"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice resounded from behind Noah while he studied the golden net.
The owner of that voice didn't try to hide its presence. Noah recognized him as soon as he sensed his aura. Second Prince had come to visit him.
"Is this your way of ambushing me?" Noah asked without turning.
Noah had asked Second Prince to remain a constant threat in his life, but the Royal had disappeared from the political scene after that conversation.
"The world is too frail to endure a battle between us," Second prince replied. "Saving this plane has the priority. We can go back to our games only after everything stabilizes."
"You aren't helping the world if the rest of your family is still here," Noah said while turning.
Second Prince hadn't changed in those years, but his expression appeared more relaxed. He didn't carry his wide smile or his expressionless face anymore. He seemed at peace.
"This net should stop the expansion of the cracks for a whole century," Second Prince replied without giving importance to Noah's comment. "I can create more of these and find a permanent solution in those years."
Noah's eyes lit up at those words. He didn't care that Second Prince was an exceptional inscription master, but the capabilities of the golden net interested him.
"How much can this protection endure?" Noah asked as he pointed at the net.
Second Prince's expression froze for an instant at those words. He knew what Noah would do if he told him the truth. After all, he had observed his feats during the past years.
Yet, Noah's approach wasn't wrong, and Second Prince knew that. The Royal tried to fix the world through inscriptions, while Noah aimed to kill all the powerful creatures that prevented the healing process with their pressure.
"I guess," Second Prince said before stopping to think, "You should be able to go all-out once. The Royal Reinforcement will lose most of its energy to suppress you, but I know you will take down a considerable number of Eternal Snakes."
"Oh?" Noah continued, "Will you let me destroy your creation?"
"I can't stop you anyway," Second Prince replied. "I might as well wish you good luck."
Second Prince had remained calm even after Noah had tried to taunt him. He didn't seem to care about his creation at all. He had accepted that Noah would create a mess anyway, and it was better to do it while his golden net was active.
Moreover, Second Prince exuded newfound confidence in his aura, which was the opposite of his face. The Royal's expression expressed laziness and aloofness.
The red crystal still occupied the center of his forehead. That was Second Prince's core in the end. The Royal was an inscribed human created by King Elbas.
"Did you find your path?" Noah asked as he turned to look at the magical beasts in the distance.
The new continent was nearby, so Noah could sense the different packs and creatures near the coastline. Second prince had told him that he had one battle available, and he wanted to choose his target well.
Second Prince didn't answer immediately. He turned to look in the same direction as Noah for a while before replying. "Yes. You were right, but I won't give up on my legacy."
Noah didn't answer. He had been slightly curious about the issue, but he didn't need to know anything else. He only wanted to know if Second Prince could remain a threat for him even in the solid stage.
"I will surpass my Father," Second Prince continued. "King Elbas was a monster, but I'm his rightful heir. I must do better."
Noah shrugged his shoulders and left for the southern coast of the new continent. He had chosen his target, so he had no reason to hesitate.
Moreover, his hunts were more interesting than his conversations with Second Prince since he couldn't gain anything out of him. The golden net was the only reason why the Royal had earned some of his respect.
His ambition began to push his centers of power beyond their limits as he flew toward a specific pack. His cultivation level reached the solid stage in no time now that his real strength was bordering that breakthrough.
The southern coast of the new continent held one of the best training areas in the entire landmass. Even King Elbas didn't dare to modify that region after he had conquered it.
The lava lake was the best training area for heroic cultivators with a fire aptitude, but it also contained a divine creature's remains at its bottom. No one confirmed that, and those who could explore its bottom didn't bother to inform the others.
The ancient aura that it radiated was an irresistible bait for the Eternal Snakes since it reminded them of the Immortal Lands. The same went for the regions frozen by the divine beings' silver liquid. The central areas of the new continent had the highest density of beast in the world now.
Noah wanted to go to the lava lake to seize the remains at its bottom. He didn't know if his space-ring could hold them or if he could reach the bottom. However, he could use that region to test how close he was to the divine ranks.
Since the last opponent in the world was the massive quasi-rank 7 Snake, he wanted to have something that told him how close he was to that level.
The lava lake was the home of three packs, but only two had peak rank 6 specimens. The other had two creatures in the upper tier, which balanced the overall power of those groups.
Noah's centers of power had long surpassed the solid stage, and they were still growing. His ambition was overflowing now that he had obtained the chance to go all-out.
He didn't even hide his presence. Noah descended toward the lava lake and waited for all the Eternal Snakes in the area to notice him. He had to try something before going all-out.
The Snakes felt suspicious at first, but they sent the middle tier specimens to investigate. Those creatures converged toward while using both their necks and tail as wh.i.p.s.
Noah didn't move. He let the array of tails and heads land on his body and fling him away. He ended up in the sea, but his ambition didn't stop overflowing.
'Can't they damage me a bit more?' Noah complained in his mind as he shot back in the sky and returned to the lava lake.
The attacks had created multiple bruises and a few cuts in Noah's body, but he limited himself to inhale as much air as possible to launch his new innate ability.
The world lost its light for an instant, and a starry sky appeared right above the lave lake. All the beasts in the area could understand that the invader had returned, and they didn't hesitate to charge toward him.
Noah waited for the flames to do something different while he watched middle tier snakes drawing closer. The attack he had launched was identical to his previous ability, but he couldn't believe that he had failed.
The Snakes drew even closer, but a strange radiance soon began to shine from the black flames. A silverish light created a halo around the tongues of fire and divided them.
Then, a few tongues of flames separated from the main attack and converged toward Noah. They landed on his body and recreated his skin to heal his injuries.
They couldn't do much against the bruises, but those small cuts vanished without leaving any trace.
All in all, the ability was powerful, far better than his previous innate ability. However, Noah had yet to master it. The silver halo didn't appear immediately during his attack, and that couldn't happen again.