Chapter 1973 1973. Experimen
Heaven and Earth didn"t know how to deal with Noah"s group. That had become clear after their punishments ended up empowering those rebellious experts multiple times.
The issue was with the limits of the system"s fairness. Heaven and Earth had to use those rebels" cultivation level to choose the punishments. They could stretch their power since Noah and the others were far too strong for their actual rank, but those restrictions remained.
Everything had become clearer after Alexander had defeated the perfect counter and Sword Saint had gained access to help from outside the sky. Heaven and Earth couldn"t focus on Noah"s group due to the stronger enemies that threatened their power, but they had to prepare for those experts" rise to power.
Studying Noah or Divine Demon right away was stupid since their power ignored the limits of the world too much. Still, Heaven and Earth could start for those who were one step behind them, and Wilfred and Steven perfectly suited that role.
The young-looking cultivator didn"t need to die during the battle. He could have relied on the rulers" power and deployed specific countermeasures to fend off Wilfred and Steven"s power. Even their last techniques would have been useless if Heaven and Earth had decided to step into the battlefield sooner.
Of course, the rulers" condition wasn"t ideal, but they could still help in specific projects. Gathering information about Wilfred and Steven was an important step that could lead Heaven and Earth to understand how Noah and his strong companions managed to break the world"s limits so easily. Making one of their followers die only to resurrect him later on barely counted as a price to pay for the chance of increasing their knowledge.
Steven and Wilfred were struggling to remain awake. Their existence was burning, and their last struggle had turned out to be part of Heaven and Earth"s plan to study their power. They had shown their potential to defeat a liquid stage cultivator, but their incredible feat had become a mere test once the rulers had stepped into the battlefield.
Disappointment and a tinge of despair filled the two experts. They had done their best, but that didn"t meet the insane requirements set by their superior companions. Only death waited for them now, and they couldn"t do anything to stop its arrival.
"It was fun while it lasted," Wilfred laughed as blood flowed out of his mouth. "Heaven and Earth must be desperate to set these traps against us. Our companions will succeed."
"I wished to fight the final battle with them," Steven sighed as cracks appeared on his skin. "I wonder where they would have led us."
The two waited for death to arrive, but their opponent didn"t want to waste time. He raised his hand and released multiple silver spheres that fused with the matter of the world and created a series of humanoid puppets.
The creatures didn"t hesitate to shoot toward Wilfred and Steven, and the latter didn"t do anything against the incoming threat. They didn"t have the power to fight it anyway.
However, the group of puppets suddenly stopped moving. A heavy pressure enveloped them and forced their bodies to crumble. The young-looking cultivator showed a surprised expression as he searched for the source of that influence. Still, the entirety of his power didn"t seem to be enough to succeed in the task.
"Who dares?!" The cultivator eventually shouted. "This is Heaven and Earth"s research field. No one is allowed to interfere."
"Imagine if we did what Heaven and Earth allowed us to do," A voice resounded among the sky and made the very fabric of the world tremble.
"Don"t play around too much," Another voice resounded. "Remember that we have to pay the kid back."
"You are so boring at times," The first voice scoffed.
"Only because you are never serious," The second voice concluded.
Two ma.s.sive auras eventually appeared among that destroyed part of the world. Wilfred managed to open his eyes only to see Great Builder and Supreme Thief casually strolling among the sky and approaching him.
"You are lucky that I find your laws boring," Supreme Thief laughed before turning toward the cultivator in the distance. "He sounds interesting."
A pulling force came out of Supreme Thief"s figure and started affecting the cultivator in the distance. The expert remained stunned when he saw his existence ama.s.sing on his skin and seeping out of his figure. His world was escaping his control under the effects of Supreme Thief"s ability.
Great Builder promptly slapped Supreme Thief on the back of his head and made him suppress his innate ability. The latter tilted his head and wore an exasperated expression, but Great Builder didn"t hesitate to scold him. "They have to take care of this challenge on their own. We can"t let Heaven and Earth improve."
"Resurrect me first the next time," Supreme Thief whispered after bending toward Wilfred.
Steven remained stunned in front of the two experts. He knew that Noah had something to do with the resurrection of the two powerful cultivators, but he remained speechless nonetheless. He had grown used to be on the losing side in the battle against the world, so seeing two allies in the liquid stage left him astonished.
"How would you even resurrect without me?" Great Builder snorted while placing his hands on Wilfred and Steven.
"I will steal your ability first!" Supreme Thief announced.
"You have already tried," Great Builder shook his head. "You don"t have the patience to be an inscription master."
"I should steal patience too," Supreme Thief guessed.
"You did," Great Builder replied. "You keep it hidden somewhere in that annoying sea of consciousness of yours."
"Can you not be right once?" Supreme Thief asked.
"I"ll let you be right once Heaven and Earth crumble," Great Builder promised. "Help me out with these two now."
"You know that I don"t like to give back the stuff that I steal," Supreme Thief joked, but he shut up when Great Builder glared at him.
Supreme Thief placed a hand on Great Builder"s shoulder and studied the understanding he was gathering during his inspection of the two dying experts. An ugly expression soon appeared on his face when he realized how simple those laws were. He almost felt disgusted.
"Dumb and vague," Supreme Thief sighed. "Did you really think that you could punch your way inside the ninth rank? How can your determination even express power if you don"t give it a goal?"
Wilfred and Steven felt too weak to reply. Their existences continued to shatter, so their minds felt quite foggy. They even doubted that Supreme Thief and Great Builder had really appeared on the scene at times.
"Open them up," Supreme Thief ordered. "I"ll throw something that might help, but everything will remain up to them."
"Just don"t try anything strange," Great Builder reminded. "We are hindering Heaven and Earth"s growth. We aren"t here to experiment on these experts."
"It sounds strange when your world is an experiment," Supreme Thief complained, but Great Builder made him shut up again with his glare.
Great Builder tinkered with his fingers and transformed them into small knives that cut deep into Wilfred and Steven"s laws when he waved them. Their cracked existences appeared in the open, and Supreme Thief didn"t hesitate to throw azure spheres taken out of his mind inside them.