Chapter 367: Flight |
Luckily, the fan was more interested in Grace than playing matchmaker. Liam could leave that compelled hug soon enough, and the situation quickly developed further.
The two had a destination now. The stretch of land that acted as the border between regions had a messy political environment, making it perfect for criminals to hide.
As for what came next, Grace had an idea, which could be developed further only after seeing the environment first-hand.
Liam, Grace, and the fan exited the underground room, resurfacing at the base of the Frozen Peak. The area was empty, but Liam instinctively stuck out his tongue to search for any trace that the passage of cultivators might have left behind.
Some traces stood out, which wasn’t surprising. Liam had spent four weeks hidden underground after all.
Yet, everything was distant and old. Nothing was deep or intense. The tracks seemed to belong to random passersby rather than investigators.
"I think we are in the clear," Liam announced. "Are you sure we shouldn’t take additional precautions?"
The question referred to Liam and Grace’s attire. They were both wearing simple black robes, their faces in the open, not even having agreed to fake identities.
"You are more known for your cloak than your face," Grace pointed out. "I won’t be Chief Grace anymore. We’ll just have to find a middleman for your alchemical products."
"I let him go long ago," Grace revealed. "I knew he would have been a burden as soon as it became clear that you had to be on the move."
Liam just nodded, forgetting about the matter. Old Joe had basically forced himself on him, but their relationship was hardly deep. Besides, Grace had reassured Liam when it came to the rumors around him.
Instead, Liam focused on the fan. He heard its annoyance in his brain, but the item still complied, unfolding and going horizontal while approaching his feet.
Liam climbed on the fan, bending his legs as it began to wave left and right, even flying in a circle. His balance didn’t falter. Krosstoen’s mountain had trained him too well in that regard, enabling childish thoughts.
’I’m actually flying,’ Liam cheered internally. ’This is so cool.’
Another wave of foreign annoyance seeped through the mental connection, prompting Liam to imitate Grace. ’Yes, you are cool.’
A proud scoff followed inside Liam’s mind at the mental praise, but he just smiled. Life could be truly grim, but such moments made up for it. Mortals couldn’t even dream of soaring the skies, but the cultivation world had enabled Liam to do exactly that.
Grace inspected that brief training session before a big hand reached for her back, grabbing her side.
"What are you doing?" Grace asked, holding the muscular arm wrapped around her back to stop whatever Liam was doing.
"I’m carrying you?" Liam casually replied. "We don’t fit."
The fan was as big as a man’s chest when unfolded. It barely had enough room for one person, but Liam was sure it was strong enough to carry two. It was a rank 3 item after all.
The rank was also why Liam had opted for that approach. Grace had flying swords, but the fan could overcome his reaction speed. Chances were no rooting expert could keep up with it.
Naturally, Grace was aware of that strategy. Her hesitation had simply stemmed from Liam’s forwardness. When it suited him, he seemed to have no problem touching her around.
"Master Liam, you aren’t carrying me like that," Grace warned. "I’m not some sack you can just grab around."
Liam didn’t know the difference, but the additional warning coming from the mental connection forced him to take the matter seriously.
"How should I carry you?" Liam asked.
"I was meant to be a princess," Grace reminded. "There’s a name for that."
Grace expected some hesitation, a question, or a reaction of any kind, only for her eyes to go wide when her feet suddenly left the ground. Liam lifted her as if she were weightless, placing his other arm under her legs to perform a princess carry.
Cultivators were strong, and Grace was even quite thin. Lifting her was hardly a surprising feat, but she caught a glimpse of Liam’s actual physical prowess now, the trait that stopping Dominic’s slap had already suggested.
Liam felt strong, absurdly so. Cultivators often drew strength from their Qi, not requiring any physicality. Yet, Liam was also solid muscle. Grace felt he could break her in half with a single hand.
Certain traits affected instincts that people had no control over, involving the very wiring of their brains. Cultivators were beyond mortals, but Grace was also a woman, and that display of sheer strength played into primal tastes, triggering problematic reactions.
"No man will marry me after being dishonored like this," Grace dramatically sighed, wrapping her arms around Liam’s neck, hiding her face on his chest. "Master Liam, that’s part of your debt, too, now."
"You are terrible, you know that?" Liam shook his head, laughing when he heard the giggle on his chest, only for excitement to take over.
It merely took an intention for the fan to rise and unleash a speed burst that almost toppled Liam over. The item flew around the mountain’s base in no time, crossing entire kilometers in seconds. It was simply too fast, belonging to a realm beyond the world.
And Liam’s smile broadened as the wind blew in his face, knowing that the fan could do much more. It wasn’t a mere transportation item after all. It was a magical weapon.
Going from walking the earth to soaring the sky took some adjustments. Liam’s unique upbringing couldn’t deliver instant expertise in that regard.
While dangerous, swinging among branches still featured plenty of handholds and footholds. The ground was also always relatively close, meaning there was a limit to how much Liam could get hurt.
Instead, the fan defied gravity. It could rise hundreds of meters into the sky and more, reaching areas where nothing but air existed, high enough for the fall to be dangerous even for rooting experts.
Nevertheless, Liam had to go higher.
Remaining low was safer since Liam could use the environment as a natural cover. That was what he had always done. Yet, that absurd speed prevented him from dodging trees and similar obstacles.
Instead, the sky was empty and exposed, but getting high enough would make Liam and Grace unreachable for the average expert. Many wouldn’t even look up when searching for cultivators, so he fought against his lingering mortal instincts and prompted the fan to rise even more.
Naturally, Grace had those mortal instincts, too, which she exploited by clinging closer to Liam the higher they went.
Since the borders between regions were even more artificial, they featured no exact beginning or end. Still, there were clues.
Barely a day after flying straight north, the environment below began to change, and it had nothing to do with the intensifying cold.
Craters and similar patches of barren land cut through the tundra, forest, lakes, and moss-filled plains Liam flew through, with most of those scars looking deeply unnatural.
The flying speed only allowed Liam to catch glimpses of those scars, but he knew enough about wilderness and cultivators to identify their origin. Those unnatural marks were caused by battles, and they became more predominant the further north he flew.
It was exactly as Grace had described it. That stretch of land between the two regions was the home of many conflicts, ruining it too deeply and often for it to recover.
And that wasn’t even the worst part. Liam sensed it clearly. There were cultivators below, or at least the traces of Qi they had left behind. Some even felt unnatural, hinting at formations.
The Circles closer to the Kingdom’s heart had a higher number of cultivators, and even those barren lands followed that trend.
Still, Liam was high in the sky, using his perception’s range as his safe distance. He only let its edges touch the ground, knowing that no one could match it without proper techniques.
Except that something even bigger than a technique arrived, far bigger.
It was the fourth day of uninterrupted flight, deep into the night. A single river stretched below, surrounded by nothing but barren, destroyed ground. Even its course zigzagged oddly, having adjusted to the unnatural damage.
The river and its surroundings carried a faint scent of Qi, shimmering at times due to that magical energy. Liam had seen a similar sight in the spirit stones’ spring, albeit in far greater fashion.
Nevertheless, the area remained valuable for cultivators, highlighted by the detail that had claimed most of Liam’s attention. The river stemmed from a small, barren hill that reeked of an intense presence of life.
’Rooting and foundation experts,’ Liam instantly understood. ’They must have fought a lot to take control of this area.’
Liam merely recorded that information, not giving it much weight. He planned to fly past the area anyway, but his nape tingled before he could leave.
A wave of ethereal energy rang from the hill, expanding spherically, covering land and sky. It was subtle, harmless, but extremely quick, crossing Liam and Grace in no time to stretch even further.
There was no real weight to the wave, no personality or specific intent, but Grace announced its nature as soon as Liam reached the same conclusion.
"Magical item," Grace warned, pulling herself up, almost placing her face side by side to Liam’s as she looked down. "We have been spotted."
That didn’t necessarily mean anything. Liam and Grace were nothing more than two passersby. He didn’t even stop the fan, continuing to fly further north and away from the area.
But whoever owned the hill had other intentions since a booming noise followed, and Liam caught a dark streak cutting through the night, perfectly aimed to intercept him.
The fan went partially vertical, quickly coming to a halt. Liam balanced himself on it, his gaze glued to the item that soon flew right before him. It was a huge metal harpoon, Qi-enhanced, fired with enough force to match a rooting expert’s speed.
"They have offensive magical items, too," Grace uttered another warning.
Liam could just fly away. His fan was faster and nimbler. As dangerous as those harpoons were, they would never touch him.
Yet, someone had attacked Liam for no reason, and his response arrived before his mind could review the matter consciously.
"Good," Liam stated, his face going feral as the fan turned, shooting toward the hill.
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