Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 48: Illusion

Liam’s consciousness went dark, but only for a few seconds. He awakened quickly, only to find himself on Erik’s back.

Erik was hurrying through the forest, the additional weight not hindering his advance at all. However, Liam’s vision soon stopped spinning. He recovered and awakened completely, leading to anger.

"What are you doing?!" Liam shouted, jumping off Erik’s back, landing on the snow to check his surroundings. He could see the tracks Erik had left, and his gaze followed them to understand where Lucy might have gone.

"Junior Brother!" Erik called. "We must escape!"

Liam turned a deaf ear to the request, but his arm moved on its own when something tried to grab it. He was still wielding the cracked knife, and Erik found it pointed at his throat while a firm hand held him by his collar.

"What have you done?" Liam asked, his voice chilling while more strength flowed into his grip, lifting Erik until his feet left the ground.

Erik was beyond shocked. Liam’s innocent, clueless mood was nowhere to be seen. What looked like pristine killing intent had replaced it.

In a way, Erik felt no different from when the magical beast had chased him. That instinctive fear simply had Liam as its source now, which left him speechless.

Nevertheless, Liam wouldn’t let any shock waste his time.

"Talk!" Liam urged, lightly tugging Erik, his single arm enough to keep him in the air. "Why did you hit me? Why did you drag me away?"

Erik knew he shouldn’t answer, but Liam’s evident anger replaced his shock with annoyance.

"How clueless can you be?" Erik scoffed, disregarding his position to express his real feelings. "You truly have no idea of how rare you are, have you?"

Liam frowned in confusion but didn’t tug Erik again. His brain had started to connect dots, but Erik spoke again, accelerating that subconscious process.

"A genius with nine spiritual roots can improve a Sect’s standing on his own," Erik explained. "Your talent is so unheard of that the Pale Moon Sect is willing to sacrifice all its outer disciples to keep you safe."

Dots kept connecting, forming a complete puzzle. Liam had guessed much of the Sect’s politeness toward him was due to his talent, but he had underestimated how deeply those repercussions went.

"We have all received orders to watch over you," Erik revealed. "The Elders are even offering rewards to whoever manages to keep you out of harm’s way."

The crowds that formed whenever Liam appeared in public suddenly made sense. Even that morning’s extensive gathering gained a new meaning. It had felt odd for so many disciples to stick around the plateau despite the available missions, but that behavior had an explanation now.

Everyone had been waiting for Liam so that they could get the opportunity to team up with him.

Erik and Lucy’s strange looks also fell into that category. Everyone but Liam was on the same page. They all had orders to keep him safe, even if that meant risking their own lives.

Something shattered inside Liam at those realizations. He had known about his talent’s role, but the innocent parts of him had still been happy about that general acceptance.

Liam had gained a home. He had obtained comrades who shared his journey. He had even found a friend he believed he could trust, but all that felt like a naive illusion now.

Everyone, even Lucy, never saw Liam. He was his talent and nothing else.

A hiss resounded in Liam’s ears as that illusion shattered. He felt angry and betrayed, but mostly toward himself. The truth was that he was the problem. Liam had been the one who failed to understand how the cultivation world worked.

And that lack of understanding had culminated in something Liam had sworn never to experience again. He had been protected once more, forsaking others while hiding like a coward.

"Never protect me ever again," Liam threatened. "I’m the one who protects."

Before Erik could voice his confusion, Liam threw him away, flinging him on the snow with one arm before turning toward the tracks on the snow. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Junior Brother!" Erik called, his sense of duty overcoming his shock toward Liam’s raw strength. "You have seen that magical beast. We must escape!"

’Me? A hunter running away from a beast?’ Liam thought, the hiss in his ears intensifying. ’Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.’

Liam hated himself for ending up in that situation, but that only steeled his resolve. He glanced at the cracked knife in his hand before throwing it away, choosing instead to focus on his fingers.

’Clueless!’ Liam cursed himself. ’Stupid, clueless boy! You are a cultivator, so act like one!’

Liam closed his hand into a fist, experiencing the power that ran through it. That was far more than any mortal weapon could possess. Actually, the sole fact that he had dared to bring a knife was an insult to his new status.

’They made me into a weapon, didn’t they?’ Liam wondered, his gaze returning to the tracks while his other senses sharpened to search for anything that could give him some clues.

"Shut up," Liam ordered. "I need to concentrate."

Erik frowned. He hadn’t said anything, but Liam wasn’t talking to him. Liam needed his ears, and the hiss was getting in the way. Yet, that cry subsided at his order.

’You are faster than this,’ Liam thought. ’They forced you to become faster than this. They carved it in your body.’

Terrible memories from his time with the Divine Cult flooded Liam’s mind, but he only focused on what they contained. The torturous training had rebuilt him. It had given him instincts that always came out whenever the situation demanded it.

Now, it was only a matter of using those teachings willingly, adding the Qi to them. Liam was also in a forest, his comfort zone, so he couldn’t imagine anyone or anything being faster than him there.

And, as soon as a specific noise reached Liam’s ears, he shot forward, forsaking any limitation the still-mortal parts of his mind were attached to.

Erik wanted to urge Liam to escape again, but never got the chance. Instead, his mouth opened in shock at the sight of Liam’s vanishing figure. Somehow, Liam seemed to have become as fast as the magical beast.