The scene outside was one of complete focus. The moment Theron's Dark Water Mana fusion appeared, it was like everything was changing.

By now, the First Elder was riding a tiger he couldn't hope to get off of, so he had no choice but to stay silent. But others were already piecing things together.

If Theron was a Dual Resonance Runebound Talent, then maybe it would make sense to say that he faked his age in order to participate. But a Dual Resonance Celestial Talent? Why would a talent of such a shocking caliber ever need to fake his age or cultivation?

In fact, while the strength Theron had at the Quasi Gold Mancy Realm was still too exaggerated even for a Dual Resonance Celestial Talent, it was at least not so far-fetched anymore. In fact, it was at least within earshot.

However, the moment the twins began taking Theron seriously, activating their Mandates and Echoes, the First Elder and the others opposing Lyrah couldn't help but sneer. The twins had enough reason to kill Theron after what he did to the other disciples…

Plus, there was no such thing as a dead genius.

The most amusing part? The only reason the twins were even so powerful was because of Lyrah's efforts.

Their Echo wasn't just any Echo—it was the extremely powerful Dual Headed Snow Lizard.

The Snow Lizard was a native of the Ice Spirit Mountains, a heavenly hub of Ice Mancers located a few galaxies over. This was a region that only the Matriarch frequented.

Under normal circumstances, the lowest cultivation one could have for safe return from that region was the Quasi Dome of Heaven Realm, but even then, only a true Dome of Heaven Realm expert would have any real assurances.

The Snow Lizard was, according to legend, a descendant of the Dragons. The Dual Headed Snow Lizard, however, was an extremely rare variant born with not just one, but two souls.

However, rather than this giving them a Dual Resonance like it would for other beasts, these two souls worked in tandem. Due to this, the insignificant amount of Dragon blood the Snow Lizards had became exponentially more powerful.

It could be said that in this corner of the universe, the Dual Headed Snow Lizard was the closest thing to a real descendant of a Dragon that they had.

Yet somehow, Lyrah had managed to get her hands on one, even carefully passing it on to her own disciples.

Such a Dual Resonance Echo was absolutely invaluable, of a standard that was hard to describe.

The Snow Lizard was technically "just" a Celestial Beast. But a Dual Headed Snow Lizard, when both souls were consumed as one, had a value equivalent to that of a Primal Beast Echo.

The problem was that no one could take on both Echoes. A person could only have one Echo—unless they were like Theron and had two Cores.

So, while theoretically it had equivalent value, it could only ever be seen as a Celestial Echo.

Until the twins appeared.

When they fought together in battle like this, especially when they went all out, one could even speculate that they were no weaker than a true Primal Talent.

Their teamwork was seamless.

Together, they were akin to a rampaging descendant of Dragons. Their scales were as hard as iron, their speed as fast as wind, their blades as heavy as mountains.

"Oh, the irony," First Elder Bertrum said with a sneer.

To think, the pair of disciples Lyrah had helped groom to such a level of power would be the reason a far superior talent never got the chance to raise his head.

"He learned his arrogance from his master, it seems," Grand Elder Milone said in calm commentary as though speaking about the morning breeze.

Lyrah didn't say anything, but the chill in her eyes was only growing deeper.

She had given those little girls everything she had. The Dual Headed Snow Lizard wasn't the first time she had almost lost her life for them. And yet, this was how they repaid her.

Lyrah didn't believe that these two girls didn't know that Theron was the one she was trying to protect—they were too smart.

She had never even sought recompense for their betrayal, and yet this was how they treated her.

Slowly, Lyrah regained her calm.

If her enemies believed that this was enough to break her, they were sorely mistaken.

Even if Theron died, so what? So long as she took the King Soul Lamp from his body, she would be able to restore her soul and step into the Dome of Heaven Realm in short order.

Her revenge would be had one day in the distant future, one way or another.

However…

Lyrah's gaze shifted over to her daughter. She had been secretly watching Lyra all this time.

She saw how her eyes lit up when people praised Theron, how they dimmed when others said mean things about him, and she could see the sheer amount of worry in her eyes now as the wounds accumulated on his body.

She knew that look all too well.

Don't die, Lyrah thought, looking toward the screens again.

It was then she saw Theron's gaze.

Every wound should have come with a flinch, maybe a wince. But it was as though he didn't feel them at all. As his body slowed, the chill seeping deeper into him, icicles forming over his skin and within his body—those eyes…

Those cold eyes, as deep as an abyss, as immovable as a mountain…

They both remained just the same.

Unmoved. Unbothered. Uncaring. Unfeeling.

And then she saw them shift. Almost as though she could hear the thoughts being projected from Theron's mind, they echoed in her own ears.

That's enough.

**

[Shadow Step]. [Shadow Flush].

Theron's body flickered and vanished. The twins were ready, having seen these techniques several times now—or so they thought.

When Theron appeared again, the ice shattered off his body and all the chill vanished.

His Dark Water Mana thrummed, and his Chilling Mandate roared to life.

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