Chapter 547: Advantage

Ideas flooded Liam’s brain. His fingers itched as his alchemical perspective on life absorbed all those new features.

Extensive tests would be needed, but Liam could see it now. If his Qi-fueled being could apply meaningful effects with its presence alone, he could definitely concoct products with similar functions.

’Intent, huh,’ Liam recalled Master Vermillion’s words, truly understanding what he meant, and that wasn’t the end.

Despite the strenuous, near-death experience, Liam felt some curiosity-induced hyperactivity. He couldn’t wait to retest all the concoctions he knew with his new energy. He desperately wanted to see what his new eyes would catch, but he had to suppress himself a bit longer.

Being naked and in the open definitely was Liam’s main issue to fix.

Liam checked one of his rings, and a helpless sigh escaped his mouth as he found the tablet he had used to create the underground room, the one his Master had left him.

’I guess it had to happen sooner or later,’ Liam thought, unable to fend off the sadness he felt at the sight of the broken tablet. His explosive breakthrough had shattered it.

Of course, Liam had long since owned a spare, one more suited for his cultivation level. He just preferred to use his Master’s when Grace wasn’t in charge of that.

As thrifty as Liam was, he couldn’t help but be sentimental about his Master’s items. He hadn’t even thrown away the pipe he had melted after becoming a rooting expert.

’Master, disciple is also a branching expert now,’ Liam uttered in his mind. ’Your teachings succeeded once more.’

Sharing the success with Grace came next. Liam had told her about the breakthrough, so reassuring her was mandatory. He would have loved to celebrate with her, but that moment was probably years away.

Afterward, Liam donned a simple robe and summoned the fan, not hesitating to use its ability.

Speed gained a new meaning. Liam had taken that into account when giving the deadline, but nothing could have prepared him for that result.

The fan was a high-tier rank 3 magical item. As such, Liam’s previous Qi had held it back greatly, preventing it from showing its true strength.

Now, Liam finally had access to suitable energy, and the world became even smaller. The two weeks Rachel had mentioned would be cut to at most a few days at that speed.

Of course, Liam couldn’t head to the Dark Heaven Tribe yet. Getting closer was beneficial, but he had something else in mind.

’This ...,’ Liam gasped internally, stopping, unsure whether he was feeling things right. ’It shouldn’t be like this.’

When Liam was at the peak of the foundation stage, he could only unleash a handful of rank 2 martial arts before emptying his Qi reserves.

Right after becoming a rooting expert, at exactly one minor root, that number had doubled, the rank 2 martial arts’ real power preventing it from being higher.

Liam had expected something similar to unfold now. In the quasi-stage, his limit had been around four rank 3 martial arts. It could have been higher if his arsenal didn’t mostly have high or extreme Qi consumption, but the number fit his previous results.

However, despite not having fully developed the first branch yet, Liam felt that the number of rank 3 martial arts he could unleash now was closer to twenty than ten. The fan wasn’t perfect for that math, but Liam couldn’t shake off that impression, and it didn’t make sense.

’It wasn’t like this for Grace,’ Liam thought.

Grace’s limit had been around eight or nine rank 3 martial arts, which was understandable due to their higher power. Techniques abided by the increasingly wide gap between stages, after all, demanding more energy.

However, all the data Liam had accumulated seemed to have become unreliable now, unless he considered his inborn advantage.

’Can having more minor roots provide such a deeper capacity even without branches?’ Liam wondered, shocked. After all, if the math were to be believed, he had started the branching stage with twice Grace’s Qi reserves.

Of course, deeper Qi reserves were Liam’s whole thing. He just hadn’t expected the advantage to be so stark, especially since it had been quite minor after the previous breakthrough.

’It can make sense, though,’ Liam accepted. ’It was only about a few spiritual roots back then. Now I have tens of minor roots more than others.’

The size that only Liam’s cultivation could reach had become more meaningful due to the longer and more nutrient-demanding stage, and that was just the beginning.

’Each superior stage is longer,’ Liam thought. ’My quasi-stage will follow that trend. I’ll start with hundreds of branches more than others at the leafing stage, and then ...’

Since completing the rooting stage had already provided an incredible starting point, Liam couldn’t even fathom what would happen later on. Each quasi-stage would also stack, every new level Liam reached leading to a bigger and bigger advantage.

In the past, Liam had believed that only entering the quasi-stage would have allowed him to show his diabolical talent, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The foundation stage had just been too small for him to realize that.

Naturally, the issue was feeding that advantage. Liam had to grow it, but the rewards for that struggle would carry on, becoming exponentially greater each time.

Liam stepped off the fan but didn’t fall. He materialized on the ground, storing the weapon while taking out a token. In a few seconds, a vast underground hall came to be, and he didn’t hesitate.

Be it to test alchemy or to feed that newfound advantage as much as possible, Liam couldn’t contain himself anymore.

Liam placed the white cauldron at the center of the barren area, removing the robe he had just worn, remaining in his trousers. He had already done an inventory, but empty flasks appeared in his hands, soon ending up under his fangs.

The game had changed. Liam had finally stepped into the higher level, so it was time to mass-produce rank 3 poisons.