Rivers of the Night

Theron clenched his fist as he stood to his feet, his arrogance fading from his eyes. He tempered his emotions and exhaled a calm breath.

Right now, [Death Walk] was taking up 20% of Theron's Mana—10% of each Core. However, this wasn't because he had only managed to improve it by a third just now. Instead, it was because he had stored not one, but two [Death Walks] within him just in case.

If he was conscious, he could trigger them in a two-for-one, allowing him to teleport a full 250 kilometers away rather than only around 100.

Of course, the problem with this was that Theron's Third Eye couldn't see that far. So, he had to leave a little wiggle room to allow him to shift out of the way of potential danger. If not for this, he probably could have teleported a full 400 kilometers away.

The reason for that gap was due to the difficulty of a sudden last-minute change in direction. If Theron skewed more risk into the Spell, he could easily get himself a lot more distance. But if he phased into a rock and ended up fusing with it in death, it wouldn't be very helpful, now would it?

The original technique also had some of this breathing room baked in. In comparison to the original, though, Theron had actually gotten more distance out of it.

It was limited at 100 kilometers, and he had gotten 125 kilometers out of it.

Depending on the way you looked at it, this could be considered either Adept or Consummate Mastery.

Technically speaking, Theron had changed the fundamental foundation of the technique, and that was the requirement of Consummate. But because he had changed the Spell, his Mastery should be measured by the new Spell.

If Theron went with the latter, he believed that he was only at Adept. There was more room for this Spell to grow, but he hadn't quite gotten it there just yet.

He felt that if he wanted to progress it to a new level, he would need to comprehend a higher form of Laws. He had spent too long with Bronze Laws alone.

However, he didn't know if this world had Mandate Plaques that could be absorbed by the slab. At the very least, the Nightingale Sect didn't have any of them. It seemed that he was going to have to find another way to re-up the slab and allow himself to enter once more to begin mastering Silver Laws.

'Time to go outside. It should have been about two and a half months by now. I didn't expect to stay for this long.'

Theron took another sleep and then cleansed himself.

When he stepped outside of his Immortal Cave, he took a breath. The sun was surprisingly already on its way down as dusk hung over the horizon.

Theron thought about breaking into Gold Mancy, but after his conversation with the Nightingale Ancestor Bird, he felt that he should perfect his Mandates first.

The fact there was such an emphasis by such an ancient being made him feel that maybe he should wait a bit longer.

'Hm?' Theron's gaze flickered.

The smell of smoke hung in the air.

Theron took a step and vanished, his thoughts still lingering on how he could improve with the two weeks he had remaining.

'Unless I can find higher-level Mana Wood, it's unlikely I'll increase my Mana Control substantially. But… it's kind of obvious what I'm lacking if I'm not going to break through. But can I do anything about that without the help of the Nightingale inheritance?'

What Theron was thinking of was a Dark Mana Resonance.

Right now, he could control all aspects of his body and cultivation with his Water Mana. But his Dark Mana? It didn't have such advantages.

As things stood, even if he brought his Dark Mana Control to the same level as his Water Mana Control, the latter would still be far more powerful for this reason.

If he was able to undergo the refinement and change the Nightingale Ancestor Bird had in mind, Theron was fairly certain that he would get a Resonance in return. But that chance had ended already, and unless he could manage to trigger a Primal Tribulation, he would never receive it.

In order to trigger a Primal Tribulation, though, Theron would definitely need a Dark Mana Resonance.

So right now, he felt like he was kind of going around in circles. That said… not all hope was lost.

The unnamed cultivator was a Dark Mancer just like Patriarch Nightingale. When Theron had gone through his ring, he had found a clue about this. It was just that he had ignored it because he was stubborn about making his Water Mana his main focus.

Now that the Nightingale Ancestor Bird was in the picture, though, pleasing it, having it reforge his body, and then using the new Dark Mana talent he gained to bolster his comprehension—and eventually suppress or get rid of it in the future—was the far smarter play.

'There are two ways to get a Resonance. The first is to be born with it, naturally gifted by the Heavens or have it passed down from your parents. However… if it could be passed down, that leaves an obvious question of how the first person got it. Would it always have to be gifted by the Heavens?'

The answer Theron found in the unnamed cultivator's ring was no. There was another way.

Rare natural treasures.

The Dark Spirit was one such thing. In fact, the Dark Spirit was an especially high class, unquestionably so. However, it had already been sacrificed to give him a second Core.

There was probably a sliver of it remaining in his body somewhere, but that was almost certainly protected by Goddess Sacharro so that she could continue to monitor him.

If he wanted a Resonance, he was going to have to get it on his own, and he knew exactly where to get it.

The Dark River.

The existence of that river wasn't normal, and it certainly wasn't someone as weak as the unnamed cultivator that created it.

That river had another secret in it, and he had two weeks to get it.

But first…

Theron's footsteps came to a stop.

Up ahead, there was what could only be described as anarchy. And there, nailed to a stake in the middle of it all, was Lyra.