Liam might have set out to grow strong enough to kill leafing experts, but five months couldn't possibly have sufficed to achieve such an absurd goal.
If closing the gap between cultivation stages were easy, everyone would do it. Moreover, that nigh-insurmountable wall grew steeper the higher one went.
Liam's experience with leafing experts was also limited. The Kingdom didn't have many such cultivators to begin with. The branching stage wouldn't be considered a great divider otherwise, and Liam even had those lucky interactions when he was far weaker.
Liam might have had a better chance of gauging a leafing expert's prowess now. However, as things stood, he had no idea what to expect and only possessed one trump card that might do something against those far superior beings.
When Liam included the wider power differences the leafing stage could feature, the situation looked hopeless.
