Chapter 1608: 1608. Meaning

Alexander left right after Noah devoured as many ethereal magical beasts as possible. He only remained outside the trial to give a series of directives and goodbyes to his companions before approaching the test and disappearing behind the large metal door at the end of the corridor.

Noah felt weak. His mind had enlarged quickly, and the energy inside the head was improving his body at a steady pace. Yet, he felt drained and frail.

'My mental walls have reached their limit,' Noah thought while inspecting his condition.

Devouring ethereal magical beasts thinned his mental walls and made him uncomfortable about his current condition. Noah knew that he couldn't fight in that state. A mistake during a battle could make his sea of consciousness crumble right now.

It was rare for Noah to decide to put himself in such a poor condition, especially when he didn't gain clear improvements in battle prowess in exchange for those drawbacks.

The process had brought immense benefits to his mind, but it had been too sudden and forceful. Noah would typically take his time to reinforce his mental walls after every devouring session, but his situation didn't allow him to make his benefits a priority.

Great Builder was his best chance to survive the rank 9 threats in the human domain, and Alexander was the only existence inside the Legion who could complete his revival. Noah had to sacrifice himself in that situation.

'No point playing it safe anymore,' Noah thought after Alexander's figure disappeared. 'I have enough energy to push my body into the middle tier. I should approach the breakthrough.'

The inheritance didn't give Noah the chance to do anything else, so he decided to focus on improving his foundation. He would have to take Alexander's place if the expert failed, so it was better to close the gap that divided him from that level of power.

Radiant Eye's dense liquid had already benefitted Noah's power. Absorbing upper tier resources would make him able to push his body toward the peak of the lower tier and approach the breakthrough.

The harsh requirements of his body didn't worry Noah either. He had amassed countless resources and entire mountains of Soul Stones during his past adventures. The black hole could use all of them to fill any gap that the upper tier materials didn't manage to fill.

Noah went into one of the empty rooms of the sixth layer and approached the breakthrough. His dark world expanded on its own as drowsiness filled his frail mind. He felt unable to delay that sensation in his current condition, so he fell asleep in an instant.

The sleep felt strange. Noah was completely aware of his surroundings during that procedure, but his mental waves barely managed to leave his mind.

That discovery made Noah feel quite elated. It seemed that his mind was strong enough to keep him partially awake even during the breakthrough.

'I might have underestimated my improvements after devouring so many ghosts,' Noah thought while keeping track of the energy flowing through his body and reinforcing its tissues.

The amount of energy depleted during the process was immense. Most middle tier magical beasts wouldn't ever come close to that power during their breakthrough to the upper tier. Noah's requirements had only grown steeper as he advanced through the cultivation journey.

The energy given by the upper tier resources eventually ended, but the black hole promptly controlled his separate space and began to crush Soul Stones to use their power.

Noah had long since acc.u.mulated more than a million Soul Stones. He was richer than entire organizations led by multiple rank 8 cultivators, but the breakthrough depleted his resources at a breathtaking pace.

Mountains of Soul Stones vanished whenever his body required more energy. The black hole wasn't stingy when it came to that procedure. It aimed to make Noah's body perfect, which required an immense amount of power.

No one dared to enter the room while Noah faced the breakthrough. The other experts even imitated him and secluded themselves to improve their foundation.

They all knew that a battle would arrive soon. It didn't matter whether Radiant Eyes had survived the fight. Noah's group had gained Heaven and Earth's attention, so someone would eventually hunt them down.

Multiple breakthroughs happened while Noah's body evolved. All the experts and magical beasts in the army had gained many resources and experience during the trials, so most of them were ready to improve.

Fergie's breakthrough surprised most experts. He entered a room as a peak rank 7 cultivator and exited it a few months later as an existence in the eighth rank. He had finally stepped past the realm of gods, and his companions couldn't help but rejoice at that feat.

Some concerns arose after a few years passed. The army couldn't hear anything from the other side of the huge door, so they couldn't check Alexander's condition. Still, they had nowhere else to go. Focusing on their training sessions seemed the only feasible tactic.

Noah eventually opened his eyes, and a roar came out of his mouth. His cry announced to his companions that his breakthrough had been a success. A series of experts soon gathered in front of his room and expressed their compliments.

The breakthrough didn't bring any new ability. It had significantly improved Noah's physical strength and reinforced his black vessels, but nothing more than that.

Noah couldn't complain about the breakthrough. He didn't expect anything significant to happen since his abilities had mostly remained the same during the last period. The addition of Supreme Thief's technique didn't even involve his body, so he knew that nothing would change because of it.

His awakening didn't manage to keep his companions' attention on him for too long since the tall door at the end of the corridor suddenly opened and revealed Alexander limping through the area.

The expert appeared exhausted. Alexander had powerful healing abilities in his arsenal, but he didn't have any energy left to activate them.

Alexander had lost one eye and his left arm. His robe was nothing more than strands of torn clothes that didn't manage to cover his awful condition.

Countless injuries covered his body. Entire chunks of his skin and organs had disappeared, and blood continued to flow from his wounds since he didn't have enough energy to stop it.

However, Alexander wore a hideous broad smile as he approached his companions. An old book rested on his hand. It seemed that the expert had succeeded in completing the last trial and seize the reward.

"Elbas, take care of healing him," Noah ordered while hurrying toward Alexander. "Pearl and the other inscription masters have to come with me."

"Being half a step in front of me doesn't give you the right to order me around," King Elbas snorted even if he took out a series of precious potions meant for hybrids. "I will reach the liquid stage before you. I already sense the approach of the breakthrough."

"This isn't the time for that," Noah reprimanded him before pointing at the tall door that divided them from the last parts of the inheritance. "We took the last book, but nothing happened. I don't even see the usual white lines running through the corridor."

"What are you implying?" King Elbas asked.

"I know for a fact that Great Builder is trying to come back to life," Noah explained. "Clearing the inheritance and seizing the books didn't trigger that process. He might be a liar, but there is a higher chance that we have missed something."

The confused expressions on his companions' faces forced Noah to continue his explanation. "The books aren't simple rewards. They must have a deeper meaning, which might be the technique to resurrect him."