Rivers of the Night

Theron followed after Tenn before he suddenly paused.@@novelbin@@

"You are going in the wrong direction," Theron commented calmly.

Tenn blinked, his steps pausing for a second. The Sect was covered by a concealment formation, which was quite common practice. It stopped feral beasts from casually roaming in and disrupting the peace, while stronger beasts were smart enough to know danger was ahead and avoid it.

Usually, the formation could only be sensed clearly by those with Third Eye. A Bronze Resonance Mancer like Theron shouldn’t know the difference between walking toward the Sect and away from it.

Not only did Theron point it out, though, he did it with speed. They were still not even half a kilometer away from where Tenn had picked him up.

"The location for disciple entries, recommendation entries, and test entries are all different. You came to the main entrance of the Sect, but using it would require shutting down the entire formation. That only happens when it’s an important guest or a large-scale event. You’ve already missed the disciple acceptance period. Did you think we would make such an exception for a Bronze Mancer?"

The explanation was quite sharp and well thought out. So much so that though Theron felt he was lying, there were probably some kernels of truth to it.

The best lies weren’t complete lies, but shades and omissions of the truth. That was also in the assassin tenets.

Theron chose to continue to follow. Truthfully, he didn’t expect Tenn to admit his fault openly. But his words just now served their own purpose as well. They would make Tenn several times more cautious with what he would try to do because now he knew Theron was on high alert and not so easy to fool.

Tenn raised an eyebrow but didn’t look back. "We do."

"It’s a bit odd that someone of your stature is being forced to patrol around. Usually, that would be left to much lesser disciples. Did something big happen at the Sect?"

"… That shouldn’t be your concern. You’ve yet to officially join."

"I see…"

’He doesn’t know,’ Theron concluded. ’In that case, this change is probably related to the same matters that caused that large number of Sect disciples to head to Thistle Brook City. Maybe everything is just related to the Verdant Bloomstone after all.’

Theron smiled a gentle smile.

"… I do plan to join officially soon, though. I think I might be able to enter Quasi Silver and then Silver Mancy soon. I hear your Chosen Selections haven’t happened yet. How many years away do you think that is?"

Tenn finally looked back for the first time, frowning.

"Our Core Disciples are all in the High Tier of Silver Mancy. You don’t stand a chance even if you’re given another five years."

Theron didn’t seem perturbed, just smiling.

"So High Tier Silver is the goal?"

Tenn scoffed. "Not just any High Tier Silver. They all integrated their Echoes at Quasi Silver and have grown with them well. Even the last and fifth-ranked among them, Senior Brother Jodie, integrated a Fourth Silver Resonance Echo. These aren’t geniuses you can fathom."

"Mm, Fourth Silver Resonance at Quasi Silver, truly powerful…"

The limit for an Echo was the Ninth Silver Resonance, but Echoes could grow along with their cultivator… just in limited fashion.

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Because Echoes were slower to evolve than their cultivators, the higher tier they started at, the better. It was not just the mark of a genius how early they could integrate an Echo, but also how powerful their Echo was. Ꞧ₳Ŋò𝐛ËṨ

Unfortunately for Tenn, Theron had integrated two Ninth Silver Resonance Echoes—one at Eighth Bronze Resonance, and the other while he was in the Ninth.

He was still a sliver from Quasi Silver, a cultivation rank he would likely skip right past.

"Right. So I would suggest you keep your head down and just follow the rules."

"Then, senior brother, when did you integrate your Echo? And how powerful was it?"

Tenn sniffled a little bit as though he was feeling quite proud.

"Me? Nothing special. I integrated at the First Silver Resonance and managed a Fifth Silver Resonance Echo."

"Oh? You’re pretty good," Theron said with a gentle smile.

While it sounded like it was more impressive to integrate a Fifth Silver Resonance Echo than a Fourth like the fifth-ranked Core Disciple had, the difference was akin to night and day.

When Jodie broke through from Quasi Silver to Silver, his Echo probably reached Sixth Silver Resonance instantly—Seventh if they were a little lucky. Though that was highly unlikely.

This was why cultivation geniuses aimed to integrate before reaching Silver Mancy. It was a cheat code of sorts.

This cheat code was part of why Theron’s Echoes were already displaying such might.

The question was, if Ninth Silver Resonance was the limit of Echoes, what would happen once Theron broke into Silver Mancy?

He was curious to find out as well.

Tenn chuckled, feeling good hearing Theron’s praise. But then he stopped when he saw they had arrived at their true destination.

"Alright, we are here. Go on ahead and state that you’ve been given a recommendation letter."

Up ahead, there wasn’t much to see at all, just some shrubbery and the faint smell of livestock wafting through the air. It hardly needed to be explained what sort of scents came with it.

But Theron couldn’t see the actual livestock at all. They seemed hidden behind a formation.

Theron gave Tenn a glance, but the latter just stood there smiling. Though… the curve of his lip now seemed much less self-satisfied and far sharper.

"Okay." Theron said calmly, walking forward and slipping through the formation.

Tenn’s sharp smile became an all-out sneer. There would be an interesting show to watch for sure. In that case, after receiving all that praise, shouldn’t he be a good senior brother and gather a crowd?