Legacy of Hatred

Both allied and enemy underlings warily watched as Liam followed Rachel into one of the rocky formation’s narrow passages, not daring to resume fighting until he was gone.

Liam couldn’t really blame those experts. He was indeed more dangerous than he had expected, a walking time bomb who could poison the world as soon as he unleashed his true nature.

There was simply no point in fighting when death could arrive so suddenly and randomly. Still, Liam carried wariness of his own.

After what Liam had overheard, he had expected Rachel to take an aggressive stance toward him, but she casually led the way on her spear, arms behind her back, humming happily despite being in enemy territory.

There was also confusion. Liam understood the valuable opportunity the Dark Heaven Tribe saw in his power and skills. He could even accept Rachel attempting to charm him to bind him to it, but Amber’s advice changed everything.

’Is it a culture unique to the southern region?’ Liam wondered. ’Why are women always so incomprehensible?’

Luckily, the trip through the rocky formation had plenty to distract Liam with. He heard incessant crawling inside the surfaces he flew among, and red banners hanging all around radiated a subtle aura that attempted to mess with his senses.

Clearly, knowing the right path wasn’t the only requirement to entering the Red Sandstorm Tribe. Still, as intricate as the narrow passages got, Liam never lost his sense of direction, and nothing came out of the rocky surfaces, either.

It was surprising how Rachel also seemed unaffected, but Liam kept his brain in battle mode rather than inspecting that playful beauty more than necessary.

’How are they even controlling so many magical beasts?’ Liam pondered.

After what Liam had witnessed outside, he connected the crawling to more centipedes, but his pondering went much deeper.

Needless to say, Liam’s mindset had expanded several times already in the short period since his teleport. The branching stage’s capabilities and the southern region’s unique practices had drastically altered his perspective.

Some of it felt obvious due to the branching stage’s intrinsic perspective. Liam just saw and understood things now, so there was a limit to how much they could surprise him.

But what Liam had to process was still a lot. His starting point was incredible, but he was clearly just a newbie to the branching stage, his uniqueness making things harder than they had been for Grace.

The issue wasn’t even with processing the new possibilities. Liam wanted to master them to perfect himself once again, and he couldn’t see himself succeeding in a short time.

’It’s truly a great divider,’ Liam nodded internally, recalling the teachings in his Master’s inheritance. ’Even if the branching stage weren’t long, learning to wield its powers would take more than years.’

Things were actually worse than that. Liam probably would need years to learn all the branching stage had to offer, let alone master it.

As Liam tried to devise shortcuts, the passage ended, opening into a vast area. It was a circular valley of sorts, the slopes around it acting as natural defenses that protected a series of stone habitations immersed in a shimmering lake.

Actually, immersed wasn’t the right word. The habitations were part of elevations from inside the lake. They had been carved into existing rocks, and that probably applied to the entire valley.

After all, Liam had already seen similar shimmering waters twice in his life. He could even spot translucent shapes on the lake’s bed. That was a spring of spirit stones, one even bigger than Birgan Falls’.

’It’s not all,’ Liam sensed.

The spring wasn’t the sole reason for the area’s high Qi density. More tunnels stretched from the encircling slopes’ bases, diving underground, leaking more of that energy. Valuable minerals were likely there.

The underground tunnels also hid many presences, being in direct opposition to the stone city’s near-emptiness. The Tribe had evacuated its weakest members, only leaving one guardian in the open.

A man in his forties sat cross-legged atop one of the elevated houses. He was thin, with disheveled long black hair and average looks that Liam found vaguely familiar.

Usually, Liam’s senses would instantly grant him answers. He had always been incredible with details, but it took him a bit to get there now.

Of course, branching experts lived at their unique pace. It felt like a lot for Liam, but understanding arrived almost immediately in reality.

’A Young Master?’ Liam guessed. The man resembled Laurel and, mainly, Jacob.

"First Young Master Caspar," Rachel greeted, confirming Liam’s guess. "The rumors about your seclusion were true. Congratulations on your successful breakthrough."

Rachel politely cupped her fist, the matter indeed worthy of celebration. Caspar was a low-stage branching expert, a newly advanced one, by the sound of it.

Caspar had been glaring up at the pair even before their arrival, and a snort resounded at those words. "The Dark Heaven Tribe’s slut actually speaks my name. Is it because you aren’t hiding your theft now?"

"First Young Master, you hurt me," Rachel exclaimed in a teary voice capable of shattering hearts. "You said the Golden Flute was proof of your love for me. Was the happiness I felt that day based on a lie?"

Caspar grimaced but ignored the theatrics, instead moving his attention to Liam, who was a far more curious sight.

"Also," Rachel continued, smiling timidly, elegantly pointing at Liam. "I swore the name Big Brother to master Dark Wanderer alone."

Caspar rose to his feet, a mocking grin on his face. "Are you another fool she hoodwinked? Fellow Daoist, heed my warning. Stop doing her bidding before her withered heart makes you betray your ancestors."

Liam had heard the exchange and figured out a lot, but nothing could distract him from the opportunity that had presented itself.

"Fellow Daoist," Liam called. "Will you try to stop us from reaching your Tribe’s vaults?"

Caspar couldn’t ignore the instinctive danger he felt. A fellow branching expert was also deserving of respect, so he crossed his arms and announced his stance. "You won’t take a single spirit stone from my Tribe."

"Good," Liam exclaimed. "Let’s fight, and be sure to do your best."

It turned out Liam didn’t need to devise a shortcut. It had appeared in front of him.