2267 2267. Reques

It was finally happening. Noah's forces were gaining ground on a battlefield that barely showed paths toward victory. The landmass could attack the sky and unleash its true power while most of the enemy leaders were busy, but that phase couldn't last forever. It barely survived one successful exchange.

Great Builder fell through the shattered higher plane with seemingly no control over his body. His yellowish energy also left his figure in a motion that had no intention to end.

The event caught the attention of most big players on the battlefield. After all, there were only so many important fights, and Great Builder was fighting one of them. His opponent also appeared unique, so many had kept track of how those exchanges progressed.

Great Builder had given his everything, resorting to every trick in the book to hurt the Rulers' Resolve. His efforts had even led to seemingly significant results since his opponent had finally shown signs of slowing down, but the same had happened to him.

The truth behind Great Builder's power became visible to everyone once he lost enough power. The many injuries that had opened on his body had revealed the bright yellow core shining in his insides.

Many would still fail to understand the meaning behind that scene, but Noah and the others could see right through it. The yellow core was almost identical to the one inside the pyramid. Great Builder had basically fused with it.

The implications of that fusion were self-explanatory. The pyramid could complete different functions due to its power source, so it was safe to assume that Great Builder had gained the same power now.

Moreover, there was something more specific to all of that. The yellow sphere was a core, a center of power that had allowed Great Builder to turn himself into a living workshop.

The powerful techniques and attacks that Great Builder had unleashed came from his constant creation of new abilities. He wasn't only adapting to the Rulers' Resolve's power. He was also improving on everything that seemed to work while defending against what came at him.

That struggle obviously wasn't sustainable, and Great Builder knew that his new core couldn't survive too many exchanges. Yet, he had no other option in that battle, so he did his best to win before depleting his energy.

Sadly, it seemed that Great Builder had fallen before he could claim his victory. Still, his efforts weren't wasted. The Rulers' Resolve took part in a surprising scene as he came out of the yellow cloud that had surrounded him.

The Rulers' Resolve's grey halo had dimmed. A few cracks had opened on his figure, and his eyes didn't shine with the same intensity anymore.

Those injuries vanished quickly, and his energy soon resumed shining with the same intensity as before, but he could only hide that damage. The whole higher plane learnt that Great Builder had inflicted wounds on his core.

<br/>Nevertheless, that seemed to be Great Builder's limit. He had hurt a world inspired by Heaven and Earth's resolve, but the effort had taken his entire energy.

The Rulers' Resolve silently inspected in own figure. He watched as his injuries closed and restored his mighty and incredible appearance. His expression tried not to give anything away, but there was an evident surprise inside it.

Even the Rulers' Resolve didn't expect Great Builder to achieve so much. In theory, the privileged cultivator's power was boundless since its power source was beyond incredible. However, a mere monster among his enemies had managed to hurt him.

The Rulers' Resolve couldn't help but feel slight respect toward his opponent, but that didn't hinder his actions or change his mindset. The privileged cultivator glanced at the falling body before pointing his hand at it and summoning his array of grey spheres.

It didn't take long before a rain of grey rays came out of the array and fell toward Great Builder. The attack was incredibly fast, and a series of explosions resounded once it reached Great Builder.

The Rulers' Resolve normally wouldn't show any emotion after a victory, but his eyes flickered before moving to point at a distant spot on his left. His expression soon retrieved its usual coldness, and his arm moved to point at that new area.

Another array of grey rays shot forward, but an azure vortex appeared on their trajectory and drew them toward its center. The grey energy disappeared, and the defensive technique crumbled to reveal the two figures behind it.

"What are you doing?" Great Builder weakly asked.

"I should be the one to ask that," Supreme Thief snorted. "When did you become so pitiful?"

"Don't talk about stuff you don't understand," Great Builder sighed. "That guy is strong, stronger than me."

Supreme Thief glanced at the Rulers' Resolve in the distance before moving his attention back to Great Builder. Supreme Thief had grabbed his friend right before the attack could land on him, but he had to hold his arm to prevent him from falling again.

"So what?" Supreme Thief asked. "Do you just give up and die in front of a powerful opponent?"

"Don't be stupid," Great Builder cursed. "I've hurt his world. He can't fight at his full power anymore. That flaw is enough to cause a chain reaction inside his whole world. He will lose against his next opponent."

Supreme Thief knew what Great Builder's meant. He could see the damage inside the Rulers' Resolve's world, and ideas on how to exploit that flaw even formed in his mind.

However, Supreme Thief didn't like that outcome. Leaving Great Builder on his own now would only confirm his death. The privileged cultivators after him would just switch targets if he started fighting against the Rulers' Resolve.

"Why do I always have to take care of you?" Supreme Thief sighed.

"When did you ever take care of me?" Great Builder complained as his figure dimmed even further. His very flesh was losing power. He was turning into nothing more than rank 9 materials.

"You should save your energy," Supreme Thief pointed out.

"Stop worrying about useless stuff," Great Builder scolded. "Go away and take care of the experts chasing you. I can deal with another exchange, so don't ruin the balance we have sacrificed so much to reach now."

Supreme Thief wasn't an idiot. He liked to act like one, but he knew when a situation required him to be serious.

The scales of the final battle were finally tilting on Noah's side. The landmass was awake, and every major expert was too busy fighting to mind the attacks that flew toward the sky.

Great Builder wanted to fight the Rulers' Resolve a little longer to preserve and deepen that advantage. Still, he needed Supreme Thief to keep the other privileged cultivators busy to do that. Supreme Thief understood everything, but his answer seemed to lack any interest in those matters.

"Do you think I would care about the balance of the battlefield?" Supreme Thief scoffed as a mass of azure energy converged in his palm.

Supreme Thief slammed his palm on Great Builder's chest and gave him as much energy as possible. Great Builder saw most of his functions activating as his fake core regained fuel, but that happy moment didn't silence an answer filled with anger.

"What are you doing?!" Great Builder shouted. "Don't waste your energy! Used it to kill those bastards!"

The privileged cultivators who had targeted Supreme Thief had already reached the duo's position. They were ready to combine their attacks with the Rulers' Resolve.

"I like that guy," Supreme Thief announced while pointing at the Rulers' Resolve. "I want his world, so help me seize it."

"We'll die under the cross-fire," Great Builder scolded as he pushed away Supreme Thief's arm since he could float on his own now.

"What cross-fire?" Supreme Thief wondered before voicing a shout that echoed through the whole higher plane. "Noah!"

Countless gazes turned toward the black figure flying at high speed through the higher plane and launching seeds whenever it got close to the sky.

Noah felt forced to stop under that global attention, and he shrugged his shoulders before agreeing to that silent request. "I'll take care of it."