Right now, Shang stood on top of a hill, overlooking the border between two Zones.
The Zone he was currently in was filled with icy hills, and the Zone to its east was filled with canyons, small mountains, and craters.
Shang could see several huge towers and groups of Mages. He could even see two High Mages.
For the last two days, Shang had been watching that border, noting all the forces that were stationed there.
This border was special.
This was not only the border between two Zones but the border between two Kingdoms.
This was the border between the Blackshadow Kingdom and the Spirit Spring Kingdom.
Shang had been inside the Blackshadow Kingdom for another two years, strengthening himself and training with Sword.
By now, Shang was 32 years old.
He had been gone from the Skythunder Kingdom for around ten years, but now, he was very close to being able to return.
While the Blackshadow Kingdom enslaved physical fighters and fed them to their beasts, the Spirit Spring Kingdom was very different.
Even though they had a different kind of Summoner in their Kingdom, called a Spiriter, their entire Kingdom was completely different from the Blackshadow Kingdom.
While the Summoners enslaved their beasts, the Spiriters built a connection. The beasts willingly fought for them, and the bond between a Spiriter and their beasts was a close one.
Additionally, the Spirit Spring Kingdom was right beside the Skythunder Kingdom, and they also had some warriors travel through their Kingdom from time to time. After all, the Skythunder Kingdom and the Spirit Spring Kingdom were close allies, and plenty of warriors were sent to the Spirit Spring Kingdom to help put pressure on the Magic Purity Kingdom.
If Shang managed to enter the Spirit Spring Kingdom, he would be able to return to the Skythunder Kingdom without any problems.
He wouldn't even need to hide anymore.
'It's been over ten years,' Shang thought as he looked at the border.
Over the last couple of days, Shang had been thinking about his journey and how he had changed over its course.
He had been sent to the central-west of the Grandmountain Kingdom by that powerful Mage.
He had quickly been found and transferred to the northeastern front to fight the Blackshadow Kingdom.
There, he had learned about the barbarians.
Then, he spent around seven to eight years in the Tide Serpent Zone until he fled to the Ancestral Mountain Zone.
After that, he went to the Blackshadow Kingdom and trained for two years.
Shang had summoned over ten armies of Abominations over these two years, terrifying the Blackshadow Kingdom and ending many innocent lives.
By now, Shang had made his peace with his nature.
If he had to be the reason for many innocent people to lose their lives to become powerful, he would do so.
His power was the most important thing in the world.
Shang had also been found several times over the last two years, but he always managed to kill the person that found him before the news could get out.
Shang's feelings regarding killing innocent people that only wanted to fight beasts or travel the wilderness had numbed.
The more he did it, the easier it became.
Even the incident with Lash only felt natural to Shang now.
Lash had been a danger to Shang's survival, which meant that he had to die.
Over the past ten years, Shang had changed so much.
Back then, Shang had been at the Peak General Stage and uncertain of how he should act. Should he help others, or should he take everything for himself?
Now, Shang was 32 and at the Mid Commander Stage. Right now, his body was at around 85% of the power of a Mid Commander Stage beast, but his upper limit was already approaching 100% due to all the Abominations he absorbed.
Right now, Shang wore his nearly destroyed black armor. For the past two years, he had been running around without a shirt, but since he would be among humans again soon, he decided to bend the armor into shape again with his power.
There were still several holes and huge dents in the armor, but it covered his upper body well enough.
His big sword hung on his back.
His black pants were nearly destroyed.
The long black piece of cloth that covered his left eye looked old and in just as bad of a shape as his other pieces of clothing.
Shang's hair was long and black, but it had obviously not been taken care of, making it look dirty.
Shang's current appearance wouldn't have felt alien or strange to the younger Shang, but his aura had completely changed.
Back then, Shang had given off a hardworking but insecure aura. He was like a teenager that wasn't exactly sure what they should do.
Back when Shang had met the Dean for the first time, he had become irritated by him. The Dean had appeared coldhearted and cruel.
It was almost like he hadn't been a human but a coldhearted monster.
Shang hadn't known why he had disliked the Dean so much when they had just met back then.
And now?
Well, if Soran were here and if he were to see Shang stand on the hill like this…
He might confuse him with the Dean for a second.
Over the last 18 years, Shang had very slowly become more and more similar to the Dean.
In the beginning, Shang felt bad for killing a hog.
Then, he had gotten used to killing beasts.
Later, Shang felt horrible for killing the beggars who just recently joined the bandits.
Then, he had gotten used to killing his enemies, even if they were humans.
After that, Shang felt horrible for trying to kill a teenager that wanted to steal his gold.
Then, he had gotten used to killing anyone that went against him, regardless of power or age.
When Shang killed Lash to protect his identity, he felt horrible once again.
Then, he got used to killing his old friends as long as they posed a danger to his life.
Even if their intention wasn't to do so.
Lash was the first human Shang killed in the real world that had absolutely no intention of hurting him, which was why that incident weighed so heavily on his mind.
But as Shang continued killing more and more people in the Blackshadow Kingdom that just happened to come close to his hiding place, he got used to these feelings.
And by now, he didn't even feel them.
When Shang had arrived at the Grandmountain Kingdom, he couldn't have imagined killing anyone that didn't have malicious intentions toward him.
Now, it was the norm.
Teacher Mervin, Vice-Dean Soran, and Teacher Loran tried to teach Shang that life could only be enjoyable if one felt love, friendship, and companionship.
Excessive hunger for power only ended in tragedy and sadness.
Maybe they would have succeeded.
But the trials, which forced Shang to kill Mages and warriors, the hostile environment of the Grandmountain Kingdom, and the God's answers and wisdom made it impossible for their teachings to take hold.
People could influence their own growth and path to a great degree, but the environment in which they lived also had a significant impact on their future development.
If Shang had remained in the Skythunder Kingdom, he would have probably become a person that was basically a mix between the Dean and Duke Whirlwind.
Someone that could make difficult decisions if needed but someone that could still work with others and help them.
Sadly, this was not what happened.
Shang had been thrust into a hostile environment ten years ago…
And he developed a hostile mindset.
Friends changed people.
Enemies changed people.
Superiors changed people.
The world changed people.
And Shang had been changed.
He was no longer a teenager.
He was a real adult now, and his personality had solidified.
This was who Shang had become.
And it would be very difficult to change it in the future.
...
Alex would hate Shang.
