Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-637

Back on Elon, Noah sat near the calm pond, meditating. His chest rose and fell with a certain rhythm. He became one with the blowing wind around him. Noah allowed no guards in the guardian when he meditated. Thus, only the withered trees and flower plans accompanied him. Once in a while, a few snowy flakes gently danced down, swaying in the wind. Whenever a snowflake hit the calm pond, Noah's eyes would twitch. While Noah was meditating, Yasmine Winston entered the garden. Unlike when she met Ghost, she was in light blue robes void of any armor pieces. She slowly walked towards Noah on the paved pathway. Her sword dangled around her waist every time she took a step.

Noah's ear twitched.

"My dear cousin," Yasmin said with a playful tone. Thanks to Yasmine, Noah's two days of meditation finally came to a halt. He slowly opened his eyes. The clear pond and the red maple tree on the other side was a magnificent view in Noah's mind. In his two decades of life, he meditated in several places. Some of these places were dreams for a rogue cultivator. But to Noah, the garden created by his mother was the best place to meditate. It had certain tranquility the other places lacked.

"Yasmine," Noah looked over his shoulder to see his cousin standing a couple of meters behind him.

"So this is what you do in your free time?" asked Yasmine.

"Meditation is just as important as cultivation. A calm mind is a weapon of itself," Noah turned around. His eyes were just as calm as the pond behind him. Unknowing to Noah himself, he radiated a powerful aura. Normal cultivators failed to sense this aura, but Yasmine did. It would have been a surprise if she failed to sense it. After all, she was created by one of the elders in Skyhall. Noah and his family were completely oblivious to the fact Yasmine was a clone.

The elders created Yasime with one objective in their minds; monitor Noah Winston and report everything back to the Skyhall. Despite being a clone, Yasmine inherited all the memories and habits of the body's owner, the real Yasmine Watson.

"Where is everyone?" asked Noah. He looked around for a moment, climbing down the steps of the elevated platform he was meditating on.

"Inside, discussing the war, as usual. Are you going with your father to the front lines?" Yasmine asked nonchalantly. Instead of giving her an answer, Noah walked through the withered plants resulting from the upcoming winter. Usually, by this time, the garden would be filled with chirping birds, squirrels, and beautiful flowers that danced with the wind. However, the cold winter breeze changed the scenery.

"War should be our last resort. It's a pity Duke Avon is so desperate for it. One man's ego is going to destroy so many lives," Noah sighed. His heart ached thinking of all the destruction and deaths a war would bring. When the vampire clan was out there lusting for their blood, humankind and all the races should be united. Yet, they were all ignorant and fighting among themselves.

Although Noah hated wars, he knew some of them were just inevitable, just like the one between Icefair and Flamefair. Due to Alicia's family, Noah's family had to side with Duke Marvin, the duke of Pen town in the upcoming war. Thinking about the war, Noah wished he was at the Fusion Stage. If he was, he could have stopped the war once and for all. Only because of his search for the Dark Lord killing arrows made by Mazeroth founders, did he not get enough time to cultivate.

It had been two months since Noah had any breakthroughs in his cultivation. He was stuck in the Core Strengthening stage level 8 and couldn't reach the next level. For a normal cultivator, going without having a breakthrough for a couple of months was nothing. They only leveled up once a year or so. But for Noah, it was strange, very strange. Obviously, the Skyhall noticed Noah's cultivation being halted. So they sent Yasmine to fix the situation. After all, if Noah wasn't strong enough, he wouldn't be able to fight the Dark Lord, and if he didn't, they couldn't get rid of the Dark Lord and control the last man standing.

"I need your help with something Noah," asked Yasmine while following Noah.

"What is it?" asked Noah.

"In my travel with my mentor, I stumbled upon a pocket dimension filled with treasures, rare artifacts, and valuables. Apparently, it was left behind by a Half Immortal,"

"You want me to come with you?" Noah halted his steps.

When he turned around, Yasmine nodded.

"I know it's sudden, but I really need something in there. If you could help me find it, you can have anything you find there. Since you are my cousin, I won't ask for a share. How about it?" Yasmine winked at Noah. Suppose someone else asked him to venture into an unknown pocket dimension, Noah would have outright rejected them. Furthermore, he would have become suspicious. However, Noah didn't even blink an eye when Yasmine asked him for help.

Why? Because Noah trusted his family. For him, his family was everything. Never in a million years would he doubt his family. Yasmine Watson might be his cousin, but she was no different than his little sister Sabrina. He loved them both the same. So when she asked his help, Noah agreed right away without even considering the dangers of venturing into a pocket dimension left by a Half Immortal. Even an oblivious man could tell the pocket dimension would be riddled with traps and dangerous. After all, cultivators hardly left behind their stuff with no protection.

"Where is this pocket dimension?" asked Noah.

With a grin, Yasmine flicked her wrist as a gold ring materialized on her palm.

"This ring would open a portal to the pocket dimension anywhere. Toss the ring, and boom, instant portal straight to the destination,"

"This is a rare portal ring. The pocket dimension must be ancient. Shouldn't we get more people with us?" Noah creased his brows. He had heard about the portal rings from Andreas, but this was the first time he had seen one with his eyes.

When Yasmine heard his question, her heart skipped a beat. Her master ordered her to bring Noah alone to the dimension. The Skyhall elders wanted Noah to get the items left for him. If they brought others, they might get them before Noah. Even if Noah got them first, the chances of Noah sharing those gifts with others were significantly high.

"And share what we find with others? Hell no. Where is my cousin, you chicken?" Yasmine punched Noah in the shoulder. Yasmine hid her true intention behind a playful chuckle. Unfortunately, due to Noah's weakness in the family, he couldn't see through her.

"Will you at least let me say goodbye to father and mother, or should I run behind you into the pocket dimension?" Noah rolled his eyes.

"You have five minutes," Yasmine raised her hand, showing five fingers.

"But what about Norvin? He can help us locate treasures,"

As a golden babaroo, Norvin possessed a special ability to locate treasures. Ever since Noah picked up Norvin from the forest surrounding Royal land, the golden babaroo helped him find countless treasures. In other words, Norvin played a huge role in Noah's heaven-defying cultivation speed. Additionally, Norvin could also locate hidden traps and defense arrays. Noah knew these abilities could come in real handy once they were inside the pocket dimension.

"Allow him," Suddenly, Yasmine heard her master Devdan's voice in her head. The elf was watching Noah through Yasmine's eyes.

"What the heck? Bring him," Yasmine nodded as though it was her decision.

Noah nodded back and headed towards the mansion, leaving Yasmine behind. Seeing Noah, several maids bowed and greeted him with a smile. Noah nodded back at them, eventually reaching the main hall, where he saw several people gathered around his father. Except for his mother, everyone was in their battle armor. The warriors were divided by their armor colors. One group led by an old man wore icy white armor. They were combined of the Icefair's duke Declan's men and House Belefort's men. House Winston soldiers were adorned in pale blue armor among the other two. At the same time, Duke Marvin's men wore emerald green armor.

When the soldiers saw Noah, everyone stopped their murmurings. Silence fell over them. But the silence was short-lived as the old man greeted Noah with a wide grin.

"There he is, my grandson-in-law," The old man's voice was full of life. His neatly combed, ashen hair was tied into a ponytail. Compared to Ethan who was a muscular man who could destroy a tree with his hands, the old man was skin and bones. An oblivious man wouldn't even spare a second glance at the old man. But his reputation was a stark contrast to his appearance. The old man's friends and family called him Xavier, but his enemies called him 'The Demon'.

He was the reason no one dared to wage war against Ice fair. Even the so-called sword masters of Aragoth feared to battle Xavier one on one. The old man was an unstoppable killing machine. One could count the warriors who could fight the old man head to head with swords with one hand. In his early years, Xavier fought Maxim Barnes, who was a sword master then, and came close to defeating him. Although the battle ended in a draw, Maxim still had a tinge of fear for the old man in his heart. Even to this date, many sects and academies taught their disciples about Xavier and his sword mastery.

"Grandpa," Noah greeted Xavier with a grin. The old man embraced Noah in a tight hug. Despite his thin stature, Noah felt like he was being crushed by two boulders.

Seeing their commander loosening up, the soldiers looked a little bit relieved.

"You look a bit exhausted. Are you eating well? It seems my granddaughter is failing at her duties as your fiance," Xavier turned his gaze toward Alicia. She looked a bit flustered, but she quickly managed to throw a cold glare at her grandfather. Even though the old man was feared across Elon, he was just a doting grandfather to Alicia. Many under Xavier's command still couldn't believe there was a playful side to their demon commander.

"He is worried that he's stuck at the Core Strengthening stage," Norvin leaped onto Noah's shoulder out of nowhere.

"That's it? These old bones are stuck at the Soul Refining stage for years. I'd be happy if you were stuck at the Core Strengthening stage for a couple of more years. I cannot let a youngster outrun me. I have a reputation to protect, after all,"