Lightning Is the Only Way

The surrounding disciples were quite surprised by Gravis' quick dispatching of the elder. They knew that he was powerful. After all, he had managed to slay the Ogre. But knowing about Gravis' power and actually seeing it was a big difference. The elder hadn't even been able to put up a fight while Gravis hadn't even released his Will-Aura.

After finishing off the elder, Gravis went through the belongings of the deceased disciples. There were a couple of weapons, some pills, and some Energy Stones. The haul of Energy Stones was surprisingly small. Gravis guessed that everyone in the Spirit Forming Realm would probably use up their Energy Stones as soon as they got them. Having a more powerful dantian was incredibly useful in a fight, after all.

Gravis didn't touch the belongings of the living disciples, even if they were just strewn around. He had decided against killing them since they had betrayed their beliefs already. After checking all of this, he turned to the disciples. "I'll be going now. Do whatever you want. I just hope that you won't rejoin the Earth Sect after this, but even if you decide to do so, I won't stop you."

The disciples looked at each other, some with smiles, others with fear and anxiety. Not everyone fully disagreed with the Earth Sect, but seeing how their beliefs could mean their death, they decided against rejoining the Earth Sect. Not everyone was ready to give their lives for a "greater good" or an organization in this case. Their own lives were still the most important thing in their minds.

Some of the disciples talked with each other. Some said that they had been craving for tempering for a long time, yet, due to the Earth Sect's well-being being placed above every individual life, they hadn't gotten the tempering they wanted. This was the most significant talking point.

"If you want tempering," Gravis said to the disciples, "I would suggest going to either the Lightning, Fire, Darkness or Wind Sect. Of course, your temperament should fit the elements. The Fire Sect are battle-maniacs. The Lightning Sect honors honesty and fairness above anything else. The Darkness Sect wants power above anything else, while the Wind Sect chases freedom. Whichever fits you best should be the Sect you should go to."

The disciples listened to Gravis, and some of them were surprised by his relatively objective description of the different Sects. One had to know that most disciples had never come into contact with more than two Sects in their life, including their own. Most of them only saw the other Sects in the war, or if they had to visit them. Gravis' intimate knowledge with so many Sects was rare.

"Why do you not tell everyone to join the Lightning Sect?" Eros asked. "Future Seed Stage cultivators are incredibly useful to any Sect. Any one of these people could become an elder in the future."

Gravis smiled a little. "As I said, the Lightning Sect values honesty and fairness above all else. Telling them that the Lightning Sect is the best would betray what I truly think. The Lightning Sect isn't the best. It's just the most fitting for me. Yet, it might not be the most fitting for everyone else."

The eyes of the disciples' opened in surprise. It felt unreal that someone was saying that their own Sect wasn't the best one. In the Earth Sect, anyone that didn't say that the Earth Sect was the best would become unpopular with everyone instantly. Gravis not following that could be considered as a kind of culture shock to them.

Eros smiled bitterly. "I guess I still need to learn about the way of lightning," he said.

Gravis smirked. "No worries. I think you'll be a good fit, and as for your enmity, no one in the Lightning Sect will stop you. No one will stop you from taking your revenge. As long as your hatred is strong enough, no one would even stop you from taking revenge on the Sect Master," Gravis laughed a little, "Of course, you first need to be powerful enough for that."

Eros' eyes widened. "Something like that is possible? Has that happened before?"

"It happened two times in the last couple of millennia," a new voice resounded as Old Man Lightning arrived. "Due to everyone being fair and honest, enmities between Lightning Sect cultivators are very rare, though."

The disciples were surprised by the arrival of Old Man Lightning. When they still had had their Spirits, they hadn't felt this person. "Who might you be?" Eros asked carefully.

Old Man Lightning waved his hand dismissively. "I'm just an old man who wanted to see Gravis' fight with the Ogre. You can call me Old Man Lightning," he said.

The disciples didn't find the old man strange. After all, there were a lot of old people inside the Sects, and they couldn't guess the power of a person just based on their age. Yet, Eros' eyes shone in recognition and shock. "You're Old Man Lightning?" he asked.

"Yeah. Didn't I just say that?" Old Man Lightning answered with a bit of annoyance.

Eros put his hands together and bowed in politeness. "I'm sorry if I have offended you with-"

WACK!

Eros fell over as the mighty cane struck him. "I have no idea what you're apologizing for, but you sure annoyed me by acting like a wimp in front of me!" Old Man Lightning shouted. "Do you think my self-confidence is so fragile that I require young people to show their subservience!?"

Eros didn't know what just happened. He had been bowing politely, and suddenly he fell to the ground. He hadn't even seen when Old Man Lightning had attacked. After standing up quickly, he bowed again. "I'm sorry for my-"

WACK!

And he was on the ground again. "Stop apologizing!" Old Man Lightning shouted and then groaned. "Oh, man. I already see it coming. You're gonna be a pain in my ass," Old Man Lightning said with frustration.

"Excuse me," another disciple stepped forward, "but in the Earth Sect, we were required to show perfect politeness to our superiors. Please don't misunderstand Eros."

Old Man Lightning looked at the new disciple with narrowed eyes, making the disciple nervous. After some seconds, Old Man Lightning pointed at the new disciple. "You!" he shouted, "I like you! You saw something that didn't conform to your definition of fairness to someone else and stood up for him! You'll come with me to the Lightning Sect!"

The person blinked rapidly in confusion. He had gone against someone with higher seniority, yet, instead of being reprimanded, he was being praised? Before he could even think what to say, his mouth had already answered in confusion. "Okay?"

Old Man Lightning nodded with praise. "Good!" Then he turned to Eros and pointed at the other disciple. "You should learn from him! He stated everything directly and didn't say anything superfluous like 'oh, I'm not worthy' or similar stuff."

Eros looked at the disciple, and the disciple felt very nervous. Eros was the disciple's idol, yet the old man had just said that his idol should learn from him. The disciple didn't feel worthy of something like this. He quickly lifted both of his hands and waved them rapidly. "No, no. I didn't do anything! I'm sorry, Eros!"

WACK!

The disciple fell over. Old Man Lightning looked at the downed disciple and snorted. Then, he turned to Eros.

"Forget everything I just said."