Chapter 490: 490. Limits

Chasing Demon's words resounded in the sky above the islands, expectant gazes appeared on the faces of the elders when they realized the number of gains that this chance could bring.

Heroic cultivators were constantly looking for techniques and spells that could increase their power and, maybe, enlighten them on the creation of methods to improve their cultivation level.

Cultivation techniques and body-nourishing methods in the sixth rank were basically non-existent and carried limitations since they had been created by other cultivators, even the sixth Kesier rune was considered an extremely rare resource.

Without methods to increase their ranks, the cultivation of those mighty cultivators would stagnate, only a small percentage of them was somewhat skilled in inscription methods and even those struggled to create techniques.

Those old monsters viewed the new continent as the answer that they needed to advance in their cultivation journey, that land came directly from a place where deities lived after all!

Of course, Noah had similar feelings but he was rather conflicted about them.

He knew that either colonizing the new land or creating a foothold in the old one would greatly benefit the Hive as an organization and the cultivators in it.

Yet, there was a problem that he couldn't avoid no matter which approaches the Hive decided to take.

The problem concerned his personal power.

Both creating a foothold and colonizing the new continent required power in the heroic ranks, he was on his way toward that realm but reaching it didn't mean being on the same level of the other heroic cultivators.

He wasn't even thirty-three while the other heroic cultivators had lived for decades, even centuries, he knew that all his battle experience would be worthless in front of those entities.

'Even if I become a complete heroic cultivator, I can't match those that have accumulated experience and tuned their battle prowess for years, I would just be the weakest of the bunch.'

Noah thought as he analyzed the heated gazes of the elders around him.

That situation seemed similar to when Divine Demon's inheritance was discovered but, in reality, it was completely different.

In the human ranks, Noah could fully exploit his constant training, his battle experience, and his aptitude to overwhelm his enemies, most of them lacked fighting methods and had spent way too much time in seclusion anyway.

Instead, the heroic ranks were filled by monsters who had lived for many lifespans and had accumulated fighting methods through their long lives, Noah would only be a talented kid in their eyes.

'How can I join this fight? How can I make my power match theirs in a short amount of time?'

Noah thought deeply on the matter while remaining in the air, the elders slowly began to fly back to their habitation, probably to prepare themselves for the imminent chaos.

'I can't.'

That conclusion hit Noah's mind as the group dispersed.

The heroic ranks were on a completely different level, there wasn't a quick way to obtain a battle prowess that matched those old monsters even with all the methods and advantages that Noah had.

"Don't afflict yourself too much, the speed of your growth is already something unheard of, don't try to enter this world if you don't have the power to affect it."

Chasing Demon spoke as he turned and patted Noah's shoulder before leaving that place too, he had clearly understood what Noah was thinking and had decided to warn him.

The elders still there nodded toward Noah as they returned toward the islands, they already considered Noah as their equal but the truth was stronger than feelings, he simply didn't have the power to affect the imminent clash.

Only Noah remained in the air with his gaze still fixed on the new continent, his dense mental energy continuously fueled the Divine deduction technique as he tried to think of a way to sharply increase his power.

Ideas rose and crumbled inside his mind, Noah was rich and talented but there was a set limit to how much he could do at the moment.

Anything that he could think of was simply reckless or too dangerous and it mainly concerned his body since it was the only real advantage that he would have over other heroic cultivators.

Then, an idea took form and, no matter how he analyzed it, it didn't crumble but only became denser and more concrete.

'Secret arts push one center of power to its limits to achieve a temporary but huge boost of power, the center of power in question though would end up heavily injured and could even be completely wasted.'

Noah reviewed the definition of the secret arts that he had studied after Sarah's events, he had always been interested in those offensive methods but he had chosen not to learn them because they were too dangerous.

Yet, there was one of his centers of power that had drastically changed: His body!

'I'm a hybrid now, what is considered as limits in the secret arts can't be applied to my body, I'm not bound by the same limitations.'

Magical beasts' bodies were far stronger than the humans' ones and hybrids surpassed both species in that field!

'Secret arts that push a body to its limits shouldn't have any drawback on me since my body is simply on another level. Also, I could couple my new martial art with this temporary boost of power to obtain amazing results.'

Martial arts used body and "Breath" as their foundation, meaning that their effect would be stronger if their foundation was more powerful.

Yet, what if someone was to perform a martial art while using a secret art that empowered its body?

Noah knew the answer to that question: Larger quantities of "Breath" would be expended to match the improved power of the body but more powerful effects would be produced too.

'This might actually push a martial art in the realm of the spells and even surpass them if the cultivator wields a powerful inscribed weapon. This can work! I just need to solve the issue with my dantian first!'

Once he reached that conclusion, Noah turned and flew back to his mansion to complete his cultivation technique.