The rank 2 Metal Hand’s tome had been sitting in Liam’s ring, so Grace had offered the Roaring Thunder Sect a trade after worries about scams became nothing more than a distant memory.

Yet, goodwill or not, the Roaring Thunder Sect was a far superior party compared to Liam and Grace. Any trade had to end in the Sect’s benefit, or they simply wouldn’t happen.

Exchanging a rank 2 martial art, tome included, for the chance of learning a technique at the same level was an undeniable financial loss.

Martial arts required depictions, precise instructions, breathing drills, and detailed use of the meridians. That knowledge was impossible to pass down through voice alone. At least, neither Liam nor Grace could do it.

Two cultivators could use the same martial art, but their unique traits would make for a wildly different learning process. It was like reading a universal language, only for everyone to translate it into their own words, according to an understanding that would be incomprehensible to others.

So, from the outside, it could look as if Grace had been the one getting scammed, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth, and Liam knew it.

Selling was better than buying. The latter always involved the seller’s share after all, on top of the price inflation appropriate to the good’s rarity.

Liam could have made a lot of money by selling the Metal Hand’s tome. He could have also avoided parting with it, allowing others to purchase the chance to learn it without ever losing that source of income, instead creating a stable one.

However, the cultivation world spun on more than money. Its best resources weren’t something spirit stones could buy for the sole reason that no one would be willing to sell them.

Guilds had plenty of resources, even valuable ones, but enforced strict control over them. Status could provide privileged access, but purchasing them would involve an entanglement with their political network rather than cold money.

Sects were even worse in that regard. Their wealth was the best both in terms of size and quality, but nothing could ever escape their grounds. Their very superiority in the cultivation world would be at stake otherwise.

So, in context, what Grace had achieved was a little miracle, an expensive one Liam was willing to see through to obtain a permanent boost to his arsenal that would be otherwise impossible to get. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The financial loss was merely the price for that access. If anything, as steep as that unavoidable tax was, Liam and Grace had to consider themselves lucky to have had the opportunity to pay it at all.

Of course, even with all that sacrifice, the Sect had still added a ploy, another barrier to maximize benefits and more.

’This is indeed complicated,’ Liam concluded in his mind after skimming through the small tome on his cave’s floor.

"There’s just no winning against Sects, is it?" Grace sighed, sitting beside Liam, also looking down at the tome. "All the clever ploys in the world are meaningless when they wield far better cards."

Grace’s comment wasn’t limited to the current situation. What she had to sacrifice was emblematic of her position against her Clan. She had done the impossible against the Roaring Thunder Sect, but the latter had still cornered her.

The comment also forced Liam to think deeper about the matter, quickly uncovering the full extent of Beatrice’s ploy.

"They want us to waste time learning this martial art," Liam voiced his conclusions, "So that we either deplete fewer ingredients during the remainder of our stay or decide to stay longer."

The Sect and Grace’s commissions were taken care of, but Liam still had to handle himself.

In theory, Liam had less than two weeks for that, which could still amount to hundreds of rank 2 alchemical products, which were an absurd personal wealth.

However, the morning lessons would cut that down by a third, and learning the complicated martial art could shrink that even further.

"Or join the Sect altogether," Grace added. "That’s what they want the most. Even if they won’t get it, they’d still be settling for losing nothing."

The ingredients the Sect had given away weren’t really a loss since it had no use for them, not immediately, and definitely not in such quantities. Retaining a monopoly prevented sales, and external alchemists had queues and huge prices to abide by, meaning Liam had given value to unwanted weight.

The Sect wouldn’t even lose the martial art it had given the two, and it had gotten alchemical demonstrations, proper lessons, and a new rank 2 technique on top of that.

That was leagues beyond what Grace and Liam had accomplished in the valley. It wasn’t even the same playing field.

"I’m surprised you did it," Liam admitted. "This trade wasn’t exactly profitable."

Liam didn’t see it as something bad, but it was obvious that Grace cared about profits above all. Her face literally lit up whenever she earned money, which didn’t apply to the latest trade.

Grace’s expression grew deadpan, hiding traces of anger.

"I did it for you," Grace bluntly said. "Righteous inheritances usually aren’t dangerous, but I don’t trust Lancelot or whoever he recruited. I also don’t trust your ability to stay out of trouble."

For the first time in Liam’s life, he experienced what his blinding innocence inflicted on others, leaving him speechless. He also understood why Grace had gone for a defensive martial art. She wanted him to be safe.

"You should also be wary during your lessons," Grace sighed, elegantly removing her small crown to put down her hair. "The Roaring Thunder Sect will surely try to pull off something."

Grace drew a comb from her sleeve, proceeding to brush her long hair, only to continue feeling Liam’s gaze on her.

"Master William, what is it?" Grace chuckled teasingly. "Do you prefer a more disheveled look?"

The question snapped Liam out of the damage caused by the previous honesty, sending his attention to his memories. Compared to every other woman, Melissa had always been quite disheveled, and she was the only exception for Liam.

"I think I do," Liam said. He didn’t believe Melissa’s looks or grooming had anything to do with what he felt, but that trait still reminded him of her, probably creating a specific taste.

As for Grace, the unexpected response froze her for a second before she drove her hand under Liam’s hood, pushing him down.

"Master William, there’s a time and place," Grace exclaimed, standing up and walking away. "Our time is limited, so use it to learn the martial art."

"What about you?" Liam asked, too used to those shenanigans and to classifying them as women’s incomprehensible aspects to address them.

"I’ll work on the Metal Hand in the meantime," Grace revealed, sitting at some distance from Liam. Naturally, before trading the tome, she had learned the martial art.

Liam sat up and glanced at the tome on the floor, a genuine doubt surging in his mind.

"Are either techniques suitable for you?" Liam questioned. She didn’t know how Grace fought, and she had even relied only on rank 2 weapons during their single battle together.

"Pretty much everything is suitable for me," Grace revealed. "Even my dantian is easy to develop."

Silence followed, at which Grace chuckled, throwing a glance at the hooded figure that did his best not to look in her direction. Liam was obviously curious, but he knew better than to ask.

"I have a Qi core," Grace explained on her own. "Spirit stones are my best nutrients and what I hate spending the most. The Heavens must have loathed birthing me."

And Liam didn’t know why. It might have been Grace’s tone or her contradictory life situation, but a chuckle escaped his mouth, probably being his first genuine laugh since Melissa had accepted to be his lover.

"Oh, shut up," Grace complained, throwing her small crown at Liam. "I’m not that stingy."

Liam caught the crown mid-air and placed it on the floor, but the laugh had ended by then, making room for a revelation Grace had long since earned. "I have a poison core."

"I had guessed as much," Grace stated. "I want to say that I envy you, but I really don’t."

This time, both Liam and Grace laughed, only to move their attention to their respective tasks soon afterward.

’Qi Repulsion,’ Liam read on the tome, ’Rank 2 defensive martial art. Vibrates the user’s Qi to deflect any attack. Qi consumption: Medium. Training: Extreme.’

Despite the ploy Grace had willingly walked into, Liam couldn’t help but experience some innocent excitement. After all, he had finally gotten his first purely defense-oriented technique.