Looking at Elder Jane’s flaming body, Liam could only shake his head.
‘Doesn’t she feel shame? She has a Rank 4 core…’
Nevertheless, Liam wasn’t afraid.
Not since he was one-fourth Zenith.
Liam could tell the Elder was holding back with her flames.
…Mostly.
Otherwise, a single spell with the power of a Rank 4 core behind it could maim Liam for an annoying amount of time.
But not permanently.
…Probably.
Slowly, Liam cocked his right fist and pivoted his body sideways, sliding his foot across the ground. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘭．𝑜𝘳𝘨
Then, he wrapped his hand with Shadow.
Right after, he activated both Cartilage Brace and Obsidian Skin, then enhanced his fist with ‘Ora’.
A moment later, Liam used Vanishing Steps and blurred, breaking the stone beneath his feet.
Whoosh!
BOOM!
The punch landed square against the Elder’s stomach.
Red flames wildly flew in every direction and charred Liam’s fist as it struck.
But the armor of fire was blown away and his attack hit full force!
It connected with the Zenith’s body!
The Elder skittered ten inches back, her firm feet dragged against the ground but didn’t lose contact with it.
Her back almost touched the furthest wall, but she just stopped before then.
A moment later, the flames dispersed, and Jane had her brows arched.
On the Elder’s black-clad clothes, Liam’s punch had torn through and left a red fist mark on the skin beneath.
Liam’s punch had torn through the skin of a fully Rank 4 cultivator!
Although it may seem like a grand accomplishment, Liam had just advanced to the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Elder had spent years in that realm.
She was probably around the middle-tier due to her Zenith centers of power naturally raising her progress.
A second later, the torn skin healed.
“I didn’t expect that,” she said with slightly furrowed brows, her gaze fixed to where the wound was.
Elder Jane had only used her flames to humble Liam’s pompous attitude.
It was supposed to completely block his attack, even absorbing the force behind his punch.
‘To think it still went through and I was pushed this far…’ she thought, hiding a grimace.
To save any face she had left, the Elder gave Liam an approving look.
“Well done.”
Liam thanked her.
“Now move along before I punch back.”
Satisfied, Liam nodded and promptly exited.
///
First, Liam made his way to the Shifter’s enclosed room.
The Octopus gave out the usual loud squeal as it saw Liam approach.
Liam’s relationship with the Egg hadn’t gotten much better than it was.
It didn’t attack him straight away as usual, but it didn’t trust Liam in the least.
Understandable, seeing as every time they met, it was sent unconscious.
“You’re becoming a headache,” Liam said as he threw a few Rank 3 corpses to the inscribed cage.
The Egg promptly pulled those beasts through a specially designed chute on the cage.
When it finally finished its food, Liam clicked the inscribed cage open.
Instantly, the beast lurched at him, but Liam gave it a backhanded slap.
TISH!
It fell back and slapped against the floor, jiggling like jelly, knocked out for umpteenth time.
‘I can knock it out myself now,’ Liam smiled.
///
After roughly an hour of studying the creature in detail, Liam fed it another corpse and left towards the mission hall.
Everyday, he learned something new about the Shifter.
Mainly, the specifics of how its liquid darkness transformed.
That material stemmed from its core, which Liam actually took a peek at.
It was on its underside, beneath its reproductive organ and beak, which was arduous to reach through normally.
As he briefly studied the organ, Liam faced a hurdle.
What the core of a Shifter produced, couldn’t be found in any human or beast besides it.
It was a special type of ‘Ora’ mixed between its unique darkness and natural world essence.
‘My Shadow could probably act as a substitute for that, but that alone won’t do anything.’
‘It’s not like I’m terribly good at manipulating it, either.’
Liam decided to hold on the specifics for another time, but made sure to note down any solution to the issue.
Eventually, Liam arrived at the mission hall.
A few Acolytes and Disciples gave him looks of respect.
Some even made gestures one would make to a senior as he passed by.
Those of the opposite gender were a bit more direct than that, giving him looks that he didn’t respond to.
More than once, Liam had to suffer through confessions of love by his fellow Disciples.
All were coldly rejected.
But none were deterred.
Shaking his head to avoid thinking of such horrible memories, Liam browsed the available missions.
Ever since the Verdant Warrior Sect was overtaken, the Temple offered greater missions with higher rewards.
Their resources had doubled, after all.
They could afford to move into areas they previously could not, and take greater risks against stronger enemies.
‘I need something to test my Ashura Form and Wraith Form on.’
For the first, a Zenith ranked beast sounded the most plausible.
Liam didn’t really believe he could kill a Rank 4 beast.
An entire squadron of cultivators was required for that feat.
But his intention wasn’t really to kill one. He wasn’t that arrogant.
It was to fight one…
Alone.
Anyone normal would point out how both were the same thing.
‘With how my strength is now, I already feel like I can fight one.’
‘My Ashura Form usually triples my power. It’s not impossible.’
And so, Liam marked a mission for a Rank 4 beast towards the southeast area.
For the second Form, Liam picked out a near-abandoned Sect to attack.
There were no Zeniths in their midst.
Not even a Rank 3 Magus.
Most of the Clan had been annihilated from a Rank 5 beast directly attacking their misplaced Sect base (which they smartly made next to a dragon’s den), leaving only a small portion of cultivators remaining.
Its second location wasn’t much wiser either.
It was built between heavy streams gushing at its sides, keeping away Spirit Beasts and daring foes.
If they died, it probably wouldn’t even be remarked, which is why the mission was available in the first place.
‘Perfect.’
‘Oh, and I better buy some Rank 4 materials for the project.’