Legacy of Hatred

As a newly advanced branching expert, Grace couldn’t have been more prepared. She had a full set of rank 3 martial arts and even more rank 2 techniques to complete her arsenal, but that didn’t necessarily imply superiority.

First, the Church had complete sets of those unique golden martial arts, even giving them to their members quite freely. They weren’t strictly powerful. Their main advantage seemed to be in their empowering coordination, but they remained fast no matter what.

Then, Grace was facing a minor version of the issue that would afflict Liam after the breakthrough. Her mental capacity and control had always been great, prompting her to rely on magical items for the most part, only for the branching stage to put an end to it.

Rank 3 magical weapons obviously existed. Grace had even bound her high-tier shield. However, the abundance of flying swords she had displayed at the rooting stage was impossible to replicate. There simply weren’t that many items at that level available.

Moreover, while Grace had all the right tools, her progress in the branching stage had been minimal at best. Spirit stones, her main nutrient, had a fixed amount of energy, and even wasting tens of thousands of those had led to little improvement.

That was the difficulty of the branching stage, which put Grace in a pickle. Her Qi reserves were far from satisfactory, and her talent worsened that problem. Most of her rank 3 arsenal even had high to extreme Qi consumption. Without weapons to compensate for her weakness, she wouldn’t be able to fight for long.

Of course, battles weren’t math. Grace was more of a survivor than a warrior, but she perfectly understood her role in that situation.

After charging ahead, Grace had to fend off a new barrage of bullets. This time, Priest Fred unleashed the attacks directly through his hand, avoiding lengthy casting to prevent his opponent from messing with it again.

Grace could remain in the air because her Qi made her weightless, but fighting properly without a foothold wasn’t possible for her, and floating wouldn’t cut it against a fellow branching expert with more experience than her.

Yet, Grace had a trump card, the one that had turned her life around, enabling her main goal.

Golden light filled Grace’s vision. The bullets were already on her, and she could probably take them, but didn’t need to. A layer of colorless Qi enveloped her figure and started to tremble.

The bullets dispersed when facing the Qi Repulsion, failing to affect its size, but they didn’t stop coming. The world in Grace’s eyes remained golden until a wave of energy blew from her figure, destabilizing the barrage of attacks flying at her.

Liam struggled to perform additional actions while using the Qi Repulsion, but Grace was better than him in that regard. Part of that came from her superior stage, but her technique was also to blame.

The interference Grace’s Qi caused was nothing special. Just like Liam’s energy poisoned on its own, her Qi could interact with similar energy, affecting it in the simplest ways possible since destruction was easier than creation.

There were obviously nuances depending on the martial art and caster’s power, but Grace could disperse something as basic as the golden bullets with a mere thought.

While the golden halo lingered, Grace could finally witness the scene ahead. As expected, Priest Fred was retreating on his flying sword, likely planning to rejoin whatever the Church had prepared.

Dealing with smart opponents was annoying. Loose cannons like Julian were far easier to dispose of, but Priest Fred was playing it safe. Sadly, he had committed the mistake most experts at his level tended to make.

Priest Fred was ready to launch more bullets to hinder Grace when something heavy slammed into his mind, making him squint his eyes and bend forward, almost toppling off his sword.

As unexpected as the event was, Priest Fred knew what had happened. He had been hit by the rank 2 Aura, one of Archbishop Ignatius’ original creations, but the culprit hadn’t been the woman chasing after him.

Still, Grace was Priest Fred’s main problem now.

Grace was certain Priest Fred would have forgotten about Liam. No matter how many impossible feats her beloved accomplished, it was hard for seasoned branching experts to disregard their biases against cultivators in lower stages.

As soon as the Priest showed signs of unawareness, Grace released Qi from her feet, her figure accelerating as a result. She reached the Priest in no time, colorless talons growing from her fingers.

The Priest recovered before the attack could hit, but Grace had predicted as much. Liam had told her about his capabilities in great detail, pushing her toward a different strategy.

Grace’s talons stabbed Priest Fred’s chest, but also pushed him off his flying sword, and the two went plummeting toward the ground.

Golden light flashed through the sky, only for a violent, colorless gale to clash against it, shaking the plain beyond its breaking point. Priest Fred had attacked during the fall, but Grace had responded with the Deflecting Gale, keeping herself safe.

That changed once Priest Fred’s back slammed on the ground. Another golden flash unfolded, and the same went for the colorless gale. Still, Grace ended up shooting backward through the trembling, cracking ground, a diagonal wound connecting her waist to her shoulder.

At the earthquake’s epicenter, Priest Fred was on his feet, his chest bleeding, but his injury already closing due to the golden halo that enveloped him. There was also something far brighter in his right hand, almost too blinding to inspect.

Priest Fred wielded what looked like a sword of pure light, its piercing properties having overcome the Deflecting Gale’s defenses. Still, he wasn’t the only one with healing techniques.

Colorless tissues grew from Grace’s injury, sealing it before regaining her natural complexion. However, sweat also began to fall from her face. The rank 3 Life Qi was an incredible technique, but it devoured energy at an unfathomable pace.

Yet, Grace knew she had to push herself a bit more, just a few additional seconds.

Grace disappeared, a deep footprint having replaced her figure. The Defying Stomp sent her to Priest Fred in no time, her talons pointed at him, but he hadn’t stood still, either.

Priest Fred’s figure had grown golden and unclear. It was retreating, creating a blur almost as fast as Grace. He still wanted to escape, but Grace’s speed forced him to swing his blinding sword once more.

Grace crossed her talons, attempting to deflect the blinding sword, only for it to cut right through them. Her martial art bought her enough time to duck under the swing, but she had lost the initiative at that point.

Nevertheless, that was enough.

Priest Fred completely became a blur, shooting backward, only to stop after a mere meter, since a fist-sized trail of pure blackness cut through it.

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