Chapter 2010 - 2010. Plans
Hearing Caesar's name again didn't feel too good. Noah didn't understand how Heaven and Earth could allow the existence of such a society inside their sky, but he planned to get answers. Dinia would reveal whether those worlds were worth having experts plotting inside their realm.
"Who exactly is Caesar?" Noah asked. "How many factions does the sky even have? Do you like playing with those in the higher plane, or do we have an actual role?"
The storm of questions didn't receive any answer. Dinia appeared proud to see Noah's ignorance about the sky. His world forced him to be honest, but it didn't make him an idiot. Those matters had a deep connection with Heaven and Earth as a whole, so revealing something would only worsen his situation.
"I will tell you one thing," Dinia revealed. "Caesar is the most loyal and rebellious cultivator in Heaven and Earth's system. He is even older than me, so I'd be wary of his plans. Though I think you can't really escape them.."
"We have already heard that," King Elbas snorted. "We planned to become Heaven and Earth's opponents before he came and talked about his plan. How can he even claim that idea for himself when we were on that path all along?"
"Caesar has seen countless experts rise and fall," Dinia continued. "He might have predicted what you would become. His world is so mysterious that even I don't know what it does."
"Yours involves your perfect self, right?" Noah asked. "How can you even express it?"
"I believe I'm about to show it," Dinia replied as a faint smirk appeared on his face. "After all, someone had to show me true fear."
The atmosphere immediately grew tense. Dinia didn't seem willing to reveal anything else, and the experts couldn't limit themselves to talk due to the nature of the situation. Noah still had the dark metal with him, and Dinia wanted to retrieve it.
"You might want to activate your techniques," Dinia suggested.
"Why would we even listen to you?" King Elbas asked.
"Because I'm already on you," Dinia revealed, and three identical copies of the liquid stage cultivator suddenly appeared next to each expert.
The unstable substance immediately filled Noah's body and filled him with strength that even rank 9 existences would struggle to survive. The copy on his left was trying to punch him, which was a complete lack of respect for his power.
Noah threw a punch to meet Dinia's attack, and the two fists met. The impact generated a shockwave so intense that the barrier around the island began to shake, but utter astonishment filled Noah's mind for a very different reason. Dinia didn't only remain in one piece after facing his attack. He had also stopped the punch completely.
"My perfect self has the strength of the best body in the entirety of the Immortal Lands," Dinia announced before throwing another punch with his free arm.
Noah threw a punch too, and the two fists clashed again. A shockwave spread, but he felt surprised to see how Dinia was managing to push him back.
Noah's aura seemed to explode outward. A dark layer of energy filled with faces covered his figure and enhanced his physical strength as his pride spread through the void. A mere cultivator was daring to win a direct clash against him. The entirety of his existence was telling him to give a demonstration of his superior power.
Dinia's smile broadened when he saw that Noah was using the entirety of his power to deal with his physical strength, but his expression froze when the latter started to push him back. Noah wasn't holding even an ounce of his power back. His pride simply didn't allow him to lose in that field.
The empowerment eventually allowed Noah to make Dinia fly away, but that copy disappeared after losing the physical exchange. Even his power vanished among the void and left no energy behind.
Noah turned to inspect the battlefield. King Elbas wore an annoyed expression as he dealt with the many formations that Dinia's copy had thrown at him. At the same time, Sepunia and her opponent were immersed in a pinkish and white halo that hid them from every inspection.
Dinia's original figure was still among the three experts. He didn't move, but his confident smirk remained on his face. Also, he didn't pay attention to the two copies that were still fighting. He kept his eyes on Noah as faint interest filled them.
King Elbas had a series of complicated white formations trying to close on him. They were attempting to restrain his power and trap him inside a cage made of circular lines that depicted unknown inscription methods, but his golden light was slowing down their advance.
King Elbas studied those formations in no time before taking out seventeen golden spikes from his body and throwing them toward specific lines. The items pierced those cores and made all the attacks flying toward him crumble. The expert prepared himself to counterattack at that point, but Dinia's copy suddenly vanished without leaving anything behind.
Sepunia was immersed in her world, but her opponent was doing the same. Their existences were fighting to take control of the area, and she appeared on the losing side.
However, Sepunia soon snapped her fingers, and her world expanded. Patches of her aura then fell on the white radiance that her opponent had deployed and changed its nature. It didn't take much before that power completely disappeared and left nothing behind.
"You are indeed incredible," Dinia commented after his last copy disappeared. "I'm unable to imagine a perfect version of myself capable of defeating you in your respective fields."
"My field isn't mere physical strength," Noah coldly uttered.
"I wouldn't even call that a formation," King Elbas said. "I already came up with four points to improve."
"You failed to defeat me while I'm still in this state," Sepunia mocked. "Maybe I've had the wrong idea about privileged cultivators all along."
"Please, don't taunt me more than this," Dinia chuckled. "I only wanted to prove how my perfect self can handle three battles at the same time."
Dinia closed his eyes before glowing with white light. Formations appeared on his body as his aura grew denser. A similar radiance also shone from behind his eyes and transformed him into a white figure that illuminated the void.
Noah drew his swords as the black hole created more black vessels and filled them with the unstable substance. He needed as much physical resilience as possible to use the Cursed Sword at its full power. His blade had felt heavy after the bloodlust that it carried spread through the void. However, the empowerment that followed dispersed that sensation.
King Elbas wore his scorching robe, wielded his spear, and revealed the runes that covered his skin. His crown began to shine and fused with the white radiance as he gathered energy and prepared himself for the imminent clash.
Sepunia didn't move, but her energy dispersed in the void. She was taking control of the battlefield before a new attack came in her direction.
"I've already seen all of this," Dinia exclaimed as his hand shot forward to seize something, "Including your annoying puppet."
Night suddenly materialized in front of Dinia. The expert had grabbed one of the lines that made its head and had stopped its surprise attack. The Pterodactyl found itself unable to move due to that firm grip.
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Author's notes: Hopefully I'll need far less for the third chapter.