Legacy of Hatred

’This is just a job,’ Liam convinced himself as he swung the hulking piece of metal down, ’A mission. I’m just doing it to get paid.’

It was reasonable, really. Liam had been willing to collect magical beasts’ dung in the Pale Moon Sect to accumulate points to exchange for resources. In comparison, swinging a greatsword for rank 3 ingredients was the best deal of his life.

’Besides,’ Liam continued in his mind, ’Even if I get good at it, it would just be like archery. It doesn’t mean I will divert my attention from alchemy.’

Of course, that wasn’t all Horace Rauret’s warning had been about. A greatsword and poison were antithetical fighting methods, incompatible down to their very concept.

Still, Liam could compromise there. His Master probably would have, too, if he had seen what sort of physical prowess he had ended up developing. While pairing a greatsword with poison did sound impossible, it didn’t mean Liam couldn’t do it.

Liam was a unique specimen after all, and his recent training had been about developing a fighting style specific to him. Succeeding at blending those opposite extremes could very well be the utmost expression of that project.

Moreover, there was another detail to consider. Liam often fought against cultivators far stronger than him. He likely wouldn’t be able to cleave them in half even with a greatsword, but those injuries could pave the path for poison to finish the job.

’Normally, you’d have to wield this with both hands,’ Liam considered as he kept swinging. ’I can manage with one, switching mid-battle to needles, pills, and whatnot.’

Experience truly made all the difference. Liam could easily imagine new ways of fighting now that confidence had replaced his ignorance.

’It could be worth investing more in the Alchemical Refinement,’ Liam calculated. ’I have money to waste now, and it would be ideal if all my weapons became like the knife.’

The rank 2 knife was nothing short of a poisonous weapon now. It didn’t require additional substances to convey those deadly effects, which didn’t apply to the fan despite the unique binding. Those properties were simply less intense in its case.

Liam couldn’t do much to the fan due to its high rank, but that was the only exception. Everything else could go through the Alchemical Refinement. There was just a problem that had nothing to do with the process’ length.

While the Alchemical Refinement could improve Qi-enhanced items and alter their properties, it was an unreliable, mostly experimental method. Even Horace Rauret’s inheritance had said so.

That method was alchemy’s way of imitating formations. It was possible, but a copy nonetheless. With the risk to the item’s integrity, the coating’s heavy management, and the costs, it was simply better to buy something of a superior rank directly.

Even in Liam’s case, or poison masters in general, it was more efficient to concoct a substance and apply it to various weapons.

Also, alchemical products could replace weapons altogether. Liam’s Cloud Pills were one such example.

Still, Liam didn’t really want to leave anything behind at that point in his life. He desired both poisonous products and weapons, and there were a few advantages that made him perfect for the job.

First, Liam had Grace. Most cultivators would struggle to get their hands on basic means of production, but she would always ensure a flow of resources and financial gains. He had seen her do that too many times even to question it.

Liam would also specialize in poison more than anyone else in the field. It was a path dictated and facilitated by his core. He could perfect the unreliable Alchemical Refinement when it came to that specific application.

Besides, poison wasn’t exactly harmless to weapons. Liam had seen that with his needles, and he could make do without them, but arrows were something else altogether.

Abandoning archery would be stupid due to how good Liam was with a bow, but he would need arrows of increasingly higher quality as he climbed the cultivation journey’s stages. Even if he had the money to afford them, finding them would be the problem.

Perfecting the Alchemical Refinement would solve that issue, allowing Liam to mass-purchase common Qi-enhanced tools and improving them until they were at a suitable rank, making them poisonous in the process.

’I have a lot of space with three rings,’ Liam thought, ’And reaching the stage’s peak will always take me a while. I can just let the Alchemical Refinement go on nonstop, replacing items when they are ready for battle.’

The idea involved nothing short of a workshop that would mass-produce lethal tools. Liam had arrows and needles in mind for now, but that could be expanded to involve other items, greatswords, for example.

There was also a more childish drive to that idea.

’Master invented the compound concoctions,’ Liam thought. ’He would expect nothing less from his disciple.’

Liam had a high standard to surpass, and inventing new applications of alchemy could be a start. He actually desired it so much he wanted to sit behind a cauldron right away. He simply couldn’t, and the reason lay a few meters from him.

No relocation had happened. Liam hadn’t kowtowed or anything. He had only sent a mental message to Grace before starting to swing the silver greatsword right next to the immense cavity.

As for the Demoness, she was lying on the ground, resting her head on her palm, jug after jug coming out of whatever storage item she possessed. Liam peeked at her, witnessing the magnificent, boundless leafing expert picking her nose.

’Do cultivators even need to clean their noses like that?’ Liam wondered. The breakthroughs expelled impurities after all, so a leafing expert probably was nothing but pristine, even if the Demoness did her best not to look that way.

"Less ogling and more swinging," The Demoness snorted, the same hand that had been in her nose slipping under her robe to scratch her chest. "You aren’t my type. I like my boys and girls small and soft, just like-"

"Not happening," Liam interrupted, instantly rejecting. "Grace is only mine."

"That pretty thing is wasted on a boy like you," The Demoness voiced a sharp laugh. "As your merciful Master, I’ll let you watch. You might learn something."

"You aren’t my Master," Liam rejected again. "And only I can do that stuff with her."

"Too innocent to say sex?" The Demoness teased, licking her lips. "Maybe there is some cuteness in you."

A chill ran down Liam’s spine, urging him to deny those allegations. "I’m protecting my woman’s honor."

Liam did genuinely feel that it was improper to share those details with others. Also, he wanted to be the only one to know how Grace was in intimate contexts. It was even his right as her man.

"Such a serious disciple," The Demoness groaned, going back to picking her nose. "At least you have good taste. That delicate but confident face of hers, that thin waist, that nice bottom..."

The Demoness went on to describe Grace in great detail. Liam didn’t stop swinging, but his mind did wander, not even feeling much jealousy. For some reason, that felt like banter between old friends.

Besides, while Grace’s devilish attire perfectly highlighted her figure, Liam felt some proud glee knowing that he was the only one who could look at her without it.

"The tasteless bunch always look for a big rack," The Demoness scoffed. "They don’t understand the first thing about beauty. Defined but balanced, perfectly proportional, enhanced by how well she carries herself."

Liam was in complete agreement. His woman was the definition of elegant beauty. Honestly, that was how he imagined princesses to be.

’They aren’t even small,’ Liam considered, comparing a certain scarred chest to others from victims he had undressed. ’And they fit perfectly in my-’

"And the way they squirm once you get past their mask of poise," The Demoness exclaimed, interrupting Liam’s train of thought.

"That’s too much," Liam scolded. "Don’t disrespect my woman."

The Demoness scoffed but went silent, summoning another jug and emptying it in her mouth.

Surprisingly, the notion of a rooting expert scolding a leafing expert didn’t cross Liam’s mind. He realized how naturally he had acted despite the predicament, and he knew why.

’Does she also feel like this?’ Liam wondered. ’Did she put up with my refusals because of our lineages? Is she just crazy?’

Honestly, both options could be true, and Liam didn’t feel like crossing off either after what he had seen in the cultivation world and her behavior.

Liam put the matter aside and adjusted his battle stance. Memories of a certain squirming had gone close to ruining it.

"What was that?" The Demoness asked.

Liam hadn’t really done anything else, so he explained the only event that could have warranted the question. "Senior Demoness, I’m adjusting my footing to avoid performing poor stances and creating bad habits."

"Drop the Senior," The Demoness waved dismissively. "And who cares how you wield it? Just wave the sword around and get comfortable with it."

Liam frowned, but a follow-up arrived right away.

"Isn’t that what you were doing in the battle cages?" The Demoness questioned.

’Oh,’ Liam understood. ’She saw right through me.’

Clearly, the Demoness had seen that Liam was developing his own fighting style and wanted him to do the same with the greatsword. That was his idea, too. He had just thought he could use the few battle stances he had learned in the Pale Moon Sect as a foundation.

"But still, Demoness," Liam called, emboldened by that greater friendliness to raise an issue, wielding the greatsword with one hand and pointing it at the gargantuan cavity next to him. "Shouldn’t you teach me how to do this?"

Advanced techniques usually came only after the foundation was established, but Liam wanted to understand at least what he was striving toward. He had to see whether alchemy prevented him from pursuing it in the first place, and he was curious.

"You can’t do that," The Demoness casually said, picking up her jug, throwing it away when she found it empty, and promptly summoning another. "Only I can."

"What?" Liam asked, blinking.

"I developed that technique around my Qi," The Demoness explained. "As far as I know, my Qi is the only energy that can generate that reaction."

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