UNLIMITED SPEED

The duo continued to talk about the tournament, which was named "The tournament of champions". At some point down the line, however, Noah began to doubt his ability to hold his ground in such a competition.

One of the major rules was that no sort of spells or magical empowerment were allowed. Only the prowess of their body was to be displayed throughout. Even a whiff of mana spotted was enough to get them disqualified and even penalties from their various guild would be dispensed on the offender.

Noah understood that his strength was incredible, after all that training, he had long since gotten used to his incredible prowess. But when he could be pitted against legit peak middle-stage cultivators who had gotten used to their various abilities and had long since gained proper understanding, he couldn't help but rethink.

Nevertheless, he never doubted his ability to reach the top ten, but the top three started to look like a pipe dream.

In the tournament, the highest cultivation stage that could enter was the peak of the middle stage, while the lowest that could enter was the peak of the lower stage.

Either of the two stages could be pitted against each other, and it was even guaranteed that as long as an individual continued to move forward in the tournament, they would eventually battle a weaker or stronger expert.

Thankfully, however, only true technique and battle experience would come out victorious. So the possibility of a peak middle stage cultivator falling to a lower stage cultivator was as high as the opposite scenario. At least pm paper it sounded that way.

A bit over an hour passed before their conversation ended, after which Elder Sarah rushed out to get a spot for Noah. While the latter announced he would return to training.

He planned to cultivate for about a week, before training to get used to the new level of strength he would achieve. Unfortunately, he had held off from cultivating since his power continued to remain relevant throughout the months.

The issue with his body cultivation and core cultivation was the fact he needed to be in the presence of dense speed essence, and he feared that utilizing his stone would make it too hard for him to clean up his tracks, so he usually teleported out of the underground training room. But even that couldn't stop his paranoia.

There wasn't any way he could know whether or not Elder Sarah had returned, so he found himself returning every few hours to check.

This time around, however, he informed her not to come into his room since he desired to enter a short seclusion, where he would strengthen his body while also continuing to practice his skills.

Elder Sarah had been happy about his decision but told him that if things went well on the third day he would be required to come and take the test. In short, he had to expect her in about three days, which was completely fine by Noah. He only wanted to keep his tracks clean.

Arriving inside the room Elder Sarah gave to him made him raise his eyebrows in mild amusement. She had redecorated the room, by adding a layer of purple paint including similar patterns as the one in the sitting room.

Bringing out his soul cultivation manual, Noah began to stare at its shining unreadable words. And in what felt like seconds he snapped back to reality, knowing fully well that he had spent hours staring at it.

His soul island proved it by the tiny addition to its overall size. The gains of only a few hours were not much but it was something. In truth, he had stayed there so in case Lady Sarah returned to tell or ask him something he would not be found missing.

But it seemed she honored his words and didn't approach his door.

With that Noah got able to return to his cultivation room and begin to cultivate his body and core.

The two days went by quickly, but the gains to any of his assets were not groundbreaking in the least even if they were still something. He wished there was a way to increase his cultivation speed drastically. But he also recalled that even when he had been utilizing rank 1-speed essence it had taken him weeks to increase in strength exponentially. Rank 2 had to be different.

Returning to his room before what he considered the third day could arrive, Noah began to practice his martial art. He would first execute the dance-like moves more than ten times, with each round experiencing an increase in strength and speed until all his power was being poured into them.

After that, he would practice only breathing control since it helped him in ways that he had stopped underestimating. After a few hours, he would begin to stretch, and when he was done he would restart the whole process.

It had become a routine at this point and he usually unknowingly did them, since his mind was usually lost in his thoughts. He desired to practice the second form more, but he couldn't risk the room falling apart if he messed up.

A knock eventually sounded on his door, pulling him out of his thoughts. Without the least bit of hesitation he opened the door and as he expected, Elder Sarah stood outside, a wide smile on her gorgeous face.

Sometimes he struggled to believe that he lived with someone that good-looking, and the same could be said for Elder Sarah, who had seen many men in her long life, but none like Aiden.

"From you smile I presume you managed to get me a spot," Noah calmly asked walking out of his room in a new attire.

"Yes of course, I told you I have my ways," Elder Sarah replied as the walked down the stairs. She could sense Aiden's excitement even if he tried to bottle it up.

The tournament wasn't just for the rewards it was a showcasing of the various disciples every martial arts teacher had. And Sarah desired that the world saw the man she held under her roof

A man who could comprehend things that had taken decades of practice in mere weeks and begin to explore more on it after a month. From what she had witnessed from him she held no doubt that he would be capable of holding his own in a fight. She almost couldn't see him losing to anyone his level.

Elder Sarah took Noah out of the mansion and he couldn't help but bathe in the constant night-like environment of the city. Nothing much had changed in the central region. At least the places she took him through looked the same way he remembered.

The duo arrived before a red pagoda with four floors, and even before they walked into it, Noah could already sense the tier 4's within it and they seemed agitated about something.