Exhaustion assaulted Liam, but its source was too familiar to take him by surprise or have any meaningful effect.

Being a rooting expert had given Liam the superior Qi necessary to unleash his rank 2 assets’ true power. Yet, the energy requirements had also increased.

On top of that, Liam had arranged most of his arsenal around his divine talent, be it by his own choice, his Master’s, or the Pale Moon Sect’s Leader’s.

Liam could decide how much Qi the Black Bow used, and the same went for the Seismic Palm, the Lightning Step, and the Poisonous Breath. All four of those allowed extreme Qi consumption, which translated into superior power.

That was by design. Liam preferred it that way since it would make full use of his vaster cultivation, of his unmatchable Qi reserves. It was the best way to exploit his innate advantage.

However, that advantage would show the full extent of its unfair power at the stage’s peak, which Liam wasn’t even close to reaching. He might have finally developed his first minor root, but ninety-nine of them still stood behind that goal.

Hence, unleashing those rank 2 assets at their highest possible power in quick succession and without any restraint had emptied Liam’s body faster than what his core could refill, leaving him drained.

Of course, Liam’s cultivation was hard at work. New Qi was already being refined through the high-grade circulation technique and flowing into his body. His core was struggling, but also keeping up with that emptiness better than before.

The times when Liam would collapse or need extensive rest due to the technique’s demands were long gone, and his developed minor root had improved on that. Yet, he only focused on battle applications now, finding an undeniable limit.

’Four, five,’ Liam counted, ’Two before that, then another. The arrow, the Poisonous Breath, the Seismic Palms.’

The quick math told Liam that his current limit was slightly above ten fully powered rank 2 martial arts, which was similar to what his maximum number of Seismic Palms had been.

Nevertheless, that past limit involved Liam’s complete foundation, while his current one was with his cultivation at its weakest. His Qi reserves could get a hundred times vaster, and the math became scary at that point.

If Liam succeeded at reaching the rooting stage’s peak, he would be able to unleash over a thousand unmatched rank 2 attacks. That meant being able to fight at full strength for days and weeks, which was the same as not having a limit.

And despite all that, despite such a potential being unthinkable for ordinary cultivators, Liam didn’t feel satisfied. After all, there would come a point when fellow rooting experts had nothing that interested him anymore. His target would move to branching experts instead.

’I need to start looking into rank 3 martial arts,’ Liam decided, squatting down while activating the space-ring, "And that other thing.’

Liam reverted to his previous attire, donning the cloak, storing the bow, and summoning the pipe. Meanwhile, he uncovered the corpse at his feet.

The ravaged face of a man in his thirties appeared in the open, but Liam’s attention was mostly on his body. He was littered with holes and caved-in skin from where the rank 2 venom had melted his flesh, but the process hadn’t been as extensive as with the test on the mouse.

’The venom is deadly,’ Liam reaffirmed, ’But rooting experts also have innate defenses.’

The assassin had lasted longer than Liam had expected after being injected with the venom. Meanwhile, Lancelot seemed to have literally burned it out of his system.

The cultivation world had countless techniques and methods, so even a deadly venom wouldn’t necessarily ensure death, antidote or not.

’Should I improve my venom?’ Liam considered. ’Will it improve as I develop more minor roots?’

Liam half-believed a natural improvement would happen. After all, his venom glands were part of his body, of the soil. He also wanted to continue saving money, but he might need something deadlier in the future. Actually, if everyone were as crazy as Lancelot, he needed it yesterday.

Scenes from the battle played themselves in Liam’s vision as he kept undressing the assassin. Unlike with Lancelot, that had been a proper fight, telling Liam exactly where he stood.

Liam’s fighting style was decent. Despite his training being limited to several months, he could hold his own in melee. That aspect of battles simply lost some value due to how superior rank 2 martial arts were.

Liam also confirmed that his body was a solid, uncommon asset. He had guessed that with Elder Dominic already, but the assault he had been able to endure proved that point.

The punch, especially, was emblematic of Liam’s physical prowess. It hadn’t been a martial art, but it should have still sent him flying away or cracked his jaw. Yet, he had just taken it. His mouth felt stiff and sore, but nothing was broken.

’The Poisonous Breath is difficult to use,’ Liam thought. ’Unless I can breathe in someone’s face or fill a cramped environment, it’s mostly useful as a defensive tool.’

The Metal Hand had been reliable as always. It might have met its match against the assassin’s defensive technique, but Liam had long since accounted for that risk.

The unshakable grip and bone-breaking punch had been other applications of the Metal Hand, which Liam could pair perfectly with the Seismic Palm and Lightning Step.

Also, since everything else about Liam’s arsenal depleted so much Qi, the Metal Hand was priceless as an alternative, no matter its shortcomings.

’The Seismic Palm is showing its limits,’ Liam recalled. ’I needed two direct hits to kill, with the second fully focused on internal damage.’

That was an unavoidable disadvantage of rank 1 martial arts. Liam could empower them through his superior Qi, but there was a limit to their power output.

It was like a dam blocking a lake. Liam could have access to the latter, but could only pour it through a limited channel, one that his opponents’ superior Qi could endure.

However, the one thing that left Liam completely satisfied was the Lightning Step. Its lack of upper limits went beyond its extreme Qi consumption. He could chain those speed bursts together, relying on both his vaster cultivation and stronger body, producing better results than anything else in his arsenal.

"That’s quite the thorough job," Grace’s voice resounded from behind Liam, alongside steps he had long since heard. "Master William, are you perhaps used to looting corpses?"

Liam diverted his gaze in thought, corpses flashing in his memory, before providing an answer. "Yes."

"I admit your story gets more intriguing by the day," Grace said, squatting at Liam’s side to study the ravaged corpse. "Poison masters sure are scary."

"Will more come?" Liam genuinely asked. As a former Sect disciple, he had read about the existence of the Assassins Guild, but how it operated was beyond him.

"This should tell them that going after us isn’t worth the cost," Grace explained. "In turn, they’ll tell whoever hired them that they should let our rise to power happen."

Grace then glanced at Liam, believing she had to add a warning. "So, don’t go thinking about destroying the Assassins Guild."

"I’d rather kill those who hired them," Liam admitted, not forgetting about the seven rank 2 items he had sensed from a distance. "Say, can you find me an extreme-grade circulation technique?"

"I didn’t know you had a suicidal vein in you," Grace commented before recalling the issue with Elder Dominic. "Scratch that. I’m surprised you are still alive."

Liam knew those techniques were dangerous, but he only stared at Grace, not adding anything.

"You are serious," Grace sighed, forcing herself not to make any connection. "Those don’t exist on the market. They are akin to treasures too valuable to sell. Some Sects might have them, but I wouldn’t know which."

’Probably Sects closer to the Inner Circles,’ Liam guessed. After all, his Master’s high-grade circulation technique came from there.

"What about rank 2 items?" Liam continued. "And rank 2 martial arts?"

"Most of what I have at that rank is borrowed from the Guild," Grace explained, "And they rarely are for sale. If anyone could buy them, the Sects would lose relevance overnight."

"Do you want my martial art?" Liam wondered after confirming that rarity. "It’s a bit time-consuming to train, but it’s effective."

A month ago, Liam would have sold the Metal Hand to Grace, but their relationship had changed. If there were money to be made, they would make it together.

As for the martial art, Liam didn’t see any problem with Grace learning it. He wasn’t doing anything with its tome anyway.

Grace also understood those intentions and responded by driving her hand under Liam’s hood to push him down on the snow.

"You are walking a fine line, Master William," Grace announced, standing up to walk away. "A fine line!"

’Women,’ Liam cursed internally, patting off the snow from his cloak while also standing up.

"The others didn’t have anything," Grace revealed, continuing to walk away. "We got a rank 1 weapon and a communicator. I would have given the former to you, but I saw that you have something better."

"Where are we going anyway?" Liam questioned. He had been focused on smoking, and he trusted Grace, but the time to ask that question had arrived.

"The place your new sworn friends said we could go to if we were in need," Grace declared. "We are going to the Roaring Thunder Sect."