Lightning Is the Only Way

The Opposer checked the middle world again.

"Calling him Old Man Lightning is inappropriate at this point," the Opposer said.

"Why?" Gravis asked.

"The more he progressed on the path to power, the younger he felt. He left his old man appearance and mindset behind. Right now, he is acting like an excited teenager with a lot of Energy. You should refer to him by his actual name, Dorian," the Opposer said.

"Oh? So he's still alive?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer nodded. "He's making great progress in the Laws. He abandoned his pure path of lightning and condensed an Avatar of the Minor Law of the Elements. He is also fighting and challenging a lot of other Cultivators."

Gravis had to smile when he heard that. "That's quite a powerful level three Law," Gravis said. 

The Opposer nodded.

Gravis also knew this Law. This was the Law that allowed him to use all the elements, and it required the understanding of a ton of Laws. This was one of the major components of the Law of the Dead World. With this Law as an Avatar, Dorian could unleash nine elements, each with the power of a level three Law.

Additionally, Dorian was probably focusing on the same path as Gravis, understanding all the elemental level three Laws. Gravis found it funny that their paths were so similar.

"What about Joyce?" Gravis asked.

Yet, when he asked the question, Gravis felt unsure. He still remembered his promise to Joyce, but he wasn't certain if she actually cared about the promise. In addition, Gravis still remembered the feelings he had for Joyce. Because of that, he still felt a longing for her.

The Opposer checked again.

"She changed," he said.

"That means she's still alive, right?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer nodded, making Gravis release a sigh of relief.

"Her surroundings, and especially you, have changed her mindset," the Opposer explained.

"Can you elaborate?" Gravis asked.

"I'll show you," he said.

Whooosh!

A glimmer appeared at Gravis' side, and a woman appeared.

Gravis immediately noticed that this was only an image, but the image perfectly demonstrated Joyce, including her aura.

Joyce looked like a young woman with purple hair that nearly reached the floor, but she seemingly glared coldly at everything. Gravis also felt her Will-Aura, and he was taken aback. Her Will-Aura was really powerful!

"She is like my past self, the Black Magnate's past self, and your past self," the Opposer said. "She has completely suppressed her emotions and violently chases power."

Gravis sighed when he heard that. "Just like I have been in the lower world," he commented.

"Yes," the Opposer said.

"Does that mean that she also has an illusion of happiness based on power?" Gravis asked.

"Correct," the Opposer said. "She believes that emotions are a weakness and that she needs to reach the highest world to become powerful. She saw how you have been in the lower world and completely emulates your mindset from back then. Therefore, she also believes that this is the only path to power."

"In her mind, you are the perfect Cultivator and the perfect man. She chases power to reunite with you, believing that this will make her feel happy," he said.

Gravis didn't like what he heard one bit. After such a long time of nothing but cold slaughter, would she still even be able to feel anything but greed for power? Without knowing, she was chasing an empty goal, just like the Black Magnate.

Gravis knew how this would go. They would meet again, and Joyce would look at Gravis. At first, she would be surprised that she wasn't feeling anything when she saw him. Then, she would be confronted with her goal and would need to reevaluate her life.

After that, she would realize that the Gravis she was speaking to was no longer the Gravis from back then. The person she was chasing no longer existed. It would be no different from chasing a dead person.

Gravis felt a heavy feeling of guilt. His unhealthy conduct from back then had infected Joyce, changing her path tremendously. 

Sadly, there was nothing he could do. 

He only hoped that she would be able to deal with the tribulation when they met again.

"What about Skye?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer also remembered that one bird and checked the timestream of Skye's middle world.

"Oh?" the Opposer said with some interest and even surprise.

Gravis was taken aback. His father was surprised about something? That happened only very rarely!

"What is it?" Gravis asked. 

"The bird is still alive," the Opposer said, banishing Gravis' anxiety, "and she's doing well."

"Really well," he said.

"I take it that Skye has become really powerful?" Gravis asked.

"Hm," the Opposer hummed. "Not exactly, but there is something else. In terms of Battle-Strength, she is only slightly behind Joyce, but she has something else."

"The bird managed to understand the Low-Rank Law of Freedom and Suppression," the Opposer said.

Now, Gravis was also taken aback. The Low-Rank Law of Freedom and Suppression were level two Laws. Gravis knew the level four variants of these Laws but knowing the initial Laws was already very impressive.

With these two Laws, Skye already managed to get a foot in the door of the hardest Situational Laws. This meant that she had the talent to become a Heaven's Magnate in the future.

Sure, Joyce might be more powerful currently, but Skye had already taken two very difficult steps towards the peak of power. 

After some seconds, Gravis had to laugh loudly. "Skye is so similar to me!" he shouted while laughing. "She also knows the Law of Freedom! This is really great!"

The Opposer nodded. "I would also count it as impressive."

Gravis thought back to when he had met Skye for the first time. Back then, Gravis had fought Skye to test his new powers, but they had been interrupted by the Lightning Guild and Fire Guild. After that, they had stayed together, and Skye had become Gravis' first real friend in the lower world.

Now, Gravis no longer feared that he and Skye had drifted apart. They both chased freedom, and such like-minded spirits could always get along. 

'Manuel, Dorian, Joyce, and Skye are still alive,' Gravis thought. 'This is already better than I would have thought. There's a high chance that I will meet them again, and I'm already looking forward to it.'

"Thank you, father," Gravis said. "How about my friends from the middle world?"

"Who was that again?" he asked.

"Azure, Styr, Ferris, and Meadow," Gravis said.

This was more recent, and Gravis had spent around a thousand years with them. Because of that, the Opposer remembered all of them.

"They are all still alive," the Opposer said. "Azure, Styr, and Ferris entered a higher world where they counted among the beasts with the most powerful Battle-Strength. Thus, there is a high likelihood for all of them to reach the highest world."

"Meadow is probably still in the middle world, right?" Gravis asked with a smile. All his friends from the middle world were still alive. That was great!

"Yes," the Opposer said. "Her choice of nearly using up her longevity is a smart one. When she reaches the age of 100,000 years, she will comprehend a level four Law, and she will probably also use that Law as an Avatar. Her Battle-Strength is the most powerful out of all your friends, by far."

Gravis nodded. Meadow was really powerful.

"Are Azure and Styr still together?" he asked.

"Yes," the Opposer answered. "They don't interfere with the other's tempering but protect the other from situations that would kill one of them. Their strategy for cultivation is also impressive."

"What's Ferris doing?" Gravis asked as he leaned back with a smile.

"He is following someone around, who is very confused by this," the Opposer answered. "It's a black snake, and Ferris just keeps following it. The snake seems really confused by this since it wants to be left alone, but it also feels like it shouldn't abandon Ferris."

"The snake appears cold and heartless on the outside, but it actually has a warm heart deep inside. The snake is also very smart and calculating. These two things are the reason why Ferris is following the snake. Ferris knows that the snake knows better what to do and follows its suggestions," the Opposer said.

Gravis could very well imagine that scene, and it made him laugh. Ferris' simple and trusting personality was the perfect counter for scheming but inwardly friendly beings. 

"What about the Inferno Emperor?" Gravis asked.

"Do you want to fight him?" the Opposer asked.

Gravis smiled and shook his head. "To be honest, when I saw him ascend, I had made the plan to get a lot of money in the highest world to buy a portal to his world and kill him. That was the initial reason why I even considered making money."

"But I don't think that he is important enough," Gravis said. "He might think of me as important, but I don't think of him as important. Chasing old grudges to such a length seems like a waste of time. When I get the opportunity to kill him, I'll take it, but I won't chase him like this."

"Also," Gravis said, "with his mindset, he probably knows far fewer Laws than me, but his Realm is probably already far too high. His Battle-Strength might have become average, but his Realm is probably unbeatable for me."

"Quite a good evaluation, Gravis," the Opposer said. "He is violently chasing power, killing and consuming one beast after the other until he became an Immortal King. This gave him enough leeway for when you appear in his world. Right now, he is comprehending Laws."

"Immortal King, huh?" Gravis commented. "That's really fast. Sure enough, with that much power, he would only need to sneeze at me to kill me."

Gravis put the empty cup of coffee down.

"Now, what about Aris and Cera?" Gravis asked.

"Only around 2,000 years have passed for them," the Opposer said. "They are still in the Law Comprehension Realm. Your advice of understanding as many Laws as possible has helped them. As long as they are in the Law Comprehension Realm, the true powers don't care about them, and they are on their way to comprehending their own level three Laws."

Gravis released a huge sigh of relief. Gravis had a ton of friends, but his children were by far the most important to him. Hearing that they were doing well made Gravis feel an incredible feeling of relief. 

It was like a ton of pressure had vanished from his shoulders.

"That's good," Gravis said. "I'm so relieved. You actually can't believe how relieved I am."

"Yes, I can," the Opposer said. "Because that's also how I felt when you ate the middle Heaven's Avatar."

Gravis smiled brightly. "Then, that's also good. Thanks, father," he said.

"No problem," the Opposer answered, and for once, he was also smiling, a truly rare sight.

"Well then," Gravis said as he stood up. "Now that I have seen the progress of my friends and family, I don't want to feel left behind! It's time to fully concentrate on my Laws!"

"Let's see how long you will take," the Opposer said.

Gravis smirked. "We'll see."

And then, he was gone again.

He wanted to share the happy news with his daughter!