The little True Mage was a bit confused.
She didn't know a lot about the Town Lord. Sure, the Town Lord had basically been a god to her a couple of weeks ago, but the person that had come to take her to the Twilight Dusk Family said that the Town Lord was weak and couldn't compare to the Twilight Dusk Family.
But now, that Ancestral Mage asked the Town Lord why he hadn't joined?
"I didn't notice it previously," the Ancestral Mage said, "but you also have a Twilight Affinity. However, you are not a weak person, and you definitely already know about the Twilight Dusk Family. So, why didn't you join?"
"Because I'm not a Mage," Shang answered evenly.
Silence.
The young Mage only looked at the Ancestral Mage in confusion.
Why was the Ancestral Mage so quiet, and why had her eyes widened?
Hadn't she ever seen a warrior before?
"What?" the Ancestral Mage asked after several seconds.
"I'm not a Mage," Shang repeated. "I'm a warrior."
"A warrior?" the Ancestral Mage said. "You mean like these weak mortals that fight with swords and spears?"
"Correct," Shang answered.
"But you're…" the Ancestral Mage said before trailing off as she focused on Shang. "You're too strong for someone that isn't a Mage. Secondary Paths don't become that powerful."
"I'm the only one of my kind as far as I know," Shang said.
This surprised the young Mage, and she looked at Shang in a new light.
Didn't that mean that the Town Lord was the strongest warrior in the world?
The Ancestral Mage furrowed her brows and fell into thought.
"I still think that you can join the Twilight Dusk Family. I can feel that your Battle-Strength is quite high," she said.
"You mean join as a Night Soldier, right?" Shang asked.
The Ancestral Mage nodded.
"I've seen a Night Soldier that worked for a Dawn Seedling. I would rather not join the Twilight Dusk Family as a Night Soldier," Shang said.
The Ancestral Mage narrowed her eyes a bit.
She was a Night Soldier, a position she was very proud of. After all, she was part of an Empire!
Yet, as she thought of some of her experiences, she could understand Shang's reason.
However, she still believed that the opportunities and payment were worth the hassle.
"I understand," the Ancestral Mage said before turning around. "I'm going to leave now. I wish you success in creating a new Path. It would be interesting to see something other than just Mages everywhere."
Shang nodded. "Farewell."
The Ancestral Mage left together with the young Mage and her companions.
A warrior in the Late Fifth Realm was unprecedented in the world, but to the Twilight Dusk Family, it was just an oddity.
It was like finding a differently colored lobster for them. It was amusing and interesting, but that was it.
Everything returned to normal for Shang, and time continued to pass.
20 years later, Shang reached the Peak Fusion Realm, and this would be the last breakthrough for a very long time.
His mind was now at its highest potential, and Shang needed to focus on comprehending all the key elements for reaching the Sixth Realm now.
At this moment, Shang was around 590 years old, and he had been in the Fusion Realm for a bit more than 250 years.
Shang's speed of comprehending the Concept of Subtraction increased, but he knew that he still had a long way ahead of him.
The Concept of Subtraction felt much more complicated than the Concept of Addition, but that was actually only an illusion. After all, Shang also had to comprehend the combination of Addition and Subtraction.
Sadly, even though Shang had an amazing place to comprehend the Concept of Subtraction and expensive resources, he simply wasn't a Mage.
Comprehending such a difficult Concept wasn't easy for a Mage, and Shang wasn't even one.
Shang could only continue comprehending.
30 years later, another monumental incident took place.
The first Impose Stage warrior appeared in Icy Bastion.
It was one of Shang's Disciples, a smaller man with white hair and a spear.
This had been one of the more hardworking Disciples, and his goal was to travel the outside world without help.
Quite a few people had this dream.
Going wherever one wanted, whenever one wanted.
Just leaving the town and going into the wilderness without fear.
This was one of the greatest achievements known to man since one needed to be an Early or Mid Ancestral Mage at least.
But compared to Shang, this Disciple of his was still quite social, and he enjoyed talking with other people.
The Disciple thanked Shang profusely for all of his teachings, without which he would have never reached the Impose Stage.
He asked how he could repay his Master for everything he had done for him, and Shang told him what he could do.
Teach more True Path Stage warriors to reach the Impose Stage.
The Disciple was quite shocked.
He had expected his Master to have some ulterior motive for raising warriors. After all, he always acted like he hated interacting with them.
Yet, just when one of his students reached the same level as him, he only asked for that person to selflessly pass their knowledge onto the next generation?
Was his Master truly so altruistic and noble?
He didn't seem like it, but what other reason could his Master possibly have?
"I will do so, Master!" the Disciple shouted with deep respect.
From that day on, Icy Bastion received a teacher in the Impose Realm, and Shang stopped teaching.
Ten years later, another Impose Stage warrior appeared, who was quickly drawn in by the Temple of Blood.
The Temple of Blood was willing to grant the warrior ridiculously good payment so that he taught the True Path Stage warriors in the Temple of Blood.
Another ten years later, a third Impose Stage warrior appeared, and by the looks of things, it would only become faster.
By now, Icy Bastion had over 400 True Path Stage warriors, and the mortal district was now nearly three kilometers wide.
Icy Bastion was doing its job.
Shang had arrived here over two centuries ago, and now, his town was finally producing Impose Stage warriors.
And then, finally, ten years later, it was time.
Shang had finally comprehended the Concept of Subtraction!
