Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis had quickly realized all the effects and advantages the new system of longevity would bring and had to agree that he couldn't make a better one himself.

In essence, the gulf between Peak Immortal Emperors and Star Gods was the final and most vicious meatgrinder on the path of reaching supreme power.

According to his estimations, there was probably an insane number of Peak Immortal Emperors, but not many Star Gods. There were probably even huge swathes of land that were simply inhabited by nothing but Peak Immortal Emperors that tried to comprehend a level seven Law.

There might even be Sects fully made of nothing but Peak Immortal Emperors.

One had to realize that Realm was not the only thing that determined one's power in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm.

Due to the power of Laws, the gulfs in terms of Battle-Strength were vast in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm.

New Ascenders generally only knew a single level six Law, but others in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm would already have over ten level six laws.

This might as well count as three levels.

Even more, every single person that managed to reach the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm was insanely talented. On top of that, their desire for power was incomparably strong.

There essentially were no Peak Immortal Emperors that didn't give their all in becoming more powerful. Even the weakest among them worked day in and day out on their power.

Being the weakest among that group of Cultivators didn't mean that they weren't giving their all.

At that point, a significant part of their strength and success hinged on the life they had been living up to that point.

Was their Will-Aura powerful?

How much time had they taken to comprehend new Laws in the past?

What did they prioritize on their path to power?

What kind of person were they?

All the past experiences of one's life determined what kind of person one was now, and it wouldn't be easy to change that mindset at this point.

Everyone had managed to reach the peak of at least one world, and everyone was outstanding in their own right.

The highest world was truly filled with the absolute elite.

It gathered the invincible elites of every world and put them in the same arena.

After thinking all of this, Gravis had to sigh as he looked at his friends.

His friends were outstanding, but were they all outstanding enough to compete with all the other elites of the worlds?

Even more, there were bound to be Cultivators that had been born in the highest world and had risen to power here.

These Cultivators would have been chosen by the powerful Sects and companies of this world, which already knew everything about the meatgrinder just before the Star God Realm.

These disciples would have long been prepared for that.

These disciples probably had even always fully taken advantage of their longevity, comprehending Laws until the very last moment of their longevity before reaching the next Realm.

The Laws of Perceived Reality were no longer a secret in this world, and a lot of Sects had probably even prepared their disciples to comprehend these Laws.

Comprehending the Law of Suppression in the Immortal Emperor Realm was difficult but comprehending it in a lower Realm was easier.

A lot of the Laws of Perceived Reality hinged on the mindset of the Cultivator. Someone that didn't care about freedom very much wouldn't comprehend the Law of Freedom.

The Sects and companies of this world would have chosen disciples based on these criteria.

Could his friends actually win against these disciples?

Some of them, sure, but not all of them.

"Urgh, look at that face," Dorian said with a groan as he saw Gravis looking at them. "Do you think we are children? Do you think we are weak?"

Gravis sighed. "No, you're not weak. It's just that everything surrounding you seems far too powerful."

Dorian snorted. "I think you're overestimating the average power of Peak Immortal Emperors."

Gravis raised an eyebrow as he looked at Dorian. "It sounds like you're underestimating them."

"He's right, Gravis," Styr said as he smiled at Gravis. "I think you are overestimating the average power of Immortal Emperors."

Gravis could accept that Dorian might be underestimating the average power of Cultivators, but he wouldn't believe that Styr would also do that. Styr was too meticulous for that.

"You are overestimating the power of Peak Immortal Emperors," Arc said with a smile.

"You too, Arc?" Gravis asked with surprise.

Arc nodded.

"Your perception of Cultivators has been warped by your surroundings, Gravis," Arc said.

Gravis lifted an eyebrow in a questioning expression.

"Think about the worlds you have been in. The lower world was average. The middle world already belonged to the top 10% of all middle worlds, and the higher world was the most powerful one of all," Arc explained.

"Ever since you reached the Unity Realm, you have been in contact with only the top 10% of all worlds. The level you see as average is already part of the top 10%."

"Do you want to know how warped your perception is?" Arc asked with a smirk.

Gravis only looked at Arc.

"The success rate of Ascenders of my world reaching the Star God Realm is over 95%," Arc said with pride.

This shocked Gravis.

Gravis knew that Arc's world was powerful, but that powerful!?

95%!?

This meant that 19 out of 20 Cultivators ascending from Arc's world were in the top 1% of all Cultivators!?

"But how?" Gravis asked. "There should be a lot of Cultivators from the highest world, and they should be even more powerful."

Arc laughed a bit. "You got things backwards, Gravis. It's exactly because there are so many Cultivators from the highest world that the success rate of my Ascenders is so high."

Gravis was confused for a second.

"Gravis, how many really powerful Sects exist in the highest world? You should know by now that there are far fewer Cultivators at the Star God Realm and higher than you're used to. How many of those create Sects? How many of those can teach disciples? How many of those are willing to teach disciples?"

"The Cultivators you have in mind are the ones being taught by the most powerful Sects of this world. It's true that these Cultivators are probably even superior to my Ascenders, but how many of them are there? They are probably only a bit more than the Ascenders coming from my world, and there are thousands upon thousands of higher worlds, all weaker than my world."

"These powerful Cultivators you're thinking about are less than one in a million," Arc said with a smile. "And what about all the other Cultivators from the highest world? After all, the highest world is about as big as all the other worlds combined. There have to be at least just as many of them as there are Ascenders due to the higher Energy density."

"How powerful are those?"

"Have they gone through several worlds where they had to continually dominate the entire world? Have they ever gone through the experience of being the most powerful being in a world? Have they ever had to violently struggle for the scarce resources in this Energy-filled land?"

Arc's words made Gravis realize that he had truly overestimated the average Cultivator.

These people Arc was referring to wouldn't even be able to ascend from a weaker higher world.

According to that, just being an Ascender already meant that someone was part of the upper 50% of power.

Gravis looked at the smiling faces of his friends again and released a sigh of relief.

Maybe there truly was a chance. After all, none of his friends were simple.

Gravis also remembered their tournament. His daughter, Cera, was a Black Demon and an Ascender. This meant that she was already above average for Ascenders. Yet, she was the weakest amongst everyone.

"Thanks, Arc," Gravis said with relief.

Arc didn't immediately answer.

Instead, his smirk widened even more.

"I wasn't done," Arc said.

Gravis looked at Arc with surprise.

There was even more!?

Arc glanced at the Opposer with a smirk, which surprised Gravis a bit.

The Opposer obviously wasn't the biggest fan of Arc, but Arc still dared to smirk at him.

The Opposer looked at Arc emotionlessly.

'Sure enough, he is just like Gravis in a sense,' the Opposer thought. 'He even rebels against the Old Bastard. It's only natural that he also rebels against me to some extent.'

The Opposer looked to the side.

Everyone present thought that the Opposer simply didn't want to talk to Arc, but Gravis and Mortis saw through their father.

Was this embarrassment!?

The Opposer felt embarrassed!?

'It's my fault anyway,' the Opposer thought.

Arc looked back at Gravis with a smirk.

"Everything I told you would be true under normal circumstances and normal times. However, these are not normal circumstances and normal times, Gravis."

"What do you mean?" Gravis asked.

"What do you think? How many Star Gods are there?" Arc asked with a smirk.

Gravis thought about this for a bit.

Then, his eyes widened as realization struck him.

Hadn't his father killed all the Star Gods!?

Then, Gravis' eyes widened even further.

How long had Gravis been gone?

'Somewhere around 28,000 years in highest world time,' Gravis thought in shock.

'How many Peak Immortal Emperors could reach the Star God Realm in 28,000 years?'

'How much more powerful can a Star God become in only 28,000 years?'

'28,000 years is barely enough for me to comprehend a level six Law, and I'm already very fast in comprehending Laws.'

Now, Gravis knew why his father was embarrassed.

"There are no powerful Star Gods!?" Gravis shouted at Arc.

"There are only weak Star Gods in the first or second level!?"

"Are you telling me that I'm essentially the second most powerful Star God just behind you even though I'm not even one!?"

Arc only smirked.

"Yep!"