Legacy of Hatred

The dark-red aura around the spear was wild and chaotic, changing nature and frequency each second, never playing the same tune twice.

When paired with the spear’s power, that energy’s effects turned out to be quite deadly.

Andrew was a mess, his poor condition going far beyond his missing arm. While the first amphora had healed him, Liam had prevented him from drinking all its contents, and the poison had kept doing damage.

It wasn’t just about the ongoing infections, either. Andrew had been immersed in the toxic swamp during the previous exchanges, and Liam had coated both his greatsword and fan in his venom, applying additional doses.

Flesh that had just regrown started melting again. Black patches and blood vessels expanded over Andrew’s figure, and even his Qi began leaking dark trails, disrupting its functioning.

Even as a mid-stage branching expert, Andrew couldn’t fight that infection. His Qi was stronger, and he had more of it, but the quality of Liam’s poisonous energy and venom was just too high, making that gap negligible.

Andrew still wielded the otherworldly vitality of a being that had pushed his superior existence even higher, but the air was also an enemy. The area Liam’s alchemical spell had affected was clouding the sunlight, continuing to apply its toxic effects.

The dark-red aura was strong, but also inferior. It was a built-up mass of wild Qi, but it belonged to the rooting stage. In normal times, Andrew would have fended it off with his presence alone, but he just couldn’t now.

Andrew lifted his stump, the darkened air above him solidifying, gaining his dantian’s traits, only for the Qi that had fueled the process to shatter. The dark-red aura cleared the path for the spear, which stabbed his shoulder.

The spear didn’t stop at the shoulder. It dug through Andrew, impaling him diagonally, coming out of his left side, before shining with a silver light.

Andrew didn’t hesitate. As soon as he saw the silver glow, he brought the second amphora into his mouth, barely managing to empty it before a massive explosion unfolded.

A silver star expanded in the sky, its blinding rays darkened by the black air. Some pierced it, clearing the path for the real sunlight to shine through, while others fell prey to the poison.

Andrew was still in the sky when the silver star waned. His figure was charred all over, some black patches still oozing fumes and tainting his Qi. His skin even featured holes, a few leaking blood, the biggest one being the diagonal channel carved by the spear.

The transparent liquid under Andrew’s feet was the only unaffected aspect of his condition. Still, despite the many injuries, he looked somewhat stable, definitely stable enough to glare at the figure sticking out her tongue far away from the apocalyptic clash.

"Slut!" Andrew shouted at Rachel, the air around him shaking due to the anger carried by his presence, but a change in the liquid beneath his feet drew his attention away.

The world suddenly turned black once more, as if a brush had drawn a vertical line connecting the toxic lake with Andrew.

Before the blackness could disperse, Liam had already jumped, arriving at his target, only to find an unexpected scene.

The transparent liquid had taken a spherical shape, shielding Andrew from the alchemical spell, but paying a hefty price. Most of it was gone, large tears having replaced much of its fabric, while the remaining part had expanding black stains all over it.

Yet, Andrew was safe, having survived Liam’s attack, his tanned skin now brown. Even his missing arm had reappeared, the amount of Qi it radiated marking it as a spell.

It seemed Andrew had summoned a smaller version of his previous armor, but none of that mattered for Liam. He hissed as he swung his weapon upward, cutting through the liquid’s remains to reach his prey.

Andrew slammed his feet on the greatsword, a shockwave stronger than what his previous armor had unleashed exploding downward, deflecting the weapon.

The impact was so heavy that Liam’s figure spun forward, brought down by the force pressing on his weapon, exposing him to the punch aiming for his face.

A tide of black Qi blew against the punch, the clash parting it, shockwaves seeping past it, only for Liam to push through. The fan had returned to his feet in the meantime, propelling him through what was left of the blow despite the damage to his skin.

Andrew was ready for Liam. His other arm was already swinging at him, faster than he could lift the greatsword due to the force still pressing on it, but that was when a drum-like noise echoed.

A sea of black Qi surrounded Liam at that single step from his best martial art. He was slower than the punch, so he hissed from the bottom of his lungs, pouring the entirety of his built-up energy into the cry.

With the Seven Hellish Steps and Primal Urge enhancing Liam’s cry, his hiss served as a proper sound wave. Andrew’s mind spun for a fraction of a second, his punch losing power, creating a window Liam could exploit.

Before Andrew knew it, the greatsword had descended upon his head. His brown skin cracked, blood spurting from beneath it, but his skull remained in one piece.

However, the blow still sent Andrew flying down, slamming him back into the toxic lake, which had greatly expanded and deepened after the second alchemical spell.

Andrew recovered in no time, but Liam was already upon him, the fan having flung him off so that his descending slash could build as much momentum as possible.

Two brown fists met the greatsword, and the lake opened, slime flying everywhere, including the two cultivators behind the clash. Liam and Andrew found themselves several meters away, both being far from good.

The swamp was eating at Andrew’s brown skin, and the cracks on his head and knuckles meant more venom in his bloodstream.

Meanwhile, Liam was gasping for air, hisses mixing with his deep breaths. Even the amount of black Qi his cultivation was releasing had diminished, signaling its dwindling reserves.

For all of Liam’s advantages, he remained a low-stage expert with only eight branches. He wasn’t out of Qi yet, but Andrew was faring far better in that regard due to his superior cultivation.

Also, Liam had used no healing methods, so his condition looked far poorer, but that was about to change.

"I guess it’s only fair," Liam hissed in human words. "For you to continue the enlightenment you interrupted."

Andrew wasn’t sure what that was about until he saw the toxic waters’ fumes converge toward Liam’s figure, invading his injuries, filling them, eventually giving birth to new, dark flesh.