Legacy of Hatred

Once again, despite what should be physical hindrances, Red Boar showed quite the uncanny speed. He seemed to teleport to Liam’s side, tall flames rising from his giant hammer as he swung it at the Inquisitor’s exposed torso.

A heptagonal golden shield appeared in the hammer’s trajectory, and Liam could only summon the Qi Repulsion at the warning signals his survival instincts sent.

The clash between the rank 3 weapon and the defensive martial art caused far more destruction than Liam had unleashed earlier. The trembling dark membrane around him shook, shrinking under the shockwaves that slammed into him, which seemed to have no end.

Despite the impact, Red Boar was still pushing his hammer on the ethereal shield, flames blowing from where they had collided. He was gritting his teeth, his face drenched in sweat, but his strength had yet to wane.

"Stop. Underestimating. Me!" Red Boar grunted word for word, the flames from his hammer intensifying, eventually breaking through the Qi Repulsion.

Thundering noises resounded as Liam retreated, but he wasn’t the only one in that predicament. The golden shield had also broken, leading to a horizontal pillar of flames that cut through the ground while shooting into the distance.

’Was that a weapon art?’ Liam wondered, studying the still-raging horizontal pillar from a safe position near the yellow fumes.

Liam couldn’t be sure. There had been nothing fancy like with the Sky-Splitting Bolt, but the swing’s power had been undeniable. In theory, the path ahead was open now, too.

’I need a rank 3 bow,’ Liam cursed internally before having to deal with shouts once more.

"You don’t tell me to be careful!" Red Boar cried, turning toward Liam, angrily raising his hammer. "You are a Junior! You be careful around me!"

The fan hovered down toward Liam, stopping above his shoulder, releasing a clanging noise that sounded like a groan.

’I don’t get him, either,’ Liam thought, talking to the fan, before addressing Red Boar. "You know that he is still alive, right?"

As if to answer Liam’s question, the horizontal fiery pillar suddenly dispersed, cut from within by golden light that forced Red Boar to jump back.

Uncharacteristically for branching experts, the light didn’t unleash apocalyptic consequences. It just forced the flames to disperse, revealing an unharmed figure at the bottom of the previous pillar.

The Inquisitor was on his feet at the groove’s end. He threw an annoyed look to where Red Boar had landed, but his blue eyes soon returned to Liam.

"Is that the power of nine spiritual roots?" Inquisitor Cornelius questioned. "Is that the strength that the Heavens’ best possesses?"

Red Boar’s annoyance seemed to vanish on the spot. He lowered his hammer, his gaze showing a trace of uncertainty while inspecting Liam.

The Mercenary Guild’s representative wasn’t the only one who fell prey to that reaction. While fights were happening on both sides of the area, branching experts were in the fray, and their battles forced many weaker cultivators to retreat to protect themselves.

Those cultivators inevitably heard the Inquisitor’s words, and it wasn’t hard to follow his gaze. Much even made sense when they did.

’Only the Church knew,’ Liam confirmed something he had already suspected, but the cat was out of the bag now. Those reactions told him as much.

The figure who had caused so much chaos in recent years, the member of the new generation at the center of so many rumors, many unbelievable, managed to gain another shocking piece of news about his persona.

Moreover, that was no rumor or uncertain story. Liam didn’t know how important the Inquisitors were compared to Priests, but his white robes were enough to prove the validity of his revelation.

A genius with nine spiritual roots had actually appeared in the world, and it was none other than the infamous Master Black Qi.

Naturally, Liam couldn’t care about that whole matter now. Inquisitor Cornelius seemed to like indulging in conversations, but that could be because the Church would only benefit from wasting time.

Instead, Liam wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but he didn’t know how. Even his physical strength, one of his few advantages over others, had failed. He had more in store, but the Inquisitor did, too.

The solution didn’t come from Liam. There were two other people on the scene who had yet to make a move, and one of them acted now, even taking Liam by surprise.

’That woman,’ Liam sighed internally, a smirk forming under his hood when he saw a dark-green pill materializing right next to Inquisitor Cornelius, the very pill he had made during the alchemical contest.

Due to the nature of the plan, Liam had armed Grace as best as he could, including one of his two rank 3 Poisonous Cloud Pills. The plan was for her to leave, but that wouldn’t be her first time going against Liam’s orders when it came to his safety.

It seemed Liam and Red Boar had provided enough distraction for the Inquisitor not to notice the invisible branching expert in the area, which was why the pill exploded before he could even realize what was happening.

Dark-green fumes enveloped Inquisitor Cornelius, tainting the environment, but actively seeking his Qi. That poison was specific to cultivators, for their cultivation, and he was infected before he had a chance to retreat.

However, branching experts had quick reactions, especially in the mid-stage. A humming shockwave unfolded as soon as the dark-green cloud formed, blowing it away, this time hurting the world.

Tiles of soil blew away and shattered before they could fill the air. A crater opened due to the mere pressure generated by that martial art, but the Inquisitor wasn’t the only one with quick reactions.

Among the audience, Liam was the only one who didn’t fall prey to surprise. Patches of his skin exploded as he flew through the humming shockwave, the fan pushing him forward despite his body breaking, his greatsword stretched forward, serving as a spearhead.

And the spearhead collided with the Inquisitor’s chest, piercing it before the whole area turned black, swallowed by an all-devouring energy.

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