Noah wasn't surprised that June had caught up with him. The fifth rank was simply too vast, and an entire century wouldn't be enough to make a cultivator reach the next stage. Instead, a century was enough for talented cultivators to cross all the steps of the fourth rank.
Of course, that didn't mean that Noah and June were on the same level now. June's mind had yet to reach the fifth rank, and her dantian had just experienced the breakthrough. There were decades of training of difference between her centers of power and Noah's.
Noah analyzed the dark sparks that appeared on her skin from time to time. He could sense that they were denser than the spark created when they dual-cultivated, and there were even orange shades in their dark brilliance.
"Did you make it?" Noah asked, but June shook her head even if she maintained a happy expression.
"I just implemented a small spark of the higher energy in the Perpetual formations and Perfect Circuit," June said, "It will take time to modify all my centers of power and sever them from the "Breath" completely. It is strange though. I've never felt so powerful and frail at the same time."
Noah nodded at her words. He knew how her cultivation technique worked and how she wanted to move forward in the fifth rank.
June wanted to replace her "Breath" to cross the limits of her centers of power. Yet, she didn't have Noah's understanding and had to rely on King Elbas' research to create those dark sparks. That led her to produce higher energy that her Perfect Circuit had yet to learn how to handle. It would take time before she felt confident in using it.
On the other hand, Noah had created his darkness because he didn't want to lose that type of energy. He was a creator in his mind, and creators needed to have access to all kinds of materials to work.
The primary energy was the result of his destruction, and his darkness was a pure expression of his individuality. The higher power that he planned to make in the future would be an expression of his creation, which would give him access to all the types of energy available in the world.
He couldn't just let go of his darkness like June planned to do with her "Breath". After all, she just needed sheer power, while Noah's individuality made his requirements more complex in terms of energies.
"Shouldn't you be cultivating?" Noah asked with a smirk when he saw June nearing him.
"I have to take care of my man first," June said without any trace of shame and took his hand to bring him in the mansion.
The following period inside the separate dimension was quite messy. Heroic cultivators in the fourth rank would often contact Thirty-seven or directly use the teleportation matrix to request a meeting with the Demon Prince.
However, Noah's focus was on the living weapons in the fifth rank now, which forced him to ignore the requests of those weaker assets.
As much as Noah wanted to equip all the rank 5 Elders of the Hive though, his cultivation level prevented him from creating something with a power that surpassed the lower tier of the fifth rank.
The living weapons were a nigh-endless source of powerful attacks, but they were useless if the cultivator wielding them had access to a stronger offensive. Even the lower consumption of "Breath" wasn't enough to make up for the lack of power.
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Beings like Elder Julia and Dreaming Demon couldn't request their living weapons because they were too strong for Noah, and the same went for other Elders. The only entities that could commission weapons were Elder Justin and Elder Ingrid since they were still in the gaseous stage.
That was Noah's current limit, but the other Elders didn't mind it. Actually, they were eager to see him grow after Elder Austin demonstrated the power of his weapon.
Everyone was sure that Noah would improve in no time and that he would soon become able to arm all the heroic assets with his weapons. Only Elder Julia, Dreaming Demon, and Chasing Demon weren't sure if he would ever catch up with them since they had cultivated for far longer than him.
The production of living weapons slowed down after Noah completed the work for the rank 5 Elders in the gaseous stage. Most of the other assets in the fourth rank had already received theirs and were just asking for more of them so to improve their battle prowess further.
Noah wouldn't prioritize their requests since many had yet to learn how to control their first weapons. Also, having more living weapons could hurt their individualities since some heroic cultivators would start to rely on them too much and neglect their training.
It was the same with the organizations. Cultivators would start to rely so much on powers that didn't belong to them and neglect their real strength. The Hive didn't need those kinds of assets. It wasn't in a position where one of its heroic cultivators could give up on the prospect of becoming stronger.
Amid that peaceful period though, the crisis that most cultivators were waiting for eventually showed itself.
It all started with a series of gales gathering in a seemingly random spot above the sea and continued with black clouds appearing in the sky and shooting their threatening aura in that area.
The ground began to shake, and earthquakes spread through both continents, warning even the human cultivators that something massive was about to happen.
Noah was still in the separate dimension with June when the tremors spread in that place that was supposed to be safe from the events unfolding in the outside world. The ground shook, and small cracks appeared the frailest surfaces of the mansion.
Noah suddenly felt his instincts screaming in fear and anger. He had already tasted that kind of danger. It had happened during one of his dreams when a dragon tried to battle against the endless barrage of black clouds.
June glanced at him, and Noah nodded. There was no need for words between them. They simply kissed each other and moved toward their respective teleportation matrices to return to their nations.
When Noah reappeared in the forest of White Woods and flew in the sky to inspect the events, he noticed that a vast array of black clouds had gathered in an area at some distance from both continents.
The array of clouds was so vast that Noah was able to see it even if he was almost on the opposite side of the Mortal Lands, but he wasn't able to make out who had triggered that massive Tribulation.
Chasing Demon suddenly appeared next to him, and other Elders soon gathered in that same spot. Even the two Demons arrived and shot a questioning gaze toward the Patriarch of the Hive.
Chasing Demon gave voice to a single line before flying toward the Tribulation. "God's Right Hand is attempting to reach the divine ranks."