Born in Blood

Stepping foot into the entrance of Mount Mayhem, Liam felt like an ant entering a lighthouse…

…which just so happened to be the most luxurious hotel on the planet.

The walls were a shimmering golden, reinforced and covered with all types of ancient artwork embroidered within them.

Some depicted a hero's triumph over a treacherous monster.

Others depicted wars.

Few depicted stories of love.

All of them were easy to read and understand, just from a glimpse!

At the same time, they flowed into each other seamlessly, forming one continuous diagram, no doubt drawn by a master.

Such embroidery continued for as far as the eye could see, eventually converging onto the tip of the cone-shaped ceiling.

The inside of the Mount was even more spacious than the out.

'Dimensional magic?' Liam thought. 'Space rings exist. Can he do the same thing for his domain?'

It wasn't too far-fetched to think so. 

Warm lights spiraled around the base of the entrance lobby, circling around the vast golden walls until it arrived at the peak. 

The air was crisp and sterile, as though there was an invisible air conditioner blowing from somewhere.

It wasn't too cold.

But it wasn't hot.

It hit just the spot.

Ingrained within the walls, though, were countless floors, each one slightly differing from another as they rose above.

But even the base lobby had so much going on, Liam didn't know where to begin.

It was circular in shape, but incredibly vast, and flowing with all kinds of life, both human and not.

It was similar to a busy airport terminal, bustling with rich folk.

Wide, tunnel-like corridors and spacious stairways here and there allowed for people to traverse up the floors.

The tunnels themselves looked like wormholes to another planet, adorned with thousands of little lights resembling stars. 

Inscribed post-signs pointed to different amenities. 

Looking around, Liam gazed over the ribbons of everyone present.

By now, he'd realized that ruby ribbons were ranked just below crystal, judging by how strong their wearers looked.

Below that was emerald, followed by quartz, platinum and gold ribbons wrapped around their wrists.

'It kinda defeats the purpose of a convention if everyone can flaunt their status, doesn't it?' 

Except… the more Liam looked, the more he realized differently.

Those with ruby ribbons didn't sneer and curse away the gold ribbon wearers that approached them.

In fact, they responded with smiles and cheers and whatnot.

It seemed like everyone was on their best behaviors.

Liam had his crystal ribbon hidden, hence why nobody had approached him yet.

They were probably wary of him being a gold ribbon wearer or something.

'Did he forget to tell me something?' Liam thought. 'Or is it the threat of expulsion that scares them so much?'

Probably the latter.

One had to remember that not everyone in the cultivation world was as used to seeing powerhouses as Liam was.

He seemed to always get in trouble with them.

The warning that Cornelius had given the rest probably sounded much more menacing than how Liam perceived it.

Plus, they desperately wanted to feel important.

'There's no way all these people are so important,' Liam thought.

'Maybe important for their level of power.'

The king of a small country was not the same as the 

Nevertheless, now was not the time to dwell on needless things.

Glancing around, Liam didn't see anyone familiar, but he could tell who was a Zenith and who wasn't. 

Although his centers of power were sealed, Liam could instantly tell who was strong and who was weak. 

Just vaguely, though. 

However, just because he didn't have his King's Eye or his mental waves didn't mean Liam couldn't tell based on appearance, demeanor and gait. 

He still had his sea of consciousness.

His brain was still capable of instantaneous, rapid thought and deduction.

A polished swordsman could tell how a person fought just by looking at his gait.

Physical fighters often walked with long, strong steps, and their shoulders seemed to be in parallel harmony with their feet.

Swordsmen had a very subtle slant in the way they walked, as though it was a passive stance in case they wanted to unsheath their weapons.

Spell fighters walked slowly, since they were cowards who always fought from a distance.

Inscription and Formation masters had this sparkling curiosity in their eyes, often giving everything a studying look.

And, well, they took notes. 

'Nerds.'

…Truthfully though, everything Liam saw was extremely impressive.

Liam didn't deny that.

Every part of this place was like an architect's dream and an engineer's nightmare.

But to be fair, luxury was not a thing he chased, nor cared about.

As in, he really, really didn't care.

It made no difference to him whether he lived in a cave or lived here.

It was the same.

Liam contemplated whether or not to head for the highest floor straight away, to the powerhouses. 

But a moment later, he decided against it.

'I don't even know if the powerhouses are here,' Liam thought. 

Liam was quite early to the scene.

Perhaps entering first could be considered rude. 

Looking at the post-signs indicating the various amenities the Mount offered, Liam studied a few of them.

'Dragon Wars Fighting Pit! Floor 18.'

'Drink off Game. Floor 26.'

'Pain Endurance Game. Floor 60.'

'Race to the Peak. Floor 230.'

'Aquarium. Floor 90.'

'Terrarium. Floor 130.'

'World Village. Floor 13.' 

Liam hummed to himself.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of floors, each one offering a different service of some kind.

Drinks, food and entertainment. 

So much so, Liam would definitely be unable to visit them all.

'Interesting. So this is what the Mayor meant by having fun.'

Liam slightly narrowed his eyes. 

'Where's the killing game? Or Death Island?' 

'I don't think I'll find anything more fun than that.'

As he stood idly for a prolonged period of time, a few people eventually took notice of Liam.

"Is… is that him?"

"What's he wearing?" 

As though a spark was lit, more people looked at him like they'd seen a mythical creature or something. 

"The descriptions I've heard are… so wrong," a middle-aged woman said. "Who was it that said he was one-eyed and uglier than a goblin?"

Liam's lip subtly twitched.