"What did you say?"
A Peak Elder suddenly rose to his feet, his eyes wide.
"Elder Lotus, I—."
"Forget it! Bring to the gate now!"
Elder Lotus had been distraught over the loss of his disciples for weeks now. The Demon Chosen had been on his Peak, and yet he had managed to escape. That left him rocked with guilt, especially since he had an inkling as to why the Elder Council had chosen to do things the way they had.
Those poor disciples were nothing more than bait and trackers to lure out a monster, and he had let it happen.
They had lost many good disciples that day. Sure, they had all just been Outer Disciples, and the Sect probably thought that most of them were insignificant, but they were under his charge and he had always taken that seriously.
He was known as the strict Elder of the Peak, but he had always taken it as his pride to be fair.
Watching the Nightingale Sect crumble around them, the morale plumting, and rumblings of sothing even worse looming over the horizon... it was hard to see any light of hope.
The idea that a Dual Resonance youth would just... appear at their doorstep was sothing he had no choice but to verify for himself.
...
With a flash, Peak Elder Lotus left the ssenger far behind. Although he was no Cloud Realm expert, he was a Quasi Touching Cloud Realm expert, making him far more powerful than most Gold Mancers. Though, the best of the Core Disciples could probably give him a run for his money.
Even so, this cultivation was highly impressive nonetheless. And for the Nightingale Sect to have such an expert overseeing Outer Disciples was quite impressive, all things considered.
It took no more than a blink for Elder Lotus to make it to the gates and find Theron standing there.
"Silver Mancer?"
Peak Elder Lotus frowned for a mont. Theron seed to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. Even if he looked younger than normal, he certainly wasn’t older than sixteen.
Still, regardless of which of these three ages he was at—sothing they’d have to soon verify—it was... too slow.
A true genius of their Sect would make it to Gold Mancy around thirteen years old. Any younger than that and you’d be a once-in-a-generation phenom.
But fifteen years old? That was far too slow to still be a Quasi Gold Mancer.
That was when Peak Elder Lotus realized sothing.
Dual Resonance Mancers needed to purify not just one Core, but two of them. If that was factored in...
There was a flash in the Elder’s gaze as he landed before Theron. By this point, all of his agitation and shock had already been wiped from his face, his breathing calm and collected.
He wasn’t a fool. Such a disciple, like a pie falling from the skies, couldn’t possibly have no background at all, right? How had he managed to go so long without being discovered by soone else?
There were too many questions and not nearly enough answers, and the very fact Theron was on the older side made him even more suspicious.
"You are Theron... Galethunder, you said? I have never heard such a na before. Where do you co from?"
Theron looked at Elder Lotus for a mont, recognizing the man’s aura. He had sensed this exact Third Eye presence sweeping through several tis during his escape. But Elder Lotus had been too weak to detect him back then, and now that he had sothing like [Entangling Silence], it was even more unlikely that he’d be able to pick sothing out.
"This is a bit informal, don’t you think, Elder?" Theron asked with a smile.
Elder Lotus’ eyes narrowed. "Why are you so calculating?"
He was already suspicious of Theron, but a boy who would say sothing like this was even more suspicious than usual.
It was true that Elder Lotus didn’t really have authority to question Theron if he were to truly beco a Core Disciple. But Theron wasn’t a Core Disciple yet, and as a Peak Elder, he had the right to admit Outer Disciples with a casual recomndation whenever he wanted.
Looking at things that way, he did have so authority over disciple acceptance and rejection.
"Wouldn’t you also be calculating if you had just risked your life as an insignificant Silver Mancer, but were now being told that the Sect you hoped to join is unable to keep its word?"
"Watch your mouth, boy. It is true that we have such a rule, but no one witnessed your feats, and there’s no proof—."
"If you have no way of monitoring sothing like this, why is it that you would have such a rule to begin with? Seems like sothing that isn’t really my problem, right?"
Arrogant.
This was the only word Peak Elder Lotus had for this youth before him. But maybe if he was 15 years old and had a Dual Resonance himself, he, too, would be so arrogant.
"I don’t mind telling you the truth," Theron suddenly said. "I heard through the grapevine that the Nightingale Sect has been experiencing quite a number of issues and is on the verge of decline. Your Patriarch is missing, your number one Core Disciple was apparently heavily injured, and you lost quite a number of good Outer and Inner Disciples on an expedition to catch a Demon Chosen.
"In truth, I’ve never had any desire to join a Sect. Freedom has always been more appealing to , and I quite like the idea of being a rogue cultivator.
"But I can’t turn down an opportunity when I see one, no?
"Your Sect is in desperate need of help, and I hear that the Ice and Heart Gathering is taking place soon. Normally, I wouldn’t have a chance to participate, especially not as a Silver Mancer, but I have a pretty good feeling that you really need right now."
Theron’s smile was gentle enough to warm the heart, but his words really made soone want to slap him.
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