Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 122: Foreplay

The new pieces of information about the cultivation world made Liam restless to learn even more, but disturbing his Brothers’ recovery never crossed his mind.

Liam’s survival heavily depended on Joel and Maxwell after all, so their rest had priority over his curiosity.

Still, instead of sleeping, Liam decided to spend the night immersed in his circulation technique, wanting to improve his Qi management even further after witnessing what Maxwell could do.

That training was always extremely time-consuming. From Liam’s perception, morning arrived in no time, and hearing movement snapped him out of his meditation.

Maxwell was already on his feet, retrieving the inscribed paper on the walls, which immediately disappeared inside his space-ring. Yet, Liam’s attention soon moved to Joel since he had been the only injured party.

Joel’s robe was a bit of a mess, littered with holes and small spots of dried-up blood, but Liam’s concerns mostly involved his ears due to the direct face-off with the deafening howl.

"Junior Brother, I’m fine," Joel reassured, easily reading Liam’s face, not shouting anymore. "My ears need a bit more time to recover, but I can rely on yours in the meantime."

Liam nodded seriously, his gesture almost a vow. He knew he was the one being protected there, but the Sect had still involved Joel because of him. Since they were friends, Liam didn’t enjoy seeing him hurt, but he couldn’t do much more than lend him his ears there.

’I should learn to concoct healing pills next,’ Liam decided, ’But to what extent would rank 1 ones work on a rooting expert?’

The doubt was short-lived since Maxwell materialized his inscribed stone tablet, making Liam stand up without needing additional orders. Even Joel donned a sterner stance since he knew what that item meant.

"The other teams might be patrolling the area," Maxwell warned. "Brothers, follow my every move and directive. We might not have time for hesitation or questions."

Joel and Liam had no complaints with the plan, but Maxwell himself found a flaw. He was the best person to lead that team. His preparations, training, and individual power ensured as much, but there was room for improvement.

"Brother Liam," Maxwell called, his face reeking of graceful authority as he looked at Liam. "Did you get an idea of how many arrows you can fire?"

Liam had done well with the rank 1 bow, even showing no signs of exhaustion. Still, Maxwell couldn’t risk leaving him drained, which was a possibility after witnessing that blinding excitement at the sight of the weapon.

Liam connected the question to Maxwell’s initial warning about the bow’s high Qi consumption and couldn’t hide his predictable excitement at the idea of getting it again. Liam had even already calculated how many arrows he could handle, but hesitation arrived nonetheless.

’I can probably handle over twenty arrows,’ Liam thought, ’Maybe close to thirty if I push it and rely on elixirs, but ...’

A foundation’s Qi capacity came from the number of spiritual roots, and giving Maxwell a precise numerical value might expose the full extent of Liam’s talent. Yet, lying wasn’t really something Liam could do well.

"Around twenty?" Liam said, rounding down as much as possible while lowering his head to avoid revealing anything.

Naturally, Liam was an open book for Maxwell, but the latter misunderstood the reason behind that blatant lie. He thought Liam was rounding up to get the opportunity to use the bow again, but that exaggeration was within what he could accept.

"Brother Liam, keep taking out scouts and isolated beasts," Maxwell ordered, the rank 1 bow materializing in his hand. "Do not attack otherwise, and don’t even come close to exhausting yourself."

The excited nods Liam performed almost made Maxwell regret his decision, but he handed him the magical weapon anyway. Truth was, the number of isolated beasts would probably be low in those innermost areas, so the risk of Liam draining himself wouldn’t be high.

Maxwell sent Qi in his inscribed stone tablet at that point, and the underground chamber moved. Red water leaked out of the ceiling as a square passage opened, which Maxwell didn’t hesitate to cross once it was large enough.

Joel followed suit, and Liam jumped out of the passage afterward, needing to kick the wall mid-air to reach the surface. The red swamp featured hazy morning light now, but Liam didn’t care for superficial details, focusing on his ears and nose while a dark-green arrow materialized in the bow.

That tense inspection continued even while Maxwell used the stone tablet to seal the underground chamber, letting shallow waters cover it. Still, only a couple of seconds had to pass before a faint tingle hit Liam’s nape.

The sensation of feeling observed invaded Liam, and he wasn’t alone at that. Joel wore a sterner stance while Maxwell glanced up, almost waiting for something to come down from the sky.

"We have been spotted," Maxwell announced, briefly considering his options. "Brothers, get ready."

The rank 2 sword materialized in Maxwell’s hand and began flying as soon as he let it go, hovering above his right shoulder and pointing forward. Joel promptly stepped to his left side, and the two stood in front of Liam to act as a shield.

It didn’t take long before Liam heard movement. Distant splashes drew near until he could spot three blue-robed figures, which slowed down their pace and stopped once they were around fifteen meters from his team.

Trees stood in the way, but the newcomers made sure to create an unhindered line of sight between them and the Pale Moon Sect’s team. There were two men and a woman, all young and wearing serious fake smiles.

"Have the Rising Waterfall Sect’s disciples come to hand their points to us?" Maxwell questioned, raising his voice so that the opposite team could hear him clearly.

’Right,’ Liam realized. ’We can also steal other teams’ points.’

"The Pale Moon Sect’s Head Disciple sure is confident," The man among the two rooting experts exclaimed. "But the Rising Waterfall Sect claimed ownership over this area last night. You are trespassing."

"On what grounds did the-?" Maxwell began to say, only for something dark-green to fly between him and Joel, whistling through the air to head directly for the blue foundation expert.

The arrow was so sudden and quick that the black-haired man only noticed it when it was right in front of his left eye. Yet, the female rooting expert at his side snapped her hand at the ethereal bolt, crushing it before it could hit its target.

At that point, the blue trio looked at the figure behind Joel and Maxwell, and they weren’t alone. Even Joel and Maxwell turned, pointing scolding stares at Liam.

Liam had already created another arrow, but that general inspection made him lower his bow and tilt his head in confusion.

"What?" Liam asked. "Weren’t they hostile? Did I misunderstand?"

Liam wasn’t completely sure, but he had smelled that something was off in those initial pleasantries. The blue trio even sounded as if it was looking for a fight, which removed any of Liam’s hesitation.

Maxwell realized his mistake there. He had given Liam the all-clear but had misunderstood how deeply his murderous vein stretched. Liam thought like an assassin rather than a warrior.

"Brother Liam, foreplay is customary before a battle among cultivators," Maxwell explained. "It’s dishonorable to behave like lowly assassins."

Liam completely disagreed. Killing was a sad, empty business that no amount of honor could change. Still, Maxwell was the team leader, so Liam had to abide by his rules, even if he found them stupid.

Yet, since the killing business had been delayed, Liam could ask about another confusing point.

"What does foreplay mean?" Liam questioned, not recognizing that specific word.

And Joel tried his best to suppress it, but a chuckle leaked out of his mouth anyway, even adding a joke. "Junior Brother, I suggest you learn that if you want to hold on to Junior Sister."