Chapter 556: Masters

Things moved quickly, and Liam watched everything as an external observer. He didn’t go exploring by himself but captured a lot nonetheless.

The Dark Heaven Tribe was a fearsome force, counting almost three hundred cultivators. Most were foundation experts, but there was a difference even starker than their level.

The division was evident from the general condition and collars. Liam spotted no less than thirty foundation and rooting experts wearing the magical items that marked them as slaves, and there were probably more.

Liam had no idea how the collars worked, but slavery clearly was widespread in the southern region. It honestly was a bit off-putting how normalized it was.

Still, the enslaved magical beasts remained far, far stranger.

The Dark Heaven Tribe seemed to have a farm of lizards, and they weren’t only of the huge kind. Rooting experts led many relatively smaller ones outside, their purpose becoming clear only when Liam got there himself.

Dawn arrived, and with it, the Dark Heaven Tribe was ready to march, except that marching wasn’t the right word.

The smaller lizards amounted to forty, and they were all level two magical beasts. That number would be fearsome if it weren’t for their apparent weakness. They were barely half a meter long and somewhat frail-looking, but fighting power wasn’t their purpose.

Outside, a series of large platforms floated slightly above the sand. They were white, made of different-sized bones tied together, with leashes connected to the small lizards.

There were three platforms, with twenty rooting experts each, but they weren’t alone. Further ahead, a fourth structure floated over the sand, having walls, roofs, and curtains made of yellow cloth.

It was a carriage of sorts, just fashioned like a house or a big tent.

The floating tent was Liam’s destination, but his gaze often fell on the cultivators on the other platforms. Inscriptions were at work, mostly to keep the heat at bay, but much more stood out.

The cultivators all looked like battle-hardened experts. They wore dark belts, the Tribe’s color, but Qi-leaking accessories also adorned them. Most were bracelets, but there were also spears, shields, pendants, and hairpins.

With the many collars, the Dark Heaven Tribe probably had more magical items than cultivators, its wealth far surpassing what Liam had seen in Guild branches. He honestly wasn’t sure the Pale Moon Sect could match that, even.

’How can they afford all this?’ Liam wondered. ’I know this Circle is richer, but isn’t this too much?’

As for those who had besieged the Tribe, Liam could tell their fate by the smell of blood lingering in the air.

The rooting expert escorting Liam didn’t dare to cross the curtain. The floating tent wasn’t meant for underlings. It was spacious, with soft carpets covering the bone floor. Chairs, pillows, couches, and even beds filled it, but only three people occupied it.

Amber and Rachel were arranging a low table, while Uriah stood by the opposite curtain, gazing at the scorching horizon. He threw one look at Liam, his arrival setting things in motion.

"March!" Uriah shouted, and the small lizards began to move.

The inscriptions all around the tent prevented any sort of discomfort, but Liam’s superhuman perception bypassed them, and one look at the sand outside provided even more accurate data.

’They are fast,’ Liam calculated.

The platforms’ floating properties removed the need for detours in the face of dunes or other hindrances. However, the small lizards had great speed on their own.

The traveling pace didn’t match Liam’s fan. He could surpass it with his superior Qi alone, even, but it remained impressive, seemingly close to the best the rooting stage could unleash.

Teleporting to the third Outer Circle had brought Liam deeper into the cultivation world, and its magical aspects didn’t disappoint.

’But still, how?’ Liam kept wondering. ’Is this the wealth only a force can accumulate?’

Answers didn’t take long to arrive.

"Big Brother, make yourself comfortable," Rachel eventually called, smiling sweetly. "My noble Father’s carriage boasts the greatest luxury and speed in the entire Great Quiet Desert. Even Sects seek out his expertise."

All the pieces fell into place.

Liam had learned from Grace that the southern region’s deserts were rich in precious minerals. They even had plenty of magical beasts, vastly increasing the available valuable materials.

The Dark Heaven Tribe also had an excavation site Liam could connect to that information, and the last piece of the puzzle had arrived. Uriah was a high-stage branching expert, as well as an inscription master.

Basically, the Dark Heaven Tribe was a successful example of what Grace wanted to create around Liam. It was a force that could ignore the Sects and Guilds’ suppression, amassing and holding wealth that would have otherwise been spent to ensure its safety.

The desert likely played to that wealth, too. With how sparse the southern region’s forces were, Tribes would have more agency, a partial isolation from the political environment, enabling unchecked growth.

The conditions honestly couldn’t be more perfect. With safety, plenty of resources, mastery in a suitable noble art, and sheer power, it was no surprise that the Dark Heaven Tribe possesses such shocking wealth.

And the surprises didn’t even end there.

"As for alchemical ingredients," Rachel continued. "The Tribe grows underground gardens. However, even my noble Mother’s formations can’t defeat the desert. I’m afraid the southern region won’t be able to provide magical plants worthy of your standing."

Liam almost forgot to inhale the smoke again, more pieces joining the puzzle, expanding it, his dark eyes falling on Amber.

’Did I hear it right?’ Liam gasped internally. ’Is she a formation master?’

Among the three noble arts, Liam knew formations the least, to the point that he had never even met a master in that field. His curiosity inevitably skyrocketed, but the feeling paled before a deeper realization.

The Dark Heaven Tribe’s leaders were an inscription master and a formation master. Now, an alchemist had landed at its doorstep, one who could meaningfully increase its military strength with his cultivation level alone.

Rachel’s lie suddenly made perfect sense. It wasn’t just about punishing Tribes that had overstepped. It was indeed also a favor for Liam, a way to improve his status in her parents’ eyes, leading to better treatment and greater benefits.

The strategy had an obvious reason. With Liam, the Tribe would have all the noble arts covered, creating a force with no need for external expertise, a self-sufficient organization by every definition.

’Quite wise?’ Liam thought. ’That’s an understatement.’

Liam couldn’t help but see Rachel in a new light, but his instincts kept tingling. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt that her smile still hid something.