Legacy of Hatred

While the meaningful conversation with Anastasia gave Liam much to think about, something that held far greater weight in his mind soon took over.

As off-putting as Simon wanted to appear, he waited by the forest’s edge for his companions before setting off again, leading the way to the intended mission’s location.

Of course, Liam didn’t see that as kindness. He honestly didn’t care what it was. If anything, he rejoiced that no carriages were involved since the trip allowed him to start gathering data for his hunt.

Running was an ordinary practice, but Liam didn’t ignore any detail, no matter how slight, and he uncovered a lot from observing his Senior Brother.

Simon was seamless. His simplest steps were firm and powerful, but effortless. That was his natural stance, his norm, hinting at how much stronger he could be when he put some effort.

The same went for Anastasia. She matched Simon’s speed, but she seemed to slide over the yellow grassland, as if her steps were too graceful and light for the world to notice.

Meanwhile, despite being empowered by the high-grade circulation technique, Liam felt compelled to focus on the synchrony between muscles and Qi to keep up with what his Seniors saw as normal.

Clearly, there was a chasm between Simon and Cecilia, which was understandable. Maxwell’s swiftness had enlightened Liam to the true power of circulation techniques, and Simon was at his level, meaning that his abilities had to be equally inspiring.

Of course, Liam wasn’t sprinting at full speed nor using martial arts, but so was Simon. The gap between their basic stats looked so vast that Liam believed even the Primal Urge would fail to give him a chance in a direct clash.

In hindsight, that vast power difference was to be expected.

Liam had won against Cecilia by a fluke, even after choosing the most suitable battlefield and emptying his deep reserves of Cloud Pills.

Still, Cecilia was an average rooting expert without a single rank 2 martial art, while Simon was someone who had attempted the breakthrough to the branching stage. He was also a core disciple, meaning that his arsenal was on a different level.

Sure, the new additions to Liam’s arsenal had enabled him to take down a level two magical beast, but there had been many favorable circumstances.

The coyote hadn’t been the most fearsome Qi-enhanced predator. It had also lacked special abilities, and Liam had inflicted a deadly wound before their fight could start.

Besides, nothing said that Simon lacked higher-grade circulation techniques. Liam was half-certain that he had one, meaning that his recent gains had merely fixed a disadvantage rather than giving him an edge.

’I can’t let him counterattack at all,’ Liam concluded during the silent trip, knowing that Simon could turn the tables on any trap and strategy as soon as he found an opening.

That conclusion should have been disheartening, but Liam felt nothing of the sort. That wouldn’t be his first time hunting something faster, stronger, and bigger than him.

Unlike the lone cultivators, Liam also knew he could hurt Simon. He was far from harmless. Actually, he had plenty of deadly tools at his disposal. Everything was about laying the right strategy.

Still, something else also stood out during the journey, a curious but trivial detail Liam had failed to notice while traveling to the Mutated Battlefield due to his exhaustion and the butcher.

Simon and Anastasia just didn’t need bathroom breaks, like at all. Even after two days of uninterrupted running, they seemed immune to that urge.

Now, Liam had seen similar changes in himself, mainly when it came to eating, but two full days were simply a lot.

If there was one quality besides sheer strength that proved how cultivators were different from mortals, Liam believed it was that one.

Nevertheless, by the third day, when Liam’s ankles had long become sore, the trio finally reached their destination. It was a series of seemingly ordinary short hills, made yellow by the wilting grass.

The place looked ideal for pasture, but nothing of the sort occupied it. Actually, Liam saw and heard nothing at all, his senses alerting him to the unnatural nature of the scenery.

’A formation,’ Liam immediately concluded.

Of course, Liam had read about the place, but seeing that vast expanse of fake nothing still put much into perspective.

By now, Liam had seen how the Pale Moon Sect, the Mutated Battlefield, and the Crimson Warrior Sect had formations around them meant to trick and keep away mortals.

It stood to reason that the other four Sects would have similar measures, and the addition of those fake hills hinted at a trend Liam couldn’t ignore anymore.

’How many of these places are around the Kingdom?’ Liam wondered.

As a mortal, the cultivators had felt unreachable, but now Liam couldn’t stop finding more traces of their existence, creating a network that was nothing short of flourishing.

Of course, that was a misconception caused by Liam himself. His strength had made the world smaller, or rather, it had shortened distances that had previously felt insurmountable, allowing him to cover enough ground to see more of those magical places.

But there was something else. According to the books, the Outer Circles were broader than the Inner Circles, but also scarcer in cultivators, fueling Liam’s imagination.

’If the Outer Circles are already like this,’ Liam pondered, ’How exactly are the Inner Circles? Will I find cultivators around every corner?’

"It seems the genius kept up," Simon said, cutting the inspection short, "Barely. Let’s go."

It was a cold afternoon, but the world changed after the trio crossed an invisible boundary. The temperature sharply rose, as if it were still the peak of summer, and the hills disappeared, replaced by a thick forest that grew over what looked like an immense depression.

The place was a canyon full of tall trees with green crowns so vast they prevented Liam from understanding how deep or wide the area was.

The first part became somewhat clear as the trio dived into the forest. The flourishing ground dropped steeply, only rarely featuring flat areas that were mostly the result of thick roots that had expanded over the surface.

However, Liam ended up focusing on the trees themselves. Some were ordinary, while others were huge, being taller and thicker than anything he had seen in the past.

Also, there was Qi in the air and ground, and a lot of it. It didn’t reach the Mutated Battlefield’s level, but it was thick nonetheless.

’So, this is the Swallowing Forest Sect’s special training ground,’ Liam thought.

Unlike other missions, the Sects took turns hosting those tournaments during the recruitment period. It would have actually been the Rising Waterfall Sect’s turn, but the order was changed, and Liam half-believed that the jade he had given Maxwell had something to do with it.

As for the tournament itself, it was nothing short of a battle royale, and the trio reached its organizers once the night had descended.

At the forest’s lower point, two figures wearing green robes were waiting by a trunk as wide as a building. One was elderly, his long white hair and beard neatly combed straight, while the other looked to be in his fifties, donning no beard, with short black hair and a simple smile.

Of course, the two green-robed cultivators’ most striking feature was that they were both branching experts. They were Elders of the Swallowing Forest Sect.

"Disciples from the Pale Moon Sect," The elderly man greeted, having long noticed the trio’s arrival. "Welcome to the Evergreen Canyon. The other teams are already in position, so please, seize your tablets."

Words and bows followed. Liam even absent-mindedly performed the latter. Still, everything soon dampened, as if a buzzing had taken over his entire perception, cutting off the world to narrow it down to a single detail.

Naturally, it wasn’t a buzzing that took over Liam’s perception. It was a low, continuous hiss that had rung as soon as the other green Elder looked in his team’s direction, revealing the entirety of his brown eyes.

There was no cold, chilling gaze. Liam didn’t even hear that black-haired man speak, but he knew. His hair stood on end as his instincts screamed in recognition.

That recognition went both ways. As soon as the other Elder looked at Liam, a flicker ran through his gaze, and his eyebrows began to arc in surprise before he forcefully stopped that reaction.

And, while Simon and the white-haired Elder kept exchanging words, Liam and the other Elder only looked at each other, knowing that they had been made out.

After all, merely one year ago, Liam had just been a little beast, while the Elder had been his white-masked captor.