The Heaven-Cursed Costs Life, But I Have Infinite Life-Chapter 46: Meeting Theron Again, The Wager

Allen took the letter and carefully tucked it away.

"Dad, are you sure you won’t come with us?" Lilia asked, her voice filled with reluctance.

Lucas shook his head. "I have more important things to attend to."

He hesitated for a moment, then took out a small token and handed it to Lilia. "Keep this. If you ever get into trouble, go to the Emberforge Guild. They will protect you."

"Emberforge Guild? Dad, isn’t that part of the Valoria Kingdom?" Lilia took the token, looking puzzled.

The token was jet black and carved with a lifelike black dragon. On the back was a character that looked like the word [King].

This must be a token from the Valoria Kingdom royal family.

The Valoria Kingdom, the Divine Kingdom, and the Lumera Kingdom were the three great powers on The Eldran Continent. They appeared peaceful on the surface, but conflicts simmered beneath. Fortunately, the Church of Light had acted as a mediator, preventing any major wars for the past decade or so.

Lucas seemed to want to say more but stopped himself. "Lilia, you might hear rumors later—maybe they aren’t rumors at all—but remember, I am always your father."

Lilia wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but she nodded.

"Alright, the sun is going down. Let’s go," Lucas said. He had planned to send some shadow guards to protect them, but thinking of Allen’s strength, he changed his mind.

Allen was now strong enough to fight a Stage 6 expert. If real danger came, the shadow guards wouldn’t be enough to help anyway.

"Dad, take care of yourself. When things settle down, please write to me," Lilia said, reluctant to part.

Lucas smiled and nodded, then waved goodbye as he walked away.

Allen and Lilia mounted their horses and sped off, quickly disappearing down the main road.

"I wonder if sending you to the Chaos Zone is a blessing or a curse," Lucas murmured to himself, a look of sorrow on his face.

Allen and Lilia’s identities were becoming too hard to hide. It was too dangerous for them to stay by his side. The Chaos Zone was the safest place for now, yet even there, absolute safety was nowhere to be found.

"Master, are we returning to the Valoria Kingdom?" Clayton asked cautiously.

Lucas’s expression hardened. He took a deep breath and said coldly, "Yes, let’s go. It’s time I paid a visit to my royal brother."

Allen and Lilia had just left the Blackspire area. They followed the desolate road westward, heading toward Cloudrest.

During the Academy competition, the Duskveil Academy from Cloudrest had participated. But thanks to the trouble at Blackspire and the opening of Hell’s Gate, the major Academies suffered heavy casualties, and the final competition was cancelled without a winner.

"Allen, it’s still early," Lilia said, bouncing slightly in the saddle. "Should we find a place to level up?" At their current speed, they would reach Cloudrest in less than a day.

"Let’s skip it," Allen replied. "There aren’t many strong monsters here. We can wait until we get out of Cloudrest." Allen had no interest in the monsters near Blackspire. The strongest of them were only Stage 5, and since they were rare, it was hard to even find one.

"Alright," Lilia said, not pushing the issue. She slowed her horse slightly to ride alongside Allen.

The surrounding forest was thick and quiet, with very few people around. Occasionally, the roar of a monster echoed through the trees.

"Hmm, someone’s there!"

Allen frowned and pulled on the reins, staring alertly ahead.

On the overgrown path, a figure sat cross-legged by the roadside with a long staff laid across their lap.

It was the Ascetic Theron.

"Why is that old man here?" Lilia recognized him immediately and moved closer to Allen’s side.

In the recent battle at the edge of the forest, they had killed Evander, Lucian, and others. Theron showing up here now couldn’t be a good sign.

Allen wasn’t afraid of Theron, but he knew he couldn’t kill him either.

Lilia was still recovering from her injuries, her wings hadn’t grown back, and she couldn’t fly yet. If a fight broke out, he couldn’t guarantee her safety.

"Go around!"

Allen hesitated for only a moment before turning his horse and riding into the dense forest.

He glanced back one last time. Theron was still sitting there cross-legged, motionless like a rock.

Was he really just waiting for me?

Allen didn’t dare get careless. He made a huge detour and came back to the main road.

"Allen!" Lilia stopped him, pointing ahead with her eyes wide in shock.

The narrow road was overgrown with weeds. A figure sat cross-legged by the side, looking completely calm and unbothered. It was Theron.

Allen was surprised too.

Even though horses moved slower in the dense forest than on a road, they should have been far ahead by now. But it seemed Theron had been waiting here all along.

"Allen, what do we do?" Lilia asked, worried.

"Let’s go check it out," Allen said after a moment’s pause, guiding his horse forward.

If Theron wanted to hurt them, he would have struck by now. He wouldn’t just play games with them.

"Old man, what do you want?" Allen shouted angrily.

Even though he couldn’t kill the old guy, he knew Theron couldn’t hurt him either. He wasn’t afraid at all.

Theron opened his eyes and smiled faintly. "The continent has its own way, and we all go our own paths. On what grounds do you say I’m following you?"

"Is that so?" Allen stayed alert. He didn’t know what the old man wanted, but he was sure it was bad news.

"Fine, then. We’ll leave. Just stop following us."

Allen cracked the whip at Lilia’s horse, and they galloped away quickly.

Theron remained sitting cross-legged in the same spot, his faint smile unchanged. He didn’t stand up until they had completely disappeared from view. Then, he got up, stepped into the dense forest, and vanished.

"Allen, he won’t catch up again, right?" Lilia looked back, her heart still uneasy.

Allen shook his head. He didn’t know for sure, but he felt Theron wouldn’t give up.

As the sun began to set, the two rode side by side, their shadows stretching long ahead. In the distance, a city appeared.

It was Cloudrest.

Allen frowned deeply. At the city gate, he saw that familiar figure again.

Theron sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, clearly waiting for them right there.

The adventurers nearby recognized him and immediately backed away to give him a wide berth.

Seething with anger, Allen jumped off his horse and walked straight up to him. "Old man, what do you actually want?"

Theron opened his eyes and smiled. "Young man, fate is strange. We meet again."

"Balderdash! Didn’t you follow us?" Allen snapped, showing him no respect.

Theron didn’t get angry. "I arrived here two hours ago. How can that be ’following’?"

Allen didn’t want to argue. Coldly, he said, "Speak up. What do you actually want? The Church of Light in Cloudrest isn’t my match."

Amberfall and Blackspire were both small, border towns of The Holy Empire, lacking real power. Even the strongest members of the local Church of Light were only at Stage 5.

Allen’s current strength was more than enough to handle them.

"You’re overthinking it," Theron said with a smile. "If I wanted to deal with you, would I really need the Church of Light to step in?" He continued, "Young man, are you interested in becoming my student?"

"What?"

For a moment, both Allen and Lilia froze, staring at him with deep suspicion.

"Old man, are you joking?"

Allen was speechless. He had already made enemies of the Church of Light. Asking a Church Ascetic to be his master would be like signing his own death warrant.

Plus, he didn’t respect the old man anyway.

"Of course I’m not joking," Theron said seriously. "If you agree to become my student, I will teach you everything I know."

"Learn that turtle-shell trick and become a coward? No thanks." Allen shook his head firmly and refused.

Theron didn’t get angry. "This is the ultimate defense technique of Earth Elemental Laws. You’ve seen it before. Even a Forbidden Spell couldn’t break it. If you master it, I guarantee that even a Stage 7 expert couldn’t threaten you."

Allen frowned. He was actually a bit tempted.

But wanting to learn from this guy? He still firmly refused.

"Old man, find someone else. We aren’t a good fit."

Allen and the Church of Light were already locked in a fight to the death. He couldn’t trust Theron.

"Don’t rush to say no. You haven’t seen my real skills yet," Theron said.

He stood up, gripping his long staff. He scanned the area and locked his gaze on a massive tree nearby—one that required two people to wrap their arms around. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Whoosh!

A blur of motion flashed. Theron struck the staff against the tree trunk. Nothing happened. Not even a single leaf trembled.

"Just this?" Allen frowned deeply. Theron’s attack had been bizarre. Allen had no guarantee he could dodge it, but the damage? It was laughable. Was he trying to tickle him?

Theron smiled faintly. "Try chopping this tree down."

Allen eyed him suspiciously, drew his Saber, and swung hard at the massive trunk.

Thwack!

The blade sliced through the tree effortlessly, splitting it in half. Wood chips flew everywhere.

Allen’s eyes widened in shock.

Theron’s strike had looked soft and harmless, dealing zero damage on the surface. But inside, a terrifying force had shredded the wood apart.

A chill ran down Allen’s spine. He grabbed Lilia’s arm and they both backed away quickly.

There was no way he could block such a strange technique. Even with his Art of Immortality to heal, he might still be in life-threatening danger.

His only real chance would be to use Heaven’s Punishment: Tempest Slash the moment he saw Theron, vanishing from sight instantly.

"Relax. I have no ill will toward you. If I truly wanted to kill you, you would have been dead in that forest outside Blackspire," Theron said, his smile genuine.

He showed no sign of hostility.

Allen, however, couldn’t relax. "Old man, you’re definitely strong. If you weren’t part of the Church of Light, I might actually consider taking you as my master..."

"Don’t rush to refuse," Theron cut him off. "How about a bet? If I catch up to you again, you’ll agree to be my student."

Allen frowned. Knowing this old man’s ghost-like abilities, it seemed nearly impossible to escape him.

He thought for a moment, then said, "Catch up to us three times!"

"No problem," Theron agreed immediately. "Go into the city and rest first. The challenge starts when you leave Cloudrest." He turned and walked toward the town gates.

"Allen, that guy’s abilities are too weird. Can we really shake him?" Lilia asked anxiously, not feeling confident at all.

"If we can’t shake him, just become his student. Either way, I don’t lose out," Allen said casually.

"True enough," Lilia sighed, defeated, and followed him into Cloudrest.