Shang and Queen Primordium had been waiting in front of the gigantic gate for several minutes by now.
It seemed like the decision wasn't an easy one to make.
The Lightning Emperor was probably checking every possibility thoroughly to make the best decision possible.
And, finally, the door opened.
Wester walked out of the gate and calmly closed it behind him.
Then, he walked up to Shang and Queen Primordium.
Shang's insides were tensing up.
The moment of truth had arrived.
Wester looked at Shang and smiled politely. "Welcome to the Lightning Manor," he said in a friendly tone.
Shang released a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
Wester nodded and then turned to Queen Primordium. "The Ancestor has decided that he will be treated as a Cloud."
"Thank you, Wester," Queen Primordium said. Shang still couldn't see what Queen Primordium was doing or what she looked like.
"Excuse me," Shang suddenly said.
"Yes?" Wester asked as he looked at Shang.
"The part of my soul that is responsible for the priority connection between my soul center and my soul core has been altered," Shang said, repeating Queen Primordium's words. "Queen Primordium has told me that I need someone with the level two Concept of Life to deal with that issue."
Wester raised an eyebrow. "Oh? If I remember correctly, that's what you warriors call a warrior body, right?"
Shang nodded.
"That sounds like something useful to a warrior, right?"
"Yes," Shang answered, "but I'm not a warrior."
"You're not a warrior?" Wester asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, the Impose stage that other warriors have is not an accurate name for my Realm. I have four Paths, four Imposes, and I comprehended World Connection before I reached the Fifth Realm. That is how I created my fivefold Spirit Sense," Shang explained.
"Oh, interesting," Wester mused. "You know, many years ago, there were other Paths as well, but due to something that happened, these other Paths don't really exist anymore."
Shang didn't let it show, but hearing Wester's words gave Shang a peculiar feeling.
The Custodian was the first person, aside from the God and the people involved with the God, that had acknowledged that there had been other Paths in the past.
Everyone else had believed that the Mages had always been superior and that the Mage God had just been an especially strong Mage.
The fact that there had been warriors in the past had only been uttered by the God, but today, Shang had received external verification.
"I know a bit regarding the old Paths," Wester said in a friendly tone, "and from what I've read, you are essentially using two different Paths. If I'm not mistaken, the thing that you call Impose was called Weapon Intent back then, and it was used by Fighters."
"Meanwhile, the thing that you call World Connection was something that was used by World Manipulators, people that fight by controlling the world around them."
"From what I've seen, you started out with a Weapon Master Path by creating so many Paths, went to the Fighter Path by creating so many Imposes, and lastly, arrived at the World Manipulator Path by comprehending what you call World Connection."
Wester scratched his chin. "Sure enough, calling you a warrior would be a bit strange. You've created your very own Path."
Shang grew a bit anxious and excited.
There was someone standing in front of him that knew how the ancient warriors fought and trained!
Maybe…
"I know what you're thinking about," Wester said, "but I don't think it would be a good idea to tell you how people from back then trained."
Shang took a deep breath.
He wasn't sure if he was relieved or frustrated.
"The past should stay in the past," Wester said. "You've done well enough creating your own Path, and I think you should continue."
"Do you already have a plan for reaching the Sixth Realm?" he asked.
Shang nodded. "Void Casting, but for my body."
"How very peculiar," Wester said. "You've now jumped into the Berserker Path."
When Shang heard Wester's words, some uncertainties in his mind vanished.
Shang had been quite certain that what he had been trying to create would work, but he couldn't be completely sure. After all, no one had ever done that, at least as far as he knew.
But now, the Custodian had talked about the very thing Shang was trying to create.
And it was something that Berserkers had used in the past.
"From what I've read, Berserkers used this ability to overfill their bodies with Mana, vastly increasing their power and regenerative abilities for a short time. Naturally, there are more uses. For example, as you know, us Mages use Void Casting for our Spells, and there's also a form of Void Casting that World Manipulators have used in the past."
"Depending on how you use it and what form you create, the effects will be different."
"But I think we strayed too far from the topic," Wester said. "This was about your warrior body."
Shang nodded.
"Let me just take a look at your soul."
Wester extended one of his fingers and touched Shang's forehead.
Two seconds later, he pulled his hand away.
"I see," Wester said. "So, that's why you don't have any eyes."
Shang just wordlessly nodded.
"As for your problem, yes, I can solve it."
Shang took a deep breath.
His warrior body…
The fact that his mind was always an entire level lower than his body…
This problem could be solved by the person standing in front of him!
"What would be the effects?" Shang asked.
"Well…" Wester said as he trailed off.
He didn't immediately answer, and he only looked at Shang.
His conversation with the Lightning Emperor went through his mind.
This warrior would not be thankful.
This warrior might be the end of the Lightning Manor in the future.
But then, on the other hand, the Emperors were saying that everyone deserved a chance at realizing their destiny.
The choice was difficult.
And finally, the Lightning Emperor's orders shot through Wester's head.
Just treat him like a King Contender.
In the end, Wester decided to do just that.
"There are two ways to solve this issue," Wester said.
"The normal way would be to return your soul to how it was supposed to be. You will be able to train your mind just like any other Mage."
"But the drawback is that your ability to convert Mana into life energy would be slowed by a factor of ten."
Would Shang accept that?
He wasn't sure.
"And the other way?" Shang asked.
"The other way won't weaken your regenerative abilities, but you can't actively train your mind. Your mind will continue to grow on its own, but that is dependent on time, not effort. As long as you live for long enough, your mind will catch up to your body."
"However, there is another drawback."
"You will be in strong perpetual pain."
