Rivers of the Night

From the moment Theron saw the second beam, he had already analyzed the battle style of the Eighth Elder.

He was definitely an archer like his disciple—that much was easy enough to grasp. But he didn't want to pull out his actual weapon against Theron, so instead he was processing his Mana into concentrated lines like he would his arrows.

This was his way of maintaining his pride as a Cloud Realm expert, and only a Cloud Realm expert could possibly manage to display such might on an attack at such a distance…

At least that was what most of them had thought until Theron suddenly appeared and struck out a finger that killed the Seventh Core Disciple in a single go.

Clearly, it was also because of this that the Eighth Elder wanted to kill Theron in the same way, his wispy white hair dancing so wildly it seemed like they'd be ripped from the age spots of his scalp.

However, this second beam missed as well.

Theron executed [Shadow Step] again, seamlessly and without fail.

Seeing it this time so up close, the Eighth Elder realized that he was, indeed, seeing [Shadow Step]. He had a hard time believing that Theron had such a grasp of it, or that he was using such a weak technique to outmaneuver him.

But now that he knew what technique Theron was using, this battle was finished. [Shadow Step] had a severe weakness, a weakness that an elder like him would be well aware of.

There was a reason it was such a low-level technique.

The Eighth Elder raised up two fingers, one from each hand. His eyes flashed with malice and wild abandon, the scattered screams and running of the surrounding disciples not fazing him in the slightest.

The Seventh Core Disciple wasn't just any disciple of his—it was his grandson, his own flesh and blood. The only reason he was even participating in this in the first place was because he owed the Fourth Elder a heavy favor.

As much as he wanted to take out his fury on the Fourth Elder as well, the man who had killed his grandson was right here before him.

He would never forgive Theron. Never. Not even when he was pissing on his corpse.

"DIE!" he roared.

Beaming bolts of darkness extended from the Eighth Elder's fingers, ripping through the skies with such speed and menace that they were already before Theron the moment the words echoed through the air.

Theron took a step and activated [Shadow Step] once again, and the Eighth Elder's eyes lit up as though he had grasped true joy again. He could practically see it already, the sight of Theron's body being ripped to pieces, torn asunder, scattered in the wind like the trifling, worthless piece of trash he was.

He didn't even notice that Theron had appeared high in the skies, a spear as black as night and yet howling as though a wolf to the bright moon appearing in his palm.

He spun it a single time and then stepped forward as he fell through the skies, flashing forward a full ten meters until he was right above the Eighth Elder's head.

PCHI.

The Eighth Elder only had time to look up one final time before the sharp blade of the spear pierced right through his open mouth. The echoes of his roars for Theron to die were still hanging in the air, but any chance of projecting them further was cruelly severed.

Theron landed on the ground right by his, driving his spear forward until it pierced through the platform Lyra was staked to.

He twisted his wrist, severing the Eighth Elder's spine and brain stem.

Maybe if his weapon hadn't been so powerful, killing such an expert would have been impossible. But no one expected Theron to be even capable of carrying this heavy treasure away, let alone capable of using it in battle.

When Theron had initially taken it away, he had to use all of his strength to haul it out of the ground and drag it away.

And yet, right now, it seemed as light as a feather in his hands.

'Predictable.' Theron thought indifferently as he pulled his spear from the Eighth Elder's open mouth.

Theron had reached Consummate Mastery in [Shadow Step]. Whatever weaknesses the Eighth Elder thought he was aware of that Theron was apparently not was nothing more than foolish thinking. These cultivators saw a young face and assumed their wrinkles made them wiser.

It was far from the truth.

The weakness was simple. [Shadow Step] wasn't true teleportation. As such, it was susceptible to changes in the environment, especially ones caused by strong pulses of Dark Mana.

These pulses of Dark Mana—doubly so if they came from a higher form of Dark Mana—could easily disrupt the technique. If you were up against someone very familiar with [Shadow Step], they could even tune the resonance of their Mana to tear you apart while you were mid-flight.

This was all well and true, but the Eighth Elder was an idiot.

It only worked insofar as the Eighth Elder knew what direction Theron was going in, but the fool had been so certain that Theron would go either left, right, forward, or back, that he had ignored the obvious answer right above his head.

No one expected someone to use [Shadow Step] to appear in the air, especially if you were a Silver Mancer who couldn't fly in the first place.

But Theron was able to use [Shadow Step] in such quick succession and with such skill he could practically make it look like he was flying through the skies even if it was impractical to do so.

Now, he had managed to kill a Cloud Realm expert while hardly having to use a fraction of his strength.

Even so, he knew that this was only just beginning.

BOOM.

A wild aura shot through the skies, this one several times more powerful than the Eighth Elder.

It seemed the Fourth Elder had finally found good reason to act.