Heaven and Earth retreated, leaving Noah with many questions and only a few answers. He didn't know what the rulers were capable of right now, but he had seen how they had polished their punishments and had added some complexity to their power.

The return to the black clouds and their automatic nature hinted at the presence of a different system. Heaven and Earth had evolved the Tribulations and had unleashed them throughout the sky. Their initial indifference toward Noah partially proved how they lacked proper wills and only targeted specific enemies. The magical beasts were a clear hindrance on the path to the tenth rank, so the rulers had decided to isolate them before starting a worldwide hunt.

Noah inspected the area for a bit. He couldn't see any trace of the energy that had invaded the clouds. Heaven and Earth had merely gazed at the battle before leaving without deploying any additional measure. The event had resembled scenes seen in the Mortal Lands, but he knew that it had a different meaning now.

In the Mortal Lands, Heaven and Earth intervened only when the Tribulations turned out to be unsuitable for certain existences or when they were involved in acts that defied their fairness. However, they appeared when something aroused their interest now, and Noah obviously was on that list.

June's face inevitably appeared in his mind. The cultivation journey, especially near its higher ranks, didn't leave time to love and similar relationships. The path toward the peak also separated friendships due to the problems that different worlds could experience after remaining close for too long.

Noah trusted June deeply, and he even missed her whenever his mind went on those topics. He would love to have her at his side right now to discuss their respective journeys or just dive into intimate moments. Yet, searching for someone in that environment was virtually impossible. He believed that King Elbas would also struggle to develop something that could work.

'I'll meet her as long as I keep moving forward,' Noah eventually concluded in his mind. 'If I don't, I'll be forced to leave her behind.'

The sad but inevitable conclusion only managed to keep Noah in a daze for a few seconds. He recalled every promise he had exchanged with June, and neither could go back on their words. That would only mean the end of their cultivation journey.

Noah released the pack of lizards after putting those thoughts in the back of his mind. The creatures prepared to fight as soon as the whiteness shone on their reptilian eyes, but they relaxed when they saw Noah floating next to them.

"Thank you, Defying Demon," One of the leaders politely exclaimed, and the other lizards quickly echoed those human words.

A tremor ran on the creatures' eyes when Noah turned to show his cold face. His expression had nothing to do with the lizards, but they felt fear anyway. Yet, they didn't complain nor move since their lives basically belonged to him now.

Various thoughts ran through Noah's mind as he inspected the lizards. He had decided to focus on himself, but he couldn't let Heaven and Earth do as they wished either, especially after seeing how brazen they were about their hunt.

'Maybe it's time for the rulers to get what they deserve for using programs instead of stepping directly into the battlefield,' Noah thought before turning toward the weak sky.

"Stay there," Noah ordered as he approached the weak sky and placed a hand on its white layer.

Black lines began to spread on the material as Noah unfolded his aura. His destruction seeped into the very fabric of the weak sky, but he didn't trigger it immediately. Instead, he let it expand until it reached spots that even his vast consciousness struggled to touch.

The spiderweb of black lines eventually showed its power. An enormous chunk of the weak sky shattered and transformed into immense clouds of primary energy that made the lizards drool in hunger. They already ate those nutrients, but they had never seen so many of them at the same time since their destructive power was nowhere near Noah's.

Noah didn't feel hungry since he had already decided to proceed in a different direction. A new nature seeped into his aura and attracted the primary energy. That fuel typically was too thin to be visible with mere eyes, but the currents created by the pulling force were so dense that they gained multicolored shades as they converged toward Noah.

The primary energy didn't enter Noah's figure. He let it accumulate on his palm as his aura continued to condense it. The fuel wanted to gain specific shapes already, but he didn't allow it to complete the process since he had to take care of another phase first.

Noah moved back toward the lizards after taking that primary energy for himself. His consciousness shrunk to condense on those specimens and seep deep into their bodies. The creatures opposed that inspection, but a mere tinge of his pride was more than enough to make them lower their innate defenses.

"Don't oppose it," Noah growled when he approached one of the rank 9 leaders.

The lizard could only lower its head when Noah stretched his hand. The release of a wave of dark matter followed the contact, and the creature almost tried to escape when it felt that dense foreign energy seeping inside its body.

Noah only needed to glare at the lizard to make it stay still. He didn't blame it for trying to be uncooperative since most of those reactions came from its instincts, but he still wanted to complete his study quickly.

"You too," Noah said after retrieving the dark matter and glancing at the other leader.

The lizard lowered its head and approached Noah slowly. He placed his hand on its body before sending dark matter in its insides. His higher energy allowed him to understand everything about those creatures, including the differences that made those leaders unique.

"You need to eat something for me," Noah ordered after retrieving the dark matter and deploying the dark world.

"We wouldn't dare to oppose you," One of the leaders said, but Noah ignored those words since he had already started to focus on his project.

Noah let the primary energy disperse inside the dark world as multiple workshops materialized. The technique used the power obtained from the sky to give birth to Great Builder's iconic items. He quickly created fake cores that suited the lizards' specific bloodline and even modified some of them so that they could fit the rank 9 specimens.

The fake cores were similar to Great Builder's creations only in their structure. They were oval black items as large as a human's head. However, their purpose was completely different. Noah didn't make them to provide energy and superior harmony. He had developed dispensers of his ambition that would help the lizard overcome the innate limits of their species or current state.

"Eat them," Noah eventually ordered as he controlled the dark world to send the finished products in front of each lizard inside his technique. "They won't give you any immediate power, but they will open a path toward higher forms of existence.. Stepping on it will depend on you."

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