Legacy of Hatred

Cold, mighty gales blew over the second plateau, their temperature dropping even further with each minute the afternoon crawled through the night.

Liam’s robe fluttered to no end, pressing on his body, attempting to hinder his movements. Yet, his gestures remained swift and precise, adding distinct whooshing noises to the cacophony of gales.

The wooden knife in Liam’s grasp danced. He thrust, swung, and even let it go mid-air, only to catch it to wield it sideways while performing a new series of specific battle stances.

Once Liam was done, he switched hands, repeating the process so that his inborn proclivity wouldn’t become a limit. Being left-handed was no excuse for having no mastery in his right hand.

At least, that was what the stern Disciplinary Elder had said once.

The sharp winds made for a poor training environment, but cultivators could ignore such minor, natural hindrances. Instead, Liam had his fatigue to contend with that day, feeling its unusual but understandable heavier burden.

Truth be told, fatigue had become the norm for Liam. He felt it constantly, like a subtle but never-ending gnawing pain, which wasn’t physical most of the time.

Liam’s dantian had long since grown overworked, requesting breaks that never arrived. There were good and bad days, but that was one of the worst.

After all, Liam had dedicated the entirety of the previous night to the new alchemical frontier his Master had invented, the compound concoctions, and his first attempts had been as disastrous as he had expected.

Of course, that was natural. Even geniuses couldn’t get right something that hadn’t existed until that very day, and Liam didn’t belong to that lofty category anyway.

Still, the compound concoctions had been more exhausting than Liam’s already-strenuous, usual training. He had emptied his body and dantian to perform three tests, the former twice, and both had yet to recover completely.

Normally, Liam would have just collapsed at that point, but dawn had arrived, forcing him to go through his poisonous powder furiously in the hope of getting through the combat lessons.

Smoking was no magic solution. Liam’s Qi kept him standing and functional, but his limit had arrived, as it had many times before in that period. Clearly, that day he would have to sleep properly.

The Disciplinary Elder could see Liam’s exhaustion as clear as day. He was standing at some distance from him, inspecting his battle stances, and nothing could escape him.

From the dark circles around Liam’s eyes to his sluggish moves, his exhaustion was evident. Yet, the Disciplinary Elder also saw how Liam didn’t let his state translate into mistakes. He performed the battle stances slower than usual, but they were correct.

That wasn’t even an unusual scene for the Disciplinary Elder. He had seen Liam arrive at his lessons in a similar condition multiple times, and it wasn’t his place to comment on it, so he didn’t relent until the training was done.

"That’s enough for today," The Elder declared when Liam finished the round of battle stances. "Disciple Liam, get some rest."

Liam stored the training knife in his belt and cupped his fist at the Elder, who vanished right afterward. Liam straightened himself at that point, and some dizziness afflicted him once his head went up.

’Yes, I’ve reached my limit,’ Liam thought, rubbing his eyes while the wind blew on his face. ’I need to sleep before Master comes.’

The event was quite timely. In theory, Liam was done accumulating alchemical knowledge for now. He only had to focus on the compound concoctions for his breakthrough, meaning that his routine finally had time for some breaks.

Of course, Liam still wouldn’t stop unless necessary, but today was one of such cases.

Before Liam could reopen his eyes, he felt observed, but peeking at its source raised no concerns, the opposite, actually.

As always, Melissa managed to arrive just in time to catch the end of Liam’s training. However, she had also witnessed a clearer clue of the exhaustion she had long since noticed that day.

"Melissa," Liam called, instinctively smiling, already turning to welcome the beautiful woman under his arm.

Melissa didn’t disappoint, reaching Liam and wrapping her arm under his, only for her emotionless face to look up at him.

"Will you rest today?" Melissa asked, comfortable enough in her interactions with Liam to avoid stammering.

"I will," Liam nodded, leading Melissa down the path, "But come to my cave anyway. I must give you something."

Melissa usually left Liam alone when his exhaustion reached its peak. She had already decided to depart after the short walk to her cave, but the sudden request stirred the shameless gears in her brain awake.

It had been two months since the night before Birgan’s Falls, two months of nothing but one kiss a day. Despite understanding and not daring to get in the way, Melissa was growing restless.

A woman had needs, and Melissa had discovered hers, and she was starving.

Of course, Melissa didn’t delude herself. The truth had probably to do with the Qi-Storage Pill she had filled for Liam, which was incredible news. Actually, it was terrific, promising to revolutionize her entire cultivation journey.

Yet, even considering whether that was true filled Melissa with the urge to repay Liam, bringing her thoughts back to her shameless imagination.

However, when Liam and Melissa reached his boulder, he felt observed once more, and that sensation was far from pleasant now.

Melissa sensed the newcomer, too, but her emotionless mask almost crumbled when she and Liam turned. There, atop the descending path, a blonde, messy-haired man looked down at them, his friendly smirk betrayed by his piercing brown eyes.

That man was none other than Simon, who hadn’t made an appearance ever since the Mutated Battlefield’s mission.

"Junior Brother!" Simon exclaimed, calmly descending the path. "I’ve been looking for you. I’ve also been told I would have found you with Junior Sister."

Internal conflict assaulted Melissa. Instinctively, she felt like retreating, hiding behind Liam’s reassuring frame, seeking the same protection he had once provided, the very moment that had probably birthed her feelings for him.

However, Melissa couldn’t shy away. She was no helpless woman, and her desire to stand proudly beside her lover vastly outclassed Simon’s fearful superiority.

Besides, Melissa wasn’t just anyone’s woman. She belonged to the best foundation expert in the world, and she wanted to earn her place at his side. Her power paled compared to Liam’s, but she could at least uphold her duties as her lover.

That meant being with Liam, no matter the odds or how distressed Melissa felt. It was a pointless declaration to anyone stronger than them, but an unwavering stand nonetheless.

As for Liam, he saw the absence of the sickish complexion on Simon’s face. He even felt Melissa’s grasp on his arm tightening, but he remained eerily calm, hisses already filling his ears.

"Senior Brother Simon," Liam greeted, not performing any additional ceremony.

"Always the strong look," Simon chuckled, commenting on the feral expression that had taken over Liam’s face. "Would you calm down? Senior Brother already gave me an earful, and he is someone who actually earned my respect."

Since Simon was a core disciple, Liam easily connected the dots. It seemed Maxwell had stayed true to his word, preventing Simon from causing trouble for the couple.

"Though I admit I’m surprised," Simon said, stopping before the couple and crossing his arms. "Junior Sister, you were always so reserved. To think you only needed to get a man to drop the act and spend every day in his cave."

The stench only Liam could smell intensified, but he didn’t say anything. However, he didn’t like whatever look Simon was throwing at Melissa, so he stepped forward, partially hiding her.

"I guess that’s how women are," Simon faked a dramatic sigh, unaffected by Liam’s gesture. "Keeping our local genius in your graces must also require a lot of work. I hope Junior Brother won’t discard you once you become too loose."

There was an insult there. Liam could smell it, but failing to understand it allowed him to stick to his calm yet feral appearance.

"Senior Brother, why have you come here?" Liam asked.

"Right, I almost forgot," Simon exclaimed, looking up at Liam. "I am to be the team leader in the imminent recruitment period. You’ll join me and Sister Anastasia, my fellow core disciple."

A flicker ran through Liam’s gaze, but his face remained strangely emotionless, only continuing to exude feral concentration. He recalled the woman with the fancy hairstyle in the upper plateau, but his thoughts went elsewhere.

"At least try to appear honored," Simon scoffed. "Only core disciples can join this mission, but getting handed everything might have messed with your sense of gratitude. Masters, ingredients, women ..."

"Senior Brother, I am honored," Liam responded, almost mechanically, clearly not feeling any gratitude at all.

Simon’s look turned into a glare. He didn’t like how calmly Liam was matching his gaze. Strangely enough, he even felt some slight pressure, which only deepened his annoyance.

"We depart in one week," Simon eventually said. "I’ll evaluate your performance. If it’s as satisfying as your unbelievable achievements say, the Sect might break its stance on cultivation stages and make you a core disciple."

Truth be told, Simon knew that Liam was already a core disciple. He only lacked the cultivation level to make the news official, but even that was a technicality at that point.

Nevertheless, the news did put a smile on Liam’s face, albeit Simon couldn’t help but sense something ominous behind it. His annoyance deepened even further, but he had no more time to waste on such trivialities.

"Oh, and get some sleep," Simon ordered, "Especially the night before the departure. As the mortals say, women make for slow legs."

That probably was another insult. Honestly, Liam couldn’t be sure, but his facade held strong even after Simon turned to leave.

And, Liam probably was the most surprised of them all about his behavior, even if that had an explanation that required no thought to find. It didn’t have anything to do with his exhaustion or probable new maturity, either.

Despite not knowing the mission’s contents, Liam would be in close contact with Simon, creating an opportunity he had been waiting for.

Simon was prey, and Liam was the hunter. His experience in the field had translated into his behavior, preventing him from revealing anything recklessly.

After all, that was where Liam’s skills lay, and some hunts went beyond physical traps. Just like snakes, Liam had to approach that bigger prey silently and emotionlessly, not giving anything away until it was already trapped in his coils.