Isabel pulled out tents from her space-ring, building a small encampment. It was honestly shocking how much she carried around, but Liam had better things to do than ponder the size of her storage item.

Lancelot settled in the open to meditate. His Qi reserves might be immense, but his last spell had made full use of his innate advantage. Without elixirs, he needed a bit to refill them completely.

Julian also stayed in the open, surrounded by the automatons’ remains, alternating meditation with absorbed inspection of the inscriptions on the white metal.

Meanwhile, after gathering the white arrows, Liam settled on the elevated area with Robert. Five flowers had appeared there, too, probably allowing the exit from the inheritance, but the two rooting experts never once looked in their direction, focused on sharing their reward.

Robert was transcribing the knowledge from the tome through chalk and paper that Isabel had provided. Per the agreement, that copy would have to be destroyed, but Liam needed it to learn the martial art since oral teachings wouldn’t cut it.

Still, copy or not, the martial art turned out to be peculiar enough to leave Liam confused.

’Aura?’ Liam read on the first pages that Robert had finished. ’What a strange name.’

The strangeness didn’t end there. Unlike other tomes, the rank 2 Aura featured no descriptions of its Qi consumption and training difficulty. It didn’t even have the usual summary about its uses.

’The heroic heart emboldens men,’ Liam kept reading. ’The frightening mind stops men. The sharp spirit severs men.’

Liam reread those lines multiple times, but nothing clicked, and his hood eventually pointed at the cross-legged figure in front of him.

"What?" Robert scoffed, interrupting his transcription. "Do you have complaints about my calligraphy? I’m sorry, I’m not a pampered scholar like you all."

"My calligraphy is also bad," Liam stated. "I just can’t understand what this martial art is about."

Robert’s face became deadpan. Liam’s reassurance had confirmed that Robert’s calligraphy was indeed poor, but he decided to ignore it. Liam had done him a favor with the reward after all.

"It’s some kind of mental attack," Robert whispered, warily glancing at the team down the hall. He had access to knowledge Liam had yet to read, so he had managed to surmise as much.

Liam noticed the glance and summoned one of his talismans, placing it on the floor to isolate the sound. He hadn’t really relied on it for alchemy, but it had come with Grace’s full set.

"Mental attack?" Liam questioned afterward. He knew martial arts could come in many shapes, and the cultivation world had all kinds of strange tools, but that was his first time hearing about something like that.

"It seems to echo your thoughts through the Qi," Robert explained, keeping his voice down despite the talisman, "Or feelings, rather, to affect people."

Liam frowned. He could connect that explanation to something in his experience. Both the hiss and Lancelot’s heated stare had similar effects. He just couldn’t see how effective they could be, especially compared to more traditional martial arts.

"It sounds powerful," Robert commented, resuming transcribing. "One moment of hesitation is all cultivators need. If you can cause it, you can reliably create winning openings."

’Right,’ Liam realized. Despite having relied on similar tactics, the idea of enforcing them with his mind had still been too foreign for him to consider, but Robert’s comment broadened his mindset.

The broadening didn’t stop there. The trial had been multilayered, hiding its true solution behind obviousness, and that could apply to the martial art, too.

’The heroic heart emboldens men,’ Liam repeated in his mind. ’Is it to say that the martial art can strengthen your teammates? Is that how Archbishop Ignatius wishes it to be used?’

Liam couldn’t be sure, and it didn’t matter. Even if it weren’t for the Church’s strange doings, Liam would still live his life his own way, meaning using that martial art how he best saw fit, which most likely meant murder.

However, it didn’t escape Liam how sharp Robert had been. He had the full picture, but his consideration had still vouched for his battle sense.

"You know battles well," Liam praised, letting his curiosity win over cultivators’ customs. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Here and there," Robert casually said, seemingly wanting to remain vague, only for his following words to reveal a different truth. "I just fought until I learned."

That wasn’t a lie. Liam tasted nothing but truth, which was surprising. Robert’s fighting talent was great, even greater if self-taught.

"Where did you learn to wield a bow like that?" Robert asked back, emboldened by Liam’s probe. "I thought alchemists spent all their time behind cauldrons."

"I fired arrows until I stopped missing," Liam revealed, noticing the similarity with Robert’s previous reply.

Robert noticed that, too, and a scoff-like chuckle escaped his mouth. "Maybe we are kindred spirits. Even our noses are sharp the same."

Liam also chuckled. Robert’s whole attire reminded him of his time in Krosstoen’s mountain. Liam had become sort of civilized, but some kinship among savages still existed.

"So," Robert exclaimed, "Master Alchemist, what do you think?"

"About?" Liam asked.

"This inheritance," Robert said, "This team."

Liam couldn’t help but glance down the hall and back at Robert, responding with the only truth he could find. "We aren’t weak."

"Ain’t that right?" Robert sighed. "Ain’t that the problem?"

"If you are so worried about the Church," Liam pointed out, "Why did you come?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Unlike Julian, Liam’s question had no mockery, and what had happened with the reward helped in that regard.

"Not much of a choice," Robert admitted. "Those two are here for fun. They have an oh-mighty Sect to go back to. You and that guy have your valuable trades. I don’t."

Robert finished transcribing another page, passing it to Liam before continuing, "That doesn’t mean I want the Church to hunt me down. You must fill your belly with scraps before you can consider going for full meals."

In a way, Robert sounded like the most sensible cultivator Liam had ever met, until he added his last point.

"So, if we have to burn this place to the ground," Robert said, "At least let’s do it quietly."

’How can we even ...?’ Liam gave up finishing that usual thought, instead recalling something that somehow still surprised him. ’Right, we are all crazy here.’