"Is this truly what you want?" Shang asked as he faced his student.
His student was a black-haired man who seemed to be in his thirties, and he was also over two meters tall, which was quite intimidating.
Surprisingly, he didn't have an Affinity.
However, not having an Affinity also increased someone's physical power by a little bit.
"Is fighting this aggressively truly what you wish for?" Shang asked.
The student looked to the ground as he furrowed his brows in thought.
"Do I have a choice?" the student asked.
"Yes, you always have a choice," Shang said. "You can follow whatever Path you want to follow, Duma."
Duma, Shang's student, wasn't quite sure what he should answer. "But what if my Path doesn't lead to an Impose, Master?"
Shang slowly shook his head. "The principle of Impose is to impose your will upon the world around you. The world is not the one that decides what gets an Impose or not. You are the one."
"Duma, you view yourself as a protector, not a killer," Shang said. "You told me that your goal is to protect your loved ones, correct?"
Duma nodded.
"Then, you should follow a Path that shows that. The Path you have established is a Path of the shield, and you broke into the True Path Stage with that. The gladius you use as an actual weapon hasn't received its own Path."
"Yet, as soon as you became my student, you started to emulate my way of fighting. You are using your shield to throw the enemy to the side, to crush them, and to break their balance, but you are not using it to block an attack or push the enemy away."
"Watching me train and fight has given you the illusion that following my Path is the only way to become powerful."
Duma didn't look at Shang's face.
"Is what I have taught you over the last two years worth just this much?" Shang asked in an even voice. "Are you someone that simply follows what others do? Have I not taught you to think and decide for yourself?"
None of the two of them said anything.
At the moment, Duma's imposing figure stood in front of the corpse of an Early True Path Stage corpse, but in front of Shang, he felt tiny.
Shang was quite a bit smaller than Duma in stature, and Shang's frame was also not nearly as broadly muscles as his.
Yet, to Duma, his Master felt like an incomprehensible monster.
"Is this all you're good for?" Shang asked after a while. "Following orders? Imitating others?"
Duma didn't say anything for a while.
"Master," he said after a couple of seconds. "Not everyone can be like you."
Shang didn't answer.
"You had to develop your Impose without any guidance. That requires tremendous confidence and talent."
"Yet," Duma said as he looked at the ground, "I don't have that."
"You are asking me not to blindly follow what you are doing, but just thinking about the possible consequences of making a mistake horrifies me to the core."
"I don't want to spend centuries to refine my power just to find out that my work has been for nothing all along."
"You have established several Imposes, and your Colossal Sword Path seems very fitting to my Path of Shield."
"What is wrong with copying a bit from someone else? Isn't that what everyone is essentially doing? After all, we are all learning from our predecessors," Duma slowly said.
Shang didn't say anything for several seconds.
"Do you know about the consequences of copying someone else's Path?" Shang asked. "Their Path will never be yours, and while you might be able to create a weak Impose with their Path, you will never be above-average in Battle-Strength, and you can forget about reaching the Sixth Realm in your life."
"Master," Duma said as he slowly raised his eyes to look at Shang, "I'm fine with that."
Silence.
"Honestly, I'm okay with that. I don't need to be outstanding on my level. Just reaching the True Path Stage was already like a dream had come true, and with your help, I might even be able to reach the Impose Stage."
"In the Impose Stage, I would count as an elite member in any city. I could earn enough to live in a castle with my family. I would have enough money to give my children the best education and teachers available for money."
"I would even have enough money to travel to different towns and cities. How many people can claim to have that kind of money?"
"Master, I honestly don't care about the Sixth Realm. Just the Fifth Realm is enough for me," Duma said.
Shang didn't say anything for several seconds.
"Fine," Shang said coldly.
SHING!
Then, Shang summoned a thick book and threw it over.
Duma looked at the cover and saw the words Mana Pathway Rearrangement Spell.
SHING!
Shang summoned five additional thick books and also threw them over.
These five books were introductions to a beast's and a warrior's Mana Pathways.
"If you want to actually create an aggressive Impose for your shield, you have to change your Mana Pathways. You created a defensive Path for your shield, and the world has created Mana Pathways that fit your Path."
"Read all of these books. Learn the Spell. Get more Adamantite Branch Seeds."
"After that, you only have to follow the sounds of the Adamantite Branch Seeds, and you will eventually create your Impose."
"But you might need 100 to 200 years."
Duma looked with shock and surprise at all the books he had received.
His Master had always taught him in a very roundabout and difficult way, making it seem like creating an Impose was next to impossible.
But now, his Master had handed him some things, and he said that reaching the Impose Stage would be easy?
However, Duma realized why there was such a glaring difference between the two ways his Master had taught him.
The first way of teaching was to improve Duma's creativity, confidence, and fundamental knowledge about power.
The new one was just his Master telling him to learn stuff until he knew it by heart.
One favored understanding.
The other favored just random information.
Both ways would lead to the same location, but only by treading the first way would the traveler truly know why and how they had arrived at their goal.
When Duma realized this, he wasn't discouraged in any way.
This was exactly what he wanted.
In fact, he was happy that he didn't need to risk his life for comprehension anymore.
He could simply learn, train in peace, and reach his goal.
"Thank you, Master," Duma said.
Shang didn't immediately answer, but his head faced Duma.
"From this day on, our Master and Disciple relationship ends," Shang said.
Duma froze.
"I have no desire to teach someone that is willing to waste their life on family, friends, status, and money," Shang said emotionlessly.
"You may join the Warrior Academy again, the town guards, or the Adventurer's Guild if you need money or resources."
"You are on your own now."
And then, Shang took to the sky and flew away.
For a very long time, Duma only looked at the ground with a crestfallen expression.
These words had hurt him deeply.
Was it wrong of him to choose his family?
He wasn't sure anymore.
