Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 106: Elixir

The combat training stretched past lunchtime, but both Melissa and Liam kept up with it without taking breaks or uttering a single complaint.

That first lesson hadn’t even been too physically demanding. It had only consisted of a succession of battle stances meant to carve new fighting habits, which Liam had completed without breaking a sweat.

Naturally, the same didn’t apply to Melissa, but the Disciplinary Elder’s loud words took priority over her state.

"That’s it for today!" The Elder announced. "Tomorrow, we’ll cover defensive stances. Footwork will follow, and we’ll continue like this until you are ready for combat exercises!"

The Elder directly disappeared after those words, which Liam couldn’t help but study. He had witnessed a similar event several times already, and the recent talk about his new potential enemy prevented him from ignoring it.

’How does the Elder disappear like that?’ Liam wondered, searching for traces of that powerful expert in his surroundings, only to find nothing. ’Is it a martial art? Is it something all branching experts can do?’

Liam wasn’t convinced. After all, the snake had been unable to move like that. It wasn’t even close, so he felt unable to blame that on a difference in innate abilities.

’Maybe the Elder is a peak branching expert while the snake was new to the stage,’ Liam considered. ’Can the difference in the same stage really be this big? Am I assuming the Elder’s stage wrong?’

Higher cultivation stages weren’t just about greater strength. The superior bottlenecks were harder to overcome, and the same went for the paths to get there.

The path issue was also two-faced. It required better nutrients at higher stages, and was allegedly far longer, so it could feature significant power differences even before moving to the superior one.

’It does make sense due to the higher nutrient requirement,’ Liam calculated. ’Does it mean the strength gap between stages will be shorter for me?’ 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Liam’s guess was purely numerical. If such big power differences inside the same stage truly came from the nutrients, his divine talent promised to create far higher upper limits.

After all, Liam would need far more than his peers to achieve similar results, and that greater accumulation could lead to more power.

The advantage wasn’t glaring at the foundation stage since it was the weakest and shortest, but it might deepen the higher Liam went, eventually achieving something theoretically impossible.

’If I become a peak rooting expert,’ Liam wondered, ’Would I be as strong as a newly advanced branching expert? Is that too soon for my advantage to show?’

The lack of first-hand data forced Liam to put the issue aside. The Qi’s quality also remained a key variable. He would have to revisit the topic once he became a rooting expert and saw for himself how many more nutrients his talent required.

So, Liam finally glanced at Melissa. She had regained her usual sweaty appearance after the prolonged training, but had been too engrossed in looking at him to notice it.

"Senior Sister, thank you for today," Liam exclaimed, smiling. "Your stances were truly precise."

That was a genuine compliment. Melissa had reeked of nothing but unwavering confidence, something Liam had noticed after replicating her battle stances all morning.

Melissa shook her head to reject the compliment, only to finally notice her state. Her eyes went wide as she started wiping her sweat in panic, even attempting to escape, only for her back to slam on the dummy.

The sudden clumsiness was the complete opposite of everything Liam had seen that morning, but he only cared about Melissa’s quite violent crash, hurrying toward her.

"Is everything fine?" Liam asked. The impact couldn’t have hurt Melissa, but Liam worried about the reasons behind it.

Liam’s concern ended up trapping Melissa. With him in front of her and the dummy behind, she had no escape and could only lower her head in embarrassment.

"D-don’t look," Melissa pleaded. "I’m d-dirty."

"Where?" Liam asked, checking Melissa all over, unable to label mere sweat as dirt.

"My s-sweat," Melissa explained.

"Don’t you always sweat a lot?" Liam wondered.

Melissa’s heart sank. She had half-hoped that Liam’s uniqueness had made him forget or ignore that ugly trait, but he had clearly noticed it.

"I must look disgusting to you," Melissa sighed, feeling too defeated to stammer.

"I never once thought that," Liam admitted. He was following Joel’s advice now, but that genuine reply still made him shy for some reason.

Melissa timidly looked up, harboring some hope, which deepened at the sight of Liam’s honest face.

"You don’t m-mind?" Melissa questioned.

"I told you already that I don’t mind," Liam stated, repeating yesterday’s words.

Melissa guessed Liam had misunderstood what she was talking about, but it was probably pointless to explain it any further. She was too embarrassed to do so in the first place, and Liam’s close face changed her priorities anyway.

"A-are you busy now?" Melissa asked.

"I have to practice my concoctions," Liam nodded. His Master had actually solved his contribution points issue last night. Liam only had to get good enough to use that solution.

"C-can I watch?" Melissa probed.

Liam hesitated before Melissa’s hidden vulnerability. He didn’t really want to refuse her, and his current training featured nothing secretive. He actually could think of a benefit.

’Master said that I have to learn to concoct no matter the distraction,’ Liam considered, feeling relieved to have found a reason to accept.

"But, Senior Sister," Liam warned. "You should know that rumors about Sister Lucy and me spread after she came to my cave."

The mention of Lucy switched the gears in Melissa’s brain. Her embarrassment vanished, replaced by her still-surprising bold vein, making her grab Liam’s left arm to start leading him toward his cave.

Liam was way beyond questioning Melissa’s actions, so he escorted her inside his cave, throwing a glance at the shelves as the entrance closed. Nothing he might want to hide was visible, which wasn’t much since Melissa had already witnessed some of his biggest secrets.

Melissa suddenly let go of Liam and got on her best behavior, the private situation rekindling her embarrassment. Meanwhile, Liam seized the necessary ingredients before approaching the cauldron, obviously unaware of any of Melissa’s reactions.

Actually, it was Liam’s time to switch gears now. He had taken his kowtows seriously, and the same went for his desire to perform alchemy. He wanted to improve both for himself and to make his Master proud.

Skills Liam had learned during his time as a hunter came in handy there. The absolute concentration required when stalking and waiting for prey allowed him to cut away his surroundings, focusing solely on what was in front of him.

So, Liam began to arrange the ingredients on the floor, imitating his Master’s methodical gestures, before lighting up the log under the cauldron. His hand also went to the alchemical flame, fanning it with his Qi.

Nothing but the cauldron existed in Liam’s mind. The entirety of his perception sharpened to track its heat, rumbling, and other factors, making him completely blind to the fact that Melissa had sat at some distance beside him.

When Liam felt that the time was right, he began to pour the ingredients according to his Master’s recipe, counting the seconds in his mind, wanting to follow a precise, perfect rhythm.

The flame didn’t turn black even after Liam slapped the cauldron’s side, forcing it to expel the last impurities. He stood up at that point, kicking the burnt log away, drawing a flask he had retrieved earlier from his sleeve to immerse it in the item.

Then, Liam lifted the dripping flask to the ceiling, exposing it to the cave’s illumination, revealing its blue color.

’It’s too dark,’ Liam cursed, smelling the liquid inside the flask before drinking it.

The liquid’s scent had already hinted at its inferiority, and the effects that spread inside Liam’s body confirmed it. He felt refreshed and even experienced some increased vitality, but the result was incomparable to what he had drunk in the ruins.

’Master’s Qi Recovery elixirs aren’t the best for nothing,’ Liam realized. ’Mine can hardly be called a rank 1 elixir.’

Since the Alchemy Elder’s elixirs were the Pale Moon Sect’s specialty, he had offered to Liam to join him in that business, sharing part of his personal stash of ingredients.

Yet, Liam had to make something of similar quality for the Sect to accept his elixirs and trade them for points or other resources, and he was nowhere close to that.

Of course, Liam had never expected his first attempt alone to go well, so he proceeded to grab another log and a batch of ingredients, completely forgetting that Melissa was in the cave with him.