Sword God in a World of Magic

"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.

than Duma in stature, and Shang's frame was also not nearly as broadly muscles as

his Master felt

all you're good for?" Shang asked after a while. "Following orders?

say anything for a

a couple of seconds. "Not everyone can be like

Shang didn't answer.

your Impose without any guidance. That requires tremendous confidence and

said as he looked at the ground, "I don't

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

to spend centuries to refine my power just to find

Colossal Sword Path seems

copying a bit from someone else? Isn't that what everyone is essentially doing? After all, we

say anything

"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

said as he slowly raised his eyes to look at Shang,

Silence.

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

could earn enough to live in a castle with my family. I would have enough money to give my children

even have enough money to travel to different towns and

Just the Fifth Realm is enough for me," Duma

say anything for several

"Fine," Shang said coldly.

SHING!

Shang summoned a thick

at the cover and saw the

SHING!

additional thick books and also threw them

five books were introductions to a beast's and a warrior's

create an aggressive Impose for your shield, you have to change your Mana Pathways. You created a defensive Path for your shield, and

all of these books. Learn the Spell. Get

that, you only have to follow the sounds of the Adamantite Branch Seeds, and you will eventually

need 100 to

and surprise at all the books he had

very roundabout and difficult way, making it seem like creating an Impose was next to

and he said that

such a glaring difference between the two ways his Master had taught