Rivers of the Night

Smooth. Easy.

Almost too much so.

It didn't even seem like Theron had done anything special, but the two Mandate Leaderboard geniuses immediately sharpened as though unsheathed blades.

They saw things that the others didn't—things that the others might never have the right to see because their starting positions were simply too low.

"Not just one. Three Bronze Laws," Raan said slowly, the dullness in his eyes gaining a flicker.

"It seems your eyes are sharper than mine after all. I only saw one," Ippe let out a hearty laughter, as though he didn't care about the difference very much at all.

"I only saw one," Raan replied. "I reverse-engineered the other two through extrapolations."

These were probably the most words Raan had said in a single sitting. It was like he had forgotten his stoicism in his focus.

"Oh hoho," Ippe said with a chuckle. "Maybe I'm not so incompetent after all."

He wasn't as serious as Raan, so he couldn't be bothered to pay such intense attention to things. But after Raan said as much, he understood it.

Before all of this, Theron had been standing in a tree, his Water Mana extending from himself like vines. One would have thought that he was a Variant Wood Mancer or something of the sort. Water Mana wasn't meant to read and react like that.

However, neither of them was a Water Mancer, so the oddity didn't stick out like a sore thumb. If it had been a Water Mancer here, they would have most definitely felt it much differently. From the start, they would have been looking at Theron like he was some sort of monster—especially when they calculated the sheer amount of tension Theron's Water Mana was using to keep his heft afloat.

There were spells out there that could give Water Mana more form and substance than usual. [Water Wrap] was precisely one such spell that Theron had learned long ago as a Bronze Mancer, and it could also form tendrils of water.

The problem was that Theron hadn't cast a spell, and his Water Mana didn't have any obvious fluctuations of a technique attached to it. Water Mana in such an untransformed state was little different than normal, day-to-day water. That was like pouring out a cup of water and expecting it to bounce up as though it were a rubber ball.

It didn't make any sense—unless…

Laws were involved.

And more than just one at that.

This wasn't a simple matter, not at all. The number of Silver Mancers who had control over laws was shockingly small. Having at least one before calling your Tribulation was the bare minimum requirement to be given a Mandate Badge, should you survive.

Having three?

Well, those ranked at the bottom of the Mandate Leaderboard only had two when they triggered their Tribulations—including Ippe.

Only someone like Raan would have had three before triggering their Tribulation… and not a single one of them would be used so casually. It was as though Theron didn't know the value of them, or didn't see the importance in conserving his stamina.

What they didn't know was that Theron had never felt the mental fatigue of activating Laws at all. If he had, would he be casually using them just to stand in a tree?

He didn't even know the official name of what he had.

The two men seemed to take this in, while the other two Tyre Princes were both in shock at what they were seeing and broken at the words they were hearing.

A 14-year-old with three Bronze Laws? What was happening here, exactly? Had they heard correctly?

Ippe and Raan hadn't even considered Theron's age just yet.

If it was just about speed of cultivation, there were plenty at this tier of society who could reach Gold Mancy even before 14 years old. But what was the point in reaching Gold Mancy so quickly if you hadn't comprehended Laws yet?

It was much harder to comprehend Laws before Gold Mancy because one's closeness to the Mandate of the Heavens was limited. But those who could would be able to trigger a stronger Tribulation, which would in turn improve their closeness to the Mandate once their Gold Cores were formed.

With such a foundation, they would be able to accelerate their Law comprehension significantly.

Someone like Theron, who already had three Bronze Laws, was bound to be exceptional—and he had proven that by cutting down Monet so easily.

The fallout of that, however… well…

…

Theron hardly reacted to Monet falling before him. She clutched her belly, seemingly trying to stop her inner organs from falling out. A mortal would have long been dying, but that was the thing with cultivators. They played with life as though it were meaningless—maybe because their own was so sturdy.

Squatting down, Theron ignored Monet's whimpers and attempts to gasp for air. The futility of her trying to stop her blood from gushing out also seemed to slip through one ear and out the other as he reached into her pocket, pulling out the Mandate Badge.

Almost the instant Theron touched it, he could feel the rage.

The dome of sparse lightning that had formed around them, creating their battlefield, jolted and seemed to want to suppress him. It seemed that a badge was made for a specific person and wasn't allowed to be used by another.

But Theron was far more interested in this twist in the story than he was in whatever Ott was planning. That said… something told him it would be a pretty crazy coincidence if these things were unrelated.

There was a subtle flash in Theron's eyes as something churned within him. All of a sudden, the badge dimmed, fizzling out on its own.

The power it had once possessed crumbled, and the field of lightning also collapsed along with it.

Theron raised an internal eyebrow. Was this badge useless now? Was there nothing left?

BANG!

A large crater was dug out of the ground as a figure landed barely five meters away.