Legacy of Hatred

The strategy that the old Liam would have never considered came and settled as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Of course, Liam wouldn’t just commit crimes wantonly, but nefarious actions sounded like the only way to progress through his cultivation journey.

And progressing was mandatory. Liam’s goals and predicament made it so. He had to become strong, impossibly so, to lead the life he wanted to lead.

Liam would get his revenge. He would fulfill his vow to his Master, and he would reclaim what he had been forced to let go.

Liam would get everything or die trying, and strength was key. Strength always was.

But Liam couldn’t be foolish like the lone cultivators who had attacked him. He had to be careful and smart. He had to be a hunter more than he had ever been since the world would be his prey.

Now, Liam didn’t consider himself a smart person. He was learning, but the intricate tapestry that was the cultivation world’s politics wasn’t his specialty. He didn’t like it, and chances were he would never excel there.

However, Randall knew how to use politics. Simon probably did, too, and they had both died at Liam’s hands. He had killed them not because he had been smarter, but through appropriate preparations.

And Liam knew preparations well. Something as basic as surviving might be an impossible mission for him, but he was aware of what he could do to improve his odds.

As much as Liam wanted to test his martial arts through his newfound energy or learn the tome his Master had left him, something else took priority.

Without adequate nutrients, Liam’s core was stuck to its normal recovery speed, demanding longer breaks among the plentiful tests he had to perform.

Also, if that continued, Liam’s core risked withering, so re-enabling his smoking habit had to come first.

Besides, concocting would give Liam an idea of what his new Qi was capable of and improve his control. He would kill two birds with one stone, three since he was an alchemist before everything else.

Liam meditated until his cultivation and body were full, experiencing a welcome surprise. The discomfort the high-grade circulation technique caused was no more. The more abundant Qi it allowed him to hold didn’t make him feel on the verge of bursting anymore.

The breakthrough had made Liam’s body more suitable for the cultivation journey, and that included his meridians. Despite the superior Qi, he felt no struggle containing its abundance, actually finding it a perfect fit.

But what that superiority truly entailed became obvious once Liam got down to concocting.

Liam was thrifty but wouldn’t hesitate to use his belongings when the situation demanded it. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel a bit bad when arranging the ingredients for his first rank 2 concoction as a rooting expert.

After all, those ingredients were Liam’s Master’s last gift. They held some sentimental value, which obviously wasn’t enough to stop him from using them.

However, it took a while before Liam actually got the chance to use the ingredients.

Liam was a rooting expert now, so he didn’t need to rely on compound concoctions to make rank 2 substances. Yet, his first attempt at igniting the log blew it apart.

The superior Qi had made the log unable to withstand the friction technique that had accompanied Liam for months, feeling glad that he had used matches to save energy when smoking earlier.

That confirmed the new power Liam’s energy possessed. It was honestly quite shocking, but it became a headache adjusting to it in that initial phase.

The second log also exploded, and the same went for the third. Liam succeeded at igniting the fourth, only for the black flame that followed to be so tall it burned through it in seconds.

It took Liam a total of ten logs to finally be confident to add one rank 1 cauldron and five ingredients to the equation, with only one in the second rank. He had the recipe from his Master’s inheritance, too, but failures ensued nonetheless.

Rank 2 concoctions were indeed a different beast, and Liam’s still-improving control worsened their difficulty. They were easier than their compound counterpart, but he had no real experience with them or the specific recipe.

But practice made perfect, and Liam’s main worry didn’t present itself. He was making something weak, at the same level of the poison that had enabled his breakthrough, using mostly rank 1 ingredients, and his superior Qi more than sufficed.

Liam didn’t drain himself. He might have just become a rooting expert, his cultivation still needing to start growing, but he could handle multiple rounds of the concoction that had previously made him collapse without taking breaks.

That was due to the Qi’s superior power output. Liam needed far less of it to achieve the same results. It wasn’t quite as superhuman as what his complete foundation had allowed with rank 1 concoctions, but it was decent already, and things would only improve from there.

And, by the fourth attempt, results arrived. Liam slapped the cauldron, and a pleasant, slightly familiar scent reached his nostrils and, oddly, mouth.

Liam scooped the dark powder from the cauldron, placing it in a small pouch before seizing a few grains with his finger and bringing them to his tongue.

The powder tasted disgusting, prompting retches, but it matched Liam’s experience and calculations, delivering something else on top.

The rejuvenating sensations the previous powder and deadly poison had failed to provide in any meaningful way finally arrived. Liam’s cultivation cheered, attempting to refill his Qi reserves and use those nutrients, only for them to be insufficient to achieve anything.

Liam didn’t hesitate to whip out the pipe from his space-ring, preparing it and carefully igniting it, before inhaling the dense smoke it produced.

’That’s the stuff,’ Liam praised, experiencing a slight dizziness that his cheering cultivation made pleasant. Worthy nutrients finally entered his body, stirring a reaction he had been waiting for.

Among the reddish, pulsating canvas, Liam’s cultivation quivered. Something flowed through it, activating the function it finally had the fuel to support.

The ten tiny minor roots shook, seemingly undergoing no change, which couldn’t trick Liam. He was paying utmost attention to the process, so he noticed the minuscule, almost imperceptible growth those protuberances experienced.

Also, the ninety cracks split equally across the spiritual roots broadened, wanting to add more protuberances. Some were affected more than others, suggesting that the growth wouldn’t be homogeneous.

Still, Liam focused on the only thing that mattered. The rank 2 concoction, the upgrade to his poisonous powder, worked as a nutrient that could push him through the rooting stage.

At least for now, that problem was solved.

’I need to get more batches,’ Liam calculated, greedily inhaling from the pipe. ’Master’s ingredients should last me for around nine more concoctions. Even if I don’t smoke too often, I’d be out of powder in a few months.’

Alchemists should account for failures, but not Liam. That wasn’t the alchemy his Master had taught him. Even now, he could have obtained something decent with three attempts, but chose otherwise, pursuing utmost perfection so that he would never make mistakes again.

Of course, Liam could rely on that extreme approach only because his Master had left him enough ingredients. He even planned to limit it to a single recipe that he needed to be reliable for the foreseeable future.

Liam would waste too many ingredients otherwise, and that wasn’t wise until he found a way of getting more of them.

’I also need to invest in testing my venom, or spit,’ Liam planned. ’It would be great if I could make it work as a nutrient, but using it only for offensive concoctions isn’t bad. It would still save me a rank 2 ingredient.’

Liam had to admit that he was feeling a bit hopeful. With what his space-ring contained, the first period as a lone cultivator wouldn’t be too harsh. He had to pace himself, but he wouldn’t be desperate for basic cultivation resources.

And desperation could kill. Just like the foreign hunters Krosstoen’s mountain attracted, the worse Liam’s situation got, the riskier his hunts would be.

Liam couldn’t relax even now. He had no such luxury. Yet, he had a window where he could choose his hunts instead of chasing after anything that might bring rewards, wasting his already scarce resources on something that might not provide financial gain.

That was a rabbit hole of steadily diminishing returns in which Liam would be left with nothing, scavenging for anything. Instead, he had to grow constantly, always accumulating more. He had to get so much that even branching experts would be envious of him.

But something that Liam’s throat refused to allow in suddenly hit him. He coughed loudly, wisps of black smoke escaping his mouth, until the adverse reaction subsided and drew him to the source of the problem.

’Damnit,’ Liam cursed internally, staring at his first mistake as a lone cultivator.

The pipe was still releasing smoke, but half of its bowl had melted. Even its long body had bent oddly, corroded from the inside by a substance too powerful for that ordinary item.