After entering the training room, Shang walked over to the middle.
He specifically chose Room One due to its size. The other rooms were only about two meters wide, just enough for a Mage to meditate.
Surprisingly, many Mages preferred meditating in a smaller room since it was easier and cheaper to increase the density of Mana in the atmosphere.
Room One was bigger at around five meters wide and high, and it was designed to test Spells.
Of course, the Mages that actually tested their Spells in this room had to be careful since their Spells would damage more than just an area of five meters.
But that's what Mana Shield was there for.
As a warrior, Shang needed a lot of room to train since he would be swinging his sword around.
Luckily, he had comprehended his Saber State's Impose after comprehending his Great Sword State's Impose, which meant that he didn't need to train in them anymore.
And since Shang had joined the Temple of Blood when he had already reached the Mid True Path Stage, he hadn't needed to show his Ice and Fire Affinities.
Shang had already heard of the Child of Calamity more than once in the other branch, which meant that the existence of the Child of Calamity was not a secret. Sure, the weaker people didn't know about it, but High Mages and above knew about it.
Shang could theoretically still use his Ice and Fire Affinities, but he would need to act like they are weaker than his Twilight Affinity. It was not uncommon to comprehend Concepts outside one's Affinity, but due to the difficulty of comprehending Concepts one didn't have an Affinity for, Shang couldn't show his full power with his Ice and Fire Affinity while masking himself as someone with a Twilight Affinity.
Of course, he preferred only using light and darkness, just to be safe.
Shang summoned the bottle he had gotten from the Keeper and took out the pill.
This tiny pill was worth ten Grade Six Mana Crystals.
For the past 40 years, Shang had been trying to find a way to fuse his four Imposes.
He had been consuming so many resources, and he had also fought three Mid Archmages before.
These fights had been extremely deadly and dangerous, but Shang had needed inspiration.
Yet, even with 40 years, three extremely dangerous fights, and a mountain of resources, Shang still hadn't comprehended the fusion.
Shang knew that he was extremely experienced. After all, he had comprehended the very thing the warriors needed to reach the Fifth Realm four times already.
Additionally, he had thrown everything at comprehending this fusion.
But he still hadn't been able to comprehend it.
This meant that Shang was trying to comprehend something that was insanely difficult to comprehend for his level.
Shang's fears from when he had just been 80 years old had proven to be true.
Back then, he had feared that his longevity might not be enough to reach the Fifth Realm, which was why he had thrown his everything toward training.
And he was right.
Shang had left Area 23 a little over 150 years ago, which meant he was around 310 years old right now.
When compared to someone from Earth, Shang would be in his late sixties right now.
He already counted as an old person.
Most Archmages reached their level in their 200s. There were still some that managed to reach the Archmage Realm in their 300s, but they were more in the minority.
There was a certain barrier of mindset stopping people.
People that were willing to put their everything into power would easily comprehend a Level Two Concept in their 200s, 300 if the person were especially dumb.
If someone hadn't reached the Fifth Realm before reaching 300 years, they would be viewed as a slacker.
For example, the oldest Named Agent in this branch was 370 years old, but they were already a Late Archmage. They had reached the Initial Archmage Realm when they were just 220 years old.
As for the person that took the longest to reach the Fifth Realm in this branch…
That was Shang.
In fact, Shang was the fourth oldest person in this branch while having the lowest level.
But he was the most hardworking, and he definitely wasn't untalented.
Comprehending the fusion was just that difficult.
Shang readied himself mentally for consuming the Mind Flow Pellet.
A Mind Flow Pellet was a kind of medicine that sped up someone's thinking process while weakening focus and concentration.
In essence, this meant that the mind of the person would be more likely to experiment with new things while also thinking way faster than normal.
Mind Flow Pellets were often used as substitutes for gaining inspiration by fighting a dangerous battle.
However, Mind Flow Pellets were quite expensive.
A Grade Six Mind Flow Pellet was designed to be used by someone in the Ancestral Mage Realm.
Of course, ten Grade Six Mana Crystals for such a person wasn't that much, but one had to remember one thing.
A Mind Flow Pellet only worked for five hours.
Five hours after consuming it, the mind of the person would return to normal.
So, if someone wanted to make a lot of use of their altered state of mind, they would need to purchase them in bulk.
Sadly, Shang could only afford one.
This wasn't the first time Shang had consumed a Mind Flow Pellet, and that was also the reason why the Keeper had looked at him that way when he told her that he wanted more of them.
Shang had consumed over 2,000 Mind Flow Pellets in the last 40 years, but they had been Grade Five ones.
Shang had consumed over 80% of the Mind Flow Pellets that the entire branch consumed.
No one was using that many of them.
By now, the Keeper suspected that the Mind Flow Pellets wouldn't help Shang anymore.
However, Shang purchased a Grade Six Mind Flow Pellet today, which was worth as much as 1,000 Grade Five Mind Flow Pellets.
With the added strength of the Grade Six Mind Flow Pellet, Shang hoped that he could finally comprehend the fusion of his Imposes.
Shang took a deep breath.
And then, he consumed the Mind Flow Pellet.
