Lightning Is the Only Way

"This stone is not for members of the Purist Sect," the old man said. "I think you made some mistake."

Gravis laughed a bit. "I'm not a member of the Purist Sect," he said.

The old man's eyes widened in shock. 

This Peak Immortal King was not a member of the Purist Sect?

"You could have just asked one of our Elders if you wanted to join us," the old man said awkwardly. "Your power is more than enough to just be directly accepted without any tests."

"Well, the thing is," Gravis said slowly. "I don't really want to join the Purist Sect."

Silence.

The entire training area fell into silence.

Not wanting to join the Purist Sect?

Why?

Everyone in the training area checked Gravis out, and none of them could feel his power, which surprised them to no end.

In the beginning, they had thought that this was some arrogant youngster that didn't know the power of the Purist Sect. Yet, none of them could feel Gravis' power.

This couldn't be an arrogant youngster if he was that powerful.

The old man furrowed his brows in a displeased expression. "Then why are you here?" he asked.

"I want to put up a nice show for my honey over there," Gravis said, gesturing at Stella.

Everyone looked over, and they saw the stunning Core Elder Stella.

Honey?

Meanwhile, Stella became red in the face as Gravis openly called her his honey in front of so many people. 

She felt like she was losing respect in the Sect.

However, Stella quickly realized that this thought was idiotic. After all, who was Gravis? Why should she feel ashamed by a public show of affection from him?

So, in the end, she winked at Gravis.

A lot of the surrounding members of the Purist Sect gritted their teeth.

Many of them had chased Stella, but they had all been turned down without exception. She told all of them that she already had a man.

Yet, they had never seen this man.

So, this was her man, yes?

A mere Peak Immortal King!?

Yes, Peak Immortal Kings were powerful, but Stella was a Core Elder. Many of her suitors had been Immortal Emperors themselves.

Yet, Stella had turned all of them down for a Peak Immortal King.

This was so unfair!

Gravis received a ton of derisive looks from the members of the Purist Sect because of their envy. 

However, the old man's eyes shone a bit as he looked at the Form Law Stone.

In the middle of the stone was a cross-shaped mark.

The people that weren't from the Purist Sect didn't know that this mark wasn't supposed to be there.

What was this mark?

Well, many years ago, an unaffiliated Peak Immortal King wanted to join their Sect, and when he unleashed his Form Law, he left behind a sword-mark on the stone.

To achieve this, one needed to have an above-average level five Form Law. 

This person had then directly become a Core Elder.

This had been Liam.

Then, many years later, Stella had appeared, and she had heard from Liam that he had left a mark on the stone.

So, Stella also left a mark with equal depth in the Form Law Stone, creating this cross-shaped mark. 

If she had wanted, she could have left a far deeper one, but she wanted to complement the mark of her brother.

Now, a third unaffiliated Immortal King had appeared that knew the previous two.

'Seems like you're going to receive another mark,' the old man thought as he looked at the stone.

"Fine," the old man said, having calmed down quite a bit. "Unleash the full power of your Form Law."

Gravis nodded.

However, he didn't strike immediately.

Instead, he turned to the gathered people.

"Gathered Cultivators!" Gravis shouted. "Today, you are about to witness history!"

The gathered people blinked a couple of times in confusion.

"For over a hundred thousand years have I traveled the land, comprehending all sorts of Laws!" Gravis said with power. "Now, I have achieved the ultimate Form Law, and I will go down in history as the person with the most powerful Form Law!"

"Watch as history unfolds right before you! Watch as the stone, land, mountains, rivers, clouds, horizon, and even the entire world gets split in two!"

"My name is Gravis! Remember this name well! In the future, you can tell your grandchildren with pride that you have seen the legendary Gravis soaring to heights never seen before!"

Silence.

More Silence.

'What have I done?' Stella thought as she hid her face behind her hands in shame. Her face had become a deep crimson from shame.

Beside her, Liam looked at Gravis with a strained face, trying not to cringe.

'How is he so bad at boasting!?' Liam thought.

The Sect Master and Vice-Sect Masters also looked with uncomfortable expressions at Gravis.

It wasn't that his boasts were over the top. After all, he could probably achieve what he had just claimed.

However, the way he had phrased everything was just… bad.

He didn't seem cool, prideful, powerful, mysterious, or anything else.

He could have just walked up to the stone, unleash his Form Law, and then walk away. That would have appeared infinitely more impressive.

He could have just said "watch" and then unleash his Form law. That would have been just as impressive.

He could have done so many other things.

Yet, he said these over-the-top, awkward words.

Gravis didn't appear powerful.

He appeared like an arrogant youngster with a fragile ego. The boast felt like Gravis needed to prove his power to others in order to live with himself.

In short, the boast made him appear mentally weak.

This was why Stella, Liam, the Sect Master, and the Vice-Sect Masters looked with discomfort at his performance.

They knew that he was powerful.

Yet, he managed to appear impossibly weak with his words.

However, all of this was only natural.

When had Gravis boasted?

When had Gravis postured?

Gravis had tried posturing once before in the lower world, but he had noticed that he was horrible at it.

Since then, Gravis had never really tried to boast again.

A lifetime without experience in boasting and posturing meant that Gravis' ability of posturing was horrible beyond compare.

Gravis just couldn't boast.

Gravis could do a lot of things, but he couldn't do that.

Why had Gravis boasted, even though he hadn't done that before?

Well, he had promised his honey that he would put up an amazing show.

So, he tried to boast.

After a moment of shock, all the faces of the onlookers transformed into disgust and pity.

Was the guy mentally challenged?

However, instead of saving himself by directly unleashing his strike, Gravis only continued standing there, pointing towards the horizon.

'What are you doing!?' Liam thought in frustrated rage. He had a nearly irresistible urge to help Gravis get out of this mess. 'Just unleash your strike!'

Gravis wanted to leave a dramatic silence, but it was only dramatic in his mind.

Everyone else felt the silence to be awkward beyond compare.

"Just strike," the old man beside the stone said neutrally, wanting to help him.

'This poor guy.'

Gravis noticed that the old man looked uncomfortable.

Then, he inspected the gathered people and noticed that none of them were impressed.

Gravis immediately realized that his boast hadn't had the desired effect.

He tried his best to not become red with shame.

'I shouldn't have tried to posture.'

Gravis moved his hands forward and then pulled them apart.

WHOOOM!

All the living beings behind the stone for millions of kilometers were pushed a couple meters to the side. 

Then, Gravis readied his saber.

He struck.

SHING!

Nothing.

Silence.

The onlookers were confused.

Nothing had happened.

Gravis put his saber away and lifted his right hand.

SNAP!

CRK!

The world fell into stunned silence.

The jaws of the onlookers fell to the floor.

What had they just witnessed!?

Even Stella and Liam had been stunned into silence.

In the palace, the Sect Master and Vice-Sect Masters had also stopped thinking.

The world had been split in two!

Everything for over a million kilometers in a straight line had been cut in two.

Even the Form Law Stone had cracked apart and now laid on the ground in two pieces.

It hadn't even managed to shine.

By now, the Vice-Sect Masters no longer doubted Gravis. 

This Form Law…

They had never seen anything like it!

Not even their Ancestor or previous Keeper had ever shown such a powerful Form Law.

In the stunned silence, Gravis turned around with a smirk.

"I didn't lie, did I?" he said with a smirk. 

'I hope that looked cool.'