Chapter 1154: 1154. Rare

Even if the Elbas family left Divine Market city silently, the repercussions that the event had on the world were quite loud.

Noah had singlehandedly driven away what everyone thought to be one of the world's strongest organizations from a divine resource. That alone spoke for how the Royals' power had fallen after the mission at the center of the plane.

The experts gave Noah credit, but he wouldn't have succeeded if the Elbas family had been at its previous peak. It didn't matter how amazing he was. His cultivation level wasn't high enough to take on a major organization on his own.

Noah's achievement announced to the world that the Elbas family could lose, but only the Council could benefit from that discovery. The Shandal Empire had gained access to the new continent again, but it was in no condition to start a war.

Great Elder Diana saw the outcome of Noah's assault as the signal that the Elbas family's defenses couldn't endure a proper attack for long. The alliance could finally get rid of that organization once and for all.

Noah retreated to his quarters after his twenty years long solitary battle ended. He had ignored many friends and projects after returning from the separate reality, and it was time to give them some of his time.

"Is your mourning over?" June asked when she saw Noah entering his underground quarters. She had begun to cultivate there while he sieged Divine Market city, and her cultivation level had slowly neared the peak of the fifth rank.

Noah could see that it would take her one century or so to become a powerhouse, and the reports of the Hive told him that other experts were in a similar state.

Daniel had continued to progress steadily. His position inside the Hive had long since solidified. He was now in charge of a few factions inside the organization.

He had become the lead alchemist of the Hive, and he even had a few loyal apprentices. Elder Julia would also send him to meetings with the Council too since his character suited those events.

Elder Justin had reached the solid stage and was progressing nicely. The news of Chasing Demon's death had pushed him to enter a long period of seclusion, and he intended to come out only after he became a powerhouse.

Elder Colleen and Elder Ingrid were in a similar situation, even if their level was still around the solid stage's halfway mark. Many other Elders had also advanced through the stages of the fifth rank, which gave the Hive positive prospects.

Noah knew that cultivators couldn't just train to reach the sixth rank. Many of those promising experts would remain stuck near the peak of the fifth rank for a long time and possibly forever.

Stepping on the path to become a law wasn't something that everyone could do. A single flaw in their individuality could ruin their future as cultivators and stop their advancements forever.

Ravaging Demon was the best example to describe the harshness of the cultivation journey. His talent was immense, and his drive boundless. However, he founded his existence on a flawed core, which forced him to resort to the Royal Pool to advance.

"I think part of Chasing Demon wanted to die," Noah replied while nearing his lover. "Maybe he has never been completely alive after Charming Demon's death."

June was cultivating on a praying mat, but she interrupted her training to pull Noah down with her. She then made him sit so that she could use his lap to lay her head.

"We have outlived old monsters," June commented as she closed her eyes to immerse herself in Noah's scent. "We have become them. I recalled only recently that we are more than nine hundred years old."

"Who counts anymore," Noah replied while caressing her hair. His gaze moved through the large training hall, and he couldn't help but compare it to the small room that he had when he was still inside Balvan Mansion.

Most of the people that he had met in his life were dead, and only a few of them had died of old age. Noah had even killed many of them through his journey. Still, he could now stand among those at the peak of the heroic ranks.

The mountains of corpses had become tall enough to make him peek at the divine ranks. Noah felt close to the end of his journey in the lower plane, but he knew that there was still an abyss between him and the Immortal Lands.

"Do you think that King Elbas is dead?" June asked and broke the peaceful silence that had fallen between the couple.

"No," Noah replied honestly, "He will probably reappear in a millennium or so, flaunting how awesome he is. If I have to rely on my instincts to judge, I can't imagine him dying in a lower plane."

"You don't even know where you sent him," June complained in a teasing tone, "But you are sure that he will reach the Immortal Lands. Should I be jealous?"

Noah smiled, but his expression turned serious when he reviewed King Elbas' prowess. His answer made June wear a stern face too. "We gave him the greatest struggle of his life. I can't imagine how powerful he will be after he overcomes it."

"Do you fear him?" June asked.

"Of course," Noah replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The Hive already has a contingency plan ready in the eventuality that he returns as a divine entity. We have the same for Shandal and every other threat that we can't face."

"Which is?" June questioned him.

"Hide until you are strong enough to face them," Noah gave another honest answer.

The Hive's greatest advantage was Divine Architect's separate dimension since it could become the best hideout during a crisis that it couldn't face.

Noah didn't like to hide any more than other experts on his level, but there were threats that even entire organizations couldn't face. It was pointless to engage in a battle that he couldn't win if he had a way out of it.

The couple chatted for a while before resuming their normal lifestyle. Noah and June still lived together, but their cultivation sessions lasted for entire weeks, and they had many projects to handle.

The best they could do as a couple was to set specific days every few months that they had to spend together. That didn't interfere with their training and gave them breaks from an otherwise dull schedule.

Noah could finally focus on improving his Companions in that period. The alliance had begun to pressure the Elbas family's domain, but he had already done his part. He would join the battle only after he completed all his projects.

Improving Snore turned out to be relatively easy. The Blood Companion had an innate connection with the dark world since it had acted as a catalyst for Noah's elemental attacks.

The Demonic Sword had evolved and fused with the dark matter easily because it was a mirror of Noah's existence. Still, Snore accepted the improvements because the dark world was its natural environment.

Undoing and reassembling the Blood Companion core's structure was extremely easy inside the dark world. Noah barely had to make any effort to replace body parts that didn't suit its new power anymore.

That saved Noah a lot of time, especially when it came to the testing phase. He only had to forge organs that could empower Snore's elemental attacks.

Instead, Night's improvements took longer to make. Noah had promised the Pterodactyl its final body, but that meant creating a proper living being where he would put the creature's consciousness.

It also meant that Noah had to make it able to grow. Night was different from Snore. It wanted to be its own existence that didn't need Noah to improve.

Noah had to do all of that while improving the Pterodactyl's innate ability. His tests in the past had given him plenty of data, and his conclusions led him to use the rarest material in his space-ring.

Noah had managed to retrieve some pieces of Royal Metal from the landmass in the yellow sea, and they appeared to be perfect for Night's species.