The Temple spent the next few weeks cleaning up the aftermath of the raid.
The Array was obviously disabled by then, and the Temple divided their forces into reconstructing the plateau.
It was their new territory, after all.
With it, the Temple could gradually expand their influence over the island.
Although the Verdant Warrior Sect was a small-sized Clan, they still held jurisdiction over a relatively large plot of land within the western island.
Everything was perfect.
As a cover, location, situation, everything fit right in with the Temple’s needs.
Obviously, it wasn’t like the Temple officially had control over the Sect.
But with the right connections and means, that could change.
Jurisdiction could be transferred, after all.
Right after the raid had concluded, Liam met with Elder Jane.
“I need their corpses.”
That was what Liam had begun the conversation with.
“If you’re not doing anything with them, I’d like to experiment with them.”
Was what Liam added when he saw her raise a brow.
“It’s something important relating to my forging method. It has to do with blood.”
Was the reassurance Liam gave her right after.
“How many bodies?” Elder Jane asked.
She knew Liam’s forging method pertained to blood, and the weapons he made helped the Temple’s lower ranking acolytes by a lot.
There was no reason not to comply.
Him improving would be the Temple’s improvement.
“All of them? There’s no reason you need them, right?” Liam asked.
Elder Jane remained silent.
“You’re telling me you need more than 200 corpses for a forging method?”
This time, Liam was silent.
“Fine. Just give me the Rank 3’s. Is there any way I can have the Patriarch’s body, too?”
Elder Jane slightly scowled, but didn’t rebuke him for his lack of respect.
“There are some pills that might require a Rank 4 core as an ingredient.”
“I myself need to use parts of him to make elixirs and whatnot, so no.”
“But you can have the Rank 3’s. They’re pretty much useless to me.”
Liam hid a smile and thanked her, before spending the next few days gathering all the bodies.
Obviously, Liam didn’t plan on using them for forging.
Not one bit.
Instead… he wanted to devour them all to quicken his advancement to the fourth Rank.
So many bodies could most definitely purify his blood, too.
It would expand his Chaos Pearl at the same time, strengthening his chaos.
And so, Liam began his meals.
But not before putting two Rank 3 Beast Wills in his mental sphere.
Since devouring too many bodies would take a lot of time, he would speed up his training.
And there were a lot of them.
More than 34 cultivators in the third Rank!
A few here and there even had Rank 4 bodies, which made them an even greater source of nourishment.
Currently, Liam was in his quarters.
Most of the Disciples and Shadows had relocated to the Mountain, but Liam preferred the peace and quiet.
Especially the privacy.
Liam motioned it, and a Warrior’s corpse materialized in front of him.
Liam got to wolfing away.
Two entire weeks.
That’s how long it took Liam to completely finish eating the 34 bodies.
He didn’t even forge or inscribe during that time, except maybe feed the Shifter and cultivate five hours a day.
With the added Shadow, Liam had to spend a good few hours Darkening and Enlarging his lightless friend.
Liam needed to be careful not to over consume too much Lifeforce.
Too much of anything has its drawbacks.
If he didn’t cultivate the nutrients and continued to stack so much energy within, Liam would suffer in drastic ways.
Mainly, by clogging up his blood and exploding.
Since purified blood worked differently from the norm, it also had the Opposition’s natural drawbacks.
When he finished, Liam’s blood and body had gotten to an amazing point.
Liam could now crystalize his blood in an instant.
It was stronger, purer, denser, and helped naturally invigorate his body while quickening his regeneration.
Also, his heart naturally pumped out more blood to account for heavier usage.
Honestly speaking, Liam didn’t think he could bleed out unless he absolutely tried to.
Also, his inscriptions were obviously gonna be strengthened, but so was the weight on his mental sphere.
It was a double-edged blade, but something Liam foresaw and accepted.
By the end of it, Liam’s body reached the peak of the third Rank.
There was no way he could hold off on advancing.
Liam spent another two weeks consuming expensive pills, elixirs and training his body to the bone.
And finally, the day came to bring a center of power into the Zenith Ranks.
Liam gave notice to the Elders before he undertook the Struggle Tribulation.
They helped him prepare.
Mainly, by giving advice and handing Liam pills to fully nourish himself to peak condition.
Support from them during the Tribulation was out of the question.
Outside interference would result in a weakened, or even a completely ruined advancement attempt.
Liam could only bring his natural strength and abilities.
Another week passed as he prepared. He was given a special safe space to take the Tribulation under.
It was sealed from any outside view, and the interior was spacious enough for any irregularities that might occur.
At the same time, Elder Jane was there as supervision.
“You don’t have to come. There’s nothing you can do anyways,” Liam said, taking off all his clothes.
Pants were no exception. He didn’t want any hindrance to his process.
Elder Jane didn’t look uncomfortable at the sight of his body.
He had nothing to hide, after all.
“It’s just in case something unexpected happens. I won’t intervene unless I’m absolutely sure you’re going to die,” the Elder said.
Liam shrugged.
“I won’t. Just don’t interfere no matter what you see,” Liam said, ignoring the slight frown on Jane’s face.
Liam felt incredibly strong at the moment.
There was just one more step to take, an inch more to cultivate, and he would dip his hand into the Zenith Ranks.
Remembering the best way to take the Tribulation under, Liam laid on his back on a wall, with his neck slightly creaked forward, then began filling the last of his bones with ‘Ora’.
Liam felt the gap to the fourth Rank close as his bone filled to the brim with ‘Ora’.
A moment later, a numbness slowly spread throughout his body.
It had begun.𝘰𝑣𝘭.𝗇𝓔t