Rivers of the Night

"… Take on this challenge well, young ones. For those of you that don't succeed in entering today, use it as fuel for your future endeavors. As for those of you that do, know that this is only the first step.

"The Luminescent Moon Realm has not chosen to open its doors to this extent for many generations. The Realm that you are all familiar with is only a small piece. But today… you will have a chance to see it all!"

An old man with a billowing, long white beard stood on a high platform. Off to the side, acting as a larger centerpiece than the expert himself, there was a pair of overarching pillars that curved like the tops of a gate, but had no doors to speak of.

Instead, Mana sparked and danced within it like bolts of multi-colored lightning. It looked as though something was about to ignite, edging closer to doing so, but wasn't quite there just yet.

And then it did as the last of the old man's words fell.

This wasn't just any old man, he was maybe the strongest of the Grand Elders, the head of the law enforcement disciples, Grand Elder Acer.

Today, the Patriarch didn't seem to have any intention of showing himself, but maybe that was because he didn't want to treat this opening as any more special than the others even though it very clearly was.

As the last sparks of Mana within the gate suddenly fused into one, there was the booming echo and a trembling of the earth before it all solidified.

A gate of white-gold Mana took shape, filling in the gaps in the archway.

"Chosen! Step forward!"

Theron, who was standing amidst the crowd, took a step forward. He wasn't too surprised by this. This was obviously the easiest way to allow Ironvale to enter first and gain an advantage.

He looked to the side and saw Thessa was looking at him as well. This was the first time they had seen each other since the battle, yet there was a particular coldness that seeped out of Theron's eyes when he saw her that he wasn't quite able to control.

Thessa felt the cold shiver, yet she maintained eye contact nonetheless until Ironvale's side profile blocked both of their lines of sight.

"Good luck to the two of you," he said calmly before rushing ahead.

Theron took a step after him, and Thessa followed suit.

Unlike the others, they wouldn't suffer any sort of suppression, but as Theron entered, he sensed the fluctuation in Thessa's aura as she was scanned.

'She broke through.'

It was a calm assessment of the reality. She had been Quasi-Silver. Now she was Silver. But…

What difference did it make?

**

Theron's world spun around him, and when he appeared again, he found himself in an odd, rocky plain.

He had read through the ancient text that the Sect had on this Secret Realm, but much like their Forbidden Spells, much of that information had been lost.

Though, he had good reason to believe that the Patriarch was hiding most of those things. Theron didn't believe it was a coincidence that things worked out so perfectly for Ironvale just by chance.

Plus, because he entered first, he now had no idea how many disciples would succeed in breaking through the barrier either. So he wasn't even sure how many enemies he was dealing with.

The only saving grace was that they had been randomly teleported, so he should be alone now unless he was exceptionally unlucky.

'The main goal right now is to find a way to get my hands on the Verdant Bloomstone again. But… I do know enough to find the location on my own. Something just tells me that won't be enough.'

What the others didn't know was that the odd Echo Pill that came with the Verdant Bloomstone was still in Theron's possession. Something also told him that it wasn't a worthless piece of the puzzle either.

Theron never assumed his plans would go perfectly. This time, things almost did. But even so… would he be unprepared?

He looked up into the skies calmly. 'What a nice coincidence.'

A droplet of rain fell onto his cheek. He sighed, allowing the calming feeling to wash over him.

While he was super focused on the secrets of the Verdant Bloomstone, this wasn't the main target of those that entered the Secret Realm in general.

There were normally two targets: the beasts and the jade.

The attraction of this Secret Realm was that it was akin to a transportation back in time. Many of the things here had either gone extinct, or over long periods of time, had mutated in unexpected ways.

The beasts were one such example. Their Beast Cores were exceptionally valuable and the Sect paid a tidy sum for them. In addition, many disciples had found themselves uniquely compatible Echoes here.

According to what Theron had read, he had deduced that there might even be Manaborn Mana Beasts here, something that couldn't even be found near a major city like Thistle Brook.

Of course, running into such a beast might not be so great given how powerful they were, but it was something to keep in mind nonetheless.

As for the jade, it spoke for itself. If one wanted to practice the Forbidden Spells of the Luminescent Moon Sect, the jades were a necessity. Theron had learned that the hard way.

Theron flipped open his palm, two Bloomstone pieces appearing. The Patriarch had finally ended up giving him two. With these, he would be able to practice the full routine for two days in a row without worrying about significant injury.
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But… he felt like he needed ten times more than this before he could breakthrough into Silver Mancy.

'Hm?'

Theron's head turned. As the rain began to accelerate into a low drizzle, the range of his senses also expanded. He sensed the fluctuation of someone being teleported in his region. They were about half a kilometer away.

'And powerful too… interesting.'

It wasn't just the power that caught Theron's attention, or just the appearance alone, but something else.

This person's aura was very familiar, but he didn't know of them.

'Unique cultivation method.'

Theron's eyes flashed, one deduction after another coming to mind.

'Thessa's help is coming from her Firewing Empire, and this must be one of them.'