Rivers of the Night - Chapter 646

Capítulo 646: Chill (1)

Theron didn’t look at the other auras, his gaze landing on the only person that mattered.

Third Elder Lyrah.

She was looking at him with a questioning look much like everyone else. It was just that hers was far better hidden, slotted away behind a level gaze that radiated hints of pleasure and a deeper façade of pride.

The pride was fake, but the pleasure—that… that was very much real.

Compared to the other disciples that walked out, Theron looked to be in the absolute worst condition. He was wearing torn and ragged robes as a skirt, the rest of his body laid bare to the world. Ironically enough, Lyra, who was still hugging him tightly, was covering far more of him than any clothes.

After a brief moment of eye contact, Lyrah nodded, and Theron took that as a cue to ignore the other elders. Since she would handle things, there was no need for him to be overly polite.

He truly wasn’t in the mood.

“Congratulations to those of you who have met the standards and survived. The Hall thanks you for your service. Please come forward and present your Ice Spirit Crystals for confirmation.”

Lyrah spoke before anyone else could.

First Elder Bertrum’s rat-like nose practically bristled at that hijacking. However, it was one thing for others to overhear their jeering from a far-off distance; it was another to publicly contradict one another.

The former the Matriarch might be willing to ignore, but the latter was something that the Matriarch just might kill them for.

The other reason Bertrum decided not to say anything was because of the last of Lyrah’s words. That was right—one way or another, the Ice Spirit Crystals would have to be presented.

If one reason the Hall did this was to gather help in clearing out the Ice Spirit Beasts, the other reason was a convenient way to collect large numbers of Ice Spirit Crystals.

They would find out one way or another how Theron managed to gather so many points, and if it was what they all believed to be true, then their chance to interrogate him would come quite swiftly.

Of course, that didn’t mean that Lyrah’s intervention was useless. Questioning Theron now versus during the assessment of Ice Spirit Crystals held a completely different connotation.

Quickly, the disciples lined up. It took Theron a while to get where he needed to, not only because Lyra refused to let him go but also because he needed to change his robes.

Luckily for him, the Nightingale Sect happened to have another set for him. Unluckily—for the elders in question, that is—those sets came from them. Or, more accurately, their dead disciples.

The pieces didn’t fit perfectly, but Theron managed to find a combination that worked well enough that he didn’t look ridiculous. Then, he finally joined the line.

As quick as cultivators were in foot speed or battle, they were just as quick at completing mundane tasks like headcounts and things of the like.

The line moved with quick efficiency as everyone seemed to want to know the results as well.

Though the bag of holding should be quite accurate, it was ultimately a third-party device that could be tampered with. Since the Ice Spirit Crystals needed to be handed over to the Hall of Ice and Heart anyway, it was convenient to do a recount at the same time.

The Hall allowed all sorts of powers to join in on the fun, including those that might have strong understandings of craftsmanship and formations. So, a personal recount was always held at the end of every event.

Soon, it was the turn of those of the Resonate Eye Sect and the Bronzed Earth Sect. Once sects on the same level as the Nightingale Sect, even watching on the sidelines as they were bullied by the Mercenary Guild members, they had subtly long been forgotten.

As one might expect, the sum total across all their disciples wasn’t even ten points. To get that many, they would have needed to kill a hundred Gold Ice Spirit Beasts between them, and it was clear that they were unable.

The Core Disciples of the Hall went after all subsidiary sects had completed their turns. Unsurprisingly, the top ten’s numbers all checked out, as did everyone that came before them.

It had been a very long time since the Hall had had a trickster among their number. Though, anyone ballsy enough to do something like that would almost certainly have a more clever way of handling things after they came out as well.

Ailon, the handsome Second Elder Ilzan’s disciple, moved forward and handed his crystals over. Then came Rose, the Grand Elder’s daughter. Then, finally, came Orin, the Matriarch’s disciple.

Each one didn’t have a hint of happiness on their face. Maybe Ailon and Rose were solemn toward the fact the gap between themselves and Orin was still so large. But Orin himself only had a single person on his mind.

Theron.

Theron stepped forward, facing off against a lineup of four elders.

Third Elder Lyrah. Second Elder Ilzan. First Elder Bertrum. Grand Elder Milone.

Normally, such a task wouldn’t be handed over to such esteemed individuals. But right about now, none of them were complaining at all about taking it on personally.

Logically, someone like Theron should never go last, even if he had to change his robes.

Yet tacitly, everyone had allowed it. While it would have been nice for this to be out of respect for Theron’s strength, it was anything but.

This was little more than an amplified magnifying glass—like a bug having the sun’s rays focused on its body.

Would he burst into flames?

Or manage to scurry away?

The auras of the four elders, whether subtly or not so much, seemed to be heavier. Maybe any other disciple at this point would have long fallen to their knees, unable to withstand the scrutiny.

But Theron’s eyes remained almost dull as he pulled out the Ice Spirit Crystal.

An overwhelming chill shook the air.