Chapter 355: Arsenal |
Liam didn’t know about the others, but he had seen Lancelot receive a life-saving rank 4 item that included the remnants of the Archbishop’s spirit.
While unsuitable for Liam, giving up on a rank 4 item had still stung, but the abundance in the secluded room and the five rank 3 martial arts made him forget about that feeling.
The Archbishop’s spirit had probably taken everything into consideration during the splitting of the inheritance, an idea that browsing through the five tomes reinforced.
’Phantom Talons,’ Liam read in the first book. ’Solidifies Qi over the fingers to transform them into lethal blades. Qi consumption: Medium. Training: Hard.’
As if driven into a frenzy, Liam immediately went for another tome. ’Deflecting Gale. Violent Qi burst. Blows off-course incoming attacks. Qi consumption: High. Training: Easy.’
’Defying Stomp,’ The next book read. ’Unmatched acceleration. Kicks the ground to generate a singular, straight speed burst. Qi consumption: High. Training: Average.’
If Liam weren’t already drooling, the following two books finally sent his salivary glands overboard.
’Life Qi,’ Liam read. ’Draws energy from the user’s cultivation to heal injuries. Qi consumption: Extreme. Training: Easy.’
’Seven Hellish Steps,’ The last book said. ’Extreme energy build-up that multiplies with each additional step. The seventh is comparable to rank 4 martial arts. Qi consumption: Extreme. Training: Extreme.’
The Seven Hellish Steps were no singular attack. The martial art didn’t even have specific battle stances or required gestures. It was a massive but simple energy buildup that the user could unleash however he liked.
Yet, just like Liam had experienced with the high-grade circulation technique, bodies and meridians had a limit to what they could contain before blowing apart, and the Seven Hellish Steps’ more in-depth descriptions suggested far harsher requirements.
Liam was a rooting expert who had barely finished developing his thirteenth minor root. Chances were that even the technique’s first step would be unbearable at his current level, but he had no control over his initial instinctive response.
’I want ten of these,’ Liam gasped internally, having to actively refrain from starting a training session.
As greedy as Liam was, cool heads prevailed. He put down the book, his gaze browsing over the other four, reaching an undeniable conclusion.
’I have a full set of rank 3 martial arts,’ Liam acknowledged. ’One specific for me.’
Including the Sky-Splitting Bolt, Liam now had six rank 3 martial arts: Three offense-oriented, one defense-oriented, one movement-oriented, and one recovery-oriented.
Moreover, two of the offense-oriented were trump cards that used Liam’s weapon of choice or had his superior body in mind.
Also, the Phantom Talons, the Deflecting Gale, and the Defying Stomp were all direct upgrades to the Metal Hand, the Qi Repulsion, and the Lightning Step.
Perception-oriented and cloaking techniques were missing, but they were also what Liam didn’t need, which was too perfect an arrangement to be random. The Archbishop had to have done all that on purpose, even making accurate predictions about Liam’s growth.
And despite all that perfection, Liam was forced to accept a grim truth. ’I can’t rely on them yet, can I?’
The time for a proper review of the battle against Dominic arrived, and the images that flashed in Liam’s vision painted a dark picture.
Branching experts were nothing short of monsters who defied the very meaning of being alive. Fighting one under normal circumstances would have been impossible, no matter how many geniuses joined the fray.
The widening gap between higher cultivation stages couldn’t have been more evident. Dominic had not only been faster, more resilient, and stronger. His superior Qi alone had been a match for Liam and Lancelot’s techniques.
Moreover, that very superior Qi could unleash the true power of rank 3 martial arts, creating an insurmountable barrier for rooting experts. Liam and Lancelot had survived a direct clash with them, but barely, and the battle would have ended there without healing pills.
Those insurmountable clashes had only happened once, too. If Dominic had been able to release Qi at will, Liam and Lancelot would have been powerless to pose any real challenge.
That fit perfectly with what Liam’s Master had described, and it would only get worse at higher stages, except for a silver lining.
Lancelot had been truly exceptional, worthy of whatever title he had earned and all the compliments Liam knew. He had stood his ground against Dominic before the lethal injury.
Sure, Dominic hadn’t taken Lancelot seriously initially, and the clash between their rank 3 techniques had shown the former’s clear superiority. Still, it had been a battle at the very least, something that Liam wasn’t confident in replicating, not yet.
That brought Liam to the initial point. Despite the astonishing amount of sixty-four minor roots, Lancelot had only been able to cast two rank 3 techniques before becoming utterly spent, and one even mostly used his flesh instead of Qi.
Likewise, Liam had been completely spent after a single Sky-Splitting Bolt. He would almost have twice as much Qi as Lancelot at the stage’s peak, but he was barely past one-tenth there.
Not every rank 3 martial art would deplete as much energy as the Sky-Splitting Bolt. Actually, probably few would, but the math seemed clear.
Since those stronger techniques were meant for even superior Qi, their energy consumption would always be absurd for a rooting expert. At Liam’s current level, he couldn’t consistently rely on his new goods since they risked leaving him spent mid-battle.
’I still have Qi-Storage Pills,’ Liam considered, ’And I can make more, but fighting using only rank 3 martial arts is impossible for me now.’
That wasn’t to say that Liam wouldn’t learn his new techniques. Even if a single use could leave him spent, they remained potentially life-saving tools. They were power, so Liam would take it.
However, the need for something Liam could wield consistently right away had presented itself.
The Metal Hand, the Lightning Step, the Qi Repulsion, the Poisonous Breath, Aura, and the Primal Urge were best-in-class techniques that covered all aspects of battles, but the Seismic Palm had finally shown its limits.
There were plenty of books among the clutter in the room, and Liam stood up only after reading a name on the jade, navigating the goods until he found that tome.
’Rank 2 martial art,’ Liam read on the cover. ’Concussive Palm. Piercing palm strike. Inflicts heavy internal damage. Can be used in quick succession. Qi consumption: Medium. Training: Average.’
Once again, Archbishop Ignatius had provided. The Concussive Palm was a direct upgrade to the Seismic Palm, the technique Liam needed to avoid flaws in his arsenal.