt that the battlefield wanted something more from them as they watched Noah approaching Caesar.

The underlings couldn't understand the meaning behind Noah's advance, but Divine Demon and other experts in a similar position knew that far too well. Noah was joining the crucial battles. The time to hold back was over.

June and her team were struggling against their opponent. Marcella's power appeared endless, and her abilities could fend off every attack converging toward her figure.

The experts had managed to free the landmass from Marcella's hindrances, but their feats had ended there. Their offensive appeared unable to hurt their opponent even with the space dragon coordinating most of the attacks.

Shafu's actions had temporarily interrupted the relentless exchange of attacks, but the experts were ready to resume their offensive. However, a dense aura suddenly fell on them, which forced everyone to glance at a spot above them.

"What are you doing here?" June snorted when a sea of dark-red light filled the void above her.

"Defying Demon has stepped forward," Divine Demon declared. "We can't play around anymore."

"We can handle this," June continued.

"I honestly don't care," Divine Demon responded. "I only know that I must end this."

Supreme Thief and Great Builder weren't doing too well against the Rulers' Resolve. They weren't losing, but they weren't winning either.

Great Builder was exhausted, so he limited himself to supporting his companion through simple but effective creations. As for Supreme Thief, he mostly cursed his own power whenever one of his techniques failed to express the intended force.

The battle was quite spectacular and tense, but the three cultivators couldn't refrain from interrupting their offensive to inspect Shafu. That reaction was quite odd for the Rulers' Resolve, but it made sense since it involved Heaven and Earth's safety.

Still, before the experts could resume their battle, a figure teleported among them and delayed the end of that break. Alexander's relatively sorry figure appeared in the middle of that fight and nodded at his companions before turning toward the Rulers' Resolve.

"Won't we have problems if we focus our main forces on these few battles?" Great Builder wondered since he was keeping track of the entirety of the battlefield.

"I believe we have capable companions," Alexander announced. "Also, only a few experts will be able to move once the landmass shows its true potential."

"Is someone coming for you too?" Decumia asked once the pig completed another charge.

"My companions know how responsible I am," The Foolery squealed. "I'm strong enough to handle this task."

"It's not a matter of strength," A third voice resounded in the area before a shockwave expanded between the Foolery and Decumia. Someone had landed in that area of the void, and both experts recognized him immediately.

"Caesar taunted Noah," Wilfred stated. "Heaven and Earth are probably about to break free from the old rulers' net. We must hurt their leaders now that we have the chance."