Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 65: Enemies

In the end, the threat about the logs never came to fruition. Liam and the Alchemy Elder sat side by side for hours, way past the private lesson’s usual time, doing nothing but learning to read complicated words.

Needless to say, after that strange experience, Liam felt more lost than ever, at least emotionally, leading to an absent-minded walk back to the Outer Hall, his mind trapped in thoughts he didn’t know how to explain or sort out.

The core of that troubled mind was that the Alchemy Elder’s boasts didn’t match his actions at all, and Liam had no idea what to make of that.

On the one hand, there were the incessant glares, scoldings, shouts, and cane. In a way, the Alchemy Elder was even worse and stricter than the Divine Cult’s jailer.

Yet, the cane never really hurt, not even close to what the jailer did. Also, despite all that grumpiness, the Elder always solved Liam’s doubts, explaining himself in great detail, even adding countless warnings.

Then, there was some strange care. Despite the Elder’s threats, he didn’t let Liam overwork himself. Even if Liam could push himself harder, the Elder seemed to prioritize his well-being over his education. It had happened during the very first lesson, and the same had unfolded that night.

Liam could still explain that through his talent, as the mere worry that his eventual exhaustion could lead to injuries that could make the Pale Moon Sect lose such a promising asset. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

However, the last confusing point seemed to go against that assumption. For some reason, the Alchemy Elder had kept Liam’s drug and complete foundation a secret.

If it were just about a regular Elder, Liam would have found it easy to put the matter aside. Yet, the very Disciplinary Elder, a Hall leader, had been unaware of Liam’s complete foundation.

That didn’t make any sense at all. The Alchemy Elder might outrank the Disciplinary Elder due to how much the Pale Moon Sect relied on the Alchemical Hall. However, the Disciplinary Elder dealt with any combat-related matters, and a complete foundation fell under that.

’Does the Alchemy Elder only answer to the Sect Leader?’ Liam wondered. ’Is there a deeper hierarchy I’m unaware of?’

That thought didn’t convince Liam, but he couldn’t explain the matter otherwise. The only other possible hypothesis was that the Alchemy Elder actually cared about him, which sounded unreasonable.

After all, the Alchemy Elder himself had claimed the opposite.

’First Lucy, now the Alchemy Elder,’ Liam cursed in his mind. ’Are all cultivators so difficult to understand?’

Unknowingly, Liam had arrived in front of his cave during that pensive walk. After realizing where he was, he drew the square tablet from his robe, but nothing happened. The circular boulder didn’t budge. The entrance remained sealed.

’What?’ Liam thought before recalling something that put a colder look on his face. ’Right.’

Liam didn’t hesitate to turn back, returning to the Outer Hall, before walking past it. He went for the paths on the other side of the mountain, following the directions the Disciplinary Elder had described that morning, climbing higher and higher until the Sect’s second central plateau unfolded in his view.

The braziers illuminated the scene with their grey light, turning that dim night into a magical canvas. Liam stood before the Inner Hall, the second of the Sect’s three main buildings, which was smaller than the Outer Hall, but somehow felt grander.

That feeling stretched throughout the second central plateau. Superficially, there was nothing special about it. The Inner Hall was tall and spacious, but still made of wood. The plateau was rock and soil, and circular boulders stretched alongside its wall.

However, something about that whole scene felt fresher, more magical, as if existing deeper in the cultivation world. And, in a way, that vibe made sense. After all, that was where the inner disciples resided, where Liam would reside from now on.

’Cave ten, cave ten,’ Liam thought, crossing the Inner Hall to check the numbers under the braziers next to the boulders on the plateau. ’It’s like the Heavens are mocking me.’

Liam didn’t take long to find what he was looking for. The plateau ended in two paths, a rising and descending one, and the second featured the new cave the Sect had appointed to him.

As if to confirm that point, Liam lifted his new square tablet, and the boulder moved, rolling away to reveal a cave four times bigger than his previous one. All his belongings were already there, too, as well as something peculiar in a corner.

’Lucy was right,’ Liam recalled at the sight of the falling water and small pool in the cave’s corner. ’Inner disciples really have private baths.’

Thinking about Lucy soured any innocent excitement that obtaining a better home had tried to create. As of that day, Liam was an inner disciple, erecting an undeniable barrier between him and the only friend he had made since becoming a cultivator.

’It’s for the best, right?’ Liam wondered. ’This is how I get stronger and protect myself. This new status will also protect her.’

Following that train of thought also made Liam consider his newly acquired enemies. He now shared Randall’s status, so repercussions from his side were unlikely, at least directly.

Instead, the situation was completely different when it came to Alicia. Despite realizing it quite late, that girl had tried to mess with Liam for reasons he didn’t really understand and didn’t feel the need to.

Liam only knew that Alicia had tried to trick him, and that wasn’t something he could forget. The problem was deciding what to do with her.

’Should I kill her like Master said he did?’ Liam considered. ’I did that with the two Uncles after all.’

Killing was empty and depressing, but also easy. Life was frail and unfair, so it was up to Liam to make things right for himself if his strength allowed him to.

But the Sect forbade killing fellow disciples, and Liam’s new status probably solved the issue already. He still felt that it wasn’t right to let things slide so easily, but his poor understanding of those social topics only made him think about those two extremes.

Nevertheless, Liam’s animal instincts tingled while he lingered in front of his open cave. His gaze snapped toward the plateau, only to find a young man standing atop the descending path, wearing the same wooden tablet Kyle and Erik wore, but also possessing something beyond those two.

’Rooting expert!’ Liam exclaimed in his mind, turning and assuming his battle stance as that newcomer started to walk toward him.