Chapter 1412: 1412. Group

"I usually travel alone," Noah said as he sat on Snore's head.

"I like being in a group," Jordan replied, pretending that she didn't understand the meaning behind his words.

"I have been in the Outer Lands for too long," Don added. "My cultivation will stagnate if I keep on training in seclusion."

The two hybrids had continued to follow Noah even after he had left the region with Supreme Thief's inheritance. He was searching for a place where to recover properly, but the duo had slowed down his task.

"I don't work well in a group," Noah said.

"You are a celebrity among the hybrids at our level," Don replied. "I'm quite curious about your power."

"I'm in the solid stage," Jordan said without adding anything else. Her statement was enough to decline Noah's almost polite words.

"The Crystal City has put a bounty on me," Noah said. "It will be dangerous to travel with me."

"I also want a bounty," Don replied. "The Legion will understand my value if I bring back the heads of a few fanatics."

"I'm in the solid stage," Jordan added, and Noah gave up on trying to use that approach to convince them.

"I will surely cause a mess," Noah said in a last desperate attempt to convince the duo to leave him alone. "It's almost certain that something will happen. Nothing ever goes smoothly whenever I try to do things properly. The whole Legion might get involved if you are with me."

"It's fine. Hybrids don't fear wars," Don replied.

"I'm in the solid stage," Jordan said again, and Noah felt the urge to attack both of them after that pointless conversation.

"Does Theodora have anything to do with this?" Noah asked, and the duo revealed shameless smiles at his question.

"The members of the Legion already like you," Don replied. "Those who have watched your battle against the Steeled Boar have taken you as their role model. I wonder what they would say if they knew that you have also overcome the impossible trial."

"We won't intervene unless the situation requires it," Jordan added. "Besides, it's always quite messy during an invasion. Being in a group can only help."

Noah could only give up at that point. Don wasn't hard to shake off, but he didn't have the power to go against Jordan. As she had often mentioned, she was a hybrid in the solid stage.

"Fine, you can come," Noah said before heaving a helpless sigh, "But I won't change my plans because of you. If you want to follow me, you will have to abide by my schedule."

The duo nodded as they suppressed a laugh. They found Noah's helplessness quite funny, especially when he had no power over them. They could do as they wished, and Noah couldn't stop them.

The journey proceeded silently for a while. Don and Jordan understood Noah's need to rest, so they didn't disturb him as he searched for a suitable spot before secluding himself.

His condition was quite poor, but it began to improve as soon as he focused on recovering. The Dark Womb spell worked together with the black hole and quickened his recovery. In a bit more than a few months, Noah had almost returned to his peak, so he could resume his travel with his fourth center of power took care of polishing his status.

Noah had reviewed his battles during the seclusion, and his focus had mostly gone on his improved martial arts. The power that he had managed to express after fusing his dark matter with his forms was spectacular, but he could still improve a lot.

That was only a first application of his higher energy to his slashes. It was the beginning of the improved version of his personal fighting school. Noah wasn't limiting himself to his hybrid status anymore. He was finally making use of his four centers of power at the same time.

The following steps would see him adding the dark matter to every technique and spell in his possession. That would set the end of his project, and the start of another focused on creating new arts without having to go through the same fusion again.

Noah used part of his time to study his reward from the trial. Don showed some interest in that book, but Noah didn't mind it since he already guessed his success against the golems.

The "embodiment of power" was a strange technique that required him to create channels that his darkness could use to fuel his tissues. The same was possible with the mental energy. The idea behind that skill was to transform one's body into a weapon that could face spells head-on.

Noah had already reached a similar level due to his hybrid status and his black hole. Still, his body would surpass anything in existence if he managed to use that technique.

The Divine Deduction technique illuminated his mental sea and helped Noah understanding the method. He couldn't use it in its current state. He had to break it down and reassemble it in a shape that could affect even his incredible body.

Noah didn't limit himself to a passive study of the book and his martial arts. He also created fake cores to refill his stash depleted against the golems. He even built instabilities now that he had an abundance of materials.

The dark-blue boulders in the upper tier remained inside his separate space. Noah didn't want to show that he owned such valuable materials. Still, he couldn't waste time performing countless tests with his other projects occupying most of his thoughts.

Noah wasn't even sure that he could handle materials in the upper tier at his level, but he wasn't going to test that any time soon. His martial arts and the auctions had the priority.

As his body returned to his peak, Noah resumed to hunt, and he soon had to admit that the duo didn't bother him in the slightest. Their cooperation even felt natural.

Don, Jordan, and Noah shared the same needs. They had to eat to improve their bodies and cultivate to improve their dantians. They also had personal training techniques meant to enlarge their minds.

Since their needs were so similar, they managed to divine every part of their journey perfectly. Only Jordan had to adapt to her companions' needs from time to time since her superior level gave her different timings.

The trio didn't use a conventional path. The human domain was a mess after the magical beasts invaded, and they were hybrids. It was better to move through the Outer Lands and turn toward Silkpost city once they reached its area.

Noah had only read that path in maps that gave a vague description of the Immortal Lands, but Jordan and Don were experts in that field. The Legion lived in the Outer Lands, so most of its members had committed those regions to memory.

The air grew tenser as the group neared the border between the two domains. Faint shockwaves also ran through the sky, and vague roars echoed from region to region.

The trio's superior awareness couldn't miss those signals. Powerful existences were fighting in the distance, and the effects of their battles spread for entire regions before dispersing. The fight on the border seemed even more violent than expected.