Rivers of the Night

[Big thanks to RolaySaltT20]

"Oh?"

A familiar old man opened his eyes slowly. Somehow, his eyes seemed less lively than when Theron saw him last.

"That was faster than expected… the boy really does tend to surprise me a lot."

The Patriarch paused, his head tilting to the side as though he was trying to understand something.

"… He integrated with a Blue Pufferfish Echo…?"

First, he was shocked that Theron had actually ignored the temptation. But if he was going to fuse with the Blue Pufferfish, why ask for the Immortal Jellyfish?

For a long while, the Patriarch sat there trying to understand something until his gaze flashed as bright as the sun.

’A Dual Resonance Core?’

Theron realized that his situation was a bit bad after he entered the Inner Sect. That much had gone well enough, but the actual tower was quite heavily protected.

In the end, he had no choice but to do what he had originally wanted to avoid: act confident and hope things went well.

Luckily, he had been hiding for long enough that Tenn and his lackeys had completely lost his tracks, so the risk was worth it… and it worked out.

But now, he really had no choice but to succeed. He had placed down his name and been scanned. There was certainly a commotion gathering outside right this moment.

If he failed, well… Tenn would be able to accuse him of a great number of crimes, and there would be no real way to get out of it.

He had indeed snuck into the Sect. And even though the commotion was great enough that he could use the letter as a shield now, what would a ticket to the Outer Sect do to excuse him of crimes of sneaking into the Inner Sect?

Theron calmly took a breath, exhaling as the water that soaked him through was slowly pulled from his cloak and body. He had no idea what sort of trials there would be ahead, but he might as well come prepared.

…

Theron raised an eyebrow as his vision cleared. Ahead, there was a single statue stuck in an odd pose.

On the one hand, it reminded him of some Flux Mancy techniques where positioning the body in stressful situations—matched with peculiar circulation methods—could accelerate muscle growth or the flushing of impurities.

But on the other hand, it felt like a sword stance of some sort as well, almost like it hid some power.

The statue’s back was arched and its head was twisted to the side. While its feet were perpendicular to Theron, its head and the sword pointed in its hand were aimed right at him.

However, its knees were bent so much, and its back arched so greatly, that its chest pointed to the ceiling.

Even the way it held its sword was odd. It looked more like it was pointing a wand than holding a weapon, the sword hilt barely hanging to the tips of its fingers.

If a person took a stance like this in battle, it would feel ridiculous. But by extension, it didn’t completely feel like a cultivation method either.

’Interesting

…

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"What’s happening? Why is he just standing in a blank room? Dammit, I thought we could learn something from this."

"As if it would be that easy to gain an advantage. Everyone waiting for someone else to go first just wasted their time."

"No, there’s still a chance. Depending on what action he takes, maybe there’ll be something to pick up on."

The murmurs in the crowd grew to confusion the longer Theron stayed there.

It had been a very long time since anyone challenged the tower, but there were rumors… just like there always were.

Rumors of confusion, of things not making sense, of the tower having a different sort of challenge depending on who entered.

The only thing that was certain was that cultivation level didn’t seem to matter. Bronze Mancers had succeeded in the past, Gold Mancers had failed to get out of the first floor…

It was the way of the tower.

…

Theron shook his head. ’This tower is not for me.’

It was clear to him that, if nothing else, this was a challenge for a Flux Mancer. If it was just a challenge of combat prowess, fine. But it wasn’t.

This statue wasn’t one or the other. It was both trying to teach him a body refinement method and a sword style. He was supposed to deduce it from the statue alone.

But he had no affinity with Flux Mancy. The sort of body control, hand-eye coordination, and bodily flexibility Flux Mancers had… he simply didn’t.

Even more unfortunately, there was no way back, and he wasn’t going to hold his breath for the Patriarch to save him.

’Kill our way out?’ Theron thought with an eerie calm to him.

He bet that if he was fast enough, most wouldn’t react. The trouble would be if Tenn or any one of his lackeys was in the crowd. But if Theron left now, the odds he could make it before Tenn arrived were high.

Theron observed the statue one final time.

’[Luminescent Rain] he thought to himself.

The peculiar thing about Luminescent Mana was that it was almost like a cancer, not having form of its own, but rather latching onto other forms and converting them. But because of that…

It’s good at taking on the characteristics of other things… but then why so much focus on Flux Mancers? What am I missing?’

This time, it was Theron’s curiosity that was evoked. But curiosity was one thing, survival was his highest priority.

The question now was how he was going to deal with the backlash from the Thistles for his failure.

Theron turned to leave.

…

The crowd on the outside erupted with a chorus of boos, their distaste showing through. But it was clear that none of them actually cared so much. There had been great anticipation, but ultimately… didn’t it always end like this?

Those that tried would either end up looking foolish or giving up like Theron.