Lightning Is the Only Way

The three people became shocked when three other people had suddenly appeared in their hall without anyone knowing.

Where did they come from?

How hadn't they noticed?

One of the Vice-Sect Masters gritted his teeth in anger.

This disrespect!

Who did they think they were!?

However, the Sect Master stretched his right arm out, silencing the Vice-Sect Master before he could speak.

"And who might you be?" he asked with an inquisitive expression. 

There was no disrespect in his voice, but there was also no respect.

'Quite smart,' Gravis thought. 

"Call Herius over," Gravis said directly. "He knows who we are."

He didn't want to explain everything slowly.

The three of them were surprised.

These people knew their Ancestor?

The Sect Master furrowed his brows, but he complied.

Why?

Because he knew that he couldn't underestimate people that had managed to sneak into the most protected area of the Nine Elements Sect.

Something like that wasn't easy.

SHING!

Herius arrived a couple seconds later, and he looked at the three of them.

He appeared stalwart and calm. 

It was like he wasn't even surprised.

"So, the day has come," Herius said with a thoughtful voice. "The sins the Nine Elements Sect had sown in the past are now blossoming."

The three leaders of the Nine Elements Sect were not sure what Herius meant. After all, they hadn't been present when Stella had left the Nine Elements Sect.

They didn't even know who these three people were.

"Stop trying to sound mysterious," Gravis said coldly. "No one's going to die today."

This took Herius aback.

He had fully expected Gravis to kill him.

After all, Herius had been one of the ones in power when Stella had been suppressed back then. 

Additionally, Herius' actions had also indirectly caused Gravis to be hunted by the entirety of humanity.

Was Gravis such a forgiving person?

Herius didn't know Gravis very well, but from what he had seen of him, Gravis didn't appear like a forgiving person.

Meanwhile, the three leaders of the Nine Elements Sect were shocked.

Their Ancestor's words had sounded ominous.

It was like he was saying that they were helpless in front of these three people.

Yet, how was that possible!?

They were one of the Peak Sects!

"Is this an attempt to give me some hope before you extinguish it?" Herius asked coldly. He could accept dying to Gravis, but he couldn't accept being played like this.

"I have no interest in such stuff," Gravis answered. "I'm not here to kill any of you."

The Ancestor almost couldn't believe Gravis' words.

Gravis' survival had always been a major worry in Herius' life. 

When Gravis had fled, no one had heard of his whereabouts for over 150,000 years.

Was he dead?

Was he alive?

How powerful was he?

Nothing.

As the long years passed by, Herius didn't calm down but became more nervous instead.

Why?

Because Herius knew that wherever Gravis appeared, he would get noticed.

His Battle-Strength was simply too powerful.

So, if Gravis had died, everyone would have heard about it.

Every year without news increased Herius' anxiety.

What if Gravis attacked the Nine Elements Sect?

Would Herius be the sinner that had ended the millions of years of prosperity that the Nine Elements Sect had had?

And now, Gravis had arrived.

Yet, he had stated that no one would die.

It felt like a dream.

"Then, why are you here?" Herius asked, his voice sounding a bit nervous.

A couple seconds ago, Herius had been a man that knew that he was going to die. There had been nothing that he could do, and he had accepted his fate.

But now, Herius had hope. 

He didn't want to die.

Because of that, ironically, Herius sounded more nervous when he perceived himself to be safe than when he perceived himself to be in mortal danger.

"I want to visit my teacher's grave one last time," Stella said from behind Gravis.

Herius had been fully focused on Gravis, which made him overlook Stella and Liam.

When Stella had spoken up, Herius noticed Stella and Liam.

His heart shook.

Underworld had unveiled the fact that Gravis had a beast body, and even though Gravis' love had appeared genuine, some worry had still appeared in Herius' heart.

Herius hadn't wanted to hurt Stella, and he also felt heavy guilt over the fact that he hadn't been able to help her back then.

He had been the one in power, and it had been his duty to protect his disciples.

Yet, to save his own life, he had forsaken that duty.

This had caused Herius deep pain.

So, when Herius saw Stella, a complex mix of emotions appeared inside him.

Guilt, relief, pride.

Stella had become powerful.

Herius could feel it.

To him, Stella felt even more powerful than the current Sect Master of the Nine Elements Sect.

The little girl from back then had finally spread her wings.

Herius also looked at Liam, and he noticed that Liam had also become truly powerful.

He had so many questions, but he didn't dare to ask them.

He wanted to talk with the two of them and apologize.

Yet, he knew that he didn't have the right to do so.

After a bit of looking at the two, Herius noticed their clothing. 

He knew that uniform!

Purist Sect!

'No wonder,' Herius thought with relief. 'They managed to become so powerful because they joined the Purist Sect. The Purist Sect has the most powerful Cultivators of the world. They may not be many, but all of them are outstanding.'

"I'm glad you found a new home," Herius said with a silent voice.

So many emotions were hidden inside his voice.

Liam's expression didn't change, but Stella felt a bit uncomfortable.

However, she decided to not engage Herius in a conversation.

Yes, Herius had helped her indirectly, but he had also not protected her.

She didn't want to build a connection with Herius.

So, Stella only nodded. "Yes. Can we visit our teacher's grave?" she asked.

Herius nodded. "Follow me."

Herius teleported away while the other two followed him.

Gravis remained in the hall.

Stella was not in danger.

There was no reason for him to follow them. 

Why?

Because Gravis was powerful.

No one would dare to attack someone under his protection. 

On top of that, Gravis' Major Law of Emotions allowed him to see through the emotions of everyone below the Star God Realm.

Gravis had seen Herius' innermost emotions, and Gravis had even been able to infer a lot of situations that had led up to Herius' current, complex make-up of emotions.

Gravis had been able to guess what Herius had felt regarding the three of them for the past 150,000 years with impressive accuracy.

In essence, Gravis had already fully seen through a huge part of Herius' personality.

Herius' compliance wasn't a factor.

Herius didn't need to tell Gravis anything about himself.

In fact, Herius didn't even need to do anything.

Gravis only needed to look at the Emotional Laws weaving through Herius' bearing.

Herius couldn't hide this part of his personality in front of Gravis, no matter how hard he tried.

This power was terrifying.

Yet, an interesting question was, how did Gravis perceive Stella?

Beautiful.

When Gravis had returned to the Purist Sect, he had seen Stella's emotions. 

She was exactly how Gravis had perceived her before he had comprehended the Law of Emotions.

Her Laws were beautiful, and it was mesmerizing to watch them interact with each other. 

The Black Magnate had said that everything lost its color and beauty when one knew everything about everything.

Yet, when Gravis had seen Stella, she hadn't lost her color.

Instead, she had only become even more beautiful in his eyes.

"So, nice day, right?" the Sect Master said with an awkward smile.

Gravis glanced at the Sect Master, and the Sect Master shivered a bit.

'Quite smart,' Gravis thought. 'He knows that saying something like this is about as awkward of an introduction as it gets. He knows that I might ridicule that conversation starter. Yet, that will make me slightly emotionally engaged and would make it easier for him to rope me into an actual conversation.'

'Sure enough, he's capable.'

Gravis had also taken a look at the Emotional Laws of the three of them.

The Sect Master was like a protective father who learned to protect his family from powerful threats with intelligent sentences. He was like a father that lived in a really bad part of a city with his family. He couldn't fight the gangs, but he could smartly weave the conversations in such a way that the powerful gangs would ignore him and his family.

He was someone that preferred cooperation over confrontation.

One of the Vice-Sect Masters was a mixed bag. He had quite some ambition, but he also had a solid conscience. He was not the kind type, but also not the cruel one. 

The other Vice-Sect Master appeared friendly on the surface, but his heart harbored a deep and powerful desire for everything that could be considered power. Strength, status, wealth, women, everything.

He was the sneaky, power-hungry, manipulative kind.

However, funnily enough, the Sect Master had already seen through that Vice-Sect Master. Gravis had seen that in the Sect Master's emotions.

"You're a capable leader for peaceful times," Gravis said after some second of looking at the Sect Master, "but when something bad happens, you should give your position to that Vice-Sect Master."

Gravis gestured to the Vice-Sect Master with the mixed emotional make-up.

"Thank you for your advice," the Sect Master said with an awkward smile.

Gravis glanced at the Sect Master again.

'It's difficult to hate someone like that.'

None of the three dared to engage Gravis in another conversation.

Time passed, and a couple hours later, Gravis suddenly teleported away without a word.

Stella and Liam had returned, and the three of them would quickly leave for the Purist Sect again.

There was no reason to remain here, and this would be the last time they would see the Nine Elements Sect again.

Meanwhile, Herius felt empty.

He had worried for so long, and they had mistreated Stella severely.

Yet, everything was over just like that?

No one except for Nira had died.

The Nine Elements Sect would continue on with its life, just like Gravis, Stella, and Liam.

This was the power of time.

Time could not only erode love, feelings of friendship, and pain.

It could also silently burrow enmities.