Mistra gestured for Shang to come over, and Shang wordlessly walked up to her.
All the warriors with their friends and families were gone, making the previously crowded area seem quite desolate.
"Name?"
"Shang Sword," Shang said.
"You're still using that last name?" Mistra asked with a raised eyebrow.
Obviously, Mistra knew a lot more about Shang than about all the other warriors.
"I didn't have a last name previously. Might as well use it," Shang said evenly.
"Why did you kill one of the Assistant Supervisors from Area 23?" Mistra asked neutrally.
"Personal reasons," Shang answered.
"Those being?" she asked.
"They're not of your concern."
Mistra raised an eyebrow at Shang's very rude tone. "They are of my concern. I need to verify where your loyalties lie."
Shang snorted. "What is loyalty worth when you are one of the nine strongest powers in the world? Even if I wanted to rebel, I would never reach the Eighth Realm without the help of an Empire. So, what's the point?"
Mistra had expected Shang to be a bit different from the other warriors, but she hadn't expected him to be this cold to her.
Wasn't he in the least intimidated by her? If she wanted, she could turn Shang into dust with just her Spirit Sense.
"You've come up with the Impose Stage, a theoretical way to the Sixth Realm and even one to the Seventh Realm, correct?" she asked.
Shang nodded wordlessly.
"Then, what makes you think that you can't create one for the Eight Realm?"
"Creating the Path is not the issue," Shang said.
"Then, what is? Why do you need an Empire?" she asked.
Shang wasn't quite sure why Mistra was asking these questions. "Because I need the required Mana to reach the Eighth Realm."
"Why don't you just absorb the Mana of the world like with any other breakthrough?" Mistra asked.
Shang remained silent for two seconds. "Because there isn't enough Mana."
This time, it was Mistra that snorted. "That's an interesting reason," she said. "You think there's not enough Mana in the world? Have you seen how big it is? How can there not be enough Mana?"
Shang's Spirit Sense inspected Mistra very closely.
She didn't seem to be lying.
"I see," Shang said. "I'm not in your department, then."
Mistra furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm not in your department," Shang said.
"Says who?" she asked.
"Says whoever you are supposed to deliver me to."
Mistra seemed to be confused and frustrated, but the confusion didn't exactly lie with Shang.
By what Shang could see, he had probably hit the nail on the head.
She was most likely supposed to deliver Shang to someone else while all the other warriors would probably be under her.
"What makes you think that I have to deliver you to someone else?" Mistra asked.
"I can't speak more on this topic," Shang said. "I don't want to ruin my chances with the Lightning Manor."
"What's that supposed to mean? I am the one that is evaluating your chances with the Lightning Manor. How can not answering me ruin your chances?" she asked.
Shang didn't move.
Silence.
Ten seconds of silence.
"Well?" Mistra asked. "What's your answer?"
"I can't speak more about that topic," Shang said.
"You have to answer my questions!" Mistra said with a strict voice.
"I will answer your questions, but I won't speak more of these sensitive topics," Shang said.
"What? How does that even make sense?!"
Mistra kept asking very similar questions again and again, but Shang only kept quiet, not answering any of her questions.
After two minutes of that, Mistra gritted her teeth and actually used her Spirit Sense to put Shang under pressure.
Shang didn't move at all.
His Spirit Sense didn't even shake in the slightest.
Sure, his Spirit Sense was essentially pressed into the ground by Mistra, but it felt just as calm and neutral as before, just more squished.
As more time passed, Mistra started to get creeped out.
She had put so much pressure on Shang, someone two entire Realms below her, but he hadn't reacted in any way whatsoever.
Additionally, Shang had this extremely desolate and white aura around him. Looking at him was almost like looking at an endless salt desert.
It was almost like he wasn't human.
Mistra had never felt such a strange aura before, and together with Shang's lack of eyes, she felt quite creeped out.
In the end, she gave up trying to get any important answers out of him. Even when she had straight-up threatened him, he didn't move at all.
"You're at the Peak Impose Stage, right?" she asked after giving up on getting answers about the previous topic.
"I'm in the Peak Fifth Realm, but I'm not at the Impose Stage," Shang said.
Mistra furrowed her brows again.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"Can't talk about it," Shang answered.
"What's the problem this time?! Why can't you talk about it?!" she asked.
"Sensitive information," Shang answered.
Mistra tried to get more information out of Shang, but he just wouldn't elaborate.
"Okay, then what about the Impose Stage? You came up with it, right?" she asked.
Shang nodded.
"How did you come up with it?"
Shang neutrally explained to her about the time he had found out about the Wind Blade Seeds. Then, he explained how he had come up with the concept of an Impose after analyzing the Wind Blade Seeds and his Mana Pathways.
"Thank you for answering," Mistra said. "What about your Mana Pathways? I can see that you have far more Mana Pathways than everyone else, and you even managed to create a Beast Core. How did you accomplish that?"
"That is sensitive information," Shang answered.
Mistra grew annoyed. "I am responsible for gathering knowledge about warriors and distributing several techniques. This is very well within my scope."
"I understand," Shang said. "However, the specific way in which I managed to create a Beast Core is related to a sensitive topic. I will tell the person I will be under all about it, and if it is truly within your scope, they will inform you."
By now, Mistra had learned that she wouldn't get anything further out of Shang regarding this topic.
"Why did you buy Icy Bastion, and why did you decide to teach your students?" she asked.
"The Temple of Blood was paying me for every strong warrior I managed to produce. That's the entire reason. They gave me Icy Bastion so that I could openly raise warriors," Shang explained.
"Alright," Mistra said. "Then, please perform your techniques."
"Sensitive topic," Shang answered.
Mistra frowned in annoyance. "I can see your Mana Pathways and your Beast Core. I can already tell basically everything about your techniques. There's nothing sensitive about it."
"Then you don't need to look at them," Shang answered.
Mistra took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright. Then, what about the Sixth Realm? You can tell me about that, right?"
"I call it the World Connection Stage," Shang said.
After that, Shang started to explain how the World Connection worked and how one could create it.
Mistra's booklet jotted down an insane amount of information as Shang kept explaining.
In comparison to the time she had asked about the Impose Stage, she was asking many more questions about the World Connection Stage.
The way the World Connection Stage worked was far more complicated and advanced, and she wanted to learn everything about it.
Shang answered her questions regarding World Connection for nearly a full hour.
Then, he demonstrated the ability.
Eventually, Mistra was done talking about the World Connection Stage, and she asked about the theoretical Path to the Seventh Realm.
"Sensitive topic," Shang said. "I will inform the relevant person, and they will inform you."
Mistra really didn't like that Shang put a stop to the flow of knowledge coming from his mouth, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"You're lucky I'm not allowed to kill you," Mistra grumbled.
Shang didn't react.
"Get on the Transportation Plate," she ordered in an annoyed voice.
Shang wordlessly left Icy Bastion and walked over to the Transportation Plate.
Funnily enough, the very first circle on the Transportation Plate was still free. It seemed like everyone had wordlessly agreed that Shang would be the one to get that circle.
Shang didn't mind, walked over, and waited in the middle of the circle.
After a bit, Mistra stepped onto the Transportation Plate.
WHOOOOM!
The huge plate began to hover with everyone on it, and a couple of seconds later, it shot into the distance.
This marked the end of Shang's time in the Twilight Dusk Family's territory.
From now on, he was a member of the Lightning Manor.
