Lyrah looked at the First Elder calmly, almost too calmly for a time that was far too long. And when she finally did speak, it carried a chill that sank right into the very depths of his bones.

"You're free to try."

A simple phrase, calm and unbothered. But it was layered with a threat that almost made the First Elder take a step back. Even he felt the chill creeping along his skin, raising his hair and prying into the depths of his soul.

He thought that, at most, Lyrah would be a small bit stronger than him. He didn't expect that the gap would be so vast.

What the First Elder didn't know was that the talent he knew of was a version of Lyrah that wasn't whole. Ever since she had been caught by Caulderone, Lyrah had had a piece of her soul taken away, permanently kept separate from her body.

Humans weren't like beasts. The entire foundation of their talent was based on their Resonances, a talent that was entrenched into their very souls themselves. Their bodies were secondary and had to be trained after the fact, while their Resonances usually seamlessly progressed with their cultivation along with their souls.

This was why Theron was such a complete oddity, because he was a man whose body progressed along with his cultivation just like his Resonances and soul did. He was an enormous anomaly.

The reason the King Soul Lamp couldn't control those of the Quasi Dome of Heaven Realm anymore was because even faintly touching this Realm brought your soul to a completely new level.

It could be said that the harm done to Lyrah's soul by Caulderone all those years ago had been fixed the moment she broke through. Or, more accurately, it was rapidly mending with every second that passed, causing her to grow stronger and stronger.

This was all to say that the only reason it took Lyrah so long to reach the Quasi Dome of Heaven Realm in the first place was because of the harm done to her soul. But there was a silver lining to this as well.

Because her talent was so far beyond the time it took her to reach this stage, she had basically laid a foundation over a period that was almost exaggerated. As such, she had among the firmest foundations for those of her cultivation level.

If Theron returned to her the sliver of soul in the King Soul Lamp right this moment, there was even a small chance that she might trigger her Tribulation to the Dome of Heaven Realm right this very moment.

While these few couldn't even sense the realm Dome of Heaven Realm, Lyrah was rapidly approaching it akin to a shooting comet.

The First Elder and Grand Elder were right to be wary of her. But they were wrong to not be wary enough.

If she went all out, it wasn't just a matter of defeating them in battle…

She was rapidly approaching a state of strength where she could outright kill them.

"This is highly inappropriate, Third Elder. The origins of this young man are unknown; I cannot allow him to continue," Grand Elder Milone chimed in. If the First Elder couldn't suppress Lyrah on his own, then he would just have to step in.

However, Lyrah didn't even look at him. In fact, she wasn't even looking at the First Elder anymore either.

"I think you're not quite understanding," Lyrah said calmly, looking toward the screens. "If you would like to remove my disciple from participation by your own hands, you'll have to either step over my corpse or ask the Matriarch for her input. If you don't like it, I don't mind challenging for the position of Grand Elder right here and now, and I can't promise I will stay my hand."

Milone's body froze, the eyes of a snow leopard appearing before him. He could see the echoes of Lyrah's Echo manifesting in the real world, and his breathing hitched at the back of his throat.

Not summoning your Echo, and yet having it affect the world nonetheless…

Wasn't that the marker of approaching the true Dome of Heaven Realm? What was going on? Hadn't Lyrah just broken through?!

There was a sudden flicker of light, and a talisman burned away in Second Elder Ilzan's palm.

"Alright, that's enough," he said with his usual charismatic smile. "There's no need to fight. As Lyrah suggested, I've informed the Matriarch. Her esteemed wisdom will make the final decision."

"The Matriarch is in seclusion!" Bertrum tried to protest.

"Then we can always wait until after the fact for her to make a decision. The things the Sect has given can be taken away so long as subterfuge and ill-manner is detected. There's no need to worry."

Ilzan was smiling, but the foundation of his words was cruel beyond belief.

There was only one way to take away something given by the Forest of Ice and Trial of Heart…

Death.

It seemed that even the Second Elder was feeling the pressure of Lyrah's existence.

Lyrah, though, simply looked away without a care. These games of politics were meaningless if you were powerful enough.

**

Theron had no idea what was happening in the outside world, but he could guess how things would likely go. Of course, even he didn't expect just how much Lyrah was growing after reaching the Quasi Dome of Heaven Realm.

He had had the choice of returning Lyrah's soul sliver to her already, but he hadn't done so. First, because he didn't want to admit that he, indeed, had the King Soul Lamp, even if Lyrah was sure he did. And second, to still maintain a bit of control.

The King Soul Lamp couldn't control a Quasi Dome of Heaven expert, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a treasure out there that could. At that point, how valuable would Lyrah's soul sliver be then?

Unfortunately, Theron was too far from the Dome of Heaven Realm to completely understand its ins and outs, so he didn't expect such a result.

But ultimately, an outcome like this only helped him, allowing him to focus on everything happening here.

Theron's spear made every threat he ran into meaningless. After the first Humanoid Ice Spirit, he didn't run into another one, but instead one beast after another.

—

[Rankings]

[1. Theron Galethunder - 13]

[2. Orin Zimone - 8]

[3. Rose Milone - 3]

[4. Ailon Trum - 3]

[5. Lilac - 2]

[6. Violet - 2]

—

Theron glanced at the ranks and shook his head. He should have been much further ahead in ranks, but he had only run into Gold Mancy Ice Spirit Beasts since then.

On the one hand, that meant everyone had watched him slaughter 30 of them in barely a few seconds. But on the other, he couldn't help but glance at Orin's name.

Theron didn't particularly need first place; he was only interested in testing the limits of his strength. He wasn't actually trying to go all out, but he wanted a fundamental baseline he could extrapolate from so he could more confidently make his next moves.

However, he found himself becoming interested in Orin, because unless the latter was lucky enough to find a Humanoid Ice Spirit of Cloud Mancy right at the entrance too, there was no way he should have this many points.

Well, if he had found such a thing, he'd have 10 points, not just eight. It was more likely he had killed 80 Gold Mancy Ice Spirit Beasts than that he had found eight separate normal Cloud Realm Ice Spirit Beasts.

Was it a difference in speed? Was he trying much harder right at the start than Theron was expecting? Or was it something else?

The crunch of snow at a far-off distance caught Theron's attention.

Using Third Eye here was practically a death sentence. If you did so, the chill would seep into your soul at a speed proportional to the distance you covered. Even for Theron, it would rapidly deteriorate him.

So, everyone was simply relying on their eyes and ears to feel out where enemies were.

"It's you!"

An unfamiliar voice called out from the height of a tree formed of ice, looking toward Theron with murder in his eyes.

It was a Hall of Ice and Heart disciple, and Theron had no idea how he would even know such a person—or least of all how they would know him. It seemed the former would be more likely than the latter, and yet the latter was the one playing out right now.

'Is he related to that welcoming disciple I beat yesterday?' Theron's gaze flickered as he came to a likely answer.

This young man was, indeed, the Eleventh Elder's disciple, the elder brother of the Outer Sect Disciple Theron had taught a lesson for trying to cut the Nightingale Sect's quota—something that was only more ironic after Theron killed those disciples anyway.

Swiftly, the team following after the young man caught up.

The only people who weren't in groups were the Core Disciples of the Hall of Ice and Heart. Everyone else was in a squadron where they mostly funneled their points over to their leader. This was a more efficient way of doing things, without a doubt.

Yet, they were still barely on the leaderboards, each one with a 1 by their names. At that moment, there were many groups who were ignoring Ice Spirit Beasts, trying to rush toward the center where stronger, more worthwhile opponents would be.

This group was much the same… until they decided to come after Theron.

"Hand over your Ice Spirit Crystals, and I can give you a dignified death. Refuse, and I'll make sure you're begging for it by the time I'm finished with you."

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