Chapter 92: Intimidating Title

"Was the contract from Zuo Qiuyang?" Theo asked, keeping his voice steady despite the oppressive pressure in the room.

"No." Silas gasped. "The mandate came directly from Archon Zelia. It was a Wraith’s Mark. A warning."

"A warning?" Theo narrowed his eyes. "For what?"

"To remind you that the Syndicate’s reach is limitless," Silas wheezed. "No matter where you hide, no matter how many Pavilion medallions you carry, the shadows will always find you."

Theo’s conflict with the Syndicate had been purely incidental.

He only fought Zuo Qiuyang because the assassin attacked the courier station where they were resting.

Why would a Syndicate Archon take such a personal interest in him?

"An Archon?" Vespera’s lips curled into a disdainful sneer. "Some rat hiding in a sewer thinks she can mark my disciple? Let her come. I will grind her bones into powder and use it to fertilize my plum trees."

"Master," Theo sighed. "Archons are Mystic Core experts. Some are even rumored to possess Soul Formation capabilities."

Vespera paused, tilting her head as she considered the power gap.

"So? If that rat dares to step foot on the Silent Thunder peaks, I will just activate the Ancestral Thunderbolt Array. I can definitely turn her to ash on home soil."

Corey stared at the elder in shock. He had assumed Vespera was just a lazy, drunk mentor.

He never imagined she actually possessed the authority to operate the sect’s ultimate defensive formation against a Soul Formation expert.

Theo ignored his master’s boasting and turned back to the captive.

"Where is the local Syndicate exchange located?"

Silas clenched his jaw. He shook his head desperately.

"I cannot. The Blood Oath binds every blade. If I reveal the hidden markets, the Syndicate will extract my soul and feed it to the shade-hounds."

"You fear the oath more than you fear my master?" Theo asked mildly.

"Only a Syndicate member can know the locations!" Silas cried out.

Theo reached into his sash and pulled out the Violet-Gold Medallion he had acquired from Cassius Frost just hours ago.

He held it up, letting the afternoon sun catch the intricate runic engravings.

"I hold top-tier clearance with the Grand Bounty Pavilion," Theo stated. "Technically, sharing intelligence with a sanctioned authority is a forced concession. The Blood Oath will not trigger if you are coerced by provincial law."

He paused, then withdrew a heavy pouch of high-grade spirit stones and dropped it on the table.

"Furthermore, I will pay you triple your original contract fee."

Silas stared at the medallion, then at the spirit stones.

"It is beneath the rusted aqueducts in the southern merchant ward," Silas blurted out, spilling the secrets without a second of hesitation. "Look for a blind beggar selling wilted lotus flowers. Tell him the rain is turning red."

Theo blinked.

He had expected to rely on the Pavilion’s intelligence network to find the local branches.

He never imagined the terrifying assassins of the Shadow Syndicate could be bought off so easily...

They truly cared for nothing but profit.

With the assassin secured and the intelligence gathered, the group returned their attention to the plaza below.

The Heavenly Mandate Stele was still updating.

Over half of the provincial prodigies had been named.

The names appearing now were regional legends.

[Provincial Prodigy Ranking: Rank 47 - Jin the Iron Roc.]

[Achievement: Annihilated a heavy-infantry battalion in the Northern Wastes. Mastered the Bloodline Liberation art.]

Liana recognized the name.

Jin was a notorious mercenary who later ascended to the national Earth Rankings in her past life.

To see him ranked at forty-seven meant the competition this generation was exceptionally fierce!

"Did I miss my name while I was dealing with the assassin?" Theo asked, scanning the glowing characters.

"No," Liana replied. "I have been watching the stele the entire time."

She had noticed Silas’s erratic behavior the moment he approached their table. However, she knew the confused assassin posed zero threat to Theo’s Abyssal Forge.

Instead of intervening, she had kept her eyes locked on the ranking board.

[Provincial Prodigy Ranking: Rank 29 - Kaelen Valerius.]

[Achievement: Defeated three peak Inner Scenery cultivators simultaneously. Forged a flawless sword intent.]

[Provincial Prodigy Ranking: Rank 20 - Lady Seraphina.]

The crowd in the plaza roared with every new name.

The top twenty prodigies were universally recognized as monsters capable of fighting above their cultivation realms.

"To break the top twenty, you need at least late-stage Inner Scenery cultivation," Corey muttered, leaning over the balcony railing. "Most of these people have been cultivating for decades."

A chime echoed across the capital. The stele pulsed, projecting the nineteenth rank in brilliant gold lettering.

[Provincial Prodigy Ranking: Rank 19 - Theo.]

[Cultivation: Inner Scenery (Early Stage).]

[Martial Arts: Possesses an unyielding, destructive sword intent. Follows the path of primordial body-tempering.]

The crowd fell silent, reading the initial description.

An early-stage Inner Scenery youth ranking above seasoned veterans was unheard of!

[Achievements: Destroyed the Courier Station Defensive Array. Fought the elite assassin Zuo Qiuyang to a standstill. Repelled the Syndicate Vanguard alongside Liana.]

[Titles: Abyssal Sword Sovereign.]

"Abyssal Sword Sovereign," Corey read aloud, grinning. "That is an intimidating title, Theo."

"It fits," Vespera nodded in approval.

However, the golden text on the stele was not finished. Another line materialized below the first title.

[Secondary Title: The Fortune-Bearing Consort.]

[Note: His unique physique and dual-cultivation methods yield extraordinary fortune and rapid cultivation advancement for his partners. A peerless human furnace.]

The silence in the plaza lasted for exactly three seconds...

Then, sheer pandemonium erupted.

"Early-stage Inner Scenery?! Ranked nineteenth?!"

"Who cares about his realm! Did you read the secondary note? A Fortune-Bearing Consort!"

"A human furnace that accelerates cultivation without side effects? Is he married?!"

A wealthy merchant lord, dripping in gold jewelry, shoved his way to the front of the crowd below the stele.

"I am the richest trader in the eastern ward! If Young Master Theo weds my eldest daughter, I will offer half my trade empire as her dowry!"

"My clan will offer three spirit-vein mines!" another aristocrat bellowed, nearly drawing his sword.

Up on the balcony, Theo stared at the glowing golden text. He rubbed his temples, a deep sigh escaping his lips.

"Abyssal Sword Sovereign" was excellent. It commanded respect and struck fear into his enemies.

But "Fortune-Bearing Consort"?

"Peerless human furnace"?

It sounded ridiculous...

Liana stared at the golden text, her usually stoic expression cracking. A faint, barely perceptible blush dusted her cheeks.

The entire province now knew that Theo was essentially acting as her personal cultivation battery. It was scandalous.

Vespera burst into roaring laughter, slamming her hand against the table.

"A peerless human furnace! Oh, my dear disciple, you are going to need a bigger estate just to house all the noblewomen lining up to dual-cultivate with you!"

Corey looked between Theo and Liana, his youthful face scrunched in confusion.

"Wait... dual cultivation? When did you two start doing that? I thought you were just sparring at night!"

"How did the Heavenly Mandate scribes even learn about my physique?" Theo muttered, mortified.

Then, it clicked.

Sylvia.

The Grand Bounty Pavilion possessed the most extensive intelligence network in the province.

When Cassius appraised the Void-Stone Monolith, they must have analyzed the residual energy signatures left on Theo’s clothes.

They deduced his dual-cultivation practices with Liana and sold the juicy details to the ranking scribes for a profit.

"I should have burned that Pavilion to the ground," Theo groaned.

While he was annoyed, a small part of him felt relieved.

The Pavilion’s spies had discovered his dual-cultivation benefits, but they remained entirely oblivious to the existence of the Heavenly Mandate System and the World Seed.

His true secrets were safe. This was merely an embarrassing footnote...

Before the merchant lords in the plaza could start a bidding war over his hand in marriage, the stele chimed again, demanding silence.

The next name materialized.

[Provincial Prodigy Ranking: Rank 18 - Liana.]