The fallout of the close of the Secret Realm was to be expected. Theron seemed to have dodged the entirety of the storm, while the Luminescent Moon Sect themselves was left half crippled.
Locked in a stand-off against the Thistles and Nightingale-Firewing Faction, there was little the elders could do in retaliation even though they were almost certain that the culprit was Thessa.
Thessa herself remained silent. She knew that even if she had ten mouths, all of this would be impossible to explain.
No one bothered to even check Theron's cultivation. If they had, maybe some of them would have realized that he had entered the Third Silver Resonance.
But the problem was… after becoming a Silver Mancer, Theron's Third Eye had become even stronger, undergoing a third evolution.
Between this increased soul strength, the ridiculous density of his current Mana, and the odd spike that the Immortal Jellyfish Echo had experienced, Theron was easily able to make it seem like he was in the First Resonance even to the prying eyes of Gold Mancers.
Cultivation detection wasn't an exact science, and because Theron's path was so odd to begin with, it was impossible to tell with ease what cultivation level he was at even if he was using his Mana in combat.
Maybe only if he was forced to go all out would someone stand a chance of doing so.
Not once was Theron even questioned about what happened, as a result. He simply waited for the commotion to die down a slight bit before he returned to Dean Thistle to give his report.
At that point, was there a need for him to make up a story?
"Are you not going to speak?" Dean Thistle said lightly, not even looking up from his desk.
"What is there to say?" Theron asked.
"Indeed. What is there to say?" Dean Thistle finally met Theron's gaze. "What happened at the bottom of the volcano? Why did everyone die? And how did you of all people survive?"
Theron blinked. "How would I know? I was left for dead by people that were supposed to be teammates. It isn't my fault they were foolish enough to go and get themselves killed."
"Is that so?" Dean Thistle asked lightly.
"If you want an excuse to kill me, I don't think that's necessary, right?"
Theron's words had an obvious implication. Dorian and Vaeilina were both in the mid-tier of Silver Mancy. Not only a major boundary, but a watershed boundary ahead of him as well—that being the gap between Bronze and Silver Mancy, followed by the gap between low-tier and mid-tier.
Then there was the fact Ironvale and Selena had both gone down and died as well. The assumption was that there was a second, hidden Lava Imbued Beast down there that must have been even more powerful than they all expected…
Either that or Thessa had killed them all.
The power of a Seventh Silver Resonance Dual Fire Soul wielder would certainly be capable. Maybe Selena died trying to protect her while she integrated with the soul, or maybe Selena got greedy and Thessa had to kill her anyway.
Dean Thistle didn't say anything, as expected. He had already gotten most of the story from the street rat. All Theron had to do was fill in some gaps here and there.
"You broke into Silver Mancy. What is your Echo?"
Theron pulled on the Blue Pufferfish Echo.
The Dean frowned. "The Blue Pufferfish? Why would you do such a thing?"
"I have my own belief in myself," Theron said calmly.
Dean Thistle couldn't help but sneer, a weight falling from his heart. Maybe , he could actually use Theron for a little while longer.
The Blue Pufferfish Echo seemed to be at the Ninth Silver Resonance, so for now, how weak it was wouldn't impact Theron too much and would even be quite decent for his strength.
That was impressive in itself depending on when Theron integrated with it. But the weaker the Echo, the easier it was as well. So that dimmed the light of Theron's accomplishment considerably.
This was perfect, though. Theron had basically crippled his own future, while making himself more powerful in the immediate situation. This was exactly what Dean Thistle wanted.
"Truly a brat who overestimates himself."
Theron shrugged as though he couldn't be bothered to respond.
The Dean was about to open his mouth again when the door swung open.
"Father, I'm taking Theron with me to the Imperial Capital," Sigil stated. "Also, there's no word from Uncle Burne, and there's news that Aeryn seems to have awoken from his coma. That last bit of news is most important, actually. The speculation was that Aeryn failed, but he did not. Aeryn successfully became a Chosen."
Dean Thistle was ready to respond to the first bit, but was stalled by the second piece of news.
How did his son even learn of such information before he did?
Subconsciously, Dean Thistle looked toward where Burne usually stood. It seemed that the gap the old man left was quite substantial.
With a shake of his head, Dean Thistle reset some things in his mind.
"No. Neither of you will be going to the Imperial Capital."
Sigil blinked in surprise. "But…"
"I've changed my mind. Ironvale is gone and we now control two of the three Chosen. We'll force the Imperial Clan to play on our home turf. Right now, the strongest disciple of the Sect is—."
"I wouldn't advise dimming Thessa's light right now." Theron interjected.
Sigil blinked, looking at Theron. He couldn't remember anyone ever so casually interrupting his father. But even more shockingly, Dean Thistle hardly seemed to react.
"And what would you suggest instead?"
"Let her take the spotlight. Didn't she kill her fellow disciples before?"