Noah felt no sadness in that realization.

He had never given much importance to life in both his lives, but that didn't make him unable to care for other people.

Even a monster could love, even he could feel affection.

Lily, William, June, Ivor, and Nina had managed to claim a bit of s.p.a.ce in a mind filled only with thoughts that concerned the cultivation field.

'What importance can love have if you don't have the power to hold it?'

Noah asked himself.

Lily had died when Noah was just a helpless rank 1 cultivator, and she had lived most of her last years in a violent man's grasp only to protect him.

William had been able to help Noah only from the shadows, and he had to point him toward the academy to fuel his dreams.

Noah had to leave June due to his peculiar situation.

He liked to be around her, but the leash of the Royals was becoming too tight, he had to leave the academy and her to improve freely.

The situation with Ivor was a bit different.

Ivor had ruined his mental sphere to create something that could make him reclaim his lover, and Noah had completely abandoned him when he left the country.

Yet, Noah didn't believe that he felt any grievance, the latter had succeeded in his dream after all, he had found an heir for the Elemental forging method.

Nina, instead, was the closest thing to a lover that Noah had found in his second life.

They had shared happy years, but Noah's ambition couldn't be tamed.

Remaining in the Odrea nation wasn't something that he could do, he would have never reached the heroic ranks in that environment.

'A life spent being the training dummy of the Shandal Empire, with only a bit of warmth at night to keep my morale intact… It would have been a nice life, but I want more.'

Noah's eyes shone when he thought that.

The events of his Earth Tribulation reappeared in his mind, and he felt as if he could see Earth watching him with its gaze full of contempt.

'Heaven and Earth's plan was to make me live as a commoner, but I decided to cultivate.'

The brilliance of his eyes became stronger as he kept on reviewing the moments when he defied the world.

'The language of the "Breath" has always been hidden from me, but I learnt the Elemental forging method and created a path that I could tread.'

A slight smile appeared on his face as his realizations took form.

'One of the three big nations was after me, but I've managed to escape and thrive to the point that they have to respect me.'

He had already realized that flaw in the world, but it became more evident as he kept on growing stronger.

'Heaven and Earth are bound by the same fairness that they enforce. They can't break their own rules, which means that there will always be a path available for me as long as I have the will to walk it.'

The inscriptions on the walls of his mental sphere began to consume mental energy at that point, Noah had activated the Divine deduction technique to resume the creation of his wills.

"Was the banquet successful?"

Elder Julia's voice resounded in the hall.

Noah suddenly turned his head toward the entrance, only to see the elder smiling at him.

Noah was a bit surprised by her appearance and tried to give a polite answer.

"I guess it was. The Hive will greatly benefit from the items from the Utra nation, and it only has to give up on a few magical plants in exchange."

He was speaking the truth, the Hive really didn't lose anything in that deal.

The environment on the piece of Immortal Lands was simply fantastic, magical beasts and plants would be born at an incredible rate.

The Hive could just give up on a few specimens to obtain long-lasting benefits, it could be said that Elder Duke had done a remarkable job in the meeting!

However, Elder Julia shook her head at that answer and moved to sit on the couch in front of Noah.

When she sat, she spoke again while pointing her finger toward her forehead.

"I meant successful here."

Noah's eyes widened when he heard those words, it was as if Elder Julia knew about his recent realizations.

"How?"

In the end, he managed to ask that.

Elder Julia's smile widened when she saw Noah's stupefied expression and lifted one of the jars in the back of the hall with her mental waves.

The jar floated only to land between the two of them, and Elder Julia didn't hesitate to immerse her cup in it.

She answered only when she lifted the cup from the jar full of wine.

"Elder Austin has told me that you were traveling toward the lava lake more frequently in the last period, we easily figured out that you were having problems with your training. The arrival of the Udye family was quite lucky though, it gave us the chance to force you to take a break."

Elder Julia's words reached Noah, but his eyes were fixed on the cup.

The wine inside it was overflowing, and red drops fell from the entirety of its surface.

However, Elder Julia didn't seem to mind that her hand was getting dirty and continued to hold the cup right above the jar.

"One way to fill this cup to its limits is to immerse it in a larger container. Doing that will ensure that I've taken the best out of this cup."

Noah's gaze went on Elder Julia at that point, he felt that she was trying to teach him something with that gesture.

"Yet, I have to get my hand dirty to achieve this result. It is a small sacrifice to obtain the best out of this cup. Also, I have to wait for its surface to dry up before drinking the wine since I don't want to sacrifice my robe too."

Noah interrupted the Divine deduction technique at that point, he wanted for the entirety of his focus to be on the rank 5 existence.

"Of course, there are other ways that would lead me to the same result or the same amount of wine, but this is surely the fastest one."

Then, the surface of the cup dried up, and Elder Julia could finally drink from it.

After she emptied it, she revealed the meaning behind that metaphor.

"The jar is the world, the wine its laws, and the cup is your mind. The stains are just the sacrifices that you have made."