The weekly Tribulation arrived on time and unleashed its usual destruction.
Noah and the elders stared at the majestic sight of the rank 6 lightning bolts crashing on the shield of the palace from above the defensive wall.
They wouldn't have a chance to witness a similar scene from a safe position anymore after that day, so their complete focus was on that great calamity.
Anything with the power of the sixth rank was worthy of respect, even if it came from Heaven and Earth.
That was the last step of the heroic ranks, the ultimate target of all the heroic cultivators living in the Mortal Lands.
The lightning storm began to disperse after thirty minutes, and the group prepared itself to sprint toward the south, in the direction of the exit.
Then, the trio jumped off the defensive wall and began to fly at full speed when the last black cloud in the sky vanished.
They had one week before the next Tribulation, and that amount of time was enough to make them reach the areas targeted by rank 5 lighting bolts in the middle tier.
They could avoid the lightning storm with power at the peak of the fifth rank since their starting point was farther in the dimension compared to the checkpoint in their original strategy.
There would still be three Tribulations in the next part of their travel, but two of them would be in the fourth rank since they had set off from the palace.
The light radiated by a pendant on Dreaming Demon's neck flickered when the group left the perimeter of the palace.
Loud ruckus began to resound from the structure behind them, but the group didn't dare to stop to analyze the event.
Thirty-seven had activated the self-destruct measures of the palace since he was leaving the structure with the trio.
That action couldn't be avoided since the spirit automaton had been programmed in that way by Divine Architect.
Noah and the others didn't have the power to modify his programming without causing any unwanted reaction, so they simply gave up on the thought of keeping Divine Architect's creations.
Instead, they flew at an even higher speed to escape the rage of the blast.
Luckily for them, Thirty-seven had left the shield of the palace active to contain the explosion.
Earthquakes and shockwaves spread from the palace to the areas around it, but the shield managed to block most of its destructive effects.
Part of the prairie and the space above it still shattered, but those mighty events didn't manage to reach the three heroic cultivators that were already far in the distance.
It was needless to say that they felt helpless about that outcome.
A palace able to defend against rank 6 attacks and a damaged telescope able to gaze at the worlds outside of the Mortal Lands were items than any organization would do anything to obtain.
Yet, Divine Architect was too careful and powerful, Noah and the others could just accept the fact that they couldn't affect that outcome.
A week passed quickly, and Noah felt forced to eat many of the pills created by the Udye family to refill his Liquid dantian to help the elders with the Tribulation.
That rank 5 Tribulation had the power of the middle tier.
It couldn't be handled carelessly even if the group had already faced something stronger.
Noah and the elders repeated the same cyclic deployment of defensive measures, with Noah using one of his talismans and flames to aid the Demons during their breaks.
Of course, his flames couldn't possibly oppose those lightning bolts, but they could help in gaining a few precious seconds so that he wouldn't have to use another talisman.
The crossing was over in his mind, and his focus had to be in saving useful resources now.
The exploration of the separate dimension was bound to bring incredible benefits to the Hive, but Noah had to pay for them with his wealth.
After all, the Hive would gain two rank 5 cultivators, a rank 6 automaton expert in all kinds of inscriptions, and an immense knowledge concerning the history of the continent.
Also, there were the techniques and methods that Flying Demon and Dreaming Demon had kept in their minds since their exile.
Instead, Noah had only seen his Credits, pills, potions, and talismans diminish to obtain all of that.
He didn't mind the rank 4 drugs too much, but the loss of the rank 5 potion and the four talismans weighed on his mind.
They were lifesavers challenging to obtain, especially the potion.
'I guess I did gain something.'
Noah thought when the Tribulation was over, and the group resumed its flight toward the southern area of the dimension.
'I think I would have taken longer to reach the liquid stage if I didn't decide to sacrifice the immediate gains. Also, I've upgraded all my spells in a safe space in this period. I will be on a completely different level once I return to the southwestern coast of the new continent.'
Noah believed that he would have achieved similar results even if he wasn't trapped in the dimension.
Still, he couldn't deny the fact that meeting the elders had helped his individuality.
'They better find a way to repay me. Taking a look at all the techniques and methods inside their minds is the very least that they can do.'
Noah had already decided to directly ask for the knowledge of the demon sects when the group reunited with the Hive.
The unorthodox techniques of those sects were fascinating, and Noah couldn't wait to improve his combat style.
He had been using the same spells and arts for years by then, and he had even improved all of them recently.
Yet, they were random spells that didn't suit his individuality, only the second form of his martial art, and some of the modified diagrams carried traces of it.
'The weakness of the rarest elements…'
That thought appeared in Noah's mind when he reviewed his offensive.
Darkness and light aptitude cultivators were generally more potent than their peers, but they had to overcome the lack of proper diagrams and arts that could express their power.
That issue was further enhanced in the heroic ranks since cultivators would need to strive to their individuality at those stages.
However, Noah couldn't fully express his individuality without fitting attacks.
His battle style had been honed and perfected through many battles, but he still fought while using any spell that he could find.
'It's impossible to find a set of spells for my element that also fit my individuality. I can only slowly create them as I keep absorbing laws.'
Noah put the matter in the back of his mind at that point.
He had already taken the second step inside the heroic ranks, and the Divine deduction technique helped him in matters that afflicted ordinary cultivators.
There was nothing that he could do to improve faster.
The group faced the two rank 4 Tribulations in the following weeks and crossed them without any problem.
Then, Noah and the elders reached for the exit.