For a couple of years, Shang worked on refining his Battle Style with the Concept of Temperatures, but it didn't take that long.
With the Concept of Temperatures comprehended, Shang now had to focus on the mysterious level five Concept of Entropy.
And for that, he needed to know a couple of methods that would help him.
So, Shang contacted the Custodian.
"Good evening, Shang. Is there something you need?" the Custodian asked.
"I want to request books from the Ancestor," he said.
"You can ask Sarah when she's your teacher to do that for you," the Custodian answered.
"I don't and won't have another teacher," Shang said.
Silence.
"That is your choice," the Custodian said. "However, I can't trouble the Ancestor right now. He is very busy with something."
"I can assure you," Shang said, "the Ancestor would want you to trouble him for this."
Far away, the Custodian looked with narrowed eyes at his Transmission Medal, but his tone remained professional. "I've worked under the Ancestor for tens of thousands of years. I am going to trust my judgment on this."
"Fine," Shang said. "How about this? If the Ancestor shows any sign of annoyance regarding your disturbance, I will fight on the frontlines for a century and will follow the Starlight Queen's orders."
This immediately piqued the Custodian's interest.
For a moment, he weighed the two options.
He really didn't want to disturb the Ancestor, but if they didn't do something about the southeastern front, he would have to disturb the Ancestor regardless.
"Will you keep your word?" the Custodian asked.
"As long as you are honest in this matter, yes," Shang said.
The Custodian furrowed his brows. He really wasn't a fan of Shang insinuating that he would lie in this regard.
"I will," the Custodian said. "I am going to contact the Ancestor right now. Please wait for my call."
After that, the connection was cut.
Shang just waited outside his Isolation Barrier.
And a minute later...
WHOOOM!
Suddenly, a portal opened in front of Shang, who simply flew through it.
At the side, Linay's eyes widened in unbelievable shock.
She had just seen the other side of the portal.
The Lightning Emperor!
That had been the Lightning Emperor!
Meanwhile, in the Lightning Emperor's personal study, the Lightning Emperor looked at Shang with a warm smile.
"Shang, Wester told me you needed something," the Lightning Emperor said.
Shang could see the Custodian behind him, but Shang was acting like he wasn't there.
"Yes," Shang said.
Then, he explained to the Lightning Emperor how he had reached his current level and what he was planning on doing to reach the Seventh Realm with a sixfold Spirit Sense.
"You want to comprehend a level five Concept?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
Shang nodded.
The Lightning Emperor hummed a bit.
The next moment, over 5,000 books floated out from the huge bookshelves and stopped in front of Shang.
"This should cover everything you need to know," the Lightning Emperor said. "A lot of the things in there are repeated in several books. If you want to know everything, you should read all of them, but if you are fine with 80%, reading half of them would be enough."
Shang nodded and put the books away. "Thanks," he said.
"Oh, one more thing!" the Lightning Emperor said.
The next moment, the Lightning Emperor took out an identical pin to the one Shang had worn while watching the Hadean King.
"If you need anything, just use that. It works like a Communication Crystal, but only for us two. Although, keep in mind that I'm currently quite busy with the entire contract thing," he said.
Near the entrance of the study, the Custodian looked with shock at the Lightning Emperor.
The Custodian also had such a pin, but he had been the only one.
Shang now also had one?
The Custodian didn't let anything show on his face, but his wariness of Shang increased even more.
After Shang's private meeting with the Ancestor back then, the Custodian noticed that the Ancestor had changed.
He seemed chipper and more excited, but he also treated the Lightning Manor with less importance.
Additionally, while the Ancestor's assault on the Judgment Palace made sense, it was very suspicious that the Ancestor thought about Shang when negotiating with the other Mage Emperors.
While the Ancestor had always treated the Lightning Manor as the most important thing, he rarely thought about single individuals.
The Custodian knew that the Ancestor would have never thought about one of his Mage Kings while attacking the Judgment Palace.
And yet, while he was opposing all the other Mage Emperors, the Ancestor had negotiated something that was obviously intended to help Shang.
Lastly, when the Custodian had told the Ancestor about Shang earlier, the Ancestor didn't seem bothered in any way. He even smiled with a bit of excitement or happiness.
The Custodian wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but he was certain that something must have happened in the meeting between the two.
But what?
What could a warrior in such a low Realm possibly have or do to influence such an ancient being to such a degree?
The Ancestor was friendly to everyone, but he also kept everyone at a distance.
He also didn't have a family.
And yet, the Ancestor acted like Shang was a close friend to him.
This was not normal.
Something was going on.
The Custodian still remembered the Ancestor's evaluation when he had first inspected Shang with his Spirit Sense.
Back then, the Ancestor said that Shang was very similar to King Sanctified Death, and the Custodian knew very well what the Ancestor thought of King Sanctified Death.
The Ancestor definitely hadn't been a fan of Shang.
But as soon as they met, everything changed.
The Custodian kept watching the interaction between the Ancestor and Shang until Shang left.
Based on the Ancestor's past evaluation of Shang, whatever was going on couldn't be anything good.
However, he also couldn't think of any way that someone like Shang could influence someone like the Ancestor.
This entire situation was confusing.
The Custodian didn't like it.
He didn't like it at all.
