Rivers of the Night

"Hey, hey. Where are you going?"

A familiar voice echoed in Theron’s ears, causing him to stop. He frowned, not having expected the Patriarch to contact him.

"I’m a Water Mancer, this isn’t for me."

Theron had no idea how to communicate via this method, so he could only cover his mouth and speak in a whisper.

The voice laughed. "There’s no need to worry. No one can hear what you say. There’s a filter of distortion over what happens in this realm. While they’re observing, important details are impossible to make out."

"Except for you."

"Well, maybe. But even if I told you that wasn’t the case, you wouldn’t believe me."

Theron didn’t reply. Was that a joke? Why would he trust this man?

No one just handed out Beast Cores like the Black Limbo Tortoise for free. That thing was worth far more than the mission he had completed.

Theron didn’t need to know the background of the Black Limbo Tortoise to know that there was something fishy about it all.

He wasn’t comfortable with just accepting things as they were so easily.

"At least go on and try the test," the Patriarch said.

"I don’t have the time. I need to escape before things become particularly bad for me."

Theron continued to walk away.

"Alright, alright. You drive a hard bargain. Tell you what. So long as you can pass this one floor, I’ll extend you protection."

Theron frowned.

Even if a powerhouse was going to trick him, it wouldn’t be in this way. In all likelihood, this man was telling the truth.

But why? What was the purpose for his change in tone?

Theron had no idea that the Patriarch had misinterpreted a scan of his body, assuming him to have a Dual Resonance Core. This mutation was even rarer than Runebound Mana Beasts were.

There was a reason the old assassin was so enamored with Raiden. No matter how much talent Theron showed, there was only so much a gap in comprehension talent could bridge at the higher levels.

The reason he said there were no geniuses beneath Gold Mancy, while still giving such favoritism to Raiden, was because with the latter’s talents, reaching Gold Mancy was a matter of time—and a short time at that.

But would the old assassin’s tune change if he knew of Theron’s Core situation?

’Unfortunately for that old fogie, his senses aren’t nearly as sharp as mine,’ the Patriarch almost laughed like a maniac, but managed to restrain himself.

Of course, he was cheating. Had Theron not entered the tower, he wouldn’t have been able to tell either. But no one needed to know that.

’I wonder how this little one hides it so well, though

"Hey, hey! Didn’t you hear me, why are you still leaving?!"

Theron didn’t respond.

The Patriarch felt like he was losing his mind. Dealing with intelligent and arrogant youths was truly an annoyance. Beifong had driven him up a wall and that was his adoptive son.

The world had no idea that it was the Patriarch and not an elder that had taken Beifong in, and they certainly had no need to know.

"Fine, fine, fine. I’ll give you Chosen accommodations instead. Not just that, but I’ll also let you see the original text."

Theron’s steps paused. "… Just for passing the first level?"

"Well, you have to do your best on the other floors as well—I will definitely be able to tell, so don’t try it. But yes."

Theron stood in silence for a while.

He didn’t know why, but to him… this Patriarch was far more dangerous than the old man. And it wasn’t even close.

"Alright."

Theron turned back.

…

The uproar outside stopped with a confused whimper. What was happening? Why had he suddenly changed his mind like that? Did he not want to be humiliated?

From a distance, Tenn was rushing over, practically gasping for breath. For a cultivator at his level to be so tired, one could imagine how far he had pressed himself just to make it here. Experience new tales on

Seeing that Theron was still inside the tower, he exhaled a breath of relief.

As soon as he failed, it would all be over.

A glow radiated from Tenn’s eyes.

…

Theron faced the statue once again. But this time, he didn’t bother to observe it, closing his eyes in an almost gentle silence.

His breathing crawled into a steady rhythm, his body entering Veinsong.

While part of the reason he had walked away was because this tower wasn’t designed for him… the other part was because he didn’t want to expose too much of his ability to embody the other three paths of Mancy.

However, as he was thinking things over, he realized that while embodying Flux Mancy with his Water Mana was one path, there was another…

’Bloomstones… Tribulation… Echoes

He had learned about two methods unique to the Luminescent Moon Sect, both of which were shocking.

The Verdant Bloomstone pointed to a method of using these special jades to increase the chances of successfully absorbing an Echo, or absorbing a far stronger Echo.

Then there was the Bloomstone jade that Beifong had stolen. It was apparently the root of a method that allowed cultivators to increase the strength of their Gold Mancy Tribulation.

Both were entirely unrelated to one another other than the fact they were both related to breakthroughs in the path of cultivation, one for Silver Mancy, and the other for Gold Mancy.

That made Theron wonder…

Was the Luminescent Moon Sect’s path truly tailored for Flux Mancers? Or was it that the Flux Mancy Path was the only one simple enough that it could allow the methods of the Sect to bloom properly?

’[Luminescent Rain]

It was the analysis of this technique that made Theron feel it could only be the latter.

This path was for everyone. It was just a matter of if you could figure it out or not.

Theron suddenly moved, his eyes still closed. His movements were so sharp his robes almost sounded as though they were whipping against the air.