Chapter 1582: 1582. Punishmen

Noah had a firm policy about his enemies. Luke had been part of the kidnapping of his friends, so he had to die. However, he had information that Noah couldn't wait to obtain.

"Speak before I turn this place into a mess," Noah threatened without storing the Demonic Sword.

His aura expressed how serious he was about the whole situation, but Luke remained unfazed. The threat didn't ruin his sly smile.

"The secret organization has always supported powerful forces throughout its existence," Luke explained. "The Crystal City has a significant role in the whole political system of the human domain, so we had to make sure that it remained in power."

"It's always the same with humans and weak existences," Noah commented. "You want to preserve your lifestyle so badly that you end up being the very reason for your destruction."

Noah could barely contain himself. There were only three rank 8 cultivators in the gaseous stage in the underground hall. He could go off and destroy everything, but he needed his answers first.

"We do," Luke sighed. "I can only hope that what I'm about to reveal to you can still save my cell."

Noah remained silent. He didn't want to waste more words until he obtained his answers.

"The higher plane isn't just ground and air," Luke explained. "They are part of a larger system that involves cultivators and other beings that live on their surface."

Luke took a sip from his cup before exchanging a glance with his companions. Both rank 8 existences nodded to him. Their face expressed their determination.

"Heaven and Earth need us to walk new paths," Luke continued. "They have failed in their breakthrough to the tenth rank, so they rely on cultivators to create new laws. One day they might find what they have missed and obtain the power that stands above words."

"Cut it short," Noah threatened. "I don't have all day."

"Some cultivators know how limited they are," Luke continued after clearing his throat. "You can't expect to surpass Heaven and Earth while living inside their world. So, a small group of enlightened individuals has decided to stop opposing their system and join their great plan. They will take care of generating new laws in exchange for the chance to live in the new world."

"That sounds like a weak motivation," Noah replied. "Why would existences who have worked for millennia to build their laws give up on everything over a faint promise?"

"Because Heaven and Earth is the first and largest organization," Luke answered. "You have only seen a small Tribulation. Do you think that is the full extent of their power? They can turn your entire life into a living hell."

"Heaven and Earth are petty existences," Noah replied. "Their fairness is a limit that they can't overcome."

"Of course," Luke laughed, "But where does their fairness end? What happens when you have broken their laws and they label you as a parasite? They can make the ground break under your feet and turn the air into poison. You can only submit in front of that power."

"Why did you decide to meet me?" Noah asked while giving voice to a cold laugh. "Don't tell me that you want to submit me?"

"I wouldn't dare to try anything," Luke explained. "I'm only here to tell you what will happen if you continue on this path. The world will become your enemy, and your very existence will turn into a curse."

"That's enough," Noah sighed while his aura unfolded through the room. "Let's kill each other. I'm tired of this speech."

"Good luck with the rest of your life then," Luke announced, and a humming noise suddenly followed his words.

Noah's instincts began to shout. Something strange was happening, but his consciousness couldn't understand the nature of that threat.

The air that touched Noah's body started to scream. It began to fight his very existence and self-destroy when it found itself unable to kill him.

The same happened to the ground. The terrain didn't accept that Noah could step on it. Cracks opened and forced him to float to remain in the same position.

Crackling noises spread through the world. The air generated sparks that targeted Noah's existence. An ominous aura converged on his figure and made him sense danger all around him.

'What is happening?!' Noah shouted in his mind while inspecting his surroundings.

His consciousness couldn't sense the presence of inscriptions or traps. It seemed that the world had labeled him as an enemy and was trying to get rid of his existence.

Noah found himself unable to breathe. The air would rather crumble than end up in his lungs. He had become something that the world didn't accept.

"You should be proud of yourself," Luke announced. "Very few existences have managed to obtain this treatment. You are the first rank 8 existence in history who has reached this point. All the others had to step on the ninth rank before becoming enemies of the world."

Noah unfolded the dark world. His ambition seeped into his surroundings and forced the laws around him to obey his will. He became able to breathe again, but his achievements only triggered harsher punishments.

A lightning bolt suddenly pierced the ground and fell on the dark matter that covered his figure. The attack didn't manage to reach his skin, but the danger didn't diminish.

A second lightning bolt fell into the underground hall and tried to pierce the dark world. Noah could only watch as that destructive energy filled his technique and dispersed among the currents of dark matter.

The dark world slowly condensed to create the fiendish armor. Noah was livid. Heaven and Earth wanted to punish him, but he would fight back.

"You shouldn't have done this," Noah roared.

"We didn't do anything," Luke replied. "This is all Heaven and Earth's work."

Luke and the others began to turn ethereal. Their bodies started to disappear while the world continued to attack Noah.

Noah's ambition shot forward and filled the whole hall. His violent energy disrupted the technique that was teleporting the experts away and forced their bodies to return material.

"Did you really expect that I would let you go away?" Noah roared.

"You can't stop us with your aura alone," Luke laughed while a wave of inscriptions spread through the rocky surfaces of the underground hall. "We are still willing to cooperate, but you must overcome this challenge first. We'll contact you if we learn that your existence can survive this."

Barriers and techniques activated. Luke and the others began to disappear again, but Noah promptly waved his sword to interrupt those inscriptions.

The singularity that shot out of his figure didn't manage to pierce the barriers, but Noah promptly drew the cursed sword and slashed again.

His attack made the barriers tremble, but it failed to pierce them again. Luke and the others vanished and left Noah alone.

Noah couldn't describe how angry he was. More lightning bolts fell on him, but the dark world always managed to stop them.

Noah filled the area with flames to heal the damage caused by the cursed sword. The ground burnt and gave its energy to his body. The white sky eventually appeared in his vision, and Noah could see that sparks had covered the whole region.

There was nothing to destroy. The sky didn't feature any Tribulation. The air itself had become the punishment that the world wanted to force on Noah.

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Author's notes: Same issue as last time. I just got back home. You can expect the other chapters in the next hours.