Rivers of the Night

Theron hadn't expected someone to point out his cultivation. Of course, the woman was wrong—he was in the Eighth Silver Resonance. But the fact he could follow her line of logic made him realize that he was truly not in the Nightingale Province anymore.

If he didn't find a better method of hiding his cultivation, too many people would be seeing through him.

It also showed just the level of gap that existed in this world. This young woman was probably nowhere near the best of the Black Clan if she was marrying into the Gold Clan. Yet, she had almost seen through him completely.

Of course, she also had an advantage because they were both Water Mancers, but the point still stood.

If the young woman could sense the slightest bit of an approaching Tribulation, she would have even said Quasi Gold. It was only because Theron wasn't at the doorstep yet that she reserved her words.

Otherwise, even back when Theron was in the Fourth Silver Resonance, she would have probably still said Ninth Silver Resonance for his cultivation level. And as a result…

The stares Theron received after the fact… were quite heavy.

Fourteen years old.

Ninth Silver Resonance.

Thessa's pupils trembled. She was certain of it. Barely four months ago, Theron was a Quasi Silver existence. He only broke into Silver Mancy in the Secret Realm—she would have bet her very life itself on that.

How had he reached the peak of Silver so fast?

Let alone her, even the restaurant—and especially Theron's teammates themselves—were shaken.

Theron's cultivation was only a half-step beneath Ray, who was their Fourth Year. And this year, Ray was already 21 years old.

This pace of cultivation already made Ray a genius amongst geniuses in the Imperial Capital. But right now, he couldn't help but stare at Theron as though he was a monster.

Logically speaking, after seeing Theron deal with the Thistles, they should have already been able to reach this conclusion. But it wasn't until they heard it out loud that it really sank in for them.

Did this even make any sense?

"Ninth Silver Resonance?" Marcel raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

"What? Are you doubting me?" the young woman pouted.

"Of course not," Marcel chuckled. "I'm just curious how the Nightingale Province managed to raise such a strong Water Mancer."

The young woman finally looked at Theron for the first time.

"I'm curious, too." Her eyes had a mischievous little twinkle in them. She was probably almost 20 years old, but she insisted on acting like a little girl. "Why don't you tell me, little brother. Why do you smell so much like my Black Clan? Did you do something you weren't supposed to do?"

The words were spoken with a sweet smile, and yet the temperature in the surroundings plummeted considerably. There was a dense circulation of Water Mana in the air that was almost suffocating, and almost instantly, just based on its presence alone, the temperature plummeted.

Theron, wearing a gentle expression on his face, though, looked a bit confused.

In truth, he had already figured out what the young woman was getting at. He didn't know the origin of the Black Limbo Tortoise Patriarch Gian of the Luminescent Moon Sect had given him, but based on this woman's words alone, he finally made the connection.

It wasn't rare for powerful Clans to have very specific beasts they targeted for Echoes. It made planning out spells they wanted to focus on far easier, and their path of progression was also already all laid out for them.

However, just because Theron had figured it out didn't mean he would show it on his face.

After blinking a few times in confusion, he looked to Aetherion as though to ask if he was allowed to speak.

Thessa found this fascinating, but Aetherion reacted as though it was only natural, his real thoughts hidden deep within him.

"Please. Answer to the best of your abilities. We have nothing to hide from the Black Clan. Young Miss Saularon is very kind, she is only doing her due diligence."

Theron nodded politely and clasped his hands toward the young woman.

"Replying to the young miss, can you please clarify your question for me?"

Saularon tilted her head. "Clarification? Are you sure you don't understand what I mean?"

Theron shook his own head. "I do not."

"Mm. Form a sphere of water for me."

Theron looked up and then smiled bitterly.

"It will be a bit hard to do so right now."

"And why's that?"

"Young miss' Mana control is too strong. The Water Mana here would not listen to me."

"Ah, my apologies."

The cold air seemed to vanish and the slight ripples coming from Saularon vanished.

"Thank you. I'm sorry again for my incompetence," Theron said again before raising up his palm.

A sphere quickly formed. Just the same as always, it was perfect, smooth, and so clear it almost looked like a glass orb.

When Theron did this at the banquet, quite a few were shocked. Saularon, though, reacted as though it was only natural for someone in the Ninth Silver Resonance to be capable of at least this much.

"Do it again. This time activate your Echo."

The hint of ditziness in her voice seemed to have faded somewhat. Though the cute smile was still there, she somehow seemed far more dangerous.

The heaviness in the atmosphere only seemed to increase.

Asking to see someone's Echo when it wasn't in the midst of battle was actually quite rude, and that held true even in the circumstance that they hailed from a Clan where the Echo was commonly known.

But no one seemed to find it unnatural for a Black Clan member to ask for something others would find unreasonable.

It seemed that Gian had truly left Theron with a ticking time bomb in his body. If this was what a random Black Clan member could sense, what about a real powerhouse?

Theron inwardly became quite serious, but his expression was still the same gentle look.

His palm trembled slightly and he activated his Echo.