Noah had gone through rough periods inside the separate dimension, and his cultivation level didn't improve by much compared to his usual training speed.
Yet, he had used that time to meditate. Noah couldn't test his abilities inside the separate dimension, but his journey through the last stages of the sixth rank was more than a mere slashing session.
Techniques were useful to cultivators, but they had to nurture their individualities to obtain their power. King Elbas had proved that already. He had to lose all his items and disposable weapons to complete his path.
Noah had always owned various techniques that only expressed certain aspects of his individuality. Sword Saint had trained him so that he could put his entire existence into his slashes, and Noah had completed that phase when he reached the liquid stage.
Still, that was only the starting point for his journey to become a law. Now that his entire existence was in one place, he had to make it grow until it obtained a true meaning.
Noah had techniques that were stronger than his existence in the past. Sword Saint's final slash could overcome the attacks that made use of his dark world, which meant that Noah's individuality couldn't surpass abilities that carried sheer superior power.
However, that had changed during the five hundred years spent inside the separate dimension. Noah used that time to focus on his individuality, and his prowess had benefitted from that.
Noah knew that he was far stronger than before. He didn't know exactly how powerful he had gotten due to the lack of proper enemies in those years, but his instincts told him that he was nowhere near his previous level.
The fissure leading to the Immortal Lands was still open in the sky when the cultivators who had lived inside the separate dimension for more than five centuries came out of it.
A blinding white light appeared on the western side of the new continent, and an army of cultivators replaced it when it dimmed. The three organizations took out all their assets except for the weaker human experts.
Noah gazed at the sea for an instant before focusing on the white crack leaking out a welcoming aura. He felt a pulling force trying to bait him to enter it, but his mind cut away that influence immediately.
The fact that the crack was still open meant that King Elbas had yet to leave those Mortal Lands. However, Noah didn't care about that. Even if his feelings came from the simple respect toward another talented existence, he trusted the Royal.
Noah didn't hesitate and led the troops toward the surface. A bit of hesitation filled the two Matriarchs and the other higher-ups, but they followed Noah without giving voice to any complaint.
When the massive group of experts came out of the sea and gazed their eyes on the new continents, they couldn't help but remain speechless.
King Elbas had burned almost every region when he returned from the separate reality. Entire lands had become nothing more than charred wastelands under the effects of his higher energy.
However, the scenery that welcomed the assets of the three organizations was the complete opposite of what they recalled about the new continent.
Immense prairies and many magical plants filled their vision. The roars of magical beasts echoed through the surface, making it give off a lively atmosphere. The terrain had many large fissures, but it wasn't dead anymore.
Even the central territories had completely recovered. King Elbas had fixed the new continent in those five hundred years, but he had to take the energy required for the task from somewhere.
The powerhouses were the first to notice the differences from the piece of Immortal Lands that they recalled. The new continent was initially brimming with "Breath" and uninhabitable by human cultivators, but that landmass radiated a weaker power now.
The "Breath" in the air wasn't as dense as before, and even the ground contained less energy. It was as if King Elbas had sacrificed the quality of that landmass to restore its state.
The human cultivators who had come out of the separate dimension deactivated the inscribed items meant to shield them from the pressure of the "Breath". The new condition of the landmass allowed them to walk freely in those regions.
The new continent wasn't nearly as poor as the old one in its current condition, but it was far from its previous peaks. The experts of the world had managed to ruin it in a bit more than a millennium.
Of course, they wouldn't complain about that outcome. The major organizations had always known that their unrestrained growth would eventually turn the new continent in that state. It had merely happened earlier than they expected.
Noah soon lost interest in the new environment and focused on searching for traces of enemies. His consciousness expanded and covered half of the western coast with his sharp mental waves.
Shining lines appeared whenever Noah's consciousness flew above the regions. The entirety of the coastline appeared to be under the influence of defenses capable of bearing his innate pressure.
Noah didn't trigger those formations with his pressure, but the resilience shown during his analysis confirmed that they were all defenses in the sixth rank.
"I didn't say that taking the world will be easy," King Elbas' voice echoed through the sky, and golden flames appeared right under the crack.
The flames condensed until they took the shape of King Elbas. The Royal appeared in the sky and spread his aura through the world so that everyone could feel it.
It was a calm aura that hid a violent behavior. King Elbas seemed a ticking bomb ready to explode whenever the situation required it.
Many weaker heroic cultivators took steps back at the sight of King Elbas hovering in the sky, but Noah had completely different feelings. There was only annoyance in his mind.
"Why are you still here?" Noah asked as he shouted toward the crack. "Go to the higher plane already. Leave us ants to our games."
Noah replying in that way to a divine cultivator was a sight that made many experts fear for their lives. They didn't know if Defying Demon had angered King Elbas with his aloof and uncaring character.
Yet, King Elbas limited himself to show a smile at those words before turning to fly toward the insides of the crack.
A couple of rank 6 cultivators came out from the center of the new continent at that point and began to shout toward King Elbas.
"Wait, Father!" Second Princess said as she tried to reach King Elbas before it was too late.
"Take care of this army!" Third Prince said. "If you kill them, the Elbas family will keep control of two worlds for millennia!"
King Elbas stopped flying when he heard those words, and the experts inside Noah's army trembled when they saw him turning toward them. They initially thought that his descendants' pleads had succeeded, but they soon understood that they were wrong.
The Royals' leader continued to turn until he faced Second Princess and Third Prince, and he stared at them for a few seconds before giving voice to a phrase that made them show ugly expressions.
"I am the Elbas family," King Elbas said before turning and flying through the fissure.