Chapter 1977 - 1977. Weapon

"What are you even doing here?" Noah laughed at the sight of the two liquid stage experts.

The talk about the sky went in the back of his mind when the four experts appeared. Noah couldn't help but feel happy about that reunion and those breakthroughs. Wilfred and Steven's situation had kept him worried in the past, especially after Robert's death, but they were fine now. They had finally stepped into the ninth rank.

"I was divining locations where we could hurt Heaven and Earth," Great Builder announced proudly while pointing at the fainted experts. "Guess who we found in the middle of the mess?"

"We kept ourselves busy," Noah shortly explained while wearing a smirk.

"We noticed that," Supreme Thief scoffed. "You even stole my technique in the meantime."

"I couldn't possibly leave it there," Noah shrugged his shoulder..

"What a thief," Supreme Thief shook his head.

"That's your title," Noah joked. "I merely defy those stronger than me."

"Where should we drop them?" Great Builder asked, and Noah spread his dark world to create a sea where the cultivator could drop his two friends.

Noah studied Wilfred and Steven after they entered the dark world. Their existences were different from before, but they were stable. They had only suffered and recovered too quickly, so they required time to rest and adapt to their new state.

"What technique are you using to find these spots?" King Elbas asked while nearing Great Builder.

"Something quite simple," Great Builder exclaimed while revealing a complicated formation that seemed to fuse with the fabric of the world. "The technique doesn't do much. I have died and come back to life without Heaven and Earth's help. My world has gained flaws that naturally point at spots where I can hurt the rulers."

Noah and King Elbas understood that power quite well, especially since the former's hypotheses had significantly benefited from his status as a mistake. Great Builder had obtained the same power by coming back to life. His predictions had simply become more accurate after the resurrection.

"Did you try to make it like this?" King Elbas asked while talking out a golden sphere from his body and using it to create a similar complicated formation.

"Oh! That's not so bad," Great Builder exclaimed before using his fingers to trace yellowish lines in the sky. "Do you mean it like this?"

"I would pour more energy on these lines," King Elbas said before pointing at part of the formation. "You can increase the efficiency without increasing its consumption too much."

"But I would lose part of the grip on the world," Great Builder contradicted.

"Maybe you should modify these then," King Elbas added.

Noah, Supreme Thief, and Divine Demon exchanged a meaningful glance. They silently left the two inscription masters alone before sitting cross-legged on the sea of dark matter.

Divine Demon raised his hand, and blood-red energy flowed into his palm to create three cups full of wine. The expert handed a cup to his companions, and everyone took a sip without saying anything.

"It's stronger than before," Noah commented before drinking some more.

"It has my personal flavor now," Divine Demon laughed.

"You are lucky that it's good," Supreme Thief frowned. "Many would have stopped drinking after your comment."

"I've seen my heir drinking worse," Divine Demon continued to laugh.

"Trust me. You didn't," Noah smirked while gulping the cup and handing it to Divine Demon.

The expert waved his hand and refilled it through the same blood-red energy. Noah studied the event, but his mind found it hard to understand what had changed in the expert's world.

"You couldn't be the only one reaching unknown realms," Divine Demon sneered after noticing Noah's attempt to understand the nature of his energy.

"Easy for you all to say that after leeching off my ambition," Noah mocked.

"Nonsense," Divine Demon replied. "I would have reached the same level on my own."

"I find it hard to say anything against that," Noah joked. "You would be a legendary species if you were a magical beast."

"I would be the leader of all legendary species," Divine Demon shouted.

"It's rare to find so much arrogance in one existence," Supreme Thief uttered. "Do you mind if I take some of it?"

"I wish it were arrogance," Noah sighed. "This guy might be the most talented cultivator in the entirety of the world."

"You aren't helping," Supreme Thief uttered as a pulling force came out of his figure. "I'm bad at controlling myself."

The dark matter under the trio surged and covered Supreme Thief. Gales also seeped past the innate pressure released by the three experts and turned blood-red before reinforcing Noah's higher energy.

Supreme Thief wasn't trying to steal Divine Demon's talent on purpose. His world had activated on his own, but he remained speechless when he saw his two companions suppressing his pulling force.

"You have become strong," Supreme Thief said while suppressing the effects of his world. "I'm surprised you have taken so little to reach this level."

"We have done crazy stuff," Noah explained.

"Feats that only beings with our talent could achieve," Divine Demon exclaimed.

"Talent alone wouldn't match me," Supreme Thief revealed. "You are lucky I'm not a battle maniac. I would have tried to test my real power against you otherwise."

Divine Demon laughed, but Noah lowered his eyes. Those words had made him think about June. A long time had passed, and he had no idea about her current position. Yet, he was about to plan a mission in the sky, which sounded quite final in his mind.

"What will you do now?" Noah eventually asked.

"I don't know," Supreme Thief said while asking Divine Demon for a refill. "Great Builder usually handles that stuff. We'll probably continue to roam among the storms to hinder Heaven and Earth's plans. We have yet to reach the peak anyway."

"They will probably head for the sky after handling some stuff," Divine Demon announced as his eyes moved between Noah and King Elbas.

"Are you crazy?" Supreme Thief asked as evident confusion filled his face.

"I thought that was certain by now," Noah sighed. "We won't go right away. We'll probably do the same as you to prepare for the mission. This lake seemed an important location, so we attacked it."

"Right, we still have to destroy the weapon hidden inside this area," Divine Demon recalled.

"Weapon?" Supreme Thief asked.

"Noah thinks Heaven and Earth have placed a weapon that might work against their enemies here," Divine Demon revealed. "He is usually right about this stuff."

"Did you hear them?" Supreme Thief asked while turning toward Great Builder.

"We will join them," Great Builder shortly stated before resuming his conversation with King Elbas.

"I guess I'm with you then," Supreme Thief laughed while raising his cup.

"Do you mind making us a cup?" Wilfred's voice resounded from under the sea of dark matter, and Noah didn't hesitate to open a passage to let the experts resurface.

Wilfred and Steven came out in the open and sat with the experts. Divine Demon created two more cups, and everyone soon found themselves drinking happily. King Elbas and Great Builder eventually joined them, and Noah removed the sea of dark matter when everyone felt ready to move.

The white lake was ready for the taking, and they couldn't wait to find out what Heaven and Earth were hiding.

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Author's notes: This should be a good point where to end the thirteenth volume. See you tomorrow in the fourteenth.