Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis looked at the three fruits in his hands with intensity. This was a level five Law, his first level five Law!

However, Gravis resisted the urge to swallow them immediately and put them into his Life Ring. There were two things he had to check first, but even that had to wait.

'I'm done with the beast territory for now,' Gravis thought. 'I managed to increase my Will-Aura even more, and I gained these invaluable fruits. Now, it's time to prepare for Siral's tribulation.'

When Gravis thought about Siral's tribulation, his eyes narrowed, and his heart shuddered. 'Five levels above myself. On top of that, this is an Immortal King from the Core Region, which means that they will be very powerful even for their Realm.'

'This reminds me too much of the time when I challenged the middle Heaven. It feels absolutely insane and suicidal to challenge someone that powerful.'

'However, I have to do this. If I want to challenge Arc in the future, I have to get through this. I need to push my strength to its absolute limits if I ever want to fight Arc.'

Gravis knew very well what kind of risk he was taking. Winning against someone five levels above himself seemed impossible, but Gravis had to make the impossible possible.

'Let me return to the human territory first,' Gravis thought as he activated the Life Ring. Gravis currently didn't know where exactly he was, but Siral's location in comparison to his own would help him find the correct direction.

"Siral, go to a safe area without any Cultivators close to the frontline. I'm about to return," Gravis transmitted to his Life Ring.

"Yes, Master," the Life Ring answered.

After that, Gravis came out of the ground and shot towards the west. Apparently, he had traveled to the east in the past 200 years.

It took a couple of days, but Gravis arrived near the border of the beast territory again. Just as before, Gravis entered the ground and went as far down as was possible for him. Then, he traveled towards the northwest.

A couple of hours later, Gravis arrived in front of the gigantic root network again. Gravis had to stop before the root network since it didn't react to him.

"I want to pass," Gravis transmitted to the roots.

A powerful sense locked onto Gravis and inspected him closely.

"Reason?" it asked.

"I want to temper myself against a very powerful human," Gravis said with his Law of Honesty.

The fact that Gravis knew the Law of Honesty made it easier for both of them.

CRRR!

One root shrunk to let Gravis pass, and he continued on his journey without another interruption. The root network didn't even ask Gravis any specifics. In its eyes, Gravis was a beast, and if he wanted to temper himself against a powerful human, so be it. That was better than tempering himself against other beasts.

The root enlarged behind Gravis again, but that didn't matter.

Now, Gravis was below the battlefield of humans and beasts. This was the biggest meat grinder in the world, and Gravis had to remain hidden.

Thus, Gravis' journey continued, and after about a week, Gravis left the battlefield behind. However, this obviously wasn't enough. The military stations of humans would be just above him, and he couldn't surface now. There were probably several Immortal Emperors and Beast Crystals.

Another two weeks of digging passed until Gravis arrived below Siral.

BANG!

Gravis came out of the ground in his human form. Running around as a beast was obviously not a good idea.

"Welcome back, Master," Siral said with a respectful bow.

Gravis only nodded. "It should be around 150 years until your tribulation arrives, correct?" Gravis asked.

"Yes, Master," Siral said. "I can't know the exact date of my tribulation, but it should happen sometime in the next 200 years."

"Alright," Gravis said. "What did you manage to get from all the things I told you to sell."

"I have managed to procure a little bit more than 82 million Immortal Stones," Siral said.

Gravis nodded. "Well done. Hand them over."

SHING! SHING!

Siral immediately built a connection with Gravis' Spirit Space. Normally, no one traded like this since it opened one's Spirit Space to a devastating attack, but Gravis had no reason to fear Siral. After all, Siral was still under the effects of the Life Ring.

The Immortal Stones were quickly put into Gravis' Spirit Space, and Gravis saw his collection of Immortal Stones growing substantially.

Gravis scratched his chin while he looked at his mountain of Immortal Stones. 'I have nearly 200 million Immortal Stones. If I consume all of them, I should be able to become a Mid Major Circulation Immortal King.'

However, Gravis' expression slowly turned into a complex one. 'This is the accumulated wealth of the entire Sect Alliance, a group with over a hundred Immortal Kings. Sure, it is a lot of money, but…'

'I earned far more than that in only a hundred years in the highest world,' Gravis thought with a complex expression. 'Back then, I was an Early Minor Circulation Immortal. Now, I'm an entire Realm higher, but all my combined rewards from all my tempering experiences only amount to this.'

'Even as an Immortal King, this amount of money makes me feel like I'm incredibly rich. However, if I were back in Opposer City, I wouldn't feel like this.'

'Virtualization Arrays for level three Laws cost ten million Immortal Stones for a hundred years. However, I'm obviously not interested in level three Laws anymore.'

'Virtualization Arrays for level four Laws cost a hundred million Immortal Stones for a hundred years. I would barely be able to buy one for 200 years. Then, I would be completely broke.'

'Additionally, 200 years wouldn't be enough. I need 500 years at least for a level four Law. This means that if I want to comprehend a level four Law, I would need to spend at least 500 million Immortal Stones.'

'And level five Laws?' Gravis thought bitterly. 'This is so far above my budget that I don't even need to think about it. Sure enough, Virtualization Arrays are the most luxurious Law Comprehension methods.'

'Only when I am in the real world and realize how hard it is to get resources do I actually realize how insanely expensive Virtualization Arrays are. It's basically unimaginable to earn enough money as an Immortal King here to buy the Virtualization Arrays for Laws that are actually useful to me.'

Gravis sighed. 'Everything would be so much easier if I could just unveil the secrets of World Weapons. Sadly, I'm not powerful enough to defend myself against the greed of others. Additionally, there is a possibility that there are one or more Cultivators in the world that can also create World Weapons. If I unveil the secret, they would feel like they would lose their monopoly.'

'These Cultivators are surely Peak Immortal Emperors.'

Gravis shook his head. 'Stop thinking about this stuff! It's depressing!' Gravis thought. 'I should check the fruits first.'

"Siral," Gravis said. "I will be gone for maybe a couple of hours. Just wait here for my return."

"Yes, Master."

Then, Gravis took out Arc's emblem and broke it.

Was there a better person to ask about these fruits than Arc?