Once again, everyone but Liam understood what was going on.
Seven spiritual roots weren't perfection, but they still stood in the realm of geniuses.
However, Sects had limited resources. It was why they forced their disciples to compete with each other. A talent far greater than Randall had appeared, so publicly demonstrating his superiority could ensure that the Sect wouldn't cast him aside to focus on Liam.
Now, despite not realizing that ploy, Liam felt that something was odd. The conversation had moved too quickly in that direction. The same went for the crowd's behavior, which reminded him of how Erik and Lucy had acted during the mission.
The problem was what to do next. Avoiding joining anything too complicated sounded like the wise choice, but, sadly, Liam understood some potential consequences of his eventual refusal now.
