Legacy of Hatred

As arrogant as the claim was, no shouts followed. Everyone just waited as the Merchants Guild’s representative and Grace studied each other.

Honestly, Liam felt he was seeing double. Much about the Merchants Guild’s representative reminded him of Grace. She definitely wasn’t an opponent he could handle, not with words.

Eventually, the blue woman made the announcement that steered the meeting away from the stalemate it had been stuck at.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Grace, Master Black Qi," The blue woman announced. "I’m Colleen, Chief of the Merchants Guild. By my authority, I declare the Merchants Guild interested in doing business with you."

That was public acknowledgment the other Guilds couldn’t deny. Now that the Merchants Guild had announced its interest in the couple, the latter had also earned its protection, at least passively.

There was only one issue with that matter. While the Guilds spoke for the Kingdom, even they had to respect a third party that was currently sitting at the table.

Looks fell on the bald representative from the Church. He came from the organization no one wanted to risk offending, and siding with the couple while they still had unfinished business with the Church could very well sound like an offense.

And, finally, the Church’s representative opened his mouth to speak.

"I’m Priest Fred," The bald man exclaimed. "Master Black Qi, could I ask you to remove and put away your weapon? The Enforcement Guild’s wine is excellent, and I’d like to indulge a bit."

The statement was quite anticlimactic, but Liam knew better than to be perplexed. All those Priests were utterly strange, so much so that even Adrian had noticed that something was off.

’What education do they go through?’ Liam wondered, but still stored the greatsword. ’What do they know even?’

Liam had learned a lot about the Church, especially its darkest secret, but much of that organization remained mysterious. It was incredibly eerie. In comparison, both Sects and Guilds, and even the Divine Cult, felt simple.

Foundation experts in silver armor soon climbed to the third floor and dealt with the debris, seemingly not thinking much about it. Chances were that such occurrences were the norm in meetings among powerful experts.

More refreshments arrived, but the group left them on the floor now, using the pillows’ arrangement as the meeting area.

"Master Black Qi, Lady Grace," Felix called once everything was set and ready to resume. "Before the meeting moves forward, the Enforcement Guild would like to hear your purpose in the area."

Liam remained motionless, not daring even to drink. He didn’t want to create the slightest variable when branching experts were involved. Still, his role in the meeting was pretty much over.

"My beloved and I wish to engage in what we have always done," Grace explained. "Buying, selling, and trading. Ideally, we also wish to build a small force to facilitate the logistics of a growing business."

Red Boar snorted at the word "force" but didn’t voice his displeasure. However, Liam could guess the other representatives shared the feeling. After all, that wasn’t the border. The Guilds were the only force that could exist.

Of course, that wasn’t necessarily set in stone. Liam and Grace didn’t have the power to establish a Sect, but they could become sort of middlemen that worked for the benefit of the Guilds. The issue obviously was limiting their influence, keeping it subservient to the Guilds.

"What would your goods entail?" Colleen probed.

"We have plenty of wares to unload," Grace revealed. "Be it magical items and alchemical products. Martial arts also wouldn’t be out of the question."

"Are the wares in question those stolen from my Guild?" Red Boar questioned. Despite his harsh tone, he kept himself decently polite.

"Our possessions are our own," Grace declared. "Their origin is our trade’s secret."

Red Boar seemed on the verge of shouting again, and for good reason. Grace basically wanted to double-dip, selling back items Liam had stolen. Yet, no complaints arrived, the Church’s representative being once again at the center of that behavior.

It was one thing for the Mercenary Guild to swallow its pride and accept that rip-off, especially since the other Guilds wanted in on the business. However, the Church was another matter altogether.

On top of that, the Guilds didn’t necessarily know that Liam had possessions from the Archbishop’s inheritance. They could guess due to how the Church had pursued him, but they had no certainty.

Actually, part of the reason behind the silence was of a probing nature. The Guilds wanted to learn about that topic and, ideally, benefit from it. They wouldn’t do it in the open, but they would definitely try to gain access to wares from the legendary inheritance.

Still, Priest Fred didn’t address the matter, at least not yet. Either he didn’t want to fall for the Guilds’ trap, or he wished to leave his issue for last.

"Of course," Grace continued once it was clear that no more complaints would arrive. "Our main trade would be alchemy, as I’m sure all of you have already surmised. My beloved’s fame precedes him after all."

"Ah!" Red Boar laughed. "Do you think us like those backwater places you have traveled through?"

"Lady Grace," Colleen added. "You have just come here, so your ignorance on the matter is more than justified, but this area has alchemists. Two to be precise."

That was actually a first, sort of. The Roaring Thunder Sect also had access to an external alchemist. Grace had managed to sell Liam there out of virtue of exclusivity and immediate availability.

Still, hearing that two alchemists existed in the area was indeed a problem. It wasn’t necessarily surprising since Liam had no monopoly over that noble art. Northern region aside, the place was also closer than ever to the Inner Circles, implying a certain wealth, which could come in the form of masters otherwise unfindable.

Naturally, that little wasn’t enough to defeat Grace.

"While I can’t speak for these masters," Grace exclaimed, "Nor would I dare to speak ill of their skills, my beloved is capable of concocting every sort of rank 1 and rank 2 alchemical product without ever incurring failure."

The news was genuinely unbelievable, but that was a point no one could argue against. While that was the first time Grace had described Liam’s unique alchemical prowess publicly, the Guilds had already guessed as much from everything they had heard.

Even if some boasting were part of the equation, it was at least certain that Liam rarely failed when it came to concoctions. That made him a sure-fire investment, which theoretically shouldn’t exist within alchemy.

Grace also didn’t hesitate to press on.

"And as Whispering Wind has guessed," Grace continued, "My beloved can already interact with rank 3 ingredients. Once he becomes a branching expert, you can expect the same level of quality and infallibility with rank 3 alchemical products."

That was exactly what the Roaring Thunder Sect had hoped to obtain from Liam, albeit Grace was indeed exaggerating there.

Liam’s unique prowess came from extreme, wasteful training. He would have to burn through many ingredients before achieving perfection, which could be challenging considering the rarity of rank 3 resources.

Still, the bait had worked.

"Then," Colleen said, "May I suggest a public alchemical contest? One of the area’s masters might refuse to join, but I’m certain the other wouldn’t hesitate to challenge Master Black Qi."

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