If Liam had been a random lone cultivator seeking a simple source of income, joining the battle cages would have only required him to knock on the door.

However, Liam’s identity was a huge problem. Also, even if Grace refrained from pulling scams, using the battle cages as her shop’s base of operation demanded the approval of the big players managing that system, or at least their willful ignorance.

Rooting experts couldn’t achieve that. They would end up in one of the big players’ clutches, if not many of those. There was no escaping that since the system belonged to those forces, so the best the couple could achieve was to choose their patron.

Ray would get a cut of whatever the couple earned, but such was the price of freedom, even one as limited as what awaited ahead.

Those shortcomings had been agreed-upon before leaving the underground hall, so Liam’s thoughts never once went there while Ray led the way, focusing instead on his still-hissing mind.

Seeing Jessica after what had happened to Grace had triggered every kind of killing intent Liam was capable of. It was why Liam had gone for the Sky-Splitting Bolt. There could be no better conditions since he had a branching expert on his side.

Yet, Ray didn’t share Liam’s willingness to become the Guild’s enemy, which was understandable. A single rooting expert causing problems wasn’t necessarily a big deal, but things would be different if a Demonic Sect joined the fray.

The Kingdom’s true powers might be forced to act in that case. It would be a proper rebellion, and mess no different than what had driven Liam out of his Sect.

But Jessica had to die. Liam wouldn’t accept any other outcome. It was almost as personal as his revenge against the Bloodline Screening, failing to match its level simply because Grace was alive.

The problem was how.

No matter how much Liam advanced through the rooting stage, facing a branching expert head-on was suicidal. It was simple math, really. The difference in Qi’s quality and reserves perfectly painted that grim picture.

Jessica wasn’t even like Cecilia. The former likely had access to techniques worthy of her level, giving Liam no edge to work with. She was also too furious to underestimate him, and the way she had just found him removed any idea of surprise attacks.

The only positive aspect was that Jessica didn’t seem to be among the strongest branching experts. Losing an arm to Liam and the face-off with Ray had proven as much. Her cultivation wasn’t advanced enough to make that gap insurmountable.

Still, strategy remained the only thing that could work for Liam, but Jessica’s element seemed to have to do with wind. She looked capable of proper flight, meaning that there was no way to use the environment against her.

That left Liam with one option. He had to use his poison. As for how he would infect his prey or how effective rank 2 products would be, that was still unclear.

When night was about to descend, the group arrived at the intended destination. It was an unassuming piece of land, barren despite the summer, completely inconspicuous on the surface.

Even Liam’s senses struggled to pick up on anything specific. He did feel a tingle in his nape, but it was too faint and muddled to gain any insight. At most, he guessed that it was big.

That last part became clearer when the ground opened under the Elder’s feet, revealing a stone passage and stairs, each surface spotless and smooth.

It was the same sight Liam had witnessed in the Divine Cult, just on a far grander scale. The staircase seemed to descend endlessly, hundreds of meters underground, eventually opening into a square hall with several passages stretching from it.

Red braziers shone every few dozen meters, illuminating the area, but Liam couldn’t see its end. All the passages went beyond what he could sense, with some featuring unnatural barriers that blocked his perception.

That was a man-made underground maze, a hidden world that had probably taken multiple forces to build, and one of those soon showed its face, sort of.

Three presences, one suffocating and two inconsequential, stepped out of one of the unnatural barriers, crossing the corridor to enter the square hall. They were one branching expert and two foundation experts, all wearing black battle robes.

"Smiling Blade, you grace us with your presence again," The branching expert, a thin middle-aged man with black hair tied into a bun by a dark strip of cloth, greeted, cupping his fist.

"Something entertaining landed in my hands," Ray laughed. "I shall hope you keep it that way."

"Of course," The branching expert said, straightening, politely pointing at a passage behind him. "Black Qi, Lady Grace, please this way."

The foundation experts behind the middle-aged man headed for the passage, stopping at its edge and lowering their heads, clearly meant to escort the couple.

Liam and Grace didn’t miss how they had been addressed. Some players inside the battle cages would know who they were, and there was no way around that.

Money alone couldn’t give authority, and Liam and Grace weren’t strong enough to claim it. They could only work under a superior power, Ray in this case, a far-from-ideal but unavoidable compromise.

It was time for goodbyes, so the couple and the two swordsmen exchanged salutes before the former followed the foundation experts inside the corridor. More stairs appeared, and it took a while before the group arrived at an intricate symbol on a wall, which opened at the wave of a token.

A circular cave expanded in Liam’s view. It was bigger than the one in the Sect’s first plateau, but still quite small.

"Esteemed guests," One of the foundation experts, the man, bowed once everyone was inside. "If you would like to address your first commissions..."

That was the second, more insidious compromise. Realistically speaking, even with Mairis’ help, Grace, Lucas, and Troy didn’t have the connections to create the sea of middlemen to continue doing business, let alone protecting it.

The solution had been to rely on existing systems, letting established parties handle that part. It was reliable and somewhat trustworthy, but Liam and Grace would have little to no control over it.

Still, such were the limitations of individuals. Unless Liam and Grace built their own force, they had no way of dealing with the environment they had created.

"I assume you won’t be exposed to outside intermediaries," Grace announced, her statement more of a warning. She had experience managing merchants, so she knew how to navigate those situations.

"We have orders to leave goods and directives in a deposit," The man explained, his head still lowered. "From there, a specific party will pick up the goods and deliver them to a third force in charge of reaching additional intermediaries."

Several layers of that system were probably core to the battle cages due to all the illegal businesses going on there. However, Liam saw an issue he couldn’t ignore.

Both the man and his companion were young, more servants than cultivators. They had probably received thorough training to take part in those illicit businesses, but they remained too calm for Liam’s tastes.

With a branching expert as a superior, the two had no reason to fear rooting experts, but Liam couldn’t allow such confidence with so much at stake. At the very least, they had to be scared of failing him.

"Very well-" Grace began to say when Liam crossed her to reach the two foundation experts.

"Do you know what I’ve done?" Liam asked in a low voice, looking down at those lowered heads.

Slight tremors unfolded in Liam’s eyes. The two foundation experts tried to hide it, but his presence was scarier than their education.

"We are aware, Senior Black Qi," The man replied, his voice steady.

"I have no reason to trust you," Liam continued, "And I’m sure you understand your leader values us more than you."

That had been true in the Pale Moon Sect, let alone a criminal force. Liam had reason to believe that he would be forgiven almost anything as long as he brought money.

The more evident tremor the foundation experts experienced seemed to confirm that point, so Liam moved to the next step.

"Drink this," Liam ordered, summoning two flasks containing a yellowish rank 1 liquid. "If you do, I’ll have some reason to trust you."

The foundation experts showed no hesitation, reaching for Liam’s hand, only for him to close it and block their fingers.

"Only I can make the antidote for this," Liam warned, reopening his hand. "If you don’t take it within a week, you will die screaming."