Rivers of the Night

Theron collapsed onto the floors of the shake at the bottom of the Dark River, gasping for breath.

He had kept it together all along, but that battle had really been on a razor's edge. Although he had everything under control from start to finish, that didn't mean his body hadn't ended up beaten and battered.

However, he didn't allow himself to rest for too long.

With a breath, he slowly pulled himself to his feet and pulled the Alpha out.

The Alpha was completely spent, but thinking that Theron needed it, it came out in a battle stance, ready to fight against anything that was thrown at it that very instant.

It wasn't until it noticed that there was no threat around that it shuddered and almost collapsed.

Theron caught it, slowing its descent to the ground.

The two lay there for a moment, Theron barely having his legs crossed while the Alpha's large head lay in his lap.

"We survived." Theron said softly.

The Alpha breathed out a breath that almost came out in a low growl. But it was almost more like the purr of a kitten than anything else.

Theron gripped its mane with a bit of strength before he relaxed. He really wanted to sleep… he really did…

But this next time period before they suspected that the Patriarch had died was too important.

Theron wasn't 100% certain of a Sect like the Nightingale Sect would have a Soul Lamp powerful enough to detect the Patriarch's death or not. But he wasn't going to bet his life on a gamble.

Although the Patriarch's death would actually be helpful even in this situation, it would be even better if he could set up some other things first before they noticed.

As for what he needed to set up… step one was this.

Theron pulled out the Patriarch Core and gently fed it to the Alpha.

SHUU.

The hair of the crimson wolf bristled, a surge of power rippling through it.

Theron's eyes sharpened as he pulled out the Karmic Needle and Thread again. He didn't do anythign with it, just holding it. What needed to be down had already been done.

The thread he had severed from the Patriarch had been tied in a knot around the Core. If he was correct, this should allow the Alpha to keep a little bit more of the benefits.

If Theron had to guess, the Centinnial Blooming Lotus wasn't a secondary item that the unnamed cultivator was lucky enough to stumble into. It was a part of the legacy to begin with.

The Alpha was extremely powerful. It could use its soul and blood in continuous streams while only ever really exchanging fatigue. If it was a non-Blood Mancer that pushed their bodies as far as the Alpha pushed its own, they would certainly be dead.

However, the Alpha still very obviously had its limits. Even after its recent breakthrough, it could only sustain the speed of a Touching Cloud Realm expert for a few fractions of a second before collapsing.

Of course, to most, exerting this amount of strength would require a heavy cost, and almost certainly death. The fact the Alpha was just tired was a testament to the power a Blood Mancer could produce.

But… what if the Alpha had even more strength to pull from?

What if the reason for the Centinnial Blooming Lotus was actually to increase the amount of sacrifice a person could make?

Could it be that this was actually a Blood Mancer's inheritance?

[Entangling Blood Vein Pupils] was already enough of an indicator. But the subsequent six techniques of the nine total techniques only seemed to make this more obvious.

Theron's eyes sharpened as the aura of the Alpha continued to rise.

It wasn't really a matter of cultivation. Although the Alpha went from the Fourth Resonance to the Fifth, and then the Sixth, it stopped there.

This was excellent, but it wasn't what Theron was looking for. It was what happened next that made Theron certain that his choice was correct.

The bloody aura coming from the Alpha multiplied several times over, a surging might making the density of its presence so much greater.

Theron had wondered once before… why was it called the Centinnial Blooming Lotus if it could only increase your lifespan by a factor of ten?

But now he knew.

It wasn't a matter of talent, it was a matter of compatibility. No… maybe it was also a matter of talent, because in Theron's hands, it would have shown the very same effects.

That was because Theron also had the body of a beast.

Even so, in the hands of the Alpha, it was a different matter entirely. That was because the ability of the Alpha to display the might of a cultivator far above its level had been increased by several orders of magnitude.

In fact… it had increased a full 100 times.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The Alpha surged to its feet and unleashed a howl that shook the shack to its very core.

Theron nodded to himself internally.

Perfect.

Right now, the Alpha could increase its potential, speed, and strength to that of a Touching Cloud Realm expert for several minutes at a time. But that wasn't the best part.

The best part was the fact that its recovery would be much faster as well.

The confidence in Theron's eyes grew as the Alpha's aura began to settle down, a shocking amount of Life Mana radiating out from it.

With this, he would have the capital to not just leave this place, but to stroll out with confidence.

However, why would he just leave?

Theron was lackng information, he was lacking resources, and most importantly, he was lacking money.

And now, this Nightingale Sect was on the chopping block for him. Theron pulled out a badge. A badge that was one of a kind. A badge taht only the Patriarch of the Nightingale Sect would have.

Sure, he would leave. But first, he had a Sect to rob.