Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 60: Trick

Once again, everyone but Liam understood what was going on.

Seven spiritual roots weren’t perfection, but they still stood in the realm of geniuses.

However, Sects had limited resources. It was why they forced their disciples to compete with each other. A talent far greater than Randall had appeared, so publicly demonstrating his superiority could ensure that the Sect wouldn’t cast him aside to focus on Liam.

Now, despite not realizing that ploy, Liam felt that something was odd. The conversation had moved too quickly in that direction. The same went for the crowd’s behavior, which reminded him of how Erik and Lucy had acted during the mission.

The problem was what to do next. Avoiding joining anything too complicated sounded like the wise choice, but, sadly, Liam understood some potential consequences of his eventual refusal now.

Hierarchy was everything, so Randall might feel insulted at the refusal. It was stupid, but Liam had seen people with a higher status than him using that excuse to escalate a situation.

Truth be told, Liam didn’t even know if it was socially acceptable to refuse since he was an outer disciple. Lucy would have known, but she was still angry at him for some unknown reason.

’I do want him to explain,’ Liam considered, ’And the alternative is ...’

As soon as Liam’s mind went to the logs and books waiting for him, he made his decision.

"Sure, let’s spar!" Liam exclaimed.

"Arrogant," Alicia muttered under her breath before speaking more loudly. "Senior Brother already proved himself superior to the outer disciples. Junior Brother should thank him for the opportunity to spar with him."

"Now, now," Randall laughed. "I’m sure Junior Brother is just too excited."

No one heard Alicia’s first word, no one but Randall, who was right next to her, and Liam, who possessed inhuman hearing. That confused Liam, and his blinding honesty came out.

"Senior Sister, are you angry at me, too?" Liam wondered.

Alicia didn’t know whether to feel angry or exasperated. There had to be a limit to how many social cues a person could fail to notice, but Liam had long since gone beyond that.

The crowd shared that exasperation, but Randall was in charge there, and he wouldn’t let anything take the spotlight away from him.

"I wonder if my Junior Brothers and Sisters can give us some space," Randall politely requested. "A friendly spar is usually harmless, but it would pain me to hurt any of you by mistake."

Smiles and murmured praises resounded through the crowd as everyone retreated to the plateau’s edges. The difference in reaction was night and day from when Liam spoke, but something immediately distracted him from that, plastering some wariness on his face.

Randall was still straight and smiling, but his Qi had begun to move, alerting Liam’s animal instincts.

’This guy stinks like the Uncles,’ Liam instinctively made that connection, not really having a rational explanation for it, but still wearing a battle stance.

"You are a sharp one!" Randall exclaimed. "Well, shall we begin?"

Liam nodded before shooting forward, his Qi-enhanced sprint quickly closing the short distance that separated him from Randall. However, when his palm struck, it met nothing but empty air.

A frown formed on Liam’s face. There was no one in front of him anymore. Randall had disappeared without making any sound, only for his voice to echo right behind him.

"This must be your first friendly spar," Randall said. "I apologize for not explaining the rules first."

Liam instinctively jumped forward and half-turned, his eyes landing on Randall’s new position. The latter truly was behind him, as if he had teleported.

’Ghost Step?’ Liam wondered, making the only connection his knowledge allowed him to make, and the crowd’s murmurs soon confirmed it.

"That’s Senior Brother Randall’s famous Ghost Step!"

"I heard that’s how he won the tournament!"

"I’ve seen him win with that martial arts! It’s true!"

"Junior Brother might not know it," Randall stated, ignoring the crowd, "But friendly spars alternate between attack and defense."

"I read about that," Liam admitted, "I just don’t understand how a spar can be friendly."

Despite the books in Liam’s cave describing that practice, he had only seen one type of battle, and there was nothing friendly about it. He knew how holding back worked, but that was a privilege of the strong.

"I see," Randall chuckled. "Allow me to educate you then. You just attacked, so now it’s my turn."

Randall immediately shot forward, and Liam lifted his left palm, his right arm retreating and ready to strike. However, before any clash could happen, Randall disappeared again, followed by a heavy blow on Liam’s back.

The blow pushed Liam forward, prompting him to leap and half-turn again to put some distance from the danger. He landed only to see that Randall had indeed reappeared behind him without making a sound.

’The Ghost Step is cool,’ Liam thought. In a way, that martial art completely countered him. For a man who relied so heavily on his senses, the ability to move so quickly and silently went against his every fighting habit.

"Junior Brother is sturdy!" Randall praised. "My talent truly pales in comparison."

Something stank in those words, too, slowly affecting Liam’s mood. He only wanted answers and a way of killing time, but his face grew colder nonetheless.

"Senior Brother, is my turn to attack now?" Liam questioned.

"Junior Brother is learning," Randall nodded, wrapping his arms behind his back, trying to appear as defenseless as possible, and the crowd quickly picked up on that.

"Senior Brother is just toying with him,"

"Talent alone isn’t everything,"

"Killing a magical beast isn’t the same as fighting a cultivator."

Liam turned a deaf ear to those comments and charged forward, delivering another palm strike that hit mere air. Still, his senses remained as sharp as ever now, his body ready to move at the faintest sound.

"J-!" Randall’s voice began to resound behind Liam once more, but the latter instantly reacted to it.

Liam’s retracted arm snapped behind him, performing a grabbing motion, soon finding the Sect’s robe’s familiar fabric trapped in his grasp. Meanwhile, his body turned, spinning on his back leg to hit whatever his fingers had captured.

And Randall soon appeared in Liam’s vision, as well as the clawed fingers headed for his face. Yet, Liam suddenly saw him smile before his piercing blow hit his cheek.

A thudding noise resounded on the silent plateau. Liam’s clawed hand hit Randall’s face, only for it not to budge. Even his skin remained perfectly in place, having gained a metallic luster out of nowhere.

As for Liam, he felt as if he had hit solid metal or a material even tougher than what the Divine Cult had used in his conditioning. Also, his surprise made him fail to notice that Randall’s arms had risen by then.

Two joint palm strikes hit Liam’s chest, pushing him away. He grunted, feeling that hit in his rib cage. That was a serious blow, but he couldn’t really blame Randall for that, and he quickly explained why.

"Junior Brother, what was that?" Randall asked, wiping his strangely intact cheek. "Were you trying to kill me there?"

"Is that Jade Skin?" Liam questioned. That metallic luster was confusing, but his fingers didn’t lie.

"It is Jade Skin," A stern voice resounded over the plateau before the Disciplinary Elder’s even sterner figure appeared beside the two fighters. "It’s the reward Disciple Randall claimed after becoming an inner disciple."

Bows and greetings unfolded at the Disciplinary Elder’s sudden arrival. Even Liam complied, pushing away his wariness of his opponent to politely welcome the Elder.

"I’m happy to see that Disciple Randall finally mastered the martial art," Disciplinary Elder praised. "However, it’s disappointing to see you bully your Junior Brother."

"I apologize, Disciplinary Elder," Randall announced. "I was curious about the power behind the legendary nine spiritual roots, so I requested a spar with Junior Brother."

"You have a complete foundation and over a year of training," The Disciplinary Elder declared. "What were you trying to prove against an opponent who has been in the Sect for less than a month?"

’Didn’t the Alchemy Elder tell him that my foundation is also complete?’ Liam wondered before his brain connected more dots.

Liam finally realized why Randall had pushed things toward a spar and why he had fought in such a nonchalant way. Liam had sensed that something was off, and everything was clear now. Randall wanted to use Liam’s fame against him since defeating him would improve his status.

"I apologize, Disciplinary Elder," Randall repeated. "We were just done anyway."

"We weren’t," Liam claimed. "Disciple Randall still has to explain."

Randall and the Disciplinary Elder couldn’t help but throw helpless glances at Liam. There had never been any real wager, and the Elder’s arrival was Liam’s chance to cut his losses.

Still, Liam’s face was completely cold now. He didn’t like being tricked, and the hiss in his ears vouched for that.

"But," Liam continued, "Sect regulations say that killing a fellow disciple is forbidden. I don’t know if I can avoid that."