Some emotions couldn't be expressed with simple words.

When Noah realized that he had stepped in the last rank of the human ranks, the memories of his journey reemerged in his mind like an unstoppable tide.

The life as a b.a.s.t.a.r.d of the Balvan family, William's training, the near-dead experiences in Twilboia Cliff, the death of his loving mother, the escape from Eccentric Thunder's dimension, the academy, the escape from the control of the Royal family, his journey alone in the continent, the Odrea nation, and, ultimately, the Coral archipelago.

Nineteen years ago, he was only a transmigrated kid trying to scam soldiers to learn what seemed superpowers in his eyes.

Now, he was a dreaded cultivator who had just stepped on the peak of the human ranks, all his pain, all his hard work, all his suffering, the powerful feeling that his dantian radiated made it seem completely worth it.

'This is just the beginning.'

Noah thought as he drank a bottle containing the nurturing Sea snake's tears.

Now, he could be considered a king among the cultivators in the human rank, a true elite.

Yet, he knew far too well that he was just an ant when it came to the entirety of the cultivation world.

Powerful ent.i.ties could be found everywhere, being an elite among tens of thousands of ants was nowhere near his true objective.

He unconsciously raised his head, the purple ceiling of his cave filled his view but Noah's eyes seemed to pierce that material to gaze at the starry sky.

He felt the light of the stars s.h.i.+ning on his face, there was nothing but the ceiling of his cave above him but Noah's eyes reflected the stars that he had once seen in the att.i.tude test of the academy.

'One day.'

It was with that last thought that he lowered his gaze and returned to reality.

.

.

.

Noah spent the next month stabilizing his cultivation level, he had just entered the third rank after all, his reserves of "Breath" were still lacking.

Luckily for him, the training area where his faction gathered featured many spots where the density of "Breath" suited his new level.

The disciples in his faction stared with wide eyes at Noah placing his "Breath" blessing near Bruce's cave and cultivating completely in the open.

At once they knew, another disciple had become a captain!

That sight wasn't uncommon during the last few years, many disciples had unexpectedly reached the third rank to join the exploration of the separate dimension.

One day, Bruce came out of his cave and caught Noah performing the Dantian's opening right next to the entrance of his habitation.

Bruce calmly waited for a few hours for Noah to finish the procedure before he dared to speak, he didn't want to risk interrupting him during that dangerous practice.

"Why don't you get a cave of your own?"

Noah opened his eyes, the liquid "Breath" in his body entered his circulatory system to heal his injuries and a couple of bottles of Sea snake's tears were gulped in an instant by him, his dantian was of a higher quality now, it needed better potions.

Yet, he didn't have time to acc.u.mulate more merit points, he could only use more bottles of the potion that he already had.

"The residential area of the rank 3 cultivators is crowded nowadays and the environment here is top tier."

Noah answered in his usual plain tone, he couldn't care at all if the other disciples saw him hurting himself.

"Will you enter the separate dimension?"

Bruce asked, he reached that conclusion after he confirmed Noah's level with his mental energy.

"Yes. Also, I would like for you to form a team that I can join."

Noah's words surprised Bruce, he had never seen him asking for something similar before.

Yet, it made sense.

Bruce was the leader of the thieves' faction, his sheer power made him unable to live near rank 2 cultivators, his actual battle prowess had to be incredible.

However, a bitter expression appeared on his face and his gaze went on the bed inside his cave where a woman was resting.

A warm smile replaced the previous expression as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I have more important matters to attend."

Bruce refused Noah's proposal with a few words and was about to return to his cave when Noah spoke again.

"Will you give up to the heroic ranks?"

Bruce's eyes widened, his gaze went back on the young-looking man sitting on the blue mineral.

He understood his determination, that's why he tried to teach him something.

"There will come a day when you will have to choose between love and power. Living for hundreds of years alone isn't something that everyone wants."

Bruce's words came from his experience, he was basically saying that he was going to accompany Sarah through the entirety of her journey.

Yet, when Noah's opened his eyes, the image of Lily appeared in his view.

Her loving smile, her worry for him, her life spent only to give him more time to cultivate, and, in the end, her last selfless act to prevent Rhys from using her to hurt him.

His eyes became cold as he answered Bruce.

"I've already chosen."

Silence reigned in the area, Bruce stared at Noah and, even if he found it hard to believe in his words, his aura seemed to convince him a little.

"Good luck in there, be sure to be fully prepared."

After that, he went back inside his cave and sealed its entrance, leaving Noah alone on the outside.

A notebook appeared in his hands and two messages were sent, it was time to make the necessary preparations.

'The reports about the Inheritance ground are open to the public but why would you request for so many rank 4 materials?'

'David's team is getting ready to enter the separate dimension again, you can join them if you want.'

Roy and Seth's voices resounded in his head as they replied to his requests, Noah quickly sent other messages to justify his demands and organize the next days.

Two weeks later, he entered the separate dimension under the Great whirlpool.