Theron looked over but didn't move or react to the words. His demeanor was as calm as could be as he calculated something.

In reality, this 'calculation' was about whether or not to kill these few people. The entire Sect was watching, and killing his own fellow disciples was fine enough. But an outsider killing the disciples of the Hall of Ice and Heart? That was far more troublesome.

Plus, they didn't even have any Ice Spirit Crystals worth taking either. Not everyone had a spatial ring strong enough to store the Ice Spirit Crystals in, so they needed to rent special sacks from the Sect.

Theron didn't need it, but he was using one nonetheless because there was no need to expose the unnamed cultivator's spatial ring so openly if he didn't have to. That was also why he was carrying his spear on his back instead of inside of it.

That said, he was inevitably going to run into an issue where his sack alone wasn't enough to carry everything.

Luckily, he had the sacks of Blackmaul, Lyra, and the others—another reason he had killed them, excluding Lyra, of course. So he didn't really need the sacks of these people; he should probably have enough. But…

There was really no telling how far this would go. Maybe it was better to have more, just in case.

Theron's lack of a reply infuriated the Eleventh Elder's disciple all the more. Brenson wasn't the sort to have a great deal of patience, especially when it was from someone he saw as wholly inferior to himself.

In fact, when he saw Theron alone, he assumed that either his team was so weak they had already gotten killed, or Theron was a coward that had run the moment they ran into danger.

To be fair to Brenson, this wasn't a terrible conclusion to make. There were several teams from weaker Sects that had already been completely wiped out.

But just as Brenson was about to make a move, there was another rustling and an odd heat filled the air.

The moment Theron felt it, he flickered and vanished.

"HEY!" Brenson's voice boomed, but Theron was already gone, having disappeared into the distance so fast Brenson couldn't even keep track of him.

It was just a moment of distraction, but by the time he ran up to where Theron had been, he was gone.

"FUCK!" Brenson was furious and tried to use his Third Eye. But it lasted for only a moment before he had to quickly pull back lest he freeze to death. "FUCKING DARK MANCERS!"

Enraged, Brenson's head snapped toward the oncoming heat only for a familiar trio of Mercenaries to appear. Tyran, Ophan, and Rauther all appeared in the clearing, looking around with a frown on their faces.

For a moment, they were hesitant until they realized Brenson was the only Cloud Mancer in their group.

"What the hell are you looking at?! Scram!"

Brenson immediately recognized the sigil of the Mercenary Guild. They wouldn't dare to do anything to a member of the Hall of Ice and Heart even if they were more powerful. The Guild punished those that messed with their neutral status harshly. That was the only reason their people were even allowed to participate in these things.

Tyran frowned, his aura flaring.

Brenson hurriedly took a step back.

"Just because we are neutral doesn't mean we'll take your disrespect. We paid to be here—we aren't your lapdogs. Now scram unless you want to taste the tip of my scythe."

Brenson didn't say another word and hurriedly rushed away, his team in tow and his belly full of anger.

"Dumbass," Tyran cursed again, feeling furious. He really hated this forest—it felt like the antithesis to his Fire Mancy—but their master had insisted on them coming here. Apparently something very good was supposed to happen this time around. Something about opposites attracting and other esoteric nonsense. "This Ice Spirit Crystal better be good."

"It's not the first time we've run into stupid disciples like that. Why are you mad all of a sudden?" Rauther asked with a laugh.

"I smell something familiar and annoying in the air. A mix of Dark and Water Mana that's not natural. He was definitely here. If I could just use my Third Eye, we could find him and teach him a real lesson."

The irony of Tyran's words was that he had only targeted Theron initially due to the pushes of the Third Elder. Now, the Third Elder obviously wasn't orchestrating things anymore, yet Tyran was still seeking out problems himself.

"You think he sensed us, then ran?"

"Probably," Tyran grumbled.

"Well then you should stop walking around, burning through your Fire Mana like that. You're practically both the moth and the flame," Ophan chimed in.

"Fuck you."

Though Tyran said this, he knew they were right.

"Let's go. The deeper into the forest we go, the more good stuff we'll find. According to Master, there's a chance an Ice Spirit will appear. If we use it to purify our Mana, we might be able to reach a Peak Celestial Resonance."

"Seems like a waste…" Ophan grumbled.

"If you tried to absorb an Ice Spirit the normal way, you'd die. Are you an Ice Mancer, genius?"

Ophan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's go."

The three shot off into the distance, their speed picking up. They didn't seem like normal Cloud Mancers at all.

**

Theron was already a long way away by the time the trio were having their conversation, and even if they had been nearby, they were cautious enough to communicate with their Mana.

If he had heard their conversation, though, he would have been very curious. After all… first a Dark Spirit appeared for Sadie, and now an Ice Spirit was going to be born here?

Something curious was definitely happening. It was just that two times wasn't enough to establish a pattern.

Theron didn't care for this, though. He wanted to reach the next layer of danger.

'Here. This should be the inner ring…'

Theron zoomed in.

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