For the next 30 years, Shang continued advancing in his Realm, and surprisingly, he actually managed to achieve a breakthrough earlier than expected.
It had only taken him a total of 80 years to reach the Late Void Break Realm. Usually, it would have taken him a bit over 200 years.
Shang exited his Isolation Barrier and looked at Linay. "What's the status?"
"We have gained two more ores of the Mage Emperor Realm, but we are still missing over 90%. It will probably take centuries."
"There has been not much progress in the negotiations. We don't think that there will be any progress within the next two centuries or so," Linay said.
Shang nodded. "Fine. I will come back out in a century."
Linay's eyes widened. "Wait!"
Yet, Shang had already entered the Isolation Barrier.
Linay gulped and took out her Transmission Medal.
Shang continued training.
Yet, one day, ten years after he had entered again, something happened.
The timer on Shang's Isolation Chamber ran out, and the door opened.
This time, Shang's bandages immediately notified him that someone was looking at him, but he didn't need them to know that.
A beautiful blonde man was standing in front of the Isolation Barrier.
It was Amarius, the Dawnlight King.
Naturally, since he had created the barrier, he could see through it, and right now, he was looking at Shang inside his Isolation Chamber.
Shang hadn't dismissed the Abominations, and they were still there.
However, they were not here.
Behind Shang, inside the gigantic Isolation Chamber, was Shang's other Isolation Chamber, and its entrance was closed.
This was the main reason why Shang had wanted an Isolation Chamber that was so much bigger. He wanted to fit his old Isolation Chamber in his new Isolation Chamber for extra security.
"Hello, Shang," the Dawnlight King said with a friendly and polite smile. "I'm the Dawnlight King, but you can call me Amarius. I'm not someone for etiquette."
"Hello, what do you want?" Shang asked.
Amarius' smile stiffened a bit.
It's been a while since someone had talked to him like that.
"I've heard that there has been a conflict between you and Thunder Maruan Depthwalk. She was the one that ordered for you to be brought back to the frontlines."
Shang nodded. "Yes, I want her and the Mage Lord dead."
"I know where you're coming from," Amarius said. ""You've been isolated deep in enemy territory for a thousand years, and you singlehandedly made it possible for the Lightning Manor to stage a comeback. You have contributed many times more than anyone else in the entire Lightning Manor, including the Mage Kings themselves."
"And then, when you finally returned after a thousand years, instead of receiving a warm welcome or just a thank you, someone representing the upper echelon of the Lightning Manor wanted to force you back into risking your life like you were some worthless prisoner."
"Naturally, something like that is in severe conflict with the Lightning Manor's philosophy and ideology. After extensive review, we have decided to do to her what she wanted to do to you."
"She didn't take your contributions into account. So, we decided to confiscate all the Contribution Points she had earned since the war started. On top of that, we have forced her to fight five battles in the Zone for Mage Lords."
"She regrets her actions deeply, and she has apologized several times. She is also willing to come personally to you and apologize again."
"As for the Mage Lord, he didn't even know about your identity. The Thunder didn't inform him about it, and after he heard who you were, he was actually the first person that filed a complaint. He felts horrible after he heard about your identity, and he assured us that he would have refused the order if he had known who you were beforehand."
"Additionally, he was imperative in our investigation into Maruan Depthwalk's life and work history, which uncovered many more things that she has to answer for. He is also willing to apologize for what he has done, and he still feels horrible for almost sending the Ancestral Hero back into battle."
"As I have come to know, when the Mage Lord appeared, he didn't even touch you, and you two only talked for a couple of seconds, at most. After that, you continued towards your destination."
"I understand that you want to hurt them for what they have done to you, but we have to keep in mind that they have only attempted to do something without succeeding, and even if they had succeeded, you would have only been transported to the frontlines, where another Thunder would have quickly noticed what happened, and you would have been on your merry way then anyway."
"Yes, the intention behind the actions was shameful, but the act itself has never succeeded and didn't impact you in any way. Moreover, Maruan Depthwalk has lost a thousand years of hard work and resources for her actions."
"We value you very highly, Shang, and I hope you can see our care for you in the way we have punished Maruan Depthwalk."
"I hope this is to your satisfaction," Amarius said with a friendly smile.
Shang remained silent for a second.
His Aura didn't change.
"I want them dead."
"Both of them."
Silence.
Amarius took a deep breath. "Shang, we can't just kill someone like that. We understand that Maruan has acted incorrectly, but she has already paid dearly for her actions. Additionally, she is a Peak Mage Lord with a fourfold Spirit Sense that has faithfully served the Lightning Manor for over 15,000 years. We can't kill her just because of that."
"On top of that, the other Mage Lord didn't even know about your identity. He told me personally that he would never have done anything like that if he had known about your identity, and I can assure you that his statement rings true with the truth of the world. He definitely didn't lie."
"All fault lies with Maruan Depthwalk, and she has already been severely punished."
"The punishment has already been handed out, and we can't just rescind the punishment and give out a new one. The Lightning Manor values justice and fairness above everything,"
Amarius said.
Silence.
"I don't care," Shang said.
"I want them dead."
"Kill them."
"As long as they are still alive, I won't join the war."
"And as for the negotiation with the Land and Sky Empire, that is also not my problem."
"I gave you my Contribution Points. You give me my reward."
"I have not received my reward."
"I want my reward."
"That's all."
BANG!
And the entrance to Shang's Isolation Chamber closed.
Amarius took a very deep breath.
