Lightning Is the Only Way

They both looked at Gravis and walked closer. They saw how Gravis' face was slowly becoming blue due to his difficulty breathing. The Vice-Guild Master of earth smirked in disdain. "You did your best, but you never had a chance. In the next life, don't make Heaven your enemy."

Both of them put their weapons away as they watched Gravis. The Vice-Guild Master of wind showed no expression. It was just indifference.

"Ju… Ju…"

They heard Gravis trying to speak and went a little closer. He was already basically dead, after all.

"Just kidding," Gravis said through hard breaths.

They both didn't know what he meant by that. Gravis had no more Life Energy or Energy. What did he mean with 'just kidding'?

BANG!

Gravis' whole body shook like he had a seizure for a second. By all intents and purposes, he looked like lightning had hit his body. The two onlookers still weren't sure what was happening.

"Whoop!" said Gravis as he pulled his legs to his torso and then shot them out again. Like a spring, Gravis jumped up, landing gracefully on his feet. The two people's eyes widened in pure horror as Gravis jumped up elegantly like he was in his peak state.

His shirt was still destroyed, and streaks of blood could be seen on his torso, yet no new blood flowed out. Gravis had transformed his body's inherent Energy into Life Energy and then into Life Lightning. Like this, he healed himself to his peak state. Then, he turned to the two and smirked. "Hey!"

WHOOOM!

His Will-Aura exploded and pressed into them. They had deactivated their Heavenly Pressure, and in their shocked states, they hadn't been able to react on time.

BOOM BANG!

Gravis immediately used his lightning and body for maximum acceleration and punched the Vice-Guild Master of Earth in the chest, lightning exploding from his fist. By reflex, the Vice-Guild Master of earth had pulled his broken arm to his front to block with his shield, but it had no use. His shield didn't exist anymore. The fist easily hit him, and he exploded into a shower of blood that drenched the area behind him.

"How, how, how do you still have Energy?!" shouted the Vice-Guild Master of wind in shock. Fear and terror took ahold of his heart as he was the last person remaining. He quickly activated his Heavenly Pressure, but he was the only one remaining. Gravis' Will-Aura oppressed his Heavenly Pressure.

How did Gravis still have Energy? Of course, it was the Heaven's Balance Cultivation Technique. Normally, it would be impossible to regain Energy with this. Yet, since his dantian was different, all Energy that would have normally gone to condense his Energy instead got transformed to lightning.

How much lightning did Gravis have exactly? After he had exploded his body, his lightning had been entirely used up, leaving his dantian completely empty. Yet, he had also killed the darkness cultivator with that, and Gravis had absorbed all the remaining Energy of the darkness cultivator when he had killed him.

The darkness cultivator still had 80% remaining of his Energy when he had died. All of this went into Gravis' dantian and refilled his lightning to about 50%. In order to create one unit of lightning, it required two units of Energy, yet the darkness cultivator had been one realm higher than him.

But didn't a higher stage in the Spirit Forming Realm mean denser Energy? That was true, but only to a certain extent. The Energy increased, but not by much. Maybe by something like 25%. The thing that really increased was the Spirit. That was why it was called the Spirit Forming Realm. If the darkness cultivator had been at the same stage as Gravis, Gravis would have only gotten 40% of his lightning back.

His two new attacks had used up another 20% of his lightning, decreasing his reserves to 30%. Yet, with the death of the Vice-Guild Master of earth, his lightning increased again to 80%. The Vice-Guild Master of Earth hadn't used up much Energy in his fight. Gravis turned to the Vice-Guild Master of wind with a smile.

"Gravis," the Vice-Guild Master of wind said, jumping back slightly, "I never wanted this," he said in fear and pleading. "We are friends! I helped you suppress Saron back then. I also never attacked you! Don't do something you'll regret!"

Gravis sneered. "Pathetic," he spat. "When you thought I was dying, you didn't care, but now I should? Give me one reason to let you live."

The insides of the Vice-Guild Master of wind shook in terror. With his higher Realm, he might be faster than Gravis, but his instantaneous acceleration didn't even come close. It was not Gravis' speed that was terrifying, but his acceleration.

"You don't want the Wind Sect as your enemy, do you?" he said threateningly.

Gravis spat some leftover blood to the side. "How would they even know that I killed you?" he said as he walked closer.

The Vice-Guild Master of wind saw a chance in that. "Every Spirit Forming expert from a sect put a part of their Spirit into a bottle that remains inside the Sect. When the person dies, the Spirit in the bottle gets destroyed by the corresponding element of their enemy."

Gravis raised his eyebrows in interest. "So, the Earth, Fire, Water, and Darkness Sect all know that a lightning cultivator killed their disciples?"

The Vice-Guild Master of wind nodded severely. "Yes. I don't know if you know, but the Elemental Sects in the Core-Continent are fighting on two fronts. The Lightning, Light, and Fire Sect are on one side, while the Earth, Water, and Darkness Sect are on the other. Killing someone from the Earth, Water, or Darkness Sect might not accomplish much since they would just think it was the Lightning Sect that had killed their disciples. They are at war after all."

"But, if you kill me, you will make the most powerful Sect, except the Heaven Sect, your enemy. They will ask the Lightning Sect for an explanation, and then everything will come to light. The Heaven Sect will also tell them the truth. You have already made the Fire Sect your enemy. Don't also offend the Wind Sect!" the Vice-Guild Master of the Wind Guild said threateningly.

Gravis narrowed his eyes as he looked at him. The Sects didn't know that all these people had been spies for the Heaven Sect. Even if they did, they'd have to swallow their grievances. There was nothing that they could do against the Heaven Sect, after all. On top of that, the Heaven Sect would probably even reward them if they managed to kill Gravis. What the Vice-Guild Master of wind said, made sense. If he killed him, the Wind Sect would hunt him down.

Gravis sighed. "I would have to be a suicidal idiot to kill you."

The Vice-Guild Master of the Wind Guild sighed in relief as he closed his eyes. He had managed to survive.

BOOM BANG!

And like that, this person was also reduced to a rain of blood. "Sadly, lightning forces me to repay grievances," Gravis said to the shower of blood. "Honestly, if lightning wouldn't force me, I probably would've let you live. Yet, my path has changed. I have committed myself to move only on a singular path, and I have to walk it with stable and firm steps."

Gravis waited a little until all the bloody mist settled on the ground.

"I hope you don't mind."