Ch. 851..860

Chapter 851 851 Teacher?

Shang simply continued traveling towards the Lightning Manor.

He still felt angry deep inside, but he quickly managed to suppress it and ignore it.

Since Shang was now at the Mid Void Break Realm, he was also quite fast, and he only needed about an hour to reach the Lightning Sea, which was quite impressive considering that it was about three million kilometers away.

After arriving, Shang felt the power of the Lightning Sea.

It definitely was extremely powerful.

The lightning bolts shot from one cloud to another at rapid speeds, creating several loud explosions.

Yet, Shang just slowly flew towards the Lightning Sea.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Several lightning bolts hit Shang's body, and Shang could feel the subtle sensation of his body getting burned and his muscles cramping.

A couple of burned spots also appeared on his skin, but they vanished just as quickly.

Shang stopped near the range of the bolts and lifted his hand, inspecting it.

More lightning bolts were hitting him all over his body, but the damage was quickly regenerated.

After about a second, Shang retreated.

'I'm using up more life energy than I am recovering. Seems like I can't go to the Lightning Manor on my own yet."

Shang took out his new Transmission Medal and searched for a specific person to call.

"Oh, Shang! It's been a while since I felt your Aura!" a voice came from Shang's Transmission Medal.

It was Fleros, the person running the shop in the Hibye.

"I need an escort through the Lightning Sea," Shang said.

"Sure thing," Fleros answered immediately. "I'll send someone. They will be there in a couple of minutes."

"Okay," Shang said before cutting the connection.

A couple of minutes later, a blue-haired man appeared beside Shang.

"I'm here to escort you," he said, summoning a Transportation Plate. "Hop on."

Shang just nodded and stepped onto the Transportation Plate.

The two of them shot into the Lightning Sea and reached a Lightning Manor a couple of minutes later.

"Should I wait here, or will you need some time?" the Mage Lord asked.

"I should be done in a couple of hours," Shang answered as he stepped into the Lightning Manor.

The Mage Lord just nodded and decided to wait.

After entering the Lightning Manor, Shang directly walked over to the Custodian's door and knocked.

Some seconds later, Shang's Transmission Medal rang, and he could feel the Custodian's Aura.

"Good morning, Shang. I'm not currently in the Lightning Manor. Is there something you need?" he asked.

Shang guessed that the door was probably connected to the Custodian's Transmission Medal, allowing him to see who was knocking without actually being present.

"I need a new Mage King as a master," Shang said.

"Is there anyone you had in mind?" the Custodian asked.

"The Calamity King, preferably. If he's too busy with the war, I would want the Starlight Queen," Shang said.

"Hmm," the Custodian uttered. "Kiran is still very busy with the Abominations, and Sarah is not only running two Departments but also focusing on the southeastern front. I don't think either of them has much time to focus on you. If you are willing to wait about 800 years, Sarah will probably become available."

Wait 800 years?

"How come?" Shang asked.

"We have a Peak Mage Lord with a fivefold Spirit Sense, and she will most likely win the next tournament. At that time, she will focus on the Research and Reconnaissance Departments, freeing Sarah to focus on the Reinforcement Department."

800 years...

Shang thought about the other Mage Kings.

The Myriad King was already very old, and Shang also felt like they wouldn't fit together.

The Heartdevil Queen was lazy and didn't care about anything. She wouldn't put any effort into teaching Shang.

The Custodian probably had the time, but Shang had a bad feeling about him. Shang suspected that the Custodian believed that Shang was dangerous to the Lightning Manor, and he would probably try several tricks to investigate Shang. Taking him as a master would only increase the number of opportunities for him to spy on Shang.

That only left the Dawnlight King.

The Dawnlight King probably didn't have a lot to do now since he was responsible for the Diplomacy Department. Additionally, he was hardworking, had some fitting Affinities, and would most likely even enjoy helping Shang become more powerful.

However...

When Shang thought about the Dawnlight King, an image of Jerald shot through his mind.

Even though the Dawnlight King wouldn't hurt Shang in any way, Shang still felt uncomfortable.

It was like the Dawnlight King represented something Shang didn't want or something he was nervous about.

800 years...

"I'm willing to wait 800 years for the Starlight Queen," Shang said.

"Alright," the Custodian said. "Is there anything else?"

"I need someone that knows about my Spirit Sense and accomplishments that handles all the things I want to exchange for my Contribution Points. I don't think you want me to ask a normal Mage Lord for these things since we are keeping my sixfold Spirit Sense secret even from Mage Kings," Shang said.

The Custodian remained silent for a while as he thought about Shang's words.

"I am going to talk to one of the Thunders of the Reinforcement Department since you fall into their department anyway. They will contact you in a couple of days at most," the Custodian said.

"Thanks. That's all I need," Shang said.

"If you need anything that the Thunder can't give you for some reason, contact me with the Transmission Medal," the Custodian said.

"I will," Shang said.

"Good. Then, I wish you a good day."

"Bye," Shang said as he cut the connection.

A moment later, Shang left the Lightning Manor again and told the Mage Lord that he was ready to return.

The Mage Lord escorted Shang out of the Lightning Manor and left.

Shang flew towards the Hibye.

For the foreseeable future, Shang would focus on increasing his Realm and comprehending Concepts, and the Hibye was probably the best place for that.

 

Chapter 852 852 Consumed Will

A couple of minutes later, Shang arrived at the Hibye.

After a thousand years, Shang saw his new home again, but it was quite different.

It felt empty.

As Shang flew through the Hibye, he saw several empty places that had once been popular with the Clouds.

Most of the Beast Lords responsible for demonstrating Concepts had nothing to do and were just sleeping.

There were also far fewer Bolts inside the Hibye.

However, not everything was empty.

There were still a couple of Clouds and Bolts flying around, but the number had probably been reduced by around 80%.

Shang saw a couple of things, and he also took note of something.

The huge sword, which had formerly been owned by the Weapon Grandmaster.

Now, there was no one sitting near it.

In the past, Shang had been reprimanded for using his Spirit Sense to look at the sword since there had been many Mage Lords near it, and his Spirit Sense would have distracted them from their comprehension.

However, most of these Mage Lords had been from different Empires.

Naturally, there would be no more Mage Lords from different Empires here, and the Mage Lords from the Lightning Manor were also quite busy.

For a while, Shang just looked at the huge sword.

There was something mysterious about it.

Due to all of Shang's accumulated experience, he could feel that focusing on his sword could help him with advancing his swordsmanship.

Yet, a couple of minutes later, Shang looked away and left.

This was not his goal right now.

Shang had 2,800 years of longevity left, and he needed to use them wisely.

Shang also saw a couple of other familiar places.

Surprisingly, there were still two Mage Lords guarding the Trial of Want.

He remembered that the Trial of Want could only be visited once per Realm and that it could give people exactly what they needed.

However, Shang doubted that the trial could actually deliver on that promise for him specifically.

Sure, if he entered now, it could probably give him something great that would help him comprehend the level four Concept of Temperatures, but that would also be a waste.

The biggest thing Shang was worried about was the mysterious level five Concept of Entropy.

Would the Trial of Want even know what that Concept is?

After all, the trial had probably been created by the Lightning Emperor, and the Lightning Emperor himself probably didn't know about that Concept.

This made the Trial of Want useless for the very thing Shang needed the most.

Shang also passed by the plaza that was playing the Inner Heart Melody.

Back then, the melody had put Shang in immense pain, but this time, it was somewhat bearable.

Shang still hated the sound and still felt quite a bit of pain, but it wasn't completely unbearable anymore.

Eventually, Shang reached the crater that his Isolation Chamber had created.

Over the past thousand years, a big part of the crater had transformed into a lake, and a forest had appeared around it.

It actually looked quite beautiful and tranquil.

Shang summoned his Isolation Chamber again and put it down, destroying everything.

A moment later, Shang entered the Isolation Chamber and sat down in the middle.

He could feel a couple of Bolts looking over in interest.

"Your attention is distracting me," Shang said to no one in particular.

Many kilometers away, the Bolts became a bit surprised.

He could feel their perception?

But then, they remembered who Shang was.

Naturally, all of them knew about the Ancestral Hero, and they also remembered Shang.

They still remembered how he had annoyed them by constantly dying on their lawn.

They were quite surprised by Shang's ability to perceive them, but they didn't think it was too suspicious.

After all, they now all knew that Shang had a fivefold Spirit Sense, which also explained all the strange things that had happened around him in the past.

In the end, they all looked away. As long as Shang didn't look at them, they wouldn't look at him.

That was the sensible and polite thing to do.

Shang noted that no one beyond his power was paying attention to him anymore and started.

Shang's Aura intensified, and the Mana in his surroundings started to break down and turn into Neutral Mana.

Shang's mind stretched deep into unfamiliar space, and he connected with an Abomination.

This Abomination was an extremely powerful Ancestral Abomination. It was probably already on its way to becoming an Abomination Lord.

A moment later, it was like a huge claw had ripped the Abomination out of its home, pulling it into Shang's Isolation Chamber.

Shang closed the Isolation Chamber immediately and consumed the Abomination.

The Abomination was quite a bit more powerful than him. If he didn't have the authority to control the Abominations, he might not even win a battle against it, and even if he won, the Abomination would probably explode, taking him with it.

After he absorbed it, Shang felt his mind become foggy.

His body shook, and his Aura became unstable.

Shang had never absorbed an Abomination so much more powerful than him.

Shang felt an unending hatred.

Hatred towards this entire world.

He wanted to destroy it.

He wanted to destroy all of it!

All living things were crimes against the fundamental laws of existence itself!

This world had to die!

The Mana had to die!

Seas, air, space, time, earth, everything!

Everything needed to die!

EVERYTHING!

Shang gnashed his teeth so hard that they turned into tiny splinters as his Entropy Domain stretched as far as it could.

All the Mana inside the Isolation Chamber was destroyed, but Shang's Domain of Entropy was stopped by the walls of the Isolation Chamber.

For several hours, Shang's intense emotions raged inside him, but he still didn't move from his spot.

Shang had already expected something like this to happen. After all, back when he had only been at the Commander Stage, he had also consumed the hearts of beasts a level above him.

The wills of these beasts had also fought against Shang, trying to destroy his will and replace it with theirs.

Shang had expected that something similar would happen this time.

And sure enough, he was right.

So, even though Shang wanted to destroy absolutely everything just now, he still managed to convince himself to wait.

He could destroy the world later.

For now, he should listen to his past self and wait.

If he still wanted to destroy the world in two weeks, he could do it then.

 

Chapter 853 853 Demands

Five days later, the door to Shang's Isolation Chamber opened automatically. Due to the properties of the Isolation Chamber, Shang couldn't open it manually and had to set a timer.

When it opened, Shang felt Mana again for the first time in five days.

He felt a burst of hatred at the Mana.

He hated the Mana!

He liked the Manaless environment in the Isolation Chamber much more!

But then, Shang took a deep breath and calmed down.

By now, he had regained most of the control over his body, but he wasn't fully himself yet.

BANG!

The Isolation Chamber closed again, and Shang waited inside.

He still needed another couple of days, and he didn't want to be contacted in his current state.

Shang knew that he wasn't in full control over his emotions right now, and he knew that he would most likely make a decision born out of hatred or anger, and these kinds of decisions tended to be bad ones most of the time.

Three days later, the Isolation Chamber opened again, and Shang slowly stood up.

A day ago, he had regained full control over himself.

'A week,' Shang thought. 'It took me a week to regain full control. However, compared to absorbing the beasts back then, this time, it actually paid off.'

'"My Realm increased by twice as much. As long as I keep going, I can reach the next level within a century.'

After exiting the Isolation Chamber, Shang looked at his Transmission Medal and found that someone had tried to contact him a couple of times.

The Aura was unfamiliar to Shang, but he could tell that the owner of the Aura was a very powerful Mage Lord.

Shang guessed that this was the Thunder that the Custodian had sent.

Shang contacted the Thunder, who accepted the transmission after a couple of seconds.

"Hello, you are Shang Sword, correct?" a female voice came out of Shang's Transmission Medal.

"Yes," Shang answered.

"Good," she said. "I have been instructed by the Custodian to fulfill basically any request you have. I know about your relationship with the Ancestor and about your power. I have signed a contract that makes it impossible for me to tell anyone about these things that aren't you or the Custodian."

"You can contact me whenever you need anything," she said politely.

If anyone had seen their interaction, they would have been shocked by how polite the Thunder was.

It was almost like the Thunder was talking to a Mage King.

"Good," Shang said. "I require several things."

"I'm listening," the Thunder said.

"First, I need a bigger Isolation Chamber. I need it to be 25 kilometers in all dimensions, and it has to be made with Abomination Ore of the Seventh Realm," Shang said.

Silence.

Many kilometers away, a woman with icy-blue hair took a deep breath and made several calculations.

When she thought about the price of the materials alone...

"Please wait a second. I need to contact the Custodian for such a big purchase," she said.

The connection was cut, and Shang waited.

Some seconds later, the Thunder contacted Shang again. "Okay, you will get your Isolation Chamber," she said. "I don't know how long it will take since something like this has never been created. However, I also have to inform you that about 15% of your Contribution Points have been used up with that."

"I understand," Shang answered.

An Isolation Chamber with dimensions of ten kilometers with Sixth Realm ore had already cost Shang a couple hundred Grade Seven Mana Crystals.

Shang assumed that the thing he had just asked for was in the price of hundreds of Grade Eight Mana Crystals.

And yet, it had only used up 15% of his Contribution Points.

Sure enough, it had been worth it to fight for the Lightning Manor this much.

"Next," Shang continued, "I need a powerful Isolation Barrier near the Eternal Ocean to the north. The Isolation Barrier has to be powerful enough to resist the Spirit Sense of a Mage King, and I want the creator and controller of the Isolation Barrier to be the Dawnlight King. The Isolation Barrier needs to be at least 50 kilometers wide, and it must allow Mana to enter and exit."

The Thunder fell into silence again.

"Please wait a second," she said.

The connection was cut again, and Shang waited.

This time, it took a couple of minutes for the Thunder to call back.

"Okay, but you will lose another 5% of your Contribution Points," she said.

"Good," Shang said. "Next, I want to be able to watch a Beast King to comprehend the Concept of Temperatures, and I don't want to be killed by anything when I'm trying to comprehend the Concept. If possible, I also want the Beast King to be near my Isolation Barrier so that I don't have to fly too far between the two."

Silence.

"I need to talk with the Custodian again. This time, it might take a bit longer. Please be patient," she said before cutting the connection.

Shang flew towards the humongous sword and looked at it.

There wasn't enough time to get some training in. Looking at the sword was probably the most efficient use of his time for now.

This time, it took nearly a day for the Thunder to call back.

"There are a couple of issues," the Thunder said. "There is a Beast King that knows the Concept of Temperatures, but it's to the west of the Land and Sky Empire. The islands of the Beast Kings are not part of the war, but we can't guarantee your safety without some diplomacy and a Mage King continually watching over you."

"Luckily, we found a good solution for the safety issue. The Ancestor will watch over you personally. Nevertheless, the island technically belongs to the Land and Sky Empire, and we need to purchase permission for you to negotiate with the Beast King, which will also cost a lot."

"In total, you will lose another 20% of your Contribution Points, leaving you with 60%."

Shang nodded. "Can I also have a permanent portal between my Isolation Barrier and the Beast King?"

"That shouldn't be too difficult. At most, it will eat up 1% of your Contribution Points," the Thunder answered.

"Okay," Shang said. "Next..."

The Thunder took a deep breath.

 

Chapter 854 854 New Home

"I want ten cubic meters of Fire, Ice, Darkness, and Light Affinity Ore, per level, from the Mid Ancestral Mage Realm to the Peak Mage Emperor Realm. I also want the same thing for Abomination Ore," Shang said.

Silence.

"Did you say Peak Mage Emperor Realm?" the Thunder asked with a shaky voice.

"Yes," Shang answered.

"Please wait a couple of minutes," the Thunder said before cutting the connection.

Nearly an hour later, the Thunder called back.

"We can give everything up to the Initial Mage Emperor Realm to you for 5% of your Contribution Points, but if you are dead set on the Mage Emperor ore, you have to expect to lose

40% of your Contribution Points," the Thunder said.

"I want everything," Shang said.

The Thunder took a deep breath. "Fine, but it will take several years."

"That's fine," Shang answered.

"Is there anything else you need?" the Thunder asked.

Shang still had about 20% of his Contribution Points left.

"I need a Thunder bodyguard that keeps others from annoying or hurting me for 800 years or so," Shang said.

"I can fill that part," the Thunder answered. "It will cost you about three to four percent of your Contribution Points, though."

"That's fine," Shang said.

"Anything else?"

There was one more thing he wanted but now was not the time.

For now, he decided to save his Contribution Points in case he needed something in the future.

Shang had about 15% of his Contribution Points left.

"That's everything for now," Shang said. "Tell me when my rewards become available."

The Thunder let out a deep breath. "Of course," she said. "I can't immediately start following you around due to the other things you wanted. I think most of the work will be done within ten years. After that, I should be able to do everything remotely via my Transmission Medal. Is that okay?"

"That's okay," Shang said. "Every two weeks, I will enter my Isolation Chamber for one week and won't be reachable. Just for your info."

"Of course," the Thunder said. "If you'll excuse me, I have to start working on your rewards."

Then, she cut the connection.

The Thunder had so much work ahead of her.

If she had known that she would need to do this much and work with so many different Mage Kings, she would have declined the offer.

Shang's demands were beyond ridiculous.

When she saw how many Contribution Points Shang had accumulated, she thought it impossible to use all of them up. These Contribution Points would have been enough for her to get everything she ever wanted until the day she died.

And yet, Shang managed to use up 85% of those almost instantly.

Meanwhile, Shang continued watching the sword.

A week later, he entered the Isolation Chamber again and consumed a powerful Abomination.

When he came out a week later, he saw that the Thunder had tried to contact him, and he called her back.

"Shang Sword, the Isolation Barrier has been created. These are the coordinates," the Thunder said.

Shang received the coordinates and noticed that the Isolation Barrier was around 500,000 kilometers away from Aterium, inside the Eternal Ocean.

That was just what he wanted.

Shang wanted his Isolation Barrier there so that no Mage King could watch him inside.

Additionally, since Shang didn't trust the Custodian, he also had specifically asked for Amarius.

Since Amarius gave Shang a similar feeling to Jerald, Shang felt that Amarius wasn't someone that would secretly spy on Shang, and since Amarius was also the controller, the Custodian couldn't look into the barrier.

Lastly, with the barrier so far away from the Lightning Manor, Amarius would literally need to travel about a million kilometers toward the north to even look at Shang, which wasn't very convenient.

"The Isolation Barrier has been attuned to your Aura," the Thunder continued. "You can pass through it without any problem, but no one else can pass through. I also have to add that no one but the Dawnlight King and the Ancestor can contact you while you are inside the barrier."

"Okay," Shang answered. "I will train there from now on. I will leave the barrier once per year. If you have something to tell me, contact my Transmission Medal, and I will call you back when I come out."

"That's fine," the Thunder said. "I wish you luck in your training."

"Thanks," Shang said absentmindedly as he cut the connection.

A moment later, Shang took to the sky and traveled toward the north.

Shang left the Hibye behind and quickly found the coast leading out into the Eternal Ocean.

Shang continued flying, and very soon, there was nothing but water around him.

Shang's Spirit Sense picked up a couple of Archbeasts in the depths, but he hadn't found even a single Ancestral Beast.

But he wasn't very surprised. Ancestral Beasts in the Eternal Ocean lived over 5,000 kilometers deep, and Shang's Spirit Sense didn't reach that far.

Eventually, Shang reached the place.

Surprisingly, Shang didn't find his Isolation Barrier anywhere, and he made sure that he was at the correct spot.

After flying back and forth a bit, Shang accidentally passed through something invisible.

The next moment, Shang was surrounded by a purple barrier.

Shang flew backward and left the barrier.

Sure enough, it vanished again.

Shang was quite surprised that he couldn't even feel the presence of the barrier, even though he was only a couple of meters away from it.

Shang had never seen anything with such an amazing ability of camouflage.

Eventually, Shang entered again, and he saw the purple barrier appear behind him again.

Shang looked into the Isolation Barrier and saw a beautiful lake surrounded by a forest in the middle of a floating island.

The lake was about five kilometers wide, and the forest was another five kilometers wide.

The remaining space was comprised of flat land covered by powerful tiles of strong ore.

Obviously, the area with the tiles was supposed to be Shang's spot for training and the lake Shang's place to relax.

BANG!

Shang summoned his Isolation Chamber in the middle of the island, destroying the lake and forest.

Then, he entered and summoned a powerful Abomination again.

This was Shang's new home for the foreseeable future.

 

Chapter 855 855 Monumental Isolation Chamber

One year later, Shang left the Isolation Barrier and looked outside to check if anyone wanted to contact him.

Sure enough, the Thunder had wanted to contact him.

Shang quickly called back.

"You wanted to contact me?" Shang asked.

"Yes," the Thunder answered. "The construction of your Isolation Chamber is underway, but getting so much Abomination Ore is difficult and time-consuming. Of course, that also extends to the Abomination Ore you have requested, even though it is much less."

"The construction should be done in ten years, as long as nothing goes wrong. By then, I should also have most of the ore you want that is below the Mage King Realm. At that point, I can start my duties as your bodyguard."

"The negotiations with the Land and Sky Empire have not started yet, but the Dawnlight King has asked for a date for the negotiations. I am unsure how long the negotiations will last, but negotiations between Empires always take a long time."

"That should be everything," the Thunder said.

"Okay," Shang said. "Then, I will come out in another nine years or so."

"That's fine," the Thunder said before cutting the connection.

Shang went back into his Isolation Barrier and continued consuming Abominations.

Nine years later, he came out again and contacted the Thunder.

"Hello, Shang Sword," the Thunder said. "Your Isolation Chamber has been finished, and I have 90% of the ore you wanted. The negotiations with the Land and Sky Empire are underway, but they are making it difficult for us. We assume that they know this is for you, and they know how honest the Lightning Manor is, which means that they know that the Lightning Manor has to pay you back, no matter what."

"That's why they are asking for a great amount of resources. It's unknown how long the negotiations will take, but we assume it will take a couple of decades, at least," the Thunder said.

"Okay," Shang answered. "Please bring the Isolation Chamber to my Isolation Barrier."

"Of course," the Thunder said before cutting the connection.

A couple of minutes later, a bolt of lightning stopped in front of Shang and transformed into a beautiful woman.

She had icy blue hair and wore the violet robes of a Thunder. Surprisingly, she looked no older than 20 years.

Yet, her Aura was very mature, professional, and competent. She had the Aura of a successful manager in a business.

Meanwhile, the Thunder looked at Shang as well.

She had already felt his Aura via the Transmission Medal, but it was something else to see him in person.

After knowing that Shang had a sixfold Spirit Sense, she felt like Shang's Aura was extraordinary beyond belief.

"Greetings," she said with a polite nod. "I'm Thunder Linay, and I will be protecting you for the next 800 years."

Shang wordlessly nodded.

Silence.

A moment later, Linay took out a pitch-black ring and handed it to Shang. "Due to the weight of the Isolation Chamber, we also needed to create this Logistic Ring. You can also only move and control the Isolation Chamber with that ring. Naturally, when your body becomes powerful enough to move it on its own, you don't need that ring anymore."

Shang took the ring in his hands and turned to the Isolation Barrier. "Can the Isolation Barrier contain the Isolation Chamber?"

"Naturally," Linay said. "We created the Isolation Barrier with the Isolation Chamber in mind. The island inside the Isolation Barrier has been personally reinforced by the Dawnlight King, and it won't break under the weight."

Shang nodded. "I will come out every decade. Until then, I want you to make sure that nobody is secretly spying on me. Note down everyone you see in your Spirit Sense and give me a list when I return, even if they are a Mage King."

Linay wasn't the biggest fan of Shang's very direct order, but Shang was paying her. Additionally, his orders weren't ridiculous or over the top.

"I will do so," Linay said.

Then, Shang entered his Isolation Barrier while Linay flew on top of the Isolation Barrier, summoned a flying piece of metal, and sat down.

Inside the Isolation Barrier, Shang summoned the Isolation Chamber for the first time.

BOOOOOOOM!

The entire island shook under the enormous weight, but it remained in one piece.

In front of Shang was the biggest and hardest piece of metal he had ever seen.

It looked like a humongous black wall that stretched into infinity. It was like this wall represented the end of the world.

Shang also saw the massive entrance and inspected the walls.

The walls were over a kilometer thick, and they were so hard that Shang couldn't even attempt to break them. Sure, if Shang used the absorption ability of his sword, he might be able to create a hole after a lot of work, but he wouldn't do that.

Naturally, the Isolation Chamber was so ridiculously heavy that Shang couldn't move it at all. In fact, he probably couldn't even move a couple of square meters of this ore, and there were definitely more than a couple of square meters present.

How powerful would his body need to be to move something like this?

Shang estimated that he needed to be in the Peak Seventh Realm to move this on his own. That was how heavy this Isolation Chamber was.

The effort, planning, and ingenuity required to construct and move something like this had probably been monumental. After all, even Mage Lords wouldn't be able to move a lot of this ore at the same time, and then, they also needed to fuse the pieces together.

Shang stopped in the middle of his humongous Isolation Chamber and focused on his bandage.

Absolutely nobody was looking at him.

The next moment, Shang summoned an extremely powerful Ancestral Abomination, but this time, he didn't immediately close the entrance.

Only the Isolation Barrier was between the Abomination and the outside world.

Still, nobody was looking at Shang.

Shang willed the Abomination to remain stationary.

A moment later, Shang summoned another Abomination.

And another one.

And another one.

By the end, Shang had summoned ten Abominations, and there was still space left in his Isolation Chamber.

BANG!

The door of the Isolation Chamber closed with a timer of about two weeks.

That was when Shang stopped controlling the Abominations.

The Abominations released powerful roars and destroyed all the Mana inside the Isolation Chamber.

However, their Domain didn't hurt Shang at all.

BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

The Abominations attacked the Isolation Chamber with all their power.

Yet, they couldn't even scratch it.

A moment later, one of the Abominations looked at another one.

BANG!

The Abomination's humongous fist hit the other Abomination in the face, throwing it against the wall.

Just now, Shang had willed one of them to attack the other one.

Shang could finally do something that he had wanted to do for a long time since he now had the Isolation Barrier to fall back on in case something went wrong.

Shang wanted to learn more about Abominations.

He wanted to know how they thought, what they did, how they fought, and how they died.

Since there was no Mana in the Isolation Chamber, the Abominations couldn't fill up on Mana to explode, which meant that Shang wouldn't die as well if one of them died.

Surprisingly, after the first Abomination punched the second one, the second one only stood up and continued attacking the wall.

It acted like it hadn't even been attacked.

Shang took note of this and gave more orders.

 

Chapter 856 856 Refusal

Over the next ten years, Shang continued experimenting with the Abominations while also absorbing them.

Surprisingly, being amongst other Abominations while he himself was influenced by an Abomination's will didn't make any difference.

Shang had expected that he would probably feel some kind of connection with the other Abominations while his mindset temporarily emulated all of them, but he didn't feel anything like that.

This told Shang that Abominations were not herd animals or something like that.

Yet, that was actually quite contradictory.

The mindset of an Abomination was filled with hate and the will to destroy. An Abomination wanted to destroy absolutely everything around it, even if it meant that it would die as well.

And yet, they didn't attack each other.

This would make sense if there were some kind of kinship between the Abominations, but there wasn't anything like that.

So, when there was no social connection between them, why didn't their will to destroy also include other Abominations?

In the end, Shang could only guess that the will to destroy everything was only targeted toward anything created with Mana.

Since other Abominations weren't made of Mana, an Abomination wouldn't feel a desire to destroy them, even when attacked by one.

Over the past ten years, Shang had tried many things on the Abominations.

He had tortured them, suppressed them, killed them, and so on.

And yet, no matter what he did, the Abominations never felt anything other than their typical desire to destroy.

That desire didn't even extend to the being that inflicted pain on them.

Shang could order one Abomination to kill another Abomination very slowly, and the other Abomination would continue attacking the wall as if nothing was happening.

Even Shang could attack an Abomination as much as he wanted. The Abomination would never defend itself or try to kill Shang.

It was like they were mindless, but they couldn't be completely mindless since they actually had a desire.

Abominations were very strange.

When ten years were up, Shang exited his Isolation Barrier after closing the door of the Isolation Chamber behind him so that the Abominations couldn't escape.

"Welcome back," Linay said from the top of the barrier. "In the past ten years, I have seen three Ancestral Mages, one Archmage, and four Mage Lords pass by."

Linay handed a list to Shang, who read through it.

He saw nothing suspicious.

"Any progress on the ore or the negotiation?" Shang asked.

Linay nodded and summoned a Space Ring. "Here are all the ores below the Mage King Realm. The ore inside the Mage King Realm will probably take another 30 or so years, and I am uncertain about the Mage Emperor ore."

Shang took the ring and looked inside.

There was quite a bit of ore in there.

Shang nodded. "I will return in 30 years then," he said.

"Of course," Linay answered.

Shang entered the Isolation Barrier again and went back into his Isolation Chamber.

Then, he continued learning about Abominations while also advancing his Realm.

Shang was quite certain that learning more about Abominations would help him comprehend the mysterious level five Concept of Entropy. After all, the Abominations were the very personification of that Affinity.

30 years later, Shang came out again, and Linay gave him another ring. "These are all the ores of the Mage King Realm you've requested. We have also made some progress on the Mage Emperor ores, but it's much more difficult to get those than expected. The Custodian even said that it was much harder than expected and that you've essentially gotten a great bargain."

Shang took hold of the ring and looked inside.

The ore inside the ring felt so insanely hard and powerful that Shang had to take a deep breath.

But for now, these ores wouldn't be helpful.

Nevertheless, thanks to all of this, all of Shang's ore troubles up to the peak of the Eighth Realm had been solved.

In Area 23, it had been a huge issue for Shang to find powerful ore since only the most powerful organizations had control over it.

After that, this problem had essentially vanished, but Shang expected that the problem would return when he reached the Peak Seventh Realm or higher.

"And the negotiations?" Shang asked.

"We've made some progress, but the Land and Sky Empire is still making it difficult. We know that the Land and Sky Empire knows that this is for you, which is why they are making so much trouble. They don't want you to become more powerful."

"The Custodian said that joining the frontlines again and causing as much chaos as possible would make it easier and quicker for you since the Land and Sky Empire would want you to leave. They would probably very quickly accept just so that you stop making trouble for them," Linay explained.

"That won't happen," Shang said.

This took Linay by surprise, and she raised her brows. "Curious. I was under the impression that you want to train with peak efficiency."

"You're right," Shang said. "Under normal circumstances, I would go to the frontlines right now and cause as much chaos as possible."

"However, I am not joining the frontlines anymore for a specific reason."

"Which is?" Linay asked.

"After I left the frontlines, the commanding Thunder down there wanted to force me to join the frontline against my will, and after I declined, she sent a Mage Lord to forcefully pull me to the frontlines," Shang explained.

Linay furrowed her brows. "I can understand why that is an issue. Naturally, the Thunder's actions are beyond reproachable, and I will make sure that everything has been properly reported and dealt with."

"No," Shang said.

"No?" Linay asked.

"I don't want this to be properly dealt with."

"I want them dead."

"I want them to die."

"Both of them."

"I don't care if you reprimand them, confiscate their wealth, fire them from their positions, physically punish them, or imprison them."

"I want them dead."

"Unless those two are dead, I will not be joining the war again."

Linay just looked with an awkward expression at Shang.

That was...

Childish.

Unreasonable.

Too far.

Disproportional.

Vindictive.

"I am going to come out in another 30 years," Shang said. "Keep track of everyone that you see with your Spirit Sense, including the Mage Kings."

Linay shook her head to regain her wits. "Wait!"

However, Shang had already entered the Isolation Barrier.

Linay could only take a deep breath.

And then, she contacted a Thunder in the Administration Department.

 

Chapter 857 857 Amarius

For the next 30 years, Shang continued advancing in his Realm, and surprisingly, he actually managed to achieve a breakthrough earlier than expected.

It had only taken him a total of 80 years to reach the Late Void Break Realm. Usually, it would have taken him a bit over 200 years.

Shang exited his Isolation Barrier and looked at Linay. "What's the status?"

"We have gained two more ores of the Mage Emperor Realm, but we are still missing over 90%. It will probably take centuries."

"There has been not much progress in the negotiations. We don't think that there will be any progress within the next two centuries or so," Linay said.

Shang nodded. "Fine. I will come back out in a century."

Linay's eyes widened. "Wait!"

Yet, Shang had already entered the Isolation Barrier.

Linay gulped and took out her Transmission Medal.

Shang continued training.

Yet, one day, ten years after he had entered again, something happened.

The timer on Shang's Isolation Chamber ran out, and the door opened.

This time, Shang's bandages immediately notified him that someone was looking at him, but he didn't need them to know that.

A beautiful blonde man was standing in front of the Isolation Barrier.

It was Amarius, the Dawnlight King.

Naturally, since he had created the barrier, he could see through it, and right now, he was looking at Shang inside his Isolation Chamber.

Shang hadn't dismissed the Abominations, and they were still there.

However, they were not here.

Behind Shang, inside the gigantic Isolation Chamber, was Shang's other Isolation Chamber, and its entrance was closed.

This was the main reason why Shang had wanted an Isolation Chamber that was so much bigger. He wanted to fit his old Isolation Chamber in his new Isolation Chamber for extra security.

"Hello, Shang," the Dawnlight King said with a friendly and polite smile. "I'm the Dawnlight King, but you can call me Amarius. I'm not someone for etiquette."

"Hello, what do you want?" Shang asked.

Amarius' smile stiffened a bit.

It's been a while since someone had talked to him like that.

"I've heard that there has been a conflict between you and Thunder Maruan Depthwalk. She was the one that ordered for you to be brought back to the frontlines."

Shang nodded. "Yes, I want her and the Mage Lord dead."

"I know where you're coming from," Amarius said. ""You've been isolated deep in enemy territory for a thousand years, and you singlehandedly made it possible for the Lightning Manor to stage a comeback. You have contributed many times more than anyone else in the entire Lightning Manor, including the Mage Kings themselves."

"And then, when you finally returned after a thousand years, instead of receiving a warm welcome or just a thank you, someone representing the upper echelon of the Lightning Manor wanted to force you back into risking your life like you were some worthless prisoner."

"Naturally, something like that is in severe conflict with the Lightning Manor's philosophy and ideology. After extensive review, we have decided to do to her what she wanted to do to you."

"She didn't take your contributions into account. So, we decided to confiscate all the Contribution Points she had earned since the war started. On top of that, we have forced her to fight five battles in the Zone for Mage Lords."

"She regrets her actions deeply, and she has apologized several times. She is also willing to come personally to you and apologize again."

"As for the Mage Lord, he didn't even know about your identity. The Thunder didn't inform him about it, and after he heard who you were, he was actually the first person that filed a complaint. He felts horrible after he heard about your identity, and he assured us that he would have refused the order if he had known who you were beforehand."

"Additionally, he was imperative in our investigation into Maruan Depthwalk's life and work history, which uncovered many more things that she has to answer for. He is also willing to apologize for what he has done, and he still feels horrible for almost sending the Ancestral Hero back into battle."

"As I have come to know, when the Mage Lord appeared, he didn't even touch you, and you two only talked for a couple of seconds, at most. After that, you continued towards your destination."

"I understand that you want to hurt them for what they have done to you, but we have to keep in mind that they have only attempted to do something without succeeding, and even if they had succeeded, you would have only been transported to the frontlines, where another Thunder would have quickly noticed what happened, and you would have been on your merry way then anyway."

"Yes, the intention behind the actions was shameful, but the act itself has never succeeded and didn't impact you in any way. Moreover, Maruan Depthwalk has lost a thousand years of hard work and resources for her actions."

"We value you very highly, Shang, and I hope you can see our care for you in the way we have punished Maruan Depthwalk."

"I hope this is to your satisfaction," Amarius said with a friendly smile.

Shang remained silent for a second.

His Aura didn't change.

"I want them dead."

"Both of them."

Silence.

Amarius took a deep breath. "Shang, we can't just kill someone like that. We understand that Maruan has acted incorrectly, but she has already paid dearly for her actions. Additionally, she is a Peak Mage Lord with a fourfold Spirit Sense that has faithfully served the Lightning Manor for over 15,000 years. We can't kill her just because of that."

"On top of that, the other Mage Lord didn't even know about your identity. He told me personally that he would never have done anything like that if he had known about your identity, and I can assure you that his statement rings true with the truth of the world. He definitely didn't lie."

"All fault lies with Maruan Depthwalk, and she has already been severely punished."

"The punishment has already been handed out, and we can't just rescind the punishment and give out a new one. The Lightning Manor values justice and fairness above everything,"

Amarius said.

Silence.

"I don't care," Shang said.

"I want them dead."

"Kill them."

"As long as they are still alive, I won't join the war."

"And as for the negotiation with the Land and Sky Empire, that is also not my problem."

"I gave you my Contribution Points. You give me my reward."

"I have not received my reward."

"I want my reward."

"That's all."

BANG!

And the entrance to Shang's Isolation Chamber closed.

Amarius took a very deep breath.

 

 

Chapter 858 858 Hadean King

The next time Shang's Isolation Chamber opened again, Amarius had already left, and Shang didn't feel anyone spying on him.

Shang closed the Isolation Chamber again and continued training with the Abominations.

For the next 90 years, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

By now, Shang had been gone from the frontline for 180 years, and he had no idea how the war was going.

But he also didn't give a shit.

In the last couple of years, Shang managed to achieve his final breakthrough.

Now, Shang was at the Peak Void Break Realm.

The Peak of the Sixth Realm.

With Shang's current power, absolutely nothing he could summon with the Affinity Wheel posed even the slightest challenge, making the Affinity Wheel completely useless.

Shang had finally reached a level of power that made him more powerful than any Initial Mage Lord in existence, assuming there was no one with a fivefold Spirit Sense. However, Shang could even attempt to fight someone like that, but the outcome would be uncertain.

As for the average Mage Lord, Shang could kill an average Mid Mage Lord, but powerful Mid Mage Lords were still very troublesome.

At this moment, Shang was the most powerful existence in the Sixth Realm in the entire world.

Even the Abominations he had summoned were no longer able to pose a threat to him as long as they didn't absorb enough Mana to become explosive.

Shang was now about 2,380 years old, which meant he had about 2,620 years of longevity left to comprehend the level four Concept of Temperatures and the mysterious level five Concept of Entropy.

This seemed like a lot of time, but Shang knew that this wouldn't be easy at all.

There were so few Mage Lords with a fivefold Spirit Sense, and Mages were the best in comprehending Concepts.

How difficult was it to comprehend a Concept above one's level?

Even none of the Clouds could do it.

Every time Shang tried to reach the next Realm, he felt like he was attempting to do something impossible.

First, it had been four powerful Paths at once.

Then, it had been four Imposes and World Connection.

After that, it had been Void Break.

And now, it was the mysterious level five Concept of Entropy.

Just a regular pure level five Concept of any Affinity was difficult to comprehend, and the few Mages with the fivefold Spirit Senses always used these kinds of Concepts since they were the easiest to comprehend.

But there were still so few.

Then came the Complex Concepts, which were essentially impossible to comprehend before one reached the next Realm.

As for the Concept Shang was trying to comprehend...

First, it covered four different Affinities.

Second, it was definitely a Complex Concept, even though it technically was a pure Concept of Entropy.

And lastly, Shang didn't even know what that Concept looked like.

What could it do?

Nobody knew.

Where could one learn it?

Nobody knew.

What did it look like?

Nobody knew.

Shang was trying to comprehend something that nobody knew anything about.

'But first, I need the Concept of Temperatures,' Shang thought as his Spirit Sense left the Isolation Barrier.

His Spirit Sense quickly locked onto something.

A big portal.

Shang knew what that meant.

He slowly took to the sky and left the barrier.

Linay looked at Shang. "The negotiations have been completed," she said with professional courtesy.

Shang noticed that her tone had shifted since the last time they had talked.

It was more distant.

But Shang didn't care.

"This portal leads to the island of the Hadean King. The Hadean King is a bull-like beast that focuses on extreme cold and volcanic heat. Its island is mostly devoid of vegetation due to the extreme cold and ice everywhere, but there are also plenty of volcanoes that create lava streams going through the land."

A cold island with high volcanic activity...

Shang felt that description to be familiar.

"What about the ore?" Shang asked.

"We have about 30% of the Mage Emperor ore," Linay said.

"Good," Shang said before turning to the portal. "I can just go through the portal?"

"Yes, but please wait a moment," Linay said as she summoned a small pin with a lightning bolt on it. "Please put this pin on your robe whenever you are anywhere near that island.

This pin is directly connected to the Ancestor, and it will report to him whenever it comes into contact with a Mage King's Spirit Sense, in which case the Ancestor will pay special attention to your safety."

"As for Mage Lords, I should be enough to defend you from them, and even if they attack us with several, I can easily buy enough time for the Ancestor to notice the destruction."

"We have also come into contact with the Hadean King and have negotiated with it. It is willing to demonstrate the Concept of Temperatures to you in exchange for some things.

Naturally, the Lightning Manor has already handed these things over to the Hadean King."

Shang nodded and put the pin on his white robes.

After that, he wordlessly flew through the portal, and Linay followed after him.

Shang felt a strong feeling of displacement, but it was still bearable.

As soon as Shang stepped out of the portal, he felt several beings look at him.

Based on the intensity of the feeling, Shang could tell that there were at least four Beast Lords and over ten Ancestral Beasts.

Surprisingly, Shang could also feel a couple of humans look at him, but they weren't as numerous.

Shang saw a couple of Ancestral Mages with the robes of the Land and Sky Empire who were looking back at him.

Shang could feel quite a bit of animosity coming from them.

But just like always, he didn't care.

The portal was located near the coast of the island, and Shang could see an icy and rocky land with rivers of lava flowing through it.

"Where is the Hadean King?" Shang asked.

"It's in the middle of the island," Linay answered, "which is about 500,000 kilometers to the southwest."

Shang nodded and shot towards the southwest.

 

 

Chapter 859 859 Big

Shang and Linay shot toward the middle of the Hadean King's island.

While they were traveling, they noticed quite a few Beast Lords. Beast Lords were pretty rare, but here, they seemed to be quite common.

That was probably due to the Hadean King's Domain.

Just like any other beast, the Hadean King was creating a huge Domain around itself, filled with Mana from its own Affinities.

The density of the Fire and Ice Mana was very high, creating a huge chessboard of extremely hot and extremely cold places.

Just by moving a couple of meters, Shang went from a place that could melt steel to a place that could turn oxygen into a liquid.

This reminded Shang of his troubles with his Ice and Fire powers when he was young. By now, these powers didn't give Shang any problems anymore since he had achieved perfect control of them.

But back then, the balance of his body's temperature had been quite important to maintain.

"The beasts are not allowed to attack a human of a lower Realm," Linay told Shang after a minute of silence.

"Realm or level?" Shang asked.

"Realm," Linay answered. ""An Initial Beast Lord is not allowed to attack a Peak Ancestral Mage, but a Peak Beast Lord is allowed to attack an Initial Mage Lord."

"Hm," Shang uttered. "I presume the Land and Sky Empire has a deal with the Hadean King."

"Correct," Linay said. "I don't know how the Land and Sky Empire is handling its Beast Kings, but the Lightning Manor only allows Beast Lords to become the new Beast Kings when they agree to our terms. Otherwise, we kill them and choose a different Beast Lord to become a Beast King."

Shang just nodded.

It was quite obvious that these rules were unfair towards beasts due to the average power of Mages and beasts.

An average Initial Mage Lord could probably fight an average Mid Beast Lord.

So, as long as a Mage was in the Late or Peak of their Realm, they could essentially move through the island unhindered.

And the worst thing was that the beasts actually thought that to be fair.

The reason wasn't that they were stupid. No, Beast Lords and Beast Kings were quite smart.

The reason was that beasts believed in power, and if two beings at the same level fought each other, it was completely fair.

The average power of the two sides didn't matter to them since everyone was responsible for their own power.

Naturally, the difference in power came from the very concept of society.

Beasts didn't have a society, but humans did.

Every beast needed to learn everything about its own power on its own.

Meanwhile, humans had books and teachers. Why invent something that someone else had already invented?

But the beasts didn't care.

Power was power.

It didn't matter where that power came from.

Naturally, no beast dared to attack Shang or Linay. Both of them were at the Peak of their Realms, after all.

Linay was probably even the second most powerful being on the entire island, only inferior to the Hadean King.

And that wasn't even certain.

After all, what was the level of the Beast King?

Was it at the Initial Beast King Realm or the Peak Beast King Realm?

If the Hadean King were an Initial or Early Beast King, Linay might actually be stronger than it since she wasn't just a normal Mage Lord but an actual Thunder, someone with a fourfold Spirit Sense.

One had to remember that there were only about 70 Thunders in the Lightning Manor, which meant that every Thunder belonged to the 100 most powerful people in the Lightning Manor.

If one added all the Empires up, a Thunder would even enter the top 1,000 of the entire world.

The top ten were the Mage Emperors.

Eleven to about 100 were the Mage Kings.

101 to 150 were the Beast Kings, but they could also be lower, depending on their level.

And places 151 to about 1,000 were the Peak Mage Lords with fourfold Spirit Senses.

So, Linay was somewhere between place 151 to 1,000 in the entire world.

Back in Shang's second trial, he had fought the progeny of the Ice King, one of the Beast Kings.

Back then, Archmages had already seemed impossibly powerful to him, and above them had been the Zone Beasts.

And above those had been the mysterious and super powerful Mage Lords.

And only then came the Beast Kings.

Now?

Shang was accompanied by someone that could probably fight quite a few Beast Kings, and he was going to meet one of the Beast Kings, which would also help him comprehend a Concept.

Shang had truly entered the elite of the world, even though he couldn't fight any of them vet.

After traveling for several minutes, the Hadean King finally entered Shang's Spirit Sense.

Or, at least, its hoof.

Beast Lords and stronger could suppress their size, but the Hadean King obviously wasn't interested in doing that.

It was big.

Really big.

Its hoof was over 50 kilometers wide, and its leg was over 300 kilometers long.

Its entire body was around a thousand kilometers long.

It was insanely big.

A casual movement of one of its hooves broke mountains apart that were bigger than Mt. Everest.

These huge mountains made by the constant flow of lava were like cracks in the pavement for the Hadean King.

Its torso was colored red, which slowly transformed into blue as one went down its legs.

It had a long and majestic mane that hung from its humongous head.

Surprisingly, it only had one horn. The other one seemed to have been cut off.

It was quite difficult to surprise Shang, but the Hadean King's appearance genuinely surprised him.

It was just so insanely powerful and huge.

It was so imposing that Shang even doubted that anyone could be stronger than such a monster, but only for a second.

Yes, the Hadean King was probably the most imposing thing Shang had ever seen in his entire life, but that didn't change reality.

Probably every single Mage King was more powerful.

After a while, the humongous head of the Hadean King turned to Shang and Linay, and it specifically focused on Shang.

 

Chapter 860 860 Time Passing

When the Hadean King looked at him, Shang could feel the sheer power it exhibited.

However, it wasn't as overwhelming as he had expected.

Yes, it was definitely many times stronger than him, but its power somehow didn't feel as "complete" as even the weakest Mage King Shang had met.

There was definitely something lacking.

But on further thought, this actually made a lot of sense.

After all, nearly every Mage King had a fivefold Spirit Sense.

The Hadean King looked at Shang for several seconds.

Then, the cold and hot pockets of air fused with each other, evening out the temperature around it.

And yet, the temperature rapidly changed.

It went from hot to cold to hot to cold to hot and so on.

However, the change in temperature wasn't strong enough to injure Shang's powerful body.

Yet, some seconds later, the switch became more intense, with colder and hotter temperatures switching even faster.

But Shang still didn't get injured.

The temperatures became more and more extreme, and a full minute later, Shang's body actually showed a couple of burns and freezes.

That was when the switch of temperatures stopped getting stronger.

The Hadean King only looked at Shang, who didn't show any reactions.

After a couple of seconds, it looked away and closed its eyes.

Shang could guess what this meant.

This was probably the best way to comprehend the Concept of Temperatures. The temperatures were switching fast enough to injure Shang but not fast enough that they would kill him.

He was still recovering more life energy than he was using.

"You can start," Linay said from behind Shang. "I will keep watch over the surroundings."

Shang just nodded and checked if he really wore the pin that Linay had given him.

He did.

After that, Shang sat down in the middle of the sky.

It wasn't as easy to get lost in comprehension as usual, which was because Shang didn't feel as safe here as in his Isolation Chamber.

However, Shang got used to his new environment very quickly.

As Shang sat in the air, his mind actually entered his inner world.

The Mana of the surroundings permeated through his inner world, flooding it with Fire and Ice Mana.

All the grass inside Shang's inner world immediately turned to ash, leaving a dead wasteland behind.

A moment later, Shang's body was surrounded by his own Fire and Ice Mana.

He was trying to replicate the way the Fire and Ice Mana in his surroundings felt.

If he could perfectly replicate it, he would learn the Concept of Temperatures.

Creating the intensity of the temperatures and the frequency of the switch wasn't very difficult for Shang, but for some reason, it still felt very different.

And an hour later, Shang realized the difference.

The speed at which the temperatures were changing had doubled, but the intensity of the temperatures had lessened.

Naturally, Shang could emulate this change with his own Fire and Ice Mana, but it didn't feel nearly as smooth.

Every hour, the change in temperatures drastically changed.

Sometimes, the temperatures changed very slowly but with powerful extremes.

Sometimes, the temperature felt static and unchanging, but that was because Shang's mind wasn't powerful enough to notice the tiny and very quick fluctuations of temperature.

Emulating the extreme temperatures wasn't difficult for Shang, but he had big issues with the very subtle and quick changes.

It was like he was holding one half of an object in one hand and the other in another hand, but he just couldn't perfectly clap them together on the first try. He always had to adjust the position a tiny bit after banging them together.

Meanwhile, the temperatures in Shang's surroundings were switching very smoothly.

Shang started to swing his Addum and Subsis, using them as representatives of Fire and Ice.

The more Shang swung his two swords, the closer he felt to the surrounding temperatures.

He even began to anticipate the changes.

And yet, his own Fire and Ice Mana were not changing as fluently as the surrounding temperature.

Time passed.

Shang just continued training.

Linay kept glancing more and more at Shang.

She had actually never seen Shang train since he always stayed inside his Isolation Barrier.

Now, she could watch, and as more time passed, she grew more and more surprised.

He didn't stop.

He took no breaks.

A human only had a limited amount of concentration, and they needed to recover that concentration from time to time.

Comprehending a Concept wasn't something fun.

It was work.

It was just doing calculation after calculation, and it involved a lot of brute-forcing in different ways.

There was nothing magical or mystical about comprehending a Concept.

It was just a lot of work.

Even more, the progress of comprehending a Concept very often halted. Oftentimes, one had to change one's approach and reset their mind.

Troubleshooting was tedious, and one's head was often so stuck in one's ways that it was impossible to see the true solution to a problem.

That was when most people took breaks since a change of activity and scenery could refresh their minds, allowing them to see an almost obvious solution they had overlooked earlier.

And yet, Shang never stopped.

He just continued.

His Spirit Sense never showed any kind of activity, which meant that he wasn't looking at his surroundings at all.

He just continued sitting there in the air like a statue.

A century passed.

Two centuries.

Three centuries.

Shang never stopped.

He just continued.

Linay had to deal with several of her duties with her Transmission Medal since she didn't get an opportunity to leave Shang.

The news of the war also continued to come in, and it didn't look good at all.

Their numbers of Ancestral Mages were shrinking.

Even more, the Judgment Palace had already noticed that Shang hadn't shown himself in a long time, and they started to carefully use their remaining Defender Flags again.

But for Shang, nothing changed.

Every day was the same.

More years passed.

Another hundred years.

Another hundred years.

And finally, after over 500 years in total, Shang managed to understand the Concept of Temperatures.