Born in Blood

Chapter 438 Meal

Liam's head felt like it'd been shoved through a vise.

He had no feeling in his body.

All he currently consisted of was a wisp of consciousness which drifted in and out of reality like a broken boat floating up and down a merciless tide.

Slowly, these 'tides' became gentler as the seconds ticked past, giving him a chance to gradually rein in his scattered mind.

Liam didn't know how long had passed, but slowly, he was snapping back to reality.

His nerves were finally responding to his commands.

His muscles still felt cramped and weighed down like iron, but a connection finally formed between his mind and body.

Liam's eyes opened. A resplendent glow emanated from his King's Eye, crackling like miniature suns.

The temple roof was above him.

He was still in the basement.

Around him, Elders, each with their own little station where they did their own thing, either reading a book or cultivating.

WHOOM!

Abruptly, Liam's mental energy exploded outward!

It bloomed, shooting past the basement, seeping through the cracks and walls, and continued spreading.

The dozen-some Elders stationed beside his body simultaneously grimaced as an incredible pressure formed around them.

The mental waves were spreading like an unstoppable tide.

500 meters.

1,000 meters.

1,500 meters.

2,000 meters.

2,500 meters.

And...

2,700 meters.

In a radius of roughly 2,700 meters, Liam felt grass sway with the lightest wind, saw boulders fall down one of the eastern mountains, sensed a Horned Bear running after a Four Tailed Deer.

Among thousands and thousands of different processes that occurred all at once, which he could track all at once.

The average sensing ability of a Rank 4 mind was 2,000 meters.

Liam's mind was above and beyond that.

Honestly speaking, it felt as though he had another mind to assist him with his thoughts.

Liam didn't doubt for a second that he could beat a super computer in terms of intellect and processing speed.

At the same time, there was something different about his sea of consciousness.

A strange feeling he couldn't put his finger on, but he knew that it had something to do with his Zenith mind.

Liam entered his sea of consciousness.

The shape of the mental sphere was the same. The shimmering golden hue of his barrier walls were brighter than ever, making it seem like a hollow sun.

The water below was a strict contrast. It was pitch black, like a sea of ink, reflecting no light whatsoever.

These were just the base improvements.

There was much, much more that Liam couldn't wait to find out about.

But as of now, he heard the Elders rushing over to the basement with wide-eyed looks.

Slowly, Liam sat up.

The King's Eye…

It felt like Liam was looking through the tip of a rapier blade.

It was incredibly sharp, and that was a massive understatement.

Sitting up from the silk bed he was lying on, Liam creaked his body left and right, giving the Elder beside him a careful look.

It was a woman with long black hair and a tall stature, who blinked incredulously at Liam's sight.

Tilting his head, Liam zoomed in on her, and the woman instantly blushed, staggering backwards.

"I didn't mean it like that. Get your head out of the gutter," Liam told her seriously.

But… apparently, he had a strange x-ray vision now.

Subconsciously, he could separate his vision into a different 'mode', which acted as a filter.

It basically turned people into silhouettes, revealing only their centers of power, skeletal system and organs.

He could even see their sea of consciousness.

Clothes did little to hinder his super-sight, but he'd have to get that under control…

He looked around.

A few non-familiar faces were present. The Temple was still kicking it in his absence.

Liam let out a long groan, lowered his head, and exhaled a deep sigh.

At the end of it, an ear-to-ear grin formed on his face.

'I'm free! I'm finally free!'

One after the other, the figureheads of the Temple had swarmed the basement.

Ryu, Jane, Verium, Jax, Aki, Orisa, Kerian, Jargon, Ruth, Maeve and everyone else had emerged through puddles of shadows.

They looked more or less the same, except Jargon was now a full fledged Zenith!

The rest were generally stronger.

Liam surveyed each one of them differently, the grin no longer on his face.

The room went dead silent.

No one uttered a word.

Ryu would have already given Liam a bear hug and congratulated him on his advancement.

…But he didn't.

Liam's aura just felt so off.

Like long nails repeatedly scraping against a chalkboard.

Was that Liam really Liam?

What was that dead look in his eyes?

And why were his eyes so bright?

They were like little suns!

Everyone felt bare-skinned and defenseless under his unreal gaze.

Even Kerian, a Rank 5 cultivator, felt that way, albeit way lesser than the rest.

Not to mention, the pressure they felt!

That was not normal!

Silence.

Liam continued surveying them up and down for several minutes, before he suddenly realized what he was doing.

His mental waves had retracted, relieving the zeniths around him of that pressure.

He played it off the tense and gloomy vibes.

"What's with all the gawking?" Liam said with a frown as he got up from the bed, stretching his hands in different directions.

Verium and Jane made a bitter face.

"I'm guessing this has to do with how long I've been out? Or did someone die?"

Kerian was the first to speak.

"6 and a half years."

Liam's jaw opened dramatically.

"You're joking."

Kerian shook her head.

"I wouldn't joke about this, Sire."

6 and a half years.

Liam had just hit 23 years old before he underwent the Self Tribulation.

And now… he was 29 and a half.

Liam took another look at himself.

His monstrous body was still the same, other than being a little stronger compared to before.

His core and blood hadn't advanced yet.

His black hair was combed and well taken care of, but it was incredibly long. Rapunzel would be envious.

A few seconds of silence passed as Liam processed the news.

"Enough of that. Where's the Empress? I haven't finished my meal."