Five days later, the door to Shang's Isolation Chamber opened automatically. Due to the properties of the Isolation Chamber, Shang couldn't open it manually and had to set a timer.
When it opened, Shang felt Mana again for the first time in five days.
He felt a burst of hatred at the Mana.
He hated the Mana!
He liked the Manaless environment in the Isolation Chamber much more!
But then, Shang took a deep breath and calmed down.
By now, he had regained most of the control over his body, but he wasn't fully himself yet.
BANG!
The Isolation Chamber closed again, and Shang waited inside.
He still needed another couple of days, and he didn't want to be contacted in his current state.
Shang knew that he wasn't in full control over his emotions right now, and he knew that he would most likely make a decision born out of hatred or anger, and these kinds of decisions tended to be bad ones most of the time.
Three days later, the Isolation Chamber opened again, and Shang slowly stood up.
A day ago, he had regained full control over himself.
'A week,' Shang thought. 'It took me a week to regain full control. However, compared to absorbing the beasts back then, this time, it actually paid off.'
'"My Realm increased by twice as much. As long as I keep going, I can reach the next level within a century.'
After exiting the Isolation Chamber, Shang looked at his Transmission Medal and found that someone had tried to contact him a couple of times.
The Aura was unfamiliar to Shang, but he could tell that the owner of the Aura was a very powerful Mage Lord.
Shang guessed that this was the Thunder that the Custodian had sent.
Shang contacted the Thunder, who accepted the transmission after a couple of seconds.
"Hello, you are Shang Sword, correct?" a female voice came out of Shang's Transmission Medal.
"Yes," Shang answered.
"Good," she said. "I have been instructed by the Custodian to fulfill basically any request you have. I know about your relationship with the Ancestor and about your power. I have signed a contract that makes it impossible for me to tell anyone about these things that aren't you or the Custodian."
"You can contact me whenever you need anything," she said politely.
If anyone had seen their interaction, they would have been shocked by how polite the Thunder was.
It was almost like the Thunder was talking to a Mage King.
"Good," Shang said. "I require several things."
"I'm listening," the Thunder said.
"First, I need a bigger Isolation Chamber. I need it to be 25 kilometers in all dimensions, and it has to be made with Abomination Ore of the Seventh Realm," Shang said.
Silence.
Many kilometers away, a woman with icy-blue hair took a deep breath and made several calculations.
When she thought about the price of the materials alone...
"Please wait a second. I need to contact the Custodian for such a big purchase," she said.
The connection was cut, and Shang waited.
Some seconds later, the Thunder contacted Shang again. "Okay, you will get your Isolation Chamber," she said. "I don't know how long it will take since something like this has never been created. However, I also have to inform you that about 15% of your Contribution Points have been used up with that."
"I understand," Shang answered.
An Isolation Chamber with dimensions of ten kilometers with Sixth Realm ore had already cost Shang a couple hundred Grade Seven Mana Crystals.
Shang assumed that the thing he had just asked for was in the price of hundreds of Grade Eight Mana Crystals.
And yet, it had only used up 15% of his Contribution Points.
Sure enough, it had been worth it to fight for the Lightning Manor this much.
"Next," Shang continued, "I need a powerful Isolation Barrier near the Eternal Ocean to the north. The Isolation Barrier has to be powerful enough to resist the Spirit Sense of a Mage King, and I want the creator and controller of the Isolation Barrier to be the Dawnlight King. The Isolation Barrier needs to be at least 50 kilometers wide, and it must allow Mana to enter and exit."
The Thunder fell into silence again.
"Please wait a second," she said.
The connection was cut again, and Shang waited.
This time, it took a couple of minutes for the Thunder to call back.
"Okay, but you will lose another 5% of your Contribution Points," she said.
"Good," Shang said. "Next, I want to be able to watch a Beast King to comprehend the Concept of Temperatures, and I don't want to be killed by anything when I'm trying to comprehend the Concept. If possible, I also want the Beast King to be near my Isolation Barrier so that I don't have to fly too far between the two."
Silence.
"I need to talk with the Custodian again. This time, it might take a bit longer. Please be patient," she said before cutting the connection.
Shang flew towards the humongous sword and looked at it.
There wasn't enough time to get some training in. Looking at the sword was probably the most efficient use of his time for now.
This time, it took nearly a day for the Thunder to call back.
"There are a couple of issues," the Thunder said. "There is a Beast King that knows the Concept of Temperatures, but it's to the west of the Land and Sky Empire. The islands of the Beast Kings are not part of the war, but we can't guarantee your safety without some diplomacy and a Mage King continually watching over you."
"Luckily, we found a good solution for the safety issue. The Ancestor will watch over you personally. Nevertheless, the island technically belongs to the Land and Sky Empire, and we need to purchase permission for you to negotiate with the Beast King, which will also cost a lot."
"In total, you will lose another 20% of your Contribution Points, leaving you with 60%."
Shang nodded. "Can I also have a permanent portal between my Isolation Barrier and the Beast King?"
"That shouldn't be too difficult. At most, it will eat up 1% of your Contribution Points," the Thunder answered.
"Okay," Shang said. "Next..."
The Thunder took a deep breath.
