Legacy of Hatred

Chapter 400: Spar

Those sneaky kisses had a way of stirring Liam’s most basic desires, but his gears had switched. Now that a fight was inevitable, he focused solely on his opponent, following her retreat with his ears.

Naturally, the guardless sword was what claimed most of Liam’s attention. It wasn’t his first time facing those weapons, but he had never fought a proper swordsman. He had received some training from the Disciplinary Elder and seen Maxwell, but that would be a novel experience.

The opponent also wasn’t someone Liam could underestimate. That dark-blue pair had alerted his sense of danger ever since the auction. He wasn’t sure about their minor roots. Their presence alone didn’t feel any heavier than his own, but it radiated a certain threat that spoke directly to his instincts.

Liam now knew that the number of minor roots didn’t directly translate into that weight. He had seen it with Grace and the higher requirements that the last part of the rooting stage demanded.

Which meant that the pair had more than Qi reserves to go on.

Still, once again, Liam had to abide by the stupid rule of not killing, no matter how antithetical he found it to battles. At the very least, his money-hungry partner made it easier to swallow now.

A single second after Grace stopped at some distance away, the tall man lunged forward, his charge swift and instantaneous, cutting through the very air as he thrust his sword at Liam’s face.

To Liam’s surprise, he believed no martial art was involved. That sudden acceleration was nothing more than Qi mastery and ordinary battle stances.

Of course, for Liam to reach such conclusions, it meant he had seen the event unfold perfectly. Actually, the truth went beyond that.

The man’s charge had been incredibly smooth, but there had been signals that had given it away. They hadn’t come in the form of shifting weight, tensing muscles, or other physical cues. Liam’s sense of danger had spiked, warning him that something was coming.

So, Liam had been ready. Despite the sharp tip getting closer to his forehead at shocking speed, he only shifted to his left, performing the least wasteful dodge possible.

That wasn’t just to look cool. That wouldn’t be Liam’s idea of cool anyway.

Weapons had innate advantages. That was a truth Liam had acknowledged ever since his days as a monkey-boy, and the cultivation world hadn’t changed that rule. It had only expanded it and added nuances.

Still, there was a straightforward way of countering weapons. It wasn’t simple to employ, and it didn’t apply to every tool of murder, but Liam knew it worked with swords because that was what the Disciplinary Elder had taught him.

Such sharp lunges required the entire body and focused everything on the sword’s tip. So, as long as Liam crossed that sharp tool, his opponent would be defenseless and within his reach.

The sharp tip missed Liam’s right ear by less than a centimeter, but he was already advancing, his left arm rising, his hand performing a half-spin. He was as tall as his opponent, so it would take him a mere fraction of a second for his palm to land on his side.

Yet, Liam’s senses captured something that wasn’t supposed to happen.

A lunge was a linear attack that shouldn’t allow sudden swings or other follow-ups without the necessary battle stances.

The tall man should have remained committed to the attack, stuck in it long enough for Liam to put an end to the fight, but he heard a whistling right next to his ear, as well as a sharp pressure.

Liam felt it. He knew he had dodged the sword, but he was sure it was coming. He even believed that to be the tip, which didn’t make any sense, but that didn’t matter in the cultivation world.

What Liam could do was the only thing that mattered, and his mind was set. He had never shied away from sacrificial plays. If anything, they had long since become the norm for Liam.

Liam committed to the palm strike as his right hand snapped up. He knew he would strike first. His timing had been perfect, and his Qi mastery was in no way inferior.

Pain spread from Liam’s right palm, but he didn’t care. He knew where his hand was. He could calculate where the cut was happening and how quickly, and the math only reinforced his certainty.

However, before the palm strike could land, the tall cultivator slipped away, his body growing impossibly light as he slid backward over the uneven ground, reaching a speed superior to his previous charge.

"Hey, hey," The tall man exclaimed, his eyes wide, a tinge of surprise and excitement as he kept his sword pointed at Liam. "Brother, have you seen that? Even the mad dogs from the battle cages aren’t that crazy."

Liam didn’t look up, but he knew the short cultivator was staring at him. Still, he ignored that, instead absorbing the warmth spreading from his right palm. Despite the Metal Hand’s conditioning, the cut that trying to catch the sword had caused felt quite deep.

’A weapon art?’ Liam wondered. ’Sword Qi?’

Liam didn’t know much about the field, but that guardless sword was clearly insidious. He didn’t have flexible defensive techniques. Actually, he did, but the Deflecting Gale would deplete an insane amount of Qi and reveal that he possessed a rank 3 martial art.

So, Liam went for the second-best option. He wanted to stick to what Grace had requested, but he had to do something against that sword, even if only delaying it a bit. Luckily, his opponent seemed capable enough not to die on the spot.

The tall man lost his careless excitement when the atmosphere shifted. His smile disappeared, his dark eyes growing serious and sharp. Liam’s whole demeanor had changed, becoming deadlier, and wisps of black Qi eventually leaked from his figure.

Liam couldn’t pull off something as effective as Dominic, but his Qi still provided innate defenses, especially in its true black form.

Even the tall rooting expert seemed to respect that power. His grip on his sword’s hilt tightened as his gaze darted over that black, ethereal energy, clearly wary of it.

"Who are you?" The tall man asked. "I’ve only seen branching experts pull something like that."