Chapter 415: Respect
Liam had to admit that some tiredness was getting to him, albeit most came from the heavy strain the body-enhancing pill was putting on his body. He could get bearable physical prowess boosts, but his stamina paid the price.
Unleashing more power meant tiring earlier. There was no way around that equation unless Liam used additional alchemical products, worsening the eventual backlashes.
Of course, having massive amounts of Qi suddenly disappear and refill the body wasn’t easy on Liam, either. It was an unnaturally harsh strain that worsened the whole trend, adding a component of mental exhaustion to the equation.
The meridians were organic channels after all. The Qi-Storage Pill might have saved Liam’s core from that strain, but his body had still dealt with that stress.
However, the effort had been worth it. Liam’s reward was right at his feet for everyone to see.
The rank 3 Phantom Talons had been the main aspect of the previous offensive, showing their value. At a Qi consumption classified as medium, those blades were truly lethal, more than Liam’s bare hands had ever been against corresponding opponents.
Moreover, the Talons were long, solving issues of reach. They also only required one cast, sort of.
The technique lost energy whenever it cut something. If Liam didn’t refill it, the Talons would shrink until they ultimately disappeared.
Losing control of the martial art would lead to the same outcome. However, as long as Liam didn’t, the Qi consumption was somewhat bearable. After paying the initial cost for summoning the Talons, it was just a matter of maintaining them.
Which made sense compared to Liam’s other rank 3 martial arts. Instead of widespread destructive power or flashy effects, the Phantom Talons were just sharp blades. On their own, they couldn’t really achieve much.
That last part was key to Liam’s achievement. He had abused the Lightning Step to exploit the Phantom Talons’ power, but the environment deserved most of the praise.
If the bear had stable footing, the battle would have gone very differently. Sure, Liam had been sharp, bold, and capable enough to spot that opportunity, pursue it, and execute it properly, but he would rarely have such favorable conditions.
Liam could create such conditions like a proper hunter, but he was more interested in understanding his standing now, and he had to accept some pride. He had indeed killed his second level three magical beast, this time without driving himself to the brink of death, not even close.
’And this is less than half my potential,’ Liam calculated.
Liam might have crossed the rooting stage’s halfway point, but his cultivation’s requirements had also increased, demanding more energy, meaning he would progressively gain more strength per root.
Naturally, the audience couldn’t possibly imagine that Liam was actually feeling a streak of disappointment, followed by an intense eagerness to grow even stronger.
From the audience’s perspective, Liam was already the best the rooting stage had to offer, so much so that they actually struggled to think. Defeating a level three magical beast on his own could make him famous throughout the border. That literally was the greatest feat an expert at his level could accomplish, at least according to normal standards.
That created a problem for the audience. In theory, Liam was alone and somewhat injured. At least, reason wanted him to be exhausted. That was how things were supposed to go when fighting a powerful opponent.
Liam was also the only one standing in the way of the alleged path to the rank 3 ingredients. Circling the mountain the other way around was a possibility, but a time-consuming one that could very well put the audience in front of the same problems since battles could be happening there, too.
So, getting past the theoretically tired hindrance was the obvious choice, but no one moved. No one dared to test that theory, and few even noticed that the owls were of the same mind.
Nothing wanted to get close to Liam, as if declaring his danger. His sole presence created a no-go zone, and he felt all that.
Space-rings couldn’t store living beings in the strict sense, but the bear was now a corpse, a highly valuable one, so Liam waved his hand, and the level three creature disappeared.
Meanwhile, Liam summoned a rank 2 Qi Recovery elixir. Both his body and cultivation still had decent amounts of energy, which was exactly why he went for something that affected them both.
Once Liam stored the empty flask, he ran his hand through his hair, pulling it back, fully exposing his bloodied face, wounded head, and glare.
Liam first looked at those keeping the other level three creatures at bay. It seemed one bear had tried to go after him to close the gap his victory had created, only for its opponents to exploit that opportunity to inflict injuries.
The outcome of that battle hardly interested Liam, but he wanted to see those cultivators’ intentions. Glances flew in his direction, but there was a sort of respect-based understanding in the air.
Liam had done what those groups were failing to do, and alone. He had earned those experts’ recognition, hinting that they wouldn’t get in his way.
That behavior was to be expected from elites. Power wasn’t a good judge of character, but those who possessed it also understood it. That group knew what it took to kill a level three magical beast alone, and they didn’t want to mess with it.
Instead, the other cultivators could be a problem. They could be foolish enough to make problems for Liam, which he knew he could handle, but it would be an annoying hindrance nonetheless.
So, Liam moved his glare to the widespread and disorganized mass lower on the slope, considering uttering a threat, when a suffocating aura washed over the area.
Everyone felt that. It was impossible not to. All the bears in the area roared in fear and anger. The owls scattered, hooting nonstop, but thunderous noises cut through the tense development.
Liam had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen.
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