Ch. 1041..1050

- 1041 – Rules Change

Gravis' eyes widened in shock.

A level seven Law?

One needed a level seven Law to become a Star God!?

Sure, Gravis knew a level seven Law, but something like this was basically unachievable for nearly everyone that reached the highest world. After all, the first tribulation would pit them against a Star God directly.

How were they supposed to survive something like that!?

However, the more Gravis thought about this, the more he felt like he was missing something.

Usually, reaching the highest world sooner should be seen as an advantage, but in this case, reaching the highest world sooner would be worse.

Cultivators in the higher world had no idea about the requirements for becoming a Star God, which meant that a lot of them would simply chase the next world and then get blindsided by this ridiculous requirement.

Even more, a lot of them should have nearly exhausted their longevity since they expected that they could reach the next Realm without any big issues as soon as they ascended.

Effectively, this change would hit all the Cultivators out of nowhere, not giving them enough information to plan their future.

That didn't seem conducive to creating a lot of powerful Cultivators.

Gravis knew that Orthar wouldn't have overlooked something as obvious as that, which meant that there had to be more to this.

"There must be more, right?" Gravis asked his father. "Something must have been changed to allow Ascenders to realistically comprehend level seven Laws. Otherwise, it wouldn't make any sense."

By now, Gravis' friends basically knew everything that Gravis knew about the Cosmos except for the real secret things, and they nodded when they heard Gravis.

It wouldn't make any sense like this.

Of course, they already knew that there was more to this.

"There is more," the Opposer said. "If the requirements were exactly like this, reaching the Star God Realm would basically be impossible."

"Two other things are also different from the norm regarding Immortal Emperors," he said. "One of them only affects Ascenders while the other one affects all Immortal Emperors."

"The first thing is the reset of longevity."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow.

"When Ascender reaches the highest world, their longevity will be reset, which means that they essentially start from zero," the Opposer explained. "This means that every Immortal Emperor that reaches this world has 200,000 years before their tribulation arrives, no matter how long they have lived before that."

Gravis scratched his chin and nodded. That would, at least, give them enough time to make a plan for everything and start on their Law Comprehension.

However, 200,000 years still wasn't nearly enough for Peak Immortal Emperors to comprehend a level seven Law.

Even more, the difference between a Peak Immortal Emperor and a Star God should be at least three levels, if not four. This meant that every Peak Immortal Emperor would immediately die as soon as their first tribulation hit.

200,000 years to comprehend a level seven Law as a Peak Immortal Emperor.

That was too little.

Exar had comprehended the level seven Law of the Dead World, but he had needed nearly 500,000 years to do so. Sure, the Law of the Dead World was far more difficult to comprehend than the True Hard Pure Composition Law, which was also a level seven Law, but the chances of Exar comprehending that Law in just 200,000 were still minuscule.

One had to remember that Exar was a legendary genius. He managed to comprehend the Law of the Dead World in a higher world, which was absolutely insane. Gravis even expected that Exar was about as powerful as the Heaven's Magnates have been when they had been on his level.

Yet, Exar would most likely die if he hadn't known the Law of the Dead World and was forced to comprehend a level seven Law in only 200,000 years.

This meant that the other change of the rules had to be just as significant as this one.

"And the other change?" Gravis asked.

"The other change concerns all Immortal Emperors, Ascender or not. Additionally, this change of the rules does not only concern the Immortal Emperors in this world but also everyone stronger than them," the Opposer explained.

"Everyone?" Gravis asked. "So, even Star Gods, Ancestral Gods, and Divine Gods?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer nodded. "The True Laws are no longer as easy to comprehend as the derivative Laws. From now onward, every Law you comprehend will be the purest and highest version of that Law. These Laws represent the very basis of how the Cosmos works. Time is no longer the most important factor for comprehending these Laws."

"For most people, the True Laws are impossible to comprehend, even if you give them infinite time. The only way to comprehend these True Laws for these people is to seek enlightenment in tempering, but even that can fail."

"If you want the Cultivators to become powerful, rushing them with tribulations of ever-increasing power is no longer the right way. After all, time is not the most important factor anymore."

"Because of that, the soft longevity has been amended for every Cultivator at the Immortal Emperor Realm or higher in this world," the Opposer explained.

"Do you mean the time or the tribulation? Probably the tribulation since the time is no longer the most important factor, right?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer nodded again. "Tribulations will no longer increase in power. Instead, tribulations will always pit you against someone that is exactly as powerful as you. The Old Bastard can see through everyone, and he knows exactly how powerful everyone is. This means that all tribulations will be bitter battles to the death, no matter if it is your first or your tenth."

Gravis' eyes shone as he realized the effects of this change.

Gravis' friends might think that they knew the real reason for these changes, but they didn't.

This change wasn't because of the time it would take to comprehend a level seven Law, but because of the Brand.

Every Brand took a massive chunk of Energy out of the Cosmos, which meant that Orthar had to choose carefully how easy or difficult he made the ascension to becoming a Star God.

If Orthar made it too easy, he would need to invest so much Energy that the Opposer might strike him down when he was weak. On top of that, if the Cultivators didn't manage to become Ancestral Gods, they wouldn't be able to repay the Energy they had consumed by receiving the Brand. This would reduce the Energy in the Cosmos in total.

Yet, if Orthar made it too hard, there wouldn't be enough Star Gods, Ancestral Gods, and Divine Gods to push each other further. Without tempering, even a supremely talented Cultivator wouldn't be able to become a Divine God.

So, the smartest decision was for reaching the Star God Realm to be more difficult than reaching the Ancestral God Realm but easier than reaching the Divine God Realm. This meant that every Cultivator had the talent to become powerful enough to repay the debt while keeping the number of Cultivators still relatively high.

The change regarding the tribulation was also because of the Brand.

Orthar had invested a lot of Energy into every Star God, and he wanted for as many of them to survive. This was no longer the lower world, where Orthar didn't care what happened to Cultivators.

From now on, Orthar was invested in every single Cultivator, and every single Cultivator was important.

This meant that Orthar would push equally powerful Cultivators against each other until one of them elevated to a new level of power. Orthar had to make every single tribulation a perfect opportunity for tempering.

If one of them was a bit more powerful than the other one, the more powerful one wouldn't be under enough pressure to force the comprehension of a new Law. Only the weaker one would reach that position.

Orthar needed to force both of them to reach that state, which meant that Orthar had to create a fight so close that there was a 90% chance for both of them to kill each other if no one suddenly became more powerful.

It had to be perfect.

There were bound to be some accidents, like both opponents killing each other, but there was no way around that. This method would still be the most efficient way for Cultivators to become more powerful.

At first glance, one might think that this system could be abused. Simply comprehend a level seven Law and stay as an Immortal Emperor.

However, Orthar knew the power of everyone perfectly.

If there were no equal opponent left, only someone of a higher Realm would do.

And surviving that was basically impossible.

In short, someone that tried to play the system would still die.

They had no choice but to participate.

Chapter 1042 - 1042 – Average Power Of The Highest World

Gravis had quickly realized all the effects and advantages the new system of longevity would bring and had to agree that he couldn't make a better one himself.

In essence, the gulf between Peak Immortal Emperors and Star Gods was the final and most vicious meatgrinder on the path of reaching supreme power.

According to his estimations, there was probably an insane number of Peak Immortal Emperors, but not many Star Gods. There were probably even huge swathes of land that were simply inhabited by nothing but Peak Immortal Emperors that tried to comprehend a level seven Law.

There might even be Sects fully made of nothing but Peak Immortal Emperors.

One had to realize that Realm was not the only thing that determined one's power in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm.

Due to the power of Laws, the gulfs in terms of Battle-Strength were vast in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm.

New Ascenders generally only knew a single level six Law, but others in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm would already have over ten level six laws.

This might as well count as three levels.

Even more, every single person that managed to reach the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm was insanely talented. On top of that, their desire for power was incomparably strong.

There essentially were no Peak Immortal Emperors that didn't give their all in becoming more powerful. Even the weakest among them worked day in and day out on their power.

Being the weakest among that group of Cultivators didn't mean that they weren't giving their all.

At that point, a significant part of their strength and success hinged on the life they had been living up to that point.

Was their Will-Aura powerful?

How much time had they taken to comprehend new Laws in the past?

What did they prioritize on their path to power?

What kind of person were they?

All the past experiences of one's life determined what kind of person one was now, and it wouldn't be easy to change that mindset at this point.

Everyone had managed to reach the peak of at least one world, and everyone was outstanding in their own right.

The highest world was truly filled with the absolute elite.

It gathered the invincible elites of every world and put them in the same arena.

After thinking all of this, Gravis had to sigh as he looked at his friends.

His friends were outstanding, but were they all outstanding enough to compete with all the other elites of the worlds?

Even more, there were bound to be Cultivators that had been born in the highest world and had risen to power here.

These Cultivators would have been chosen by the powerful Sects and companies of this world, which already knew everything about the meatgrinder just before the Star God Realm.

These disciples would have long been prepared for that.

These disciples probably had even always fully taken advantage of their longevity, comprehending Laws until the very last moment of their longevity before reaching the next Realm.

The Laws of Perceived Reality were no longer a secret in this world, and a lot of Sects had probably even prepared their disciples to comprehend these Laws.

Comprehending the Law of Suppression in the Immortal Emperor Realm was difficult but comprehending it in a lower Realm was easier.

A lot of the Laws of Perceived Reality hinged on the mindset of the Cultivator. Someone that didn't care about freedom very much wouldn't comprehend the Law of Freedom.

The Sects and companies of this world would have chosen disciples based on these criteria.

Could his friends actually win against these disciples?

Some of them, sure, but not all of them.

"Urgh, look at that face," Dorian said with a groan as he saw Gravis looking at them. "Do you think we are children? Do you think we are weak?"

Gravis sighed. "No, you're not weak. It's just that everything surrounding you seems far too powerful."

Dorian snorted. "I think you're overestimating the average power of Peak Immortal Emperors."

Gravis raised an eyebrow as he looked at Dorian. "It sounds like you're underestimating them."

"He's right, Gravis," Styr said as he smiled at Gravis. "I think you are overestimating the average power of Immortal Emperors."

Gravis could accept that Dorian might be underestimating the average power of Cultivators, but he wouldn't believe that Styr would also do that. Styr was too meticulous for that.

"You are overestimating the power of Peak Immortal Emperors," Arc said with a smile.

"You too, Arc?" Gravis asked with surprise.

Arc nodded.

"Your perception of Cultivators has been warped by your surroundings, Gravis," Arc said.

Gravis lifted an eyebrow in a questioning expression.

"Think about the worlds you have been in. The lower world was average. The middle world already belonged to the top 10% of all middle worlds, and the higher world was the most powerful one of all," Arc explained.

"Ever since you reached the Unity Realm, you have been in contact with only the top 10% of all worlds. The level you see as average is already part of the top 10%."

"Do you want to know how warped your perception is?" Arc asked with a smirk.

Gravis only looked at Arc.

"The success rate of Ascenders of my world reaching the Star God Realm is over 95%," Arc said with pride.

This shocked Gravis.

Gravis knew that Arc's world was powerful, but that powerful!?

95%!?

This meant that 19 out of 20 Cultivators ascending from Arc's world were in the top 1% of all Cultivators!?

"But how?" Gravis asked. "There should be a lot of Cultivators from the highest world, and they should be even more powerful."

Arc laughed a bit. "You got things backwards, Gravis. It's exactly because there are so many Cultivators from the highest world that the success rate of my Ascenders is so high."

Gravis was confused for a second.

"Gravis, how many really powerful Sects exist in the highest world? You should know by now that there are far fewer Cultivators at the Star God Realm and higher than you're used to. How many of those create Sects? How many of those can teach disciples? How many of those are willing to teach disciples?"

"The Cultivators you have in mind are the ones being taught by the most powerful Sects of this world. It's true that these Cultivators are probably even superior to my Ascenders, but how many of them are there? They are probably only a bit more than the Ascenders coming from my world, and there are thousands upon thousands of higher worlds, all weaker than my world."

"These powerful Cultivators you're thinking about are less than one in a million," Arc said with a smile. "And what about all the other Cultivators from the highest world? After all, the highest world is about as big as all the other worlds combined. There have to be at least just as many of them as there are Ascenders due to the higher Energy density."

"How powerful are those?"

"Have they gone through several worlds where they had to continually dominate the entire world? Have they ever gone through the experience of being the most powerful being in a world? Have they ever had to violently struggle for the scarce resources in this Energy-filled land?"

Arc's words made Gravis realize that he had truly overestimated the average Cultivator.

These people Arc was referring to wouldn't even be able to ascend from a weaker higher world.

According to that, just being an Ascender already meant that someone was part of the upper 50% of power.

Gravis looked at the smiling faces of his friends again and released a sigh of relief.

Maybe there truly was a chance. After all, none of his friends were simple.

Gravis also remembered their tournament. His daughter, Cera, was a Black Demon and an Ascender. This meant that she was already above average for Ascenders. Yet, she was the weakest amongst everyone.

"Thanks, Arc," Gravis said with relief.

Arc didn't immediately answer.

Instead, his smirk widened even more.

"I wasn't done," Arc said.

Gravis looked at Arc with surprise.

There was even more!?

Arc glanced at the Opposer with a smirk, which surprised Gravis a bit.

The Opposer obviously wasn't the biggest fan of Arc, but Arc still dared to smirk at him.

The Opposer looked at Arc emotionlessly.

'Sure enough, he is just like Gravis in a sense,' the Opposer thought. 'He even rebels against the Old Bastard. It's only natural that he also rebels against me to some extent.'

The Opposer looked to the side.

Everyone present thought that the Opposer simply didn't want to talk to Arc, but Gravis and Mortis saw through their father.

Was this embarrassment!?

The Opposer felt embarrassed!?

'It's my fault anyway,' the Opposer thought.

Arc looked back at Gravis with a smirk.

"Everything I told you would be true under normal circumstances and normal times. However, these are not normal circumstances and normal times, Gravis."

"What do you mean?" Gravis asked.

"What do you think? How many Star Gods are there?" Arc asked with a smirk.

Gravis thought about this for a bit.

Then, his eyes widened as realization struck him.

Hadn't his father killed all the Star Gods!?

Then, Gravis' eyes widened even further.

How long had Gravis been gone?

'Somewhere around 28,000 years in highest world time,' Gravis thought in shock.

'How many Peak Immortal Emperors could reach the Star God Realm in 28,000 years?'

'How much more powerful can a Star God become in only 28,000 years?'

'28,000 years is barely enough for me to comprehend a level six Law, and I'm already very fast in comprehending Laws.'

Now, Gravis knew why his father was embarrassed.

"There are no powerful Star Gods!?" Gravis shouted at Arc.

"There are only weak Star Gods in the first or second level!?"

"Are you telling me that I'm essentially the second most powerful Star God just behind you even though I'm not even one!?"

Arc only smirked.

"Yep!"

Chapter 1043 - 1043 – How To Temper

Gravis almost couldn't wrap his head around his current situation.

Gravis had just returned home, and he had been prepared to meet a lot of Star Gods that could be a threat to his life.

Yet, there were actually nearly no Star Gods left!?

Everything Gravis had just heard made logical sense, but it still felt like it couldn't be real.

This was like saying that the middle world had no Lords.

It was like saying the higher world had no Immortals.

The world was essentially missing an entire Realm!

Who could serve as Gravis' tempering?

Gravis' power was growing with incredible speeds, and he already had an incredible advantage over everyone else. This meant that no one would be able to close the gap between them and Gravis.

Gravis essentially already knew six level seven Laws, while the strongest Star God only knew one.

In fact, it was even possible that Exar was the strongest Star God right now as long as Gravis ignored Arc and himself.

The next best tempering opportunity would only come when Gravis fought against an Ancestral God.

However, Gravis' Will-Aura was currently only about as powerful as a level seven Star God or however the levels were called.

After Gravis' fight with Nira, his Will-Aura had reached the level of a level four Star God, but the Gate of Death had pushed his Will-Aura even further.

Gravis knew that the Star God Realm had nine levels, which meant that his Will-Aura could be seen as being in the late-middle stages of the Star God Realm.

Yet, an Ancestral God would obviously have a Will-Aura on the level of an Ancestral God.

This meant that even just the theoretical power of their Will-Aura was higher than Gravis' Will-Aura.

One had to remember that Gravis' Will-Aura's theoretical power had always been at least equal to the theoretical power of his opponent's Will-Aura.

It had never been lower.

But now, even the theoretical power of Gravis' Will-Aura would be lower than his opponent.

The level six Law of Suppression was boosted to the power of a level seven Law by the Law of Perceived Reality and then boosted to the power of a level eight Law since it was part of his Avatar.

This meant that Gravis' Law of Suppression had the power of a level eight Law.

Yet, even if Gravis were a level seven Star God, this still wouldn't be enough to even tickle his opponent.

Right now, Gravis was not relying on his Will-Aura due to the Law of Sentience, but the Law of Sentience wouldn't be nearly as effective when fighting against Ancestral Gods.

Why?

Because the Law of Sentience could only block level eight Laws and weaker.

If a Star God needed a level seven Law to become a Star God, it wouldn't be farfetched to assume that someone had to comprehend a level eight Law to become an Ancestral God.

Which Law would they try to comprehend?

The Law in their Avatar, of course. After all, that Law was their strongest weapon.

This meant that every Ancestral God essentially had access to at least one Law with the power of a level nine Law.

The Law of Sentience couldn't suppress a level nine Law.

Gravis would have access to Heavenly Lightning, but the opponent would also have access to a level nine Law.

When both sides could only use a single Law, it meant that the complexity and flowing changes of combat would be reduced to the minimum.

When both opponents could only unleash straight punches forward, the one with the greater resilience and punching power would win.

The Law of Sentience was a double-edged sword.

On one hand, Gravis could take away all the most powerful weapons of his opponent, but it would also simplify the fights to the basics.

Gravis' originality and creativity wouldn't be worth much in that case.

Even if the opponent were only two or three levels above Gravis, they would be able to win against him if he used the Law of Sentience.

However, one had to remember that this only concerned fights against Ancestral Gods, a Realm that is incomparably more powerful than Gravis' current Realm.

This was far in the future.

Right now, the Law of Sentience had the ability to suppress every single Law of every single Star God, except Arc.

Right now, the Law of Sentience reigned supreme.

But in the future, using it would do Gravis more harm than good.

At the point when enemies had something with the power of a level nine Law, Gravis would need to rely on his other weapons. He would need the ever-changing flow of battle to win.

As soon as Gravis fought against Ancestral Gods, he would need to rely on his Will-Aura, mass of Laws, and creativity.

And that's when everything looped back to the initial problem.

Gravis' Will-Aura.

Gravis' Will-Aura would be one of the most important weapons in his future.

Why?

Because the Battle-Strength of Ancestral Gods was incomparable to the Battle-Strength of Star Gods.

Gravis knew six level seven Laws right now.

How many Laws did the weakest Ancestral God know?

At least one level eight Law and probably five or more level seven Laws.

Sure, Gravis could close the gap with his Law of Heavenly Lightning, but that Law was not part of his Avatar.

At best, it would be equal to his opponent's Avatar.

This meant that the power of Gravis' Laws and his opponent's Laws were about equal.

Body? Equal.

Energy? Gravis would have an advantage due to his Void Lightning.

Mortis would also count as a significant advantage.

This meant that Gravis would definitely win against someone on his level.

Yet, jumping levels?

Difficult.

Gravis once either had the advantage of Energy or the advantage of physical power over his opponent.

Now, everyone had the same amount of Energy and physical power.

This had been one of Gravis' key advantages.

The Law of Sentience would also become nearly useless in the Ancestral God Realm, taking away the very weapon that would help Gravis to jump six levels right now.

Gravis considered all of these things in a moment as he thought about what impact his current situation would have on his immediate future, and he didn't like the result.

'If I had the Law of Heavenly Lightning right now, and if I were to elevate to the level of an Ancestral God too, I would be able to jump…'

'Two levels.'

Gravis took a deep breath.

'It sounds depressing, but it's not like I won't comprehend more Laws until then. My Laws will still become more powerful, and if I know several level eight Laws, I can probably jump three levels, realistically.'

'If I manage to get a powerful Will-Aura, I could jump four levels. However, I can't get a powerful Will-Aura since there is no tempering due to a lack of Star Gods.'

After Gravis' exclamation earlier, his face had gone through a ton of expressions as everyone watched him.

What would he do?

How would he deal with this issue?

After some seconds, Gravis looked at his father.

"So, what did the highest Heaven do to counter this critical lack of tempering?"

"I refuse to believe that he would overlook something like this."

Chapter 1044 - 1044 – Solution

The Opposer looked at his son neutrally.

Gravis' friends looked at him with bitter smiles.

Gravis was missing the obvious thing once again due to his special situation.

"Nothing," the Opposer said.

Gravis furrowed his brows. "What do you mean with nothing? Why wouldn't he do anything?"

"Because there is no problem," the Opposer said.

"How is that not a problem?" Gravis asked with a frown.

"Because it's only a problem for the absolute minority," the Opposer answered. "In fact, there are only three beings in this entire world for whom this is a problem."

"Arcerius, Mortis, and you."

Gravis raised an eyebrow.

"Gravis," Manuel said with a bitter smile. "This entire situation has no impact on us."

Gravis looked at Manuel with a questioning gaze.

"I've already been here for quite a while, and I know a lot about this world," Manuel said. "Only 1% of all Peak Immortal Emperors become Star Gods, which sounds like not a lot, but that is actually not the case."

"As soon as I heard about how big this world is, I actually had to confirm that piece of information several times since I just couldn't believe it."

"Just a rough estimation of the number of Peak Immortal Emperors is already a terrifying number."

"The number of Peak Immortal Emperors is probably at around 100 trillion," Manuel said with a bitter smile. "So, even if only 1% of Peak Immortal Emperors reach the Star God Realm, we would probably still see the birth of over a trillion Star Gods in the next 200,000 years."

Gravis took a deep breath as he heard that number.

So many!?

"Even the most powerful of our group will find thousands or millions of beings on our level that are more powerful than us," Manuel said. "Additionally, even if we temper ourselves and kill a hundred powerful Star Gods each, there will be thousands of Star Gods that also killed over a hundred Star Gods."

"The ratio of these terrifying geniuses is obviously very low, but when used on such a gigantic number, we would still be left with a very high number of terrifying geniuses."

"In fact, the number is easily big enough to last everyone until they become Ancestral Gods, and at that point, the current situation doesn't matter anymore."

"None of us are inhibited by this."

"We can simply make a Sect or join a Sect, and we will have plenty of opponents and wars."

"The only ones inhibited by this problem are beings that can't be judged with normal standards," Manuel said with an awkward expression.

Gravis listened to Manuel and sighed.

It was true.

This was only a problem for the three of them.

Orthar didn't need to change anything.

The world would naturally regenerate and repair itself.

"So, nothing has been changed?" Gravis asked his father.

"Nothing has been changed," the Opposer confirmed.

Gravis sighed once again.

It felt quite frustrating to be one of the only ones with such a problem. Everyone else could continue their life normally, but it was just him that didn't have that luxury.

Gravis looked at Mortis and Arc.

Mortis frowned.

Arc only smiled.

"You don't seem troubled," Gravis commented as he saw Arc. "You do know that you'll also be affected by this problem, right?"

Arc only chuckled lightly. "Gravis, there are several ways out of our situation. This problem is a minor inconvenience at most."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow. "Enlighten me."

"For starters, we can just wait," Arc said. "We can concentrate on comprehending Laws for around 700,000 years. At that point, there should be plenty of Star Gods on all levels. We would have no issues in finding Star Gods with a fitting level for a fight."

Gravis had thought of that, but he really didn't take that solution seriously.

Sure, it would solve the problem, but Gravis wanted to make more progress with his Will-Aura.

On top of that, he wasn't sure if he could comprehend the new True Laws without tempering.

Sure, Gravis had comprehended a couple of level seven Laws, but all of them were special in some case, making them different from most Laws.

The Law of Emotions had nothing to do with watching matter or the Elements.

Gravis' Form Law was only so powerful because of the Law of Emotions.

The Major Law of Death had no relation to Energy.

The Law of Perceived Reality had to be comprehended in an entirely different way than from any other Law.

The Law of Sentience was just a fusion of the Law of Emotions and Law of Perceived Reality.

The Law of Primordial Force was the only level seven Law that followed the standard comprehension method.

Additionally, all of these Laws, except for the Major Law of Death, were derived from weaker Laws.

What about the True Hard Pure Law?

This wasn't derived from any weaker Laws.

What about the Life Laws?

Same thing.

Gravis would need to comprehend these level seven Laws all at once without being able to rely on any weaker Laws.

Gravis could comprehend the missing level six Laws for the Elements and the Law of Matter to create the level seven Law of the Dead World, but that wouldn't solve the issue.

Gravis guessed that he would need to go temper himself in 300,000 years again, at the latest.

At least if he wanted to make any significant progress.

Was he supposed to comprehend Laws for 300,000 years and then just wait for 400,000 years?

Sure, he could do that. After all, he was always happy to be with Stella and his family.

But what about Mortis?

And would Stella even have the time?

Stella would need to continually cultivate to elevate her own power. She could spare a couple ten-thousand years for Gravis, but not hundreds of thousands of years.

Gravis didn't really like that solution.

"What else?" Gravis asked.

"Secret Realms," Arc said. "I've had plenty of Heaven's Trials, and my Creator should have even more. He can just retrofit them to give you some tempering. It's not difficult."

Gravis' eyes shone.

That was a great solution!

If he ever needed to temper himself, he could simply enter one of those!

"That sounds great," Gravis said.

Yet, Gravis thought of something that made him frown.

"But is it that easy?" Gravis asked as he scratched his chin. "All the Secret Realms have been under the control of Peak Sects in your world, and I doubt that it will be any different here."

"Probably," Arc said.

Gravis thought about this some more, but he really didn't like the idea of joining a Sect.

If one joined a Sect while being extremely powerful, one would have a home, resources, and all the freedom.

However, these Sects would be ruled by people far more powerful than Gravis, which meant that Gravis probably had to do a lot of jobs for the Sect.

Even more, Gravis would need to join several wars, which wasn't something he was interested in.

Why?

Because the power difference in a war could be insane.

At one point, it could be that Gravis had to fight a force that he could decimate with a gaze.

However, it could also be that the opposite happened.

At that point, Gravis would be throwing his life away.

Sure, Gravis had the talent to become some supreme, chosen Core Disciple or whatever, but Ascension was no longer the goal.

These chosen Core Disciples would probably be selectively trained and pushed until they became Star Gods, at which point they would start to repay the Sect by taking on essential responsibilities.

Yet, Gravis was already a Star God.

Gravis was not powerful enough to act as a last trump card to protect the Sect from annihilation, but he also wasn't so weak that it would be more effective to increase his power than to use him as labor.

Gravis really didn't want to join a Sect.

However, Gravis quickly remembered that he was no longer in a normal world.

He was in the highest world.

This world was very different from any other world.

Just the way how businesses operated was very different from other worlds. On top of that, this world had a lot of companies.

Companies could be seen as a form of Sects, but they were very different in one specific thing.

Loyalty.

One could join a company, do their job, and leave whenever they wanted.

It was simply an exchange of service for payment.

Was there a company that had access to these Secret Realms?

Gravis looked at his father with a gleam in his eyes.

"Is there a company that I can work for to gain access to Secret Realms?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer had seen that question coming from a mile away, but he still didn't want to answer it.

Sadly, he had to. After all, his son's current problem was essentially his fault.

"Yes, there is one that is perfect for you."

Gravis smirked when he heard that.

'Knew it!'

"Which one?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer took a deep breath of annoyance.

"It's called The Heaven Company," he said, trying to sound emotionless.

At the side, Gravis' mother snorted in disgust.

Gravis blinked a couple of times. "The Heaven Company?"

"Yes, The Heaven Company," the Opposer repeated. "The Heaven Company accepts outstanding and very powerful Cultivators, starting at the Immortal Emperor Realm. They are a non-profit organization that overlooks fights between powerful Cultivators in areas with weaker lifeforms."

"They send their agents to these locations to protect the surroundings. They also keep others from interfering if someone undergoes tempering."

"As you might have already guessed, The Heaven Company is essentially the same thing as the Heaven Sect in the lower world you have been to. The only difference is that there are no Heavenborn, that they are not overbearing, and that they essentially accept everyone with sufficient power. Also, they are more modern and more flexible with their policies."

"They own around 30% of all Secret Realms in the world."

Chapter 1045 - 1045 – The Heaven Company

"The Heaven Company, huh?" Gravis repeated.

The Opposer just looked at his son.

"It just sounds like another Heaven Sect to me," Gravis said.

"In a sense, they are another Heaven Sect," the Opposer said. "However, the biggest difference is that The Heaven Company doesn't kill or suppress people unless they get attacked first. They also don't accept any payment from anyone. Their entire job consists of protecting the surroundings when powerful Cultivators fight."

"You have already experienced what destruction a fight brings, and the destruction will only get worse the more powerful the combatants become. Immortal Emperors already destroy tens of thousands of kilometers around them, and it will only grow more intense in the Star God and Ancestral God Realm."

"Cultivators are allowed to fight wherever they wish, but if they decide to fight in a crowded area, a Judge will overlook the fight and protect the surroundings."

"And how would a Judge get there in time?" Gravis asked. "Fights often break out at a moment's notice."

"The Heaven Company has access to an exclusive teleportation network that allows them to reach every part of the highest world instantaneously. The Old Bastard actively changed the Laws of the Cosmos for The Heaven Company, giving them the sole ability to do something like that."

"Alright," Gravis said. "How are they getting the information about all these fights? After all, I doubt that they have the ability to watch the entire world."

"It's a special Formation Array," the Opposer explained. "The Old Bastard uses a specific Law to connect with the Formation Array. As soon as he notices that a fight is about to break out, the Formation Array directly sends the relevant information to The Heaven Company. This means that every fight that is being fought in this Cosmos will be picked up by the Formation Array and documented."

Gravis scratched his chin as he hummed.

"So, The Heaven Company only protects the environment. Is that right?" Gravis asked.

"Yes, that, and The Heaven Company also enforces battle agreements between the two parties. If both parties agree to a life and death battle and one of them tries to flee, The Heaven Company will enforce the agreement and apprehend the party that broke the agreement."

Gravis furrowed his brows. "All of this sounds rather selfless."

"In a way, it is," the Opposer said. "However, as you are already aware of, the Old Bastard wants to protect his crop. He has no problem with Cultivators fighting around mortal cities since the world is filled with mortals, but he doesn't want to see Cultivator cities to be destroyed."

Gravis nodded. That made sense.

"Who's the leader of The Heaven Company?" Gravis asked.

"It's a spot reserved for the strongest Heaven's Magnate," the Opposer explained.

"A Heaven's Magnate?" Gravis asked with surprise.

The Opposer nodded. "The leader of The Heaven Company receives a one-of-a-kind perk that every single Heaven's Magnate desires. Therefore, all the Heaven's Magnates want this position, resulting in the strongest Heaven's Magnate having the position. Other Heaven's Magnates are allowed to challenge the leader for his spot, but it has to be done in a life and death duel."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow. "What kind of perk?"

"Eternal life," the Opposer explained.

"Eternal life?" Gravis asked with surprise.

"As long as you hold the position of the leader, your longevity pauses. When you lose the position, you will be dead since that meant that you lost in a life and death duel. In essence, it is a gamble. Either you are strong enough and live for a very long time, or you're too weak and will die even earlier than you would have died normally."

"Hmm," Gravis hummed. "I understand the draw that such a position has."

Gravis looked at his father. "And you think that joining The Heaven Company would be my best option?" he asked.

"With your requirements, yes. The Heaven Company is a company, not a Sect. You can join and work for them for however long you want, and you can also leave if you want. You can even rejoin after leaving."

"What kind of perks does The Heaven Company have?" Gravis asked.

"Everything," the Opposer explained. "They are the go-to choice for everyone that doesn't want to join a Sect. They don't get their God Stones from doing business but from the Old Bastard himself. He simply uses their God Stone storage to solidify the Energy in the atmosphere."

"If the Energy density in the atmosphere gets too high, Cultivators would advance too quickly, creating a weak foundation. That's why the Old Bastard keeps the Energy density in the world constant. Every additional Energy he draws into his Cosmos gets turned into God Stones, which will then be stored in The Heaven Company's storage."

"That means that The Heaven Company can gain access to everything in existence. They essentially have infinite money."

Gravis hummed a bit as he thought about everything he had just heard.

Joining The Heaven Company sounded great.

Gravis could get weapons.

Gravis could get Law Comprehension Areas.

Gravis could get tempering.

He could get everything he needed on his path to power.

There was only one question.

"How long do I have to work to gain the things I want?" Gravis asked.

"Not that long," the Opposer answered. "The payment follows the standards of the normal market. The rarer the things you have to offer are, and the more powerful you are, the better the payment. Right now, you have the power to protect the surroundings from a fight between level one Star Gods, which is something that The Heaven Company desperately needs."

"Since they don't have many Star Gods, they need to send Ancestral Gods to overlook the fights between Star Gods. On top of that, the really powerful Peak Immortal Emperors also need a Star God to watch their fight, but since there are not many Star Gods, some Ancestral Gods have to watch fights between Immortal Emperors."

"You can simply become a Star God and overlook the important fights. Depending on the workload, working for just a thousand years should already be enough to secure a tempering opportunity."

Gravis nodded.

But then, he sighed.

"Seems like I will join one of Heaven's organizations once again," Gravis lamented. "Well, at least this time, it will be aboveboard. I don't have to hide my origins."

After hearing more about The Heaven Company, Gravis noticed that it was truly different from the Heaven Sect in the lower world.

The Heaven Sect suppressed geniuses and executed people that went against their rules.

In comparison, The Heaven Company only acted as a neutral party that protected the world from any fights.

Funnily enough, The Heaven Company was probably the most popular and well-liked organization in this entire world. After all, they protected the weak beings without expecting any repayment.

Most Cultivators probably saw the Heaven Company as some sacred, selfless organization filled with heroes.

And, in a sense, it was.

They did protect everyone, just due to a different reason.

"Fine, I'll join them," Gravis said.

Then, he turned to his group of friends.

"What do you guys want to do? Do you plan to create a Sect or something?"

Chapter 1046 - 1046 – Myriad

"Well," Skye said from the side with a frown. "Originally, we intended to create a Sect with you, but it seems like that's no longer possible."

Skye pouted like a little girl, and Gravis had to sigh.

"I know, sorry," Gravis said. "I also looked forward to meeting all of you again. I also wanted to go on adventures with you again and relive our past, but I don't think that's possible anymore."

Gravis looked at his friends with a bitter smile as he remembered how he had ridden on Skye's back in the lower world.

That had been a long time ago.

"Things have changed too much. I can go with you to some places, but it won't be the same. The things that are dangerous for you guys are not dangerous to me, and the things that are dangerous to me will directly kill you."

Gravis took a deep breath and sighed.

"Things are no longer the same."

Silence.

"Great!" Ferris shouted with an excited smile, drawing odd gazes from everyone. "So, we only need to become more powerful, right? As long as we are several levels above you, we can have fun together again, right?"

Some of the people shook their heads, but Gravis actually thought about Ferris' words.

"Actually, that's not false," he commented, drawing surprised gazes from everyone. "I will probably reach the Star God Realm soon to help in the comprehension of my Laws. At that point, I will probably just comprehend Laws for a long time. When I'm done, all of you will probably be several levels above me again."

"At that point, we should be about equal in strength, right?" Gravis asked with a smile.

Several of Gravis' friends nodded with smiles.

Yeah, that was a possibility.

"When the time comes, we can search for some Secret Areas," Gravis said with a smile as he looked at Manuel. "That would be like the Heaven's Trial back then, right?"

Manuel nodded with a smile. "Yes, it would be. Actually, I hadn't thought that we would be able to go through something similar again, but the words you've just said made a lot of sense to me. I'm sure that there are some special areas in this world that groups can go to together, right?"

Manuel looked at the Opposer.

The Opposer nodded.

Manuel's smile widened. "Great," he said.

"Sorry, but I have to decline," Arc said from the side. "I'm too interested in my new freedom, and I want to see the world. I've been stuck in my world for way too long, and I want to feel my power rising again."

Gravis nodded at Arc. "No problem. You do whatever you want."

Then, the group talked about many random topics for a long time. After a while, Gravis' friends even warmed up to the Opposer.

Of course, that was mostly thanks to Gravis' mother, who kept breaking down the Opposer's image in front of everyone.

After some time, Mortis left with his mother.

The two of them wanted to get to know each other more. After all, the situation was a bit awkward between them.

Arc didn't have much to contribute, but he liked listening to everyone. He wasn't impatient in any way since he had lived far longer than any of them.

SHING!

Then, someone arrived.

"Where's Mortis?" Joyce asked the group with narrowed eyes.

"He's with my mom," Gravis answered her.

Joyce threw Gravis a short glance, which no one was able to decipher.

Well, no one except for Gravis and Arc. After all, they knew the Law of Sentience.

They saw that Joyce had a lot of complex emotions inside of her, the most prominent of which was her pride.

She felt like she had lost against Gravis when she had accepted that she wouldn't be with him. She didn't want to be with him regardless, but that didn't stop her from feeling like she had lost.

It was a nonsensical feeling.

Joyce obviously didn't have a great opinion of Gravis, but that didn't bother Gravis.

It wasn't really important what Joyce thought of him since it had no power over him.

Was Joyce one of Gravis' friends?

Honestly, Gravis wasn't sure right now.

She had changed a lot.

For now, Gravis simply treated her with politeness, like a stranger.

Surprisingly, Joyce didn't leave, but she also didn't sit down.

Instead, she leaned on one of the walls and acted like she wasn't listening.

Gravis found that image humorous. 'Why do you have to act like you don't care when you obviously do? I mean, I can see it in the configuration of your Laws, but why have that configuration in the first place?'

After a while, the group started talking about what they would do next.

First of all, the two groups decided to join forces. The group from the middle world and the group from the lower world would create a single Sect.

Why?

Because they all had something that connected them, and they were all rather outstanding in their own right. Additionally, they were all honest and direct people, which made it easier for them to talk to each other.

Gravis hated two-faced people, which was why there were no two-faced people in this group.

First of all, they had to find jobs for everyone, and the first job they all talked about was the position of Sect Master.

Two beings immediately came to mind.

Manuel and Styr.

The two of them talked with each other, trying to create the perfect plan. None of the two tried to push their ability to the forefront. They only wanted to find the optimal configuration.

In the end, it was decided that Manuel would be the Sect Master.

Why?

Because dealing with humans was harder than dealing with beasts.

Beasts generally didn't have much emotional complexity since they were missing emotions like love, making them easier to manage, but humans were different. A lot of humans acted contradictory to their own personalities, which seemingly made no sense.

Manuel wouldn't have issues with managing beasts, but Styr would have issues with managing humans.

That was why Manuel became the Sect Master.

Styr decided that the position of Oracle sounded fitting for him.

Gravis had come up with that position when he had built the River Tribe, and Styr felt like it suited him.

Styr would be the being that all the disciples in the Sect could ask, but he would probably mainly deal with beasts. After all, beasts felt more comfortable talking to other beasts than to humans.

Styr would not directly join the hierarchy of the Sect but would be outside of it.

No one could order him, and he also couldn't order anyone.

After that, everyone talked about the two positions of Vice-Sect Master.

Well, they wanted to talk about it, but they actually didn't say anything.

No one wanted that position.

Joyce was definitely not suited for that position.

Skye hated responsibility.

Dorian wanted to feel like a hotblooded youngster, traveling the world and making enemies everywhere.

Ferris was not suitable for the position.

Azure was the prime candidate, but she really didn't want the position. However, she said that she could take the position if absolutely no one else could be found.

Sary had the ability and mindset for that position, but she also didn't want to. She wanted more private time for herself.

Sadly, that was everyone already.

Silence.

"What about Aris?" Ferris asked. "He smelled really friendly and dependable."

Gravis hadn't met his son since his return, making him unable to evaluate Aris.

However, Gravis' other friends fell into thought.

"He seems like someone that could be an amazing Sect Master or Vice-Sect Master," Styr said.

Gravis lifted one of his brows.

'Did Aris change that much?'

"I agree," Manuel said. "Gravis, could you send Aris to me later when you see him? I would like to ask him personally."

"Sure," Gravis said with a nod.

"Thanks."

"Also, I think we now also know the second candidate," Gravis said with a smile.

Manuel nodded. "Liam," he said.

Gravis also nodded.

They hadn't considered people from outside this room while talking about the Sect, but as soon as Ferris brought up Aris, they remembered that there were more people.

Liam was perfect for the Vice-Sect Master position.

Liam didn't have the kind of charisma and power a Sect Master needed, but he could get along with basically anyone and was able to command a lot of authority.

On top of that, he was really powerful, coming in third in their tournament.

Liam had always seemed lackluster in comparison to Stella and Gravis, but he was actually amazingly powerful.

'However,' Gravis thought as he looked at Manuel. 'If Manuel unleashes his true power, how powerful will he be? He knows a lot of Laws of Perceived Reality and a lot of Emotional Laws. He might even be slightly more powerful than Stella, but I can't be sure.'

The discussion about the remaining spots was finished rather quickly.

Sary would deal with recruitment, and she would also create a group in the Sect that would deal with the mundane things, like resource management, disciple management, and so on.

Joyce and Azure would act as the generals. They would be responsible for organizing all the disciples for battle and tempering. They would also act as striking forces if another organization wanted to request help from their Sect.

Dorian and Skye would be responsible for gathering resources for the Sect. They would travel all around the world and send anything valuable they gathered to the Sect.

Ferris was responsible for security. He would simply sit around all day, comprehend Laws, and watch the Sect.

Gravis assumed that Stella would also join them, and he also knew what she would most likely want to do.

Assistance for everything.

If any part of the Sect needed assistance, she could jump in and support them. Stella was uniquely predisposed for this position since she was basically good at everything.

And like that, every position was basically set.

The only things left were to ask the beings who were not present if they agreed and name the Sect.

Gravis already thought of a fitting name.

"How does Myriad Sect sound?"

Chapter 1047 - 1047 – Friends Disperse

"Myriad Sect? Why?" Azure asked.

Manuel and Styr quickly noticed why Gravis chose that name and nodded.

"Myriad means basically everything," Gravis said. "In a sense, this Sect has been created with beings from many different worlds. A significant chunk comes from elemental worlds, while another significant chunk comes from natural worlds. With Stella and Liam, you also have people from battle worlds. This Sect basically encompasses all the different kinds of worlds."

"Speaking of," Gravis said as he remembered something. "I totally forgot about Exar. Arc, do you think Exar would be interested in joining?"

"It's possible, but not certain," Arc answered. "It depends on if Exar is happy where he currently is and what position he would get. He isn't someone that likes to work beneath someone that's weaker than him. He probably hasn't reached the Star God Realm after realizing that he has received a boost of longevity, but he is still the most powerful out of everyone in the Sect. If you want him to join, you have to give him a position with full authority."

Gravis nodded.

Exar would definitely be the most powerful member of the Myriad Sect if he joined.

Exar knew at least five level six Laws and one level seven Law.

Stella couldn't even fight him.

Gravis hummed a bit in thought. "I think there's a possibility," he said as he looked at Manuel. "Dorian worked as a kind of underground assassin or something similar, right?"

Manuel and Dorian nodded.

"I could imagine Exar leading some form of underground organization that belongs to the Myriad Sect but works independently. In essence, he would get resources from the Sect but will manipulate the political climate in secret. You could see it as an investment. You would invest into Exar, and he will manipulate the information flow and political climate of your rivals, which will result in them making a fatal mistake."

"That sounds quite complicated," Styr said. "On top of that, there is a huge chance of failure. Are you sure that Exar can do something like that?"

Arc snorted.

"That was literally Exar's job for several hundred thousand years," Arc commented. "He's basically the best in that regard. My entire world danced on the palm of his hand, and he didn't even need to use his power to achieve that."

"Then, that sounds good," Manuel said with a smile. "I agree with Gravis' proposal. Arc, if you find Exar in your travels, could you send him our way? I would like to talk to him about everything."

"Sure," Arc said, "but I can't promise anything."

"Of course."

Then, Manuel looked at everyone. "So, everyone agrees with the name Myriad Sect?"

Everyone nodded.

"Great!" Manuel said with a smile. "Then, let's all prepare ourselves and get the things we need."

Everyone nodded again.

"Manuel, I will soon give you some money to get you started," Gravis said. "I have some things that I can sell for quite a bit of cash."

"Gravis, you also need God Stones," Manuel said. "You really don't need to do this."

"No, I don't really need God Stones right now," Gravis said. "After all, I will join The Heaven Company soon. On top of that, I'm not just giving you the money. I'm investing."

Skye had to chuckle from the side.

Gravis seemed a bit like his mother right now.

"Investing?" Manuel asked.

"Yep," Gravis answered. "I'll give you the money, and you can simply pay me back in a different way. You can give me some materials to help me learn the Hard Pure Law, for example. You can also just repay me in the future with God Stones when you have the wealth to do so."

Manuel thought about this for a bit and nodded. "Alright, then, thanks," he said.

"No problem," Gravis said.

After they talked about the specifics, everyone shared their addresses with Gravis and Arc.

Back then, it had been really difficult for Gravis to get an apartment in Opposer City, but everything was different now.

They were all Immortal Emperors.

Just their leftover wealth from their higher worlds already went into the millions of Immortal Stones, which wasn't even that much for their Realm. Yet, it was an incredible amount of money for Immortals.

All of them had talked for several days, and now, it was time to continue their way forward.

Everyone scattered as they prepared everything to create their new Sect.

After everyone was gone, only Gravis, Arc, and the Opposer were left.

"Thank you again for everything," Arc said. "It really means a lot to me."

"No problem," Gravis said with a smile. "I also want you to have your own freedom."

Arc only smiled. "So, aren't you going to ask?"

Gravis was a bit confused for a second.

"You already forgot?" Arc asked with a laugh.

Gravis really didn't know what he meant.

BZZ!

Some azure lightning appeared on Arc's finger.

Then, Gravis' eyes widened.

"Oh, right!" he shouted. "Arc, could you-"

BZZZ!

The bolt of Heavenly Lightning entered Gravis' body, and Gravis' mind stopped working.

It was like Gravis' mind was absolutely overloaded with information as it fully focused on processing the information.

If anyone attacked him in this state, he wouldn't be able to defend himself.

"Huh?" Gravis said as he snapped back to reality.

"How are you so good at this!?" an angry voice shouted in frustration.

Gravis turned his head in confusion.

Right now, there were three other people in this room.

One was Arc.

One was the Opposer.

One was the Black Magnate.

Right now, the Black Magnate was playing some form of boardgame with Arc, and by the looks of things, the Black Magnate was losing horribly.

"You might have the advantage in Laws, but I have the advantage in experience," Arc said with a smirk.

SHING!

Another Arc appeared in the room, but this one had broken teeth, was unwashed, and jumped around like an idiot. "You might have the advantage in Laws, but I have the advantage in experience," he shouted as he jumped around.

SHING!

Then, the second Arc was gone.

SHING!

A second Black Magnate appeared in the room, and he looked just as ridiculous as the other version of Arc had been.

"Duh, look at me, I think moving my A3 56 Energy Particle to x64 y79 is a great idea. Oh man, I bet my opponent can't follow my plan," he said like an arrogant idiot.

BANG!

The second Black Magnate was annihilated by the real Black Magnate.

"Another one!" the Black Magnate shouted at Arc in anger.

The Opposer sat at the side, and Gravis could see a slight smile on his face.

Obviously, the Opposer enjoyed watching Arc destroy the Black Magnate in the game.

"Oh hey, Gravis is done," Arc said with a smile. "Come over! You wanna join us for a round?"

Gravis only chuckled a bit. "How long have I been in comprehension?" he asked.

"About six months," the Black Magnate answered. "Comprehending a level nine Law takes a long time, even if the information literally gets shoved into your head."

Gravis nodded as he walked over.

Then, he looked at the Black Magnate, who also looked back at him.

"So, how have you been?" he asked.

"Shitty."

Chapter 1048 - 1048 – Heavenly Lightning

Gravis had to laugh at the Black Magnate's comment.

"That bad?" he asked.

"Yes, that bad!" he answered with annoyance. "I always win against your father in this game, but this guy, who isn't even a Star God, beats me every time!"

Gravis chuckled a bit. "I mean, you have watched my journey, right? You know how Arc is."

"No, I don't," he answered. "Us Heaven's Magnates can't sense Heavens for some reason. Whenever you interacted with him, it was like you were talking to air."

Gravis was a bit surprised by that but realized that it made a lot of sense.

Arc had talked about some dangerous topics, and Orthar probably didn't want to kill one of his strongest Energy magnets due to him finding out too much. So, Orthar simply made the conversations between Gravis and Arc secret.

The Black Magnate probably met Arc for the first time after he came to the highest world.

"How are you actually losing?" Gravis asked. "You should be able to see through Arc's entire being. You should know what he will do before even he knows what he will do."

"Heavens work very differently from normal beings. Their Laws are hidden from everyone," the Black Magnate answered. "Didn't you already notice that?"

Gravis blinked a couple of times and looked at Arc.

Gravis was a bit surprised when he realized that Arc didn't seem any different from usual.

However, exactly that was the issue.

When Gravis had comprehended the Law of Sentience, all the Laws of everyone below the Star God Realm had revealed themselves to him. Yet, Arc didn't seem any different.

It was like Arc didn't have any Laws making up his being.

"Huh, I never noticed," Gravis said.

"You know how my Creator is. The fewer people know about him, the better," Arc said with a smile.

Gravis nodded. Orthar left nothing to chance.

"So, how does it feel to know a level nine Law?" the Black Magnate asked with a smirk. "Powerful, isn't it?"

BZZZ!

Gravis summoned some Heavenly Lightning, and the azure ball of lightning floated on his finger.

Gravis knew everything there was to know about this ball of lightning, and he also knew how powerful it was.

Its destructive power was insane!

Gravis also realized that this was the highest Element achievable by normal people.

Even the Heaven's Magnates used Elements on this level.

This Law should even be enough for Gravis to become a Divine God, which felt insane to him.

It was the one True Law of Lightning.

Gravis hadn't even comprehended a second Element among the level six Laws, but he had already comprehended a level nine Elemental Law.

It felt unreal to him.

Just a tiny bit of this lightning could destroy a vast area of land.

Its speed was also insanely fast.

As long as Gravis combined the Law of Heavenly Lightning with the Major Law of Death, he had the power to injure beasts six levels above himself, which had seemed impossible in the past.

Divine Lightning would have only allowed Gravis to injure beasts five levels above himself, and only if they let the Divine Lightning strike them directly.

Heavenly Lightning allowed Gravis to injure beasts six levels above himself, which didn't seem like a big upgrade, but the strength of Heavenly Lightning didn't lie in its destruction.

No, it lied in its speed.

It was impossible to avoid Heavenly Lightning for anyone six levels above Gravis.

As soon as Gravis unleashed an attack, the enemy would get hit.

It didn't matter what they would do.

"It truly is powerful," Gravis said. Then, he looked at Arc. "Thanks, Arc."

"Hey, you did more for me than I did for you," Arc said with a smirk. "You shouldn't thank me."

Gravis nodded with a smile. "What will you do now?"

"Well, I waited for you to recover to give you this," Arc said as he threw something over.

Gravis caught it.

It was a ring.

"This is a communication ring I created myself. I will soon travel the world and look at everything. I will probably remain a Peak Immortal Emperor for a while longer but will become a Star God when my longevity is about to run out. Then, I will probably remain a level one Star God until the Star God population has recovered. At that point, there's plenty for me to fight."

"As long as we are both in the Immortal Emperor Realm, this ring should allow us to communicate, regardless of the distance. However, when one of us two reaches the Star God Realm, the ring won't be able to sense the presence of the other person anymore. After all, I only know the Major Law of the True World, not the real one."

Gravis nodded.

"Anyway, that should be about it," Arc said as he stood up. "We will see each other again, Gravis."

Gravis nodded again. "Yes, we'll see each other again."

Arc winked at Gravis and teleported away.

And he was gone just like that.

Arc officially started his journey in the highest world.

No one in the highest world knew that an unprecedented monster joined their Cultivation world.

Even Gravis would be helpless against Arc.

Anyone that had malicious intentions towards Arc would only find death.

While Gravis was thinking about Arc, the Black Magnate smirked at the Opposer.

"Want to go for a round?" he asked.

The Opposer looked at the board and then at the Black Magnate.

"How about arm wrestling?"

The Black Magnate covertly hid his right arm behind his back.

"How about Law Energy Stimulation Simulation?" he asked.

The Opposer furrowed his brows.

"How about a contest of wills?"

Gravis found the scene a bit amusing, but he didn't linger for long.

"I'll come back later, father, alright?" Gravis asked.

His father nodded. "Go visit your wife and kids. We can talk later."

SHING!

Gravis teleported away and entered Opposer City.

It didn't take him long to find his family.

Five people were currently shopping in one of the streets.

One of them was a beautiful woman with long red hair.

It was Stella.

One of them was a cute young woman with long black hair.

It was Yersi.

One of them was a young man in a suit with a happy smile.

It was Jake.

One of them was a man with short red hair, who currently looked at some weapons.

It was Liam.

The last one of them was… Gravis?

Gravis looked over, and his eyes widened.

For a moment, he had believed that he saw himself, but he soon noticed some differences.

This man had longer black hair, and he also seemed more like a middle-aged man instead of a young man.

His long hair was very voluminous, and it looked almost like a mane that hung down his back. One could even say that his hair looked very wild.

The man was currently smiling at Yersi and laughing with her.

"Aris?" Gravis asked with surprise.

Everyone looked over, and they saw Gravis.

Stella smiled at him but held herself back.

She would have enough time to be with Gravis later.

Yersi's eyes widened, and an excited smile appeared on her face.

Aris saw his father.

A peaceful smile crossed his lips.

"Hello, father."

Chapter 1049 - 1049 – Aris And Gravis

When Gravis heard Aris speak, he felt like he was meeting someone completely new.

Aris had always had inner conflicts. Some parts of human psychology and beast psychology battled in his mind. One side told him that he should get into contact with others more and join a group, while another part of himself told him that he didn't need all that. He only needed power.

Gravis knew of all these inner conflicts, but when he saw Aris again, he felt that the conflicts had been resolved.

The Opposer had told Aris that he should go into a world where the tempering was organization-based, not species-based. In that world, humans and beasts joined the same powers, and they lived in relative harmony with each other. The enemies were not the ones that didn't look like them, but the ones belonging to other powers.

Apparently, living in such a world for such a long time had done a lot to shape Aris' personality.

Well, that and time. After all, Aris had spent nearly 200,000 years in that world.

"Aris," Gravis said with a smile on his face as he came closer. Then, Gravis looked Aris up and down. "Honestly, when I just saw you, I thought that I saw another version of myself. You really resemble me."

Aris smiled slightly.

Pack!

Gravis' eyes widened as Aris pulled him into a hug.

"I missed you, father," Aris said.

Gravis was taken aback as he heard Aris' words.

Without noticing it, Gravis' feelings were going wild.

Gravis had always told himself that his children were beasts and that it was normal for them to not want to spend any time with him. He knew that, and that was why he always gave them their free space.

However, this didn't mean that Gravis didn't wish for a deep connection with his son.

After all, Aris was his son!

Even if they hadn't met for a long time, Aris was still one of the most important beings in his life.

Gravis returned the hug and embraced his son.

This was the first time that Aris had hugged him of his own volition.

"Sorry for being such a burden back then," Aris said.

"Don't say that," Gravis answered as he gently pushed Aris away. "As your father, it was my duty to help you on your way. I've never seen you as a burden."

Gravis and Aris looked into each other's eyes.

"If I didn't know that you were an honest person, I would have doubted these words," Aris said with a smile. "When I joined my Sect, I saw how hard it was for human parents to let go of their children. I also saw how difficult it was for them to allow their children to temper themselves."

"I saw so many parents break down when their children left for a fight, and whenever I saw that, I was reminded of you. Was this how you felt when we left?" he asked.

Gravis sighed with a bitter smile. "It was difficult. It was hard to see you guys growing up in the wilds while constantly having to fight off other beasts. It was hard to see you guys leave for the Tribes to temper yourselves, but the hardest part was watching you guys leave for the higher world."

"The chances were not high for you to return alive, and we wouldn't see each other for a long time."

Then, Gravis smiled as he put his arms on Aris' shoulders. "But here you are! You've grown up as a person!"

Aris smiled. "I have matured, and I now realize how much of a burden I must have been back then."

"Don't say that," Gravis repeated. "You've never been a burden."

"I'm not just saying that," Aris said with a more serious voice. "Even now, I am riding on your power."

Gravis looked at Aris, and he saw that Aris fully meant everything he said.

"In my time in the higher world, I have been saved by sheer luck a couple of times," Aris said. "For Heaven, I count as a beast, and I shouldn't have any Karmic Luck. Yet, if I didn't have Karmic Luck, I wouldn't be saved by luck several times."

"The reason why I am still alive is precisely because I am your son. Even when you were not there, you protected my life."

"You are probably working really hard to stay important to Heaven so that we don't die."

Gravis listened to Aris, and an awkward smile appeared on his face.

"Ehm, about that," Gravis said awkwardly. "I didn't really work that hard, you know?"

Gravis remembered the tens of thousands of years he had spent with Stella, doing absolutely nothing.

Working hard?

Eeehhhh.

"I know," Aris said with a reassuring smile as he put his hand on Gravis' shoulder. "You're human, just like half of all beings. You can't work yourself to the bone at all times, and you need your breaks. I understand that. But I don't want you to undervalue yourself. Without you, most of us would probably already be dead."

"It is rare for anyone without Karmic Luck to reach the highest world. Even with the inclusion of all the natural worlds, only one beast arrives for every two humans. Humans don't have worlds where only humans are, but beasts have worlds where only beasts are. If there were no natural worlds, not even one in a hundred Ascenders would be beasts."

"This is the power of Karmic Luck. It is the force that tips the scales when an outcome is uncertain. When two parties have the same power, it's all down to luck, and the party with less luck will die."

"You saved my life several times while not even being there. In a sense, it hurts my pride, but I also know that luck shouldn't be a deciding factor in fights."

"You have supported us in the middle world while we all looked down on you time and time again, forcing you to prove your power to us. You could have just abandoned us for our unthankful conduct, and you would have done nothing wrong."

"I learned a lot about humans, and the fact that you were willing to help us so much is not something many people would have done."

"We were born of an exchange. You would get the chance to reach the Nascent Nourishing Realm, and we would get the gift of life. Our mother abandoned us, and there was nothing to it. I'm partially a beast, and I realize that there is nothing wrong with that."

"We were beasts with mindsets completely unlike human mindsets. We didn't feel any love for you, and we only saw you as a more powerful beast of our race. We didn't think about your survival, and we didn't care."

"You knew all of these things, but you still never stopped loving us. You helped us time and time again, even though we were neutral towards you, at best."

"Most people would have simply cut contact. After all, you also have to think about your own power and Cultivation."

"Yet, you didn't. You stuck by us and helped us out several times."

"I wanted to tell you these things for a long time, and I'm happy that I finally have the opportunity to do so."

"From now on, I am truly your son, and I'm proud and happy to have you as my dad."

Tears had already gathered in Gravis' eyes.

Was this a dream?

Was this truly his son?

Gravis had interacted with his three kids for only a minority of their life, and he had often blamed himself for not being there for them.

They had grown powerful all on their own, and Gravis felt like he hadn't done much for them.

Gravis felt like he was a failure as a father.

It was more like Gravis had looked at them while they were kids, and then they all already started living on their own.

It was like they had never needed him.

It was like they achieved everything themselves.

It was easier with Yersi since Gravis had spent a lot of time with her, but it was different with Aris and Cera.

Gravis had wanted to help Aris resolve his inner conflicts for a long time, but he had never been able to help.

Aris had done all of this on his own.

"Thank you, dad," Aris said as he embraced Gravis.

"No," Gravis said with teary eyes. "No, thank you. I'm so proud of you, my son."

"I'm so incredibly proud of you."

Chapter 1050 - 1050 – Gravis' Wisdom

A couple of tears left Gravis' eyes, but he didn't mind.

One of the biggest regrets in his life had lessened severely. He would still sometimes think that he did a subpar job, but at least his son managed to mature into a great man.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!"

PACK!

Another person jumped into the hug.

It was Yersi.

Gravis ruffled her hair and also pulled her closer to him.

"I missed you both," Gravis said.

"We know," Yersi said with some tears in her eyes. "I've also missed you."

Stella looked at the scene with some tears in her eyes.

Gravis had often talked about his children and about how much he missed them.

When she met Aris and Yersi, the atmosphere between the three of them was rather awkward.

After all, she was technically the life companion of their father.

Would she count as their mother?

However, Aris quickly smoothened everything over. He had a terrifying talent for de-escalating situations and dispersing awkward situations.

In no time at all, the three of them had become rather close.

They didn't see each other as children and mother, but Stella basically counted as an aunt to them.

Aris had matured, but there were still some beast parts inside of himself. If Stella hadn't been more powerful than Aris, the atmosphere would still remain harmonious, but deep inside, he wouldn't truly accept Stella as an aunt.

Yersi and Stella had become rather close in that time. Their personalities were somewhat similar, but Yersi hadn't lived nearly as long as Stella due to the time dilation.

Only 27,000 years had passed for Yersi, which couldn't compare to over 200,000 years.

It had been much easier for Yersi to accept Stella into her life. After all, Stella was much older and much stronger than her. She was even far stronger than her husband, Jake.

Liam was more of a family friend than a family member, but he didn't mind.

Liam was more interested in creating his own family.

Jake only smiled as he watched his wife embrace her father.

So many things had changed.

Jake's father-in-law had been an outstanding Immortal, but he had been only that, an Immortal.

In a sense, Jake still saw Gravis as a child due to the power difference. It was a bit awkward for him to acknowledge him as his father-in-law.

However, everything had changed now.

Gravis was so powerful that Jake couldn't even feel his Battle-Strength.

Just his wife was already so powerful that Jake couldn't even fight her, and from what she was saying, Gravis was unfathomably stronger.

Initially, it had been hard for Jake to accept something like that, but when he saw Gravis, he realized that it must be true.

He couldn't feel the truth himself since he couldn't feel Gravis' Battle-Strength, but he could discern the truth by the fact that Gravis felt supremely average to him.

However, he knew that it was impossible for Gravis to be average.

This could only mean that he couldn't feel Gravis' power, which was hard to accept but the only explanation that made sense.

After some minutes, the three of them parted again, but not completely.

Yersi hung onto Gravis' arm like a little girl, smiling the entire time.

Then, Gravis walked over to the other three people.

He embraced Stella deeply.

It was like they had never been apart from each other, which was essentially true.

For Stella, only a couple thousand years had passed, while Gravis had mostly been in comprehension during that time.

They had missed each other, but they hadn't been apart for long.

Their embrace ended quickly since they knew that they would have enough time with each other later.

Gravis nodded at Liam with a smile.

Liam also nodded back with a smile.

The awkward atmosphere between them had mostly died by now.

They were even friends by now.

Then, Gravis looked at Jake.

"Three level six Laws," Gravis commented. "Quite impressive."

Gravis saw the hidden doubt in Jake's Emotional Law fragments.

Jake didn't want to doubt Gravis, but he couldn't help it, which was why Gravis didn't mind it much.

Jake was surprised when he heard that Gravis managed to see through him.

"How did you know?" Jake asked.

"Law of Sentience," Gravis said with a smile.

Jake's eyes widened in shock.

Stella and Liam had been the only ones that had known about Gravis' new power.

Liam only referred to Gravis as unfathomably powerful, and Stella only told him that Gravis' Laws were a secret.

She wanted to give Gravis an opportunity to show off.

"You know the Law of Sentience?" Jake asked in shock.

Gravis smiled and nodded. "Yep."

Jake became incredibly interested. "So, does that mean that you can see through every Immortal Emperor's being?"

"Except for their body, yes," Gravis said.

Jake paused for a while. "How does it feel?"

"The more powerful you get, the more you learn. How the power feels is up to you," Gravis answered. "To me, having the ability to see through every Immortal Emperor isn't very different from not having it."

"I know how things work and, logically, the world and humans should lose a lot of their charm and magic, but it isn't entirely true for my case. Seeing how every being works gives the world more magic instead. There are so many Laws working together in a complex and wonderful way, giving everyone a unique color and feel."

"For example, you feel like a deep blue with some hidden red. You are a calm person, but there are still a lot of doubts deep down. You know what the best decisions are, but you are often still not happy with these decisions. Deep down, you think that there has to be a better way."

If anyone else had said these words, they would be seen as an arrogant idiot that believed they could evaluate a complex being like a human with one glance.

Immortal Emperors weren't stupid, and they knew that everyone could spout random, profound-sounding bullshit to seem more powerful than they actually were.

However, when Gravis said these words, Jake felt like Gravis knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You've been searching for the Law of Freedom for a long time," Gravis said. "You know that it's the most difficult Law to comprehend on your path to power. However, your obsession is stopping your progress. You're thinking too much. You should feel more."

Jake didn't get enlightened by these words, but he realized that Gravis was pointing out an important issue Jake had to deal with.

"Thank you, Gravis," Jake said with a slight bow.

"You don't have to thank me," Gravis said. "After all, I'm also doing this for myself. I don't fault you for doubting me since it's only natural, but it's still better if that doubt doesn't exist."

"I didn't doubt you," Jake said with conviction.

Jake didn't lie.

The doubt had been so small that he had been convinced that he hadn't doubted Gravis.

"That's exactly the problem I'm referring to," Gravis said. "Your logic is suppressing your emotional reason so much that your logic can't even see the fine details of your emotions anymore. 99% of your mind is filled with rationality and calm, and it is so overwhelming that it can't feel the tiny emotional fluctuations inside of your own being."

"Being rational is great since it helps you make the correct decisions, but sometimes, you have to make the incorrect choice. Your progress has slowed down, and it makes you anxious. If your progress slows down, it doesn't mean that you are not talented enough. No, you simply need to change your approach a bit."

"Think about that," Gravis said with a smile.

The last doubt in Jake vanished.

He didn't know what had changed inside of him, but something had changed.

Jake wanted to thank Gravis again, but he didn't since Gravis had said that he didn't need to thank him.

Instead, Jake only looked at Gravis with a smile.

"Welcome back."

"Thanks," Gravis said. "We'll be talking more from now on. There are no more worlds I have to go to, and I will stay in Opposer City for the foreseeable future. Eventually, I will join The Heaven Company, and I don't know what will happen then. But until then, I'll be here, with all of you guys."

"Oh? The Heaven Company?" Jake asked in surprise.

"I was once part of The Heaven Company."