"Finally done!" Shang said out loud as he fell onto his back.
'That took sooo loooong!' he thought as his mind relaxed for the first time in a very long while.
However, Shang also just couldn't stop looking at his finished work.
An intricate but very logical network of interconnected Mana pathways was now inside his body.
In comparison to the chaotic growth of natural Mana pathways, the new ones were very straight and very orderly.
Comparing the natural Mana pathways with the new ones would be like comparing the root network of a tree with a plumbing network.
One was obviously much easier to understand and orderly than the other.
Additionally, the new Mana pathway network was designed to make easy changes in the future. Shang could simply remove one and add one without needing to amend any other Mana pathways.
Of course, the old network of Mana pathways was still inside Shang's body, and he was still using it for anything that wasn't his Great Sword State.
Sadly, needing to keep both networks active at all times had weakened Shang's reserves considerably.
Just like he had predicted, Shang now only had about 50% of his earlier power.
But that didn't mean that he was weaker from a Battle-Strength perspective.
While his entire body moved slower and hit lighter, Shang's ability to accelerate and adapt to any kind of movement was insane.
Some of Shang's movements had become so bizarre that one would even think that some fundamental laws of physics just didn't apply to him.
For example, Shang could swing with all his power to his right, but in the middle of the swing, his sword suddenly moved in the opposite direction at the same speed.
It was like inertia straight up didn't exist.
The way this worked was actually the sudden explosion of Mana.
If one imagined Shang swinging at an explosive, one wouldn't be surprised when Shang's sword suddenly shot in the opposite direction after detonating the explosive.
But if one imagined the same movement without the explosive, it would seem very unnatural.
That was because the explosive force was inside Shang's arm and invisible to the eye.
Even more, since Shang's muscles didn't need to sacrifice their own power in order to achieve the density of Mana necessary to perform a powerful attack, Shang's acceleration was also insanely fast.
While the top speed of Shang's attacks was slower than before, his attacks reached their top speed multiple times faster than before.
As an example, a space rocket was faster than a bullet. If the rocket had to accelerate from zero, it would take a couple of seconds to travel a kilometer.
A bullet wouldn't need that long.
But if the race went on for a thousand kilometers, and even if the bullet could travel that far, the bullet would lose the race with a tremendous gap.
The space rocket was Shang's old framework, while the bullet was his new one.
It wasn't weaker or better.
It was just different.
But the important part was that this different aspect would only be like this for a limited time frame.
Eventually, when Shang reached the Fifth Realm, he would get rid of all the disadvantages of both frameworks and keep the advantages of both.
But until then, Shang would need to fight with his current framework.
After a while of admiring his new Mana pathway framework, Shang stood up and concentrated on the final step.
'Now, I need to comprehend the very thing I stopped myself from comprehending earlier.'
Shang grabbed Sword and performed a couple of practice swings.
As he used his new Mana pathways, he felt the swings become as easy as never before.
There were no awkward movements.
It was like his body had specifically been created to perform these movements.
It was like he was born to attack like this.
Swinging his sword had never felt so good before.
It was almost magical.
It was almost like his sword was part of his body.
Shang had expected to be out of practice after not fighting for so long, but he had been completely mistaken.
In fact, it would be hard for Shang not to perform his attacks perfectly.
While he had to actively concentrate on performing his attacks perfectly before, the attacks now launched perfectly on their own.
Shang only had to swing his sword in the most comfortable way, and that way was always the perfect way.
It was like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle clicking together.
It was like a square going in a square hole.
It was like a bottle cap going onto a bottle.
It just fit perfectly.
The attacks and Shang's body were made for each other.
For the first time in a long while, the feeling of perfection returned to Shang.
Shang had felt that feeling when he had completed his True Path many years ago, and now he was feeling the same feeling again.
It was just perfect.
'It's so easy,' Shang thought as his sword moved almost on its own.
In fact, since Shang's body was now weaker, his already heavy Great Sword should actually be even harder to swing.
However, it simply wasn't.
In fact, it was very easy to swing.
Even more, Shang's body actually wasn't as slow as he had predicted.
Actually, was it even faster?
But that shouldn't be possible, right?
His body was supposed to be weaker, and it definitely was weaker.
So, how could his attack be even faster?
As Shang continued swinging his sword in a trance of wonder, the world around him seemed to transform.
Shang slowly began to feel a certain aura appear in his surroundings.
It felt like… himself?
Yeah, it did.
As Shang swung his sword again, he felt his surroundings move with it.
After a couple more swings, Shang's right eye widened.
'I get it!'
Then, Shang stopped.
For a while, Shang closed his right eye and gathered his thoughts.
He had comprehended it.
He finally had comprehended the very thing a normal warrior would need to reach the Fifth Realm.
And with that comprehension also came the knowledge as to why his attacks were so fast.
If one considered comprehending a True Path as a level one Concept, comprehending this thing that warriors needed to reach the Fifth Realm would be considered a level two Concept.
A Peak High Mage that knew a level two Concept was far more powerful than a Peak High Mage that only knew a level one Concept.
And the same thing was true in Shang's case.
'Perfecting my techniques represents perfecting its existence,' Shang thought.
Shang's left hand let go of his Great Sword, which was unusual.
Shang always used two hands in his Great Sword State.
Shang's right eye closed, and he swung forward.
Swinging such a huge sword with only one arm would be awkward and cumbersome for Shang.
However, the world helped push Shang's sword forward.
In the end, Shang completed a smooth strike with only one hand.
'My perfect control over the attack allows me to borrow the power of the Mana in my surroundings.'
'It's like an additional hand pushing on my sword from behind.'
'It can't swing the sword on its own, but it can definitely make it stronger.'
Then, Shang smiled.
'This is it, huh?'
'This is the power of the normal Fifth Realm.'
'Not bad.'
'I don't know if other warriors have already comprehended this thing in my absence, but I think I should still give it a name. Even if it already has one.'
'In a way, I am imposing my will on my surroundings, making my surroundings do my bidding.'
'So, I think I'll call it Impose.'
