Chapter 990: 990. Growth

Noah and the Demons remained in the underground hall while the battles on the other two crowded areas ended.

The terms of the alliance between the Hive and the Council covered the division of the gains already, but Chasing Demon and Great Elder Diana had made private pacts too.

Most of the Papral nation's territories would return to the Council, which would compensate the Hive by giving it a larger share of the gains. Moreover, the Council would share the training areas in Divine Elder Tabitha's inheritance ground.

The war against the Ravaging Demon sect had established a new political environment that saw the Elbas family as the strongest force in those Mortal Lands. Still, the Royals had powerful enemies who had even allied to control them.

As for the Shandal Empire, its troops spread through some empty regions in the Papral nation and settled in its peripheral areas. The Council noticed their invasion only after the war was over, but there wasn't much that it could do at that point.

The Council had suffered countless losses after battling the Empire and the rebellion of the Ravaging Demon sect. It couldn't afford another war, mainly since many higher-ups of the Empire had survived thanks to the Second Life formation.

The Hive wasn't willing to help it either. The Council didn't know that it had sealed a secret pact with God's Left Hand, but its decision appeared reasonable.

The had been too many conflicts in the span of a few decades. All the organizations in the world had yet to recover properly. It was time to enter a long period of peace and make the best out of the new political environment that had formed.

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Peaceful years passed. The political borders of the various domains remained the same due to the absence of any significant conflict. The only battles happened among human cultivators, but they could not affect the world's forces' relationships.

The Shandal Empire and the Elbas family went utterly silent in those years. They both focused on reinforcing their domains and restore a positive trend in their growth, without interacting with the other organizations.

Instead, the Hive and the Council began to interact often. They deepened their relationship by creating events meant for the promising human cultivators and organized meetings among experts in various fields.

More neutral structures appeared in their domains. The alliance created sects that shared disciples from both forces and buildings meant for research and investigation.

The Hive and the Council began to share techniques too. They used their accumulated knowledge in the inscription fields to research and exchange spells, martial arts, and peculiar creations.

Of course, they didn't share their secret and most valued techniques. The most precious items in the trades were the living weapons, but the Council had to pay a hefty price for each one of them.

Both organizations flourished during those years, and their growth improved as their cooperation covered more fields.

Flying Demon and Dreaming Demon would often recall the old political environment of the Papral nation when they saw that, but they had found some peace after Ravaging Demon's death. They could wholeheartedly focus on the positive aspects of that cooperation now.

Most of the higher-ups of the Hive entered a long period of seclusion in those years. The world's political matters didn't require their presence to focus on their cultivation again.

Noah did the same, even if his needs as a hybrid and his duties inside the Hive forced him out of his quarters more often than his peers. He had a few visitors too. Daniel, Faith, and the Demons would often come by his mansion in the separate dimension to share some wine and insights concerning the laws' world.

The four of them were busy with their matters, but they liked to spend time with Noah, especially since Shandal revealed that his existence went against Heaven and Earth's system.

The Demons came more often since they didn't have any specific task. They visited Noah whenever they needed a break in their training and intimate time.

Daniel came once every few years. The other Mortal Lands were the perfect research field for an alchemist due to the peculiarity of their lifeforms. He would often travel there to study and handle the faction of the Hive settled there.

Faith could remain for days inside Noah's mansion since she didn't have any real relationship in the Council. Also, the rumors that she and Noah would eventually marry and reinforce the alliance's stability scared many of her pursuers away.

Noah had become even more famous after the wars. His battle prowess ignored any common sense and placed him near the top of the fifth rank even if he was still in the liquid stage.

No one would dare to mess with him. Faith's pursuers could only accept that the Demon Prince of the Hive had conquered the most beautiful woman in the world.

Of course, that was the complete opposite of the truth. Faith could be at ease around Noah because she knew that he only saw June as his partner.

As the relationship between the alliance and the Elbas family worsened, Noah found no chance to meet June. Faith couldn't even visit her to gain information about her location, so the couple remained separated in those years.

The Elbas family would still respect the pacts sealed before the recent chaos. The Council and the Hive could use the dimensional portal and rule over Divine Market city. However, they didn't interact anymore, and they avoided themselves even when they were in neutral areas.

Noah didn't mind that at the beginning. He and June had spent years away from each other for many decades without endangering their relationship. Nevertheless, the peaceful period continued for decades, and the weight of those years began to accumulate on Noah's mind, forming a constant longing that couldn't go away.

Noah still trained and experimented like a madman in those years. Yet, June's face appeared often in his mind whenever his thoughts wandered.

The peaceful period brought only positive events inside the Hive though. Many cultivators of the old generation managed to catch up with the talents that had outclassed them and reinforced their organization's higher ranks.

The various techniques retrieved along the years and created by the new generation of inscription masters gave birth to multiple experts too, reviving schools that were thought to be lost.

The old leader of the thieves' faction of the Chasing Demon sect, Bruce, managed to reach the fifth rank after applying the Enduring Demon sect's methods to his cultivation technique.

Alison managed to use the teachings of the Charming Demon sect to improve her illusions. She reached the fifth rank, and she even healed her revolting body in the process.

Elder Roy reached that level too, but his focus remained on the inscription fields. His battle prowess was negligible even as a rank 5 cultivator.

Noah managed the hybrids too, creating an elite force that the world was still unaware of. However, he grew restless with each passing year, and his eyes soon landed on the sea as he craved for new journeys.