Chapter 1513: 1513. Growth

"How was the loot this time?" Noah asked once reuniting with Fergie in a region near the tall tree.

"I managed to wait longer," Fergie said before taking out the yellowish fruit from his space-ring. "I'm getting better at my spell. We might be able to seize rank 8 resources at some point."

Noah nodded before taking out his white sword and dividing the fruit. He took three-quarters of the resource for himself and left the rest to Fergie.

Fergie didn't dare to complain. Noah had kept two rank 8 magical beasts busy while he had merely handled a bunch of rank 7 creatures. The difference between their tasks was immense.

'My powers are on point,' Noah thought as he left Fergie's cave to return to his habitation near the tall tree. 'My foundation is the reason why I still can't fight rank 8 magical beasts. I need to improve my base level.'

Snore, Night, the Demonic Sword, and the Demonic Form were perfect. The first two could launch attacks capable of slowing down rank 8 magical beasts, while the other could enhance Noah's power enough to injure creatures at that level.

It wasn't a matter of assets anymore. Noah needed to make his centers of power grow to bring his battle prowess to the eighth rank. Nothing else could close the distance from that level.

Noah needed to recover. He had suffered severe injuries due to the leaders and the cursed sword. His ambition had also stressed his centers of power.

His flames took care of most of his injuries, and a short period of rest allowed his centers of power to disperse the accumulated stress. Noah could soon resume his training, and his level slowly rose.

The fruit provided more nutrients at that time, but Noah's body barely noticed them. His center of power was a bottomless pit that absorbed any form of energy without giving him actual benefits.

Instead, his dantian improved steadily. His existence brimmed with potential after the fight against the two leaders. Noah almost struggled to contain his ambition during his training.

Forcing his mind to endure so much pressure turned out to be a good decision. The white sky honed its sturdiness and allowed Noah to fill its insides with an immense amount of dark matter. The mole's ethereal figure also helped in enlarging its walls.

Noah didn't stop there when it came to his mind. The constant fight against the pressure of the sky made its walls sturdy enough for his mental waves' innate ability.

His mind could devour wills, but Noah rarely relied on that ability to improve because it thinned his mental walls. However, the sky compensated for that drawback and allowed Noah to abuse that feature.

Finding suitable magical beasts in those lands was extremely easy. Noah even felt confident in surviving against rank 8 magical beasts that couldn't fly. He could seize upper tier specimens from any pack and escape without suffering injuries.

That approach forced Noah's mind to improve far faster than the other centers of power. Only his dantian barely managed to keep up with that organ. Instead, his body fell behind, but Noah couldn't do anything about that.

Noah's physical strength allowed him to remain in one piece after a clash with a rank 8 creature. No other rank 7 existence could do the same. It was only normal for his body to have insane requirements.

'It seems that I need a rank 8 prowess to improve my body,' Noah thought after completing a training session. 'The fruits are spectacular, but they can't give me what I need. My cells crave for rank 8 materials.'

Any other existence in the world would remain dumbfounded at that idea. Thinking that they would need rank 8 materials to reach the eighth rank would make most of them give up on the cultivation journey.

Yet, Noah was different. He had already filled the gaps that separated him from the superior ranks many times. He only had to do it again.

Fergie and Noah continued their seclusion near the tall tree until a new fruit appeared. The event made them leave their caves and join the battle for that valuable resource.

Multiple battles happened over the years, and the duo never changed their approach. Noah took care of keeping the leaders busy, while Fergie focused on seizing the fruits.

Most battles only featured the two familiar packs, but foreign forces would appear from time to time. Migrating rank 8 specimens and large armies of magical beasts would join the battlefield and force the duo to reconsider their tactics.

At times, Noah had to retreat before even attracting the two leaders. The appearance of a rank 8 creature with power in the middle tier or above forced him to abandon his tactics and return to his cave.

Both Noah and Fergie's battle prowess improved during that period. Fergie had a lot to create to adapt his methods to his new existence, and Noah never lost sight of his goal.

Fergie improved faster. He soon learnt how to handle upper tier magical beasts on his own, and he often managed to seize fruits with power near the eighth rank.

Noah's situation turned out to be tricky. He had hit a wall after the evolution of his companions. His centers of power improved slowly, so he couldn't force his battle prowess to grow as fast as he wished.

Still, he didn't let that pace bringing him down. Noah had just reached the solid stage in the end. Obtaining a rank 8 battle prowess took time.

The main issue in his situation was that his real target wasn't a rank 8 magical beast. Cultivators were generally stronger than those creatures, and the Crystal City had more than one of them in the eighth rank.

'Madame Canson must be in the gaseous stage,' Noah thought during one of his rare breaks. 'The secret organization shouldn't help the Crystal City again, so I need to bet that no other rank 8 asset will be in the area.'

Noah even guessed that he would have to face multiple experts with the same battle prowess as Miss Nine. With Madame Canson's, many rank 7 assets in the Crystal City could reach a level of power capable of making Noah worried.

'Defeating rank 8 beasts isn't enough,' Noah concluded. 'I need more, far more to take down a rank 8 cultivator, but what can I even do?'

Noah didn't know what else to invent. He had improved his companions, and he had also turned one of his strongest spells into something that could fuse with his arts.

He had other spells, but they were relics of the lower plane. The dark matter and his slashes could give birth to similar and stronger effects. Those abilities couldn't even fuse with his martial arts due to their uniqueness.

'I guess this is my core,' Noah concluded before standing up. 'The other spells are situational. I should focus on enhancing abilities that already work for me. Only the Shadow copy spell is useful since it can multiply my base level for a short time.'

The now-familiar scent of the fruit had reached his cave. It was time to fight again. Fergie had also left his cave and was flying toward that area.

'Maybe I can create a few more blueprints for the workshop,' Noah thought while leaving the cave. 'I might also rework the Warp spell. I can't perform proper teleports since my existence is too heavy, but I might be able to fuse it with my movement technique. I need to improve it anyway.'