Legacy of Hatred

While the alchemical competition had yet to start, plenty of people were already paying attention to the balcony, even those still busy setting things up.

The attention became general once Liam hit his fellow master, since gasps and more resounded throughout the area, bringing every eye to the balcony. The scene just made no sense, and tension ensued.

Felix, Colleen, and the other experts in charge of managing the event got ready to intervene, obviously on the flamboyant alchemist’s side. Liam was only a guest, and his disrespectful behavior would speak poorly for the Guilds who had vouched for him.

Only Grace could avoid freezing in surprise since she had learned about that proclivity in the Roaring Thunder Sect. Yet, her brain was already concocting tales to salvage the situation.

As for Liam, he didn’t care about the suffocating tension on him one bit, reacting before anyone could.

"Alchemy isn’t for entertainment," Liam scolded. "Only utmost perfection is allowed."

Naturally, the flamboyant alchemist wasn’t hurt. It had been unexpected how quickly Liam had swung his cane, but the successful attack had mostly come from the element of surprise.

Nevertheless, what literally everyone would have seen as an act of disrespect ended up making the flamboyant man grin. He inspected Liam in amusement, the emotion on his face becoming excitement by the time he straightened.

"I have misjudged you greatly," The flamboyant man admitted. "I’m known as Master Vermillion."

Liam didn’t care for acknowledgment, but Master Vermillion seemed to have backtracked his stance, so he introduced himself. "They call me Black Qi."

"Master Black Qi," Master Vermillion called. "Shall we let our alchemy speak for us?"

Liam must have shown interest because Master Vermillion didn’t wait for his reply. He didn’t even bother to ask whether the Guilds were ready because he hurried to his rank 3 cauldron.

"Leave, you useless disciples," Master Vermillion snorted. "Get me ..."

Master Vermillion listed a series of ingredients that Liam recognized. He wanted to concoct a basic rank 2 Qi Recovery elixir, and no one tried to get in his way.

Felix left the balcony, while everyone below hurried to finish the last preparations. By the time the two foundation experts returned with the ingredients, Colleen had even made an announcement to get the crowd excited.

Instead, Liam just stared at Master Vermillion. For all his talk about entertainment, everything he did once he sat behind the cauldron was perfect, from his ingredients’ arrangement to his emotionless, egoless stance.

Only Liam and Master Vermillion were on the balcony once the concoction started, the former standing, the latter sitting. The alchemical flame was also perfect, and the flamboyant man dealt with every variable Liam spotted more swiftly than he ever could.

That was the advantage of the branching stage. Experiencing the world at a different pace and having access to superior Qi enabled actions Liam couldn’t see or perform. Still, he knew they were correct, even if he couldn’t understand them.

Out of habit, Liam summoned his green jade, taking notes. He mostly guessed since he couldn’t see the world through a branching expert’s eyes, but all that was preparation for when he got there himself.

However, one hour into the concoction, Master Vermillion’s stance changed. Liam sensed ego joining the equation, affecting the alchemical flame, changing the vibe it radiated, which the black cauldron echoed.

’He must have used it for a while,’ Liam absentmindedly thought. Magical items could grow wills, especially after constant exposure to a branching expert’s Qi. He knew his Master’s cauldron had also gone through a similar change.

Violent rumblings and multicolored smoke followed. The cauldron seemed to be struggling to contain whatever Master Vermillion was doing. Still, his face only showed pristine frenzy as he suppressed those reactions while continuing to add his intense ego.

Breathing became difficult for Liam. He was the closest to a branching expert expressing his power after all, but he didn’t move. He couldn’t. No matter how contrary to his Master’s teachings the scene was, there was undeniable greatness at work.

Still, a torrent of smoke eventually erupted from the cauldron, enshrouding the balcony in a dark cloud. The concoction had failed, but Liam didn’t move even then, letting his senses capture everything they could.

"That was a bust," Master Vermillion laughed, the pressure his voice released blowing away the cloud, allowing him to grin at Liam. "So, Master Black Qi, what do you think?"

Liam took the question as permission to approach the laboratory and peek into the cauldron, sticking out his tongue and sniffing loudly to understand what Master Vermillion had tried to achieve with that messy practice.

To Liam’s surprise, he actually understood the goal.

"Do you have an earth core?" Liam questioned.

"Correct," Master Vermillion confirmed, his smile broadening. "And?"

"Qi Recovery elixirs specific to a core’s nature have been abandoned because the addition of another ingredient to the recipe didn’t justify the benefits," Liam announced. "You replaced the additional ingredient with your Qi. No, you also tried to force the basic recipe to become specific for earth cores."

"You have a keen eye and great knowledge," Master Vermillion praised. "I also attempted to use my intent to convince the ingredients to change nature."

The intent part belonged to the branching stage. Those cultivators were beyond the world, unshackled by its limits. They could tinker with the Heavens in ways Liam still couldn’t fathom.

However, Liam understood the other side perfectly. It was what his Qi’s affinity caused. Master Vermillion had simply pushed it one step further.

Master Vermillion hadn’t only relied on his Qi’s affinity. He had also used his energy as an additional ingredient, effectively improving the recipe.

Liam already did the first part. His whole training had actually been about suppressing it due to his Qi’s unnatural compulsion. Yet, adding his energy as an ingredient wasn’t something he had tried, mostly because the alchemical flame dealt with that part.

’But I have done that with both Melissa and Grace,’ Liam realized. ’Why isn’t he using Qi-Storage Pills instead? It’s way too unstable like this. Ah, right.’

Using a finished product in a concoction multiplied the variables and wasted money. Liam had pursued the practice because it involved Melissa and Grace’s breakthroughs, which were priceless for him, but even he didn’t bother considering it in normal circumstances.

Still, there was something else that Liam could see worthy of that far higher expense now.

’If I add my Qi as an ingredient,’ Liam calculated, ’And refine everything through the black alchemical flame, would that be enough to overcome the Dragons’ immunity?’

Liam’s fingers itched to get down to that experimental field. While immensely expensive, his poisons might see a stark jump in deadliness since he would apply his Qi’s deadly nature twice.

’Would that surpass the Heavens’ realm?’ Liam wondered. ’With my venom, my Qi, and the black flame, would I finally close the gap with the superior stage?’

Liam was already taking notes, coming up with theoretical recipes. Those products would only serve as weapons, but the practice could be the final answer, the true solution to the cultivation world’s iron-clad rule.

Of course, Liam didn’t have the time to perform experiments now.

"Well," Master Vermillion called. "Master Black Qi, I’m eager to witness utmost perfection."

No one seemed to care about Master Vermillion’s failure. The audience was a bit rowdy, but in excitement, happily discussing what they had just witnessed. It was a privilege to see an alchemist in action, even when the connection didn’t succeed.

That changed soon enough. A foundation expert from the Merchants Guild delivered the same ingredients Master Vermillion had used to Liam, and he set up his laboratory in no time, immediately sitting down to concoct.

By the time Liam placed down a single flask of a rank 2 Qi Recovery elixir, the entire area was silent. Mouths were open, and eyes were wide, but no one dared to do as much as breathe, afraid to taint the perfection they had just witnessed.

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