Lightning Is the Only Way

The Heaven's Trial was over, and Gravis and Mortis had transformed.

Their power was incomparable to before, and even more, Mortis had transformed. Initially, one wouldn't directly notice that Mortis had changed, but if someone knew him very well, they would notice it.

Mortis had become secure in his life and identity.

The Opposer brought them to his home, and they arrived in his room.

As soon as they arrived, the Economistress came to the room with an excited smile.

"You're back!" she shouted with excitement.

"Hey, mom," Gravis and Mortis said simultaneously.

The Economistress looked at Gravis for a second but then focused on Mortis.

"Oh!"

PACK!

Mortis was immediately pulled into a hug by his mother.

"Oh, my boy has finally become an adult! I'm so proud!" she exclaimed with happiness.

For a bit, Mortis felt awkward, but he realized that there was no reason to feel awkward.

So, Mortis returned the embrace and let out a slight smile.

"Yes, I know what I want now," he said.

After that, the Economistress bombarded the two of them with questions about how the Heaven's Trial had been. She tried to keep it hidden, but she had been quite worried about the two of them.

The Economistress always kept herself in the background when it came to the Cultivation journey of her children, but that didn't mean that she didn't care.

She knew that she wouldn't be a great help in Cultivation since she had never gone through it herself. Because of that, she decided that the best help would be to give her children their freedom. If they knew that she was constantly worried, they might slow down just for her, and she didn't want that.

After a while of talking, the Economistress only looked with a bright smile at her two sons.

"It feels like you were kids just yesterday, but before I knew it, you're already this big," she said.

Gravis and Mortis felt bad for their mother at this moment. Parents often said these sentences, but when it came to the Economistress, that sentence was as true as it got.

Gravis and Mortis had only been alive for a bit more than a million years.

Meanwhile, the Economistress had lived for around 50 billion years.

This meant that she had lived 50,000 times as long as the two of them.

That time difference was absurd.

If she were a 25-year old mortal, one million years would only equate to literally a bit more than four hours.

So, to her, it was literally like her children had been born and had grown up in far less than a day.

Even more, Gravis and Mortis had lived far longer than most of their siblings. Nearly all the other ones would have died even earlier.

Time was merciless.

However, the same thing would be true for Gravis and the others.

Yersi and Jake had already had several children, and one of them had decided to remain mortal.

She had died at around 80 years of age.

Eighty years in comparison to one million years was even crazier than one million years in comparison to 50 billion years.

When one lived for a very long time, meeting someone that couldn't live for so long would feel horrible.

However, Cultivators had powerful wills, and they could also deal with grief more easily.

For the Economistress, having another child was like a small spark of joy. For just a small part in a day, she felt the heart-warming feeling of love until it eventually ended.

At that point, she might take a break for the day and do the same thing tomorrow.

By then, multiple million years had already passed.

"Oh, it's Gravis and Mortis!" a new voice suddenly said.

Gravis and Mortis looked over at the Black Magnate, who had just arrived.

"You've become quite powerful," he said with a smirk. "I still remember that small immortal boy that hasn't even lived for 10,000 years, and now, you're already in the middle of the Ancestral God Realm in terms of actual power. Only around two more Realms to go, and we can finally look at each other while being on the same level."

"Keep at it!"

"Thanks," Gravis said with a smile. "But I need the Law of Energy first to get to your level."

The Black Magnate only waved dismissively. "Eh, I wouldn't worry about that. You have a couple of unique advantages that could probably allow you to fight someone that knows the True Law of Energy without knowing it yourself."

"Is it that easy?" Gravis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Pfft, of course not, but you have some stuff that allows you to accomplish the impossible," he answered.

The group talked amongst each other for a couple of years. Conversations between such old and powerful beings often took up a very long time since their minds were filled with so many memories, concepts, and ideologies.

After their conversation, Gravis and Mortis left towards the Eternal Fire Sect again.

After about an hour of traveling, the two of them arrived at Manuel's faction.

Surprisingly, it hadn't changed one bit.

Why was that surprising?

Because every time they had visited Manuel's faction, it had always undergone some sort of transformation, but not this time.

Why not this time?

Because the two of them hadn't been gone for very long.

They had only been gone for around 50,000 years, which wasn't that long for Peak Star Gods.

Yet, Gravis and Mortis felt like they hadn't been here in an eternity, which was understandable. Mortis had gone through his first Samsara, and he had severely changed, while Gravis had also gone through a long Samsara.

To them, it was like they hadn't been here in ten million years.

They felt a bit strange when they realized that Manuel's faction hadn't changed while they had changed by that much.

It was like time had stood still for Manuel's faction.

'Is that how Stella felt whenever I return from Law Comprehension?' Gravis thought.

Stella had gone through many experiences, which had made her grow.

Meanwhile, Gravis had basically slept for 100,000 years to comprehend another Law.

To Stella, it had felt like Gravis hadn't changed, while Gravis had felt like Stella had changed in just an instant.

Now, it was backward.

Gravis and Mortis had changed severely, while Manuel's faction had nearly stayed identical.

There were still the same level nine Star Gods walking around.

Everyone was still doing the same thing.

Manuel's faction had become a bit more powerful, but that was basically only because they had gotten a couple more level nine Star Gods.

The very same people that had given Gravis a feeling of mortal danger now felt like normal pedestrians to him.

Every single level nine Star God had been able to have a true life-and-death battle with Gravis, but now, all of them were only random members that couldn't even attempt to endanger Gravis' life.

Back then, Gravis had felt a little bit frustrated. He had comprehended so many Laws, and he had fully focused on his Battle-Strength. Yet, even the most random members of Manuel's faction had become as powerful as him.

But now, Gravis realized that he had done the right thing.

Gravis had reached their Realm, and his Battle-Strength had not reduced. It even had grown by a little bit.

Back then, Gravis had ignored his Realm and had focused on his Battle-Strength, while the others had done the opposite.

Now, everything was reversed.

The level nine Star Gods had increased their Realm, and now, they had to focus on their Battle-Strength.

They were all busy comprehending a level eight Law to become Ancestral Gods.

And then?

As soon as they comprehended their level eight Law and became Ancestral Gods, they would become average again.

The Eternal Fire Sect had always only taken in the elites that could fight a level above themselves, but when one became an Ancestral God, every other Ancestral God had also comprehended a level eight Law.

The powerful Battle-Strength of the members of the Eternal Fire Sect came from the quantity of their level six and level seven Laws, but those Laws became far less relevant when one already knew a level eight Law.

These Star Gods had been elites in their Realm, but as soon as they became Ancestral Gods, they would become average.

They wouldn't be able to jump a level without severely focusing on their Battle-Strength.

This meant that their Battle-Strength had essentially fallen when compared to their Realm.

Meanwhile, Gravis' Battle-Strength hadn't fallen.

After breaking through, Gravis' Battle-Strength would fall again since the opponents would be more powerful, but it had already increased by quite a bit in the Heaven's Trial.

Essentially, Gravis' Battle-Strength wouldn't fall after his breakthrough, thanks to the Heaven's Trial.