Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis felt great when he realized that he had comprehended the level five Law of Humility directly. Comprehending the apathetic part of the Law of Humility wasn't hard at all since acting like this was very similar to how Gravis had acted when he was younger.

Back then, Gravis wasn't all about comprehending Laws but was all about killing his enemies. He didn't really demonstrate his power to make his enemies go all out but took full advantage of the fact that they were underestimating him.

So, the apathetic part came naturally to him.

However, the empathetic part would be something completely different.

Gravis would never act like he had acted in the Heaven's Trial.

Gravis always took the initiative and dealt with problems directly.

Why?

Because he had the power to do so and because it was necessary to jump into danger to become powerful.

In the Heaven's Trial near the end, Gravis had acted like a pushover that never attacked anyone. Additionally, he had always changed sides as soon as a stronger party arrived.

In short, Gravis had acted like a traitorous, opportunistic turncoat.

Acting like this went completely against Gravis' philosophy, which put a lot of emphasis on fairness, honesty, and loyalty.

Comprehending the empathetic aspect of the Law of Humility might have either been impossible or would have taken an insanely long time under normal circumstances.

"I truly have to thank you, Arc," Gravis repeated again. "I don't know how long it would have taken me to comprehend the level five Law of Humility otherwise."

"I know," Arc answered with a smirk. "That's why I modified the Heaven's Trial. I don't want to wait for another eternity for our fight."

Gravis' heart stabbed a bit when he heard that.

Arc had worded it lightly, but Gravis still couldn't get comfortable with the fact that he would be Arc's death in the not-so-distant future.

Gravis really didn't want to kill Arc.

However, Arc and Gravis both knew that there was no way around it.

If Gravis didn't kill Arc, he would receive the Brand.

No matter how much Gravis liked Arc, he couldn't put Arc's survival above his own future.

Yes, they were close friends, but his freedom was more important to Gravis than his friends.

One might see this as selfish, but essentially all Cultivators thought like this. Additionally, Gravis never masked his true priorities.

Everyone knew about Gravis' priorities.

Nothing was allowed to stand between him and his freedom.

Yet… maybe one thing…

Gravis thought about Stella, and an intense emotional conflict appeared in his eyes.

If he had to choose between Stella and freedom, what would he choose?

As this thought appeared in Gravis' mind, intense emotions fought in his heart.

There was no clear answer.

He didn't know the answer.

What would he decide?

"Hey, don't space out on me," Arc said with a frown.

Gravis quickly shook his head as the conflict inside of him was pushed to the side. "Oh, sorry. I was distracted."

"I can guess what you were thinking about," Arc said with a warm smile. "The conflict of priorities is one of the most difficult things to resolve. However, you should know that already, right?"

Gravis got reminded of his conflict with his lightning.

Back then, Gravis' loyalty towards his lightning and his desire for freedom and autonomy had clashed inside him.

The problem had appeared unsolvable back then.

Yet, when Gravis remembered that issue, he calmed down.

Right, why was he worried?

Gravis had already found a satisfactory solution to an unsolvable problem. Why worry about something he couldn't solve now?

Additionally, it wasn't even certain if Stella and his path to power would ever come into conflict.

It wasn't a problem since the problem didn't even exist, to begin with.

"How can you always choose the correct words in every situation?" Gravis asked with a sigh.

"I got quite some experience," Arc said with a smile. "Don't worry, when you become as old as me, you'll be even more experienced than I am right now."

Gravis sighed again. "You said when, not if."

"Whoops," Arc said with a laugh. "Of course, I meant if. After all, who knows who will win between us?"

The more Gravis heard Arc's words, the guiltier he felt.

He really didn't want to kill Arc.

Even more, time was advancing at a rapid pace.

When Gravis had just arrived in this world, his fight against Arc had appeared so very distant, like it would never happen.

Yet, now, Gravis was over 200,000 years old, and he was close to comprehending the Laws of Emotions.

There were literally only four things standing between now and Gravis' future fight with Arc.

First, the Emotional Law.

Second, condensing the level seven Law of Perceived Reality.

Third, condensing the level seven Law of Sentience, which was a fusion of the Law of Emotions and Law of Perceived Reality.

Fourth, Gravis' excursion into the Gate of Death.

Right now, the first three things seemed to only be a matter of time. By now, Gravis was certain that he could comprehend the Law of Sentience before he died to the increasingly more powerful tribulations.

The only thing that could stop the fight between Gravis and Arc was the Gate of Death.

The Gate of Death was the only thing that was genuinely dangerous.

Well, that and tempering in general.

"Gravis," Arc said, waking Gravis from his thoughts again. "Stop thinking about all these things. That's all for the future. Why not focus on the now?"

Gravis noted that Arc worded that phrase peculiarly.

"Is there something I should pay attention to?" Gravis asked.

Arc only smiled as he looked out of the cave.

"Relax for the next 3,000 years," he said.

Gravis' eyes shone slightly. "Will something happen in 3,000 years?" he asked.

Arc nodded. "The chances are very high. It's not a certainty, but as things are going right now, I'm pretty sure it will happen."

"Can you just get to the point instead of describing everything in a roundabout way?" Gravis asked with a frown.

Arc laughed a bit. "But if I did that, it wouldn't be any fun for me," he said.

Gravis rolled his eyes. "Fine! Can you at least tell me what this presumed incident has to do with me?"

Arc's grin widened. "Tempering."

"Tempering?" Gravis asked with interest.

Gravis was always interested in tempering!

"Yes, and the very good kind," Arc said. "If you want, you can try jumping six levels. The eventual opponent will be in a unique disposition that will make their most powerful Laws useless against you."

"However, the opponent will still be incredibly powerful, even without their Laws."

"This might become one of your hardest fights yet."

"But you can win," Arc finished.

Gravis' eyes lighted up.

Jumping six levels?

He wanted to try that, but he had to choose a perfect opponent for that.

Any unforeseen powerful Law might end Gravis' life.

However, when Arc said that Gravis had a chance of victory, he believed him.

But Gravis was also certain that this opponent was a true danger to his life.

"And this incident in 3,000 years will grant me this opponent?" Gravis asked.

Arc smirked and nodded. "Don't worry, you will hear about it when it's time."

"In fact, the entire world will hear about it."

"The entire world?" Gravis asked with surprise.

Arc only smirked at Gravis.

SHING!

And teleported away.