Shang followed the young Inquisitor for about two hours until they reached the border to the actual Ice Wyvern Zone. With the Inquisitor present and with Shang not needing to slow down his speed, the journey didn't take as long as the first time.
When they entered the Ice Wyvern Zone, the Inquisitor stopped and turned to Shang.
"We passed the border now," the Inquisitor said. "This is where we part ways. You are to report back to whoever gave you your job."
Shang nodded. "I will. Thanks for escorting me."
Shang wasn't stupid. Even though he hadn't seen any guards at the border, it didn't mean that there weren't any.
The entire battlefield was probably under a strict lockdown, and without the Inquisitor accompanying him, someone would have probably stopped Shang.
The Inquisitor nodded. "The Lead Inquisitor isn't someone that praises people," the younger Inquisitor said. "However, I want to iterate that your work has helped us a lot. You managed to personally root out eight traitors, with one of them being in a high position, and you indirectly unmasked maybe dozens more."
"You did an excellent job."
"Thanks," Shang said. He had thought that he would feel great when hearing praise from someone so powerful, but for some reason, Shang didn't feel as much.
It was like the praise didn't really matter to him.
"I wish you luck on your future journey," the Inquisitor said before charging into the distance. His speed was far faster than earlier.
Shang only nodded absentmindedly since his mind was occupied right now.
'I wonder why getting praised didn't feel as good as I've imagined. Isn't it normal to feel proud of myself when someone much more powerful than me tells me I did a great job?'
'Why didn't I feel like that?'
For a while, Shang only remained on the same spot, deep in thought.
'I think it's my goal,' Shang thought. 'My goal is far beyond the power of anyone in this place, which is why I don't really care for their praise.'
At that moment, Shang got reminded of his old struggle with his attitude.
Be brutal to others?
Help others so that they help him?
Which one was better for reaching supreme power?
How did the Mage Emperor become so powerful back then?
What was his personality like?
Shang sighed. 'There's no use thinking about that. According to the God, I asked exactly that question as my third one. Making any decision right now is pointless since I will get the right answer later.'
'I just have to wait and become more powerful.'
After thinking that, Shang's mind returned to the present, and he looked for an isolated place.
Shang searched around for something specific, and a couple of minutes later, he found it.
Shang found the nest of a Pest Cat and killed it.
Then, he entered its nest.
SHING!
A green academy uniform appeared before Shang together with a long spear. The spear was made of Mid General Stage Rank materials and was green in color.
Shang dumped his armor into his inner world and changed into his academy uniform.
Then, Shang took off his mask and also put it into his inner world.
Now, Shang's face was finally revealed.
He had a chiseled jaw and a messy, unshaven beard. One would think that he looked like an athlete that neglected their appearance due to a slump.
Shang grabbed Sword and shaved.
Back at the academy, Shang hadn't been able to use Sword for shaving since it had been too stupid to communicate with. It instinctively refused to hurt Shang.
But now, Sword was smart enough to see what Shang wanted and complied.
After a good shave, Shang used Sword to cut off his long hair, its length returning to the usual.
Shang looked at Sword. "I'll have to put you into my world for a couple of hours. You're too conspicuous. As soon as I reach the academy, I'll get you back out."
"I understand," Sword answered.
Shang nodded and put Sword and all his other belongings back into his inner world.
Lastly, he summoned a long black coat, which hid his entire body.
After putting it on, Shang charged out of one of the side entrances of the nest.
This had been why Shang had searched for a Pest Cat nest. If someone were following Shang, they would only need to keep watch over one entrance if Shang entered a cave.
But with a Pest Cat nest, they would need to watch several entrances at once, which would force them to go to a more conspicuous location.
As Shang charged out, he quickly scanned his surroundings.
He didn't see anyone.
Right now, Shang looked completely different from his old persona, Zero.
Shang wore a green uniform, wore no mask, carried a spear on his back, and hid everything about himself in a black cloak.
The only connection to Zero some people could draw would be Shang's height and frame, but there were several warriors that would fit these criteria.
Shang traveled through the entire Ice Wyvern Zone. Thanks to his studies, he knew which places he had to avoid.
If someone just blindly ran through the Ice Wyvern Zone, they could very well meet a Commander Stage beast.
However, Shang's journey wasn't entirely safe. In order to avoid watching eyes, he mainly traveled through General Stage Wildernesses.
Shang could kill Early General Stage beasts by using his spear.
If he wanted to kill a Mid General Stage beast, he would need to get out his sword.
Shang wasn't able to kill a Late General Stage beast, but he could escape from them.
The only problem would be Peak General Stage beasts, but they also didn't really care about some Early General Stage warrior.
…At least, that's how it would have been.
Sadly for Shang, it had become apparent that beasts hated him.
Back during the trial, the beasts had become irrationally angry when they had seen him, and that phenomenon hadn't stopped after Shang had left the trial.
Over the last couple of months, it had become apparent that every beast that saw Shang wanted to kill him.
So, if Shang actually met a Peak General Stage beast, he would be in trouble.
But that was why he was wearing the cloak.
As long as the beasts didn't see his eyes or got a chance to look at his body for a while, they wouldn't really pay much attention to him.
They only got aggressive if they could actually look at him for some seconds.
The Dean guessed that this was due to Shang's mixed nature.
He wasn't a pure Abomination, but he also wasn't a pure human.
This confused the beasts for a while.
If any beast saw an Abomination, they would immediately attack it in a blind rage.
Shang met a couple of General Stage beasts, but most of them ignored him when they saw his speed.
That thing was too small and fast. It would be too much work to chase it.
There was one Mid General Stage beast that became interested, but by "flying" away with a couple of Ice and Fire Blasts, Shang managed to get rid of it.
Two hours later, Shang reached the Storm Eagle Zone, entering through the northwestern Wild Forest.
From that moment on, Shang wasn't in any danger anymore.
Only Soldier Stage beasts were here. Yes, there could also be some General Stage beasts, but they were very rare and oftentimes also on the weaker side.
Before Shang reached the Farm line, he unbuttoned his cloak, allowing it to flow behind him in the wind.
He did this to show his academy uniform.
If someone in a black cloak shot through the Farm Line, the guards would probably become suspicious and interrogate him.
But with his academy uniform, they would ignore him.
At this moment, only Shang's head and back were hidden by the cloak.
As Shang charged through the Farm Line, he saw a couple of dogs sniffing in his direction.
Shang remembered the first time he had gotten here. Back then, the Farm Dogs had been unfathomable monsters to him.
Now, Shang was theoretically powerful enough to run on a rampage in the Farm Line as long as no other human got involved.
'Times change.'
After some time, Shang reached the gates of Warrior's Paradise.
For just a moment, Shang looked at it.
'It's been about two months since I've been here.'
'Glad to be back home.'
