Chapter 305: Deal
The technique’s name was imposing, but it couldn’t distract Liam from its priceless aspects. One was its rank, while the other was its nature.
’A weapon art,’ Liam gasped internally, carefully seizing the old tome. The Disciplinary Elder had mentioned those back in the Sect, but that was Liam’s first time seeing one.
The tome’s pages were brittle to the touch, prompting Liam to be as delicate as possible, and browsing them revealed another truth. That wasn’t an inscribed item that hid its knowledge. It was a normal book, probably an original.
"This weapon art might be too much for ordinary rooting experts," The spirit eventually commented, "But you have a special constitution, don’t you?"
Liam looked up, awkwardly inspecting the smiling spirit before activating his ring to store the old book. By then, he was mostly certain that Archbishop Ignatius truly wasn’t an enemy, but protecting his priceless finding still came first.
"Where were we?" The spirit wondered, joining his hands under his sleeves. "I appeared before you for two reasons. Your bloodline was the first, which wasn’t hard to figure out by how you opposed and overcome my Trial."
Liam could only agree with that statement. He had to believe that the inheritance had magical methods at its disposal. Moreover, the Trial of Lust had invaded his mind, and he had hissed nonstop while fighting the level three snake.
"The second instead," The spirit continued, waving his hand, "Is this."
A whiff of Qi materialized out of nowhere, lingering in the half-transparent raised sleeve to produce familiar sounds.
"What can we do once our wanted posters hang from every Church in the Kingdom?" Robert’s voice resounded from the Qi before switching to Liam’s. "We can destroy the Church."
Liam held back a gulp. He recalled that conversation in the maze. Clearly, the spirit had eyes and ears everywhere in the inheritance.
"Sir Spirit," Liam called. "I don’t understand."
"The Church and my past self had ideological differences," The spirit chuckled at the way Liam had addressed him, "Of the irreconcilable kind. It was my opinion that it was losing its way, and what I’ve heard over the centuries confirmed that."
That was quite surprising to hear. Unity was one of the Church’s best traits, but it seemed it wasn’t exempt from internal conflicts.
’Though no one knows,’ Liam realized. ’Even the Priest outside treated the tomb with respect.’
"As such," The spirit continued, "I do not wish the Church to claim my inheritance, and its teams are close to succeeding."
Understanding dawned upon Liam, but he struggled to believe the question escaping his mouth. "Sir Spirit, do you want me to claim the inheritance?"
"Your team, specifically," The spirit confirmed. "I was losing hope since outsiders hadn’t entered for so long, but the Heavens delivered such a capable group in the nick of time."
Liam didn’t mind that idea. It was his team’s original plan anyway, but he couldn’t help but ask.
"Why?" Liam questioned.
The spirit just smiled before turning.
"Young Snake, shall we make this your reward?" The spirit wondered. "If you succeed, I’ll tell you everything, from the Church’s purpose to the Dragon King’s involvement."
Liam’s face instantly went serious. The stakes couldn’t be higher. That requirement was annoying, but he understood it. It was a trade and an incentive for him.
"Sir Spirit, aren’t you in control of this inheritance?" Liam questioned. "Can’t you just give it to me or kick the Church’s teams out?"
"My former self wished everyone to have equal opportunities," The spirit sighed, "I carry that wish. I can bend the inheritance’s rules, but I can’t break them."
The spirit faced Liam, wrapping his arms behind his back.
"It’s why I split your team," The spirit explained. "These Trials are like the upper maze, another filter before the real inheritance. By allowing your team to clear them separately, I can view your individual victories as cumulative."
It seemed the spirit was in a hurry to send Liam’s team to the real inheritance to contend with the Church’s assets, but he couldn’t help arguing.
"Sir Spirit, can’t I face the trials anyway?" Liam requested.
"Why would you delay your access to the true inheritance?" The spirit questioned.
"There are three to five more trials, right?" Liam said, using his fingers to count. "That’s three to five more rewards, all rank 3 if I trigger the punishments every time."
Knowledge was its own reward, but that inheritance also had the latter, and Liam wanted everything.
As for the spirit’s needs, that wasn’t really Liam’s problem.
"If your team claims the inheritance," The spirit pointed out, "You’ll obtain what the remaining trials would provide and more."
"But I’d have to split that with my team," Liam commented. If he cleared the trials by himself, he would feel every right in keeping the rewards. That was where he drew the line.
The spirit fell silent, taken aback by that greedy but witty idea, but refusing to entertain it.
"Either do it my way," The spirit threatened, "Or I’ll send you to the real inheritance without giving you time to recover."
"Ah!" Liam gasped, cupping his fist. "Sir Spirit, I apologize."
"I’m not Sir Spirit, either," The spirit declared. "I’m what’s left of Archbishop Ignatius’ consciousness. You can refer to me as such."
Liam stared at the spirit, feeling that something was off with his understanding, but mentioning it anyway. "Sir Consciousness?"
For a second, the spirit entertained the idea of making Liam experience punishments, but decided to correct him instead. "Archbishop, Archbishop Ignatius, or Senior Ignatius."
"Archbishop," Liam nodded, dismissing the matter to refocus on his main goal, "Does your inheritance have extreme-grade circulation techniques?"
More than rank 3 assets, the upgrade to Liam’s circulation technique promised to be something he could use for the entirety of his cultivation journey. After all, there was nothing beyond extreme-grade.
The more easygoing mood vanished. The spirit stared at Liam deeply, a sad smile returning to his face.
"My inheritance doesn’t have those," The spirit revealed. "Child, those techniques are unnatural. They demand more from cultivators than what the Heavens bestowed them."
"But my talent wasn’t bestowed by the Heavens," Liam pointed out.
"It wasn’t," The spirit confirmed, "But we are Men. Young Snake, don’t forget that."
After those words, the spirit vanished out of thin air, and a flower appeared in his place, the one he claimed would lead to the true inheritance.
