The domain of the Empire appeared far different from the regions inside its area of influence. It lacked the barrenness and aura of desolation that filled the territories occupied by the slaves.
Instead, it was gaudy and full of life. Noah could sense countless humans going on with their daily lives in that environment filled with cities and tall structures.
The density of "Breath" was still low, but it didn't reach the standards of the peripheral territories. It seemed that the Empire had invested a hefty sum of Credits to keep its domain suitable for cultivators.
There were some traces of decay. Noah could see how some buildings had cracks on their surface or were in desperate need of maintenance. Still, that only concerned the minority of the structures.
Noah committed to memory the scene on the other side of the defensive walls. The Empire had arranged its population in large districts that had their most well-kept buildings at their center.
Those districts were similar to the domes in the Hive's domain, with the only difference that they were everywhere and that they occupied most of those lands.
It was as if the entirety of those regions functioned as habitable areas managed by small and separate governments made of heroic cultivators. Those rulers could also be soldiers in the fourth rank according to what Noah could sense.
Some powerful auras came from the district directly under the defensive walls and the innermost regions, while the strongest one came from the floating structure in the distance.
'Wardens, normal soldiers, experts, and powerhouse,' Noah thought as he analyzed the layout of that organization. The disposition and power of the districts gave him a clear understanding of how the Empire divided its assets.
"Prince," Elder Julia said as she neared him, "We must go."
Noah nodded at her words, but he kept his eyes on the Empire for one last second before turning to join his allies in their retreat.
They had won the battle against the Wardens, and the human troops had defeated their enemies in the meantime. Yet, almost all the assets in the fifth rank had suffered injuries.
The invaders had won, but the Empire had managed to make them pay an annoying price. Those powerful assets would now need to spend some time recovering and reorganizing before attempting the attack on the lands beyond the walls.
Also, the assets of the Empire were packed. Each district bordered multiple quarters, which meant that the invaders couldn't launch an attack unless they were ready to face the full might of that organization.
The three attacking forces would need to deploy the entirety of their assets and inflict as many losses as they could if they wanted to avoid ending in a war of attrition. The only issue was that they didn't know if it was possible to avoid such an outcome.
The troops retreated in one of the encampments that they had built in those years. No meetings happened after the battle. All the higher-ups of the armies had silently decided that they would focus on recovering before planning their next move.
Noah had it easier than his peers. Any injury on his body would take more energy to heal, but his regenerative properties were off the charts. Also, the blue beam had only affected his skin, which was the easiest body part to fix.
He spent his time before the meetings meditating and focusing on training his centers of power. The power of the new saber-shaped runes left him satisfied, and they even had properties that he didn't have the chance to show against the Tyrannosaurus.
Since there was higher energy in their structure, the runes could abandon their solid form and turn into a black gas without losing the power that they had accumulated.
That feature wasn't useful in the battle against the Tyrannosaurus, but Noah knew that it would come out handy against cultivators. Anything that made his attacks less predictable could make the difference between victory and defeat in a battle.
His sessions of meditation mainly focused on the path in front of him. He had settled the issues with his centers of power after the improvements to his spherical runes, but he had just begun to improve his battle prowess.
There were parts of his existence that he had yet to learn how to express since they weren't a pressing matter. Still, he felt that he was now ready to face the next challenge in his journey. He had to invent a field that fused martial arts and spells into a single school.
Noah had other projects on hold. The miraculous properties of his higher energy still had a lot to reveal, and his burning heart had yet to harmonize with his existence.
However, Noah felt as if he had focused only on his creation lately. His destruction had to evolve too, and he couldn't help but prioritize it now that his creation put him on a path that would require decades to study.
Noah had always prioritized immediate power over long-term projects. His personality didn't only dictate that approach, but it suited the requirements that the world had when it came to survival.
As he meditated, he analyzed the second form of his martial art, which was his only example of the field that mixed martial arts and spells.
Nevertheless, he soon understood that he couldn't use that attack as an inspiration for his future techniques. The origin of the second form of his martial art came from the Three Forms of the Ashura, and Noah had been lucky enough to find two spells that could replicate its requirements.
Yet, that couldn't happen twice. Noah couldn't rely on his luck when it came to his power. Also, he didn't want to spend years of research to find spells and martial arts that he could fuse into a stronger technique.
Noah wanted to invent a proper school, a new field of techniques that only unique beings like him could execute.
Of course, Noah wouldn't bother to make the field generic. He couldn't care less about other hybrids, especially since his project would take far longer if he aimed to invent a school that any being similar to him could study.
He had already decided to make it as specific for his situation as possible, and he was ready to resort to the higher energy if his researches required it.
The only issue was to find a starting point that could become the core of the new school. Something that could evolve in many forms according to the technique that Noah wanted to create.
He needed to find a way to link physical strength, "Breath", and mental energy into sets of techniques that he could use for different purposes. In his mind, it would be better if he managed to create three sets that covered movement, offense, and defense.
There was no need to start with pure creation from the beginning though. Noah had always found himself more comfortable in using what he had at hand to gain experience in a field before proceeding in inventing something original.