Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 195: Review

Melissa had no words to describe what she had just witnessed. She had been ready to intervene, help Liam somehow, only for everything to have unfolded too quickly for her to keep up.

Liam’s basic speed was just shocking. Now that Melissa had seen his charge from above, her brain could perform accurate calculations, and the results left her speechless.

Liam hadn’t relied on rank 1 movement-oriented martial arts, but it had been close. His acceleration had fallen short of proper techniques, but not by much, and he had achieved that through physical prowess alone.

In a way, that was the basic physical level that magical beasts possessed, which cultivators only surpassed through martial arts.

Then, there had been the direct clash.

The magical beast had suffered a heavy injury, but it remained a level two creature, and its leap could crush boulders.

Nevertheless, Liam had met that attack head-on, using speed to enhance his rank 1 martial art, which almost earned him a draw. He didn’t win, but he had still stopped a level two magical beast pouncing at him.

Now, the coyote didn’t belong to the most fearsome species. Its Qi-enhanced innate gifts stood below many other predators, but it remained fearsome.

Yet, Liam had almost matched that superior level with a rank 1 martial art while being a foundation expert. Merely not breaking anything in that clash already was an achievement worthy of legendary tales.

Still, Liam hadn’t stopped there. He had relied on an actual movement technique afterward, crossing the limit of what foundation experts should be capable of, showcasing a level of control Melissa could barely conceive.

Liam had ricocheted over the ground, launching a needle at the coyote’s exposed flesh in the first sprint, and stabbing his hand through its hide in the second.

Melissa had seen Liam conditioning his hands. She had never asked, but that exchange had confirmed her guess. Even at that speed, Liam’s fingers would have broken with a mere rank 1 martial art. Successfully piercing the coyote’s hide meant he had unleashed something stronger.

And the same went for that moment technique. The first time could have been a product of favorable conditions, but the three sharp and loud sprints that followed showed the true extent of Liam’s speed, which didn’t exist among foundation experts.

Of course, those sprints weren’t proper rank 2 techniques. Liam lacked the Qi to fuel something that strong, but he had still matched the coyote’s speed, managing to exploit the window created by his poisoned needle.

Technicalities aside, after going through the specifics and justifications, Melissa focused on the outcome. Liam had achieved the impossible by killing a rooting expert not long ago, only to reiterate his feat by taking down a level two magical beast.

Lightning never struck twice. The fact that Liam had two of those feats under his belt meant that he had reached that level. Those impossibilities were possible for him.

And Melissa knew how unheard of that was. Liam could very well be the strongest foundation expert who had ever existed, capable of blurring the lines between stages.

Still, after the amazement, Melissa experienced profound pride. Liam was the best there was, and he was her man. Honestly, the feeling made her reconsider whether she shouldn’t have just forced him to cross the line the previous night.

Meanwhile, Liam reviewed everything calmly, without any amazement or pride for his achievement, placing each exchange under a specific category.

Liam now had reliable data about his new tools. He could calculate exactly how strong he was, and the result left him a bit disappointed, his eyes lingering on the metal needle stabbed in the coyote’s exposed neck.

Even with two rank 2 martial arts, a rank 2 magical weapon, and a high-grade circulation technique, Liam had still needed to rely on his poison to win the fight.

Of course, poison was a core part of Liam’s arsenal. It was what his entire cultivation journey would be about.

Yet, Liam had hoped that making full use of his unique talent would have been enough, but that gap had remained insurmountable with his body alone, even when paired with superior martial arts.

Also, Liam accepted that all that had been possible due to the Black Bow. He hadn’t won a direct confrontation. He had succeeded at a hunt, not a battle.

Liam eventually stood up, shaking his hands, even tapping his feet to relieve the soreness that assaulted his joints.

Nothing was broken, which confirmed Liam’s improvements, but he still focused on listing everything he had learned so that he knew exactly where he stood.

’I’m close to rank 1 martial arts with circulation technique alone,’ Liam accepted. ’My actual martial arts push me beyond that, but they only allow me to put up a fight against stronger opponents, not win.’

Victory still came from weapons, poison, and, mainly, strategy, but Liam nodded to himself anyway. That fight had been about discovering how strong he had become, where the threshold only he could exist on stood, and he believed he had found it.

’I can kill rooting experts and level two magical beasts without falling apart,’ Liam acknowledged. ’I just need the right strategy.’

Liam thought about Simon as he retrieved the needle. It had partially bent even when hitting the coyote’s exposed flesh. It would have probably bounced off its hide, but rooting experts didn’t necessarily have such tough skin.

Liam stored the needle and retrieved his smoking powder, whipping out his pipe to start smoking. He hadn’t broken anything, but his body was now low on Qi, and he couldn’t use an elixir while his core had yet to produce enough energy.

Of course, Liam kept his ears sharp while puffing black smoke from under his hood. His battle hadn’t exactly been silent, and blood was now in the air, which could attract the pack he had distracted earlier.

Still, nothing came from the passage downstream. Instead, Liam heard footsteps from Melissa’s tunnel, eventually materializing into two brown figures, a man and a woman, the same foundation experts who were escorting them.

The two cultivators hadn’t seen the battle, but the scene unfolding under their gazes was no less shocking.

There Liam was, pipe sticking from under his hood, his bloodied hands occasionally wielding it to allow him to blow out black smoke. Meanwhile, a mangled level two magical beast lay at his feet.

"E-esteemed guest," The man muttered from the ceiling. "Did you kill it?"

"Yes?" Liam responded, not knowing how anyone could misinterpret the scene, but focusing on something else. "Did the pack in the previous section leave?"

"Yes," The woman responded, her gaze still on the dead magical beast. "It joined the patrol on the surface."

"The path is clear then," Liam exclaimed, and Melissa responded to those words by jumping down.

Before the brown cultivators could say anything, Liam puffed black smoke one last time and stored the pipe, advancing toward the narrow passage upstream. Melissa followed closely behind, and crossing that cavity put them before a shimmering view.

Another lake expanded from the cavity, releasing water into the river without losing depth. That basin was bigger than the first hall, but only featured rocks, and some were translucent, seemingly marking what Liam had been looking for.

’Now,’ Liam thought, calculating the number of what looked like spirit stones, ’How many of them can make a mountain?’