For the first time in five years, Shang's real body moved.
As soon as Shang regained control over his body, he felt many tiny things moving over him.
Insects.
They thought that Shang was a corpse, and they were trying to eat him. However, Shang's body was simply too powerful, making it pointless.
Nevertheless, Shang released his Domain of Entropy for a moment to get rid of them.
Over the five years, Shang's black piece of cloth that covered his left eye socket had deteriorated, gaining several more holes.
Shang's hair reached his butt, but he didn't really care about that.
More concerning was the long, humongous beard adorning his face.
Shang moved his body around, but when he cracked his jaw, some of the hairs on his beard entered, and Shang had to cough several times.
'I hate beards for exactly that reason!'
Shang grabbed Sword and quickly got rid of his beard.
He decided to leave his hair. He never really had such long hair before, and he wanted to try it out before cutting off five years of "work".
As for Shang's facial features and body…
They hadn't changed.
Shang was already an adult, and he could live for over 250 years.
Five years counted as barely more than one year for a normal person.
Nevertheless, he was 27 now.
'This means I have been in this world for around 13 years already.'
'Somehow, it doesn't feel that long.'
'Anyway, I should get a beast heart.'
Shang slowly dug out of the sandy ground and entered the Tide Serpent Zone again.
Five years had passed, but nothing had changed down here.
Just like last time, Shang felt like time didn't exist in this lake.
Nothing in the world mattered down here.
Shang descended for a couple of minutes before he stopped.
Shang furrowed his brows as he felt something peculiar.
'I feel like a beast is very close. I didn't feel any kind of current, but my instincts are telling me that a beast is currently looking at me.'
'That's new.'
Shang only needed a second to make an educated guess as to why he suddenly had that feeling.
'High Mages and True Path Stage warriors can feel their surroundings with their minds. It essentially works like my Darkness Vision, but its effectiveness doesn't depend on the Mana.'
'No matter where they are, they can essentially feel everything in their surroundings.'
'I'm obviously not on that level yet, but the five years of training brought me closer to the True Path Stage. I guess this could be called a Pseudo-Spirit Sense.'
Spirit Sense was the name of the ability to see one's surroundings like that.
Shang closed his right eye and felt his surroundings.
The new sensations were still confusing, but he could tell the general direction of whatever was watching him.
BANG!
Shang released an Ice Blast and shot in that direction.
A moment later, Shang felt foreign currents, and his guess was confirmed.
He could slightly feel living beings around him!
As soon as Shang felt the currents, the location of his opponent was unveiled, and he directly charged to that place.
Suddenly, the currents stopped, and Shang's instincts were telling him that whatever he was chasing was preparing an attack.
In this instant, the image of a spear appeared in his mind.
Shang knew that beasts didn't truly have spears, but he felt like the image of a spear was accurate.
However, this was another new sensation Shang had never felt before.
Nevertheless, he trusted his new perception.
His body moved on its own after so many years of training, and Sword angled in such a way that it redirected the spear in Shang's mind.
CLINK!
Shang felt something hit Sword and getting redirected to his left.
CRRRR!
Sword continued forward, grinding on whatever it was on.
For just a moment, light appeared in the dark water as sparks flew.
CRKSH!
Sword went past the thing it was redirecting and hit something hard but definitely organic.
Shang felt the familiar feeling of his sword cutting through scales, flesh, and bones.
BANG!
Sword easily passed through the entire thing, killing it.
Shang quickly pocketed the corpse, retreated into the ground, and entered his inner world.
Then, he looked at it.
It was a fish with a thick and long horn.
'Initial Commander Stage,' Shang realized.
Shang looked at the horn. 'So, this was the spear in my mind. I think a horn can be compared to a spear.'
'Teacher Mervin's lesson didn't show much effect during my fights with the Mages, but as soon as I fought a beast, I immediately realized that my power has increased by quite a bit.'
'As soon as the fish attacked, it was like Teacher Mervin was mimicking a spear. My body moved on its own, and I perfectly countered the attack.'
Shang's brows furrowed. 'And most shocking of all is that I didn't even see my opponent. I have no form of Mana Vision in this lake, and I can't see anything.'
'My Pseudo-Spirit Sense is also very weak and very vague, but as soon as an attack was launched, I somehow knew what kind of attack the opponent was using.'
'Is it possible that Teacher Mervin specifically trained me to rely on my Pseudo-Spirit Sense?'
Shang thought about this for a while.
'It's possible. Teacher Mervin already has a powerful Path, and he probably already has access to his own Spirit Sense. He has many more years of experience than me, and he has probably already spent years changing his habits. I think he relies more on his Spirit Sense than eyes or Mana Sense.'
For a while, Shang remained silent.
'I really underestimated the amount of knowledge and experience warriors accumulate during the Commander Stage. There is so much more to know.'
Then, Shang went to the corpse and dug out its heart.
He performed the usual routine and strengthened his body.
But when he was done, he noticed something else.
'My body didn't absorb more Mana than the last times, but the remnant will of the beast doesn't feel nearly as powerful as the last times.'
'I don't think that the will has become weaker but that my will has become more powerful. Maybe that has also something to do with my training with Teacher Mervin?'
'As things stand now, I can probably get rid of all the Mana in ten days. Previously, the same task took me about 13 days or so.'
'It actually makes sense. If my will is stronger, it will exhaust the beast's will quicker, allowing me to strengthen my body earlier than usual.'
Shang took a deep breath.
'I've never imagined that these five years of training made so much difference.'
'I have some kind of Pseudo-Spirit Sense.'
'My mind subconsciously produces familiar images when an opponent attacks me.'
'My will has become more powerful, allowing me to strengthen my body quicker.'
'And lastly, I have gotten way better at fighting warriors and beasts.'
'Five years, huh?'
'These five years were definitely worth it!'
Shang looked at his inner world.
'For the foreseeable future, I should get more familiar with my Affinity. The last time my Affinity received any kind of strong boost in power was when I managed to move its core around inside my body.'
'I've neglected training it.'
For now, Shang didn't want to leave the Tide Serpent Zone.
Yes, he was very powerful, but if even one Mid True Mage crossed his path, Shang could very likely die.
This was a perfect time to train in peace.
And after five years, Shang no longer cared about returning to the Skythunder Kingdom quickly.
He might as well stay here until he could attempt the journey back.
Shang sat down and concentrated on his Affinity.
Whenever he could strengthen his body again, he would leave and get another heart.
He remained in this routine for quite a long time.
