Chapter 1622: 1622. Study

The conversation left Noah partially unsatisfied. He had understood that Heaven and Earth would modify their punishments according to his existence, but the most threatening Tribulations seemed to feature rank 9 experts.

Noah would have to face those existences only when his battle prowess reached the ninth rank. That was part of Heaven and Earth's fairness. The followers could ignore those limits, but the rulers had to abide by them.

Normal cultivation levels didn't apply to Noah. He only had a middle tier body, but he could already fight upper tier magical beasts.

Having to face rank 9 existences once his battle prowess reached that level didn't sound too scary. Great Builder's story didn't manage to instill fear inside him, and Noah couldn't help but feel disappointed about it.

'I guess it's up to Heaven and Earth,' Noah thought as the travel reached its last phase.

The human domain didn't feature anything interesting since Radiant Eyes had seized every valuable resource. The travel had only confirmed that the Legion wouldn't have enemies in a while. After all, the various organizations had to reclaim the lost lands first.

The Legion and Noah didn't have any interest in taking those regions. The Outer Lands were better in terms of sheer energy, so they wouldn't care about those damaged areas.

The blue regions eventually appeared in Noah's vision. A series of packs had taken control of those lands due to the nourishing properties of the blue bushes, but Great Builder's presence made them run away before they could sense the other auras in his group.

"This is not bad at all," Great Builder commented at the sight of the blue lands, and the leader of the Foolery couldn't help but raise its head to express its pride.

"I don't know how much you can do right now," Alexander probed. "I wish you could create something that covers both cities, at least. We can handle the rest."

"Nonsense," Great Builder snorted, and his consciousness spread through the regions.

His law flowed inside his mental waves and forced the lands to morph. Magical plants grew out of the ground and created a series of tall domes that covered the entire area occupied by the Legion and Noah's group.

The magical plants soon died, but they left behind their thick structure and the domes. Their materials seemed able to fend off every aura that reached their surface. They resembled impenetrable walls, even if they had many holes inside them.

Great Builder continued his creations inside those structures. He rearranged the matter in the ground to give birth to tall open buildings that could contain cultivators, magical beasts, and hybrids.

Those structures had all the best features of the inscribed habitations. They enhanced the absorption of energy and granted a higher recovery rate. Some of them also had features that quickened the thinking speed.

King Elbas couldn't help but take notes whenever Great Builder waved his hands. Everything he did inspired the cultivator and gave him new ideas.

The new home of the Legion quickly took form. Its final shape saw entire regions covered in magical plants that hid tall structures capable of benefitting every creature in the world.

Noah felt the need to seclude himself in front of such structures, but he suppressed that feeling. Great Builder had yet to complete one task before departing toward the stormy regions. He had to wake up a powerful friend.

The leaders left most of their underlings inside those new habitations before leading Great Builder deeper into the Outer Lands. An immense mountain soon appeared in their vision, and a large palace couldn't escape their inspection.

"I wonder where he stole that," Great Builder commented at the sight of the palace. "Supreme Thief has never learnt how to build something so big. I bet he took various mansions and merged them into this shape."

Noah and the others ignored that comment and waited for the expert to work his magic. Great Builder soon neared the palace and made his consciousness converge among the towers. He didn't care about the various separate dimensions hidden inside those structures. He only wanted to find his old friend.

An azure aura soon seeped out of the palace, and Great Builder didn't hesitate to focus on it. A curse soon escaped his mouth, and his figure began to fade right in the middle of Noah's group.

"I'll be back soon," Great Builder said before his figure completely disappeared.

Noah and the others waited for entire days in front of the palace before deciding to dig training areas around the azure mountain. They didn't know when Great Builder would come back, but they had a lot of experience to absorb after the events with Radiant Eyes.

Witnessing the battle between two rank 9 existences gave them a general idea of how that power level worked. They had seen how the world reacted to those presences. The fight wasn't something that they could study in a few training sessions.

Noah didn't hesitate to rely on the Demonic Deduction technique after memorizing those scenes. He recalled the battle, but his focus had always been on the various abilities used during the face-off.

Great Builder had won the battle, but Radiant Eyes had also shown how the innate advantages of the hybrids weren't enough in a fight at that level.

It was hard to justify Radiant Eyes' defeat. Noah could only blame her lack of viable techniques. Her toxic influence was only a passive power that couldn't match her physical prowess.

Great Builder had also been useless when Noah gathered information about the battle. He had studied Radiant Eyes' law, but his understanding was purely theoretical. He had only learnt about certain features before creating suitable countermeasures.

Noah was on his own during his seclusion. He mainly focused on cultivating and stabilizing his centers of power, and he rarely lingered on new projects.

His idea of exploiting the parasite to create an attack similar to Radiant Eye's influence was only a vague project that would require years to set off.

The main problem with that ability was its application in a real battle. Noah already had powerful spells and techniques that could inflict damage over time, but they didn't suit his battle style.

The corrosive aura was the same. Noah had to work hard only to make that power useful. That attack didn't match his singularities or movement techniques, but he felt confident enough to create something valuable.

Great Builder returned as his idea began to form. The expert brought the entire corpse of a rank 9 magical beast and began to dissect its body right in front of the palace.

Noah quickly flew out of the cave to inspect the scene. Great Builder created nine weaker versions of the rank 9 fake cores and placed them on each tower.

An ethereal figure appeared at the center of the palace when the halo dimmed. Azure light surrounded his body, and his long black hair fluttered in the wind. A dark eyepatch covered his left eye, and a confused expression filled his face.

"You have come back to life," Great Builder said. "I must admit. Surpassing your defenses has been quite easy."

Supreme Thief didn't reply. His body slowly regained a physical form. Waves of threatening azure light flew through the world and converged in his position, giving him the various pieces of aura that he had spread through the plane during his life.