A battlefield featuring existences that stood at the very apex of the cultivation journey usually were a major form of attraction. Still, Noah could only ignore everything outside the dark world. His senses barely managed to go past the dense energy released by the four dragons and solid stage woman.

Fights raged outside the dark world, but Noah's focus remained on the head floating among the dense dark matter. Lord Lewis screamed in pain and cursed whenever the workshop reassembled him to study part of his power, but answers rarely arrived.

There was nothing logical in Lord Lewis' power, but Noah expected much. The ninth rank theoretically was the realm that went past laws. The true meanings would transform into worlds capable of generating energy without requiring fuel.

That level went beyond reason and understanding. Its features even depended on the specific law that had managed to step into that rank, which made eventual studies far more complicated.

Lord Lewis' situation was even peculiar since his current law came from Heaven and Earth. It was a copy of his original true meaning that the rulers had given to him after absorbing his existence.

'Is his source of power hard to find because his law is quite simple?' Noah wondered as some of the arms of the workshop stabbed into the head sent a wave of energy to trigger a few reactions.

Lord Lewis' floating head lit up as soon as the dark matter flowed into its fabric. Noah couldn't see any black shade in that radiance, but he knew that the expert didn't have organs that could perform that transformation.

The dark matter had transformed into white light without passing through a dantian. Lord Lewis didn't even use his mental waves in the process. It seemed that his flesh could trigger that event on its own.

Watching that scene didn't clear Noah's doubts. Lord Lewis' flesh obviously contained the essence of his law, but it lacked a source of power. The workshop had even made sure not to send energy to it, so the transformation basically happened without any explanation or visible phenomenon.

Noah replicated the test after drying Lord Lewis' face of energy, but his flesh continued to transform the small amount of power sent by the workshop. The worse state didn't even seem to affect the process.

"Why can't you generate more energy?" Noah eventually asked when he accepted that his tests weren't going anywhere. "You would have already escaped."

Lord Lewis snorted without adding anything. He wasn't willing to reveal anything, especially after understanding that Noah was gathering information about the ninth rank. His torture would be worth it if he managed to delay Noah's improvements by a bit.

Noah saw in Lord Lewis a resolve that only driven experts would have. The cultivator didn't let his condition make him lose his mind, and his loyalty didn't crumble even after the painful tests. He was one of the few existences that Noah felt unable to turn to his side or torture until he obtained answers.

"I have three possible explanations to your power," Noah continued, even if Lord Lewis clearly wouldn't help him.

"My understanding of the ninth rank might have flaws deeper than I realize," Noah announced while raising his forefinger toward the expert's head. "I think my idea is pretty clear, but you never know when it comes to superior realms, especially the last."

"I might not be able to understand much because your power doesn't really come from you," Noah continued as his middle finger joined the forefinger. "That's possible, but keeping you isolated from the outside world should eventually exhaust your power if that were the case, and we both know that you aren't getting weaker."

"The third possibility comes from our different natures," Noah added while stretching another finger. "My expertise covers different laws and aspects, so I can't completely understand how you do what you do."

Lord Lewis' face had remained emotionless. It didn't show the slightest reaction to Noah's words. His loyalty toward Heaven and Earth seemed to come before his life and feelings.

"I think that all three explanations are partially true," Noah eventually sighed, "But that causes a bigger problem. I can't solve three issues at the same time. I don't even know if I have enough time to solve one of them."

Noah had been honest with the expert. Thinking stuff aloud was only a method meant to bait reactions out of his prisoner, but everything he said was true. He had hit a wall there, and the entirety of his arsenal appeared useless in that situation.

The dark world sensed something while Noah remained immersed in his loud thoughts. King Elbas had walked through the dense dark matter and had expanded his consciousness to search for his leader.

Noah quickly controlled the dark world to open a path that led directly toward him, and King Elbas didn't hesitate to walk through it. Still, the cultivator couldn't help but freeze when he saw the peculiar situation in which Noah had been for the past minutes.

Multiple pointy arms and dense tubes connected Lord Lewis' floating head with the rest of the dark world. Noah had obviously reacted many layers of protection to isolate and keep at bay the expert, so his technique remained safe from eventual flares of energy.

"Perfect timing, Elbas!" Noah shouted when King Elbas decided to approach him. "I need a hand with this one. Do you want to study a rank 9 cultivator?"

King Elbas' eyes lit up at that offer, and he didn't hesitate to take out a few inscribed items. Noah even helped the expert by modifying the dark world according to the effects of his tools.

More figures entered the dark world, and the entirety of Noah's team eventually walked past the black edges. Passages that led to the floating head opened in front of them, and they soon grouped with the duo busy studying what remained of the rank 9 cultivator.

"You do realize that we have multiple apocalypses going on around us?" Steven asked when he saw that Alexander and Robert didn't hesitate to sit next to Noah and King Elbas.

"You can go ahead and join them," Robert snorted.

"That's not our fight," Alexander plainly added.

"How can we even affect those battles?" Noah asked without leaving his eyes from the floating head. "Our fight is over. It's better to study how to reach the ninth rank."

"He's a literal floating separate space ruled by his domain," King Elbas concluded after his inspection. "We can't understand how he works because we don't exist inside him. Still, I believe he has advanced only recently. It would explain how he can't produce enough energy to break free."

"Can you think of a way to get his memories?" Noah asked.

"How?" King Elbas snorted. "I can barely sense his power. I don't know if I can pierce his mind, and the process may even hurt me. He is still a rank 9 cultivator."

"So what?" Noah sighed. "Do I just eat him now?"

Lord Lewis didn't show any reaction to that comment. He appeared ready to die at the first chance.

"You and Alexander have the best instincts," King Elbas shrugged his shoulders. "You can continue to fuel him and try to gain ideas."

****

Author's notes: Usual delay on the third chapter. It might take up to an hour.

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