Legacy of Hatred

Steam mixed with the black smoke blowing out of Liam’s mouth. Snow, ice, and rocks surrounded him while he gazed at the horizon, the high altitude providing a perfect view of the land.

Six months had passed since the events inside the border. It was summer, not that the solitary peak Liam was occupying showed that, and he had become twenty, not that he recalled. The recent period had felt like a blur, cluttered with so much rush and tension he had barely had the chance to sit down and think.

The priority had been putting distance from the border. Too much had happened, and none of it had been inconsequential.

Then, there were the resources to absorb, from doing inventory to assigning them to appropriate projects.

Usually, gathering information and establishing a foothold would have been another step, but Liam had mainly traveled nonstop, occasionally entering seclusion to concoct. The current situation was the first real break in that period, one driven by a paramount task.

’It’s truly different,’ Liam casually thought as his senses kept absorbing the environment.

The sky felt different there. The land was unfamiliar, and even the air tasted odd. Everything was clearer, purer, but also colder, a layer of grayness enveloping every color.

The Kingdom’s borders sounded earned now. Now more than ever, Liam felt sure that he was in a different environment. He was a native of the eastern region, but he was deep in the northern one now.

With the fan, Liam’s perception, and the help of stable areas of influence, he had managed to reach that central place in the Outer Circle basically unnoticed. The Inner Circles were straight south, but heading there still sounded like a distant dream.

’I’m next,’ Liam calculated, laying his head against the hulking piece of dark metal behind him, his attention going into his rings.

The amount of resources Liam possessed could topple entire Guild’s branches. His stashes of ingredients had been more than full before the escape, and Jessica’s pendant had added huge loot to it.

It seemed that Liam destroying the branch had compelled Jessica to carry the Mercenary Guild’s vault with her at all times. Everything consisted of rank 1 and rank 2 items, but their abundance had been comparable to the Archbishop’s inheritance.

Also, there had been the Demoness’ rank 3 ingredients, all of which had been poisonous, leading to incredibly comprehensive preparations.

Liam had made another rank 3 Poisonous Cloud Pill, this one being dark-green due to the different ingredient it had used. He had even concocted a new version of the Boar’s Touch, a rank 3 one.

There was obviously the collection of poisons and healing products, too, but Liam had added a series of containers that served as a workshop in his brownish ring. Tens of Qi-enhanced arrows and needles were inside, going through the Alchemical Refinement that the device’s time manipulation accelerated.

Admittedly, almost everything else was superfluous and needed to be sold, but that couldn’t happen just yet. The reason was deep inside a narrow, snowy tunnel behind Liam, the one he was guarding.

After six months, Grace’s cultivation and meridians had stopped improving, or rather, they had reached their best possible version, at least at Liam’s current alchemical skills, meaning it was time for her breakthrough.

Liam had prepared a cultivation stabilizer and a suitable nutrient, but everything else would be up to Grace. It was also unwise to be together due to the delicate procedure, relegating him to guarding the location so that no interruptions unfolded.

It had been over a week already, but Liam could only trust Grace at that point, and an event inside him eventually distracted him from his worries.

Liam moved his attention to his reddish canvas, where his ninety-fifth minor root had just fully developed. He was closer than ever. In a few months, he was bound to reach the stage’s peak, enabling the attempt to become a branching expert.

That was the whole reason why Liam and Grace had decided to avoid reentering the political environment. Letting the storm blow was wise, but their priority had been to secure that power boost since it would go a long way to benefit their future steps.

’Just five more,’ Liam thought. For how much he smoked, his cultivation was growing incredibly slowly, but there was no avoiding that. The Heavens didn’t have resources suitable for his quasi-stage. The best he could do was improve his knowledge.

Horace’s jade materialized in Liam’s hand, and his mind reviewed one lesson. Liam had honestly committed the entirety of the inheritance to memory long ago, but rereading it allowed him to imagine that his great Master was speaking to him.

’The branching stage is the steepest divider in the cultivation journey,’ Liam read. ’A barrier so tall even the most promising and capable cultivators fail to overcome it.’

The challenge was multilayered, featuring all the previous difficulties in deeper fashion and a series of new ones.

’The branching stage is immense compared to the rooting stage,’ Liam kept reading. ’Meanwhile, rank 3 resources are exceedingly rare and often under the control of forces that have existed since time immemorial.’

Resources’ rarity aside, the new environment would be challenging to navigate. Liam had successfully seized the Rainbow Roses, but by paying a steep price, and the border definitely wasn’t a good example of the Kingdom’s politics.

In more regulated environments, every major force would enforce strict control over anything in the third rank, while Liam was just an individual. He would have to compete against entire Guilds or Sects on his own, and things didn’t end there.

The competition would be several levels harsher. Rooting experts were far more numerous, but they were also younger, less capable and experienced, with many unaffiliated.

Instead, every branching expert would be a battle-hardened, seasoned veteran. They would be fewer in number, but Liam would find no Cecilia among that group, and basically all of them would have powerful organizations backing them.

’Moreover,’ Liam studied more of that grim picture, ’Talent starts playing a key role. Branches are far heavier and more plentiful than roots. Cultivations would stop advancing entirely to prevent collapsing under their own weight.’

The progression was similar to the rooting stage. Three spiritual roots would give birth to nine minor roots, which would in turn give birth to twenty-seven branches. Six would birth thirty-six and then two hundred and sixteen, while nine would birth eighty-one and seven hundred and twenty-nine.

In Liam’s case, ten spiritual roots would lead to one hundred minor roots and one thousand branches. Of course, that likely absurd weight didn’t worry him. His issue was in amassing the resources to get there, but his thoughts addressed another person altogether.

’Five is twenty-five and one hundred and twenty-five,’ Liam calculated. ’Can Grace bear such weight?’

As much as Liam had worked on improving Grace’s cultivation, he wasn’t sure that was enough to support her to the branching stage’s peak, let alone what came next.

’Once I become a branching expert,’ Liam pondered, ’I’ll have access to truly transformative alchemical products that are beyond the world’s limits. I’ll invent something then.’

Horace’s inheritance provided plenty of ideas already, but Liam didn’t have the means to plan things properly. He didn’t know how the world would look at the branching stage or what kind of powers he would develop.

’Due to the barrier of talent, the scarcity of resources, and the branching stage’s sheer length,’ Liam kept reading, ’The leafing stage is generally considered the apex of cultivation, a realm of old monsters and legendary heroes, one that even I, the great Horace Rauret, have been unable to surpass.’

Liam couldn’t help but smile. Even in the inheritance, his Master still liked bragging. Liam missed that grumpy father figure so much, but he had no doubt about what he would say.

’Foolish disciple!’ Liam scolded in his mind, mimicking his Master’s tone. ’You are a century too young to worry about the great Horace Rauret! Use that little brain of yours to keep yourself alive and grow strong!’

Liam chuckled to himself, storing the green jade. In truth, despite the steep challenges ahead, he knew what he had to do. Honestly, he had so few options at his disposal that calling it a choice would be a stretch.

’I guess there’s only kill and plunder left,’ Liam considered. ’It would be great if I could manage fighting leafing experts already, but that probably won’t be possible until I become a high-stage branching expert.’

There was also the idea of establishing a force that Grace had mentioned. Liam could use that to gather resources in his stead, joining the political environment lawfully. Still, the preexistent organizations were bound to resist that new player, meaning some killing and plundering would have to happen no matter what.

’With the Demoness’ remaining rank 3 ingredients,’ Liam considered, ’I have enough to make one rank 3 Master’s Pride and a batch of smoking powder. I just have to wait for my venom to reach the branching stage with me for the former. I’ll also be able to upgrade part of my collection at that point.’

Liam’s venom would instantly make him a poison master worthy of the branching stage, but everything else was a problem. His vast collection of alchemical products would become unsuitable for his new level, and that was part of what had enabled him to fight and win against stronger opponents.

There would be no more endless stash of healing products, no more eating Qi-Storage Pills one after another. The same went for body-enhancing pills, elixirs, and poisons that didn’t involve the venom. After all, all that needed to be rank 3, meaning finding the required number of rank 3 ingredients.

’Do so many rank 3 ingredients even exist?’ Liam wondered. ’Even then, fighting as I have done until now would be incredibly expensive. I even need a new pipe and should look into a better cauldron. ...It sounds unsustainable.’

Liam had basically been set for life at the rooting stage, but becoming a branching expert would undo all that. He could make do without some things and alter his fighting style accordingly, but a few aspects were paramount to use his inborn advantages to their fullest.

’Rank 3 healing pills are obvious,’ Liam decided. ’I won’t need rank 3 Qi-Storage Pills as long as I develop enough branches or unless I find rank 4 martial arts, but the rank 3 body-enhancing pills are necessary since they’d be stronger than the Primal Urge.’

Liam kept making plans over plans, but his ears suddenly twitched, his expression growing feral, black Qi already escaping his figure. He had been staying guard exactly because a break carried such risks, and they had arrived.

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