Not much of note happened for the next several months, and the mortal district was growing at rapid rates.
There were many more people that focused on increasing their power, and even the children started to focus on becoming more powerful.
Almost all of them tried to become Mages, but not everyone had the talent to be accepted into the new Mage Academy in the mortal district.
The people that didn't manage to join the Mage Academy joined the Warrior Academy instead.
Or at least, they wanted to.
Sadly, there were no fitting teachers available for the Warrior Academy since the strongest people in the mortal district were busy hunting and defending everyone.
After watching the mortal district for a couple of months, Shang decided that it was time to officially open the Warrior Academy. The thirst for power had already been deeply implanted in the people.
Shang contacted his general. "I need some people recruited."
"Yes, sir?" the general asked respectfully.
"The mortal district has taken form, and the people want to become warriors. However, they do not have strong warriors."
"I need some Commander Stage warriors from other towns. I am willing to pay for their trip here and pay them handsomely."
The general hesitated for a couple of seconds. "Warriors? Commander Stage?"
Obviously, the general wasn't really familiar with these terms.
Shang did his best not to sigh.
Then, he explained what a warrior was.
The general listened, but he was still confused and concerned. "Sir, don't take my words as disrespect, but I don't understand why you would want to create warriors. Aren't Mages just strictly better?"
"As of now, yes," Shang said. "However, we need to look into the future. You know that I am not a Mage but a warrior, and I am probably the first and only warrior of the Fifth Realm."
"Of course, Mages can travel far further on the path to power, but how many can actually pull that off? How many people would be happy with reaching the Fifth Realm?"
"Even if the warriors never reached the Sixth Realm, we would still gain several more warriors of the Fifth Realm."
"Tell me, if we could double the number of Archmages, how great would that be?"
The general thought about Shang's words for a while.
Sure, warriors didn't have the talent of Mages, but reaching the Fifth Realm was already more than impressive. After all, the general was still at the Peak High Mage Realm.
"I understand, sir," the general said. "I will ask some people from other towns and cities."
"Thanks," Shang said before cutting the connection.
Shang had to wait for a couple of days for feedback, but eventually, the general contacted him again.
"Sir, one of the major cities has a flourishing mortal district, and they have several of these Commander Stage warriors," the general transmitted.
"What's the price?" Shang asked.
"One of the Ancestral Mages is willing to be the escort for the trip for five Grade Six Mana Crystals."
Shang snorted. "Five Grade Six Mana Crystals for an afternoon of work. That's good money."
"Fine," Shang said. "I want 50 Commander Stage warriors, and I am willing to give every single one of them ten Grade Four Mana Crystals when they decide to move here. They are also allowed to bring their families with them."
"Yes, sir," the general answered.
The general contacted the Ancestral Mage again, and the two of them planned everything out.
And three days later, they arrived.
An Ancestral Mage flew rapidly towards the town while a huge plate of metal with people on it followed him.
There were probably nearly 300 people there.
Shang welcomed the Ancestral Mage and paid him.
The Ancestral Mage put the people down on the ground and left shortly after.
All the people now stood in front of the southern entrance of the town, unsure.
The things they had been promised were too good to be true.
These warriors were extremely powerful for warriors, but when compared to Mages, they were worthless.
A Peak Commander Stage warrior from this group couldn't even win against a Mid True Mage, and they couldn't even win against Late Commander Stage beasts on their own.
As Shang looked at all these warriors, he was reminded of the earliest warriors of Area 23.
They had been just as weak in front of the Mages.
Shang slowly descended in front of them, but he stopped just a couple of meters above the ground since he wanted them to take note of him.
The people all looked up at Shang, but his scary appearance made them nervous.
"My name is Shang Sword, and I am the Town Lord of this town."
"And I am also a warrior."
When the people heard that, it was like their hearts had stopped.
A warrior?
A warrior that could fly?
A warrior Town Lord?
This made no sense!
"Some of you might not believe me, but it is the truth. I came from a distant place to the west, and there, warriors have reached higher levels."
"I do not know what you call the Realm you are currently in. Over there, the First Realm is called the Soldier Stage, the second one the General Stage, and the third one the Commander Stage."
"You all are at the Commander Stage, the Third Realm."
"Far to the west, the warriors have created the Fourth Realm already, the True Path Stage. On top of that, the warriors to the west have found ways to close the gap between them and the Mages."
"Over there, warriors and Mages are about equal in Battle-Strength."
"I have brought all of this knowledge to this place with me, and I intend on increasing the power of the warriors in this place."
"For the past few months, I have worked on the mortal district of this town, and all the people are hungry for power."
"There are two reasons why I have brought you here."
"First, my town doesn't even have a single Commander Stage warrior that can teach the children. I have created a Warrior Academy, but there are no fitting teachers for it."
"Second, some of you might have the willpower and discipline to reach the True Path Stage, and I am willing to help you."
"Any questions?" Shang asked.
The people were still flabbergasted.
Shang had hit them with one impressive revelation after the other.
There were stronger warriors?
Warriors could close the gap between them and Mages?
After a couple of seconds, one of the warriors stepped forward to ask a question.
"Town Lord," he said carefully. "If I may ask, what Realm are you in?"
"I'm at the Fifth Realm," Shang answered. "And as far as I know, I am the only warrior that has managed to reach the Fifth Realm."
"The name of the Fifth Realm is the Impose Stage, and if you manage to reach the True Path Stage, I am willing to teach you how to reach the Impose Stage."
Over the next couple of minutes, the people asked several inconsequential questions like payment, duties, and so on.
Then, one of them asked an interesting question. "Sir, how can we bridge the gap between the Mages and us?"
SHING!
Shang summoned something and showed it to them.
It was a bucket full of pills.
"With this."
