"That was a pathetic display. You are really weak."
Liam spun around to see the fourth guy standing silently at the entrance of the chamber. He did not know when the person had been standing there. He couldn't sense him at all. Only after he had spoken did Liam even realize that someone was there.
The surprise did not stop there. Before Liam could react, the person waved his hand and the golden glow that was enveloping Liam abruptly stopped.
Liam's eyes immediately widened in shock. The person in front of him had actually succeeded in stopping something that the Spire started?
Liam couldn't believe it. What was the Spire? An ancient symbol of the myriad realms that has been standing for countless years. It was a place even the top clans and families did not dare covet. However, this random person had casually stopped the golden glow?
Liam's heart rate sped up and his body froze. A bead of sweat formed on his head as he stared at the seemingly normal man casually leaning on the wall.
The man was middle-aged. He wore simple clothing and there was nothing about him that screamed power or strength and yet… Liam knew that it would mean instant death if he even took a wrong breath at the moment. This was different from his meeting with the divine temple priestess. No, if what he thought was correct, then the two couldn't even be compared. Call it his intuition but he knew that this would be a life-defining moment for him.
"No need to think so much. I am just a person who is passing by." The man smiled. "But you young man… aren't you a greedy one?"
Huh? Liam was confused. He could only hope the mysterious person was not talking about the obvious bloodshed around them, with the bodies and blood scattered everywhere.
Thankfully that didn't seem to be the case. "I am talking about heaven's secrets." The man continued though what he said did not clear up anything further. The guy chuckled.
"Young mortal, don't try to chew more than you can eat."
It was don't try to bite, more than you can chew but Liam did not particularly plan on correcting the person. He silently listened. Something about the person made him want to listen and give respect. Liam was only able to barely keep his composure but the very next words made him lose all of it.
"Do you think you are unique? One of a kind? Someone possessing a lofty inheritance that even the heavens would be jealous of? Ha Ha Ha!"
"Young mortal, don't kid yourself. You might be rare but plenty have already tread on the path that you so desperately want to walk on."
"What makes you think that you can succeed where all of them failed?"
Liam's eyes widened even further. No. It couldn't be. Was this person talking about his soulmancer inheritance? No. He was probably talking about one of the inheritances he had acquired from the elven mystic realm?
"Ha Ha Ha. Heaven's secrets are not that easily stolen." The man let out a sigh and then abruptly turned and started walking away as if he was done talking. Liam wanted to call out to him but words did not come out of his mouth.
"Our meeting can be considered fate so I will leave you with something. If you want to take a step forward, then you have to grow all your seeds."
"Dao seeds…" Liam whispered but the man's figure had already disappeared.
"Don't forget to search this place thoroughly. While you might be weak and pathetic, there is something hidden in your bloodline. Perhaps… maybe perhaps… you will walk a little farther than the others. That is if you actually manage to bring out that monster hidden within you."
The last few words were only barely audible and with this the man and everything about him completely vanished.
Liam silently stood for a few seconds before he bowed a little. "Thank you."
The chamber felt eerily silent after the mysterious man's departure, leaving Liam alone with his thoughts and the heavy weight of the words that had been spoken. The sudden encounter had shaken him to his core, not just because of the unexpected interruption of the Spire's process, but because of the truths and hints about his path that had been laid bare before him.
Liam's mind raced as he tried to digest the implications of the man's words. "Grow all your seeds." The advice echoed in his head, a clear reference to his dao seeds, the very foundation of his strength and potential.
The mention of his bloodline was another curveball that he did not expect. What was hidden within his lineage that even a being as powerful as that man would take note?
Wasn't he just an ordinary person born to an ordinary family? The only thing that was special about him was his mysterious return back to the time when the tutorial began. With the little knowledge he had, he somehow clawed his way until here. So what was this person talking about?
Taking a deep breath, Liam refocused his attention on the present. The man had advised him to search the place thoroughly, and Liam intended to do just that. Considering that the person had already disappeared, he needed to do this quickly before he got forcefully booted out of this place. The other things can wait until he gets on a new floor.
He began to carefully comb through the ruins. He also summoned some of his soul minions to see if they could find something. However, it was all useless since almost the entire place was destroyed because of the purple lightning and his nether ice mix.
Still, the group thoroughly searched the place, leaving no rubble unturned. A couple of minutes passed and Liam finally stumbled onto something. There were two cauldrons on one of the side chambers that were only partly destroyed. Rather there seemed to be some special formation which had prevented it from getting kaboomed.