Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 193: Limits

Power had limits stemming from quite specific variables. Magical items could expand on them, but their baseline was fixed.

The foundation stage only provided Qi of a specific quality. Quantity could increase its power output, but that level had set limits, too.

Moreover, bodies also had limits to their structural integrity. They couldn’t endure careless energy releases. Their sturdiness came from their cultivation talent and stage, and only breakthroughs could increase it.

Despite Liam’s advantages, he still had to abide by those limits. There was no way around them, and surpassing them would push his body to the breaking point like the Primal Urge had done, which wasn’t a sustainable strategy.

Nevertheless, Liam’s limits were different, far higher than his peers. He had more Qi at his disposal, his body was sturdier, and his talent made him more suitable for the cultivation journey as a whole.

With the high-grade circulation technique, Liam could make full use of those upper limits, pushing himself where only he could endure standing. His ensemble of unique traits featured heights only he could reach, and his Master’s gift had enabled him to explore them.

Liam had the potential to be the strongest foundation expert in the world, and he felt it was his duty to become exactly that. That was the bare minimum his impossible journey demanded, so he needed to make the peak where only he could exist in his normality.

Melissa didn’t see it. She couldn’t. Her perception failed to keep up with the sudden, incredible speed Liam had unleashed. She would have suffered a whiplash if her head hadn’t rested on his shoulder, and that secure position eventually allowed her to check what was happening.

Melissa forced her eyes to open, only for the gales blowing on her face to keep them squinted. She could barely endure that acceleration. Her mind instinctively flagged it as a rank 1 movement-oriented martial art, but Liam had resorted to no such things.

Truth was, Liam was simply running, using the inclined wall to cross the vast underground hall at full speed. Actually, he was accelerating, his mind immersed in the still-incomplete synchronization of his muscles and Qi.

A level of even greater perfection existed, and Liam pursued it, getting closer to it with each step. The endeavor depleted his Qi and strained his joints, but his circulation technique provided him with enough energy to support it, and his body could take that pressure.

Three paths stretched on the other end of the hall. One was narrow and followed the river upstream, while the other two were bigger, standing higher on the rocky wall.

Liam had memorized the Guild’s map, so he dived into the upper passage closer to the wall he was treading, crossing it at high speed to make full use of the distraction he had caused.

The tunnel rose and descended but remained large and sturdy, gradually diving deeper underground, ending on an almost vertical section that matched a chamber’s ceiling.

Liam stopped there, letting go of Melissa before squatting on rocks protruding from the tunnel’s edge to peek into the chamber. That place was far smaller than the previous hall, but much of it was similar.

The river also cut the chamber in half, but more flourishing vegetation grew from its muddy banks. Moss and short plants stood among the halo that water radiated, and Liam even spotted a few flowers among that green. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

’Are those magical ingredients?’ Liam wondered, feeling the Qi some of those plants radiated, before focusing on the main issue.

Something stronger stood in the chamber, yellow-furred and big. A one and a half meters tall coyote was drinking from the river, unaware that someone was watching it.

’Level two,’ Liam immediately realized, his gaze going past the magical beast.

The chamber was truly small, no bigger than the ring on the Sect’s plateau. Moreover, the only way to keep following the river upstream was through the narrow passage it created, and the magical beast stood in the way.

The Guild members had been right. There was no way to advance safely. Even if Liam created another distraction, the chamber was too small to slip by unnoticed.

Also, Liam was under no delusions of grandeur. He might have finally started to wield his upper limits properly, but he remained a foundation expert. Level two magical beasts had to be stronger and faster than he was.

Still, Liam’s nagging doubt returned. He had killed plenty of level one creatures. He had even defeated a rooting expert. Magical beasts were superior when it came to physical gifts, but martial arts surpassed them, and strategy could close the gap.

’Can I kill it?’ Liam wondered, knowing that there was one way to advance safely. He just had to remove the threat.

Scenes from the Mutated Battlefield played in Liam’s vision. He knew he was physically outclassed. No amount of upper limits could fix that. Yet, he had the drop on the magical beast and much more at his disposal.

’I should be able to do it,’ Liam calculated, ’But can I do it without breaking myself?’

Melissa was still shocked about Liam’s incredible speed, but looking at his face silenced the words she might utter. She recognized that feral expression. She had spent months fantasizing about it. Clearly, Liam wanted to fight.

’It’s reckless, isn’t it?’ Liam pondered, wanting to convince himself out of that idea, only to realize that he wanted to try.

Improvements without proof existed in a vacuum. Part of Liam wanted to test whether his recent achievements had truly amounted to something, and a level two magical beast was the perfect opponent for that.

Nevertheless, Liam wasn’t alone, and he couldn’t put other people at risk due to his selfish desires. Yet, Melissa ended up taking his hand, drawing his gaze to her to show him an emotionless nod.

’I’ve truly become greedy and reckless,’ Liam thought, abandoning his hesitation.

"Senior Sister, stay here," Liam whispered. "I can’t do what I’m about to do if it puts you in danger."

Melissa wanted to argue against that, but the previous speed had shown her place. She couldn’t keep up with Liam, so going down with him would only make for poor teamwork. Actually, she might become a hindrance.

"I’ll support from here," Melissa accepted, also whispering, nodding again to reassure Liam.

Liam needed that reassurance for his mind to go full hunter. He had long since settled on a plan, so he drew his bow and adjusted his firing stance, as well as changing the string’s weight.

Liam’s muscles screamed as he pulled the dark arrow that the Black Bow materialized. He didn’t use a lot of Qi, but he made sure to make the string as heavy as he could manage, needing his bolt to be too fast for the magical beast to dodge.

The Qi gathered into the arrow finally alerted the coyote. It stopped drinking and lifted its head, but it was already too late. Something suddenly hit the left side of its neck, exploding into a cloud of fur and gore.