Chapter 304: Spirit
The half-transparent elderly man was extremely detailed. His face had few wrinkles around his tired eyes, and disheveled long hair fell on his shoulders, accompanied by a messy, thick beard.
Of course, everything was white, but Liam mostly focused on the fact that he hadn’t sensed that figure until now. He actually still couldn’t, as if it were a ghost that carried no intrinsic presence.
Also, obviously, Liam couldn’t have missed the problematic words that had entered his brain despite the hissing auditory hallucination.
Panic built inside Liam. He was still recovering, but his body could move. The issue was that he had no idea what to do against that ghost-like opponent. After all, if he had failed to notice him, he had to be far stronger than him.
"Calm down, child," The half-transparent figure reassured, diverting his gaze, looking at the spot where the level three magical beast had disappeared. "I’m not your enemy. I wasn’t one even when I lived."
Liam’s wariness didn’t diminish, but the statement did prevent rash actions. He held back a grunt as he forced himself to stand, ignoring his lingering soreness, weakness, and pain to face that strange man.
"What-?" Liam muttered, changing his question. "Who are you?"
"I’m this inheritance’s spirit," The half-transparent figure declared, "What’s left of the man once called Archbishop Ignatius."
Liam might have learned a lot about the cultivation world, but concepts like spirits still escaped his knowledge. However, learning about that ghost’s identity was enough to rekindle his wariness.
The ghost glanced at Liam, reading the intentions behind his feral expression, donning a small, genuine, harmless smile.
"You are aware of the Church of the Man’s interest in the ancestral bloodlines," The spirit said. "I wish to apologize on its behalf. My true self tried to stop it in his time."
Liam didn’t really know what to do. He could somewhat explain that half-transparent figure through the wills magical items could develop, just on a far bigger scale. Yet, each of the ghost’s statements left him speechless, albeit not out of a loss for words.
The inheritance’s spirit seemed to hold the knowledge Liam was desperate to obtain, and he had no idea where to start his questions, so he just voiced them all.
"Why is the Church seeking the ancestral bloodlines?" Liam asked. "Why did you oppose it? Why are you here? Is the Church working for the Dragon King? How did you know I was of the Ancestral Snake? Am I the first?"
The spirit’s smile grew gentler and sadder at that barrage of questions. He even parted his long sleeves, wrapping his arms behind his back.
"To curse a child with such burdens," The spirit muttered. "You had it hard, Young Snake, haven’t you?"
Liam’s gaze flickered. Crazy Uncle had been the only one to call him like that. The event could be a coincidence, but it could also prove how Archbishop Ignatius had belonged to the same heights.
"The Ancestral Snake’s bloodline kept itself more hidden than the others," The spirit explained, turning, glancing at the ceiling. "Traces were sprinkled everywhere, but none were predominant enough to birth descendants."
Liam added that information to the picture in his mind, which gained new details. He probably was the only Snake, with no lesser brothers or sisters who shared his bloodline.
That was probably also why the Dragon King had launched the Bloodline Screening. The return of that bloodline was a unique event that had demanded a radical response.
The realization prompted Liam to scratch his forearm, which the spirit didn’t miss or fail to comment on despite showing his back to him.
"News of the Bloodline Screening reached this inheritance," The spirit commented. "The challengers couldn’t stop talking about it that year. What a terrible affair. Great Tutor Taiwlin must have failed to steer the Dragon King away from arrogance."
"Great Tutor Taiwlin?" Liam wondered.
"Maximilian Taiwlin," The spirit explained, glancing at Liam, "The son of the Ancestral Turtle, advisor to the Dragon King."
’Crazy Uncle?!’ Liam understood, diverting his gaze in thought, which the spirit once again noticed.
"Ah, I see," The spirit stated. "Did the Great Tutor orchestrate your survival?"
Information for information was the most basic trade in the cultivation world. Liam was receiving answers, so he felt inclined to respond.
"He awakened my dantian," Liam shook his head, holding back the rest of that story, which the spirit read on his dark face anyway.
"Even Great Tutor Taiwlin is no more," The spirit sighed. "And the whole world is dimmer because of it."
Liam didn’t reply, still scratching his forearm. He felt some conflict about the whole endeavor with Crazy Uncle, but the spirit didn’t need to know about it.
That was until the spirit made Liam snap.
"Child, do not blame yourself," The spirit continued, facing him, smiling warmly. "You are an innocent caught in powers you couldn’t have hoped to oppose. You have my pity."
"Pity?" Liam growled. "Crazy Uncle foresaw my awakening and told the Dragon King. That’s what caused the Bloodline Screening. I only regret not being in control when I killed him."
The spirit had already uncovered Liam’s biggest secret and could easily read him. Also, he had to have a level of control over the inheritance, so Liam was at his mercy. If another level three magical beast were to appear now, he would die.
So, Liam voiced truths no one else had ever heard. It was strange to finally talk openly about such matters, and it became impossible to stop now that he had begun.
"And if this is all the Ancestral Turtle’s fault," Liam stated, "I’ll kill it, too."
According to the vision during the breakthrough, the Ancestral Snake had killed the Ancestral Turtle. However, those beings probably didn’t abide by ordinary concepts of life and death, and there was something else.
The Ancestral Turtle had been the one to tip the scales of the clash among the Ancestral Beasts. It had been the reason behind the Ancestral Dragon’s victory and probably the current state of the world.
Still, despite Liam’s killing intent, the spirit’s smile only broadened.
"Arrogance is of the Ancestral Dragon," The spirit chuckled. "Passion of the Ancestral Phoenix. Fury of the Ancestral Ape, and Greed of the Ancestral Qilin. Young Snake, don’t you think you are betraying your birthright?"
Liam emptied the pipe on the floor, refilling and igniting it again, giving an honest answer once black smoke flowed into his lungs. "I don’t care what the Ancestral Snake wants of me. I’ll live my life my way."
The spirit remained silent, studying Liam from head to toe. He couldn’t feel his gaze, but his wariness spiked nonetheless. Actually, he became more alert because of what he failed to sense.
But the spirit eventually clapped his hands once, a cheerful announcement escaping his half-transparent mouth. "Splendid. What an honest child. You should continue fostering all these emotions. Men aren’t meant to harbor just one."
Liam tilted his head in confusion, puffing from his pipe. He was literally talking about things that would get him killed, but the spirit had praised him instead.
"Shall we settle something first?" The spirit reminded. "You overcome my Trial of Lust despite its punishment. You also saw through my Trial of Greed, so I’ll let you choose your reward."
Liam almost jumped on the spot. The secret topics had indeed made him forget about the reward he had yet to seize, and he knew what he wanted.
"Rank 3 martial art," Liam immediately declared.
"Very well," The spirit nodded. "Do you have any preference?"
Liam’s eyes darted left and right, his greed overcoming the noise from the auditory hallucination. Realistically, every aspect of his arsenal would benefit from a superior technique, and he didn’t know what to prioritize.
"The best you have," Liam eventually replied. The spirit came from a far superior expert and probably knew exactly what the inheritance held, so he would let him choose.
"The best, you say," The spirit chuckled, enjoying Liam’s simplicity. "Let’s see. You are quite skilled in archery, aren’t you?"
The spirit slowly waved his sleeve, and something grew next to Liam. Roots rose from the pale floor to create one of the inheritance’s stands, its basin containing an old tome with partially faded words on its cover.
’Rank 3 weapon art,’ Liam read. ’Sky-Splitting Bolt.’
