"Well done!" Callen said with a wide and pride-filled smile. "You made tremendous strides, and I think you can manage everything on your own now."
Shang nodded. For once, he was also smiling.
"To think that you managed to master my Spell in only ten weeks. I'm genuinely shocked. Originally, I thought we would be here for ten months to two years," Callen said.
"Thank you, Callen," Shang said.
"This is not thanks to me. This is all you, Shang," Callen said.
Callen had stopped calling Shang Duke Sword a couple of weeks ago when Shang got annoyed by it.
Shang had already given Callen ten True Path Stage beast corpses.
Callen said that they had come to an agreement that he would only get five, but Shang said that he had offered him ten after he had offered five, so it was ten.
Callen felt bad that Shang was giving him so many corpses, but Shang just kept saying that this was the agreement.
Eventually, Shang left.
The past ten weeks had been fun but also stressful for Shang.
He had come to know Callen very well, and they had talked a lot.
Yet, as Shang was flying away from Callen's place, he could only release a sigh.
Once again, he had gotten a taste of the very thing he couldn't have.
'True Mages only live for about 250 years, and Callen will most likely not make it to the High Mage Realm. Additionally, he's already quite old. I think he's already over 180 years old.'
'In less than 70 years, he will die.'
'And I will still be training.'
'It's sad to think that I will never see Callen again, but that is the price of choosing such a Path.'
Shang hated these moments the most.
Yet, he didn't regret his choice.
If he ever wanted to have a shot at reaching Godhood, he needed to work harder than everyone else and dedicate his entire life to his power.
After a while, Shang took out his Communication Crystal. "What's the status?"
"Not much going on," Jerald answered. "The Magic Purity Kingdom is still consolidating their new lands, and I think they will continue to do so for a couple of months."
"When's the meeting?" Shang asked.
"Six days from now," Jerald answered.
"Alright. I will be there," Shang answered.
"See you there," Jerald said.
Shang put the Communication Crystal away and returned to the Caves in the Storm Eagle Zone.
The meeting between the new and old Assistant Supervisors would be in six days, which meant that the old Assistant Supervisors would leave in a bit more than a month.
Area 23 would be thrown into chaos once again.
Shang was a bit worried about the future, but he also had faith in Jerald.
Jerald was much better at managing a Kingdom and war than him, and Shang knew that.
Shang only needed to attack the targets that Jerald called out, and everything would work out.
When Shang arrived at his usual training spot in the Caves, he took out a couple of the other resources he had gathered about ten weeks ago.
He had only tested the Wind Blade Seed, and he needed to test the other ones.
Over the next six days, Shang mixed and matched the resources in a certain way and even went out to gather additional ones.
During these six days, Shang managed to find just the right balance of resources necessary to increase the efficiency of his training for all of his four States.
The Long Sword State was the simplest since it only needed Wind Blade Seeds.
The Saber State needed a combination of Wind Blade Seeds and Bloodlust Powder.
Bloodlust Powder was the spores of a fungus living in the depths of Zones with a heavy presence of Darkness Mana. It was sort of a stimulant that heightened one's instincts while also increasing their aggression.
A saber was often viewed as a more aggressive version of the versatile longsword, and Shang found out that a more aggressive mindset helped while training in his Saber State.
The Great Sword State needed a combination of Wind Blade Seeds and Icy Death Crystals.
Icy Death Crystals were found in Zones with a lot of Ice Mana. While the Bloodlust Powder evoked explosive rage, Icy Death Crystals evoked a cold feeling of hatred.
Explosive rage could increase someone's power since it could unlock a bit of the hidden power in one's body. Sadly, one wouldn't have as much control over their power in this state.
On the other hand, cold hatred strengthened someone's willpower while fighting the very person they hated. Everything around them would vanish, only leaving the target in their mind, and their mind would dedicate all its resources to killing that target. This would increase control over one's power.
The Colossal Sword State needed, yet again, Wind Blade Seeds and Iron Wall Stalk.
Iron Wall Stalks were tall plants living in Zones with heavy Metal Mana presence. It evoked a certain feeling of standing one's ground and never giving up, no matter how strong the enemy appeared.
These combinations worked best for Shang, and he was looking forward to trying them out.
Now, Shang was completely prepared for his long session of training.
He knew his path forward.
He knew what resources he needed to consume.
He knew what he had to train.
He knew how he had to train.
He knew a Spell that could change his Mana pathways permanently.
Everything was prepared and ready, and now, Shang only needed to put it into practice.
Three months ago, Shang had had no idea how he could even possibly come up with a way to reach the Fifth Realm.
Now, Shang had a detailed plan. It might not be certain that he could reach the Fifth Realm, but Shang was sure that he could reach the Peak True Path Stage with a more-than-solid foundation.
But that would have to wait.
It was time for the meeting with the other Assistant Supervisors.
