Lash quickly explained how he managed to make his body so powerful.
"First, I need the heart of a beast on my level," Lash explained.
Shang lifted an eyebrow, but he noted that everyone else nodded.
Apparently, they also needed that.
"After getting the heart, I have to sit down and exhaust myself," Lash said.
At that point, some of the barbarians furrowed their brows.
'Interesting. That part seems to be a bit different from what most barbarians do, but that's understandable. After all, Lash's body is more powerful than the average barbarian on his level, which means that his technique is probably different.'
"Can you show us?" Shang asked.
Lash looked at Shang and nodded.
Then, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
He took several deep breaths and exhaled.
At that point, Lash's body began to release steam, and it was becoming warmer.
Most of the other barbarians watched with wonder as Lash's body became red and released steam. They had never seen anything like it before.
After around five minutes, Lash opened his eyes and took a deep breath.
He looked thoroughly exhausted.
The other barbarians had no idea what Lash had done or how he had become exhausted, but Shang saw what it was.
"You are burning the Mana inside your body," Shang said. "Right now, your body has been emptied of Mana."
The barbarians were confused when Shang talked about Mana.
Wasn't that what the Mages used?
How could barbarians have Mana?
Even Lash didn't know what he had been doing. He had simply followed the techniques the Mages had taught him without knowing what it does.
"After that, I consume the heart of the beast," Lash said.
The other barbarians nodded.
"Then, I have to train my body for an hour," Lash continued.
"Please show us," Shang said. "We have to know what you do."
Lash looked at Shang for a bit, but he eventually complied and started to train his body.
Interestingly enough, Lash wasn't doing muscle strengthening but movements akin to yoga. He assumed several positions for a long time while taking deep breaths.
The barbarians watched with interest for the entire hour.
Eventually, Lash finished his performance. "That's it," he said. "After performing the strengthening, I have to wait for one month. The Mages said that if I don't wait for a month, I will be contaminated by the beast I have eaten."
Shang nodded.
'So, there are three parts to his strengthening process. First, he empties his body of Mana. Second, he consumes the heart. Third, he basically does yoga for an hour.'
"Thank you," Shang said before looking at another barbarian. "Now you."
The barbarian frowned but complied. "I have to consume the heart of a beast on my level."
"I don't need to exhaust myself before doing so."
The other barbarians nodded.
Apparently, they also didn't need to exhaust their Mana beforehand.
"After consuming the heart, I have to train with all of my power. It is very exhausting and difficult," the barbarian said.
"Can you demonstrate, please?" Shang asked. "You have seen Lash show his technique, and I also need to see what you have to do."
The barbarian took a deep breath, but he complied.
He stood up and took a deep breath.
And then, he exploded into the distance.
Everyone looked at the barbarian running at his absolutely full speed. They knew about how powerful his body was, and reaching such speed was probably his absolute limit.
It was equivalent to him running for his life.
After some minutes, he ran back to everyone and stopped, his face incredibly red.
Then, he jumped to the ground and violently performed one push-up after the next. He didn't stop until his elbows started to creak.
After that, he performed several more strengthening techniques, and he pushed them all to the limit.
It probably hurt quite a bit.
And after two hours, he collapsed to the ground, not being able to move.
Everyone waited for him to recover.
"That's it," the barbarian said eventually as he slowly returned.
Shang was scratching his chin in thought at the moment.
Then, he looked at the next barbarian. "What about you?"
The barbarian frowned. "I need a heart of a beast, and I have to train with all of my power, just like him," he said, gesturing to the other barbarian.
"Do you do the same exercises?" Shang asked.
"They are similar, but they are not very different," the barbarian said. "The Mages only told me that I have to train as hard as I can. The more pain and exhaustion I feel, the greater the effect."
That made a gleam appear in Shang's eye. "The Mages did not tell you exactly how to move?"
Both barbarians nodded.
Shang looked at Lash. "Did the Mages teach you how to train?"
Lash nodded.
Shang looked back at the barbarian. "And you also don't need to exert yourself before you consume the heart?"
The barbarian nodded.
"Is that everything that's different?" Shang asked.
"No, there's one more thing," the barbarian said.
"I have to wait for two months to consume another heart."
'Interesting,' Shang thought. By now, he had some guesses as to why the techniques differed.
"How much did you have to pay for your technique?" Shang asked.
"I have to serve in the army for five years," the barbarian said.
Shang looked at the other barbarian.
"Five years," he said.
Then, he looked at Lash.
"Fifty years."
The other barbarians were shocked when they heard that.
"You took the second best technique?" one of them asked in shock.
Lash nodded.
At that moment, the barbarians felt a bit guilty.
They had heard how to use this incredibly expensive technique for nothing in return.
"I will repay you in the future," one of the barbarians said to Lash.
"Give the group more strength," Lash said. "Leader Zero said that the strength we bring to the group is more important than our strength."
But the barbarian wasn't sure if he could accept that. He still felt guilty for receiving something so valuable for free.
"I paid twenty years."
Everyone looked over at another barbarian in their group.
From the ones that had left the camp, he was the strongest.
"How do you train?" Shang asked.
"I have to exhaust my body first," he said, glancing at Lash.
"Then, I eat the heart."
After that, the barbarian frowned.
"And I train like the others. The Mages have never taught me how to train precisely."
Now, the picture became clear, and even the barbarians realized what had happened.
The different techniques that the Mages offered to the barbarians for different lengths of servitude were actually the same technique!
They simply didn't teach the barbarians the entire thing!
And with the very steep price for the techniques, no barbarian would want to tell their technique to others. After all, they paid years of their lives for their technique.
Of course, there were still some selfless people out there, and they had no problem teaching their techniques to others.
But if that got out and the Mages heard of it, they would require some payment from whoever had been taught that technique by another barbarian.
When Shang asked everyone to share their techniques, the present barbarians knew what that meant.
If it got out that they learned Lash's technique, they would have to serve longer.
But they had accepted.
"But that isn't the complete technique, right?" Shang asked as he looked at one specific barbarian.
The barbarian nodded. "There is one more expensive one, and it means that you will forever serve the Mages. But if you become strong enough, you can have many wives and children, and you don't need to risk your life. That's why some barbarians choose that technique."
"Our previous leader trains in that technique."
Shang looked at the camp.
"The tall barbarian in the camp?"
The barbarian nodded.
Shang only scratched his chin.
'There should be one more part to that technique, and the barbarian in the camp has to know about it.'
