Legacy of Hatred

Chapter 351: Escape

Dominic was out of options. His body seemed to have crossed the point of no return. His Qi was escaping his control, and Liam was even affecting his energy, accelerating the process.

Despite everything Dominic had said, all his anger, chilling resolve, and actions, he had yet to realize the main aspect of that whole predicament, but that acknowledgment descended now.

Dominic’s domineering persona had led him into plenty of scuffles, but none had ever been life-threatening. Politics prevented branching experts from facing such dangers. They were too valuable an asset for the Sects to risk losing them.

Actual wars were also rare. Sects challenged each other through indirect methods, preserving what made them superior to other forces as much as possible.

Dominic even held a privileged position. Few would dare to pursue grudges against him. He had earned his status, but he had lived a sheltered life since then, almost forgetting about an ever-present possibility in the cultivation world.

Even branching experts could die, and Dominic was facing that fate directly now. He had actually never been so close to dying ever since reaching his current cultivation stage, awakening instincts that had remained asleep for decades. freewebnovёl.ƈom

Survival was paramount. Everything was possible as long as one was alive, even avenging the shame of running away against rooting experts.

Liam felt it before seeing it. Something built up inside Dominic’s sleeve, soon releasing a high-pitched noise that alerted Liam’s animal instincts, just like the fight against Julian had done.

Dominic had no control over himself, so he detonated the compass he had borrowed from the Shrouded Desert Sect.

The explosion was immediate. Gales of incandescent Qi and shards blew between Liam and Dominic, slamming violently on them to push both away.

Yet, Dominic’s figure didn’t move, anchored to the one clinging to his forearm. The storm blew in Liam’s face, piercing and scorching his broken flesh, but he gritted his teeth, the pulsating veins on his neck vouching for his struggle.

The storm was too violent for Liam to oppose in his current state. He could endure it through the Qi Repulsion, but that would prevent him from pursuing a petty goal centered around that forearm.

Liam hadn’t forgotten how Dominic had slapped Grace. The Elder might not have thought much about the matter. He might have even forgotten about it due to how trivial it had been in his perspective, so Liam would force him to bear the mark of that sin.

A suppressed hiss escaped Liam’s mouth as a cracking noise finally resounded, and both he and Dominic flew away in opposite directions.

Dominic’s little control over himself prevented any attempt at softening the landing. Actually, his awareness wavered during the flight, only recovering when his figure slammed into a broken trunk.

The separation from Liam’s insidious Qi also brought a modicum of recovery. Dominic didn’t heal, but he only had his terrible condition to mind now. He wasn’t even fighting anymore, so all his attention could go to keeping himself alive.

The effort would only delay the unavoidable, but that was exactly what Dominic needed. His Sect was too distant to reach in his condition, but the Archbishop’s tomb was nearby. Asking Priest Elmer for help would create a debt with the Church, but it was better than dying.

So, instead of returning to the wasteland, Dominic ran away, unleashing the best speed his corpse-like body could muster. He could feel his life slipping away at every step. He even noticed the stump that had replaced his right forearm, but none of that could stop him.

Every second mattered now. Dominic would bear the shame of escaping, recover, and come back to hunt those rooting experts, this time bringing appropriate preparations.

That desire for revenge, that anger, was all Dominic could think about. It was a powerful fuel that kept his corpse moving. The simplicity of such an intense feeling narrowed his existence, but gave his disappearing Qi a straightforward, easy job.

However, anger was known to blind even the most powerful experts, and Dominic realized that he had fallen for that very predicament only after wasting more precious seconds.

Nothing flashy had happened. Dominic had simply kept running among what was left of the forest.

Still, at Dominic’s speed, he should have left the forest already, and that wasn’t all. He checked his surroundings, only to feel some familiarity from the trees that surrounded him, as if he had run in circles.

Dominic stomped his feet, his very existence wavering as he forced part of the Qi that was keeping him alive into the ground, shaking it and releasing tremors into the air.

The scenery around Dominic twisted. The trees, grass, and soil waved and paled, turning into faint silhouettes behind a thick white mist. His perception was in shambles, but he didn’t need to sense Qi to know that he had fallen prey to a technique.

Footsteps resounded among the mist. Dominic turned in their direction, finding a silhouette drawing closer until its details became visible.

The silhouette belonged to a young woman, a rooting expert, with a perfect fringe and a luxurious silver robe. Her steps were steady but reserved, and pristine politeness reeked out of the customary bow she performed.

"Senior," Isabel greeted. "Would you be so magnanimous as to let live and forget? The Secret Jade Sect would be in your debt."

Dominic should have known better, but he was keeping himself alive through sheer anger. His brain functions were far from orderly or complete, triggering a single-minded reaction.

Even after all that, rooting experts were still popping left and right to get in Dominic’s way. It was as if the Heavens had set out to insult him that day.

"Let live and forget?" Dominic asked, spreading his arms as if to show his terrible condition. "I will hold on to this grudge for as long as I breathe. I won’t stop until I tear that whore-addicted Junior limb from limb."

Isabel straightened herself, joining her hands under her sleeves, a deadpan tone invading her following words. "You? A mere branching expert from some backwater Sect killing the Young Master?"

Dominic shot ahead, his left hand reaching for Isabel’s face, only for her figure to evaporate into mist once those fingers pierced her.

"Know your place," Isabel’s voice resounded from the surrounding mist before water bullets cut through it, converging on Dominic from every direction.