The display of power that Noah was currently capable of was immense. The fuel inside the ethereal blackness flowed inside his centers of power and spread toward his companions while they activated their own ambition.

A system that could force the entirety of Noah's arsenal to go through two rounds of improvements formed in a few seconds and turned an immense area dark. The light radiated by the weak sky couldn't pierce his aura. Actually, the glow emitted by his figure was enough to push that whiteness away.

The unstable substance joined the empowerments as roots started to come out of his palms. Black crystals appeared around the blades as the parasite covered them and enhanced their destructiveness.

Duanlong took its position behind Noah, and Shafu activated its pulling force from inside him. Night disappeared among the darkness spreading in the environment, and Snore materialized itself before showing its immense figure from above Noah.

The dark world also expanded, but it didn't hide Noah. He unleashed it behind him to put the workshops to work. He didn't know much about Caesar, so he couldn't create specific environments to counter him. The dark matter around his blades was enough to empower his attacks.

Caesar smiled as confidence filled his face. Noah had seen similar expressions in his opponents countless times, so he didn't think too much about it. Yet, the faint helplessness that appeared in the cultivator's eyes warned him that something was off.

Noah inspected his surroundings as his aura laid waste to the weak sky. The relatively large tunnel soon transformed into a vast battlefield incapable of hiding anything. He could confirm that Heaven and Earth weren't trying to use traps or similar methods. They were leaving him against Caesar, but that only made the helplessness in his eyes even stranger.

"What is it?" Caesar asked when he saw that Noah seemed to have no intention to attack him. "I thought you drew your swords for a reason."

Noah didn't fall for that taunt, but he had to admit that hesitating wasn't helping him. He couldn't see anything after inspecting the space-time array in the area, and the sky was too far away to take him by surprise.

Noah's hesitation came from a faint instinctive reaction to Caesar's helplessness, but he couldn't withdraw from a similar battle without launching a single attack. He also recognized how he needed to test himself against an opponent who could withstand his power. That was the perfect chance to see how strong he had become.

Caesar opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out of it since Noah promptly took a step forward. The cultivator wore his smile again at that sight, and his eyes moved as soon as his opponent vanished.

Noah reappeared at Caesar's right, and a massive crack opened behind him to mark the path that he had crossed. His blades seemed to expand as he swung them toward his opponent, and dark shades filled the area as his destructive aspects spread.

Caesar wanted to voice a comment before the blades hit him, but he suddenly noticed that he couldn't express his usual speed. The time for him had slowed down, and even his surprised reaction ended up suffering from those effects.

The blades hit Caesar directly and unleashed a wave of power that made the fabric of space shatter. A massive hole that led to the void opened due to the sheer might of the blow, and the cultivator's figure ended up disappearing in the darkness.

Noah inspected the destruction that he had unleashed. His darkness showed scarlet and purple shades as it continued to expand and shatter the world. Almost one-third of the vast area cleared by his aura had transformed into a hole that led to the void, and that damaged spot only enlarged while his pulling forces remained active.

Caesar's aura had disappeared among that blackness. Noah couldn't see him anymore, and he had failed to confirm whether he had fallen into the void. Still, he had felt his weapons landing on his body. In theory, even a solid stage cultivator would have a hard time enduring something like that.

"You have definitely become strong," Caesar's voice suddenly resounded from a spot above Noah as his aura spread into the environment again. "I couldn't dodge it at all."

Noah glanced at the source of that sound, and astonishment inevitably filled his mind. Nothing appeared on his face, but he remained surprised at that sight. Caesar had reappeared, and he didn't show any injury.

"What is it?" Caesar asked as his confident smile reappeared on his face. "There is no need to look at me like that. You have hit me, and I didn't use any technique to defend myself."

'That's impossible,' Noah initially thought before disregarding that idea.

Noah knew that worlds didn't have fixed limits. His potential made him obtain power that his structure couldn't normally release, so Caesar probably had something similar. Yet, he couldn't explain how the cultivator had protected himself without revealing anything of his existence.

"Try again if you must," Caesar announced. "Maybe you'll understand something."

Noah didn't like to fall for Caesar's taunts, but he didn't have other options. He couldn't win if he didn't attack. Still, he decided to change his approach.

The space-time array reappeared on his vision as he sprinted toward Caesar. Noah teleported above the cultivator and unleashed another powerful attack that turned the entire area into a pool of blackness.

Yet, Night, Snore, the Cursed Sword, the Demonic Sword, and the parasite unleashed their true power before Noah could lose track of Caesar. A series of black lines, a destructive ray, a wave of bloodlust, dark matter that could enhance its innate sharpness, and a dark-purple liquid joined the offensive.

The result of that massive display of power was incredible. The entirety of the area cleared by Noah's aura transformed into a huge hole that connected the higher plane to the void. The shockwaves released by the attack also expanded the battlefield and transformed the primary energy released during that destruction into raging storms.

Noah felt amazed by his own power. He almost couldn't believe that a simple blow that used most of his arsenal could be so destructive. He had already confirmed that point during his travel, but he could see it clearly now. His world was beyond the limits of the liquid stage.

"Incredible," Caesar's voice resounded again as his aura reappeared among that blackness. "This is the power of the solid stage. The high quality of your world allows you to ignore any form of reason."

Noah glanced at the source of that voice and found Caesar floating among the waves of energy caused by the shockwaves. No injury had appeared on his figure, but he seemed honestly surprised. Still, Noah couldn't feel happy about that reaction.

"How are you doing this?" Noah asked. "You aren't using any technique, and I'm hitting you every time. Is this an effect of your world?"

"Yes and no," Caesar replied as he stretched his hand to immerse it in some storms of primary energy. "It's the effect of my world in this case, but cultivators at the same level can pull off something similar. My influence on the fabric of reality is simply stronger than yours. It told you that our battle wouldn't have happened today, so your attacks have never existed in the first place."

Noah didn't show any reaction, but profound astonishment filled his mind when the area transformed in an instant. He didn't even blink, but the world returned to its previous intact state in less than a second. It didn't even use energy to heal so quickly.

****

Author's notes: So, I ended up sleeping for 13hours lol. It's annoying because I almost had it this week if we ignore the delays. I still have 2 chapters for Thursday and 3 for Friday to do before approaching Saturday, and I don't know how I can cover all of them.. I'll write as much as I can before resetting the schedule again on Monday.

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