Lightning Is the Only Way

After Arc left, Gravis' mood had improved by a ton.

Tempering!

It was high time for some more tempering!

Even more, this would be his first opponent six levels above himself!

A feeling of overwhelming pressure appeared on Gravis' shoulders.

He knew that feeling.

This was the very familiar feeling of pressure Gravis got whenever he was about to truly put his life on the line.

However, the feeling of pressure had a much greater impact than usual.

Usually, Gravis enjoyed this feeling since it meant that Gravis was about to become even more powerful. This feeling had accompanied Gravis ever since he had started cultivating. It had been ever-present for a huge part of his life.

But things had changed.

Now, Gravis was not only living for himself but for others as well.

Especially Stella.

What if he died?

In the past, Gravis wouldn't have minded dying since it that would only have meant that he hadn't been powerful enough.

But now?

Now, Gravis had a lover.

What if he died?

What would Stella feel?

How much pain would Gravis' death inflict on her?

There was an old saying: "A man without shoes doesn't fear someone with shoes."

This saying refers to the concept of loss. 

A man that was so poor that they couldn't afford shoes didn't have anything to lose. Because of that, such a man was willing to jump into danger again and again. 

No one would miss them.

They didn't have any accumulated wealth.

Why not bet the little things he had for a brighter future?

In comparison, the man with shoes had a family, wealth, and a high status in society.

If he died, all of his past work would have been for nothing.

In the past, Gravis had had nothing to lose but his life.

His father and mother would get over Gravis' loss and continue on. Because of that, Gravis had never feared death much.

But now, Gravis had invested over 200,000 years into his Cultivation, and he had reached a terrifying amount of power. Even more, Gravis had Stella now, and Gravis had no idea how Stella would deal with Gravis' death.

Would she even get over it?

Would she commit suicide?

Gravis didn't want her to commit suicide, even if he died.

All of this magnified the pressure manifold, making it feel nearly overbearing.

'No wonder Orpheus stopped cultivating after becoming a Star God,' Gravis thought. 'He also found a partner.'

'When I just met Orpheus, I couldn't believe why he would stop cultivating after achieving so much.'

'But now, I understand.'

'Maybe Orpheus thought that it was enough. He didn't need more.'

'I can also do that.'

Gravis had to sigh.

'Huh,' he thought with a derisive tone in his mind. 'Look at me. I feel so pressured that I seek solace in the fact that I still have a way out.'

'These thoughts are not different from suicidal thoughts when someone goes through emotional turmoil.'

'Humans often think about suicide, but most of the time, these thoughts make withstanding the pain easier.'

'Why?'

'Because it shows the human that they still have a way to escape the pain.'

'They don't need to use it.'

'They only need to know that they have options left and that they still have control over their life.'

Gravis snorted.

'Surprising that I find myself in a similar situation now. I think about giving up to reduce the pressure on my shoulders, but I know exactly that I won't stop.'

'I'll always continue, no matter how difficult it will get!'

Gravis banished these thoughts from his mind and teleported to Stella with an excited smile on his face.

Stella was surprised when she saw Gravis.

Why?

Because she had expected him to comprehend the Law of Humility much faster.

She had expected that Gravis would, at most, take maybe 300 years.

Yet, he had been gone for over 1,200 years.

However, when Gravis told her that he had comprehended the level five Law variant of the Law of Humility, Stella's shock transformed. It went from one extreme into the other.

An Emotional level five Law in just a bit over 1,000 years?

That was crazy fast!

However, Stella's shock quickly transformed into pride.

This was her man, and her man was amazing!

Her man was the best!

This night, Stella and Gravis united again, and it was like no time had passed for both of them. 

It was like this was the first time they were together.

Their love was as new and fiery as the first day.

The next day, Gravis informed Mortis about everything that had happened and about the incident that would happen in about 3,000 years.

Mortis was satisfied with Gravis' progress and said that Gravis could relax for 3,000 more years.

Gravis was happy when he heard that and immediately spent more time with Stella.

The 3,000 years passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, Mortis had comprehended another Law, the Law of Twilight. This was the Mixed Elemental Law of Shadow and Brilliance.

Only seven more to go!

Gravis and Mortis had comprehended a ton of level five Laws since the last time they had consumed another Law Comprehension Life Fruit.

Sadly, there was a problem.

Gravis only had fruits of Laws left he already knew.

However, Gravis didn't mind very much. The only usage of these fruits was to save time, and time was something that Gravis and Mortis didn't lack.

They weren't even Immortal Emperors yet.

As soon as they reached the Immortal Emperor Realm, they would immediately get another 200,000 years of longevity.

Therefore, Gravis didn't really mind that he was out of relevant Law Comprehension Life Fruits.

Then, just as Arc predicted, about 3,000 years after Gravis had returned from the Heaven's Trial, something major happened.

Actually, calling such an incident major was an understatement.

For humans, this incident could only be described as apocalyptical!

The Nine Elements Sect, All-Matter Sect, Primordial Force Sect, Life Sect, and even the frontline of humanity felt like a gigantic weight had been put on their shoulders.

Only the Purist Sect was able to deal with the incident in a relatively calm fashion, but they also became nervous.

Gravis also quickly got word of that piece of information.

How?

"So, you're a Chief Judge now, huh?" Gravis asked with a smile as he drank some tea.

"Yes, it was a difficult road, but I'm pretty secure in my position now. It also suits my skillset rather nicely."

In front of Gravis sat a tall man wearing black robes and a silver mask. All his features were hidden, and no one could feel him with their Cultivation.

It was like he didn't even exist.

Yet, Gravis was able to feel him.

Why?

Because Gravis knew the level five Law of Humility, just like the person in front of him.

Who was that?

It was Siral!

After they all split up, Siral had joined Underworld and worked his way upward. After some time, the upper echelon of Underworld noticed his exemplary performance in getting rid of internal troublemakers and traitors, which prompted a thorough background check.

The higher-ups of Underworld found out that Siral had been part of the Gravitas, their previous business partner. Additionally, they also found out that Siral already knew of the connection between the Purist Sect and Underworld.

Usually, such people would be exterminated quickly since they compromised Underworld's location.

However, the higher-ups weren't stupid.

Siral should have known their secret for tens of thousands of years. 

If he had wanted to hurt them, he had had plenty of time to do so.

Instead, he worked for them and never leaked their secret.

So, Siral's knowledge of Underworld's secret transformed from a dangerous liability to an advantage.

Having someone that knew the truth about Underworld investigate their members was far better than having someone that didn't know it.

Siral was quickly put into the investigation department, and his exemplary performance made him shoot through the ranks.

In the end, Siral became one of the five Chief Judges responsible for the investigation department over the territory of an entire Peak Sect.

Due to his position, Siral was also forced to increase his strength by a lot.

Right now, Siral was in the Early Major Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm.

When the incident happened, Siral came personally to inform Gravis.

Why did he inform Gravis?

Because he believed that Gravis would be very interested in this piece of information.

After talking for a couple of hours about old times, Siral got to the point.

"Something happened," Siral said.

Gravis' eyes immediately narrowed.

Was it finally time?

Did Arc's prediction come true?

"What happened?" Gravis asked.

Siral finished the tea before him.

"The Highest Commander of humanity was killed by a human."