Nathan stood still for the next few minutes after breaking through to feel all the changes it brought to his body.

He was a few centimeters taller than before, and his muscles were more defined. He felt the energy inside his body, its flow, and how it was ready to be released when he needed it.

The energy inside his dantian has also become denser, which means that every energy speck inside it could release more power than before.

His mind also felt sharper, being able to inspect his surroundings with it in much more detail and at longer distances than before.

In the end, he felt that if he fought the version of himself from thirty minutes ago, he could defeat him with ease.

After seeing all the benefits the breakthrough had brought him, he decided to continue cultivating for a few more hours. That was because it is easier to advance at the beginning of a stage than at its peak, so he could increase his cultivation somewhat faster now.

Also, fighting after reaching a new stage was not the best decision. There have been cases of people becoming too cocky after they had succeeded in breaking through toward a new stage, only to find themselves badly beaten soon after.

If the wounds are too severe, the person's cultivation may revert to the previous stage, harming their foundation and possibly crippling them for life.

Because of this, it is better to spend some time after breaking through to the next rank to stabilize one's cultivation. Not only would it increase one's strength faster than usual, but it could also help avoid damage to one's cultivation.

Because of this, Nathan continued cultivating for the whole night. From time to time, he would rest to continue eating, and he would take another bunch of magical coins before returning to cultivating.

When it was about to dawn, he took a little nap to recover from the cultivation night. Thanks to his cultivated physique, he didn't need to sleep much. With just a few hours every day, he would have more than enough, and if necessary, he could stay awake for three whole days without it affecting his capacities.

Just a few minutes after he woke up, he heard a voice inside his head again.

"My children, the archway is about to open. You must cross it to fight the great evil that dwells on the lands behind it. But don't fear, as you will not be alone. Besides you, another two armies would fight side by side with the same objectives as yours, so cooperate with them without worries and return victorious to our world when everything has ended." Heaven said.

Nathan changed his clothes and prepared for the expedition as soon as he heard the message.

Each army member had everything they would need ready, so they could enter the archway's portal as soon as it opened.

Nathan left his room and began to walk toward the center of Castelo, where they had hidden the archway behind many lines of defense.

As he walked there, he met many of the members of his army, and when they arrived at the archway, almost everyone had already arrived.

"I feel something different in your body. Have you managed to break through to the ninth rank?" Travis asked with a smile as he looked over at his friend.

"Maybe. Do you want to test me to confirm it?" Nathan said while laughing.

"No need. I trust you enough to believe you straight away." He replied.

"Maybe you should stop talking nonsense and pay attention to what you have before yourself," Marianne said while pointing toward the archway.

Following their companion's words, both cultivators looked in the same direction to find a crack in the space between the archway. The crack grew in size little by little, until it broke completely, leaving behind a tunnel.

The army entered the hole, and after crossing the pure blue tunnel, they exited through the other end.

When they did that, they found themselves surrounded by green. No matter where they looked, they would find dense vegetation that limited their field of vision a lot.

"I want someone to scout the surroundings. If you find anything interesting, report it immediately. We need to figure out where we are as soon as possible." Nathan ordered.

As he was saying that, two other tunnels opened next to theirs, and soon dozens of figures began to come out of them.