The Cunning Treasure Hunter

Chapter 53 The Clash of Heirs

Training martial arts through the night was never good for the body.

It was well known that a strained body could not perform at its peak.

Even so, Theron was tirelessly practicing in the backyard of the annex.

He repeated the forms of the Boundless Sky Sword, the Blue Sky Sword, and the King's Sword Technique without pause, as though each technique was equally vital.

Under the moonlight, the trajectory of his sword gleamed as it carved through the air.

Droplets of sweat fell from the tip of his blade, splitting cleanly in half before hitting the ground.

Far in the distance, the sky began to brighten.

The red sun slowly climbed over the horizon.

Only then did Theron stop.

It was time to clean himself and cool his head.

"Did you make progress?"

Ebon, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke. He had been observing his son for who knew how long.

"Well, my senses have sharpened considerably."

"Will you win?"

"I won't lose without a fight," Theron replied noncommittally.

Victory was possible, but not guaranteed.

The odds were not in his favor, but he felt no discouragement. Instead, his eyes shone with exhilaration.

Thus far, he had never met anyone his age as strong as or stronger than himself.

Older warriors didn't interest him; their strength was merely the result of decades of accumulated training.

What he sought was a dazzling star.

A rival blessed with brilliance and talent, someone who could challenge him.

"Staying up all night to train isn't good for you."

"That's why I have these," Theron said, pulling a small wooden box from his belt.

Inside were eight pale blue pills arranged neatly in two rows.

Serene Essence Pills.

A tonic made by the Akrest Clan, designed to relieve fatigue, relax the body, and clear the mind.

"Well, I'll see you later," Theron said, casually swallowing one of the pills before heading to the bathhouse.

The water, heated in advance by the servants of the Mount Suncrest Sect, splashed as he entered.

As soon as the sound of water echoed, something emerged from the nearby bushes.

"...Greetings to the Clan Leader."

The Deputy Pavilion Master of the Midnight Celestial Pavilion, Kieran, knelt on one knee.

His left shoulder was drenched in dried blood, though it no longer bled.

He had pressed his acupoints to stop the flow, preventing a trail that could lead to his capture.

"You failed, I presume," Ebon said calmly.

"I have brought shame upon you. Please, kill me," Kieran replied.

He wasn't joking.

Unlike polite euphemisms of some Eastern nations, his words were literal.

He truly wished to be killed for his failure.

To serve the Akrest Clan Leader was the life's purpose of the Midnight Celestial Pavilion.

Failing in a mission meant betraying that purpose, and the price was death.

At the age of fifteen, Kieran had been accepted as a disciple of the Akrest Clan.

Though not blood-related, the modern Akrest Clan had grown far beyond its founding family and included talented outsiders like him.

From a young age, he was raised by the Grand Elder, trained in the clan's martial arts.

He had mastered not only the commonly taught Blue Sky Sword but also the prestigious Boundless Sky Sword, the clan's signature technique.

In return, he had dedicated his life to the Akrest Clan, becoming a member of the Midnight Celestial Pavilion.

"...Kill me," he repeated.

"Yes. I have disappointed my lord. I have no regrets left for this life."

Such was the depth of his indoctrination.

It was less education and more akin to brainwashing, ingraining the idea that he was no more than a disposable tool.

"No, you cannot die."

Ebon smiled faintly, placing a hand on Kieran's injured shoulder.

"Do you have any idea how much money it cost to raise you?"

"...I do not."

"Then how could I waste such an investment so easily? Hide yourself until I call for you again."

"I will obey your command, my lord."

Grateful for the reprieve, Kieran prostrated himself on the ground, his forehead striking the dirt with a loud thud.

Only then did he rise and vanish into the shadows.

"Shadow Veil Step... The martial arts of the Night Shadows are truly useful," Ebon murmured.

Neither he nor the Sword Sovereign had yet to locate the headquarters of the Night Shadows, but they had captured several Demonic Cult members who practiced the same techniques.

The Sword Sovereign had secretly interrogated them, uncovering the mysteries of their assassination arts.

The techniques of the Night Shadows were invaluable.

In the past, they had collaborated with the Demonic Cult, earning a fearsome reputation alongside the Shadow Lord.

It was said that the Shadow Lord had gruesomely killed the young prodigy Jack, known as the Spearbright, leaving his clan, the SpearStar Family, vowing to find and destroy the Night Shadows to this day.

Leaning back in his chair, Ebon sighed.

The odds of Theron defeating Vera in today's match were slim.

That much was certain.

In that case, he had to plan for what came next.

Before that monster could grow any further, there had to be another way to cut it down.

And there were many methods to choose from.

"I've returned, Lady."

Caleb, known as the Sword That Splits Skulls, knelt on one knee before Aria.

The relationship between the two appeared similar to that of Ebon and Kieran, but their gazes told a different story.

"So, what's the result?"

"Aiden ensured there was nothing for you to worry about, my lady."

"That's good to hear. What a relief," Aria said with a sigh of relief.

"There was an attack on the hut, but Aiden managed to fend them off."

"Even while protecting his disciple?"

The timeline was predictable. The Jade Elixir had been administered, and the sparring match with the Young Lord of Akrest was set for the next day.

Anyone could deduce that the elixir would need to be refined overnight.

"Yes. And more importantly… that disciple, I can't stop thinking about them."

"…'Genius' doesn't seem enough to describe her skill, does it?"

"her abilities are at least at the level of a Supreme Expert, and he refined the Jade Elixir completely in less than two hours."

Aria frowned.

As the head of the internal affairs division of the Everstone Clan, she was responsible for overseeing many of the family's matters.

Though she didn't practice martial arts herself, she had extensive knowledge of the martial techniques and the strength of the warriors under her command.

"It shouldn't have been possible before dawn."

"I found it strange as well. And the impurities weren't expelled through the skin."

"…What?"

When refining elixirs like the Jade Elixir, the internal energy circulates through the body, expelling impurities trapped in the meridians.

Though not a perfect process, it produces effects similar to rebirth.

"Instead, she exhaled something like black smoke."

"…That's peculiar. Was there anything else unusual?"

"The masked attacker who ambushed Aiden used the martial arts of the Night Shadows."

Aria's eyes narrowed.

The Night Shadows were hated by nearly every righteous sect.

Few had not lost someone to their assassins.

For clans like the Pearl Horizon Family or the Golden Wave Clan,

they had lost prodigies so brilliant that their potential could have defined their eras.

Neither clan had ever recovered enough to join the ranks of the Five Great Families.

"Could it be…?"

"The one who killed Darian of the Flamestrike Academy, you mean?"

"Yes. The son of the renegade Valen, Darian, of the Heavenly Unity Corps's 13th Division.

He was found in a gruesome state, I heard."

"I've heard the same. His body was found buried, his head elsewhere. And the sword technique used left no clues."

The martial arts of the Night Shadows were shrouded in mystery.

Even the location of their main base remained hidden.

Naturally, Aria suspected them.

The remnants of the Demonic Cult were too fractured to be the culprits.

While it was true that some old Demonic Generals from the previous era still survived,

they were more focused on preserving their remaining forces and consolidating for a potential resurgence.

There was no reason for them to provoke the Heavenly Unity Corps,

the official division of the Sword Sovereign himself.

And the martial arts of the Demonic Cult were largely exposed by now.

Even the rarest techniques wouldn't escape the scrutiny of the Everstone Clan's knowledge.

'I even memorized the sword paths of the Demonic Heavenly God Technique.'

Her father, the former strategist of the Everstone Clan, had once overseen the interpretation of the Demonic Heavenly God Technique during the campaign to subdue the cult.

He had drilled it into her memory relentlessly.

Even though the Demonic Heavenly God was long dead.

'Father never believed the Demonic God's story would truly end here...'

But it wasn't the Demonic Heavenly God Technique either.

Aria let out a deep sigh.

"It's too early to report this to Valen, isn't it?"

"Yes, my lady. It's still just conjecture at this point."

"I understand."

At her gesture, Caleb stood slowly.

Though he often joked and bantered casually,

Caleb was the strongest warrior of the Everstone Clan.

"Do we know where the assassin suspected to be from the Night Shadows went?"

"He was highly skilled in the Shadow Veil Step. Unfortunately…"

"It's fine. I'm not blaming you. Even I couldn't have done better."

Aria adjusted her clothing.

Soon, the sparring match between the Young Lord of Akrest, Theron, and the victor, Vera, would take place.

She had to witness with her own eyes who among them would rise to lead this era.

As someone carrying the name of Everstone, to neglect such a pivotal event in the generational shift would be dereliction of duty.