Noah quietly returned home, closing the door behind him as though nothing unusual had happened. He slipped into his bedroom, locked it, and leaned against the wall with a faint smile tugging at his lips.
His heart was still racing.
After all, he had just taken down a Battle King–level opponent all on his own. That thrill, that surge of adrenaline, still hadn't faded.
What excited him even more was not just the victory, but the fact that he had gained priceless real combat experience.
Of course, Noah hadn't acted recklessly. He was confident in his success from the start.
First of all, the sheer magnitude of his damage output—tens of billions in a single strike—was enough to overwhelm any Battle King. On top of that, he had his Twin Shadows clone and the rebirth power of the Heart of the Phoenix.
Three lives in total.
How could the Phantom Sprite possibly outplay him?
"Until her very last breath, she didn't even realize I was the Demon-Slayer. In her eyes, I was just some awakened S-grade combat talent worth targeting. She thought killing me would be her ticket to rewards and recognition."
Noah let out a long breath, sinking into the soft mattress. The hidden weight pressing on his chest had lifted.
As expected, his Demon-Slayer identity was still under absolute protection. There was no way it would be exposed so easily.
"Anti-Alliance, huh? You want me dead?" His eyes narrowed, a dangerous edge glinting in them. "I'll root you out. Every last one of you."
The words hissed through his teeth, filled with quiet venom. After venting, he rubbed his face, forcing the tension away.
Then his gaze shifted to the crystal bundle he had looted from the Phantom Sprite, and the corner of his mouth curved upward.
A Battle King's storage crystal… there had to be treasures inside.
Noah wasted no time. With Lin Qian still absent, this was the perfect moment. He reached for the crystal and began attempting a link.
Because the Phantom Sprite was dead, the binding authority had already dissolved.
"Connection established!"
The response came instantly. With no resistance, the crystal recognized him as its new owner. Noah's consciousness slipped inside eagerly.
The space wasn't particularly large—certainly nothing compared to his infinite void storage—but every inch of it was filled to bursting.
His jaw dropped.
"This woman… was she secretly a hoarder rat?"
Noah could hardly believe his eyes. The crystal was packed to the brim with all manner of materials—sorted neatly, stacked in organized bundles. Each type had at least twenty units, some much more.
And among them… over forty varieties of SSS-grade rare resources.
Earth's Soul x25, Dragon Scale Powder x35, Bloodsilver Blossom x40, Blue Sea Pearl x42… the list went on and on.
This wasn't just a storage crystal. This was a damn treasure vault.
"Unbelievable. With how pathetic the drop rates are in the Land of Divine Punishment, she must have been hoarding for half a lifetime to stockpile all this."
Noah's grin widened until his cheeks ached. He even wiped at the corner of his mouth, as if drool might spill out.
And now?
All of it belonged to him.
He quickly recalled that upgrading his Summon Deity skill required Bloodsilver Blossoms.
"Jackpot," he muttered with satisfaction.
Weapons, scrolls, potions, gear—they were there too, but most were unimpressive. The best of them barely reached S-grade quality, far beneath Noah's standards.
Still, something else caught his attention.
"Wait… if she could hoard materials like this, then what about her gold?"
Noah dove deeper into the inventory. His eyes landed on a number that made his breath catch.
Gold: 105,625,000.
"Holy sh—!"
He almost dropped the crystal in shock. His eyes widened, and for a moment he thought he had misread it. He even pulled out a magnifying glass from his void space and leaned in to double-check, painstakingly counting digit by digit.
No mistake.
One hundred million gold coins.
That was the equivalent of ten billion dollars.
Noah could only laugh, a sharp bark of disbelief and delight. "Phantom Sprite… I officially crown you the queen of hoarders."
His breathing came faster, excitement surging through his veins.
But he quickly calmed down, pressing the joy back into a cold, controlled smile. Without hesitation, he began transferring every last coin, material, and item into his void storage.
It took nearly half an hour before the crystal was empty, leaving Noah with a profound sense of satisfaction.
"Perfect."
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound at his window drew his attention.
Noah had sensed her presence long before the knock. The familiar aura made him relax.
It was Lin Qian.
He crossed the room, opened the window, and the female bodyguard flipped inside gracefully. Her slim blade dissolved into white light as she landed.
"Lin Qian, how's the situation at the school?" Noah asked, feigning ignorance.
Lin Qian leaned against the wardrobe, her breathing uneven, chest rising and falling beneath her combat gear. She looked unsettled, as if still shaken by what she had witnessed.
"The school is safe now. The one who opened the void rift… has been killed."
Noah let his shoulders relax, as if relieved. "That's good. Guess we can go back to classes tomorrow, huh?"
Lin Qian's eyes sharpened. Her lips trembled as she asked, "Aren't you curious how the enemy died? That was a powerhouse above Level 1200."
"And how did they die?" Noah tilted his head, keeping his tone deliberately calm.
Her voice quivered with reverence as she declared, "It was a War God! A War God intervened in the shadows!"
For a second, Noah nearly laughed. A War God? He knew better. That "War God" was him.
But Lin Qian was lost in her own fervor. She described the aftermath in detail, her tone electric with excitement. To her, War Gods were legendary beings, pillars second only to the awakened SSS talents.
Textbooks put it clearly:
The Human Emperor guards Blue Star. The War Gods guard the human race.
Both were indispensable. Both were immortal symbols of hope.
Her gaze softened with a deeper meaning as she looked at him. "Noah, I know every War God in history only had S-rank talents. But I believe if you work hard, if you never give up, one day you could become a War God too. When that day comes, I'll be proud to say I once served as the bodyguard of a War God."
Noah managed a polite smile, but in his heart he scoffed.
A War God? That wasn't enough.
He wasn't destined to be a War God. He was destined to be a god.
The next morning, the city of Jiangnan remained under heavy guard, its war alert downgraded only slightly from Level One to Level Two. Jiangnan High School had become a priority defense zone for the Demon-Hunting Institute.
News of the void rift spread across the internet like wildfire, climbing hot search rankings with terrifying speed. Its popularity even rivaled the headlines of the Demon-Slayer breaching the borders of the Forest Kingdom.
When Noah walked into school early that day, the classroom was already buzzing with conversation.
"Hey, Noah! Over here!"
From the last row, Tang Xia—who usually napped through the mornings—was waving frantically. Her ponytail glimmered in the morning light like a silk ribbon.
Surprised by her rare energy, Noah strode over quickly. "Wow, you're awake before noon? That's new."
He dropped his bag on the desk, teasing.
Tang Xia leaned forward, her expression deadly serious. "You shouldn't be here. Don't you know the Anti-Alliance is hunting you?"
The classroom chatter had already spread the rumors. The void rift from last night? Everyone believed it was orchestrated by the Anti-Alliance. Their motives were obvious: revenge for the annihilated Jiang family, and the assassination of Noah—the so-called S-rank combat talent.
The truth of a War God's intervention was, of course, classified above their clearance.
Noah raised a brow, amused. "If I don't come to school, where else would I go?"
Tang Xia bit her lip. "At least hide for a while. Wait until things settle down before you come back!"
"Oh, I see." Noah smirked. "You're just trying to trick me out of the way so you can steal my top spot in the exams, aren't you?"
"Shut up!" She flushed, stomping her foot. But her voice dropped again, full of worry. "If you won't listen, my dad can take you away. We'll both drop out if we have to!"
Noah placed a hand over his chest, faking drama. "Wow. I thought we were just friends, but now you're asking me to run away with you? Scandalous."
Her cheeks reddened even more. With no hesitation, she kicked his shin under the desk.
He gritted his teeth but held back a laugh. Unfortunately, his glance slipped sideways at the wrong moment…
And what he saw under her short skirt made his breath hitch.
She wasn't wearing safety shorts.