Lightning Is the Only Way

"No, you can't just cultivate all of the Elements. That's not how it works."

A middle-aged man with black hair was currently standing in front of several youngsters in a lecture hall. The students listened intently to their teacher as he taught them the basics of Cultivation.

"Why not?" a youngster near the back asked with a frown.

"Because, no matter what you do, the Elements will clash in one way or another," the teacher said. 

The teacher walked over to the blackboard, and three pictures appeared on the blackboard like magic. All three pictures showed a stickman and a white sphere.

The first picture showed how the white sphere was inside the stickman.

The second picture showed how the white sphere was bound by a chain, which was being held by the stickman.

The third picture only showed the stickman, but there were lines that indicated that he was shining.

"As you all already know," the teacher said. "There are three ways to cultivate with an Element. However, every single method has an issue when more than one Element appears."

The teacher pointed to the first picture.

"The first method is to absorb the Element into your body, creating an Elemental Seed. As you all know, this method is the easiest to cultivate, but you can't use it forever. At one point, you have to switch to one of the other two. Yet, the later you do it, the harder it becomes."

Suddenly, a black sphere appeared beside the white sphere in the first picture.

"Now, can anyone tell me what will happen if we introduce a second Element?" the teacher asked.

One of the very few girls in the class stood up. "They will clash inside your body. You will most likely die, but if you somehow manage to survive, the two Elements will either have canceled each other out, or one will have prevailed, leaving you with that one."

The teacher nodded with appreciation. "Correct."

"Now, the second method," the teacher said as he pointed at the second picture, the one with the chained white sphere. "The second method is to completely subdue the Element. Cultivating this method is harder, but you won't be influenced by the temperaments of the Elements."

Then, the black sphere appeared again.

"What if we introduce a second Element?" the teacher asked.

The same girl answered again. "The same thing will happen. Just because you have the Element under control doesn't mean that they won't clash with each other."

The teacher nodded.

Then, he pointed at the third picture. "The third method is to assimilate the Element. This is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to connect with an Element. Your affinity towards it will also increase by several ranks. Sadly, advantages come with disadvantages, and disadvantages come with advantages."

"This method will slowly change your mindset until you are not yourself anymore. You will slowly adopt the temperament of the Element until your own temperament nearly perfectly reflects it."

The students didn't think much of these words since they had heard them before.

However, if any member of the Nine Elements Sect or its subsidiary Sects had heard these words, they would explode with righteous anger.

This was forbidden!

This was a forbidden way to cultivate!

Yes, becoming one with the Elements was possible, and yes, it would increase one's affinity with the Elements to incredible heights.

However, this method could become incredibly dangerous depending on which Element a Cultivator chose.

The Wood Element was fine. The person cultivating it would only become tranquil and friendly.

The Water Element was also fine. The person would become a bit moody, but they could go with the flow.

The Light Element was okay. The person would think of themselves as better and always right, but they could still interact with other humans.

Wind was also fine. The person would only desire freedom and become more carefree.

Earth was fine too. The person would simply become more taciturn and inflexible. However, they would become very dependable in turn.

Metal was also okay. The person might seek battle more than others, but they would still retain their moral compass.

The problems were the last three remaining Elements.

Lightning would be bad. Sure, the Cultivator would seek justice, but they would only follow their own moral compass. Even more, the Cultivator would retaliate with deadly force against anyone that was perceived to be going against them. Humans needed to work together. One couldn't just directly kill someone because they said something carelessly.

Fire would be horrible. The Cultivator would become a battle-crazed maniac. They would require constant bloodshed, destruction, and battle. Humans needed some downtime too. They couldn't fight endlessly all the time. How could such a person fit amongst humanity?

Darkness would also be horrible. The Cultivator would basically become an unfeeling psychopath. They would manipulate other humans for their personal gain, which would damage the entirety of humanity!

Yet, this Cultivation method that was seen as forbidden in this world was being taught by this teacher.

If this teacher were found by the righteous Sects, he would immediately be executed along with everyone he knew.

"What about the third method?" the teacher asked with a smile. "What if I introduce another Element?"

The girl answered again. "You will die."

The teacher nodded. "Correct."

Then, the teacher looked at the student who asked the question. "Does this answer your question?"

The student looked at the teacher with furrowed brows and threw the girl that had answered all of these questions diligently a derisive sneer. 

"What if there is a fourth method?" the boy asked.

The students groaned.

Just let the teacher continue teaching!

"Possible," the teacher answered patiently. "There could be a fourth method. After all, I don't know everything. However, I'm pretty confident that you won't find the method in the next 100 years."

The student gritted his teeth.

This teacher was underestimating him!

"What makes you so sure?" the student asked with an icy voice.

"Well," the teacher answered with a smile. "I'm pretty strong, you know. Also, as you see, I'm rather old. I only came to this academy as a guest-teacher because I was bored. I'm simply living out my retirement with my beautiful wife."

"You know, I've seen quite a bit of the world," the teacher said with a nostalgic voice. "The entirety of my knowledge can only produce these three methods."

The student dismissed what the teacher said.

"Hey, could you finally shut the fuck up!?" a big guy in the second row shouted towards the student that had been arguing with the teacher. "Get off your high horse! Our last elemental teacher only knew of a single method, and it was far worse than any method our new teacher came up with."

The student wanted to argue back, but he didn't dare to.

This was Big Barry, the strongest of the class and also the school champion.

Big Barry would tear him to pieces in a fight! 

With an unwilling heart, the student sat down and went silent.

Big Barry shot the student a glance and looked back at the teacher.

Then, Big Barry bowed politely. "Excuse me for my choice of words," he said politely. "Please continue the lecture, Mr. Gravis."

Mr. Gravis nodded and waved off Big Barry's apology. "It's fine."

Big Barry sat back down, and Mr. Gravis continued his lecture.

An hour later, the students dispersed.

Mr. Gravis slowly walked along the city streets with a happy and excited smile as he bought some food from a middle-aged lady in an alleyway.

Her food cart was very remote since she enjoyed standing in the cool shadows of the buildings, but there was still a long queue in front of her.

Mr. Gravis happily bought two bowls of noodles and walked home.

After half an hour of walking, Mr. Gravis reached the outskirts of the city. However, he only continued walking.

After another twenty minutes, Mr. Gravis went past the last building and walked up a hill.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Gravis arrived at a lovely house made out of stone. It didn't look as ostentatious as the buildings in the city, but it also didn't look shabby.

Slowly, Mr. Gravis opened the door with a wide smile.

"Honey, I'm home!"

In the living room of the house sat an immortal beauty.

She looked rather young, and her aura evoked peace in everyone that had the luck to be around her.

Yet, this immortal beauty was the wife of this normal, average-looking, middle-aged teacher.

Stella opened her eyes and looked at Mr. Gravis.

Then, she put her hand to her mouth as she giggled a bit.

"Honestly, I think I'm getting used to your work uniform," she said.

"You think so?" Mr. Gravis said with a wide grin as he straightened his back. 

"Yes, I do," Stella said, "but please put that away. I'm not into Cultivators with the appearance of middle-aged men."

Mr. Gravis laughed and put his work uniform away.

What was his work uniform?

His entire appearance, of course!

His small beard vanished as his hair became longer and straighter. His teacher's robes disappeared as a black shirt and black pants replaced them. His hunched back perfectly straightened as it was filled with muscles and power. 

His old eyes regained their youth and energy as they radiated vigor.

"There, happy?" Gravis said with a grin.

How shocking!

This unassuming teacher…

This Mr. Gravis…

Was actually Gravis!?

Yes, it was indeed Gravis. 

No matter how unbelievable the truth was, it was still the truth.

Gravis smirked as he held out the food he had bought.

"Wanna eat?" he asked.

Stella chuckled a bit as she looked at Gravis' appearance for a while.

"Sure, why not?"

Gravis' smile only widened as he closed the door behind him.