Lightning Is the Only Way

Over the next couple of years, more people gathered.

Near the end, nearly 500,000 level one Ancestral Gods had gathered in this place.

The fateful day had only been 1.7 million years ago, and all of these people had managed to shoot through the Star God Realm during that timeframe and become Ancestral Gods.

They either were people that rushed through the Realms or very talented Cultivators who just comprehended Laws at a very fast rate.

Yet, it was still immensely difficult to comprehend a level eight Law in such little time, which meant these Ancestral Gods were probably the strongest ones out of all the new Cultivators, except for the ones in the Peak Sects.

When it was time for the tournament, the onlookers all went to the central arena of the Lightning Peak Sect.

The arena was about ten kilometers wide, which seemed way too small for fights at the Ancestral God Realm, but the arena had a Formation Array around it that expanded its internal space with the True Law of Space.

From the outside, it was only ten kilometers wide, but inside, it was millions of kilometers wide.

One might think that it would be quite difficult to witness a fight several million kilometers away, but the onlookers were all Ancestral Gods. Their Spirit Senses stretched way further than that.

When Gravis entered the area for the audience around the arena, he noticed that he was one of the weakest onlookers in terms of Realm.

Most people were between the third and seventh level of the Ancestral God Realm, while some of them were at the eighth or ninth level. There were even around ten Divine Gods in the area, but Gravis wasn't powerful enough to guess their exact level.

There were seven balconies above the audience area, but they were still empty. Gravis guessed that some important people would probably be there in the future.

"An Elder just arrived," Mortis transmitted to Gravis.

"What's he doing?" Gravis asked.

"He's pulling out all the contestants that can fight two levels above themselves. Apparently, they don't need to join this round. Oh, he just said that our hall is only one of two halls. He said that there is a second hall with just as many participants, and we will only fight the people from the other hall. This is to prevent information gathering," Mortis transmitted.

"So, there are actually about a million level one Ancestral Gods participating in this tournament? That's quite a lot," Gravis answered.

"Yes, the reaction was mixed when everyone in this hall heard that piece of information. I think some plans just got ruined," Mortis said.

"So, it's actually senseless that you're in there," Gravis transmitted.

"Seems like it," Mortis answered. "Oh wait, the Elder also pulled in that pink-haired woman from the Eternal Fire Sect. Apparently, the other side has three more Ancestral Gods that can jump two levels than our hall, which means that the Elder has to get the three next-strongest Ancestral Gods."

"Quite powerful," Gravis commented.

"The stronger Ancestral Gods just left the room, and now the Elder is explaining that the people left in the room can still win. They just have to risk it all and grow more powerful. If they want to win, they have to risk it. However, they can also just fight normally," Mortis narrated.

"Makes sense," Gravis answered.

At that moment, several people appeared at the seven balconies.

As soon as these people arrived, everyone looked over in silence.

The representatives of the seven Peak Sects!

When Gravis saw them, he had to take a deep breath.

So powerful!

Gravis couldn't even fathom their power!

He couldn't even tell who was more powerful between them!

Even more, Gravis saw some familiar faces among them.

"Welcome, everyone, to the tournament of my Lightning Peak Sect!" a powerful-looking man in the central balcony announced.

Gravis recognized that person.

He was the new Sect Master of the Lightning Peak Sect. Gravis didn't know his name, but he had seen him in the Heaven Clash.

"Please, a warm welcome for our guests!" the Sect Master announced as he gestured to the right-most balcony.

On the right-most balcony was an extremely old man with long white hair and a long white beard. He was carrying a long, grey staff, which somehow felt ancient to Gravis.

"The Vice-Sect Master of the Eternity Sect!" the Sect Master announced.

The audience applauded politely, while the old man only slowly nodded once.

Gravis knew the Peak Sects. After all, he had been born into this world, and he had learned all about them when he had just been a kid.

The Eternity Sect's techniques all focused on the Primordial Force Laws.

Exar would be a perfect fit for them.

The Sect Master gestured to the next balcony.

On the next balcony, Gravis could see a very scantily clad woman with bright pink hair. She smiled warmly at everyone, and she even winked at the audience with a giggle.

"The Vice-Sect Master of the Mortal Sect!" the Sect Master announced.

‘So, that's the famous seductress of the Mortal Sect,' Gravis thought.

Mortal Sect was a weird name for a Peak Sect, but their name actually had a deeper meaning. The Mortal Sect concentrated on the Emotional Laws, and they do so by emulating the pleasures and struggles of mortals. That was why they were called the Mortal Sect.

The Sect Master gestured to the next balcony.

On the next balcony, Gravis could see a young girl with lively green hair. Her smile was radiant and bathed everyone in an aura of peace and tranquility. On her back, surprisingly, was a bow. These weapons were very rare.

"The Vice-Sect Master of the True Life Sect!" the Sect Master announced.

Gravis knew the True Life Sect. No explanation was necessary since it was obvious what that Sect focused on.

The Sect Master gestured to the next balcony, which was to his left.

On that balcony, Gravis saw a middle-aged man with black hair and a stalwart gaze. On his back were two swords, and he radiated an incredibly sharp aura.

"The Sect Master of the Heavenly Divine Sect! What an honor for him to arrive personally!" the Sect Master announced.

‘The Sect Master of the Heavenly Divine Sect?' Gravis thought.

‘I saw his son once!'

Gravis remembered the conversation he had had with his father when he had been just twelve. Back then, the Opposer had told Gravis to go to Master Linus' shop. Gravis had seen the son of the Sect Master of the Heavenly Divine Sect order some weapons back then.

The son had been a bit arrogant in front of Master Linus, but when he had seen Gravis, he had acted very deferentially and scared.

Back then, Gravis had also believed that the Heavenly Divine Sect was only an upper-level Sect, but, apparently, they were a Peak Sect.

The Heavenly Divine Sect concentrated on pure Weapon Laws. Back then, Gravis had had no idea what that was.

The Heavenly Divine Sect was basically the Purist Sect of the highest world.

The Sect Master gestured to the next balcony.

On the balcony, Gravis saw a familiar face.

"The Vice-Sect Master of the Lost Wind Sect!" the Sect Master announced.

Yes, this was the Vice-Sect Master that had watched Gravis while he had worked as a torturer. This was also the person that gave Gravis ten God Crystals.

The Vice-Sect Master of the Lost Wind Sect only nodded once.

The Lost Wind Sect was the antithesis of the Lightning Peak Sect, and also the Peak Sect with the worst relationship with the Lightning Peak Sect.

The Lightning Peak Sect concentrated on the bright, explosive, and powerful Elemental Laws. Laws like Heavenly Fire, Heavenly Lightning, Heavenly Zero, and Heavenly Wind.

Meanwhile, the Lost Wind Sect concentrated on the Laws of Heavenly Darkness, Heavenly Earth, and Heavenly Metal.

The Lightning Peak Sect was bombastic and explosive.

The Lost Wind Sect was meticulous and calm.

Funnily enough, the name Lost Wind Sect came into existence after the Lightning Peak Sect had become the supreme power regarding the Law of Heavenly Wind. In order to never forget that shame and humiliation, the Lost Wind Sect had taken up the name of Lost Wind Sect.

They had lost their wind.

The Sect Master gestured to the last balcony.

On the last balcony, Gravis saw a woman with half black and half white hair. Her clothing was also half black and half white, but in the middle of her robes, a glint of purple could be seen.

"The Vice-Sect Master of the Twilight Council!" the Sect Master announced.

The Twilight Council concentrated on the Heavenly Purity and Heavenly Stygian Laws, and they used all the other Laws as support for these Laws.

In their opinion, Heavenly Purity represented the peak of defense, while Heavenly Stygian represented the peak of offense. By mastering both, they would be the most powerful Sect.

And, sure enough, they were a Peak Sect.

After the Sect Master introduced everyone, he looked at the crowd again.

"For our first fight, we have an appetizer. Two of the most powerful contestants will fight each other!" the Sect Master announced.

Gravis nodded. It made sense to open the tournament with a blast.

As the Sect Master informed everyone about the rules of the tournament, Gravis got contacted by Mortis.

"Aris just left the room to fight."

"How do you know that?" Gravis asked. "I thought you were in the other room."

"There are only weak Formation Arrays between the rooms. They are not as strong as the Formation Arrays around the building," Mortis answered. "Anyway, it seems like Aris is going to be the first one to fight."

After the Sect Master finished his explanation, he declared the start of the tournament.

One of the rooms opened, and Aris stepped out.

Gravis only smiled with pride at Aris.

That was his boy!

Then, the other room opened.

When Gravis saw Aris' opponent, his mind halted.

"Who's his opponent?" Mortis asked.

Gravis couldn't answer.

He knew Aris' opponent very well!