Ch. 881..890

Chapter 881 881 Wasted Time

Naturally, the Lightning Manor very quickly noticed what was going on, and they couldn't be any happier about it.

The Tower of Climate wasn't putting too much pressure on the Judgment Palace, but they were definitely applying pressure. The Judgment Palace needed to maintain a constant stream of Mages that defended its territories.

Of course, that included Ancestral Mages, and since the Ancestral Mages were also desperately needed at the frontlines with the Lightning Manor, their absence was very noticeable.

However, the Lightning Manor couldn't afford to send all their people to the Judgment Palace right now since their forces had already been reduced by quite a bit. The other two Empires were still applying pressure to the Lightning Manor.

So, they decided to use this opportunity to recover and strengthen their other frontlines.

The other two Empires noticed that the quality of defenders had increased again, and their frustration grew.

They were annoyed by what the Temple of Climate was doing.

But what could they do?

Neither the Twilight Dusk Empire nor the Land and Sky Empire bordered the Tower of Climate. Even if they were willing to go to war, they couldn't.

Sure, they could conquer a small road to the Tower of Climate, but that would require attacking the Judgement Palace, and due to the contract, that was still out of the question. After all, enemies were not allowed to work together in such a way.

The Judgment Palace would need to honestly give their best in defending these territories, which would mean that several Mages with threefold and maybe even fourfold Spirit Senses would die from both sides.

For what? So that the Twilight Dusk Family could sacrifice even more Mages by going to war with the Tower of Climate?

So, for better or worse, the Judgment Palace was on its own.

After a couple more years, Shang no longer had anything to do at the frontlines and retreated.

"Thank you for your help, Young Master Shang," the Starlight Queen told him. "Please be prepared to help the frontlines again in 50 years."

Shang just nodded without saying anything and flew towards the north to his Isolation Barrier.

Shang didn't need to constantly be present. After all, before he attacked, he had always been hidden.

So, the enemy didn't know whether Shang was prepared to attack or not.

Every time they tried to test whether Shang was present or not, they would lose a Peak Ancestral Mage.

That's why they didn't try many times.

And even if Shang didn't immediately strike back, it was also possible that Shang was simply waiting for a more opportune moment when several Peak Ancestral Mages had planted Attack Flags.

Just Shang's mere existence served as a huge deterrence.

Even though Shang hadn't fought for very long, he had earned a huge amount of Contribution Points due to one thing.

He had killed a Mage with a fivefold Spirit Sense.

One had to remember that, on average, an Empire only got one person with a fivefold Spirit Sense every 10,000 years.

Ignoring Mage Kings, this meant that every Empire only had a max of two Mages with a fivefold Spirit Sense at any given time, and quite often, they only had one.

Due to the Judgment Palace's size, they had actually had three.

But now, they only had two.

This meant that, within the next 20,000 years, the number of Mage Kings in the Judgment Palace should reduce by one.

One of the old Mage Kings would die while a spot for a new Mage King would remain empty.

Once more, Shang had caused devastating losses to the Judgment Palace.

After Shang reached his Isolation Barrier, he entered and summoned several Abominations again inside his Isolation Chamber.

His mind had to hecome more familiar with the Abhominations.

He needed to comprehend the mystical level five Concept of Entropy.

50 years passed very quickly, and Shang returned to the frontlines once more.

The other Empires were slowly and carefully using Peak Ancestral Mages again.

As soon as Shang appeared, he rapidly killed three Peak Ancestral Mages, and the other Empires very quickly pulled back.

"Thank you once again, Young Master Shang," the Starlight Queen said. "Please be prepared for a short battle in about ten years."

Shang just nodded and went through the portal the Starlight Queen had created.

Shang wouldn't remain on the frontlines very long. He would get there, battle a couple of times, and retreat.

He wouldn't even remain there for a day.

One day of work every ten years was fine with Shang.

So, things continued.

Shang tried to comprehend more about Abominations, went to the frontlines for a quick battle, and went back to comprehending.

The cycle repeated again and again.

Years passed.

100 years.

200.

300.

Shang was now 3,500 years old, and he only had 1,500 years of longevity left.

And the Concept?

Problematic.

Shang felt like he had made nearly no progress.

The mysterious level five Concept of Entropy felt just as ethereal and incomprehensible as in the beginning.

Shang wasn't even sure if he had actually learned anything.

Sure, he knew a lot more about the Abominations and how they behaved, but he was still unsure how they could destroy the matter around them without sacrificing anything.

Shang knew that the Concepts of Temperature, Twilight, Addition, and Subtraction had to be connected, but he felt no inkling of them in the Abominations' domains.

It was like it was something completely separate from the concept of Concepts.

It was like Shang was a two-dimensional being trying to understand how three dimensions worked or a three-dimensional being trying to understand how four dimensions worked.

It was beyond his grasp.

Nevertheless, Shang continued to try.

Another 100 years passed.

200.

300.

£4.00.

And then, he stopped.

Shang's mind was going wild.

Things became more and more confusing the more he tried to comprehend.

Naturally, he had also already tried to consume high-grade Mind Flow Pellets and other supplements, but they didn't seem to help a lot.

Everything was just so confusing.

It was like Shang knew all the details, but he couldn't combine them into a picture.

It was like there were millions of mirror shards lying in front of him, but he couldn't even begin to try to assemble them into a mirror.

It was just too much.

It was pointless.

For a while, Shang thought about shifting focus, but he realized that he had already invested too much time into this Concept.

He had to comprehend it, or everything would have been for nothing.

But he couldn't.

Shang could only think of one last approach, but he wasn't very confident in it.

He called the Lightning Emperor.

 

Chapter 882 882 Revealing More

The Lightning Emperor listened to Shang's description and his troubles.

"And you're sure this mystical Concept of yours exists?" the Lightning Emperor asked. "I've never heard of a Concept like this, and I am also unsure what that could even be."

"It exists," Shang said. "The God confirmed it over 3,000 years ago."

Silence.

"The God confirmed it?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

"Yes," Shang said. "Back then, I was searching for a way to combine my four styles into one, and I wanted to know if it was possible to combine Fire, Ice, Light, and Darkness. That was when the God said that the Concept existed and that it needed the Concepts of Temperature, Twilight, Addition, and Subtraction."

"And all four of them lead into one Concept?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

"Yes," Shang answered.

"A Concept that needs four other Concepts on a similar level to be comprehended. These kinds of Concepts exist, but they are very rare. Additionally, these kinds of Concepts are usually just very advanced fusions of two Affinities."

"I've never heard of a Concept that needs four Concepts from four Affinities."

Silence.

"However, I can also see why I've never heard of something like this," the Lightning Emperor said. ""Comprehending something like that requires you to learn several Concepts that are not even that useful to you, and you would need to blindly try without any assurance for success."

"I'm pretty sure that there are many, many more Concepts out there that still remain hidden since trying to comprehend them essentially requires you to bet your life on comprehending them."

"Fire, Ice, Light, and Darkness," the Lightning Emperor mused. "Lucius knew a lot about these Affinities."

"Shang, I might not know about this Concept, but Lucius might," the Lightning Emperor said.

"Lucius is dead," Shang said.

The Lightning Emperor sighed. "I know, but part of him still exists, but in a very different form."

"Could you elaborate?" Shang asked.

"The Trial of Want," the Lightning Emperor said.

"The Trial of Want?" Shang asked. "Didn't you create it?"

"No, I just supply it with Mana," the Lightning Emperor said. "Lucius gave all of us something before he left. The thing he left me was the Trial of Want, which was surprisingly quite different from what he had given the others."

"He gave the others things that helped them in furthering their own powers, but I was the only one that got something that would help weaker Mages."

"Now that I think about it, he said that the Trial of Want is very important and might save the world one day. He was quite adamant that I didn't inspect it or destroy it."

"Ironically, the Trial of Want isn't actually as useful to the Lightning Manor as you might think. Yes, it helps everyone grow stronger by guiding them on the right path, but a Mage's path to power is long and arduous. They might get the right direction once, but there will be tens of crossroads before and after the one they are currently on."

"Fire, Ice, Light, Darkness..."

"A Concept that combines all four..."

"An important trial for newcomers..."

"Something that might save the world..."

"Lucius had a sixfold Spirit Sense..."

"You have a sixfold Spirit Sense..."

"You seem to be quite connected to Lucius, Shang," the Lightning Emperor said. "Is there something you haven't told me?"

Silence.

Shang was naturally quite conflicted about this conversation.

He had just learned that there was something that could potentially solve his problem.

Maybe, the Trial of Want was actually left behind by Lucius for his eventual successor. After all, Lucius had also left behind Humanity and his letter.

From what Shang had heard of him, Lucius seemed to have been very confident in his power.

And yet, he had prepared so many things in case he failed.

Did he maybe know that he would fail?

And what of the Lightning Emperor?

The Lightning Emperor proved again and again that he was very different from how Shang believed him to be.

The Lightning Emperor seemed to have been very close friends with Lucius, to the degree that he was willing to basically do anything for him.

Nevertheless, the secret of the Child of Calamity was beyond heavy.

Shang could imagine the Lightning Emperor being fine with killing the Emperors and some Mage Kings, but Shang couldn't imagine the Lightning Emperor being fine with destroying the entire world.

Supporting the Child of Calamity meant supporting the end of days.

Additionally, just the mere title of Child of Calamity induced caution and fear in someone.

What if, after destroying the world, Shang destroyed the Lightning Emperor?

After all, he was the Child of Calamity.

He was an Abomination, and Abominations destroyed everything that existed.

They were the manifestation of evil.

And yet, Lucius had also been the Child of Calamity, and he had actually wanted to stop the Abominations.

Even more, Lucius had essentially achieved the goal of the Child of Calamity.

He had become the strongest person in the world, and by all intents and purposes, the world should have been destroyed.

But he didn't destroy it.

However, did that mean that he didn't want to destroy it?

What if he actually wanted to destroy the world, but the God actually saved it by killing Lucius?

Shang was pretty sure that he knew the answers to all of these questions, but that didn't mean much.

After all, his words wouldn't mean anything.

It wasn't important what he thought but what the Lightning Emperor thought after finding out about Shang's secret.

In the end, Shang could only take a deep breath.

The Lightning Emperor had already asked if Shang and Lucius were connected, and Shang couldn't possibly lie to the Lightning Emperor.

However, he could still decide how much of his secret he wanted to be seen.

"Yes, there is something I haven't told you," Shang said.

"It concerns one of my powers."

"Look."

WHOOOM!

And then, Shang activated his Domain of Entropy.

The Lightning Emperor watched with shock as everything around Shang turned to Neutral Mana, and he observed with even more shock how Shang's body started to turn into dust.

"Anti- Magic!"

 

Chapter 883 883 Are You?

Shang knew that Lucius hadn't kept all of his abilities as the Child of Calamity a secret.

He had made some of his abilities public, but he had disguised them as something else.

"You can use Anti-Magic?!" the Lightning Emperor asked in shock.

"I don't know exactly how Lucius' Anti-Magic works," Shang said. "This is a Domain that I can use to turn Elemental Mana into Neutral Mana in exchange for parts of my body."

"In exchange for parts of your body?" the Lightning Emperor repeated. "This is..."

The Lightning Emperor became silent.

"Very different," he said.

"You called it Anti-Magic," Shang said. "You said Lucius can use something like that."

"He could," the Lightning Emperor said. "Since when did you have access to this Domain?"

"I comprehended it at the Peak of the Second Realm," Shang said.

Silence.

At this moment, the Lightning Emperor became incredibly shocked.

Peak of the Second Realm?!

"Lucius had something very similar," the Lightning Emperor said. "However, he only comprehended it as a Peak Ancestral Mage shortly before he became a Mage Lord."

"And yet, you comprehended it in the Second Realm?"

"However, your Domain is different in a fundamental way. Lucius didn't need to sacrifice anything for his Domain, but you need to sacrifice parts of your body."

"I'm certain Lucius couldn't do that."

This shocked Shang.

Shang had assumed that the Domain of Entropy was something that every Child of Calamity could use. After all, Abominations could also use it.

And yet, Lucius had only been able to use it as a Peak Ancestral Mage?

He had had no access to the Domain before that?

Shang had assumed that all the Children of Calamity shared the same powers, but that wasn't the case, apparently.

This immediately opened another question for Shang, and he wasn't sure if he should ask it.

The Lightning Emperor seemed shocked, but not in a bad way. Shang felt like the Lightning Emperor wasn't about to kill him.

In the end, Shang's curiosity won out, and he decided to ask another question.

"There's another power I have," Shang said.

"Oh?" the Lightning Emperor uttered.

Shang took a deep breath and pointed at his bandages.

"I can sacrifice my soul for a very powerful attack," Shang said. "I lost my first eye when I used this ability to kill someone at the Mid Third Realm when I was at the Peak Second Realm, and I used it again to kill someone at the Peak Fourth Realm when I was at the Initial or Early Fourth Realm."

Silence.

"Like an Abomination," the Lightning Emperor said.

Shang nodded. "Correct."

More silence.

"Is this what Lucius had comprehended back then? Is the Concept you are trying to comprehend right now the one Lucius had also comprehended as a Peak Ancestral Mage?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

"Most likely," Shang said.

Silence.

"Something that created so much trouble for Lucius. I'm not surprised that you've had so many troubles. You're not even a Mage," the Lightning Emperor said.

"You and Lucius are intrinsically connected, and even more, you have unlocked powers that Lucius had only attained far later."

"You and Lucius share a power, but something between you seems fundamentally different."

"You seem even closer to Lucius' power than he was."

Silence.

"Maybe, you can actually become even more powerful than him."

"Maybe, you actually have a shot at killing this God of yours."

"Back then, we had nothing. Our little group had to earn every little bit of resources ourselves, and we didn't have a place we could call home."

"Most of us don't want to believe it, but this lack of resources has probably stopped us from growing even more powerful and unearthing even more of our potential."

"Lucius' strongest support had been a Mage Lord and later a Mage King."

"But now, things are different."

"You have the backing of a Mage Emperor and several Mage Kings."

"I don't know how or why you and Lucius are connected, but I am willing to invest in the future so that it may be better than the past."

"Shang, you need to enter the Trial of Want!"

"IT am certain now that Lucius left the Trial of Want for you, his successor!"

Shang nodded. "I'm planning on."

"Make use of the resources," the Lightning Emperor said. "You have access to way more than we've had access to back then. The only thing that can stop you is your own talent."

"Thank you," Shang said absentmindedly as he left his Isolation Barrier to fly to the Trial of Want.

Silence.

"Shang," the Lightning Emperor said slowly.

Shang didn't like the Lightning Emperor's tone.

It made him nervous.

"Shang, are you..."

Silence.

"Forget it. I hope you will succeed," the Lightning Emperor said before cutting the connection.

As Shang continued to fly, he kept looking at the pin on his robes.

'Does he suspect me of being the Child of Calamity?'

Shang wasn't quite sure.

The only reason why Shang had even dared to tell the Lightning Emperor about his powers of Entropy was that Shang essentially already had an "alibi".

After all, the Lightning Emperor had once asked Shang if he had talked to the God about the Child of Calamity, and Shang had said that they had never talked about it.

If Shang were the Child of Calamity, it would be a certainty that he and the God would have talked about it since it was part of Shang's very nature.

Therefore, Shang couldn't be the Child of Calamity.

Even more, four different Emperors had inspected Shang, and they couldn't find any evidence of him being the Child of Calamity.

And yet, Lucius' and Shang's powers were too similar to Abominations.

Yes, nearly all the Emperors took inspiration from the Abominations to increase their own powers, but Lucius and Shang were on an entirely different level.

It was almost like they were Abominations.

So, even though Shang essentially couldn't be the Child of Calamity, everything pointed to him being the Child of Calamity.

What if?

What if Shang was the Child of Calamity?

The Lightning Emperor only needed to ask since Shang couldn't lie to him.

Did the Lightning Emperor suspect Shang of being the Child of Calamity?

He wasn't sure.

 

Chapter 884 884 Trial Of Want

Shang felt a bit nervous about this entire thing, but there was nothing he could do.

The Lightning Emperor was so powerful that nothing Shang could do would influence anything.

Even if Shang sacrificed his entire body to Entropy, he wouldn't be able to even scratch the Lightning Emperor.

If Shang sacrificed his entire body, he might be able to heavily injure a Mage King, but that was it.

Heavily injure.

The more powerful Shang became, the less powerful his Entropy became.

Well, that wasn't entirely correct.

His powers of Entropy had always had the same power.

It was just that Shang's Battle-Strength reached such incredible heights that the difference between his Battle-Strength and the power of Entropy had shrunken by quite a bit.

At the Peak of the General Stage, Shang could have sacrificed an eye to kill a Peak Commander Stage warrior or Peak True Mage.

That was one attack that would kill someone an entire Realm above him.

Back then, this had been crazy powerful.

Now?

Shang could kill a Peak Mage Lord, but in order to kill an Initial Mage King, he would probably need to sacrifice an entire arm, and Initial Mage Kings basically didn't exist.

From what Shang had heard, all the Mage Kings received enough Mana in the inheritance to reach the Peak Mage King Realm.

Shang couldn't kill someone like that.

Shang was unstoppable in the Sixth Realm, and he could probably also win against an average Mid Mage Lord.

But the average Late Mage Lord would be very, very difficult to defeat just due to the sheer difference in quality.

The average Mage Lord had a twofold Spirit Sense already.

As for the average Peak Mage Lord?

Impossible.

And then, there were all the talented Mage Lords.

So, while Shang's Entropy didn't feel as impressive as it felt back then, it was still quite a bit stronger than his actual power.

After all, Entropy could kill even a Peak Mage Lord with a fourfold Spirit Sense, but it would require quite a sacrifice.

Shang thought about his powers of Entropy for quite a bit.

With the revelation that Lucius' powers had been different, Shang had come to a conclusion.

Lucius' powers were not just different but different in an inferior way.

Shang's powers of Entropy compared to Lucius' power of Entropy, before Lucius had become a Mage Lord, were objectively superior.

So, what was the difference between Lucius and Shang?

Why were Shang's powers superior?

There was only one difference.

The Bloodline Infusion.

Shang's body had been fused with an actual Abomination.

Lucius' body had been 100% human from beginning to end.

This little operation created by a weak True Path Stage warrior had given Shang powers that made him superior to the most powerful Mage that had ever existed.

What a weird and unexpected turn of events.

'I don't know if the Lightning Emperor suspects me of being the Child of Calamity or not, but there's nothing I can do. For now, I can only enter the Trial of Want and try to find a way to comprehend the mysterious level five Concept of Entropy.'

After around an hour, Shang arrived in the Hibye for the first time in a long while.

The Hibye had become more crowded than the last time Shang had been here.

It seemed like the Lightning Manor was slowly recovering.

But Shang didn't exactly care about all of this and simply shot through the Hibye.

No one paid any attention to Shang.

Everyone knew of the Ancestral Hero, but the Ancestral Hero never appeared in public.

So, nobody was actually paying attention and thinking that the Ancestral Hero could be right beside them right now.

Eventually, Shang arrived in front of the Trial of Want.

As always, there were two Bolts guarding the entrance.

Shang walked over to the entrance.

For a second, the two Bolts looked at Shang and wanted to ask why he was here, but their eyes widened in shock when they saw the pin on Shang's chest.

They had never seen this pin before, but their Thunders reminded them regularly about what this pin meant and what they should do if they met the owner.

The two Bolts talked to each other via voice transmission at rapid speeds.

Eventually, the two Bolts stepped to the side, not saying anything.

According to the rules, they were not allowed to start a conversation with the owner of the pin.

Their instructions were to let him pass without interacting with him.

From the outside, the Trial of Want looked like a door that led into a green hill. It looked neither luxurious nor grand.

It was just a simple door.

Shang reached the door and pushed.

The door didn't budge.

"Open it," Shang ordered coldly.

One of the two Bolts cast a quick Spell, and a rune in the middle of the door lit up.

A moment later, the doors opened.

Shang just nodded and entered the Trial of Want.

As the door closed behind Shang, the two Bolts just looked at each other.

Then, one of the Bolts took out a Transmission Medal and contacted his Thunder.

After a short exchange, the Thunder told the Bolts that they had acted correctly.

The Thunder then contacted Amarius and told him that Shang had entered the Trial of Want.

Amarius thanked the Thunder for the information and told Wester about it.

Wester made a mental note.

It was important to know where Shang was at all times.

Wester informed the Mage Kings responsible for the war about where Shang had gone, and the Mage Kings quickly prepared themselves.

The Trial of Want could take anywhere from one year to a thousand years, depending on the reward.

The trial itself wasn't as long. It was just that sometimes, people needed to comprehend something in the trial, which would take a while.

They could only hope that Shang wouldn't take too long.

In the worst case, they would need to hold out for a thousand years.

That would be very difficult but doable.

It would just be very, very expensive.

Meanwhile, after Shang entered the Trial of Want, he entered a small hall with an elaborately designed fountain in the middle.

The fountain was filled with blood.

 

Chapter 885 885 Four Trials

Shang wasn't quite sure why there was a fountain of blood in the middle of the hall, but his question got answered rather quickly as letters appeared in the air.

"Put a drop of your blood in the fountain."

Shang walked over to the fountain and cut his finger.

A small stream of blood flowed down Shang's finger since he wasn't really careful with the depth of the cut.

As the first drops of blood hit the fountain, one of the doors at the edges of the hall opened, and Shang walked through.

The door closed behind him, and Shang's Spirit Sense could no longer see the fountain.

Shang found himself in an old hallway, but he didn't really care about it a whole lot as he just continued walking.

Shang walked slightly downward for several minutes. He wasn't moving at his top speed, but he was still moving at quite a brisk pace.

Shang had probably moved around 200,000 kilometers deep into the ground, which was quite surprising.

Why would anyone need such a long hallway?

Eventually, Shang reached another door and opened it.

He was greeted by a dark room with a floating transparent cube in the middle.

Shang could see a small inscription in the middle of the cube.

"Banish the darkness with light."

Shang looked around his new surroundings.

His Spirit Sense was severely suppressed, only allowing him to view a couple of meters of his surroundings. Additionally, Shang could feel very dense Darkness Mana around him.

Even more, the Darkness Mana had a will on it, which seemed to be impossible. After all, how could a dead person imprint their will on Mana?

However, Shang knew that these rules had only remained true for the people he had been fighting against.

Mage Kings and Mage Emperors might have ways to mimic wills with Magic Circles.

Nevertheless, the will was a problem since this meant that Shang couldn't control the Darkness Mana or move it. So, he actually had to do this small challenge the intended way.

Shang walked over to the cube and put his hand on it.

A moment later, he infused it with Light Mana.

The darkness receded, revealing the surrounding five meters to Shang.

Then, Shang used his level one Concept of Illumination to increase the brightness of the light. One had to remember that lower-level Concepts also increased in power as one understood more Concepts of an Affinity. That was the very reason why Concepts very often became more difficult to understand later.

So, even though the Concept of Illumination was only technically a level one Concept, it had the power of a level three Concept.

Very quickly, the light extended even more, revealing the surrounding 15 meters.

However, Shang couldn't see anything of note in the darkness, which probably meant that he needed to create even more light.

So, Shang used his Concepts of Twilight and Addition to move the Light Mana to extreme brightness.

In an instant, the entire room brightened.

The opposite wall with the door had only been about 20 meters away.

'T'm quite sure I could have illuminated 40 meters,' Shang thought.

The Concepts of Twilight and Addition were the ones that had the biggest impact by far.

If Shang had only had the level two Concept of Light, Particle, Shang would have illuminated about 30 meters.

If he only had had the Concept of Illumination, he would have barely illuminated the entire room.

'So, in order to pass this trial, you either have to know the level four Concept Light, Dawn, or the level one Concept of Light paired with the Concepts of Twilight and Addition,' Shang thought.

'If the Trial of Want has been created by Lucius for his successor, I can guess what kind of trials will await me next," Shang thought.

Shang walked over to the door, opened it, and walked through it.

The hallway was just as long as previously, and it kept going diagonally into the ground.

Shang guessed that he was about 350,000 kilometers to the north of the Hibye at a depth of about 70,000 kilometers.

Shang arrived at the next door and opened it, and for once, he was glad that he didn't have any eyes.

It was very bright.

Just as before, there was a transparent cube levitating in the middle of the room.

"Consume the light with darkness."

Just like with the previous cube, there was an inscription.

Shang walked over and infused the cube with Darkness Mana.

Five meters.

Level two Concept of Darkness, Blindness, strengthened by the level three Concept of Darkness, Consumption.

15 meters.

Then, Shang used the Concept of Twilight and Subtraction.

The entire room was revealed. Just like the last one, it was about 20 meters to the other side.

'Interesting,' Shang thought. 'In comparison to the Light Affinity, the first Concept of the Darkness Affinity that pushes Darkness Mana to an extreme of darkness is the level two Concept, Blindness. The level one Concept of Shadow isn't pushing it that hard."

'So, just knowing the level one Concept of Darkness actually wouldn't be enough to advance, even if someone knew the Concepts of Twilight and Subtraction.'

'Although, Concepts aren't really stronger or weaker than other Concepts. It's just how we classify them based on how difficult they are to comprehend.'

'Someone could theoretically comprehend the Concept of Blindness first. It might be unusual, but it's possible."

'I wonder, is Lucius simply testing someone on how many Concepts they know, or does he search for specific Concepts?"

Shang exited the hall and entered the next hallway, which was just as long as the previous two.

Eventually, Shang reached the next room.

Sure enough, there was another transparent cube.

This time, everything in the room was on fire.

Shang could sense the absolutely apocalyptic heat, but the heat was so concentrated that it barely affected anything a couple of centimeters to the side.

"Banish the fire with ice," the inscription read.

After trying a bit, Shang realized that this trial either needed the level four Concept of Ice, Zero, or the level two Concept of Ice, Freeze, together with the Concepts of Temperature and Subtraction.

Once more, Shang exited the hall, entered another long hallway, and reached another room with a cube.

This time, Shang could feel extreme coldness around him.

Shang did the same thing again.

One either needed the level four Concept of Fire, Explosion, to proceed, or the level two Concept of Fire, Heat, and the Concepts of Addition and Temperatures.

Shang walked over to the next door and opened it.

'I think the trial would most likely adapt to the power of a person. If a Mage Lord showed up in this trial, they would probably need to know even stronger Concepts,' Shang thought.

'Right now, for a Peak Ancestral Mage, this trial either wants someone to know the first four Concepts of Entropy with some basic Concepts of the four Affinities or a very talented Mage that perfectly fits what Entropy wants and needs."

'Four level four Concepts would already guarantee someone a fourfold Spirit Sense as a Mage Lord, but these four Concepts also have to perfectly fit.'

'Maybe Lucius assumed that it's possible that someone that isn't the Child of Calamity could comprehend powers belonging to the Child of Calamity?"

By now, Shang was certain that this was a specific trial designed for the Child of Calamity.

The trials were simply too specific.

Of course, that was a good thing.

Shang had failed to comprehend the level five Concept of Entropy, and he knew that he could most likely not comprehend it as a Peak Ancestral Mage.

He just hoped that the Trial of Want would help him comprehend the Concept.

That was all he wanted.

 

Chapter 886 886 More Trials

After leaving the room, Shang found himself in another long hallway, and this one was even longer than all the other ones.

Shang estimated that it was over 500,000 kilometers long.

With the previous hallways, Shang estimated that he was beneath the Eternal Ocean right now.

Finally, Shang reached the next door and opened it.

Library.

There was a humongous library on the other side. It wasn't as big as the Lightning Emperor's library, but it still had about 10% of its size.

One had to remember that the Lightning Emperor's library was probably the biggest one in the entire world unless the Archivist had his own library.

10% of the Lightning Emperor's library was already very much.

Shang slowly walked through the library without touching any of the old tomes.

The library was several kilometers wide, long, and high.

The humongous wall at the end of the library had several forms etched into it.

There were many rectangles, circles connected with lines, diagrams, and so on.

And above each group was a title.

"Family tree of the Wildhammer Clan."

"Political climate in the third Metal Mana Crystal War."

"World Ender Doctrines."

"Fundamental Laws of the Specter Summoner Kingdom."

This showed Shang that all these forms and shapes were simply empty diagrams that he had to fill out.

In short, this was essentially a huge exam.

Even more, everything was related to history.

And it wasn't even important history. Shang needed to fill out minor details that nobody really cared about.

Everything was just about who fought, but there was nothing about why they fought or what they fought over.

At the very top of the wall, Shang could see the instructions for this trial.

"Show your willpower and focus. When everything is correct, the door will open."

Below the instructions was a timer, which was currently at slightly less than a century.

'So, I have 100 years to fill out everything."

Shang looked at the wall again.

There was so much to fill out.

Shang probably had to fill out nearly a million individual fields.

'So, he wants to see if I am able to force myself to read uninteresting garbage for 100 years straight,' Shang thought.

Shang sat down in front of the wall, and the closest book to him flew over.

Shang didn't even create a plan. He just started reading.

After a couple of minutes, Shang found another problem.

None of the books directly gave Shang the answer.

Shang would need to piece the entire picture together by reading about different slightly connected events told via stories.

It was clear that Lucius had designed this trial to be as boring and frustrating as possible.

If anyone let the frustration get to them, their concentration would wane, making it difficult to learn efficiently.

Even more, the tight time limit made it almost impossible to take breaks.

Lastly, everything had to be correct, which meant that the reader wasn't allowed to forget stuff. After all, the reader would sometimes make mistakes and write an answer on the wall that had to be corrected later.

If the reader just copied things from the books, they wouldn't succeed.

At first glance, this trial seemed stupid, but it was actually very good at doing what it was supposed to do.

But Shang didn't care about any of these things.

Shang's unreal self-discipline made this task easy.

The trial was very time-consuming, but Shang was certain that he would pass.

And sure enough, he did.

How long did it take him to fill everything out with the correct information?

70 years.

Shang had expected to be finished sooner, but things had turned out more difficult than expected.

Lucius had made this trial really tough.

In the past 70 years, Shang had learned nearly nothing of relevance.

His head was filled with useless garbage about the internal rules of organizations that had been destroyed hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Sure, there had been some interesting nuggets of information here and there, but Shang could recite all of the relevant information in an hour.

After he was done, Shang stood up and walked through the opened door.

The next hallway was just as long as the previous one.

By now, Shang was over a million kilometers away from Aterium.

After opening the door at the end, Shang saw a small hall with another transparent cube hovering in the middle.

"Infuse the cube with your will and survive for 50 years," the inscription read.

Shang wasn't sure what this trial was about, but he did what the cube told him to do.

As soon as Shang infused the cube with his will, he felt something change.

His head hurt a little.

It was a bit annoying.

Shang waited to see if anything else would happen.

No, that was it.

Eventually, Shang focused on comprehending anything that could be useful for him in an effort not to waste 50 years of his life during this trial.

And after 50 years, the mild headache vanished, and the door opened.

Another long hallway followed, and Shang entered the next trial.

There was another transparent cube.

"Increase your physical strength to the level of a Peak Ancestral Beast. Then, punch the cube," the inscription read.

Shang didn't do anything for a second.

Then, he slowly walked to the cube and slapped it.

BANG! BANG!

The cube immediately hit the walls and fell to the ground.

After that, the cube shuddered a little, and the door opened.

'I guess it makes sense,' Shang thought. 'Based on the difficulties of the trials, Lucius obviously expected a Mage to enter this trial. Obtaining the physical power of a beast for a Mage probably requires several complex and strong Spells.'

'I guess all these small trials are just to test the fundamentals. Concepts, willpower, pain-tolerance, and so on.'

'T'm not sure how many more trials there are, but we should be nearly done with everything."

'I guess the last thing missing would be my Battle-Strength.'

Shang stepped through the opened door and entered another long hallway.

 

Chapter 887 887 Fighting A Weapon Master

Shang left the room and entered another long hallway.

By now, he had been inside the trial for around 150 years, proving once again that the trial Shang was undertaking was very different from others.

Usually, the trial portion of the Trial of Want only took a couple of years at most. Most of the time, a person would be done within a year.

And yet, Shang had been undertaking trials for 150 years.

Eventually, Shang reached the next room, and this time, there was no transparent cube hovering in the middle.

Instead, Shang saw a person standing there, but based on the person's aura and their lifeless expression, they were probably not alive or not even a human.

The person in front of Shang was a tall man with blue hair and icy blue armor, carrying a long spear.

The skin of his face looked like jade, which was accurate since his skin wasn't actually skin. It was literally some kind of soft metal.

The room was five kilometers wide, which essentially put both of them in melee range.

"Prove your strength!" the man said with an artificial voice as he readied his spear. "Prove that you can win against an Early Weapon Lord in a disadvantageous arena!"

'So, a jump of two levels," Shang thought. 'I've never fought a Weapon Master before.'

Shang just waited since he wanted to see how Weapon Masters fought.

A moment later, nine additional weapons appeared behind the man.

Spear, sword, saber, dagger, club, axe, lance, bow, halberd, shield.

Then, the weapons assumed a formation. The huge shield was on the front, with the short weapons right beside it. The longer weapons looked down from above, and the bow was far in the distance. The dagger was behind the shield.

"HUAGH!" the man shouted as he charged towards Shang.

And then, all of his weapons attacked at the same time. It was almost like Shang was attacked by something with ten arms.

DINGDINGDINGDINGDING!

Shang rapidly moved his Subsis around, blocking every single strike.

Even though Shang's opponent was two levels above him, the power behind his attacks was only as powerful as Shang's attacks. The speed of every individual attack was also only a bit slower than Shang's attack.

However, there were many weapons attacking at the same time.

Shang had to use all of his speed to keep this defense intact, but he wasn't really worried.

He was only using his Subsis right now, and he hadn't even launched an attack. He was just defending.

As the man kept attacking, Shang analyzed his fighting style.

'Weak offense. Even though he's a physical fighter, he actually isn't fighting with his body at all. His body is just standing behind his weapons as his Spirit attacks with the weapons. If he actually attacked with his body, I would need to evade.'

"Nevertheless, the frequency of his attacks is quite shocking. I can imagine him turning a beast on his level into mincemeat.'

Suddenly, the formation of the weapons changed, and they seemed to create an image of a huge jaw.

BOOOOM!

Shang blocked the huge attack with his Addum, and he still felt himself get pushed back by quite a bit.

"Interesting. So, he can also combine the different powers of his weapons. He has diversity, high frequency of attacks, and a very destructive attack. Additionally, his weapons protect him very well.'

'But all in all, it isn't that impressive. I never even fought one, and I can defend against him. I think if I had more practice with fighting Weapon Masters, killing a Weapon Master would still be easier than killing a Mage.'

The next moment, the guy prepared another attack, but this time, Shang exploded forward.

BANG!

Shang's Addum broke the diagram, throwing the weapons in all directions.

As Shang continued flying, the dagger and an arrow shot at him, which he quickly blocked with two small movements of his Subsis.

BANG!

Then, Shang kicked the Weapon Master's chest, and it exploded in a shower of gore, scattering pieces of his flesh across half the hall.

"His body is strikingly weak. I didn't even use Void Break,' Shang thought. 'I guess Weapon Masters don't use their bodies. What a weird concept. A physical fighter that does not use their body.'

But the next moment, the chest of the Weapon Master regrew fully.

Shang was a slight bit surprised. 'Oh? A warrior body?"

The Weapon Master prepared another attack.

SHING!

But Shang's Subsis impaled his brain.

All the floating weapons fell to the ground, and the body of the Weapon Master lost all strength.

A moment later, the door of the hall opened, and Shang continued.

"Weapon Masters are a bit underwhelming,' Shang thought as he passed through another long hallway.

When Shang entered the next room, he saw another artificial human, but this one wore extremely heavy armor with a huge axe.

In comparison to the Weapon Master, this one's body seemed to be several times stronger. On top of that, his armor probably also blocked an insane amount of power.

"Prove your strength," the man said. "Defeat an Early Barbarian Lord in a disadvantageous arena."

Shang looked around and noticed that the hall was barely a kilometer wide.

Shang just readied his Addum.

The next moment, the Barbarian charged forward and attacked Shang with his humongous axe.

BOOOOM! BOOOM!

Shang's body was thrown away, and his back hit the wall.

The body of the Barbarian was way stronger than his.

The Barbarian quickly shot after Shang and attacked again, but Shang just evaded to the side by activating Comet.

The Barbarian's body also made him frighteningly fast, but Shang could still rival his speed.

That was enough.

Shang was nimble enough to avoid all the attacks.

'Quite a bit more problematic than a Weapon Master," Shang thought as he continued evading. 'Although, using all of one's latent potential is far easier for a Barbarian than for a Weapon Master. Barbarians just attack very directly, based on what I'm seeing, and they can push the power of their bodies only so much.'

'I can imagine that a talented Weapon Master can become quite a bit stronger than a talented Barbarian."

'I wonder how strong his defense is.'

Shang slightly swung his Subsis.

CRRRRK!

A small white crack appeared on the Barbarian's shoulder plate.

Shang had only used his Spirit Sense to attack, the attack that allowed him to attack from 3,000 kilometers away.

'Armor is quite hard,' Shang thought.

TCH!

A bloody gash opened on the Barbarian's exposed cheek, but Shang's attack didn't damage the cheekbone.

"His armor is more resilient than his body, but that's to be expected.'

SHING!

The next moment, Shang's Subsis stabbed through the Barbarian's head.

If Shang had stabbed the Barbarian's chest like this, he would have probably only cracked a rib due to the armor. Sadly, the Barbarian didn't wear a helmet.

Shang left the room again and entered another long hallway.

In the next room, Shang saw a huge red-haired man that looked quite similar to the Barbarian.

However, this huge man did not wear any armor, and Shang could also feel that this man's body was weaker than the Barbarian's.

"Prove your strength," the man said, taking out two one-handed axes. "Win against an Early Berserker Lord in a disadvantageous arena."

'Berserker, huh?"

 

Chapter 888 888 The End Of The Trial

Shang fought the Berserker, and he was quite surprised by how weak the Berserker was initially.

Sure, his body was stronger than the body of a Weapon Master, but neither his power nor his speed or his techniques were better than the Barbarian.

But there was one difference.

His defense was amazing!

The attack that had created a gash on the Barbarian's face only left a scratch on the Berserker's face.

And then, the Berserker's attacks grew a slight bit faster and a slight bit stronger as a tiny red afterglow appeared behind his swinging axes.

Shang became interested and created a huge gash on the Berserker's chest with his Addum.

The Berserker began to bleed heavily, but his body didn't even show an inkling of healing.

With the huge gash, the Berserker's speed and power reached the Barbarian's level.

CRKSH!

And then, Shang bisected the Berserker with his Addum.

He had seen enough.

Shang quickly entered the next trial and noticed that the arena had become quite a bit bigger. It was around 100 kilometers wide.

This would be a medium-distance battle, according to the size of the arena.

'I guess Lucius only wanted to test me with three close-combat Paths.'

Shang's next fight was against a woman with green hair that wore several bows and crossbows all over her body.

Apparently, she was an Early Ranger Lord, a Path Shang had never heard of.

Her entire gimmick was that she rapidly shot a storm of arrows at Shang.

Her rate of attack was quite a bit faster than a Mage's, but Shang could tell that her range was lower. Additionally, she lacked any form of powerful attack that could break through thick armor.

Shang simply killed her with a couple of ranged attacks since her defense was almost nonexistent.

Shang's next fight was against a Domain Controller.

His entire thing was that he filled the room with lightning, which quickly started to burn Shang's body.

His attacks were simply unavoidable since they encompassed the entire room.

However, the Domain Controller himself only used attacks to push Shang away, and he used plenty of techniques to flee.

It was clear that his tactic was to slowly kill the enemy with his Domain.

Sadly, Shang couldn't experiment for long since the Domain was actually quite dangerous, and he ended the fight rather quickly.

Shang's next fight was against an Early Elementalist Lord.

He used rapid and powerful mid-range attacks of different Elements.

His offense was honestly impressive, but he had weak defenses. His tactic had been to kill the opponent with overwhelming offense before the opponent could fight back.

After that, the arena changed again, and it was now about 1,000 kilometers wide, signifying that the long-range battles would be next.

Shang's first opponent was a Beast Controller that was controlling ten Initial Beast Lords.

The Beast Controller moved as far away from Shang as possible as her beasts attacked him.

After killing the beasts, the Beast Controller was basically helpless, and Shang killed her.

The next battle was strange.

Shang just looked at a smiling old man.

He didn't seem very powerful.

Suddenly, Shang felt like he was about to die, and he rapidly unleashed several ranged attacks that killed the old man.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The next moment, the old man's body exploded, filling the entire room with destructive and chaotic storms of Mana.

Shang only received slight burns, but that was because the power had been dispersed across the entire room.

If this destructive power had actually been focused on him, Shang would have died.

Obviously, Shang's opponent had bet everything on one card.

He would unleash a single attack, and that would be it.

If his opponent died, he would win. If his opponent survived, he would lose.

Additionally, if a second person showed up shortly later, he would lose as well.

It was a very extreme way of fighting, but he had nearly succeeded in killing Shang.

Shang could imagine that people that chose this Path had incredible powers of deterrence.

It was like a weak man carrying around a shotgun with exactly one bullet in it.

Shang assumed that the next fight would be the last, and his opponent confirmed it.

It was a Mage.

Naturally, Shang didn't have any difficulties in killing the Mage.

After fighting nine different opponents, Shang realized that the Mage Path was probably the best all-around Path.

Great defense, great offense, great speed, great range, great diversity.

It was good in everything.

The Mage Path was definitely among the best.

Shang could imagine that Weapon Masters and Domain Controllers could reach similar powers, but it was probably quite a bit harder to get there.

Shang entered the next hallway.

He had no idea how far he had actually already gone, but he was quite sure that he was somewhere in the Eternal Ocean, far away from Aterium.

Shang entered the next room and saw that this room was far smaller than all the previous halls.

In fact, the room was only about 30 meters wide.

In the middle of the room was an elevated chair, and that was about it. There was nothing else.

Shang slowly walked over to the chair and sat down.

The next moment, a ghostly silhouette appeared in front of Shang.

It was difficult to make out the details, but Shang saw that the ghostly figure was a male of Shang's height with blonde hair.

Naturally, Shang knew who that was.

It was an image of Lucius Volstad.

Shang had seen Lucius before, back when the God had kicked his corpse across the room.

The Aura that the ghostly figure emanated reminded Shang a bit of Jerald before his son had died.

Lucius seemed quite approachable but also highly intelligent and principled.

He was someone that could inspire others to follow him.

Naturally, Lucius was dead, and Shang knew that this ghostly figure was probably just some kind of complex Magic Circle that controlled the entire trial like a computer.

"You passed," the ghostly figure uttered with a kind smile.

Shang did not answer.

"What do you wish for?" the figure asked.

"The Concept made of the Concepts of Twilight, Temperatures, Addition, and Subtraction," Shang answered.

A small smile appeared on the ghostly figure's face.

"You're searching for the Concept of Transformation," the figure said. "The level five Concept of Abominations."

Shang called his Affinity Entropy, but Lucius seemed to call it Abomination.

Both of them made sense.

"Yes," Shang said, remembering the name of the Concept.

The Concept of Transformation.

"The Concept of Transformation is one of the hardest Concepts to comprehend," the ghostly figure said. "Back then, I had to sacrifice Mana to the void for over 2,000 years. I hunted beasts, kept them in isolation, and slowly sacrificed them to the Realm of Abominations."

The ghostly figure sighed.

"I killed over 15,000 Peak Ancestral Beasts and over 3,000 Initial Beast Lords this way."

"I permanently destroyed a Mage King's worth of Mana."

"And yet, it took me over 2,000 years."

The ghostly figure looked at Shang.

"Do you have 2,000 years?" it asked.

"No," Shang slowly answered. "I have less than a thousand years left."

"I know," the ghostly figure said.

'Then why did you ask?' Shang thought.

"Also, you're not a Mage," the figure added. "If you were to use my method, you would probably need 3,000 to 4,000 years."

"But there is a way," he said. "Yet, the faster something gives results, the higher the price you have to pay."

"Are you prepared to pay the price?" the figure asked.

"How long will it take?" Shang asked.

"Based on the data I have collected of you, around 200 years," the ghostly figure said.

'200 years,' Shang thought. 'This seems too good to be true.'

'That means the price is huge.'

"I agree," Shang said.

Surprisingly, the ghostly figure only sighed again.

The next moment, a portal opened at the edge of the room, and a person stepped through.

When Shang saw the person, he realized what the price had to be.

It truly was a heavy price.

 

 

Chapter 889 889- George

A tall man with grey hair entered the portal.

He wore the violet robes of a Bolt and regarded Shang with a resolute and hostile gaze.

This man was Jerald's son, named after the Dean of the Warrior Academy, George.

Shang had encountered George only twice before.

The first meeting occurred when Shang emerged from seclusion to converse with Jerald, and the second took place during the grand warriors' tournament.

During their initial encounter, George had not been Shang's adversary. The second meeting transpired after Shang had already killed Jerald.

A Peak Mage Lord.

It seemed almost unbelievable that the young man Shang had previously encountered had already attained such a high level of power.

Yet, it made logical sense.

Perhaps he had reached the Ancestral Mage Realm at around 500 years of age, and if he had only focused on comprehending two level four Concepts, he would have become a Mage Lord by approximately 2,500 or 3,000 years of age.

As long as he prioritized advancing his level over the Concepts and dedicated himself entirely to this goal, he could undoubtedly reach the Peak Mage Lord Realm within a thousand years or so.

However, he was likely an average Mage Lord.

Nevertheless, even an average Mage Lord possessed a twofold Spirit Sense, granting them talent on par with powerful Ancestral Mages.

After George stepped through the portal, it promptly sealed behind him.

For a few moments, he locked eyes with Shang, his gaze narrowed.

"Do you still remember me?" he asked, his voice filled with darkness.

"George," Shang acknowledged. "Jerald's son."

George's aura grew stronger as his anger intensified. He remained uncertain whether he desired Shang to recognize him or not.

"Do you have any idea how much I have suffered just to obtain this opportunity?" George's voice trembled as he spoke.

Shang remained silent.

"I enlisted in the war, battled nearly every day, fought against numerous Mages and beasts, and even resorted to unspeakable acts to gather enough Mana Crystals for my comprehension!" I spent a fortune altering my mind, eradicating fatigue, stress, and happiness!

"I labored tirelessly for so long!"

"I even forfeited my reward from the Trial of Want just to have a chance to kill you!"

"I entered the Trial of Want over 200 years ago, hoping that you would eventually participate, and the only thing I sought from that trial was this opportunity!"

"I sacrificed so much!"

"All for you," he uttered with a sinister voice.

Silence.

"Was it worth it?" Shang asked calmly.

SHING!

A potent Focus materialized beside George. "Yes," he responded slowly, "because now I will finally get my answer."

"Why?"

"Why did you murder my father?!" George shouted, releasing his pent-up emotions.

"What had he ever done to you?!"

"Weren't you two friends?!"

Silence.

"I thought so too," Shang admitted. "When we first spoke, I had no intention of killing Jerald."

George clenched his teeth. "Then why?!" Shang took a deep breath.

He had believed he had eradicated all his emotions, but standing before Jerald's son, finding the right words proved challenging.

"Agon Skythunder revealed my secret to Jerald," Shang revealed.

Silence.

"When I encountered Jerald, he informed me of his knowledge regarding my secret and he had wanted to end my life."

"LIAR!" George shouted. "I know my father! I know he would never kill his closest friend over a secret."

"I am the Child of Calamity."

Silence.

Slowly, George's eyes widened in shock.

The Child of Calamity.

"The stronger I grow, the more powerful the Abominations become," Shang explained.

"By killing me, Jerald could save billions of lives."

"Jerald may not have been the most selfless person, but he did not desire to witness the world's demise," Shang said.

"Billions of innocent lives or the life of his closest friend," Shang continued. "That was the dilemma he faced, and when I visited him, he made his choice. Jerald's actions meant I could not let him live, especially since he knew my deepest secret."

Silence.

"But why?" George asked. "Why didn't he inform the Lightning Manor? You would have been apprehended!"

"He wanted one last conversation with me," Shang revealed. "He desired to understand why I was willing to sacrifice so many lives for my own power."

"If he had informed the Lightning Manor, I would have been subdued."

"But Jerald was too sentimental, too agreeable, and too honest."

Shang turned his gaze away.

"He placed himself in the path of the world's greatest enemy!"

"For him, it was a choice between saving the world or saving me."

"For me, it was a choice between his life and mine."

"I chose mine," Shang concluded.

Silence.

George remained silent, staring at the ground while clenching his fists.

Everything now fell into place.

"You are even worse than I imagined," George declared.

"I believed you had some hidden motive for wanting him dead."

"But instead, you killed him because he sought to save the world."

"Your existence will bring the world's end, and yet you persist."

"You didn't even have to die. You could have stopped, found a family, and lived a peaceful life."

"But you continue to seek power, fully aware that the price will be the entire world."

"Yes, it was worth it," George repeated, his voice filled with hatred. "I thought killing you would be a selfish act, but in the end, I will save billions, if not trillions, of lives."

"Thank you for telling me all of this. Now, I can finally end your life with a clear conscience," George coldly stated as his Focus began spinning rapidly.

Shang turned his attention to the ghostly figure of Lucius.

The price Shang had to pay was all too apparent.

 

 

Chapter 890 890- Price

A Peak Mage Lord.

A Mage who surpassed Shang by an entire Realm.

Was it possible to win this fight?

No.

Even if Shang used his most powerful attack, Fate, George would only lose about 20% of his Mana.

And then what?

George could easily replenish the lost Mana, while Shang would be unable to launch further attacks.

The cost was clear.

Lucius had understood the concept of entropy by sacrificing external mana, a process that took him a long time. But what could be better than experiencing it oneself?

By experiencing the true power of Entropy, Shang could understand the feeling of fading into nothingness.

The price?

Whatever Shang needed to sacrifice from his own body to comprehend the Concept of Transformation.

That was the price.

Shang had already sacrificed 15% of his soul to Entropy, and killing George would likely require sacrificing at least another 5%.

Naturally, Shang had often contemplated what he would sacrifice next, and he knew what he had to do.

As George prepared his spells, two small black lights appeared behind Shang's bandages.

It almost seemed as if a void was peering through the bandages at George.

For some reason, George felt a sense of imminent death and hastily unleashed all his prepared spells.

Ssssshhhh!

A soft gust of wind.

That was the sound of Entropy consuming the spells and George's body.

Surprisingly, the walls remained intact, with only a few scratches.

Shang's body had turned into a withered shell, but compared to the previous occasions, he could cope with this state.

George had disappeared while the hall remained undamaged.

It was as if George had never been there, except for the fact that a part of Shang's body was missing.

Shang slowly lifted his left arm and gazed at the bloody stump. He didn't need to sacrifice his entire arm to kill George.

Just sacrificing his hand had been enough.

What a strange sensation, Shang thought. It had happened twice before, yet he still couldn't grow accustomed to permanently losing a part of himself.

"But if that's the price I have to pay, I accept it."

Shang had made the decision to sacrifice his left hand.

Shang needed his feet for swift movement and acceleration. Without a foot, his speed would decrease, and he would likely become vulnerable to avoidable attacks.

Sacrificing organs would be even worse, as they produced and converted life energy.

If Shang sacrificed some of his organs, he might lose his ability to regenerate completely.

Ears, teeth, tongue, and other body parts wouldn't be valuable enough. Thus, Shang opted to sacrifice his left hand. Moreover, the reduction in Shang's battle strength wouldn't be as significant as one might expect.

Shang retrieved his Subsis,

CRKSSSH!

And inserted its hilt into his bloody stump. Then, he froze the Subsis into place and swung it around.

He had lost some mobility and flexibility with his sword, but it was still preferable to losing a foot.

Once Shang finished experimenting with his new stump, he focused on the newfound knowledge.

He had solved a few complex aspects of the Concept of Transformation, but there was still much for Shang to comprehend. The main issue was that time had passed too quickly. He hadn't had enough time to thoroughly examine Entropy.

"I never possessed this power," Shang remarked, turning to the ghostly image of Lucius.

"I could only sacrifice Mana without a conscious decision," Lucius' image said. "I never even attempted to sacrifice a part of myself."

"But everything has its pros and cons," the image continued.

"If I could have sacrificed a leg to understand the Concept of Transformation faster, I would have done so. At that time, I feared for my friends' lives and desired power above all else."

Shang didn't respond.

In the next moment, several piles of green crystals materialized in the hall.

Shang could sense a significant surge in the density of life energy in the room.

"I created this trial for future Mages," the image said, "but I also created it for my successor."

"While you're here, you won't lack life energy or the effects of enhancing your mind."

Silence.

Shang wordlessly sat down and pulled a few life power source crystals toward him. "Don't you want to know?" the image inquired.

"Know what?" Shang asked, not turning to face Lucius.

"Why I summoned the Peak Mage Lord instead of simply instructing you," the image explained.

"Commitment," Shang replied. "You knew how much I would have to sacrifice, and you were afraid that I would sacrifice all the smaller parts of my body first before having to sacrifice something significant."

"You summoned him because you wanted me to use something significant, so I would be compelled to continue using the already damaged part of my body instead of sacrificing all the minor parts," Shang said evenly, devoid of any emotions.

It was as if he were discussing sacrificing parts of his body casually.

Silence.

"I seem to have overthought," the image conceded.

"You're different from how I was."

"What may have posed a problem for me may not be a problem for you."

"But what troubles you may not have troubled me," the image added.

Shang remained silent. Instead, he pulled out his Subsis from the stump.

And then, a small part at the edge of the stump began emitting a faint black wisp.

Shang was gradually sacrificing more of his body, but this time, he was doing it very, very slowly.

As the black wisp came into contact with Mana, it dissipated, but the density of Mana in the room also decreased slightly.

Fortunately, Lucius' image could easily replenish the room with Mana.

As Lucius' image observed Shang, a thought occurred to him.

"Perhaps if I had been more like him, I would have succeeded."