It didn't take long for Shang to finish the remaining books. Sure, some of the books took a lot of calculation and brainpower to understand, but Shang still finished them in a couple of years.
A moment later, Shang touched the little pin on his chest and contacted the Lightning Emperor.
The Isolation Barrier didn't interfere with the connection.
"Hey, Shang! What's up?" the Lightning Emperor asked with a chipper voice.
"I'm done with the books," Shang said.
"Oh, cool! Did you like them?" he asked.
"They were very informative. Especially the Watcher's Record," Shang said.
"Yeah, that one's a classic," the Lightning Emperor said.
"What's the Archivist like?" Shang asked.
"The Archivist?" the Lightning Emperor repeated. "He has white hair and wears all these ancient trinkets on his person. He's also incomparably wise, and he has this Aura that makes you think that everything in the world is within his control. Kind of like the ancient head of a big family, you know?"
"He also knows Spells that I don't even know how to create or counter. For example, nobody in the world can make a copy of his book. Any method of trying to copy it fails or produces unreadable and senseless text. Even if you just write down what you've learned from memory, at some point, it starts turning into gibberish."
"The book even updates itself automatically. All of us got one copy each from the Archivist, and the additional sentences after Lucius' ascension appeared on their own in all of our copies. He's crazy powerful!"
"Without Lucius' suppression, and if the Archivist wanted to, he could probably fight all nine of us at the same time and maybe even win!"
Shang listened intently to the Lightning Emperor's words.
"He's that powerful?" he asked.
"Very, very powerful," the Lightning Emperor answered.
"What if King Sanctified Death became a Mage Emperor?" Shang asked.
Silence.
"If the kid manages to reach the Late Mage Emperor Realm, he will probably be just as powerful. If he reaches the Peak Mage Emperor Realm, he will most likely win. King Sanctified Death is as powerful as Lucius, and he doesn't even have access to Anti-Magic," the Lightning Emperor answered.
"Anti-Magic?" Shang asked.
"Lucius could transform his own Mana into Anti-Mana, which canceled out Mana. With that, he could essentially turn whatever attack the enemy launched into nothing. He also had this domain that could transform Elemental Mana in the surroundings into Neutral Mana."
'The Domain of Entropy,' Shang thought.
"That sounds really strong," Shang said. "How much Mana did this domain use?"
"Nothing," the Lightning Emperor answered. '"That's the crazy part."
"Nothing?" Shang asked as his heart rate rose. "But it had to use something, right?"
"It literally didn't," the Lightning Emperor said. "No Mana, no life energy, no Mana from the surroundings, nothing. It was essentially like the passive domain of destruction of the Abominations, but instead of destroying the Mana, it just transformed everything into Neutral Mana."
Shang's mind raced.
This was very different from Shang's Domain of Entropy.
Whenever Shang used his Domain of Entropy, he had to be very careful not to accidentally die since the cost was so high.
But Lucius could just use it passively?
Without using any resources?
"When did he create such a powerful Spell?" Shang asked.
"He's had that Spell forever," the Lightning Emperor answered. "It just wasn't that powerful initially. When he was just a True Mage, he could use it, but it cost a crazy amount of Mana. He only perfected it at the Peak Ancestral Mage Realm."
Shang's mind nearly stopped.
Peak Ancestral Mage Realm?
Shang was currently in that Realm.
Lucius must have had a fivefold or sixfold Spirit Sense, which meant that he had comprehended something above his level.
Since he had been a Mage, Lucius' power came from Concepts.
So, Lucius must have comprehended a level five Concept as a Peak Ancestral Mage, and that level five Concept increased the power of his Domain of Entropy.
Shang was certain.
Lucius had comprehended the very Concept that Shang was attempting to comprehend right now.
"Do you think that was related to the Concept he comprehended before becoming a Mage Lord?" Shang asked.
"Oh, definitely!" the Lightning Emperor answered.
"What Concept did Lucius comprehend before becoming a Mage Lord?" Shang asked.
"Dunno."
Silence.
"You don't know?" Shang asked.
"No," the Lightning Emperor answered. "Back then, the powerful people realized Lucius' potential, and they sent an army of people in the Seventh Realm after us. Luckily, one of the few remaining Mage Kings used an impressive Spell that scattered our group across the entire world."
"After that, we all remained undercover, just increasing our powers in secret. We only met again when we heard that Lucius killed a group of people in the Eighth Realm while only being a Peak Mage Lord himself."
"I asked what Concept he comprehended to break through, and he said that he didn't want to lie to me, which was why he refused to elaborate. He only said that it was dark knowledge that should never enter the hands of anyone else since it would endanger the world."
Shang's frustration rose.
He had been so close!
"What Affinities did Lucius have?" Shang asked.
"He had five! Crazy, right?" the Lightning Emperor said.
"Five?" Shang asked.
"Yep. Fire, Ice, Light, Darkness, and Life."
"That's surprising," Shang said in a carefully controlled voice. "Life is very difficult to comprehend."
"It sure is," the Lightning Emperor said. "I only know the level two Concept of life, but he had already learned that as a High Mage!"
Shang was doing his best not to appear suspicious. "I heard that the level three Concept of Life can cure soul injuries."
"Your eyes?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
"Yes," Shang said. "That's why I'm asking."
"Yep, the Concept of Mutation can essentially regrow a soul, but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. At least, not for a long time," the Lightning Emperor said.
"How come?" Shang asked.
"It's because to use that Concept on someone else requires the person to open their soul to them. So, if you want your eyes back, you would need to open your entire being to someone else, giving them free rein to manipulate your soul and read all your thoughts and memories."
"And you don't seem like someone that likes that."
"Also, all the Mages with Life Affinities are part of the Judgment Palace, and that one Beast King with a Life Affinity belongs to the Land and Sky Empire. Not even I would trust any of them with my soul, and I'm basically the second-strongest, wait, third-strongest man in the world. I forget that God of yours for a second."
"Speaking of," the Lightning Emperor said. "I'm still a bit confused about the way Vana died. I just can't find an answer, and I still don't know how Kali could have possibly done it."
"Now that I remember this God, could it be that this God has actually killed Vana?"
"You met him a couple of times, right?"
"Do you know anything about this, Shang?"
Shang remained silent for a while.
Shang had asked several questions to the Lightning Emperor, and now, the Lightning Emperor had a question for Shang.
