Lightning Is the Only Way

"You mean that grey cloak?" Gravis asked.

Elder Byron nodded. "Exactly, though that's not all." Then, he took out a grey ring. "Remember when we showed you our rings? This is an identical one, but for you. We don't want others to find us, do we?" asked Elder Byron with a slight laugh.

Gravis also laughed. "Of course not."

Gravis quickly retrieved the two things with his Spirit and then resummoned them on his body. The grey cloak completely enveloped his body and head, and no one would be able to recognize him like this. But Gravis was actually more interested in the ring. He remembered how it managed to keep the Greys hidden from his Spirit, which was a handy ability.

Gravis looked at the ring on his hand. As soon as he put it on, he felt a kind of membrane enveloping his body, which was probably the cloaking field that diverted the Spirits of others. He also felt his own Spirit and vision pass through it.

Elder Byron laughed a little. "The ring is great, isn't it?" he asked with a smirk.

"It also has a different effect," a voice came out of the ring on Gravis' right hand, which surprised him. He was sure that that was Elder Byron's voice.

Gravis looked at Elder Byron again. "This is a communication tool, as well?"

Elder Byron simply nodded. "We need to talk over long distances after all. Like this, we can communicate even when someone with a more powerful Spirit is close to you. If you get surrounded by others, you might need backup."

Gravis looked at the ring, smiled, but then shook his head. "I won't ask for backup. If I die, I die. If you always are ready to intervene, it won't be genuine life and death tempering."

Elder Byron was surprised for a little, but then also grinned and nodded. "That's an excellent mindset. Oh, one more thing," he said as if he had remembered something. "Don't be surprised if you can't take full ownership of the ring. It is worth a lot, and I don't want to lose one if something happens to you. Like this, I can retrieve it."

Gravis had already noticed that he hadn't had the full ownership of the item, but he had already guessed the reason. That Elder Byron said it himself also showed his honest attitude again. "Don't worry. I get it," Gravis acknowledged. "Anyway, where are the Greens right now?"

"Let me ask," said Elder Byron. Then, he looked at his ring for a while. After some seconds, Elder Byron turned to Gravis again. "They didn't go far. It seems like they are not running at full speed. Creed is currently following them and waiting for you. Just run towards the north-north-east, and you can get updates from Creed on the way. Just experiment with the ring, and I'm sure that you will get the hang of it."

Then Elder Byron looked like he remembered something else as well. "Oh, I totally forgot," he said. "If you release your Spirit, the Greens will notice it. Try to keep your Spirit hidden until you have them in your vision. As soon as they feel your Spirit, they will be ready for a fight."

Gravis nodded again. He had already guessed that. "I'll be off then," said Gravis as he retrieved his Lightning Board. He quickly jumped onto it and started accelerating to the north.

"I wish you success!" shouted Elder Byron after him, which Gravis answered with a wave of his hand. In nearly no time, Gravis left the vicinity of the Greys.

He quickly started accelerating until he broke the sound barrier. If he moved slower than sound, it would take him over an hour to get to his destination. Only like this could he arrive quickly enough.

After around half an hour, Gravis checked his ring again and willed it to connect with Creed. "Creed, can you hear me? This is Gravis."

"Oh, Gravis. Where are you right now?" Creed's voice came out of the ring.

"I've traveled for nearly 1,000 kilometers to north-north-east. Where do I need to go?" Gravis asked.

"Do you see a gigantic Spirit Tree somewhere?" asked Creed through the ring.

Gravis looked around for a bit. After some seconds, he saw a humongous tree on the horizon. "I see an about ten-kilometer-tall tree some kilometers to the west from here."

"That's the Spirit Tree," answered Creed. "Just move towards the east from there. I'll release my Spirit. You should be able to feel it at some point."

"Alright," answered Gravis, and shot towards the east.

After some minutes of traveling, he felt a powerful Spirit encompass him. 'This should be the Spirit of a Seed Stage cultivator,' Gravis judged. Gravis hadn't felt the Spirit of his new colleagues before since they always wore the ring, so he wasn't sure if this was Creed's Spirit. Gravis looked at his ring again. "I feel the Spirit of a Seed Stage cultivator. Is that yours?"

"Yeah, that's me," answered Creed. "If you feel it, then move towards the north-east again. I'm on a hill beside a forest."

Gravis check his surroundings and saw a close forest.

WHOOM!

Gravis used his strength to push the Lightning Board down with his feet, which then shot into the air together with Gravis. From the air, Gravis could see over the forest's canopy and saw the hill that Creed had mentioned. After Gravis landed, he changed his course to the hill.

Some seconds later, Gravis arrived, and he saw Creed waving towards him. Gravis stopped beside him. "Where are they?" he asked.

"I left their vicinity to release my Spirit so that you can find me," said Creed and then took out a map. "You should know that the Spirit's area always increases by a matter of two. They have a Sapling Stage cultivator, so I needed to build a distance of at least 40 kilometers to reach you."

Creed then pointed at the map. "We are currently here, and they are going exactly this way," he said as he pointed at another location. "This is Storm City, an outpost of the Wind Sect. You might think they are pretty close, but this map encompasses a huge part of the Core-Continent. The city is still around 2,000 kilometers away. As long as you follow along this path, you will find them."

Gravis checked the map and nodded. "How do I recognize them?" he asked.

Creed laughed a little. "That's easy! They wear the same kinds of robes as us, but green in color. Of course, they are not allowed to keep themselves hidden with an item. They are our entrance test, after all, and not the other way around. There are one Sapling Stage cultivator and three Seed Stage cultivators. So, be careful, okay?" Creed said.

Gravis smirked and nodded. "No worries. I'll be off. See you later!" Gravis said as he continued his journey.

After around two minutes, Gravis saw several people on the horizon. Yet, when he saw them, his eyes and mouth opened in shock. What did he see? The four people were flying on their weapons low to the ground. How was that possible? Wind Cultivators could fly with the help of their element, but they didn't ride on weapons. Gravis couldn't think of another element that was able to fly in this manner.

"They really are from a different world," Gravis unwittingly uttered. Gravis still had had some doubts before. That people from another world arrived in this one was an extraordinary claim, and Gravis wouldn't wholly believe someone if they said something like that. He still needed to see it with his own eyes to be convinced.

Yet, when he saw those people flying on their weapons with no help of an element, he was convinced. His last doubts towards the Greys vanished. Something like this couldn't be faked. Gravis had to accept that something that he had accepted for a fact had been wrong. Apparently, lower worlds could send over their own people to different ones.

"I wonder how they will fight. They probably won't use elements since they came from a different world. Will their fighting style be similar to the Rakshasa Saber? I also wonder if they are stronger than the cultivators from this world."

"Now, this will be interesting," Gravis said as he shot towards them.