Rivers of the Night - Chapter 363

Chapter 363: Water Laws
Theron’s churning blood became like a whirlwind. It rushed through his body so violently that it seemed to overtake his Mana in precedence, flooding into his Meridians.

It felt almost unnatural, the way it moved.

Meridians were an organ system, and thus they were also provided with blood flow. But they weren’t blood vessels, and blood wasn’t meant to flow through them like this—at least not if you weren’t injured.

‘Almost…’

Theron was waiting for the right time to pull back, the right moment to pull the plug on this. He felt it out, sensing the churning changes in his body, memorizing every little thing—even down to the circulation patterns his blood was taking.

Something had happened to him after the Luminescent Sect’s Secret Realm. He had been powerful before that, but it was like he had been placed on a shooting star since then.

Something had been unlocked within his body that he couldn’t understand, an alignment with the moon that somehow both felt foreign and familiar.

Deep inside, Theron knew that these platforms were further from the truth than the Secret Realm Library. It was like he had had the real thing in front of him, and gave it up for a counterfeit.

But he also knew that this was the best he had now.

‘This isn’t a counterfeit, not completely… it’s just another part of the puzzle, a small piece, a call to something deeper…’

The words seemed to be from Theron and yet not at the same time.

The churning of his bloodline became more violent, and the connections became more solid.

That was when Theron understood where the cognitive dissonance was coming from. This platform—it was meant to compel you to tell the truth, or so it seemed.

But if Theron was correct, this was just a secondary benefit. The true purpose? To force Mana, bloodlines, and this natural Law energy to flow as they should.

It was peeking into the secrets of the world, the mysteries of the Mandate of Heaven, and stealing from it.

When Theron realized this, he knew that he was making a mistake. The mistake wasn’t stepping onto this platform, but instead how he was choosing to use it.

What he should be doing wasn’t hoping that this platform would set him on the right path, but instead trying to use this platform to teach him…

To teach him how to use his bloodline.

When Theron had this thought, he completely shifted his outlook. The wild churning of his blood stopped, and he began to see the world through a different lens.

He was so focused that he didn’t notice that there was a burning coming from the moon stone that hadn’t been there before—a burning that was causing it to grow smaller and smaller at an alarming rate.

Lost in his world, Theron buried himself in a focus on what he was experiencing. Every nook and cranny of his body was overturned, and he grasped at the secret that had been eluding him.

Laws.

He didn’t know them by that name, but by the intent behind the word instead.

Those different types of water, those various strands, endless in their number and fathomless in their complexity… each and every one represented a different Law.

He couldn’t hear those Laws, feel their whispers, because he hadn’t comprehended them in the first place.

But then what about…

Theron felt deeper in his body—those Laws he had comprehended.

Density.

Vibration.

Concentration.

Some of them seemed to overlap in odd ways, and they were all perfect to apply to Water Mana. They adapted so perfectly and seamlessly that it only seemed natural to pair them with his Water Resonance.

But were they Water Laws? Could they be considered as such?

Theron frowned, though he wasn’t conscious of it. He was in such a focused state that such frivolous details didn’t truly reach his consciousness.

But even so, he was right to frown. Because the answer he got was… Yes.

And No.

The platform was supposed to lead him to the truth—so why was he being confused like this?

And then he saw it. The reason.

His view of Water Mana became tiered, separated. The lighter blues, and then the deeper ones—the less powerful ones, and then the more powerful.

They layered atop one another in a fine mesh that made it difficult to see through them, but that was when Theron remembered…

The Black Limbo Tortoise Shell.

It too had come with layers. The weaker 999 Runes, the middle-tier 99 Runes, and the higher 9 Runes.

Was that the same here? Were there lesser Water Laws and stronger ones? Were the numbers the same as well?

In that case, were things like density and the others the weaker Laws, while the real Water Laws were… those?

Theron peeled through the mysteries, finding himself staring at blinding blue lights that seemed to want to rip his eyes to shreds. His soul shook and it felt like it would collapse. They didn’t want him to even look at them.

He was unworthy.

There was a flash of arrogance in Theron’s eyes, as though he didn’t believe it for a single second. But just as he was about to make an attempt—

Chi.

BANG!

The moon stone suddenly crumbled to dust in Theron’s hands, and he was sent flying off the platform.

Theron rolled and then hopped to his feet. He wasn’t injured, but he was dizzy, his mind a bit foggy in a way he knew would recover in a few seconds at most.

However, he still couldn’t help but frown as he looked down at the moon stone remnants, falling in gray ash between his fingers.

What happened? It ran out of energy? That was possible?

How many generations had that stone been passed down for? It sounded like a lot from what Theron gathered. How could it shatter so easily?

As Theron was about to consider more things, he frowned as his head shot to the side.

The Alpha stood in front of a man, its teeth bared. But it was clear it didn’t want to get into a battle for fear of what might happen to Theron if it wasn’t in a defensive position.

But that only made Theron more wary. The Alpha would only make such an assessment if it felt the opponent was especially powerful.

When Theron saw the face of this “assailant,” though, he was inwardly shocked.

Scholar McIntyre?

The same man who oversaw the judges of the gathering?