Noah and June's life was uneventful for a couple of years. Their cohabitation went smoothly and without anyone disturbing them.
The Elders of the Hive were busy with their matters, and the Elbas family was in a similar situation, which meant that Noah and June could enjoy their life as a couple in peace.
Of course, their cultivation still occupied a large part of their time. Each session of training could last for days or even weeks since they were existences in the heroic ranks. They tried to spend as much time as they could together, but it often happened that they wouldn't see each other for entire days, even if they lived in the same mansion.
That fact though didn't bother the couple. That was just how the life of the cultivators was: Filled with long periods of seclusion and even boring at times.
The determination to keep training for years without obtaining any significant increase in power was one of the requirements for beings in the heroic ranks. After all, time could erode even the strongest wills, especially when they were forced to face a high number of failures before managing to succeed.
It wasn't a surprise that many cultivators eventually gave up when the many difficulties connected to the individualities became a vital part of that somewhat dull life.
Yet, Noah was different. Struggles and battles had filled his life since his transmigration, forcing him always to improve if he wanted to keep his life. Also, his ambition was boundless, and his desire for power had only increased when he fused with a magical beast.
As for June, her life had been less exciting compared to Noah's, but she had to deal with her fair share of struggles due to the expectations of his family and the pressure of the Royals. Also, as a battle maniac, Noah's fast growth encouraged her to work harder than the others.
Between the various training though, Noah and June always managed to find some moment for themselves.
Noah had mostly focused on his battle prowess when he didn't train his centers of power. He had obtained new spells and discovered that his old ones didn't work as he intended when he used his "Breath".
It didn't matter if he had modified them or not. The spells that suited his individuality would obtain stronger effects when fueled with his darkness, while the others would be weaker or even don't work at all with that energy.
That forced Noah to review his entire arsenal thoroughly.
It didn't bother him that some of his abilities had become unreliable. It was only natural that his battle style would specialize around his individuality as his rank increased. Yet, he had to make sure to know what worked and what he could salvage with the right adjustments.
Noah had to put aside King Elbas' research for the time being since his cultivation and revision of his arsenal left him without any free time.
June didn't approach the research either in that period. Noah had shared its contents with her and, even if she was interested, she judged that her understanding of the lightning element was too shallow to attempt in the creation of higher energy.
Elder Julia's arrival though interrupted their peaceful lives and reminded them that the outside world wouldn't just stop placing issues in front of them because they were happy.
Noah and June sat on a comfortable mat and faced the Elder that placed a few reports among them. The sheets mostly depicted images of half-human half-beast beings similar to those seen under the castles in the new world.
"These are sightings coming from our outposts in the central regions." Elder Julia explained. "They are getting close."
She didn't specify which force was behind those experiments, which meant that she didn't know their source.
Noah could make a few guesses as he looked at the images. Those failed hybrids seemed the result of a flawed transformation, and only the Elbas family could have been able to find a way to replicate it so soon.
After all, he knew that the Shandal Empire and the Council aimed to create different kinds of fusions between the species.
"I can't create an army of cultivators like me," Noah said. "It's simply impossible. They would be wild beasts rather than actual cultivators and that only if they survive the procedure. You can't underestimate the instincts of a magical beast."
Noah didn't need Elder Julia to explain the reason behind her visit since it was quite evident. With the other forces making progress in that new field, the Hive wanted to become competitive by involving the best expert.
However, Noah wasn't lying. The mortality rate of the fusion was incredibly high and that when he used slaves that could only answer truthfully to his questions. Also, the issue of the instincts was something that had no solution.
The only beings that could become hybrids without losing their sanity were those with a sea of consciousness able to match their bodies. As far as Noah knew, he was the only cultivator that matched that requirement.
"We need something though!" Elder Julia said. "The other nation will pay any price to get their hands on this power, and some of them will eventually succeed. The Hive has just started to catch up with these forces. We can't let them gain ground again."
June remained silent during the conversation. She knew that she was still a foreigner when it came to those discussions. Her presence there was just a consequence of her relationship with Noah.
Truth to be told, June would disclose her knowledge on the matter if she had any. However, the Elbas family had cut June and her family out from the testing phase since she had refused to swear oaths after taking down the Royal Inheritance.
Noah fell deep in thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to help the Hive, but every approach that tried to replicate the power of the magical beasts would inevitably bring a series of failed experiments.
The Hive simply didn't have the human resources to endure such losses, and involving the foreigners would just interrupt the stream of migrants that saw the fourth organization as a reasonable force.
Then, an idea popped in his mind when he saw the Demonic Sword uncaringly flying from a room to another. He remembered how the Empire wanted to create organic inscribed items to transplant in the cultivators, but there was a less invasive approach.
The only issue was that he didn't know if he was able to replicate the creation made while he was in the middle of his transformation.
"I can't promise anything," Noah began to say, "But I might be able to create something similar to my sword. There won't be any drawbacks since your species won't change, but the weapons would be quite revolutionary."
Elder Julia's eyes lit up and questioned him. "What do you need?"
"Tell Thirty-seven to send all he has on the organic inscribed items," Noah answered.