Chapter 387: Elite
Chapter 387: Elite
Rooting experts beating foundation experts wasn’t a surprising feat. It was so normal that it had become an iron-clad rule of the cultivation world.
However, victories could come in many shapes, suggesting varying degrees of superiority. The gap between foundation and rooting experts was relatively small after all. Cecilia might have lacked a full set of techniques, especially worthy of her level, but Liam had still endured a beating.
The four burly men looked to have a complete foundation, good training, and even martial arts, but two of them had instantly collapsed. Blood was also leaking from their mouths.
In Liam’s perspective, the first two had used a movement technique similar to the Ghost Step, if not the Ghost Step itself, but nothing had escaped his senses.
Liam had seen those opponents converging on him, and he had been fast enough to react without employing martial arts. His Qi mastery allowed as much. The problems lay elsewhere.
There was realistically no way for Liam to avoid killing, so he had implemented the most basic attack in his arsenal, the first he had learned. He had taken a single step forward to launch the Divine Cult’s palm strikes, intercepting the two foundation experts.
Nevertheless, something had still cracked when Liam’s palms landed on the men’s chests. The latter’s speed, Liam’s step, his Qi’s passive empowerment, and his sheer physical strength had been enough to break bones.
Of course, Liam wasn’t done.
The two standing men were still in the process of understanding what had happened when a figure appeared before one of them.
Unknowingly, Liam had moved as Maxwell had done in the past, the perfect synchrony between his Qi and incredible muscles achieving a swiftness that foundation experts couldn’t keep up with.
The previous palm strikes had broken bones, so Liam opted for something even more basic. He just pushed the foundation expert down, slamming him on the ground.
Sadly, the impact was so violent that the ground broke, a long crack expanding over the street for several meters.
Credit where credit was due, the remaining foundation expert hadn’t let Liam’s show of strength turn into hesitation. As soon as the man realized what had happened, he jumped at Liam.
However, Liam lived in a different reality. Now that he had developed nineteen minor roots, his innate advantages were finally becoming more significant.
The synchrony between muscles and Qi would always be stronger in Liam’s case due to his superior individual aspects. His body was more powerful, and he had a high-grade circulation technique, their combination producing greater results than anyone at his level.
Once Liam obtained an extreme-grade circulation technique and reached the stage’s peak, the combination of Qi and body would create a level the cultivation world didn’t have a word for.
So, despite the foundation expert’s resolute, prompt reaction, Liam had straightened before his punch could even come close to connecting.
Sadly, Liam had heard breaking even during the previous exchange, so he just grabbed that descending punch and flung it away. The foundation expert was big and muscular, but he flew as if he were weightless, crashing into a nearby building.
As violent as the impact was, the wall survived. The foundation expert crashed to the ground, showing that no dent had formed. That surface had been enhanced through Qi.
Liam’s third attempt at holding back had led to some success since the fourth man was still conscious. He tried to stand up, but Erika lifted her hand, stopping him.
Most foundation experts on the scene saw nothing wrong with what Liam had done. He had looked incredible and unbeatable, but that much was to be expected from someone in a higher stage.
However, Erika and Duke knew exactly what Liam had pulled off, and they couldn’t take it lightly or for granted.
Liam had instantly defeated four foundation experts without needing martial arts or specific combat techniques. His superiority had come from sheer physical prowess and Qi mastery.
In short, Liam wasn’t an ordinary rooting expert. He had to be a thoroughly trained elite, the impression automatically involving Grace, adding reason to her arrogance. The two couldn’t possibly be random passersby.
Liam’s senses captured the shift in the atmosphere and the audience’s stance, at least its important members. Yet, his brain couldn’t connect the deeper dots since something more dangerous was inbound.
"Fellow Daoist, you-" Duke called, only for Liam to lift his gaze to a roof further down the road, interrupting that statement.
Duke and Erika weren’t the types to divert their gazes from potential threats, but their perception eventually caught up with Liam’s. Erika cursed under her breath, while Duke followed the direction of Liam’s eyes.
In the next second, a man in his forties landed on a roof. He was a rooting expert with a stern, sharp face and black hair that reached his shoulders. He wore a golden robe, and his sole presence affected the entire atmosphere.
’He is strong,’ Liam evaluated when meeting the man’s blue eyes. ’Probably as strong as Maxwell.’
Many factors affected what ultimately became a cultivator’s presence. Demeanor, mood, personality, Qi reserves, and more were all part of the equation that gave birth to what was commonly described as someone’s aura.
As such, an evaluation on aura alone was imprecise at best, but Liam’s instincts involved an animalistic sense of danger that had evolved through his Qi, lineage, and cultivation level.
Liam instinctively acknowledged that the newcomer was a seasoned, powerful warrior, one who could make an eventual conflict’s outcome unclear.
After all, Liam didn’t have much experience against elites. He might have defeated a level three magical beast, but cultivators were craftier and harder to deal with.
The battle against Julian probably was Liam’s closest experience, and that hadn’t been an easy fight. Liam had gotten stronger since then, but he didn’t dare to be conceited.
"What’s the reason behind this ruckus?" The man asked, enhancing his voice through his Qi so that it could flood the street.
The foundation experts on the scene shuddered under the voice’s weight, but Grace had the very opposite reaction.
"My dear," Grace coldly announced, "If they test us again, you can kill them."
Liam didn’t need Grace to say that twice. His whole presence grew heavier and more dangerous as his long strands began to flutter, wisps of black Qi leaking out of his figure.