Lightning Is the Only Way

The Sect Master looked at Gravis with a solemn look.

"Did you expect for me to appear?" she asked calmly.

"Yes," Gravis answered with the Law of Honesty. "I expected for you to arrive."

"And you don't fear me?" she asked.

"No," Gravis answered with the Law of Honesty. "I am not nearly as powerful as you, but I am confident in my ability to escape."

The Sect Master felt Gravis' Law of Honesty. Obviously, he wasn't lying.

Even more, the Sect Master's Will-Aura suppressed Gravis' Will-Aura by a ridiculous degree, which meant that she knew for a fact that he had used the Law of Honesty, and not the Law of Deceit or Lies.

After looking at Gravis for a bit more, she suddenly turned around.

BANG!

The Sect Master slapped the Vice-Sect Master with incredible power, and the Vice-Sect Master shot into the distance, heavily injured.

The other two looked with shock at what had transpired.

BANG!

Then, the Elder was slapped into the distance, also severely injured.

The guard immediately felt a feeling of terror as he looked at what had happened to the other two.

He would be next!

The Sect Master couldn't afford to kill an Elder or a Vice-Sect Master over something like this, but he was only a guard.

The Sect Master looked at the guard. "If you are uncertain about a decision, call your superior before you decide to act for yourself. You will not be awarded any Contribution Points for the next 10,000 years."

The guard became shocked.

She wouldn't attack him?

He would survive?

The guard immediately bowed politely. "I thank the Sect Master for her teachings."

The Sect Master nodded, and she pulled the Vice-Sect Master and the Elder back with her Spirit.

They had just regenerated from their injuries, but their expressions were still filled with terror and shock.

Why had they been attacked!?

This level one Ancestral God had been the one that had demanded something ridiculous!

"You!" the Sect Master said with a strict voice as she focused on the Elder.

"Y-Yes, Sect Master," the Elder answered with fear.

"Why did you deny his request?" she asked.

"Because it is against the rules," the Elder announced.

"What's the purpose behind that specific rule?" the Sect Master asked.

"It is to protect the Sect from sudden attacks by enemy Ancestral Gods," the Elder said.

"Would he have attacked the Eternal Fire Sect?" she asked.

The Elder's thoughts went back to her exchange with Gravis.

Gravis had used the Law of Honesty to explain that he didn't view the Eternal Fire Sect as his enemies and that even his friends were there.

Obviously, Gravis wouldn't attack the Sect.

Yet, it was still against the rules.

"I couldn't be sure if he used the Law of Honesty since his Will-Aura suppressed mine," the Elder said.

"Then, if you can't be sure, why didn't you immediately call for a Vice-Sect Master? Why did it have to come to this?" the Sect Master asked.

"I didn't want to disturb the Vice-Sect Master for such an insignificant reason," she said.

"Is it insignificant?" the Sect Master asked. "Even I am here. How can this be insignificant? You saw a level one Ancestral God that could even suppress you, a level four Ancestral God. That's a jump of four levels. Nothing involving such a person can be insignificant."

"If you are uncertain on what you should do, you need to contact your superiors. Don't jump to conclusions immediately. Even more, you could have given him a Guest Elder's token. As far as I have seen, he was about to leave anyway. In the meantime, you could have reported everything to your superior, and they would have had the time to make a decision."

"Just because someone has a Guest Elder's token doesn't mean that the Sect will immediately be attacked by them. Something like that needs time. He would have left, your superior would have had time to make a decision, and when he returned, the decision could be put into action."

"The danger would have been avoided, the situation wouldn't have escalated, and we would have had more time to plan. Do you know your mistakes?" the Sect Master asked.

The Elder felt humiliated.

After listening to the Sect Master's teachings, she thoroughly had realized her mistake. This entire situation wasn't about right and wrong, as she had believed, but about handling the situation as efficiently as possible.

The Elder realized that she had put too much emphasis on pride and what was right instead of solving the issue.

It was her fault that the situation had escalated to the degree that she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Yes, I know my mistakes," the Elder said with a polite and sincere bow. "I thank the Sect Master for her teachings."

The Elder had meant what she had said.

She knew that she had screwed up, and she would remember this lesson.

The Sect Master nodded.

Then, the Sect Master focused on the Vice-Sect Master.

"You know that his power is incredible. At that point, it didn't even matter if you could fight him or not. Someone with such powerful Battle-Strength obviously wasn't someone that would just throw their life away."

"He remained here, even when you showed up. This means that he has a certain level of confidence in dealing with the situation. At that point, you wouldn't even need proof of his power. Just knowing that he couldn't be stupid and that he was still here shows that he has a way out."

"This is not about him being a danger to you, but about him being able to escape," the Sect Master emphasized.

"He doesn't need to fight and kill you right now. If he can jump so many levels, it means that he has various ways of circumventing the unreal differences in speed between the levels. He obviously can't make himself as fast as you, but he can use various tricks, illusions, stealth tactics, and other means to escape your perception. Jumping so many levels isn't about directly clashing with your opponent, but about avoiding a direct clash."

"That ability is intrinsically connected to the ability to escape from a fight."

"You just had a standoff, which could result in a conflict. Tell me, what are the benefits you receive by winning?" the Sect Master asked.

The Vice-Sect Master felt uncomfortable, but he answered. "I would have upheld the honor of the Eternal Fire Sect."

"So, no God Stones, no power, no resources, no land, and no gain in new disciples?" the Sect Master asked.

The Vice-Sect Master grimaced. "No," he answered.

"Only honor?" the Sect Master asked.

The Vice-Sect Master hesitated. "Yes, only honor."

The Sect Master nodded.

"What about the potential losses?" she asked.

The Vice-Sect Master's mind went through everything that could have gone wrong, and he gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Potential death of a Vice-Sect Master. Potential death of several Elders. Potential destruction of the Sect. Potential angering of his friends and associates. Potential creation of a Sect enemy. Potential destruction of the Eternal Fire Sect," the Vice-Sect Master answered.

The Sect Master nodded.

"Does that sound like a good risk-reward ratio to you?" she asked.

"No," the Vice-Sect Master said.

"Then, why did you not solve the conflict?" the Sect Master asked.

The Vice-Sect Master hesitated.

"I don't know," he answered.

"Leave and don't come back until you know," the Sect Master said. "Take this as an opportunity to grow. I also believed honor to be far more important than many other things before the Ancestor taught me otherwise."

The Vice-Sect Master bowed politely. "I thank the Sect Master for her teachings."

The Sect Master nodded, and the Vice-Sect Master teleported away.

Then, the Sect Master focused on Gravis.

"Now, onto you," she said.

By now, Gravis had calmed down.

The Sect Master handled the situation very objectively and fairly. She even highlighted the mistakes of everyone and why they had been wrong. Her teachings had even destroyed the subconscious feeling of enmity between the Vice-Sect Master, the Elder, and Gravis.

"I understand that you want to visit your friends, and that's fine. You are a friend of the Eternal Fire Sect, and we should treat our allies and friends with the respect they deserve. Otherwise, they will stop being our friends," the Sect Master said.

"But you went too far this time. I can defend your usage of your Will-Aura, but I can't defend your attack on the Vice-Sect Master."

"You have also acted incorrectly, and I can't let this slide just like that."