As soon as Shang comprehended the thing connecting his four Imposes, his mind began to clear.
The world around him changed inside his mind, becoming far clearer. It was like he had viewed the world through a dirty window before.
Many more things just came naturally to Shang as he felt the world around him.
In a way, it was like the world was telling these things to Shang.
The four Imposes were just a sign of a far greater and more important ability.
It was Shang's connection with the world!
The four Imposes controlled the world around Shang to aid him, but that was only a small part.
There were many more things that allowed Shang to control the world around him.
For example, his Domain of Entropy.
The four Imposes had been separate at some point, but as Shang had continued training over the past 40 years, they had slowly grown into each other.
One had to remember that if one strung four circles in a row, they still wouldn't form a real line. The gaps between them above and below the middle point would still be there.
So, while Shang had essentially trained towards a faulty goal, his work for the past 40 years definitely hadn't gone to waste.
These gaps had to be closed through more training, and Shang had done exactly that over the past 40 years.
With all four of his Imposes connecting together to create a single connection to the world, Shang felt his control over the world strengthen.
The Mana in his surroundings had never felt so clear before.
Shang calmed down inside and absorbed the dense Mana inside the hut.
WHOOOOM!
But Shang stopped very quickly.
He had felt something very interesting and peculiar.
He had absorbed a lot of Natural Mana just now, but since his Mana reserves had already been full, the Mana left his body very quickly.
However, instead of being released as Natural Mana, the Mana left Shang's body as Light and Darkness Mana.
Shang was quite certain that it would also leave as Fire and Ice Mana if Humanity weren't active.
'I am absorbing Natural Mana and am distributing Elemental Mana.'
'Isn't that exactly what the Zone Beasts were doing in Area 23?'
Shang experimented some more with his new connection with the world, and his suspicion was confirmed.
Shang was doing something very similar, if not identical, to what Zone Beasts had been doing but on a smaller scale due to his lower Realm.
Of course, as a human, Shang could control his connection with the world. The Zone Beasts probably had that ability active all the time since it just felt natural.
'Archbeasts don't have this ability,' Shang thought. 'This means that this ability is only something an Ancestral Beast can unlock.'
'So, that's it, huh? That's the reason why it took so much money, fighting, and training to comprehend everything.'
'I've used the thing necessary to reach the Fifth Realm four times for my minor breakthroughs, and I used the thing necessary to reach the Sixth Realm to reach the Fifth Realm.'
'I skipped an entire Realm.'
'But that's the only way to create a true earth-shattering transformation. If I want to achieve Godhood, I have to do things that are far more difficult than what everyone else sets out to accomplish.'
'For normal warriors, my theorized method of reaching the Fifth Realm can be called the Impose Stage since it relies on comprehending Impose.'
'And the Sixth Realm for normal warriors that I've theorized can be called the World Connection Stage.'
'But that doesn't matter. The warriors are not related to me anymore.'
'I will reach a different Fifth Realm.'
'A far more powerful one.'
'Even though my Imposes have never truly been separate things, a big part of my training had still been about unearthing the hidden connections between them.'
'Additionally, since I am already no longer a warrior but something separate, I will also assume the word Realm instead of Stage for my future levels.'
'Because of that, my Fifth Realm will be the Fusion Realm.'
'The Fusion Realm is something that belongs solely to me. There is no second person that is walking this Path.'
'I am the only one.'
After deciding on the name of his future Realm, Shang decided to experiment with his ability to connect with the world.
Shang released a normal strike.
Then, Shang released a strike while using Impose.
The strike was around three times as powerful as his normal strike at the same speed.
Lastly, Shang willed the world around him to use all of its power in a strike.
SHING!
As soon as Shang willed it, all the Mana inside the little hut entered his sword in an instant. It was almost like the Mana teleported into it.
The entire hut became devoid of Mana in an instant.
Then, Shang slashed forward.
WHOOOOOM!
The air around Shang shook as the slash passed in less than an instant.
When the slash finished, an explosion of Darkness and Light Mana came out of Shang's sword, dispersing into the surroundings.
However, since Darkness and Light Mana were opposites, they very quickly mixed to create Natural Mana again.
The same amount of Mana Shang had absorbed earlier was now released into the surroundings again.
The released Mana didn't have any offensive capabilities, but its previous power couldn't be understated.
When Shang slashed forward with all the Mana inside his sword, it was like all the Mana had split apart into their individual components, and when that happened, an incredible power was unleashed.
And when the Mana left his body, it fused together again.
Even though the amount of energy in the room hadn't lowered, Shang's strike had still been around double as powerful and double as fast as with Impose.
This was the power of Shang's connection with the world.
This was the power of the Fusion Realm.
Of course, Shang hadn't actually reached the Fusion Realm yet. He had just unlocked the door.
Now, he needed to actually step through the door.
"Keeper, I am ready to advance to the Fifth Realm."
