Rivers of the Night - Chapter 366

Chapter 366: Stroll
Theron’s knowledge of empires outside of Black Clan territory was incredibly limited. And by limited… he meant that he knew nothing at all.

In fact, in practice, he knew too little about the Black Clan as well.

How many powers were there on the level of the Black Clan? Did they all have as many subordinate powers as the Black Clan? Which of them were enemies of the Black Clan, and which could be considered allies?

Were the Black Clan and those on their level truly considered to be the strongest on the continent? Or were there levels beyond?

Some of those questions Theron could answer based on deductions from information he already had. But most of them he would be foolish to even try in the first place.

What he knew was that this so-called Divine Realm was the equivalent of the Quasi Gold Realm he was in right now to the Gold Mancy Realm. It represented a half-step above normal Gold Mancy that seemed to give those that entered it power far superior to those still in normal Gold Mancy.

He knew that this Divine Realm was considered to be the pinnacle of the world, a figurative glass ceiling that everyone seemed to be trying to find a way beyond, and yet were unable to.

Knowing this, and extrapolating from the fact a powerhouse like Elder Kelyne Black could be sent just to mediate a situation in their subordinate territories, Theron could guess that the Black Clan and those on their level were pretty much the pinnacle existence in the world.

Yet, they still feared the Seijin.

However, if Theron was correct, this wasn’t because the Seijin had access to this power above the Divine Realm, but instead because the Seijin had methods everyone feared. To control Karma, to be capable of seeing the secrets of the Mandate of Heavens and taking advantage of them…

That was something anyone would fear.

This foundation of knowledge was enough for Theron to do quite a great deal with. But what he really wanted to know was more about Scholar McIntyre, where he came from, and what he represented.

Was it a coincidence that a man so well respected for his intelligence was also involved in this? Or was the Scholar just a symptom of a much more widespread phenomenon, one where wise men of the world had been trying to unearth its secrets for so very long?

It was this question that made Theron follow Scholar McIntyre. Well, that and the fact he had no confidence in defeating this man.

There was a depth of mystery to McIntyre’s strength that left Theron intrigued, and it left him wondering just how it was he was so unable to see through the latter’s strength when, by the end… even Elder Kelyne Black’s Eighth Gold Resonance cultivation was clear and obvious to him.

As they approached this Empire of Light Mana, Theron slipped out from a mode where he focused a lot more on his own thoughts to a state where he was paying far more attention to his surroundings.

But at least for the moment, there was little to see.

Well, maybe only Theron would conclude such a thing when an Imperial City far larger than any he had ever seen was spreading its horizon out before him.

The walls were at least three times taller than those of the Nightingale or Sangun Empires, the density of Mana hanging in the air so suffocating that magic circles carelessly dotting the air formed points of light that must have made the night as bright as the day.

The palace in the far-off distance loomed even higher than that, standing tall with its bulbous points and grandiose stature. Painted in whites and golds, it should have felt almost grotesque and gaudy in its display of wealth, and yet it felt warm instead.

Theron had only been observing things for a small while, but his desire to squint at everything was already becoming muted, and now he just felt… comfort.

The pores opened up on his skin, and when he breathed in the sweet air, it felt like just by living in this environment, a mortal could probably tack on a few extra years of life just from the reduced stress and slight hint of perpetual healing.

It only took Theron a few moments to understand that the Empire of Light Mana had to most definitely be on the same level as the Black Clan. And Scholar McIntyre had chosen to come here for some reason.

‘Interesting…’ Theron thought to himself.

He also had another thought as well.

Assassinating people here would take quite the amount of skill. A place where there were hardly any shadows would be difficult enough to deal with, but there was another reason Theron had seen through.

These magic circles that spontaneously formed in the air seemed almost haphazardly formed, but they were a level of Mana Control Theron had never seen before.

If these runes sensed an injury, especially a severe one, they would accumulate like a beacon in an attempt to save whoever it was that had been targeted.

Not only would you have to kill your target in a single strike without a long, protracted battle, but you would also have to somehow escape before a literal beacon of light illuminated your crime.

Theron couldn’t help but wonder if this was just a coincidence or not. But given Scholar McIntyre’s strength, would he care enough to come to a city like this just to stop Theron from killing him? Especially after they had already been traveling together for so long?

Or… could it be that Scholar McIntyre knew that with his current actions, he would make himself an enemy of the Daggers of the Night as a whole?

Theron was allowing these thoughts to grow and fester, branching toward new conclusions and deductions until he realized something else.

What if he was wrong about all of that?

Why the sudden turn of thought?

It was because Scholar McIntyre actually strolled up to the Imperial Palace itself.