Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis had to take a deep breath. He knew that the higher Heaven would be powerful, but that powerful? Gravis knew that he was also very powerful, but he couldn't even imagine reaching such an insane level of Law Comprehension as an Immortal Emperor.

But Gravis remembered the words that his father had spoken to the highest Heaven. "But I'm not supposed to fight someone that powerful, right?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer nodded. "More or less," he said as he drank more coffee. "The only way for you to not receive the Brand is to fight the Old Bastard's firstborn, but the firstborn won't be allowed to unleash its full strength."

"In the end, we agreed that the Old Bastard's firstborn would only be allowed to unleash the Law of the Living World," the Opposer said.

Gravis took a deep breath again. This was still incredibly powerful, but at least he could see a chance. "I presume this does not include the Emotional Laws?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer nodded again. "It's only the Law of the Dead World combined with the Law of Life. Yet, the Old Bastard's firstborn has the Law of the Living World as its Avatar. This means that all Elemental, Material and Life Laws can be wielded on a higher level. You will have to fight against someone that can unleash a vast multitude of different attacks on the level of level seven Laws, also called Highest Laws."

Gravis nodded. The level seven Laws were called Highest Laws because Cultivators only came in contact with these Laws in the highest world, and this Heaven would be able to unleash a ton of them. 

"How many Immortal Emperors know the Law of the Dead World?" Gravis asked.

"Depends on which one you mean and where," the Opposer said. "The Mid-Tier Law of the Dead World is not common at all since the Immortal Emperors in the higher worlds have no way to look at weaker materials from a middle world. In comparison, in the highest world, around 1% know the Mid-Tier Law of the Dead World. Jake is one of them."

Gravis nodded.

"The High-Tier Law of the Dead World is basically unseen at this level. Right now, there are two Immortal Emperors in existence that know it. It only becomes more common in the Star God Realm, but it's rare even among them."

"As for the High-Tier Law of the Living World," the Opposer said as he paused. "No one below the Ancestral God Realm has ever managed to learn this Law."

"Well, except for me, of course," the Opposer added as he drank more coffee.

Gravis nodded absentmindedly as he stared into space. His mind was currently still trying to process the entire dynamic. He was supposed to fight the highest Heaven's firstborn. Yet, what if he didn't want to? 

Agreeing to this would mean that Gravis would be following the highest Heaven's path again, which he didn't like at all. Gravis loved freedom, but his freedom was once again constricted, being forced to fight someone he didn't even know. 

The Opposer knew what his son was struggling with, but this time, he remained silent. Gravis was an adult, and he had to find the answers to his questions himself. Gravis should be smart enough to make the right decision.

After nearly a minute, Gravis sighed. "Short-term investment for long-term benefit," Gravis commented.

The Opposer knew that his son would make the right decision and nodded. "Exactly. Right now, you only have a trial-version of freedom by refusing to follow the Old Bastard's path, not the real one. If you want the real one, you need to be willing to pay the price."

Gravis nodded lightly. "This time, I need to follow what you two have agreed upon. Otherwise, I will never gain my freedom in the future. It's a necessary sacrifice for my future goal."

Gravis drank from his coffee. "I presume this world is also a battle world?" he asked.

"Yes," the Opposer said. "Battle worlds follow the cultivation techniques and paths that give you the most powerful Battle-Strength out of all of them. The Ascenders from battle worlds are very dominant when they arrive in the highest world, and whenever one of them appears, a lot of Sects try to recruit them."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow. "The most powerful Battle-Strength?" he asked. "I thought it depended on the individual Cultivator."

"Mainly, yes," the Opposer answered. "But on average, the Cultivators in battle worlds are more powerful than Cultivators from other worlds. The main reasons for their overwhelming power are the Weapon Laws."

"What's so special about them that they allow Cultivators to become so powerful?" Gravis asked.

"Cultivating Weapon Laws is very different from cultivating all other Laws," the Opposer said, "but I don't want to tell you more about it. It's better when you enter the world and learn it yourself. I can only give you the advice that you need to advance very far in your Weapon Law if you even want to have a chance against the Old Bastard's firstborn. This part will be integral to your success."

"That important, huh?" Gravis uttered as he thought about his saber. "Having a World Weapon probably helps with that, right?"

The Opposer nodded. "It helps a lot. Having a World Weapon makes it far easier to comprehend a Weapon Law since it has a far closer connection to you, but I would advise you to keep your World Weapon or your ability to create them a secret."

Gravis nodded. "Because the higher world doesn't have them, right?"

"No," the Opposer said, surprising Gravis a bit. The higher worlds also have World Weapons? "From time to time, someone will be able to understand the Mid-Tier Law of the Dead World and invent the concept of a World Weapon themselves. Yet, these Cultivators don't share their knowledge or their services with others."

"Because of that, the general public does not know how World Weapons work. There are some World Weapons laying around in the higher world, being kept under strict guard in the powerful Sects. New disciples will try to adapt to the World Weapon but will most likely fail. After all, their aura needs to be nearly identical to the previous owner's to work," the Opposer said.

"So, when you show that you have a World Weapon, every major Sect will go crazy for it, and if you show your ability to forge them, you will be held in custody forever, being forced to create World Weapons. If you refuse to make them, you will be killed. After all, if they can't have it, no one can."

Gravis nodded with a frown. This meant that he had to disguise his World Weapon and only use it when absolutely no one was around. Yet, Gravis couldn't guarantee that no one was watching. After all, as long as someone's Realm was higher than Gravis' Will-Aura, Gravis wouldn't be able to feel them as long as they didn't want to be found.

"Sounds like I should create my entire equipment with the High-Tier Hard Pure Material Law and keep my World Weapon hidden. Additionally, I can only use my World Weapon to practice in a safe environment," Gravis said.

Gravis looked out of the window with narrowed eyes as his mind tried to come up with a solution. 

"Got it!" Gravis said with a smirk.

"What's your solution?" his father asked.

"Lightning Fork and a high-tier Life Ring," Gravis said.

Yet, Gravis suddenly started frowning again. "Wait a second. Life Rings don't have access to the Laws," he said.

"They don't," the Opposer said, "but specifically for Weapon Laws, that doesn't matter."

"It doesn't?" Gravis asked in shock. How was it possible that it didn't matter? When he couldn't feel the Laws, how was he supposed to understand them?

"It doesn't," the Opposer repeated. "Take it as some free advice from me. Your solution works."

Gravis smiled and nodded. "Thank you, father," he said.

"No problem," the Opposer said. "You are an adult, and you should be able to resolve your problems on your own, but I can still give you some advice from time to time. After all, I'm your father."

"Thanks," he said again. "So, now we know what waits for me."

"Are you afraid?" the Opposer asked.

"A little bit," Gravis answered. "This will be the hardest fight of my life, and there is a high chance that I won't win. Yet, it's the path I have chosen, and I'm willing to risk everything for it."

"Let's see how it goes."