Rivers of the Night

Chapter 797: Transcendent Battle (1)

The hilt was formed from the bone of a Transcendent Beast, one that Urong actually recognized. It was a cerberus creature, a three-headed black lizard with Dragon blood beyond 10%. Just its body alone was the sort of thing that couldn’t easily be cut into.

Urong often chose to avoid the creature entirely, not because he feared it, but because it wasn’t worth the battle. It was too difficult to kill, and he would probably waste more resources surviving and then healing his injuries afterward than he could gain from killing it.

It was the sort of creature that would probably take three Transcendents of the Demon Duke level to comfortably kill. And even then, they would have to take their time. From Urong’s calculations, it would probably take at least three months of continuous battle.

He had been thinking about inviting a few friends to split the cost. But he just hadn’t gotten around to it...

Only for him to see the creature as the hilt of a small little King.

The density of that bone alone—though the hilt was barely longer than Theron’s palm—was such that it could crush mountains. No King should even be able to lift that weapon at all, let alone the fact that Theron was doing it not as a Flux Mancer, but as an Elemental Mancer.

Yet, as shocking as the hilt was, the blade itself was even more shocking. It was made of a valuable metal known as Abyssal Rose. The metal bloomed almost like a real rose would, falling in deposits that looked eerily reminiscent of the flower.

The spirals that formed in the metal were the true source of its power. It tore itself apart continuously, trying to devour its very own being whole. But it was also constantly seeking to devour others as well, causing this push and pull that led to the spiraling that formed its rose pattern.

But it was precisely because of that that crafting this metal into a tangible treasure or weapon was incredibly difficult. Often, it would break itself apart.

Even before that, though, it just might devour the one who tried to harvest it in the first place.

What was even more shocking was how the bones of the cerberus lizard and the metal clashed. They were both dominant entities, both with the desire to devour and suffocate, and both would usually treat the other as a tonic and food. In fact, the main source of food for the cerberus wasn’t organic material at all, but rather Mana Ores just like this one.

How they could be formed into a single weapon...

It was impossible.

Logically, only a highly skilled crafter would be able to pull this off, and this would have convinced Urong that Theron must come from an extremely powerful Clan. But...

Urong personally knew that cerberus beast. In fact, he recognized the vein patterns on that metal...

They had both been harvested from this location.

If there had been a Transcendent that entered his territory, he would know. And there was no Demon Emperor that would care to come here at all. This region was far too lacking for their tastes.

That meant...

Theron crafted it personally.

"You..."

Theron’s only response was a smile that slowly vanished.

It had been quite a long time since he was serious. Urong thought he had killed the cerberus lizard, but that was far from the case. The Luminescent Tower was just very useful in this respect.

On rare occasions that the tower left any piece of the creatures it had killed behind, Theron was able to benefit from said materials.

However, what this dagger was quite useful for was gaining a huge psychological advantage over someone who otherwise wouldn’t fear him in the slightest bit.

BOOM.

Theron’s aura exploded, and years of suppression erupted.

Down on the ground below, Ayame’s eyes widened, their beautiful blue and silver rotating in sparkling motes.

Theron’s hair danced in the air, his Profound Truth flooding out as his Dark and Water Mana fused into a single hue. His eyes danced with hidden formations and runes, swimming with life and vitality.

The air beneath his feet began to shimmer, shifting and changing as the Primordial Earth projected itself to the outside world. But this time, it wasn’t the Primordial Earth alone.

Not only was it there, but rivers of rampaging waters formed as well, and Master Uyon quickly recognized these waters as the very same ones that Theron had used to heal him so easily before.

Theron had said that he couldn’t quite yet distill it from the atmosphere on his own...

But that didn’t mean he didn’t have other methods of doing so.

Alpha howled into the air, tears appearing across space, but Theron didn’t respond. The answer was clear.

For now... Theron wanted to let loose a bit.

BANG.

Theron moved and Urong slapped out with another palm in quick succession, realizing that Theron was a lot faster and stronger now. His body seemed to meld with the Dark and Water Mana in the air.

Even as a Transcendent, Urong couldn’t quite capture Theron in his Third Eye as though the latter had truly become wisps of darkness hanging in the air or a slippery fish in the palm.

It caused him to miss Theron’s blade the first time.

SKREEE.

The screeching of metal echoed in the air as Urong’s palm hit against empty air. Theron’s blade cut right across his throat. Or, rather, it would have, had Urong’s inner armor not morphed and changed, forming a liquid metal that instantly protected him.

Urong flashed and vanished, tapping the air with a foot so hard the buildings below were crushed into an abyss. His Mana Control and body control were usually excellent. Something like this wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t legitimately panic.

He came to an abrupt stop, raising a pair of fingers to his neck and running it across the deep groove in his armor that was rapidly healing.

He honestly couldn’t believe it. How had he missed just now?

Despite the thought, he already knew.

By the time you got to Transcendent, the issue of the weak body of humans was all too apparent. You had to rely more and more heavily on external senses and your Mana to make up for those weaknesses.

There was no Transcendent that could perfectly keep up with another Transcendent with their eyes alone—at least not as a human. This was something only special Races and Beasts were capable of.

It made it harder that many Transcendents also used very complex techniques that couldn’t be deciphered with the eyes alone even if your body was strong enough to keep up.

Theron had clearly taken advantage of this. Ironically enough, had Urong just used his eyes, he would likely have been able to track most of it. But he hadn’t, and Urong had almost lost his life in a single exchange because of it.

But... how could Theron possibly have any methods that could fool the Third Eye of a Transcendent? What was going on?

Battling above one’s cultivation level was quite common amongst the higher ranks. One might think it was the reverse, but because Profound Truths and Comprehension became so important, there were large gaps between those even of the same talent level and at the same cultivation realm.

Even so... it should never be this exaggerated.

Never.

Urong slowly lowered his hand. It wasn’t the first time he had faced death, but ironically enough, this one stung the worst. He had never felt so insignificant before someone so much weaker than himself.

When he looked up, there was no smile on Theron’s expression, no joy, no realization that what he had done was some great feat at all. In fact, he didn’t even try to follow up and overextend himself.

He seemed fully aware of how powerful Urong was, and a mistake the latter had made once wasn’t one that he was likely to make again—especially not in such short order.

Urong looked around and found that he was trapped in Theron’s domain. Above was the Dagger Call Platform stopping him from using his Mana and soul properly, and below was the Primordial Earth.

What was odd was that while they worked in conjunction, Urong wasn’t able to investigate either of them. Otherwise... he might have already recognized this Dagger Call Platform as something General Ameridia had become well known for.

Urong regained his calm, and his grey skin pulsed.

There was a question still lingering in the air, one that Urong hadn’t answered.

Was he human?

It was odd because his earlier thoughts seemed to say yes. After all, he had said that humans were the Race that struggled to have bodies that kept up with higher levels of cultivation.

But why, then, did Urong look like a Demon written in a child’s nightmare?

Claws extended from Urong’s hands and feet as he exhaled a breath, cracking his neck. His entire mindstate changed, and the world warped in reply.

He no longer saw a King before him. He saw a mortal enemy.

One he would kill.

He took a slow, deliberate step forward, and the Primordial Earth shook as though it might shatter apart.

High above, the Dagger Call Platform was beginning to show signs of shrinkage, but all Urong had done was take just a single step.

He raised his foot, taking another.

Leaks began to form in the Dagger Call Platform, and small streams of Mana began to return to Urong, allowing the liquid of his armor to spread across the rest of his body.

And then he vanished.