The higher you stand, the more lonely you are. Noah no longer contacted his old friends much. In his communication with the world will, he could deeply feel that vast and profound will. After prolonged contact, he was inevitably affected.

It was as if he had also detached himself from the mortal world, perched above the sky, looking down at the common people.

Noah could also feel that his side as a Ordinary person seemed to be slowly disappearing.

This change wasn’t necessarily bad.

But Noah was somewhat resistant.

In fact, for many things, he didn’t need to contact Rose, Roland, and the others; he could get answers by directly communicating with the world will.

However, Noah didn’t do that.

He preferred to use less efficient methods.

"I don’t want to become a cold and heartless person," Noah sighed.

After paying the bill, he walked on the street.

The crowd flowed past him on both sides, non-stop.

Noah’s heart became increasingly calm.

Suddenly, a heavy rain fell from the sky.

Raindrops the size of soybeans poured down madly, and the pedestrians on the road quickly ran.

The rain didn’t fall on Noah. A few meters away from him, it encountered an invisible barrier and couldn’t fall.

As Noah walked unhurriedly, this invisible barrier became larger and larger: three meters, ten meters, a hundred meters, a thousand meters...

The rain on the entire street was blocked outside. This range was still expanding rapidly. A gentle force blew over every corner of the city. Soon, the entire New Sea City was shrouded in an invisible barrier. Countless heavy rain poured down but was blocked above the city.

This invisible force did not harm anyone, or any flowers and plants.

This magical scene attracted the attention of many people, but they didn’t know the reason.

On the street, Noah opened his attribute panel and saw that the line for Combat Art had changed.

[Combat Art: 100%]

Noah smiled indifferently.

His body moved, instantly turning into lightning and disappearing.

"It’s time to enter an instance."

Back home, Noah was still savoring the feeling.

The scene from earlier, an invisible force enveloping New Sea City and holding up that sky covering curtain of rain that left him slightly intoxicated.

With his current strength, destroying New Sea City could be effortless. But controlling such immense power so precisely, without harming a single person, was something he couldn’t normally achieve.

That invisible force was what people called mental power.

Noah’s mental power had reached as high as five million, an astonishing level in itself. It could be channeled through skills, but it couldn’t normally manifest on its own. However, his sudden epiphany while walking in the rain had greatly enhanced his spiritual power and allowed him to break through a bottleneck in his cultivation technique.

With his repeated breakthroughs, the Combat Training Manual had already absorbed a large number of spiritual cultivation methods, gradually transforming into something primarily focused on spiritual development.

After this latest breakthrough, his vast mental power fully materialized into a tangible force, one capable of directly influencing reality.

Covering the entire New Sea City with his mental power was merely a small test for Noah, far from the limits of what he could do.

"Comprehension is an attribute too, isn’t it?"

A thought stirred in Noah’s mind. His epiphany in the rain had come suddenly, yet in a way, it was inevitable.

Like the mind, will, and soul, comprehension wasn’t shown on the attribute panel, but that didn’t mean it didn’t exist. It was also influenced by his Talent, steadily growing stronger. However, improving comprehension was likely even harder than strengthening the mind or will.

That moment of mental clarity had triggered his epiphany and it was the result of long accumulation. If it hadn’t happened this time, it would have happened eventually.

This experience also made Noah realize that it didn’t matter if he lacked passive skills for the mind and will. The mind could achieve epiphanies, and the will could be tempered. Strengthening one’s Combat Art wasn’t limited to skills alone.

"Ultimately, being influenced by the world’s will and becoming cold and ruthless is just a sign that my mind and will aren’t strong enough," Noah sighed inwardly.

He could feel his mind becoming clearer, as if a layer of dust had been wiped away.

"Let’s run an instance."

Noah didn’t dwell on it any longer and opened the instance list to choose.

There were sixteen Fourth Order Advancement Instances now, with more detailed classifications. More than one of them suited Noah’s needs.

After activating his Insight Talent, Noah selected one.

Insight couldn’t fully see through an instance and he simply couldn’t afford such overwhelming consumption, but it could vaguely indicate which one was more suitable for him.

[You have selected the Advancement Instance: Hundred Year Agreement]

[Number of players: 1–10. Your team meets the requirements. Do you want to enter?]

[Warning: Dying or exiting the Advancement Instance will count as a failure.]

[Warning: After failing, you cannot re-enter for ten days.]

[Warning: Due to your team’s outstanding performance, the difficulty has been increased to Extremely Hard. It will decrease to High Difficulty after 35 days and return to Normal after 50 days.]

"Enter."

Noah didn’t hesitate.

A flash of light appeared, and he vanished from where he stood, entering the instance.

[Advancement Instance: Hundred Year Agreement]

[Rank: Fourth Order]

[Difficulty: Extremely Hard]

[Mission: Kill the Extraterrestrial Demon Lord]

[Background: One hundred years ago, the Extraterrestrial Demon Lord descended upon this world, bringing endless slaughter. Just when despair consumed all and the end seemed inevitable, the Demon Lord suddenly stopped. Standing atop Heavenly Pillar Mountain, he made a Hundred Year Agreement with the world.]

"Become stronger. Use everything you have to grow stronger."

"A hundred years from now, if you still cannot kill me, I will completely destroy this world. Hehehe."

Under the terrifying threat of life and death, all factions set aside their differences, and martial arts flourished across the land. Generation after generation pushed it to unprecedented heights, giving rise to countless powerhouses as the day of the Hundred Year Agreement drew closer.

"Damn, what kind of being is this Extraterrestrial Demon Lord?" Ethan said, stunned. "Raising enemies just so they can try to kill him?"

"A martial arts fanatic... or a complete lunatic?" Rose said in a low voice.

"This instance feels different from the ones we’ve faced before," Claire added, frowning.

After hearing the system prompts, everyone was shaken.

The details of an instance could only be understood after entering it. From the name alone, no one could have guessed that the Hundred Year Agreement meant something like this.

For Noah and his team, every instance was essentially a first clear.

"Interesting. This one seems more straightforward. The boss is right there, waiting for us to challenge him." Noah’s eyes showed a hint of excitement. "But since it’s Extremely Hard, this Extraterrestrial Demon Lord must be unbelievably powerful."

"Sixth Order," someone muttered, and everyone’s expressions shifted.

Noah gave a slight nod.