Despite the tingling animal instincts, Liam couldn't help but experience some innocent wonder. Kyle's fiery fists felt dangerous, but there was more to the scene that caught Liam's attention.
Literal fire was flickering over Kyle's hands without needing fuel or burning anything. His skin remained completely unaffected, immune to the red flames' heat.
And there was heat. Kyle was a few meters away, but Liam felt it clearly, the cold intensifying the sensation. Those flames were hotter than the average fire for reasons he could only guess about.
"Is that the circulation technique?" Liam whispered, leaning toward Lucy. "Can you do that, too?"
"That's a martial art," Lucy instinctively replied before recalling she had to address the issue. "Brother Erik, please stop this."
"I'm sorry, Sister Lucy," The blonde boy said, shaking his head. "Don't worry. Brother Kyle won't hurt him too seriously, isn't that right?"
"I'll only teach this outsider a lesson so that he will never disrespect the disciplinary committee ever again!" Brother Kyle announced.
Erik spread his arms in helplessness, forcing Lucy to give up on stopping the fight and make the best out of that situation.
"Just focus on dodging," Lucy whispered, advising Liam, meaningfully looking at him. "Brother Kyle's foundation isn't great. He'll exhaust his Qi soon enough."
Lucy had given that advice out of worry, even accounting for Liam's surprising physical prowess. Still, Liam mistook her meaningfulness as her asking for a favor, which he decided to nod at.
A sigh escaped Lucy's mouth at that nod. She threw a cold look at Kyle but eventually retreated, creating some space where the two could fight.
"I'll make you regret underestimating the Pale Moon Sect!" Kyle shouted, earning himself cheers from the audience above, which Liam didn't really know how to take.
'I haven't really underestimated anyone,' Liam thought, but remained silent. He had promised Lucy he would let her handle all the talk, and that vow was still valid in his mind.
Nevertheless, Kyle took Liam's silence as another insult. He snorted, adjusting his battle stance, before shooting forward, drawing his right fiery fist back to prepare a quick jab.
Kyle's battle technique was solid, but Liam almost blinked looking at it. Except for the fiery fists, Kyle wasn't using any magical method to accelerate his moves, making him far slower than the jailer.
So, before Kyle could even finish thrusting his fiery fist, Liam had already moved away, turning the attack into a glaring miss.
In Liam's mind, his dodge had been nothing special, but Erik, the audience, and Kyle remained stunned. Lucy had partially seen Liam in action, but even she couldn't help but feel some surprise.
Truth was, Liam's dodge had been immediate and perfect, featuring no wasteful movement. He had lowered his waist and turned to his side to shift his balance and accelerate his retreat, performing a low jump that immediately put him a few meters away.
The result was a blur-like dodge. Liam seemed to have hovered over the ground, as if his body had no weight or physical constraints.
Lucy had spoken the truth. Kyle was on a timer, so he didn't dwell on that swift evasive maneuver and charged at Liam again, this time lunging with his left fist.
Liam repeated his evasive maneuver, and the punch didn't even come close to hitting him. Still, Kyle suddenly stomped his left foot on the ground, swinging his right fist at the retreating Liam.
Truth be told, Liam had dodged by such a wide margin that the second punch wouldn't hit him, either. Yet, the heat its flames radiated carried unknown dangers, urging him to perform another evasive maneuver.
Liam let his body fall, arching his back so that his hands could reach for the ground, performing an instantaneous back handspring that flung him even farther away from Kyle.
Once again, the audience felt shocked. Liam's evasive maneuvers were indeed perfect, but he also performed them at unfathomable speed. It was as if he didn't even need to think about them. It was as if they were as natural as breathing for him.
And comments started to resound, disturbing the silence.
"The Fiery Fists aren't that dangerous after all,"
"Their strength depends on the user's cultivation level,"
"Does it mean Brother Kyle's foundation is as weak as they say?"
That and more reached Kyle's ears, prompting him to charge at Liam again. He couldn't allow himself to lose face in such a shameful manner, and his rising panic ended up fueling a taunt.
"Can you only run away like a coward?!" Kyle shouted.
Liam was already in the process of dodging again, but that taunt stirred something inside his brain. He had promised Lucy to keep dodging, but being called a coward triumphed over that.
So, Liam interrupted his evasive maneuver, his cold eyes capturing each frame of Kyle's attack. He saw his fiery right fist expanding in his vision, its heat threatening to burn his skin, only for his mind to disregard that initial pain, waiting for the perfect moment.
The tips of Liam's black strands started to burn when he suddenly disappeared. A hand filled Kyle's vision while he felt his punch miss. Then, a force he couldn't hope to oppose destroyed his balance and pushed him down.
To everyone's surprise, Liam had narrowly ducked under the fiery punch, grabbing Kyle's face and slamming him down. Kyle's head crashed hard on the ground, even opening cracks on it, while the fire on his hands dispersed.
Liam felt tempted to draw his knife at that point, and a hiss joined that urge, but he eventually decided otherwise. Kyle had already fainted. Also, his crime didn't demand such harsh punishments, especially in front of an audience.
Liam closed his eyes to calm down before straightening himself up, noticing the many stunned gazes pointed at him. Once again, he felt he had done nothing special, but that reaction told him otherwise.
Lucy's reaction, in particular, started to convince Liam of that point. He had decided to trust her, which wasn't a trivial thing for him. Liam also felt indebted to her since she had brought him to a Sect, making him apologetic.
"Miss Lucy, I'm sorry," Liam apologized. "I couldn't focus on dodging."
Lucy blinked, realizing where Liam was coming from, but struggling to believe that such idiocy could exist in the world.
If Lucy had known that Liam could beat Kyle so easily, she obviously would have given different advice. He could have told her, too, but he seemed unable to understand such social constructs.
Still, before Lucy could speak, heavy pressure descended over the area, startling her and the audience. Liam felt it, too, and his figure instinctively retreated despite the lack of clear threats.
Nevertheless, Liam's figure stopped mid-retreat, kept still by a strangely light but terrifying hand on his shoulder. A middle-aged man with unruly but short black hair and no beard had appeared before him, making him feel impossibly small despite the two being close in height.
"Someone care to explain the reason for this ruckus?" The man asked, his deep voice carrying a weight of its own that pressed on Liam, further freezing his body.