Chapter 1453: 1453. Message

The group left once Noah felt able to move again. They flew for a while until they reached a distant region where they could settle and heal properly.

Don's injuries weren't severe, and King Elbas had his methods to restore his body made of golden flames. Instead, Noah needed time to recover, so he secluded himself in a cave where he deployed the Dark Womb spell.

The sword-like coffin interacted with the dark matter in the black hole to harmonize the healing process and bring his condition to its peak. Noah recovered quickly, and he used that time to review his battle against Charles.

'The "embodiment of power" is as powerful as the tome suggests,' Noah thought during his rest, 'But I can improve the unstable substance. I need to turn it into something more reliable and less dangerous to use.'

Noah had been able to face Charles' attacks head-on when the unstable substance flowed through his black vessels. The technique had surpassed his expectations, but his channels couldn't completely withstand its power.

The "embodiment of power" was too violent for most of his black vessels. Noah didn't only need to improve the unstable substance. He also had to optimize the distribution of its power so that he wouldn't hurt himself during an eventual second activation.

The Shadow Domain was as perfect as it could get, so Noah couldn't do much there. He could only improve his production of special darkness and train on expanding the layer between dimensions faster.

His cursed sword had also shown its power during the battle, but the bloodlust that accompanied it was pretty dangerous. Noah guessed that he couldn't modify that item unless he wanted to remove its unique effects, so he simply let it be inside his separate space.

The battle had made him understand that the cursed sword had to be a trump card and not something he could use in every fight. Its drawbacks were too severe. Noah needed something stabler that he could use without worrying about his condition.

Charles' blade would suffice for that task. The item was in the upper tier and had the power to enhance his sharpness. Noah could definitely use it together with his Demonic Sword to perform dual-wielding techniques.

The battle against Charles had brought immense advantages and paved the way for future improvements. Noah knew which aspects of his battle prowess he had to develop and modify now, and a sense of hurry filled his mind.

The Crystal City had shown the group that it could find them even when they were in the magical beasts' domain. Noah and the others didn't know how far its influence spread, but they didn't feel safe anymore inside those wild lands.

Noah felt far more worried than his companions. He was the Crystal City's main target, and he had just survived an ambush that featured three solid stage cultivators.

The Crystal City wouldn't stop attacking him, and it could even send an entire army of solid stage cultivators in its next ambush. Noah didn't dare to consider the possibility of meeting a rank 8 expert in the near future, but he knew that he could expect anything from those fanatics.

He had to grow quickly. The organizations in the Immortal Lands wouldn't underestimate him. Charles' show of force had given Noah a clear understanding of what those forces were willing to do to those that opposed them.

'Ambition, personal arts, improved martial arts, and a better unstable substance,' Noah thought as he made a list of his projects. 'Finding and creating a new Blood Companion is also a must. I need to understand how the red crystals work. Snore and Night will become useless otherwise.'

Noah's evaluation didn't saw Snore and Night as weak. The two companions were handy and strong against enemies at his same level. However, they became almost ineffective against experts more powerful than him.

The problem was that the companions couldn't express power superior to their level. It was the same issue that had prevented Noah from piercing Charles' defenses with the Demonic Sword. Only a higher strength could win against someone at a higher level.

Still, the Rats could ignore their innate weakness and obtain satisfying effects with their numbers. Noah wanted to do something similar, other than testing if the red crystals could allow him to avoid the issue altogether.

Noah's potential had skyrocketed after the battle. He could now increase his cultivation level again at the price of hefty drawbacks. Yet, Noah didn't mind enduring them to obtain that boost of power.

The personal arts and sword arts required time and tests. Noah could dual-wield again now, so he wanted to create techniques that could capitalize on that ability.

As for the "embodiment of power", Noah could only continue his tests until he found something better and with less impact on his black vessels. However, that also required time.

A simple conclusion eventually appeared in his mind. Noah couldn't improve his power in a short time. Only his Blood Companion was an exception, but he had yet to find suitable targets.

Noah's body fully healed at some point. He was back at his peak, but he didn't leave his cave since he had to invest time in his normal training sessions, which began as soon as the Dark Womb dispersed.

Having so much potential made his dantian enlarge faster, and the many preys seized during his travels always provided him food. His level grew smoothly, and he never met bottlenecks.

"We have to talk," Jordan's voice suddenly resounded inside the cave and forced Noah to interrupt his training.

Noah knew Jordan enough to understand that something had to be off. She would never interrupt his training unless a matter required her full attention.

Noah left the cave and joined his companions, who had already fathered in a spot near a lake. Severe expression covered their faces. Only King Elbas was the same as always.

"What is it?" Noah asked once he joined his group.

"We received a message from the Legion," Jordan said without wasting time in chit-chats. "The humans had invaded the Outer Lands. A battle between the sides has started. My organization wants us back to join the fight."

Noah felt surprised about that event. He had initially thought that the Legion would escape at first sight of danger, but the situation was far different.

"Why didn't they escape?" Noah asked.

"They did," Jordan explained, "But a meeting happened, and a hybrid died. The Legion can't let go of that. We must fight."

Noah studied the matter in his mind for an instant before understanding all its positive features. It was pointless to continue the exploration of the magical beasts' side. Moreover, it was too dangerous to wander in those regions since he didn't know how many spies they had.

Going back inside the human domain would also limit the Crystal City. That force couldn't send assassins so far away from their headquarters, and they had to respect when members from other organizations appeared.

That was perfect for Noah. He could abandon the magical beasts' field for now and focus on honing his battle prowess. A battlefield was the ideal training area for him.