"Because it is nearly impossible to break through with only one level four Concept," the God said.
This took Shang by surprise.
Hadn't the God just confirmed that it was possible to break through with only one level four Concept?
Why was it suddenly nearly impossible?
"Well, you see," the God said, animatedly moving his hands in exaggerated gestures like he was putting on a play. "In a world with enough Mana, you wouldn't have any problems in reaching the Mage Lord Realm with only one level four Concept."
"But we don't live in a world with plenty of Mana, do we?" the jester asked with a smirk.
After hearing the God's words, Shang had a suspicion.
"Not enough momentum?" he asked.
"Yes," the God said.
"The more momentum you have, the more Mana you will absorb in your breakthrough. More momentum means pulling Mana from further places."
"To become a Mage Lord, you need a great amount of Mana, but due to the low density of Mana in the atmosphere, getting enough Mana in your controlled domain is nearly impossible when your domain is only as big as the domain of someone that will condense a normal Spirit Sense."
"Of course, you can solve that problem by entering an area with a high density of Mana, but finding such an area is very difficult, and building one is very costly."
"Naturally, Empires won't invest that much money into someone that will only condense a normal Spirit Sense. Because of that, the only Mage Lords with a onefold Spirit Sense are Mage Lords unaffiliated with Empires that managed to somehow gain enormous wealth."
"This means that every single Mage Lord you have seen since joining the Lightning Manor had had a twofold Spirit Sense, at least. There were even some with a threefold Spirit Sense."
The jester lifted his left hand. "In comparison, an Ancestral Mage with a twofold Spirit Sense counts as a powerful Ancestral Mage in this trial. Less than 5% of Ancestral Mages have a twofold Spirit Sense after all."
"So, just like with the beast, a weak Initial Mage Lord is as, if not more, talented than a powerful Peak Ancestral Mage."
"But that isn't as important," the jester said as he leaned back on the Affinity Wheel. "You might be able to fight a Beast Lord now, but I highly doubt you will reach, lest get past, a powerful Peak Ancestral Mage."
Shang's body recovered, and he slowly stood up.
He had refilled his Death Mana storage, and he was ready for the next battle.
Shang absorbed more of the surrounding Mana and refilled the Mana inside his two swords.
"You done?" the God asked.
Obviously, the God had noticed that Shang was refilling his Death Mana.
"I let you refill your Death Mana since I want to watch a good fight."
"After all, the quality of the next beast will take a drastic leap. Going from a powerful Peak Ancestral Beast to a weak Initial Beast Lord is like going from a powerful Late Ancestral Beast to a powerful Peak Ancestral Beast."
"You have a chance at winning, but it's definitely not certain."
Shang didn't answer anything.
He simply continued standing in the middle of his inner world.
"Good," the God said.
And then, the Affinity Wheel slowed down.
Eventually, it stopped.
The Affinity it landed on was something Shang had never seen before.
"Oh, hey," the jester said. "That's a rare one."
The picture was of a wave of fire being pushed to the side by green wind.
"It's called Blaze," the God said. "It's a Mixed Affinity of Fire and Wind. Blaze is as malleable as wind and hot as fire but lacks the cutting effect of wind and the explosive effect of fire. You can view it as very fast heat."
The God usually didn't explain the opponents' Affinities, but since he was very interested in the next fight, he explained the Affinity to Shang.
After all, seeing Shang get obliterated because he didn't know what Affinity his opponent had would be anticlimactic and boring.
The next moment, Shang's opponent appeared.
It was a majestic peacock.
Its green and red feathers shone bright and beautiful light on Shang's inner world.
Since Beast Lords could actively control the size of their bodies, the peacock also wasn't as overwhelmingly huge as all the previous beasts.
The peacock was only about five meters long, excluding its massive tail.
Shang could feel the difference in the peacock's aura compared to all the other beasts.
There was a certain intelligence and grace to the peacock's aura.
It felt less like a beast and more like a person.
Nevertheless, Shang readied his two swords.
This would be the first time he fought something in the Seventh Realm, which would mark another milestone in his journey to supreme power.
He was now fighting something a level higher than these cataclysmic beasts he had seen in Area 23.
This peacock was stronger than every single beast inside Area 23, and it was probably even stronger than the supervisor of Area 23.
This was something Area 23 hadn't even heard of back then.
It was a legendary beast.
In the outside world, Beast Lords were also very rare.
Shang still remembered that he had to travel over 700,000 kilometers to get to a fitting Beast Lord, and he also remembered that the Territory Lord's territory only had around ten Beast Lords.
One had to remember that the Territory Lord's territory was around a million kilometers wide.
And it only had ten Beast Lords!
Except for the limited number of Beast Kings, Beast Lords were the most powerful beasts in the world.
They were exceedingly rare, very powerful, and mystical.
The jester slowly lifted his hammer as Shang readied his two swords.
Then, the jester hit the bell.
DING!
The next moment, the peacock opened its eyes, which immediately locked onto Shang.
Shang could even see human emotions in the peacock's eyes.
It was interest and annoyance.
