June returned to the city next to the bushland inhabited by Silent hyenas.
The Elbas family had built one of the obelisks there after clearing the area from the magical beasts.
That territory was the northernmost land in possession of the Utra nation.
Cheers welcomed June when she returned to the branch of her family that had been established there.
Max, her father, was there as well as some envoys of the Elbas family.
The Royals were obviously aware that she had set off to fight the Heaven Tribulation, and they had even offered their help in that matter.
However, June insisted on undergoing the Tribulation alone, and neither her father nor the Elbas family had been able to win over her stubbornness.
June felt no happiness when she saw those heroic cultivators smiling at her.
Her eyes became cold at that sight, she couldn't help but understand what Noah had been through when he was still in the Utra nation.
'I guess they have a leash on me too, the only way to escape their control is to abandon my family.'
June thought as she bowed to those existences and entered the mansion behind them.
Max and the two heroic cultivators from the Royal family were used to her behavior by then, their smiles remained on their faces as they began to discuss the future of their cooperation.
The Ballor family was deeply connected to the Elbas family, June's achievements in the old continent had provided it a prestigious position.
Her family had long become a medium-size noble family and was going to become a large-size if the Royals kept on supporting it.
Of course, the Ballors would need a rank 5 cultivator in their ranks first, but June seemed the perfect target for their hopes.
Also, there was a high chance that the Ballor family would just fuse with the Elbas family.
After all, June was a great talent and even quite beautiful, many Royals wouldn't wait to marry her and absorb the Ballor family in their ranks.
Truth to be told, June had already received similar proposals, but she had always rejected them with the excuse of being too focused on cultivating.
"You know, your family isn't as bad as you think, especially your father. He doesn't mind managing all the boring work of the family as long as you can cultivate in peace. I've never seen a heroic cultivator so dedicated to his daughter."
Those words resounded in one of the halls of the mansion, and June could immediately recognize their source.
"Shut up, Errol. My father's situation is hopeless, he passed the Heaven Tribulation only thanks to the Patriarch's help. The power of our dantians isn't so different, and I've just advanced!"
June snorted and angrily answered the tall man seated in that hall.
Max didn't destroy the black clouds of his Tribulation back then, and his dantian didn't obtain the necessary nourishments for its growth.
That greatly hindered Max's cultivation, which, coupled with the already poor situation of the Ballor family, forced him to stop cultivating completely.
The Royals had tried to make up for that lack of nourishments with precious pills, but there weren't many drugs that could emulate something created through Heaven's power.
To put it simply, Max Ballor's dantian had barely made any progress since it entered the fourth rank.
"That doesn't mean that he doesn't care about you."
Errol replied while taking a couple of cups from his space-ring and filling them with some tea.
"You had to see him before the academy, don't speak about things that you don't know."
June sighed after she gave voice to those words and sat on one of the couches in the hall while picking a cup.
The treatment that her family had reserved her after her aptitude was confirmed still afflicted her mind, and she had yet to find a reason to forgive it.
'I don't really want to forgive though, I know you wouldn't.'
Noah's face appeared in her mind when she thought that.
June would often think about Noah when she met difficult situations.
'What would Noah do against this enemy?'
'How would he face this situation?'
Those questions often appeared in her mind when she was forced to handle the pressure of both the Royals and her family.
After all, she yearned for power just like him, her reasons and her notion of power were just a bit different from his.
June wanted to imitate Noah, but that wasn't strange for a citizen of the Utra nation.
Noah had basically become a legend among the suppressed cultivators and the smaller noble families since he had succeeded in their hidden dreams without anyone's help.
His deeds had become a source of inspiration for many that didn't want to be limited by their social status.
However, June felt something deeper together with admiration, but she mostly suppressed those emotions.
Noah's name was almost a taboo among the ranks of the Elbas family, and his recent victory over Amos Lochster further worsened his image in the Royals' eyes.
"Why are you here? What do the Royals want this time?"
In the end, June asked.
The Elbas family was aware of her friendly relationship with Errol and knew that he was the best person to deal with her wild character.
Errol revealed a helpless smile and handed a scroll to June.
June quickly sorted through its contents, and she revealed her arched eyebrows when she lowered it.
"This event is scheduled for a year from now, you might reach the heroic ranks by then. Why would I bother doing it?"
June asked as she analyzed Errol.
He was in the third rank and was even nearing its peak, it would only take a couple of months for him to be ready for the Heaven Tribulation.
Also, due to his peculiar position, Errol would surely receive the help of the Royals, meaning that there shouldn't be any issue in his breakthrough.
However, Errol shook his head at that question and revealed something that deeply surprised June.
"June, I'm not like you and, well, Vance. I don't want to improve only to enter a larger battlefield, I'm sick of seeing blood. I want to have a family, and I want to see my children grow up far away from these political schemes. You lose something important when you live for too long, and I don't want to reach that point. My cultivation journey is over."
