Noah and the others regrouped with the injured assets to summarize the situation. The sudden appearance of the blue dome had startled the heroic cultivators that had remained behind, but its properties surprised them even more.
The dome had cut off the invaders from the core regions of the Empire, taking away any advantage that the Hive had gained by exposing the properties of Elder Julia's individuality. It was up to the leaders of the armies now to seal a deal that could benefit their organizations.
As for the other assets, they settled in the regions on the other side of the defensive walls. After all, the districts already featured many habitations that they could use. There was no point in building a poor encampment with so many buildings available.
Still, they decided to take control of the districts near the defensive walls to avoid affecting the negotiations. That matter was quite tricky due to the outcome of the war. The invaders had won, but the Empire had put them in a position where they couldn't advance any further.
Noah could guess that Elder Julia and the other leaders would have a hard time negotiating the terms of the Empire's surrender. Yet, there was a high chance that the powerhouses would settle everything privately, so the solid stage cultivators there would act only as messengers.
The wounded cultivators started to treat their injuries while they waited to hear the results of the negotiations. Others even organized events to celebrate the end of the war and discuss their achievements in battle.
After the leaders returned from the blue dome, the atmosphere among the three factions would become tense again. The war had only delayed the various investigations that concerned the ambush at the exit of the Odrea nation, but no one had forgotten about it.
Once the Empire went out of the political scene, the Hive, the Council, and the Elbas family would have to face the issues accumulated during their period as allies.
There was bound to be a period of peace after the end of the war, but that truce would be frail, ready to fall apart at the first sign of conflict.
Noah didn't care about the incoming political struggles. The fact that the Chasing Demon sect and the Elbas family seemed to have a secret alliance bothered him from time to time. Yet, he couldn't do anything to affect the situation, mainly if his power remained in that state.
He had realized something on the battlefield. His battle prowess was already stepping outside the limits of the liquid stage, even when he didn't use the most potent weapon in his arsenal.
The power that he was capable of expressing due to his many assets was unheard of. The fact that he was the creator of those weapons and abilities made his achievement even more incredible.
Noah had understood that his individuality hid an endless potential. His greater drive was his boundless ambition in the end. It didn't surprise him that his existence wouldn't put limits on his abilities.
However, there was a lot of work to do to express all his potential. Only his higher energy would require countless experiments to see how far it could go. As for the school that fused martial arts and spells, Noah was working on it while he waited for the return of the leaders.
He didn't feel like celebrating. In his opinion, he had met a barrier that he couldn't piece, and he had only his power to blame.
The more he climbed the ranks of the cultivation journey, the more he was forced to face monsters that had lived for centuries and millennia more than him. The simple exploration of the Empire had made him encounter divine items and the will of a god!
'I wonder if it will be the same in the Immortal Lands.' Noah thought as he tried to create a martial art that could fit the Merging spell.
He had been forced to rely on the Hive a lot during his journey through the heroic ranks. That was mostly about resources and studies, but he had benefited from carrying its banner too.
The other organizations couldn't target him openly since there was such a powerful force backing him. That had given him time to grow and become the threatening existence that he was now.
However, he didn't like that situation. It wasn't about the Hive. He felt grateful for all its help, and he had friends among its ranks. Still, the limits imposed by the political system continued to bother him.
'I'm thinking about this again because I'm close to ignore these restrictions,' Noah thought, suppressing the topic in the back of his mind. It wasn't his first time thinking about that. After all, he was still a lone cultivator in his mind.
He had never been blinded by loyalty or faith. He felt a sense of belonging to the Hive, but he wouldn't die to protect it.
Nevertheless, he knew that the strongest existences in the Hive had a similar mindset. The aim of every ambitious cultivator was the higher plane. Chasing Demon and the others like Noah wouldn't sacrifice their organization for that purpose nor sacrifice themselves for its sake.
'Maybe that's why we couldn't rout the Empire,' Noah concluded before a sudden dangerous sensation hit his mind.
That feeling startled Noah, mostly since it disappeared after a few instants, replaced only by a tense atmosphere that weighed on his mind.
Noah interrupted his experiments and came out of the training area that he had taken after the invading army settled in the various districts. His consciousness expanded to analyze the site, but he didn't find anything out of the ordinary.
Even the other cultivators didn't notice anything and continued with their celebrations or recovery. He seemed the only one to have sensed that sudden event.
Noah had learnt to trust his awareness over the decades. His survival instinct was something unique to his peculiar existence. Even the other hybrids couldn't match that ability since their minds were still in the middle of becoming used to their mental instabilities.
The tension didn't go away as time passed. It remained there and grew in intensity with each passing second. It was as if a catastrophe was about to happen, but Noah couldn't pinpoint its cause no matter how he looked.
The other higher-ups soon noticed his abnormal behavior. Their expressions became severe at that sight. After all, they knew that Noah didn't act causally or without any reason.
They reached him in the sky and started to imitate the behavior of his consciousness. Their analysis of the environment though gave the same results. They couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
A voice suddenly resounded in the minds of the heroic cultivators. It belonged to their respective leaders and announced the end of the negotiations. Yet, as the leaders were about to explain their deal, flames expanded to cover the entire area.