Noah knew June's true essence. He had been a core part of its creation. The current situation felt odd, and June's condition appeared evens stranger, but he could sense that part of the real her still existed inside her figure, so he decided to nurture it.
Hundreds of six-armed dragons came out of the dark world to create an army that advanced toward June. The latter was feeling dizzy after the crash, but her eyes lit up when she saw so many opponents in the lower tier flying toward her.
Her body glowed with white light as sparks ran over her body. June's smile broadened as she spread her arms. A satisfied expression fell on her face as her heartbeat resounded throughout the void.
Noah closed his eyes to bathe in those sounds. He recalled that heartbeat, but he could also sense the differences from what he had learnt to love. The noise wasn't muffled, but it still felt hindered by some barrier when it reached his ears.
The pressure that fell on his body was also odd. June's power continued to increase, but it remained strange most of the time. Noah could see her true self only when he pushed her to go beyond her limits.
The dragons struggled to advance under the heavy heartbeat. They tried to move forward, but the rhythmic sound always pushed them back. Moreover, the pressure that the noises applied on their bodies slowly generated cracks that expanded as that offensive continued.
'That's not it,' Noah thought as his ambition surged and a series of fake cores shot out of the dark world.
The dragons' power quickly increased and reached the limits of the lower tier before stepping into the next realm when fake cores fused with their bodies. They became able to ignore the pressure falling on them in that new form, and June soon found herself surrounded.
An explosion happened. White light shot out of June and destroyed the dragons right around her, but more creatures pierced through the radiance and stretched their arms toward her.
June found herself pushed on the weak sky. A dragon pinned her down while other beasts pointed their mouths toward her. Black flames gathered in their throats before a fiery sea filled the area.
Noah didn't feel any pleasure watching the scene, but he didn't dare to divert his eyes. He had to look and study every fluctuation in June's power to see if his approach was working.
An orange color eventually appeared among the black sea, and the thundering noises of deafening lightning bolts filled the void. A blinding hole appeared among the flames, and sparks expanded from that spot.
Many dragons saw their bodies falling apart as attacks landed on their scales. They didn't hesitate to detonate themselves when their destruction became inevitable, and a wave of energy engulfed the area again.
The darkness suppressed the orange glow, but the latter returned stronger than ever when a massive lightning bolt pierced the wave of dense energy. The attack flew toward Noah, but he only needed to wave his hand to destroy it.
June appeared among the void. White and orange sparks came out of her figure and continued to destroy the energy around her. She seemed in a daze as she felt her power growing inside the liquid stage. Cracks even appeared on her body due to the intense energy that filled her insides, but she didn't mind them.
"Why are you holding back?" June whispered, but her voice thundered throughout the void.
"You aren't worthy of my real power," Noah coldly stated.
"That has never stopped you," June stated as she fixed her intense gaze on Noah.
"Indeed," Noah admitted. "Still, the June I remember would have never allowed me to take it easy. I can hold back because you are weak."
June smirked as her power kept growing. The orange shades slowly began to overwhelm the white sparks. A dark halo even began to appear around her figure, but it lasted only a few seconds before vanishing among her glow.
Noah didn't feel threatened in the slightest. June was showing the power of a liquid stage cultivator, but she was weaker than Dinia. She could hurt him, but only if he allowed that.
'This is taking too long,' Noah thought while glancing at the weak sky in the distance.
June mustered her power and accumulated it in her arms. Lightning bolts seeped out of her skin, creating deep injuries due to the massive energy they carried. She could barely sustain her current level, but Noah needed her to express more.
Noah suddenly appeared next to June. She didn't even sense him coming, but her energy managed to transform into a spherical shockwave when she saw a punch flying in her direction.
A white sphere expanded from her figure, but potential flowed inside Noah's body and allowed his punch to pierce the attack. Sparks fell on his arm, but they only left black marks on his skin.
The punch hit June and flung her away. She ended up crashing on the weak sky. One of her arms had disappeared, and blood flowed out of her mouth. She seemed about to die, but her power continued to increase.
"You can't beat me in this form," Noah stated as he flew toward June. "The world that Heaven and Earth have created doesn't suit your power. Even your body rejects it."
Lightning bolts shot out of June's figure, inflicting even more damage on her during the process. The attacks were about to reach the peak of the liquid stage, but Noah only needed to launch slashes with his fingers to destroy them.
June didn't want to give up. She summoned her orange sparks to create a stronger version of the previous attack. The lightning bolts flew forward, but they crumbled when they met Noah's Demonic Sword. He had to wield his weapon, but that didn't bring any satisfaction to June.
"Is that all you can do?" Noah asked after he reached her. "This is far from enough. Maybe you never had any chance to follow me."
June's smirk broadened as her power grew. She was about to step on the solid stage, but the cracks on her body expanded during the process. She wouldn't be able to withstand that enhancement.
"I'm about to explode," June whispered in a tone that made Noah's eyes flicker. "You might want to retreat."
"These might be your final moments," Noah sighed. "I'm not leaving you."
"You are so predictable," June chuckled. "I knew I could count on you."
June's expression twisted in pain after that line. Orange and white sparks pierced her body. Then, an explosion happened, and Noah watched June's body falling apart as a wave of power engulfed him.
The attack pushed Noah away and managed to make a few cuts appear on his skin. Still, they closed in no time without the need for additional energy.
Noah kept his eyes on the mass of energy that had remained in the void. The small orange sphere seen inside June's mind hovered among a raging array of white sparks. They appeared about to fall on that core, but they wanted Heaven and Earth to send reinforcements first.
The weak sky in the distance lit up as lightning bolts flew out of it. Noah saw countless attacks fusing with the white sparks and creating a proper barrage around the orange core.
Noah could affect the process, but he decided to remain still. Something told him that June needed to go through that Tribulation on her own.
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Author's notes: I'm planning to reset the schedule (for the hundredth time).. The usual three chapters will arrive in seventeen and a half hours.