Ch. 1151..1160

Chapter 1151 - 1151 – Torturer

Gravis looked at his mother with interest. From what he could see, she probably had a great use in mind for his Law.

The Economistress smiled widely. "Gravis, you're about to earn a lot of money!"

"Am I supposed to increase the Will-Aura of other people with the True Law of Suffering?" Gravis asked.

"That's one application, but there's an application that brings even more money," the Economistress said. "Assuming you're willing to dirty your hands."

Gravis raised an eyebrow. "Continue," he said.

"There are two things you can do besides increasing someone's Will-Aura, but both of them are a bit cruel," she said.

"First of all, you can act as a torturer. Some Sects are very interested in taking over other Sects, and they obviously want to gather as much information as possible before attempting anything. Capturing someone of another Sect without being noticed or without it being linked back to them is already very difficult but siphoning the information out of the captured person is even harder."

"Time is of the essence when it comes to information, and the captured Cultivators know that. As long as they manage to resist divulging any information for about 50,000 years, their knowledge will already be very outdated at that point. They know that the longer they survive, the less their information is worth."

"Additionally, the captured Cultivator knows that they will die, which is why a lot of them just commit suicide after a bit. Committing suicide is very difficult, especially for a Cultivator. After all, we all hang on to our lives very much. Because of that, the suicide often only happens many years after being captured."

"Of course, there are Cultivators that know Soul Laws and Mind Laws, but the really powerful Sects have countermeasures for these Laws."

"That's where a torturer comes into play. First of all, the Cultivator needs a chance to survive, or they will just kill themselves as soon as the pain gets too powerful. Because of that, your client will ask you to torture their captive person for the maximum duration, which should be 15,000 years. If someone can survive 15,000 years, they won't succumb to the torture."

"This gives the captured person a slight glimmer of hope. They know that they only need to survive that long in order to be released. Of course, only very, very few people can survive something like that, and the pain will essentially break their Spirit into pieces."

"However, the person can survive as long as they divulge all the information they know. The long time of resisting pain will muddle their minds, making it very difficult for them to make rational decisions. Most of them will just shout out random nonsense in an effort to find relief from the pain. Of course, we have Formation Arrays that can detect if someone is speaking the truth."

"On top of that, the Cultivator knows that their Will-Aura would become more powerful after having resisted the torture for so long. It's a carrot and stick thing. On one side is one of the cruelest deaths, while on the other side is an increase to their Will-Aura, and the thing that keeps them going is the eventual hope that they can live through the torture."

Gravis nodded. "What about the Karmic Luck?" Gravis asked.

The Economistress smirked. "That's the thing. The client pays you to accept all the Karmic Luck debt. So, if your client dies, you will get all the accumulated sin assigned to you."

Gravis smirked. "That sounds like a bad thing initially, but I have actually so much Karmic Luck saved up due to my previous actions that it doesn't really matter, right? Yet, my client will pay me a lot of money for that, right?"

The Economistress nodded. "Right. You have created so many Peak Immortal Emperor Cultivators that your Karmic Luck storage is vast. You might not be under the effect of the Karmic Luck, but it's there, in the background."

Gravis nodded again. "What about the other method?"

"The other method is straightforward. You get paid to torture someone to death. That's it."

Gravis raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked.

"Two reasons. First, some people are just that angry with another person that they want to torture them to death, but they are more on the rare side. The other reason is more common."

"They want to deplete the resources of their opponent," she said with a smirk.

Gravis' brows furrowed. "And how is that supposed to work?"

"Your client will give you payment they deem appropriate for their target. Then, you start the torture. During the torture, the Sect of the victim will probably find out that you have one of their members in your shop. After all, the client wants them to find out, which is why they will probably make the information public."

"The victim probably doesn't even know who their captors are. Cultivators kidnapped with that intention in mind will never see the auras or faces of their captors. After all, the captors want to remain hidden."

"In the perception of the victim, they were attacked by several masked and cloaked figures. Then, they were knocked out, and the next time they open their eyes, they are in your shop."

"You will already have gotten the money, and you will start your torture. Some time later, the Sect of the victim will arrive at your shop, and they want to purchase the victim's freedom. The generally accepted price is ten times the payment the captor has given you. So, if the captors paid you one million God Stones, the Sect of the victim would need to pay you ten million God Stones."

"If they can't pay, the person will be tortured to death. If they can, the victim will be released. When the victim gets released, you keep half of the payment, and your client gets the other half. This means that both of you made money."

Gravis thought about his mother's words, and he realized that there truly were some rather original and effective applications for the True Law of Suffering. Sects always had more money than individuals, and Gravis could earn a lot of money for basically no investment.

Of course, the moral implications of taking such a job were not very nice, but Gravis didn't really care about that. He had already killed so many people. Torturing someone to death wasn't really worse.

It was just money.

Naturally, Gravis also realized that he would probably offend some Sects. Some of the Sects would demand that Gravis release the victim, but Gravis had to decline every time. Otherwise, his business would collapse.

While Gravis was in Opposer City, the other party couldn't do anything to him, but when he left, they could hunt him down for revenge. This could become very risky.

However, the risk was still manageable. By now, Gravis knew that all information about him had been deleted from the Information Pavilion. As long as he kept himself hidden, he would be able to evade his pursuers.

"Now comes the best part," the Economistress said with an excited smile.

Gravis looked at his mother with surprise. "There's more?" he asked.

She nodded. "On its own, Samsara wouldn't be enough of a pull to attract the attention of Sects, but if they come to you with the intention of getting some information, you can offer them Samsara as an alternative. Of course, due to the damage Samsara causes you, the price will be sky-high. I would put the price at 500 million for Star Gods and 100 million for Immortal Emperors."

Gravis' eyes widened. "Who would pay that?"

"Sects that want to know everything about their opponent, but that's not the draw. The draw is the fact that they get the information instantly. You live through the entire life of the person, and you know everything they know. However, that only takes you a second."

"This means that the Sect might even get information about a secret mission one of the other Sect's geniuses is currently undertaking. They essentially get all the information about what the other Sect is doing at the very moment. Maybe the other Sect is secretly planning a raid on another Sect, and they leave one of their mines alone for a couple of days? No one would mind. After all, what are the chances of someone attacking the mine in just a couple of days?"

"Do you get it?" the Economistress asked.

Gravis' eyes shone and nodded.

"Seems like I will become a torturer."

Chapter 1152 - 1152 – First Client

Gravis and his mother talked a long time about how to set up the shop, and eventually, they came to a consensus.

Gravis would give his mother 20% of all the earnings. In return, she would get the shop, handle all the bureaucracy, and be responsible for the security in his shop. The fact that she was handling the security was the most important thing. People that know that they will be tortured to death might become rowdy and attack Gravis. If his victim were an Ancestral God, Gravis would die.

With the help of his mother, Gravis didn't need to fear anyone inside his own shop. Only Peak Divine Gods could fight his mother, and Peak Divine Gods wouldn't enter the shop of a Star God torturer. They had access to the real torturers, which were basically all Divine Gods themselves.

It took the Economistress only a couple of years to set up the entire shop, and before he knew it, Gravis could already start working.

His shop was in the main plaza of Opposer City, an incredibly expensive location. Back when Gravis had set up the Gravitas, he hadn't been in the main plaza. After all, these shops were just far too expensive, and the Economistress would have never gotten her investment back. The shop itself would have been far more expensive than all the money Gravis had made back then.

In fact, the rent was 10 million God Stones per millennium.

Gravis quickly set up his shop and looked at the sign on top of the entrance.

"Secret Name Torture Chambers."

Gravis decided to call it as such because he couldn't unveil the actual name, which was simply the Gravitas Torture Chambers.

'The Gravitas is branching out,' Gravis thought with pride.

First, the Gravitas was a forge.

Then, it was a trading firm.

Then, it was a Sect spanning millions of worlds.

And now, it was a torture chamber.

Gravis sat down in his shop while wearing a disguise. Wearing disguises in Opposer City was forbidden, but they could be worn inside buildings as long as the owner of the building didn't call the guards.

And then, Gravis simply waited.

The Economistress hadn't only invested in the shop's location and bureaucracy but also in marketing.

The Economistress had paid another 100 million God Stones to send people to the different Sects. These people would inform the Sects about the Secret Name Torture Chambers and their services.

Of course, the Economistress didn't inform Sects with Divine Gods in them. The most powerful Sects she informed were the ones on the level of the Eternal Fire Sect.

With all the marketing, Gravis wouldn't need to wait too long for his first customer, and sure enough, just a couple of months after opening the shop, his first customers arrived.

Five figures holding a body entered Gravis' shop. All of them were cloaked, and their auras couldn't be felt.

But wait, wasn't it forbidden to enter Opposer City while being disguised?

Well, the disguise regulation was only there to protect the public. As long as someone applied for an exemption, they could still wear their disguises. Of course, there were two restrictions regarding that.

First of all, the people would need to wear disguises specifically created by the city guards. These disguises would hide the people from everyone but from the commanders in Opposer City.

Second, they had to pay a hefty sum for such an exemption. These five people probably paid 100,000 God Stones just to wear their disguises.

The five of them looked at Gravis, who was also disguised.

"You know the True Law of Suffering, and you offer your services to anyone between the Peak Immortal Emperor and Peak Ancestral God Realm?" one of them asked in a distorted tone.

"Correct," Gravis answered, also in a distorted tone.

"Prove that you know the True Law of Suffering," one of the customers said.

Gravis gestured to a spike hanging from the ceiling. These spikes were connected to Gravis via Formation Arrays. There were about 25 long spikes in the room, and when they got activated, they would spear through a Cultivator and keep them in place while inflicting the True Law of Suffering unto their being.

One of the customers walked over and touched the spike. Then, he looked at Gravis, which was a signal to start.

Gravis activated the Formation Array.

BANG!

The spike extended out of the ceiling, penetrated the person's hand, and hit the ground.

"AAAAHHH!"

The person immediately started shouting in pain and fell on their knees.

CRK!

Then, the person cut off their hand immediately, severing the connection to the spike.

"Satisfied?" Gravis asked.

The person took a couple of breaths and informed his colleagues.

People on their level had never come into contact with the True Law of Suffering, which had made them skeptical of its power. After all, it was difficult to imagine a pain so strong that one wanted to kill themselves.

They talked for a long time via voice transmission.

After a minute, the five gathered together again and looked at Gravis.

"What are your prices?" one of them asked.

Gravis gestured to the wall, which had all the prices listed.

The five of them looked over, and they took a deep breath.

Sure enough, this was expensive.

Nothing cost less than a million God Stones.

However, they became even more surprised when they saw the "specials" section.

There was something on there that cost five billion God Stones!

"Instantaneous and extremely thorough information extraction – Ancestral God level – five billion God Stones."

The five looked at that in shock. Their entire Sect didn't even have a billion God Stones, and this guy wanted five billion for this service!

After a while, they made their decision.

"We would like the Peak Immortal Emperor information extraction," one of them said.

'Of course, my first clients chose the cheapest option on the menu,' Gravis thought with annoyance.

"That will be one million God Stones. Keep in mind that I will know the victim's identity and that I will also hear all the information. Of course, the information will be classified for the next 50,000 years. After that, the information shouldn't be relevant anymore anyway."

"That's fine. How long will it take approximately?" one of them asked.

"I would need to feel the aura of the person first. If you want me to make an approximation, unveil their identity first," Gravis said.

The person currently holding the unconscious person looked at someone in their group. That someone nodded, and the hood of the unconscious person was taken off.

It was a green-haired, beautiful woman, and she was a Peak Immortal Emperor.

Gravis looked at her Law fragments and could read through her personality.

Kind, forgiving, loyal, but loses control over their emotions easily.

In short, it was a normal woman, but on the kinder side.

'Well, sucks to be her,' Gravis thought.

"She's a tough one," Gravis said. "There's a 30% chance that she will kill herself. If she doesn't, she will probably give up all the relevant information after only around a decade or so due to her weak Will-Aura. You can either wait here for a decade or return later. Everything should be done by then."

"Also, keep in mind that if she decides to reveal the necessary information, she will be teleported to a secret location one day after you receive the information."

The last sentence made the customers a bit nervous. "Can't we simply pay you more to kill her after?" they asked.

"No. The hope must be real for the torture to work. If I break my word once, it will be difficult for me to continue working. I doubt that you have the finances to secure my future."

The five of them looked at each other again.

"Fine," one of them said, handing a million God Stones over.

Gravis pocketed the God Stones and teleported the woman into a separate room. The spikes in the main room were only for people that wanted to undergo Will-Aura training.

Silence.

"When will you start?" one of them asked.

"I already did," Gravis answered. "The rooms of the captives are isolated. She is currently screaming her lungs out."

"Oh, okay," the guy said awkwardly. Obviously, he felt a bit uncomfortable about all of this.

Gravis was also a bit uncomfortable. After all, he was basically torturing a nice woman.

However, money was money, and if he needed something, Gravis could be morally flexible.

"One of us will return in a decade," one of them said.

Gravis summoned an emblem and threw it over. "This is the emblem that represents the current captive. I will give the information of the captive only to the person carrying this emblem. If she decides to kill herself, I will also tell them of the result. Additionally, as policy demands it, I will return 50% of the payment if she kills herself."

The five of them looked at the emblem, nodded, and teleported away.

Gravis simply remained sitting on the floor in the middle of the room.

He could hear the painful and screeching screams from his one and only current captive.

It was like her throat became inflamed as her screams destroyed it.

She continually shouted and pleaded, even going so far as to tell Gravis about her children and family.

Her Sect needed her, and she couldn't betray the Sect. The Sect held all her family, and if she betrayed them, her family might die in an attack.

Gravis noted these things down.

She was already starting to divulge information without noticing it.

The torture would only stop when she shouted that she had divulged everything about her Sect she knew and when the Formation Array gave the sign that she had spoken the truth.

That would be the only time when the torture would stop.

Gravis didn't like it, but he had to earn some money.

People died all the time during fights, and this was only a more painful death.

The process was different, but the result was the same.

Chapter 1153 - 1153 – Will-Tempering "Is this the Secret Name Torture Chamber?" a young man with blue hair asked.

"It says so on the sign, yes," Gravis answered the stupid question.

"I would like to ask for some will-tempering," the young man said. His eyes wandered to the other people in the room.

"AAAAHHH!"

Five other people were impaled on spikes around Gravis, all of them without disguise. Will-tempering didn't need them to spend money to disguise themselves. After all, there was nothing shady going on.

The other five people were also there to temper their wills, and they were having the time of their lives judging by their painful screeches.

"Stop! I don't want to anymore! AAAHH!" one man shouted in pain.

"You paid for 50 years. You get 50 years," Gravis answered absentmindedly.

"No, please! I can't take this anymore! I can't survive 50 years! You can keep the money!" the guy shouted through pain-filled screams.

"You paid for 50 years. You get 50 years," Gravis answered again.

The newest person became a bit nervous when he saw all the people being tortured in the big room. Some of them were even more powerful than him, but they were still shouting with so much pain.

This created a kind of curiosity in the new client. Pain had long since become irrelevant to such powerful people. Pain was already unimportant for Unity Realm Cultivators. Meanwhile, the clients were all Peak Immortal Emperors, at least.

For people this strong, it was basically unimaginable to feel so much pain that they wanted to die. It just felt impossible. They wouldn't even bat an eye if someone skinned them alive.

"What would you suggest for me?" the newest client asked.

"You're a level two Star God with a Will-Aura equivalent to the level two Star God Realm. If you want a one-level increase, the chances of your death are at around 5%, and you would need to survive for 250 years. If you want a two-level increase, you would need to survive for 400 years. The chances of your death would be 30%. Three levels come to 500 years, and chances of your death are at 50%," Gravis explained.

The newest client was surprised. "How come the times get shorter and shorter? Shouldn't each tempering require more time than the previous one?"

"A mortal walking 100 kilometers will find that the last ten kilometers feel equally as hard as the previous 90 kilometers. The mortal carries the exhaustion and stress of the first 90 kilometers with them at the end. The longer you are under the torture, the more stressful it gets," Gravis explained.

"Oh, I see," the man said with a nod. "What can I get for three million God Stones?"

"That's a two-level increase," Gravis answered. "Keep in mind that the chances of you dying are at 30%. You might think that's not much, but by the end of it, your mind will nearly break, and you will basically lose yourself. You will become a mass of instincts that just want the pain to end. The last piece of rationality in your mind will completely focus on keeping you from killing yourself, while the remainder of you will scream bloody murder."

The man took a deep breath as he heard Gravis' explanation, but he also felt a bit of excitement.

This was the very familiar feeling of tempering.

It was a brush with danger.

"I will take the two-level increase," the man said with conviction.

Gravis summoned an emblem and handed it over to the man. "For any procedure with a death rate of above 10%, you need a Vice-Sect Master of your Sect to sign here. It's to protect myself from any enmity with your Sect in the case that you die."

The man looked awkwardly at the emblem. "I don't really have a Sect," he said.

"Then get an authentication of your aura from the Information Pavilion that says that you have no more powerful relatives or colleagues," Gravis answered.

The eyes of the man squinted with discomfort. "That's like 150,000 God Stones, and I need to visit the Information Pavilion without disguise."

"Take it or leave it," Gravis answered. "Securing my future is more important than the money you bring in."

The man hesitated.

"I'll come back later," he said.

Gravis nodded.

SHING!

The man teleported away.

He wouldn't come back again.

Why?

Because he had lied.

The man had belonged to a Sect, and his master had told him that he shouldn't go to the torture chambers. In a fight, the man would still have control over his life since he could unleash his strength, but by tempering oneself with the Law of Suffering, one could only rely on their tenacity.

Strength didn't necessarily equate to tenacity. Even a one-level increase would push someone beyond the point of rationality. It genuinely required someone to come into life-threatening danger, which meant that the pain had to be so powerful that one had to actively resist the urge of committing suicide.

At that point, Battle-Strength became irrelevant. Even tenacity itself became irrelevant.

At that point, one would be confronted with their own personality and goals.

Someone that only lived for power had a very high chance of dying. In their irrational state, they would start questioning their goals. What was the point of going through so much pain? What would power even give them? When they became powerful, they wouldn't need to go through pain, but they could also do that now. They didn't need power for that.

Someone with a loving family had the highest chance of survival. At that point, one wouldn't only think about themselves, but about the suffering of their loved ones. The thought of their loved ones grieving over them would push them forward.

Gravis had also been in an irrational state near the end of his adventure with the Sin Monster.

He had only focused on surviving, while Mortis had done everything else.

If Gravis hadn't had Stella, his children, and all of his friends, he would have probably just killed himself.

Of course, after getting through that thing, Gravis couldn't believe that he had thought about killing himself. The thought was so distant from what he actually believed.

Yet, Gravis had been in an irrational state due to all the pain.

How many people, when they got sick or severely stressed out, had wished that they were dead?

If that person had the ability to instantly kill themselves with a thought, would they have done it?

For Cultivators, it didn't need a conscious effort and a long process to commit suicide. Cultivators could just make their bodies explode with a thought.

A single slip-up in one's mindset was enough.

The very reason why this client's master didn't want him to undergo this form of tempering was that his master knew that the client didn't have much to live for.

Sadly, things often looked clearer to the onlookers than to the affected people.

The client himself believed that he had a powerful will, and he believed that nothing could stop him.

He believed that his master and everyone else just underestimated him.

In the end, the client wouldn't even ask his Vice-Sect Master.

Something inside of himself was stopping him.

Maybe it was a silent voice deep inside of himself telling him that his master was right?

Anyway, the client wouldn't return.

But instead, another person returned.

"The decade is over. What came of the torture?" a cloaked person asked after entering, showing an emblem.

Gravis looked at the emblem and knew that this was regarding his first client.

Gravis pocketed the emblem and summoned a jade token, which quickly flew over to the new arrival.

The new arrival looked through the jade token, and their eyes shone beneath their cloak.

There was so much valuable information in there!

The million God Stones had been worth it!

"She cracked under the pain and gave up all the information about three years ago," Gravis answered. "She is currently still being held in one of the rooms but without the torture. Since you have received the information now, I will release the client in one day."

The cloaked person still felt a bit uncomfortable about the fact that their captive was still alive, but there was nothing they could do about it.

"Thank you," the cloaked person said.

"It's my job," Gravis answered.

The cloaked person looked at the screaming people in the hall with a weird look and then teleported away.

They had to act fast!

Chapter 1154 - 1154 – Lost Wind Sect

"A Divine God just managed to see through your disguise."

Gravis' eyes narrowed when he heard that message from his mother.

"Did they see my true identity?" Gravis asked back. Gravis always kept his Law of Perceived Reality active. By using that Law, Gravis appeared like a silver-haired woman with an extraordinary aura. The people that couldn't see through his disguise wouldn't see anything, while the ones that could see through it would see the silver-haired woman. It was a double-protection.

"Your father says he would have, but I interfered. I am not good at this whole fighting thing, but I can use the True Law of Perceived Reality at least, and he can't see through the True Law of Perceived Reality," she transmitted to Gravis.

"That's good," Gravis answered.

There had been several attempts to see through Gravis' disguise in the past 300 years, and his mother had always informed him when someone had attempted it.

However, thanks to the very pricy cloak Gravis' mother had purchased, not even weaker Divine Gods could see through his disguise. Only someone that knew the True Law of the Dead World could see through his disguise.

The True Law of the Dead World was a level ten Law, which required over ten level nine Laws. In comparison, to become a Divine God, one only needed to comprehend a single level nine Law.

This meant that someone in the late stages of the Divine God Realm had just tried to see through Gravis' origins, which was impressive and scary. Someone with such power was, at least, a Vice-Sect Master of a Peak Sect.

Those were people that could change the entire highest world with an order.

It was even scarier that this person managed to see through Gravis' Law of Perceived Reality. One could only see through it if they questioned their own perception unless they knew the True Law of Perceived Reality.

This meant that the person had actively questioned their own perception while looking at Gravis, which meant they had anticipated that he knew the Law of Perceived Reality.

Gravis looked at the board showing the different services and prices.

Gravis probably wasn't the only person that had created something like Samsara. Other Peak Divine Gods and Heaven's Magnates could also create something like that.

Was this what gave him away?

Gravis quickly came up with several possibilities.

First possibility: They were only here to gain information on him. However, that possibility had the least likelihood.

Second possibility: They wanted to get rid of him since he didn't belong to their Sect.

Third possibility: They were a customer, but they wanted to know if Gravis belonged to another Peak Sect. If Gravis got information about a Peak Sect, the situation could become very delicate.

The third possibility had the highest likelihood, but it was also the most troublesome.

They would probably request Gravis' services and then kill him to silence him.

"The Lost Wind Sect, huh?" Gravis said to himself. "I sure hope they don't offend someone they can't handle."

Gravis' mother had informed Gravis about the background of this person. The Information Pavilion didn't sell information on the Peak Sects, but she didn't need the Information Pavilion for that. She knew nearly all the powerful and wealthy people in the world. It was important to know one's wealthiest customers.

"I think there was an interesting person in that Sect. He had black hair and from-"

"What do you want?"

Someone had appeared in front of Gravis, and the time around Gravis had stopped. All the screaming people were frozen in time, and the Energy stopped moving.

As soon as this happened, the strongest Divine Gods currently in Opposer City looked over.

The leaders of the City Guards noticed that one of the shops was frozen in time, which was an obvious attack on Opposer City.

The Divine Gods belonging to the City Guards readied themselves for a battle while The Heaven Company also readied themselves.

"Stand down."

This command appeared in every powerful Divine God's mind simultaneously.

It was the command of the Economistress.

The mighty Divine Gods could attempt to kill the Economistress, but no one dared to try.

Her word represented her husband's word.

No one dared to interfere.

It was technically illegal to freeze time in Opposer City, but everyone decided to overlook this transgression due to the Economistress' command.

"Quite gutsy of you to freeze time in Opposer City," Gravis said calmly. "If my background hadn't defended you right now, you would be embroiled in quite a battle. Was this to gain information on my background?"

The person in front of Gravis was cloaked, but the person also knew that Gravis knew who he was.

After all, Gravis had just unveiled several parts about his person.

This meant that Gravis' backer was currently present, and they were at least as powerful as the man from the Lost Wind Sect.

"What do you want?" the person asked again.

"The question isn't what I want, but what you want," Gravis answered. "You were the one spying on me."

"So? Is it forbidden to look?" he asked.

"Is it forbidden for me to tell others about a guy that keeps looking at me?" Gravis asked.

The man narrowed his eyes beneath his hood, but he knew that he was outmatched.

"Fine," the man said. "At least, I can tell that you don't belong to any Peak Sect opposing us. Otherwise, your background wouldn't have stopped Opposer City from attacking me. The city might not have been able to kill me, but I would lose a lot of my prestige, which would damage the reputation of the Lost Wind Sect."

"So, what do you want to forget this incident?" he asked.

"You want the priciest service I can provide, and you're willing to pay double," Gravis said.

The man thought about Gravis' words for a bit.

He wasn't actually here to request one of Gravis' services. He was just here to find out if an opposing Sect had gained a torturer. If Gravis had no powerful background, the man would have retreated and sent someone to kill him silently.

Sadly, he hadn't expected that someone on the level of a Peak Divine God was protecting Gravis.

Even worse, Gravis had been about to unveil his personal information, which would have damaged his reputation severely.

This was why he had been forced to come forth and freeze time.

Gravis's words had obviously referred to the payment he wanted to forget this incident.

Ten billion God Stones.

It was quite some money, but God Stones had stopped being relevant to someone of that level. It also wasn't really a big sum for a Divine God.

"Fine," the man said as he handed over ten billion God Stones.

"Thank you for your patronage," Gravis answered. "Now, who's the one you want information from?"

"Take it as a gift," the man said.

"I can't do that," Gravis answered. "You paid for something, and you must get what you have paid for."

The man frowned beneath his disguise. "What? Do you want me to just capture some random Ancestral God for you to look into?"

"You were the one paying for my service," Gravis said. "Also, keep in mind that the person undergoing the service will die."

Then, the man understood. "So, you aren't actually after the God Stones, but after the Law Comprehension you can glean from looking through the Ancestral God's life."

"I'm only providing a service, and I would ask you not to assign bad intentions to my words, or I might do the same thing," Gravis answered.

The man snorted. "Sure. Give me a year."

"Of course. Take your time," Gravis said.

Then, the man vanished as time resumed.

The screams of the people around Gravis continued as if nothing had happened.

Some hours later, a new client appeared.

"Sorry, we're closing business indefinitely," Gravis answered.

Why would Gravis need to continue working when the Vice-Sect Master of the Lost Wind Sect was about to bring ten billion God Stones to Gravis? The fact that Gravis had to give two billion to his mother wasn't so bad anymore.

After Gravis used Samsara on the victim, he would easily have enough money to pay for what he wanted, and even the Economistress would have made quite a profit.

The newest client left after arguing a long time with Gravis, and just some days later, the Vice-Sect Master of the Lost Wind Sect returned with a level three Ancestral God.

Chapter 1155 - 1155 – Fateful Day

Several people were still screaming around Gravis, but those were the old clients that had already paid. Gravis was about to close his shop, but he couldn't just abort their sessions.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Sect Master of the Lost Wind Sect threw the Ancestral God over to Gravis. "This one is fine," he said.

Gravis nodded. He tried to show a polite smile but realized that the other side wouldn't be able to see it through his hood.

Well, as long as the intentions were there.

SHING!

The Ancestral God was teleported to an isolated room, and shortly after that, a second Gravis also appeared.

Gravis couldn't just stop the treatment while undergoing Samsara.

"Keep him steady," Gravis transmitted to his mother.

Then, Gravis took out his saber and unleashed Samsara on the unconscious Ancestral God.

Samsara immediately started, and Gravis was greeted with the familiar scene of a mother looking at her newborn.

Gravis emotionally and spiritually distanced himself from whatever was happening. The relevant things would only start when the Ancestral God became a Star God.

Nearly a million years passed as Gravis absentmindedly watched.

Time was passing far faster than Gravis was used to, and he realized that this wasn't a good thing.

'My perception of time is getting worse and worse. At some point, I will probably feel like I just took a break to do something, but like a million years would have passed for Stella.'

'My life is filled with irrelevant memories from irrelevant dead people. The majority of my life hasn't been lived living my life.'

'This feels like such a waste.'

Gravis spent a long time thinking about his life and the effects Samsara had on his person. Luckily, he had plenty of time right now.

After an unknown period of time, Gravis saw the person becoming a Star God.

At that point, Gravis started to pay attention somewhat frequently.

Whenever the person interacted with his friends, family, or Sect, Gravis noted down all of these interactions in his mind. He was here to do a job, and he had to do it well.

The client had paid good money.

At some point, the victim, Harold, joined a Sect with the name of Greenvile Sect.

The Greenvile Sect had over a hundred Ancestral Gods, and it was only a bit weaker than the current Eternal Fire Sect.

'That's probably the Sect he is currently part of,' Gravis thought.

Then, Gravis snorted.

'It's actually funny. The Greenvile Sect is a subservient Sect to the Lost Wind Sect. Yet, the Vice-Sect Master brought me an Ancestral God of the Greenvile Sect, knowing full well that he will not survive Samsara.'

'I mean, he will probably survive Samsara. According to what I've been seeing, the guy seems rather in tune with himself. There don't seem to be that many regrets. Additionally, he has quite a powerful Will-Aura. However, mom will just kill him after we're done. I can't let someone like that survive.'

'Wonder why the guy brought me someone from one of his subservient Sects.'

Time passed, and Gravis paid attention to the important parts.

Gravis also paid a lot of attention whenever Harold was comprehending Laws. Gravis couldn't experiment with the Laws himself, but he could see what the other person did whenever someone else was present. It wouldn't grant him comprehension of another Law, but it would give him quite some experience with multiple Laws.

For the first time, Gravis also saw the world before his father's fight with Heaven.

Star Gods were everywhere.

There were still more Peak Immortal Emperors, but Sects filled with nothing but Star Gods littered the highest world.

The average number of Law Comprehension Areas a Sect owned were also far lower. There were simply far more Sects and far more Cultivators, making it harder to gain control over a Law Comprehension Area.

More time passed, and Harold comprehended his level eight Law.

'The True Law of Ancestral Wood's Soul Consumption, huh?' Gravis thought. 'Quite an exotic Law. The guy mainly keeps attacking his enemies' Spirits.'

Shortly after comprehending a level eight Law, Harold became an Ancestral God. When he became an Ancestral God, he also truly joined the actual core of the Greenvile Sect.

More time passed, and Gravis kept gathering data on the Greenvile Sect. He recorded everything from deals, to interpersonal relationships, to the Sect's history, to the secret dealings, and whatever else was relevant.

The deals were especially interesting. All these deals had plenty of security measures and clauses in place to stop any side from divulging any kind of information. The people that had been present had even undertaken oaths to keep everything a secret.

Even if Harold wanted to, he couldn't tell anyone about these things. He would have died before he could divulge any kind of information. Even Cultivators with Soul and Mind Laws wouldn't be able to overcome these restrictions.

These were restrictions that a Sect would only accept if something could never see the light of day.

Even torturers wouldn't be useful for these kinds of deals. At most, the torturer could get all the other information, but the truly sensitive stuff would remain hidden.

However, Gravis saw all of this with Samsara. No Sect put any security measures on the Law of Perceived Reality.

Why?

Well, if someone that knew the Law of Perceived Reality went against them, they would be helpless anyway. Only the strongest Divine Gods knew the Law of Perceived Reality. Protecting oneself from such a person was just wasted effort.

It was like a mortal village building a gigantic shield above it to ward off sudden meteorites striking them. No one would do that.

Then, the fateful day arrived.

Harold saw several of his children, friends, colleagues, and family dying to the Opposer's actions.

They had all been in the Star God Realm.

For the first time, Gravis saw the impact that his father's actions had had on the world. Back then, Gravis hadn't really known anything about the highest world, and he hadn't known how immense the consequences of his father's actions were.

Entire Sects had become silent as everyone died.

People fighting had suddenly died.

The leaders of some Sects had died, with their disciples mourning them.

Masters saw their disciples die in swathes in more powerful Sects.

The part of the highest world reserved for Star Gods had become desolate.

The mortals didn't feel much difference since Heaven had deleted their memories. Their world hadn't changed.

Yet, all the Star Gods for billions of kilometers around them had vanished.

The areas, which had been reserved for Star God Sects, had become a land ruled by some Immortals that had accidentally entered the place.

For the mortals, it was like all the ethereal and legendary Gods had vanished from the face of the world.

Gravis had been prepared but seeing everything for himself still gave him a profound feeling of emptiness.

The scene reminded Gravis of the time he had comprehended the Minor Law of Death.

There was still life present, but all of it was weak and simple.

After having gone through a condensation of a Sin Aura himself, Gravis could also now truly appreciate how much damage his father had caused Heaven.

Gravis had only killed about 20 Star Gods, and he had nearly died to that debt.

In comparison, the Opposer had killed an unimaginable number of Star Gods.

This had truly been a heavy hit to Orthar.

Back when Gravis had seen this day for himself, he hadn't even known what a Star God was. He had only known that Star Gods had to be powerful, judging by the name of their Realm.

Gravis had been nothing but a mere 14-year-old boy back then.

All of these things had been hundreds of thousands of years away from him.

Even the beggars had appeared unfathomably powerful. The beggars could teleport! How powerful were they!?

And now, the beggars in Opposer City just looked like beggars to Gravis.

They could only live as beggars in Opposer City or go to the Middle Regions of the highest world. Opposer City was in the Core Regions, and Immortals couldn't possibly live there on their own.

They could only live there by seeking refuge in Opposer City.

Gravis also looked at the clash between his father and Orthar, just like Harold.

Gravis and Harold were only onlookers to an apocalyptic battle on the horizon.

It was like two worlds clashed, and they were mere insects caught in the crossfire.

Back when Gravis had only been a young boy, he had been unable to tell anything from what was happening.

Now, Gravis could understand a bit more, but not much more.

Gravis could feel the fluctuations of the Major Law of Death, and he could feel the unimaginable power of Orthar's lightning.

However, that was it.

Everything else was still completely unknown to Gravis.

'Father and Orthar are still unfathomably more powerful than me.'

Chapter 1156 - 1156 – Rich!

Seeing the fateful day again left an impactful feeling in Gravis.

'Just wait. One day, I will be just as powerful, and all of this will end,' Gravis thought.

'But for now, I have to concentrate on this boring life for a bit longer.'

And thus, time continued to pass for Gravis.

Harold had been quite distraught by the event, but he continued living. His focus had changed, and he focused on becoming more powerful.

After the fateful day, the entire world underwent an upheaval.

Sects filled with Ancestral Gods were annexing all the empty land for themselves and creating subservient Sects.

The powerful Sects had become even more powerful.

And just 30,000 years later, Gravis had appeared in the highest world as a Peak Immortal Emperor.

Gravis could scarcely believe that only this little bit had passed between the time he had embarked on his journey and the time he had returned as a Peak Immortal Emperor.

'For the people in the highest world, this really only feels like it happened yesterday,' Gravis thought. 'Time dilation can be truly scary.'

The remaining 200,000 or so years passed relatively quickly, and the scene switched to the time Harold had been abducted by the Vice-Sect Master of the Lost Wind Sect.

By now, Gravis also knew why the Vice-Sect Master had chosen someone from his own Sect.

Gravis opened his eyes as Samsara ended, and he quickly activated the formation for the True Law of Suffering again.

The people in the main hall had gotten a second of pause just now, but that couldn't be helped.

"Kill him, please," Gravis said.

SSSHHH!

The Ancestral God, Harold, turned into dust before Gravis.

After that, Gravis transformed into lightning and entered his original body again.

The original body of Gravis looked at the Vice-Sect Master of the Lost Wind Sect and summoned a jade token.

Gravis had written down all the relevant knowledge on this jade token.

The Vice-Sect Master quickly read through the jade token, and his brows furrowed.

"I knew it," he said mostly to himself. Then, he looked at Gravis. "You will keep this a secret, right?"

Gravis nodded. "I will keep all of this secret," Gravis answered.

The Vice-Sect Master nodded. "Then, thanks. Your service has been more valuable than I had expected."

"No problem," Gravis answered.

The Vice-Sect Master handed over ten God Crystals.

SHING!

And the Vice-Sect Master teleported away.

Now, the question was, why had the Vice-Sect Master chosen an Ancestral God of one of his subservient Sects?

Well, Harold had been a spy for another Peak Sect.

All these super-secret dealings were reports and orders from the actual Peak Sect he belonged to.

The information Gravis had retrieved was the identities of the other spies, the identity of the other Sect, and the plans of the other Sect.

The Vice-Sect Master had known that Harold was a spy, but he hadn't known the identity of the other Sects.

But now he knew.

Gravis' actions had once more indirectly resulted in many powerful people dying.

Over ten Ancestral Gods would receive false information, which would lure the other Peak Sect into disadvantageous battles, changing the entire outcome of the battle.

Sometimes, a Star God could seal the fates of many powerful Ancestral Gods and Divine Gods.

The Vice-Sect Master had been annoyed that Gravis had demanded an Ancestral God, but now, he felt like he had benefited a lot.

Ten billion God Stones for such important information was a steal.

"Mom, could you please hide our shop from any prying eyes in the future. There might come more Divine Gods to check out the shop after today. However, we closed for business, and I can't go through another such intense round of Samsara," Gravis transmitted.

"Of course. How do you feel?" The Economistress asked Gravis.

"It's not really a bad feeling. I simply feel like I have gotten older. It feels natural, but it obviously isn't natural, which makes this entire situation feel surreal," Gravis answered.

"You only have to become more powerful. Try to refrain from using Samsara," the Economistress transmitted.

"I will," Gravis answered. "My body has only lived for about 460,000 years, but my mind has lived for millions. I'm an old man stuck in the body of a young man," Gravis said with a joking tone.

Gravis and his mother continued talking for a long time. Right now, Gravis only had to wait for his other clients to leave.

While waiting for his clients to finish their sessions, Gravis looked at the ten God Crystals. They looked blue, and Gravis could feel a terrifying amount of power in them.

He had never seen or touched a God Crystal.

Each God Crystal had the Energy of one billion God Stones inside it, but the Crystal itself was worth far more. After all, it was difficult to get them.

It was true that Gravis had gotten ten billion God Stones worth of Energy, but the Vice-Sect Master had essentially given Gravis about 20 billion.

Whoop!

Two of the God Crystals vanished.

The Economistress had taken her share.

Gravis didn't mind that two God Crystals vanished. They hadn't been his, to begin with.

"Mom, could you convert six of them to God Stones?" Gravis asked.

Whoop!

Six God Crystals vanished, and Gravis felt a knock on his Spirit Space. Gravis allowed the knocking force to enter, and his mother dumped a mountain of God Stones in Gravis' Spirit Space.

"Thanks," Gravis said.

"No thanks necessary. I also profited quite a bit," she answered with a smirk.

Gravis looked with a wide smirk at his new mountain of God Stones.

'I'm fucking rich!'

Gravis now had enough God Stones to theoretically become an Ancestral God, but he obviously wouldn't do that.

If he did, his Battle-Strength would become worthless.

However, Gravis still increased his Realm.

Gravis absorbed a couple million God Stones and reached the fourth level in the Star God Realm.

Why the fourth?

Well, Gravis' Will-Aura was equivalent to the ninth level of the Star God Realm, which was too powerful for Gravis to find a good opponent while being in the first level of the Star God Realm.

So, Gravis went to the fourth level.

Between the third and fourth level, a two-level jump would take place. After all, the first third of the Realm was over, which represented the Early Star God Realm.

The Middle Star God Realm would go from the fourth to the sixth level, and the Late Star God Realm would go from the seventh to ninth level.

While Gravis was at the fourth level of the Star God Realm, someone at the ninth level would be six levels above him due to the two-level jump between the sixth and seventh level.

That would be perfect as tempering.

Of course, an unreal amount of time would have to pass for level nine Star Gods to actually exist in the highest world again, but Gravis didn't need to wait.

Gravis already had a plan.

First, he would comprehend the three level seven Matter Laws.

After that, he would need to upgrade his Form Law with all the level seven Battle-Laws.

Following that, he would go to a Heaven's Trial and get a great opponent.

Then, his Will-Aura should be in the Ancestral God Realm, and Gravis could increase his Realm again.

Lastly, he would concentrate on the level eight Laws, which would be followed by tempering himself against Ancestral Gods.

"AAAAHHH!"

Gravis looked at the screaming people beside him.

'But first, I need to wait for them to finish.'

Chapter 1157 - 1157 – Similarity Gravis had to spend another 300 years just sitting around and waiting for his clients to finish.

One of them died, but the other ones managed to survive. During the tempering, these people hated Gravis and wanted him to die, but after they survived, they were thankful. They even apologized for some of the things they had said.

Gravis simply shooed them away, and when the last person left, he closed shop.

The Secret Name Torture Chambers vanished.

After closing shop, Gravis threw one last glance at the place he had been for a bit less than a thousand years.

'Just a thousand years for over ten billion God Stones,' Gravis thought. 'That's really an insane amount of money. Sure enough, creating your own business is always the fastest way to become rich.'

After a bit of looking at his old shop, Gravis went to an ore supplier in Opposer City. Usually, these ore suppliers only supplied ore to forgers, but they also sometimes offered these material packages to comprehend a Law.

When Gravis entered the shop, he saw a clerk standing behind the counter. Ore suppliers were rarely visited due to their choice of trade, which was why there were no customers in here.

"Welcome. How can I help you?" the clerk asked with a smile.

"One material package for the True Hard Pure Material Law, please," Gravis said.

The eyes of the clerk shone with interest.

That's a lot of money!

SHING!

Another person arrived beside the clerk. It was a brown-haired woman, and she looked at Gravis with a suggestive smile. "You want to buy a material package?" she asked.

Gravis nodded.

The woman hummed in a sexy voice as she traced her lips with her long fingernails. "Do you have the money?" she asked.

Gravis took out a God Crystal.

When the manager saw the God Crystal, her eyes shone. "Oh my, you have quite some money, don't you?" she asked with a smile as she got closer. "That's enough to pay for a material package."

"I want 800 million God Stones in change," Gravis immediately said.

The manager's suggestive smile vanished for a split second, but it quickly returned. "That's a bit too much. I don't think we can pay that."

Gravis only evenly looked at her. "One God Crystal can be sold for two billion God Stones. The fact that I'm only asking for 1.8 billion God Stones is already allowing you to make an additional profit on top of the sale of the material package."

"I've also owned several businesses in this city, and I know that my offer is acceptable."

The manager slightly narrowed her eyes, but her narrowed eyes transformed into bedroom eyes. "Don't take advantage of a poor girl like me," she said.

"Then, I have a different business proposition," Gravis said. "You buy the material packages for the True Medium Pure Law and the True Soft Pure Law, and I will buy the set of three for two God Crystals. That should come to 1.5 billion God Stones per God Crystal."

The manager thought about Gravis' proposal while playing with her hair. "That's a possibility, but I have to deduct a hundred million God Stones for all the additional administration effort."

Gravis' smile vanished as he looked with an even look at the manager. "Don't push it. Take it or leave it."

The manager was a bit taken aback by Gravis' "outburst". The guy had appeared so polite and innocent when he had entered. That was also why the manager had tried her best to earn more money with her beautiful and seductive actions.

Yet, when Gravis had told her to take it or leave it, it was like he hadn't viewed her as a potential romantic interest but as just another random person in the city.

"Fine," the manager said, her romantic tone gone. Now, she sounded like a typical manager. "Wait here. I don't trust my employees with so much money. I'll buy the two packages myself."

Gravis only nodded.

SHING!

The manager vanished, and the clerk created a contract for Gravis to sign. After reading through the contract, Gravis signed it. If there were any hidden tricks with the contract, Gravis would have seen them.

A couple minutes later, the manager returned with two Space Rings. Even at this level, Space Rings were the primary form of trading.

The manager put a third space ring down. "These are the three packages. Please check if everything is present."

Gravis looked into the first space ring.

So many materials!

There were kilometers of space filled with colorful ore, earth, stone, and other kinds of hard matter.

Gravis quickly checked through everything and realized that everything was present. Gravis knew what should be inside the material packages since his mother had given him the properties and names of the materials.

Nothing was missing.

A bit of every hard pure material in the entire highest world was present in this Space Ring. It must have taken an unreal amount of effort to gather all these different materials in one place.

Gravis put the first Space Ring down and looked at the second one.

Wood, leather, sand, brittle stone, and other similar materials littered the Space Ring. There weren't as many materials in this Space Ring as in the first one, but that was normal. The hard materials were always the most numerous.

Nothing was missing from the second Space Ring.

Then, Gravis looked into the third Space Ring.

Colorful gasses and liquids filled the Space Ring, and it wasn't easy to discern all the different materials, but Gravis had enough experience in the Matter Laws to notice all the differences.

The third Space Ring was also fine.

Gravis nodded, summoned two God Crystals, and put them on the counter.

"Everything checks out," he said.

The manager pocketed the two God Crystals, and her smile had returned. She had been quite nervous since she was not normally selling these other two material packages. She had feared that something was wrong with them, and her insurance wouldn't have covered her loss since she was selling something that wasn't normally in her assortment.

"Thank you for your purchase. Please visit us again," she said politely.

Gravis just waved nonchalantly as he exited the shop. "Thanks, bye."

SHING!

Gravis teleported away and appeared in an empty room.

"Mind if I stay here until I'm done?" Gravis asked.

"It's your home," the Opposer answered.

"Thanks, father," Gravis said as he walked to the room's entrance.

However, Gravis stopped and turned to his father as he remembered something.

The Opposer was simply sitting in the middle of the room with closed eyes, something he had been doing ever since Gravis had been born. Back then, Gravis had always been confused about what his father was doing all day, but now, he knew.

"How hard is it to manage your Cosmos?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer opened his eyes and glanced at his son for a second.

Then, he closed his eyes again.

"I've gotten used to it," he said.

Gravis nodded a bit.

"Was Orthar right? Are you continually fighting against Death?" he asked.

"If I weren't fighting against Death, the old bastard would have already killed me," the Opposer answered. "Don't assume he is the victim. He was the one that attacked first."

"You should know what I mean because you went through the same thing."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow. "I did?" he asked.

"The old bastard tried to kill me, and he was too powerful for me. With my power back then, I was helpless in front of him. As soon as I returned, I would be killed. This forced me into this path of perpetual war with Death. Does this remind you of something?"

Gravis' eyes widened as he remembered something.

Wasn't this just like when he had attuned his Spirit to lightning?

The lower Heaven had pushed Gravis again and again, and Gravis had been too weak to fight against it. So, he had made a very risky and self-destructive decision by attuning his Spirit to Destruction Lightning.

In a sense, Gravis had been in the same position as his father.

Gravis nodded. "I've never noticed the similarity. You don't have to worry, father. I'm not a child anymore. I can see right and wrong with my own eyes," Gravis answered.

The Opposer opened his eyes again and looked at his son.

Then, a slight smirk appeared on his lips. "You're right. You're not a child anymore."

Gravis nodded. "Anyway, I'll get to comprehending my Laws."

The Opposer only nodded wordlessly.

Chapter 1158 - 1158 – Level Seven Laws Gravis went to his room, which was still the same. He hadn't really changed it, and all the things he had owned as a child were still there. It always felt a bit nostalgic to return to this room.

Yet, all the things also elicited a feeling of disconnect with him. It was like the child that had once played in this room wasn't him.

Too much had happened.

'Mortis is currently checking out the True Law of Divine Lightning's Explosiveness, and he should be done soon. I don't need his help to comprehend the Material Laws since it wouldn't save us any time anyway.'

Gravis sat down in his room and put the Space Ring holding the hard pure materials in front of him.

Then, he started the long process of studying the materials and seeing how they interacted when confronted with different forces.

After studying one material thoroughly, Gravis would make it interact with different Elements to see what would happen.

Gravis quickly entered his typical state of comprehending Laws, and time continued to pass.

However, it was always a one-of-a-kind experience when Gravis focused on comprehending Matter Laws. Whenever Gravis focused on a new Elemental Law, he was overwhelmed by all the different rules and workings inside the Law. It always felt like Gravis had to learn entirely new concepts.

Yet, when Gravis looked at the materials, he knew that he only had to look at all of them. Even more, Gravis could see his progress. Every single piece of matter he understood reduced the mountain of materials he still had to comprehend.

Gravis was always uncertain for the first half of comprehending a new Law. He had no idea how long he would need to comprehend the Law, but with materials, he could see how much he had to learn from the very beginning. Seeing an approaching goal made the process of getting there easier and more enjoyable.

This would be the first level seven Law that didn't rely on any level six or level five Laws, and Gravis wondered how long it would take.

The level seven Law of the Pure Elements, the Law of Temperatures, the Law of Emotions, the Law of Primordial Force, the Law of Perceived Reality, the Law of Sentience, and the Law of the Dead World were all comprised of level five and level six Laws.

Even Gravis' Form Law was made of level five Laws and the Law of Emotions.

One could argue that the Major Law of Death was a Law that didn't rely on weaker Laws, but the process of comprehending it was special.

Yet, compared to all of these Laws, the Material Laws didn't require any weaker Laws.

One had to comprehend the entire level seven Law in one go.

Gravis needed around 15,000 to 20,000 years for a level six Law.

How long would he take for a level seven Law?

Gravis wasn't sure how long it would take, but he knew that a lot of time would pass. The Myriad Sect would have probably undergone a great evolution when he returned.

Of course, Gravis wouldn't completely isolate himself. He would still talk with his friends and Stella from time to time, and they could even come to visit him. Gravis was willing to waste a couple of days of getting back into his Law Comprehension headspace for some company.

Meanwhile, Mortis had it a bit harder. Level seven Battle Laws were more sought after than level six Laws, which meant that the Myriad Sect didn't have many of them.

So, Mortis used his unique ability to become intangible to sneak some Law Comprehension from other Sects.

Of course, even if Mortis couldn't be contacted while comprehending these level seven Laws, he could still visit the Myriad Sect between sessions.

And thus, time passed.

Mortis was the first one to finish with the True Law of Divine Lightning's Explosiveness. Since the Law was part of lightning, it didn't take Mortis very long to comprehend it.

It only took him 10,000 years.

10,000 years for a level seven Law was unimaginably fast for a level seven Law.

On the day Gravis had heard of Mortis' success, he looked at the mountain of materials he still had to comprehend.

It looked just as imposing as on the first day.

9,000 years later, Mortis comprehended the level seven True Law of Divine Lightning's Cutting.

Gravis still had a long way to go in comprehending his Material Laws.

For the next 5,000 years, Mortis took a break to spend some time with Azure. Gravis didn't mind it and only felt happy for Mortis.

Then, Mortis focused on the level seven True Law of Blaze's Explosiveness.

Now, the true extent of how long it would take to comprehend a level seven Law was unveiled.

Gravis finished one material after the other, and he saw the mountain of materials shrinking.

Only when only 10% of the mountain remained did Gravis hear from Mortis.

87,000 years.

87,000 years was a lot, but it was still way above-average when it came to comprehending level seven Laws.

Gravis was already over 570,000 years old by now.

Mortis took some time off, and Gravis finished the mountain of materials in another 8,000 years.

Gravis closed his eyes and gathered all the insights he had gained over the last nearly 100,000 years.

BOOOOM!

Gravis comprehended the level seven True Law of Hard Pure Materials.

Gravis smiled, and his mind wandered to the middle world.

Gravis remembered the time Azure had punished him by forcing him to stop advancing in his Realm for a hundred years. Back then, Gravis had met Ferris, and the two of them had concentrated on comprehending Laws for a century.

The first Law Gravis had been interested in was the Hard Complex Material Law. Sadly, Gravis hadn't known back then that the Hard Complex Material Law had been a level two Law.

After a lot of experimenting, Gravis had finally been able to discern what rank the Composition Laws were. Back then, Gravis hadn't known that the Composition Laws basically referred to the Law of the Dead World and the Law of Life.

Back then, Gravis had discerned the different levels by using the true name of the level one Hard Pure Material Law his father had told him.

It was the Low-Rank Hard Pure Dead Material Law.

Now, Gravis had gotten rid of the Low-Rank part of the name. Gravis just knew the Hard Pure Dead Material Law now.

There was no Hard Pure Material Law above the one he knew.

Gravis was done with comprehending hard pure materials for good.

'I now know all the hard pure materials that exist in the entire Cosmos,' Gravis thought.

'It feels surreal. The Cosmos is so incomprehensibly huge, and I know all the hard pure materials that exist.'

A moment of silence passed as Gravis only tried to take in his current situation.

'I've truly come a long way. Back in the middle world, I couldn't even imagine how complex level three Laws are, and now, I comprehended a level seven Law.'

Gravis looked at his hand absentmindedly as he clenched his fingers into a fist and let go again.

'I'm closing in on the true peak.'

Chapter 1159 - 1159 – Surrender After finishing the True Law of Hard Pure Materials, Gravis took a break and visited the Myriad Sect.

The Myriad Sect had gained over 500 Star Gods during the last 100,000 years, which was a crazy amount.

However, one had to remember that there had only been so few Star Gods in the world because of what the Opposer had done in the past.

So, the other Sects also gained far more Star Gods.

The Grand Gravity Sect, especially, had over a thousand Star Gods now.

When it came to the number of Star Gods, the Grand Gravity Sect could stomp out the Myriad Sect.

However, the strength of the Myriad Sect's Elders was what stopped the Grand Gravity Sect from attacking.

Stella, Azure, and Manuel were absolute freaks when it came to Battle-Strength.

Yet, the Myriad Sect was even more powerful than the Grand Gravity Sect anticipated.

Exar's organization had also gained over 300 Star Gods.

Even more, Meadow and Narcissus had become incredibly powerful with all the Laws they had absorbed. Luckily, they were hidden deep beneath the Sect, and not even the Ancestral Gods of the other Sects noticed the two of them.

Speaking of Meadow and Narcissus, a thick forest with gigantic trees was around the Myriad Sect. Right now, the Myriad Sect was in the middle of a jungle, and a huge amount of the trees had even reached the Immortal Realm.

Even some beasts ranging from the Body Tempering Realm to the Law Comprehension Realm were living in the forest. Of course, the Myriad Sect didn't attack these beasts. They were only in the Law Comprehension Realm at most, and such a beast couldn't even threaten the weakest disciple.

The forest mostly acted as a lovely garden to look at. The disciples enjoyed watching the wars between the tribes since it reminded them of their past.

Right now, the Myriad Sect had the power to flatten all the other Sects in the surroundings. Their open power was already enough to stop the other Sects from attacking, and their hidden power would easily make them the hegemon of this area.

The three Ancestral Gods Orpheus had pulled in to help Gravis to overcome his Sin Aura were getting impatient. They were only in the Myriad Sect to eventually join the Eternal Fire Sect.

The three Ancestral Gods knew about the power of the Myriad Sect, and they pushed Manuel, again and again, to finish off the other Sects. On top of that, they also started to ask for several changes in the Sect to increase its power even more.

However, Manuel was the Sect Master. Usually, the Ancestors were the indirect leaders of a Sect since they were the most powerful members, but it was different in the Myriad Sect.

Manuel was the official and unofficial leader of the Myriad Sect. Whatever he said counted.

Of course, the Ancestral Gods became angry more than once when Manuel shot down one of their suggestions, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Orpheus trusted Manuel completely with the Sect, and Orpheus wasn't even present in the Sect. He was outside, comprehending more Laws. If he needed to return, he could simply crush an emblem to teleport back.

Because of that, Manuel could very directly refuse the Ancestral Gods' suggestions. Orpheus was Manuel's backing, and the three Ancestral Gods couldn't even attempt to fight Orpheus.

Orpheus was essentially keeping the three Ancestral Gods in line.

Gravis spent some time with Stella before going back to comprehending more Laws.

10,000 years later, Gravis went back to Opposer City to comprehend the True Law of Medium Pure Materials.

Mortis was already comprehending the Law of Blaze's Cutting.

Another long period of comprehension passed.

Mortis finished the Law of Blaze's Cutting in 80,000 years.

Gravis took a total of 100,000 years to comprehend the True Law of Medium Pure Materials.

Gravis was now 690,000 years old.

Gravis decided to take another break and visited the Myriad Sect again.

The forest was even bigger, and the number of Star Gods had exploded to over 25,000.

Sadly, the total number of Peak Immortal Emperors took a hard hit.

Over 200,000 years had already passed, and the Peak Immortal Emperors had already gone through one round of tribulation, which killed off a lot of the disciples.

However, the tribulations were also the reason for the explosive growth of the Star Gods.

What about the Grand Gravity Sect?

They had 7,000 Star Gods.

Even if all of the other Sects united, they couldn't even attempt to fight the Myriad Sect.

All the Sects knew that the Myriad Sect was essentially already the winner of this huge war.

Even more, the number of Star Gods in the other Sects wasn't growing but shrinking.

The Star Gods and Peak Immortal Emperors weren't stupid, and they knew that they couldn't possibly win a war with the Myriad Sect.

So, they left their Sects to join the Myriad Sect.

In just the 10,000 years of Gravis' break, the Grand Gravity Sect had lost over 5,000 Star Gods, making the Sect fall to only 2,000 Star Gods.

Eventually, the first Sect arrived in front of the Myriad Sect to discuss a surrender.

The Ancestor offered up all the remaining disciples for a spot in the Myriad Sect, but Manuel declined.

"Your disciples will come to me regardless. I already technically own them. You can't sell me my own things," Manuel said with a smile.

Of course, the Ancestor exploded with anger, but she couldn't do anything.

She only threw a look at the three Ancestral Gods standing behind Manuel.

All three of them were above her in Realm.

Then, she offered the Law Comprehension Areas of her Sect. As long as she refused to capitulate, the Myriad Sect wouldn't have access to them.

"First of all, I can just declare an attack. As soon as I declare it, your remaining disciples will join me, and even if I don't declare an attack, I just have to wait some more," Manuel said with a smile.

The Ancestor exploded with anger again.

However, anger was useless, and she quickly gave her next offer.

"One billion God Stones," she said.

"Not enough," Manuel answered.

"I don't have more," she said with narrowed eyes.

"Are you willing to continue that conversation in an Honesty Chamber?" Manuel asked with a smile.

The Ancestor didn't answer.

"If there is no way for me to join the Eternal Fire Sect, I might as well destroy all the members in my Sect. The Sect is mine, and I won't lose any Karmic Luck by destroying what's mine. Accept the billion God Stones," she demanded.

Surprisingly, Manuel only smiled.

"Bright Furnace, can you take care of her?" Manuel transmitted to one of the Ancestral Gods behind him.

Bright Furnace only furrowed his brows. "Ancestral Gods are not allowed to fight each other in this area. The Eternal Fire Sect forbids it. I can't even attempt to capture her since that also counts as a fight. The Eternal Fire Sect doesn't like it when its rules are being broken. If we break the rules, we will lose the status as one of the Eternal Fire Sect's subsidiary Sects."

"That will allow other Ancestral Gods to attack the Myriad Sect."

"I suggest you accept the billion God Stones."

Manuel's brows furrowed.

That was an issue.

Chapter 1160 - 1160 – Crossroads

This was a huge issue.

The Eternal Fire Sect had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to breaking their rules. If one of the Myriad Sect's Ancestral Gods decided to attack an Ancestral God of another subsidiary Sect of the Eternal Fire Sect, the entire integrity of this competition would vanish.

This was a place for creating more powerful Sect Masters and Star Gods. The Ancestral Gods would help in creating and administrating these Sects, but the fighting had to be done by the Star Gods and Peak Immortal Emperors.

However, since the Ancestral Gods had also been the ones that created the Sect, they had the right to destroy their own Sects. The Sects belonged to them, and they could do with them whatever they wanted.

Sure, Manuel could try to quickly gather all the Star Gods of the other Sect, but the other Star Gods had come with their Ancestor, which was a bad thing.

Why?

Because her Star Gods were in the range of her Spirit Sense.

If she suddenly saw many Star Gods charge into the Myriad Sect, she would immediately kill all of them.

She was essentially using the rules to threaten Manuel with the lives of thousands of Star Gods.

If Manuel ordered one of his Ancestral Gods to kill her, the Myriad Sect wouldn't only lose their status as a subsidiary Sect. They would maybe even become enemies with the Eternal Fire Sect.

The Eternal Fire Sect had an incredible amount of Ancestral Gods, and they even had a new Ancestor at the peak of the Ancestral God Realm. Orpheus was still on the fifth level of the Ancestral God Realm. Sure, Orpheus was incredibly powerful when it came to his Battle-Strength, but he couldn't fight a level nine Ancestral God.

By killing this Ancestral God, Manuel wouldn't put the Myriad Sect into danger but doom it entirely.

Gravis was in a different room with Stella, and he was watching what was happening. A powerful Formation Array isolated the room where the two sides were negotiating, but that didn't stop Gravis.

Gravis saw Manuel hesitate, and he knew exactly what was happening.

Manuel was at a crossroads.

Gravis waited for a while and noticed that Manuel's emotions were slowly leaning towards acceptance.

"What do you want to do?" Gravis asked Manuel.

"I can't risk it," Manuel answered. "I'm not living only for myself. I also have a responsibility to all the disciples of the Myriad Sect. I can't doom them for a momentary bout of emotions."

"I understand that, but are you truly fine with giving up?" Gravis asked.

"Of course I'm not fine with it," Manuel transmitted back with a frown, "but I don't have any other choice."

"Don't you?" Gravis asked.

"Gravis," Manuel transmitted back. "As a Sect Master, I have to protect the Sect and my disciples. I have a responsibility, and I can't put them at risk for something I don't need but only want."

Gravis remained silent.

"It's what I have to do," Manuel transmitted. "It's for the good of the Sect."

Gravis only sighed.

'You were so close,' Gravis thought. 'If you simply went with what you wanted, you could have comprehended the Law of Freedom. Sadly, I can't make the decision for you, Manuel. Otherwise, it wouldn't work.'

Manuel had been so close to comprehending the Law of Freedom.

Sadly, Manuel's mind and personality were too aligned with the Law of Control, which made it incredibly difficult to comprehend the Law of Freedom. The more one knew about control, the harder it was to comprehend the Law of Freedom.

After all, comprehending the Law of Freedom meant giving up control. The Law of Freedom could only be comprehended when someone went with a stupid decision that they wanted instead of with a smart decision they didn't want.

In a sense, Manuel was too smart and too calm to comprehend the Law of Freedom at this moment.

Manuel was a great Sect Master, and to comprehend the Law of Freedom, he had to be a bad Sect Master.

Manuel had decided to accept the offer.

BANG!

And the Ancestor of the other Sect exploded.

Everyone looked with shock at the place the other Ancestor had just been.

No one had expected her to die!

Manuel exploded with anger. "Orpheus!" he shouted aggressively.

Manuel rarely lost control over his anger, but this time, he thoroughly lost it.

He had just decided to sacrifice what he wanted for the good of the Sect. It had taken a lot out of him to come to that decision, but Orpheus made all of that worthless!

Even more, Orpheus had said that Manuel was the one leading the Sect! Orpheus had broken his promise by acting on his own!

The other Ancestral Gods looked with panic and fear at Orpheus.

What did he just do!?

Meanwhile, Orpheus only smiled while looking at Manuel.

"Explain yourself!" Manuel said with a cold voice.

Orpheus' smile transformed into a smirk.

"I wanted to kill her," he said.

Silence.

"That's it!?" Manuel shouted in anger. "That's why you killed her!? Do you realize that you made the Eternal Fire Sect our enemy!?"

"Yes," Orpheus answered. "I know that."

"But I really wanted to kill her."

Silence.

"Orpheus! You have a responsibility to the Sect! You can't just act on your own and doom everyone in the Sect!" Manuel shouted.

"Well, I just did," Orpheus said with a smirk.

Manuel was filled with stress and anger at Orpheus' words.

Orpheus was unreasonable!

However, Manuel took a deep breath to calm down.

The deed had already been done, and there was no changing it.

Now, Manuel needed to plan for what was about to come.

"Don't do that again," Manuel said with suppressed anger.

"Or what?" Orpheus asked.

Manuel's anger exploded again.

However, he realized that there was nothing he could do.

Orpheus had all the power.

Manuel could dismiss Orpheus from his position as an Ancestor, but that would doom the Myriad Sect even more. With no one suppressing them, the Ancestral Gods would become the leaders of the Myriad Sect.

Even more, they needed Orpheus now more than ever. They had to deal with the Eternal Fire Sect, and they needed someone as powerful as Orpheus to resist them.

'Is he stupid?' Manuel thought with frustration. 'He knows that he can't fight the Ancestor of the Eternal Fire Sect. His life is in just as much danger as our lives.'

'So, why did he do it? What was his reason?'

Manuel thought about Orpheus' motivation for several seconds, but he couldn't come up with the answer.

Sure, Orpheus had said that he had only done it because he wanted to, but that was unreasonable.

That couldn't be the reason.

Sadly, Manuel wasn't able to discern that this truly was the entire reason.

Orpheus knew the Law of Freedom, and he did what he wanted.

When Orpheus saw Manuel suppressing himself again, he sighed.

"I tried, Gravis," Orpheus transmitted to Gravis.

Orpheus had given Manuel another chance at comprehending the Law of Freedom. Manuel simply had to dismiss him as the Ancestor.

It was a stupid decision, but that was what Manuel wanted.

Manuel was very outstanding, but that was the exact reason why he had such issues in comprehending the Law of Freedom.

He was too perfect.

He didn't make mistakes, and comprehending the Law of Freedom meant committing a mistake.

SHING!

Someone appeared in front of the Myriad Sect. The person was a middle-aged man with red hair, wearing the robes of the Eternal Fire Sect.

When the man saw Orpheus, his eyes narrowed, and he crushed an emblem.

SHING!

The man had realized that Orpheus was too powerful for him, which was why he had called his superior.

A woman with red hair appeared beside the Elder. She was a level five Ancestral God, just like Orpheus.

Yet, when she felt Orpheus' Battle-Strength, her eyes widened, and she also crushed an emblem.

SHING!

An older woman with long orange hair appeared.

She was the new Sect Master of the Eternal Fire Sect since the old Sect Master had become their Ancestor.

She was a level seven Ancestral God, and she also felt Orpheus' Battle-Strength.

Orpheus felt incredibly dangerous to her.

However, she could attempt to fight him. Her chances of winning were not zero.

Manuel took a deep breath.

The leaders of the Eternal Fire Sect and Orpheus only looked at each other as the atmosphere became intense.