A new portal opened in front of the gathered Mage Kings, and the Lightning Emperor walked through.
All the people in the hallway of the Lightning Manor stopped walking and looked with awe at the Lightning Emperor.
Everyone knew what he looked like, but very few people had actually seen him.
When the other Mage Kings saw him, a huge part of their worry disappeared.
The Ancestor was still alive.
The portal behind the Lightning Emperor closed again, and he let out a sigh.
"Well, that was an adventure," he commented.
"Welcome back," Wester said politely.
The Lightning Emperor smiled a bit and nodded toward Wester.
Whoom!
A second later, another portal opened, and Emilia walked through it.
Based on her unsurprised attitude about seeing the Lightning Emperor, it was probably him that had called her over.
Whooom!
Then, another portal opened, and a man with black hair and a serious gaze walked through it.
It was Kiran, the Catastrophe King.
Now, all the living Mage Kings of the Lightning Manor had gathered in front of the Lightning Emperor.
The Lightning Emperor nodded with a smile. "Let's all talk in my study."
The Mage Kings nodded.
"Shang," the Lightning Emperor said, looking at Shang. "Please wait here. I need you for a moment later."
Shang just nodded.
The Mage Kings, except for Wester, were shocked that the Lightning Emperor not only knew of Shang but even wanted to talk to him in such a situation.
In an instant, Shang's importance shot through the roof in their minds.
The Lightning Emperor led the Mage Kings through the door to his study, and Shang just waited in front of the door.
Shang didn't look like it, but he was still worried about how things would proceed.
Had the Lightning Emperor suspected that it had been the God?
What had actually happened over at the Judgment Palace after Amarius left?
According to Amarius, three Mage Kings had died today, and Shang doubted that such an extraordinary situation would just pass by as if nothing had happened.
Changes had to be coming.
Shang only hoped that no one suspected him.
After all, two of the four people that knew about the power of his Spirit Sense had died, and both of them had been connected to the Contender Department, which was where Shang was.
Also, why did the Custodian want him to stay earlier?
Sadly, Shang had to wait for his answers.
In the end, several hours passed before the door opened again.
The Mage Kings walked out of the door with furrowed brows.
Without saying anything, they created their own portals and left.
Except for the Custodian.
The Custodian just glanced at Shang. "The Ancestor wants to see you."
Shang nodded and walked through the door.
After walking for a bit, he arrived at the Lightning Emperor's study.
The door opened automatically, and Shang entered.
"Please, sit," the Lightning Emperor said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.
Shang sat down without saying anything.
The Lightning Emperor looked troubled as he released a sigh.
For a couple of seconds, he just looked at the desk.
And then, he suddenly smirked.
"I solved one of our biggest problems," he said with self-satisfied confidence.
'Our?' Shang thought.
"Yes?" he asked.
The Lightning Emperor chuckled. "I got a way for you to become an Emperor."
Shang's mind stopped working.
What?!
Become an Emperor?!
How?!
"What happened?" Shang asked.
The Lightning Emperor chuckled and began to tell Shang everything that had happened.
When he had talked to his Mage Kings earlier, he hadn't mentioned a couple of things.
For example, he hadn't mentioned that he had threatened the other Mage Emperors with the Archivist.
Yet, he told absolutely everything to Shang.
Shang didn't know the Lightning Emperor very well, which was why the Lightning Emperor's conduct confused him.
Shang knew very well that not many people would trust him or treat him as a friend.
However, the Lightning Emperor just talked to Shang about everything that had happened in a very casual tone.
It was almost like the Lightning Emperor was talking to a friend.
Sadly, Shang didn't know that the Lightning Emperor's greatest desire was to go on another adventure again. Sure, he had said that he was interested in leaving the world, but Shang had severely underestimated how much the Lightning Emperor actually wanted to leave the world.
In the Lightning Emperor's mind, Shang had become a key figure.
Many years ago, Lucius had been the key to opening the door to adventure.
And now, Shang was this key.
Shang represented a future of excitement and happiness for the Lightning Emperor.
Because of that, he was doing his best to help Shang in becoming an Emperor.
After listening to everything, Shang felt hope, light, and ambition.
"I demanded that tournament only for you," the Lightning Emperor said with a laugh.
"Of course, the others agreed relatively quickly. They know that I probably have someone very talented inside the Lightning Manor since they are not dumb, but they don't know how powerful they are."
"They probably imagine a very talented Mage Lord that is currently training in secret."
"But they are still very confident in that kid. After all, even if I produce someone with a sixfold Spirit Sense, they would still be helpless in front of someone with a Dual Affinity for Life and Death."
The Lightning Emperor chuckled again.
"Luckily, they don't know that I already have someone with a sixfold Spirit Sense."
"And even more, that person is only in the Sixth Realm."
"Maybe, you can even reach a sevenfold Spirit Sense, and even if you don't, I'm still quite confident in your power."
Shang nodded. "Thank you for your help. I will repay you in the future."
The Lightning Emperor just smiled. "Just do what you promised me in our first meeting."
Shang nodded again.
"Anyway," the Lightning Emperor said. "I need your power to be secret."
"And for that, I need you to be public and known by everyone."
Shang wasn't quite sure what the Lightning Emperor meant.
