Shang didn't show any reaction for a while, but he knew that he actually didn't have a choice.
Even if he were to use Entropy, he would probably need to sacrifice his entire body just to injure the Territory Lord.
She was right.
The gap in power was just too big, and Shang didn't have any choice.
The Rune for the SKP floated over, and Shang put it into his mind.
And then, he took it out again and handed it back to the Territory Lord, but this time, the Rune was grey and filled with Mana.
To Shang, it felt like just a moment had passed, but they had actually been talking for a long time just now.
The Territory Lord inspected the grey Rune for a while before destroying it.
"So, what happens now?" Shang asked.
"I'm not sure," the Territory Lord said. "You've told me about several things that complicate matters. The fact that you know a way for True Path Stage warriors to reach the Impose Realm, as you called it, is already worth a lot."
"We've already talked about how weak physis are. The concept of a True Path Stage warrior doesn't even exist. They have literally only existed in Area 23, and I wouldn't even know about them if you hadn't told me just now."
"While True Path Stage warriors are not that useful, they represent a possible expansion for the Temple of Blood. Due to their different sets of powers, they might be more suitable for certain missions than Mages."
"However, that also represents a huge investment and expenditure for the Temple of Blood, and that's not something I can decide whether to implement or not."
"But then, there's also your problem with the Lightning Manor," the Territory Lord added.
'So, I even told her about that, huh?' Shang thought.
Shang thought it was a bad idea to tell the Territory Lord about his conflict with the Lightning Manor. In fact, Shang would believe anyone that unveiled such a secret to be an idiot.
Yet, Shang had been the one to unveil it.
Was he supposed to call himself an idiot?
In fact, the current Shang didn't know as much about the Territory Lord as the Shang from a couple of minutes ago.
The other Shang had more information available to make a decision, while the current one didn't.
In the end, Shang could only trust in his other self.
He hoped that he knew what he was doing.
"We've talked about many possibilities," the Territory Lord continued. "For now, I can't tell you how things will continue, but I can tell you with quite a lot of confidence that you're valuable enough. I don't think that the Temple of Blood would want to make you a scapegoat."
Shang didn't show it, but he felt quite relieved.
These kinds of situations put Shang under even more pressure than an extremely dangerous fight.
In a dangerous fight, Shang's survival depended on his own power and his actions. Shang was extremely confident in his power and his ability to perform under pressure, which meant that a very dangerous fight wouldn't put as much pressure on him.
Yet, in this kind of situation, Shang's fate was left to others. His power to influence the outcome was minimal.
That brought a lot of uncertainty into everything.
"I need to talk with someone about how to proceed," the Territory Lord said. "You can continue training."
Shang nodded. "What about my payment for the mission?"
Surprisingly, the Territory Lord snorted. "No matter what my discussions with the others will produce, you won't care about the reward. Either you will not be wanting resources in any way soon, or you will be dead."
"And if nothing changes?" Shang asked.
The Territory Lord looked at Shang with a bored gaze before turning around.
Then, she threw some Grade Six Mana Crystals to Shang without saying anything.
"I need some Grade Five Mind Flow Pellets," Shang said after catching the Mana Crystals.
The Keeper took a deep breath.
She took the Mana Crystals back and threw a box of Mind Flow Pellets to Shang.
Shang didn't show it, but he was quite shocked when he inspected the box.
So many Mind Flow Pellets!
That was probably 50 Grade Six Mana Crystals worth of Mind Flow Pellets!
"A taste of how your future will be from now on," the Keeper said without turning around.
Shang didn't say anything for quite a while.
"What do I need to do in exchange for this?" Shang asked.
"Not betray the Temple of Blood," the Keeper answered. "The Temple will continue to invest more into you. In the best case scenario, you will never leave it, become powerful, and bring it to new heights."
"However, you can also leave in the future as long as you can guarantee that you have no ill will towards the Temple and as long as you give the Temple of Blood more than it has invested in you."
"We are a profit-oriented organization. You can negotiate with us, and you will find us quite receptive to trades when there's money to be made," the Keeper said.
Shang's Spirit Sense focused on the box of Mind Flow Pellets for a while.
"That sounds too good to be true," he said.
"Shang," the Keeper said.
Shang didn't show any reaction to his name. He had already expected that he had told the Keeper about it.
"You are right when we are talking about elite soldiers. Powerful soldiers have to do what the leaders want them to do."
"However, you will only become an elite soldier when your talent has dried up. When you stop progressing at a rapid rate, it's time to start the repayment process."
"At that point, you might need to do things you don't want to do."
"But as long as your growth doesn't slow down, the Temple will not work you to the bone, and it will keep investing more into you."
"And if everything goes well, you will be one of the leaders of the Temple of Blood, and you get to decide on how to repay us, but by that point, you already own parts of the Temple of Blood, and repaying us is just shoveling money from your left pocket to your right pocket."
"Don't stop growing. As long as you become more powerful, you won't miss a thing."
