Rivers of the Night

Theron didn't look back, riding the Alpha as they tore a path out of the ores. In an instant, they were in the trees, dancing and weaving through them with an almost obnoxious amount of speed.

In a blink, it seemed that they were already near the shore once again.

Despite the distance the three disciples had put between themselves and the river, it wasn't long enough. The gap was just a hundred meters or so.

The moment the Alpha appeared, Theron had it burn almost everything it had. With the Alpha's current strength, if it wasn't holding back or worried about the future, it could easily match the speed of a Touching Cloud Realm expert.

The Patriarch was at the Ascending Cloud Realm, however. With his speed, overtaking the Alpha, even going all out, wasn't an issue.

The trouble was that Theron had already seen how much caution the Patriarch had for him. If Theron was correct, the real reason the Patriarch hadn't attacked earlier was because he wanted to see what trump cards, if any, Theron had.

It was easy to imagine that the Patriarch had had to extrapolate a lot of guesses from Theron's actions. He might even believe Theron to be a part of some powerful organization sent to target his Sect.

In that case, he might think that Theron had some treasures on his person that could harm him.

The truth was that explosion of Ebonstone couldn't even begin to harm the Patriarch. However, because of the latter's caution, he retreated when he could have blazed right through, giving Theron just enough of a second to make it to the shore.

By the time the Patriarch realized the issue and stomped a foot on the air to explode forth, Theron was just two strides of the Alpha from the Dark River.

Unfortunately… those two strides might as well have been an infinite span.

The gap between every subdivision of the Treading Cloud Realm was already exaggerated. But the gap between a Touching Cloud and an Ascending Cloud Realm expert might as well have been the difference between two or three whole realms compared to the power gaps that Theron was used to.

The Patriarch didn't have time to cast a Spell, but he did have time to cross the distance, his speed practically feeling like teleportation to Theron.

However, just as the latter was about to catch up, raising another palm with the intention of capturing Theron personally so as not to have a repeat of the last interaction, Theron suddenly spun around on the Alpha's back, slamming out a palm of his own.

Patriarch Nightingale thought about hesitating once more, wondering what could possibly make a Silver Mancer so confident in taking his attack head-on; however, he grit his teeth and tore through his own doubt.

His hesitation had already caused him to nearly lose Theron once. He couldn't allow it again.

Theron's gaze flickered, but he had already expected that the same trick wouldn't work twice. Any cultivator that had lived so long wasn't so easy to trick, and the fact Theron had already been outwitted once proved it all the more.

It was a feeling that he wasn't used to, but he took it in stride.

Almost drowning in a river of all things just days ago had already been the wake-up call he needed. Although he had made a mistake this time, it wasn't because he was careless, it was simply because the standards of this world were higher, and their scope of knowledge was beyond his.

But it wouldn't be for long.

That much he promised.

BANG!

Just as Patriarch Nightingale's palm was about to meet Theron's, the arms of Theron's robes exploded beneath the might of a wall of wind.

Once again, Theron had activated [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils], attracting his palm to the vicious Wind Mana Patriarch Nightingale was kicking up with his speed.

Slapping against that momentum, Theron faced the aftereffects of Patriarch Nightingale's attack ahead of time, turning it into a boost of momentum.

BOOM.

Theron and the Alpha accelerated into the river while Patriarch Nightingale's palm landed heavily on the shore.

The earth rattled and shook, and in an instant of time, the Alpha's paws were dancing across the raging rivers.

Theron coughed up a mouthful of blood, the fractures in his arm sending spikes of pain rampaging through him.

Even though he had limited the amount of Patriarch Nightingale's momentum he borrowed, if he had borrowed too little, he wouldn't have gotten the necessary speed boost.

Trading injury for escape was the only thing he could do. But this didn't mean that he let his guard down.

As expected, Patriarch Nightingale hardly paused for a single moment before he leapt up, surging after Theron.

'Down.'

Theron thought coldly.

He never expected that making it to the river would end things. That was too foolish.

With the Patriarch's strength, entering the river wasn't a problem. The real issue was how far he could make it before the currents became too strong.

And the answer was too far for Theron to make it without getting caught first.

What Theron was doing now wasn't trying to escape. Or, more accurately, this was only the first leg of his escape.

He was, more accurately, changing the landscape of the battlefield into one that was more favorable for him.

In the Dark River, the Dark Mana was too volatile for the Patriarch to easily take control of, so he would be limited in the Spells he could use—if he could even use any at all.

And while the Patriarch would be fighting against the currents, Theron would be using the currents to bolster his attack, defense, and movement capabilities.

He had made a mistake, sure, that was accurate enough.

But he had never once felt that he would die.

In fact, in this new landscape, maybe it would be the Patriarch that died.

BANG!

The Patriarch dove in after them.