Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 72: Deal

An entire week had been a considerable amount of time not long ago in Liam’s life. Yet, days went by in a blink for cultivators, even if their superhuman resilience enabled fuller use of them.

Liam had it even worse than the average cultivator. With his techniques, lessons, logs, and books, he actually wanted more time. He was so busy that a mere week couldn’t be enough to accomplish anything, but those days passed anyway, and some accomplishments did arrive.

Liam got even better at the circulation technique, no longer needing the odd breathing pace, and the same went for the logs. He had yet to light up one hundred natural alchemical flames in a row, but mastery had steadily grown closer nonetheless.

Moreover, on the appointed night, the Alchemy Elder released Liam far earlier than usual, allowing him to return to his cave to rest and prepare, leaving him with two additional physical proofs of his progression.

Liam sat down and puffed from his pipe while staring at the other two items he had concocted that week. One was a flask with a green liquid, while the other was an uneven pill seemingly made of compacted dirt.

Naturally, Liam had only dealt with the alchemical flame in both concoctions, which had featured far more complex procedures, but some pride still formed inside of him while inspecting the items.

’Master said I should bring both with me,’ Liam thought, dark smoke blowing out of his nose. ’What else should I bring?’

Joel’s secrecy partially hindered Liam’s ability to prepare for the mission, so he settled for basic necessities. He stored the flask and pill in his sleeves, some provisions in his black pouch, and put his last knife in there, too, just in case.

As for the pipe and poisonous powder, Liam finished smoking and left them in his cave as he headed for the Sect’s entrance. Most animals relied on smell, so he couldn’t imagine himself finding the time and safety to use them in a place overrun by magical beasts.

’I do smell like it, though,’ Liam sniffed himself. ’I wonder if the magical beasts will consider me poisonous and stay away.’

As a hunter, that smell was unforgivable, but a cultivator might benefit from it, so Liam put the matter aside. His gaze only lingered on the second plateau for a bit before he crossed it, too.

’I haven’t really done anything as an inner disciple,’ Liam considered, the Sect’s entrance getting closer by the second. ’I should get some benefits, whatever they are. Otherwise, nothing changed.’

Liam was already looking to rearrange his daily routine when his sleeves caught his attention. According to the Alchemy Elder, that was where alchemy and poison masters hid their weapons, but Liam wasn’t too convinced.

’I wonder if cultivators have better methods to carry stuff around,’ Liam thought, including his pouch in that pondering. ’How am I supposed to fit a whole cauldron in there?’

Of course, those problems were for when Liam might end up leaving the Sect or spend prolonged periods of time away. Still, arriving at the Sect’s entrance distracted him from those thoughts.

"I’m glad that Junior Brother could make it," Joel announced, greeting Liam with a bow, waiting for him on the flat space below the Sect’s paths.

"Senior Brother Joel," Liam also greeted, bowing, but still noticing the simple pouch on Joel’s back.

"We should hurry," Joel smiled. "The others are waiting."

Joel darted away at Liam’s nod, and the two descended the mountain before heading North. Neither restrained their speed, quickly putting significant distance from the Three Peaks as they navigated through a snowy forest.

That went on for a while, bringing Liam farther than he had ever been after joining the Pale Moon Sect, crossing a distance and terrain that even horses would struggle to match, stopping only when the forest finally ended.

Winter was also ending, but the late hour kept the night cold. Vast patches of snow still covered the rocky plain that stretched from the last tree, but Liam couldn’t focus on the environment when he sensed, smelled, and saw two additional people.

Two figures had been waiting for Liam and Joel. One was the enchanting Melissa, who performed a silent bow at the newcomers, her simple ponytail falling past her shoulders during the gesture.

Instead, the other figure was someone Liam was more familiar with. Somehow, Randall was also there, his greeting bow far stiffer than the blonde girl’s.

"Everyone is here," Joel exclaimed, smiling, but not forgetting to address the elephant in the room, or plain. "Junior Brothers, I know your relationship didn’t have the best start, but I hope you can look past it and cooperate tonight."

"Of course, Senior Brothe-!" Randall began to say, pure politeness reeking out of his tone, only for a far colder voice to interrupt him.

"No," Liam stated. "Senior Brother Randall tried to trick me and lied about me. I can’t look past it."

Randall shot a cold look at Liam, which he matched. Their mutual enmity couldn’t have been more evident, but Melissa completely disregarded it, as if lacking any interest in it.

"Brother Liam," Joel called, trying to sound as friendly as possible. "I’m asking this as your Senior Brother. I would greatly appreciate it if you could do me this favor."

That was Joel’s way of asking Liam to give him face, to respect his status enough to put aside those minor squabbles. However, Randall shook his head, knowing that Liam wouldn’t understand that concept.

"Is Senior Brother asking that I get punished twice?" Liam questioned. "First, when Brother Randall tried to trick me, and now by asking me to ignore that?"

Liam had actually gotten something out of that. He had become an inner disciple, but his words rang true in Joel’s mind. Joel had indeed asked the wounded party to move on, as if blaming him for that problem.

Of course, Joel’s request had simply had Liam’s complaint in mind. Still, Liam remained correct and, most importantly, more necessary.

"Brother Randall," Joel called. "Can you think of a way to patch things up?"

Randall’s eyes went wide, snapping at Joel. He couldn’t believe that Joel had caved to such a childish argument. That wasn’t the way of the cultivation world at all. Actually, that decision stated that Joel was willing to insult Randall to favor Liam.

It meant that Liam was more important than Randall in Joel’s eyes.

And Randall wanted to complain, but the growing intensity in Joel’s face told him that no argument could work. Randall either swallowed his pride or left, and, unlike Liam, he knew better than to insult a rooting expert.

"Junior Brother, I’ll give you the first rank 1 item I find," Randall promised, "No matter what it is."

"That’s a generous offer!" Joel exclaimed, looking back at Liam. "Don’t you think, Junior Brother?"

Liam’s face was still cold. He couldn’t trust a proven liar, but the promise of a rank 1 item did sound good and enough to compensate for what had happened.

Besides, as long as Randall was alive, he could always pay for going back on his word.

"Fine," Liam nodded, and both Joel and Randall relaxed, only to blink at his following words. "I won’t kill him."

Liam’s words were so surprising that even the uncaring Melissa couldn’t help but glance at him, only to divert her gaze soon after.

Still, the situation didn’t allow any further development since four new figures appeared in the distance, crossing the plain at high speed toward the group. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Ah, they are here," Joel announced when Liam and the others began to notice the incoming figures. "Brothers and Sisters from the Crimson Warrior Sect will also join us tonight. We just need to have a small tournament first."