Chapter 371: Quarrel
Chapter 371: Quarrel
’Cultivators always talk too much,’ Liam cursed internally, warmth spreading on his right hand.
Liam trusted Grace’s way of handling things. After what he had seen in the valley, he was ready to follow her plans blindly, always letting her speak in his stead.
Yet, Liam’s whole stance on life had shifted. Grace might be fine accepting insults for the sake of negotiations, but Liam wasn’t. He had never been fine with that, and he now had the awareness, pride, and confidence to enforce that approach.
Suddenly, the bogus claims Liam had heard about insulting others gained proper meaning. He had always understood the value of reputation, sort of, but he could see its active use as a weapon now rather than just a passive shield.
Kyle and the Disciplinary Elder had done that when Liam had first reached the Pale Moon Sect. Cecilia had done the same after Liam’s blunt admission of his crimes.
The same had happened with the Enforcement Guild’s Young Master, Dominic, the Church, and even Liam’s own Master.
Those cultivators had all weaponized their reputation or the one coming from their forces to oppress others, often despite never suffering any real wrongs.
Liam wasn’t the type to do that without receiving offense, but he felt its broader definition now. He had parroted his Master’s words many times out of sheer imitation of a figure that had all his gratitude, loyalty, and trust, but merely as a tool to navigate social situations.
However, Liam saw his own value now. He knew he didn’t have any established reputation in those environments, but that couldn’t matter. His worth and sacrifices wouldn’t just vanish because people were unaware of them.
Those bad manners, unwarranted attacks, and veiled insults were all a form of disrespect toward Liam. They completely disregarded who he was, not even accounting for his existence. He hadn’t let a branching expert get away with that, let alone a rooting expert who had long since begun to remind him of Simon.
The situation was actually quite identical.
Back then, Liam had to accept the insult, biding his time for a proper hunt despite the second-guessing it had triggered inside Melissa. It might still be safer to stick to that approach, but Liam just wouldn’t.
If Liam did, it would mean that nothing had changed, that he hadn’t achieved anything since, and that the value he had begun to see in himself actually amounted to nothing.
Truth was, Liam couldn’t even see that stance as unreasonable. After all, it wasn’t hard to be polite and not launch unwarranted attacks.
The perfect synchrony between Qi and muscles made Liam’s gestures swifter in ways that mere wider Qi reserves couldn’t match. Such was the power of mastery, of wielding a weapon better than others, even if it was slightly inferior.
That was why Eugene had been unable to react to the sudden attack. There was even an element of surprise, but Liam met some opposition before he could go for the kill.
Blood gushed over Liam’s right hand, but his fingers failed to dig deeper. Even when he arced them, Eugene’s skull felt unusually tough, at least sturdy enough to delay the blow.
The reason for that had just been mentioned. Eugene had relied on body cultivation. Liam had tried to go around that by targeting his eye, just like he had done against Randall, but it seemed Eugene’s unusual empowerment involved his bones, too.
The delay gave Eugene the chance to react. He immediately swung his huge axe, drawing an arc that could cleave both Grace and Liam in half, only for a clinking noise to interrupt the attack before it could even begin.
The fan had clashed with the axe, stopping it before it could come close to Grace’s waist. Their sharp edges were pushing on each other, and the rank 3 flying weapon was slowly cutting through.
Eugene didn’t care if the axe broke in half. He needed to put some distance from that threat, but more pressure fell on his skull before he could add strength to his swing.
The fan had performed the same role as Eugene’s tough bones. Liam had used that delay to wrap the rest of his hand around his face, his thumb pressing on his temple, blood dripping from the skin it had already pierced.
Despite the bad manners and poor living conditions, Eugene was no stranger to battles. He knew he had to do something, but Liam had been one step ahead, and the initiative still belonged to him.
Eugene’s right arm was free, but so was Liam’s left arm. They could trade blows, but a chunk of Eugene’s skull would pay the price.
Still, the predicament called for extreme measures. Eugene steeled his resolve, but someone outside that clash preceded him.
"My dear," Grace called, grabbing Liam’s right arm, attempting to restrain him. "I was negotiating."
Unlike earlier, Grace’s rebuke lacked any trace of happiness. Liam caught her smile from the corner of his eyes, only for a chill to run down his spine.
That actually applied to the entirety of the underground chamber. Eugene also froze, and the same went for the cultivators at the tables. They had started to stand up at that bloody development, but Grace’s presence had filled them with dread.
"What’s the point?" Liam genuinely asked, standing his ground. "I’ll just kill him."
"What about the spring of spirit stones?" Grace questioned, her tone getting angrier despite her smile.
Clearly, Grace had spotted that feature, too. Actually, with how centered her being was around money, she might have smelled the spring before Liam.
"Once I kill him," Liam replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "We plunder the spring."
"And what do you think will happen if you start a fight here?!" Grace went full-scolding mode. "This whole place will collapse! I’m not burying my money!"
Liam ignored the fact that Grace had already claimed ownership over those goods, instead revealing how he hadn’t considered that point through a single word. "Oh."
Liam had accounted for a collapse. He just couldn’t fear it at his current level. Yet, there were indeed second-order effects to the issue.
"I was working on bringing him outside!" Grace scoffed. "You should have trusted me and let me handle everything!"
"He insulted you," Liam admitted, feeling irked for some reason. He didn’t like that he had to explain that point.
"Who cares?!" Grace snorted. "That’s how you swindle clients!"
"I do," Liam declared, his honesty risking blinding Grace.
Grace felt she was facing the issue with Dominic all over again. The urge to strangle Liam had never been stronger.
"So what?" Grace asked, not realizing that she had lowered her voice. "I can’t rely on basic negotiating strategies anymore?"
"I trust you," Liam delivered a second dose of blinding honesty. "You’ll make it work."
A very opposite urge joined Grace’s desire to strangle Liam, the mental conflict almost making her nose bleed.
"Or I can just keep killing," Liam concluded.
The frozen audience struggled to believe their ears. The situation couldn’t be more tense, but the two invaders had indulged in what could only be described as a lovers’ quarrel.
Things were far worse for Eugene. Liam was basically flirting with his fingers still stabbed in his eye socket. That dark, feral gaze never left him, but it was clear Liam didn’t even see him as a threat.
"You invade my home," Eugene gritted his teeth in anger, "Kill my men, and talk about stealing my belongings. I will cut your limbs and force you to watch as my entire Brigade plays with your whore until she breaks."
Eugene’s tone and words left no room for misunderstanding. Liam was about to rip through his face when the grip on his arm tightened.
"Trust me," Grace sighed. "I’ll salvage this, but you and I will have a talk later."
The sigh prompted Liam to stop. Everything he had said was the truth. Once he heard the acknowledgment in Grace’s tone, he let her take the lead again.
"Axe Brigade!" Grace called, stepping back, slowly spinning on herself to address the cultivators at the tables. "Do you have a succession method? A rightful way to dethrone your leader?"
Initially, no one replied, but Grace wielded an inborn advantage that brought her smile to the weak link her instincts spotted. The rooting expert who had played escort earlier was in the chamber, and he possessed justified fear of those invaders.
"Fellow Daoist?" Grace urged the middle-aged man.
"Y-you-," The rooting expert whispered, clearing his throat. "You can challenge the Boss to a duel."
"Thank you," Grace exclaimed, her face snapping at Eugene. "What do you say, Battle-Axe Eugene? Should I let my overzealous partner rip your face now or later?"