Legacy of Hatred

As quickly and far as information could spread in the cultivation world, there were limits, mainly of the political kind.

The borders and Circles were relatively defined dividers of the Kingdom, but there were countless additional and vaguely isolated domains stemming from areas of influence and the sort.

The Pale Moon Sect’s neighborhood was such an example. The Sects there created a domain separated from the forces outside it.

Since reputation played a huge role in the cultivation world, each domain carefully managed information. Something always leaked, but it became nothing more than unreliable, watered-down, or exaggerated rumors after enough distance.

There were exceptions, mainly when it came to good things. The entirety of the Kingdom seemed to know about Lancelot after all, his Sect likely having played a huge role in that for no other reason than to brag and increase its relevance.

Liam had begun to go through a similar process in the Pale Moon Sect, but his status as a foundation expert had limited the news’ reach. He had been too irrelevant in the great scheme of things, and his departure had happened before he could become relevant enough for his Sect to brag with the entire Kingdom.

Sects even had their unique playing field other forces couldn’t access, limiting what everyone else could investigate. The Pale Moon Sect was also likely to enforce a lot of suppression to hide the fact that it had lost a miraculous genius.

Yet, Grace figured out the truth on her own. Her achievement had come from wits and direct knowledge of Liam, as well as tricky questions. Instead, the Church had the network and privileged access of the most widespread organization in the Kingdom, giving it all the tools to draw that connection.

Moreover, the Church had seen the Pale Moon Sect’s Liam. He had fought in the Mutated Battlefield, the mission leading to the public announcement of his core’s nature. Guilds might have only caught tidbits, but the Church had its reputation and direct experience at its disposal.

The magnanimous offer now made even more sense. Liam had already proven his worth as an alchemist, and his talent had brought his pricelessness to far greater heights. He was someone everyone would want to befriend or own.

Nevertheless, Liam didn’t falter at all. His expression didn’t even flicker. He had always known about the possibility of being discovered. That had become obvious after Grace learned about him, and the issue had even been somewhat unavoidable.

The more famous Liam became, the more people would look into him. With the kind of enormous forces the Kingdom had, someone connecting him to the Pale Moon Sect had always been a matter of time.

Still, the identity as the nine-roots genius wasn’t why Horace had sent Liam away. His Master had been worried about what direct investigations would have uncovered.

Liam basically had to be in a position where no one could check what his talent truly entailed, and he had achieved that. He was a criminal always on the run, affiliated to no one. Unless he got captured, his real secret was safe.

The Deacon’s words also brought reassurance. Despite hissing in public while fighting Jessica, it seemed no one had connected Liam to the Ancestral Snake. The Church’s special interest in the field actually pretty much confirmed the event. Its forces would have gone directly for the capture otherwise.

There was the possibility that the request for cooperation was a trap to investigate the eventual rumor further, but Liam didn’t read any of that in the group below.

’They probably don’t think it’s possible,’ Liam thought. ’The Demoness suspected it because of her lineage, but ordinary cultivators wouldn’t even consider the possibility.’

Liam had even seen that with his Master. As great, knowledgeable, and intelligent as Horace Rauret was, it had taken the impossible failed breakthrough for him even to start considering the matter.

Ordinary people would never get there because such a possibility had never been a thing. It was basically known that the Ancestral Snake’s lineage didn’t exist in the world, not in a shape that could birth descendants, and things had to remain like that until Liam was strong enough to face the repercussions.

As for the issue at hand, Liam had truly wanted to avoid a fight for Grace’s sake, but the Church had crossed the line.

Everything had been polite enough to make Liam stay put and abide by his main priority, but the Deacon had meant the last revelation as a threat, as blackmail material.

But the information had no real hold on Liam. As veiled as it was, he had also smelled that intention in the air, and that was too much. The sole fact that the Church had threatened him earned it a death sentence.

Actually, things went even one step before that. Liam had to teach the world that merely considering going against him was nothing short of a sin. He had to get to the point where people wouldn’t even think about that course of action.

Publicly killing a branching expert as a rooting expert seemed to have improved the issue, but Liam clearly wasn’t there yet. Luckily, there was an easy fix.

A vast amount of the Qi circulating inside Liam’s body suddenly disappeared, enabling the fan’s ability to achieve a brief speed burst.

Dealing with the Church was problematic in ways that went beyond its status in the Kingdom. In the Archbishop’s inheritance, Liam had faced those troublesome golden martial arts that could empower themselves by means of coordination.

Even foundation experts could play a role in that coordination, creating battle formations that went beyond what individuals could achieve. It was the perfect embodiment of strength in numbers, but there was an easy way to counter it.

If Liam killed everyone before the battle formation came to be, he wouldn’t have to deal with that troublesome coordination.

The fan had been able to catch Jessica by surprise, so no one on the scene could hope to react to it. Deacon Jesse found himself impaled on the ground, the enormous greatsword stabbed in his chest.

The Deacon died before he could realize that he had merely been in the way of Liam’s main attack, since impenetrable blackness immediately took over the area.

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