Ch. 1201..1210

Chapter 1201 - 1201 Reason For Creation "What happened?" Gravis asked.

"I think I know what happened," Orthar said with a thoughtful expression.

"Enlighten me," the Opposer said evenly.

"You were abandoned," Orthar said.

The Opposer remained silent.

"Death wanted a will, but as a Manifestation of Death, you didn't have a will. Therefore, you couldn't possibly become Death's will," Orthar added.

Gravis' and Mortis' eyes widened in understanding.

Right!

How could someone without a will become the will of something else?

"Correct," the Opposer said evenly. "After trying to make me its will, Death simply receded."

"We were incompatible."

"After realizing that we were incompatible, it simply assimilated me into itself. I would lose my structure and become more Death. Like a drop of fresh water that had been thrown into an ocean, I would dissolve until I was part of the ocean."

"But, then how are you alive?" Gravis asked.

The Opposer's expression became complex.

"Energy interfered," the Opposer said.

Orthar's eyes widened with intensity as he heard that.

He knew what that meant!

"It noticed me, and for whatever reason, it decided to fill me with Energy. My old mind from before I have entered the Gate of Death had fused with the memories I had gained while being the Manifestation of Death."

"Emotions returned to my being. Dreams returned. My will returned. A new personality was formed."

"I was essentially born again."

"As soon as I regained my will, Death returned. It wanted me to make its will again. That action wasn't born of a decision but of instinct. Like an insect that only works on instinct, it saw something compatible and reached out to it."

"However, since I now had a will, dreams, and a goal again, I declined Death."

"I wasn't willing to pay the price."

Orthar looked at the Opposer with narrowed eyes. "Are you telling me that Death doesn't have a will, but Energy does?"

Gravis' and Mortis' eyes widened.

"Yes," the Opposer answered. "Death doesn't have a will, but someone has already become the will of Energy. That someone has probably noticed what had happened and decided to revive me. I'm not sure if it was out of pity or a different reason, but they decided to recreate my old self and fuse it with my new self."

Orthar's eyes quickly moved around as he was calculating at terrifying speeds.

For a moment, the entire administration of the Cosmos paused.

For just one moment, no new tribulations took place, and no Karmic Luck was changed.

"That explains a lot," Orthar said. "On my journeys, I have seen countless Cosmoses made of Energy, but only an incredible rarity had anything related with Death in them. Even more, I have never seen a Cosmos that had over 5% Death to Energy ratio, except for your Cosmos."

"Additionally, Death can't form life without someone directing it. Someone has to manually create the life in Death."

"Yet, what about the first Cosmos made of Energy? What about the very first lifeform? Who created them?"

"I don't know as much about Death as you, but I know that the inherent destructiveness of Death doesn't allow it to create life on its own. Energy is different in that regard. If you push enough Energy together, at some point, life will form."

"It could be that the first lifeform has become the will of Energy since it had been the only will in existence at some point."

"Possible," the Opposer said. "However, I won't talk more on the subject."

A bit of frustration appeared in Orthar's eyes, but he kept himself in check.

He didn't answer.

"Anyway," the Opposer said as he looked at Gravis and Mortis again. "After I gained an actual personality and will, all the Emotions I should have felt while being the Manifestation of Death broke out."

"My goal also returned, and my previous goal from before I had become the Manifestation of Death hadn't changed. I wanted power. I wanted to never be weaker than anyone again."

"Fueled with conviction and anger, I created my Cosmos. First, I tried to make it entirely out of Death, but it was impossible. If I did that, I would stop existing again. My Cosmos and I would just cancel each other out."

"So, I created my Cosmos with 50% Energy and 50% Death."

"It's a delicate balancing act, but my Cosmos gives me incredible powers."

"An unknown number of years later, I returned to this Cosmos to take my revenge," he said as he looked at Orthar with cold eyes. "Maybe he wants to tell you what happened?"

Gravis and Mortis looked at Orthar.

Orthar only looked evenly at the Opposer. "The guy I failed to kill returned, and he unleashed all his powers. I thought that I had been lucky since the mistake I failed to rectify had given me another opportunity to rectify it, but I had been mistaken."

"Only a relatively short amount of time had passed, but he was already far more powerful than me."

"I feared for my life, so I did the only thing that could save me."

"I used up a huge part of my Energy storage to pull him into my Cosmos."

"After that, we fought, and the fight basically ended in both of our Cosmoses on the brink of destruction. One more attack and we would both die."

"That's when we came to an unspoken agreement to not attack each other, and we went back to regaining our powers, and that's basically how we got here. We are at an arms race, and none of us are confident in taking out the other one without dying," Orthar explained.

Gravis and Mortis looked at their father, and he nodded, confirming that Orthar spoke the truth.

However, Gravis had one last question.

"Orthar, I want to ask you something," Gravis said.

Orthar looked at Gravis. "What is it?" he asked.

"Why did you create my mother?" Gravis asked.

Silence.

The Opposer also didn't know the answer, and he looked at Orthar.

Mortis also looked at Orthar.

The Economistress shot through all their minds, and they all wanted to know why Orthar had created her.

Orthar looked at the three of them and focused on Gravis.

"It wasn't only one reason. In fact, there were five reasons."

"Five?" Gravis asked.

That was more than he had imagined.

"The first reason was to change his goals," Orthar explained. "If he learned to love, he might not chase power as fervently anymore. As long as he focused on something else, I would eventually overtake him."

"The second reason was as a distraction. I knew what his Cosmos must look like to give him so much power. The more distracted he is, the higher the chance of him making a misstep."

"The third reason was the slowing of progress. As long as he couldn't fully concentrate on his Cosmos and absorbing Energy, I would gain the upper hand in our race."

"The fourth reason was a shot in the dark. I didn't believe it would happen, but to be prepared for every eventuality, I decided to do something to get on his good side. If anything happened in the future that could make him leave peacefully, this action would help me."

"The last reason might surprise you, but I felt bad for him."

Gravis and Mortis brows furrowed in a skeptical expression.

"You felt bad for him?" Gravis asked with a doubtful voice.

Orthar nodded. "You've seen how I have created the emotions. There is sadness and anger, but there is also happiness and love. If I only desired power, I would have simply given everyone an undying lust for battle."

"Back when I first created my Cosmos, I was different from how I am now. I was young and na?ve. In a way, my goal has been similar to your father's. I went through some things that made me hate the Cosmos I have been born in, and when I got the power, I wanted to create something very different from that Cosmos."

"In the Cosmos I have been born in, there was only intelligence without emotions. Everyone only wanted to become powerful as efficiently as possible. However, a select few of us managed to evolve our instincts to something more complex, and that complex thing was emotions."

"Initially, I believed that these evolved instincts could serve as a great power, and I developed that concept while creating my Cosmos. Emotions took form, and since I can harness the power of my Cosmos, the emotions also entered my being."

"For the first time, I felt things, and I realized how grey my old life has been. I wanted more colors, so I created more colors."

"When I saw your father return, and when I saw his life, it reminded me of my previous life."

"So, even though the other four reasons were far higher in priority, the fifth reason was still part of why I created your mother."

"In a sense, I felt alone, and I didn't want my greatest enemy to feel this nothingness."

"That's why I created your mother."

Chapter 1202 - 1202 Reward

Gravis and Mortis were still a bit skeptical about the last reason, but for some reason, they thought that Orthar spoke the truth.

It didn't feel like a lie.

However, even if he didn't lie, there still wasn't any relevance to the fifth reason. Orthar himself had said that the fifth reason was basically negligible in front of the previous four.

The first three reasons were mainly why he had created the Economistress.

"Thanks for answering my question," Gravis said politely.

Orthar nodded.

Then, he looked at Gravis and Mortis.

"In the first trial, Mortis has matured, and a basis for his future conviction has been created."

"In the second trial, Mortis has solidified his conviction, and he has become mentally powerful enough to become a Heaven Breaker in the future."

"In the third trial, Mortis had proven so."

"In the fourth trial, you two got valuable experience in what it's like to fight someone that knows the Law of the True World. Additionally, your Will-Aura has become more powerful, and you comprehended the True Law of Time."

"In the fifth trial, you proved that your Battle-Strength is the highest one in history. You comprehended the True Law of Control and the True Law of Apathy. Additionally, your Will-Aura reached impressive heights, and you managed to gain control over the power of Brutality."

"With all of that combined, you would even be able to have a fair fight with my real firstborn while being at the same Realm."

"At this very moment, you are the most powerful Star Gods that have ever existed, including all my progeny."

"Your power from before you have entered this Heaven's Trial is incomparable to your current power."

"You no longer belong in the Star God Realm, and only the Ancestral God Realm can prove as a challenge to you."

"For that impressive growth, you deserve a reward. After all, a Heaven's Trial always rewards everyone according to their growth."

When Gravis and Mortis heard Orthar's narration, they realized how much they had actually grown.

When they had entered, everyone in Manuel's faction could pose a life-threatening challenge.

Now?

If Gravis decided to become a level nine Star God again, they could probably even fight the Vice-Sect Masters of the Eternal Fire Sect.

They had jumped from the average power of a level nine Star God to the higher power of a middle-rank Ancestral God.

"You get three sets of Law Comprehension Life Fruits."

"There are no restrictions."

"You can choose whatever Laws you desire."

Gravis' and Mortis' eyes widened in shock.

Any Laws?

They would essentially get three Laws, free of charge?

"Keep in mind that you have to know the prerequisite Laws if you want to comprehend the Laws via the fruits. So, choose wisely."

Gravis and Mortis looked at each other.

Then, Gravis looked at Orthar.

"Does that include the level eleven Law of Energy?" Gravis asked.

Orthar nodded. "If you want it, I can give it to you."

This shocked Gravis.

If he wanted, he could gain a Law Comprehension Life Fruit for the Law of Energy!

However, Gravis could only sigh.

He wasn't stupid.

Absorbing Law Comprehension Life Fruits was a small risk. If one didn't have sufficient experience, the Law Comprehension Life Fruits might make it harder to comprehend any future Laws.

There was still the Law of the Cosmos above the True Law of the True World and the True Law of Energy. The experiences in comprehending the True Law of Energy were probably imperative to comprehending the Law of the Cosmos.

If Gravis decided to get the Law Comprehension Life Fruits for the True Law of Energy, he would severely reduce his chances of becoming a Heaven Breaker.

Gravis and Mortis both knew that, and they talked amongst each other.

They immediately dismissed the Elemental Laws. They could simply look at the Law Comprehension Areas for those.

Space and Gravity were also not an issue.

Temperature was also immediately thrown away.

Battle Laws were irrelevant since they were not level nine Laws.

The two of them thought about which Law would prove to be the hardest to comprehend, and they quickly got an answer.

"As our first set, we want the Law Comprehension Life Fruits for the True Law of Suppression," Gravis said.

Orthar nodded and handed over five grey fruits.

Gravis and Mortis knew that comprehending the True Law of Suppression was incredibly hard for them due to their power.

They had a lot of powerful friends, and their background protected them from a lot of powerful Cultivators.

They had enjoyed life for a long time, and they were mostly in control of their lives.

True suppression could only occur when one didn't want to be suppressed or searched for suppression.

Because of that, they decided to take the True Law of Suppression.

After that, Gravis and Mortis discussed the next Law they wanted.

Eventually, they came to a decision.

"As our second choice, we want the set for the True Law of Soul Regeneration," Gravis said.

Orthar nodded and handed over five greenish-silver fruits.

The True Law of Soul Regeneration was only a level eight Law but gaining insight into the first Soul Law of each tier was always difficult. With the True Law of Soul Regeneration, the two of them could more easily comprehend the True Laws of Soul Infusion and Soul Dispersal. That would secure them the True Law of the Soul, a level nine Law.

After that, they discussed for a long time what they should take for their last Law.

Maybe an Emotional Law?

Maybe one of the Laws of Perceived Reality?

However, they came to the conclusion that they wouldn't find it too hard to comprehend the Emotional Laws. They had two different mindsets, who had different affinities for different Emotions. On top of that, Gravis' mindset was very flexible, which allowed him to enter basically any headspace.

Then, what about the Laws of Perceived Reality?

Freedom was a no-brainer. They were certain that they had no issues with comprehending that Law in the future.

They already knew Control.

Suppression was already in their hands.

Danger? Shouldn't be an issue. They were in plenty of danger, and the two of them already had quite a lot of insights that went beyond the Major Law of Danger.

Safety? That would come naturally as they became more powerful.

The two of them realized that there were basically no Laws left that would prove to be a huge challenge in the future.

So, they reduced their standards and decided to take one that would increase their Battle-Strength and would allow them to more easily gain more resources for any Laws they wanted to comprehend in the future.

"For our last set, we want the True Law of Hard Complex Materials," Gravis said.

Orthar nodded and handed over five goldish-bronze fruits.

Gravis and Mortis had realized that their weapons were becoming weaker as more and more of their opponents used the True Law of Hard Complex Materials.

Additionally, comprehending these Laws naturally would probably either take a ridiculous amount of time or cost a ridiculous amount of money.

However, if they already got it, they could earn more money by forging World Weapons for Ancestral Gods with the True Law of Hard Complex Materials.

This Law would make it far easier for them to comprehend all other Laws.

"The Heaven's Trial has ended, and you have claimed your reward," Orthar said. "From now on, there is no point for you to enter a Heaven's Trial again. You have proven that you can reach the Heaven Breaker Realm."

"Now, you just have to do it."

"Until we meet again."

With these words, Orthar vanished.

When Orthar vanished, Gravis immediately shoved a Law Comprehension Life Fruit for the True Law of Hard Complex Materials into his mouth.

By eating that fruit first, they would only need to comprehend five other level eight Laws to eat another Law Comprehension Life Fruits. In comparison, if they ate the ones for the True Law of Suppression, they would need to comprehend five more level nine Laws to not be in any danger of weakening their Law Comprehension perception.

Additionally, the Hard Complex Law was the most useful out of all of them.

The Opposer also vanished.

For the next 5,000 years, Gravis stayed in the empty space together with Mortis, only comprehending the level eight True Law of Hard Complex Materials.

BOOOOM!

And then, they comprehended it!

Gravis and Mortis shot one last look at the Heaven's Trial and then decided to leave.

The Opposer appeared and teleported them out.

They had entered as people that could fight level nine Star Gods.

Now, they could maybe even try to fight a level four Ancestral God, but they weren't sure yet.

That would be a jump of seven levels, and they didn't know the Battle-Strength of Ancestral Gods yet.

However, one thing was clear.

They had undergone an unimaginable transformation in the last 50,000 years.

And now, it was time to return home.

Chapter 1203 - 1203 Coming Back

The Heaven's Trial was over, and Gravis and Mortis had transformed.

Their power was incomparable to before, and even more, Mortis had transformed. Initially, one wouldn't directly notice that Mortis had changed, but if someone knew him very well, they would notice it.

Mortis had become secure in his life and identity.

The Opposer brought them to his home, and they arrived in his room.

As soon as they arrived, the Economistress came to the room with an excited smile.

"You're back!" she shouted with excitement.

"Hey, mom," Gravis and Mortis said simultaneously.

The Economistress looked at Gravis for a second but then focused on Mortis.

"Oh!"

PACK!

Mortis was immediately pulled into a hug by his mother.

"Oh, my boy has finally become an adult! I'm so proud!" she exclaimed with happiness.

For a bit, Mortis felt awkward, but he realized that there was no reason to feel awkward.

So, Mortis returned the embrace and let out a slight smile.

"Yes, I know what I want now," he said.

After that, the Economistress bombarded the two of them with questions about how the Heaven's Trial had been. She tried to keep it hidden, but she had been quite worried about the two of them.

The Economistress always kept herself in the background when it came to the Cultivation journey of her children, but that didn't mean that she didn't care.

She knew that she wouldn't be a great help in Cultivation since she had never gone through it herself. Because of that, she decided that the best help would be to give her children their freedom. If they knew that she was constantly worried, they might slow down just for her, and she didn't want that.

After a while of talking, the Economistress only looked with a bright smile at her two sons.

"It feels like you were kids just yesterday, but before I knew it, you're already this big," she said.

Gravis and Mortis felt bad for their mother at this moment. Parents often said these sentences, but when it came to the Economistress, that sentence was as true as it got.

Gravis and Mortis had only been alive for a bit more than a million years.

Meanwhile, the Economistress had lived for around 50 billion years.

This meant that she had lived 50,000 times as long as the two of them.

That time difference was absurd.

If she were a 25-year old mortal, one million years would only equate to literally a bit more than four hours.

So, to her, it was literally like her children had been born and had grown up in far less than a day.

Even more, Gravis and Mortis had lived far longer than most of their siblings. Nearly all the other ones would have died even earlier.

Time was merciless.

However, the same thing would be true for Gravis and the others.

Yersi and Jake had already had several children, and one of them had decided to remain mortal.

She had died at around 80 years of age.

Eighty years in comparison to one million years was even crazier than one million years in comparison to 50 billion years.

When one lived for a very long time, meeting someone that couldn't live for so long would feel horrible.

However, Cultivators had powerful wills, and they could also deal with grief more easily.

For the Economistress, having another child was like a small spark of joy. For just a small part in a day, she felt the heart-warming feeling of love until it eventually ended.

At that point, she might take a break for the day and do the same thing tomorrow.

By then, multiple million years had already passed.

"Oh, it's Gravis and Mortis!" a new voice suddenly said.

Gravis and Mortis looked over at the Black Magnate, who had just arrived.

"You've become quite powerful," he said with a smirk. "I still remember that small immortal boy that hasn't even lived for 10,000 years, and now, you're already in the middle of the Ancestral God Realm in terms of actual power. Only around two more Realms to go, and we can finally look at each other while being on the same level."

"Keep at it!"

"Thanks," Gravis said with a smile. "But I need the Law of Energy first to get to your level."

The Black Magnate only waved dismissively. "Eh, I wouldn't worry about that. You have a couple of unique advantages that could probably allow you to fight someone that knows the True Law of Energy without knowing it yourself."

"Is it that easy?" Gravis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Pfft, of course not, but you have some stuff that allows you to accomplish the impossible," he answered.

The group talked amongst each other for a couple of years. Conversations between such old and powerful beings often took up a very long time since their minds were filled with so many memories, concepts, and ideologies.

After their conversation, Gravis and Mortis left towards the Eternal Fire Sect again.

After about an hour of traveling, the two of them arrived at Manuel's faction.

Surprisingly, it hadn't changed one bit.

Why was that surprising?

Because every time they had visited Manuel's faction, it had always undergone some sort of transformation, but not this time.

Why not this time?

Because the two of them hadn't been gone for very long.

They had only been gone for around 50,000 years, which wasn't that long for Peak Star Gods.

Yet, Gravis and Mortis felt like they hadn't been here in an eternity, which was understandable. Mortis had gone through his first Samsara, and he had severely changed, while Gravis had also gone through a long Samsara.

To them, it was like they hadn't been here in ten million years.

They felt a bit strange when they realized that Manuel's faction hadn't changed while they had changed by that much.

It was like time had stood still for Manuel's faction.

'Is that how Stella felt whenever I return from Law Comprehension?' Gravis thought.

Stella had gone through many experiences, which had made her grow.

Meanwhile, Gravis had basically slept for 100,000 years to comprehend another Law.

To Stella, it had felt like Gravis hadn't changed, while Gravis had felt like Stella had changed in just an instant.

Now, it was backward.

Gravis and Mortis had changed severely, while Manuel's faction had nearly stayed identical.

There were still the same level nine Star Gods walking around.

Everyone was still doing the same thing.

Manuel's faction had become a bit more powerful, but that was basically only because they had gotten a couple more level nine Star Gods.

The very same people that had given Gravis a feeling of mortal danger now felt like normal pedestrians to him.

Every single level nine Star God had been able to have a true life-and-death battle with Gravis, but now, all of them were only random members that couldn't even attempt to endanger Gravis' life.

Back then, Gravis had felt a little bit frustrated. He had comprehended so many Laws, and he had fully focused on his Battle-Strength. Yet, even the most random members of Manuel's faction had become as powerful as him.

But now, Gravis realized that he had done the right thing.

Gravis had reached their Realm, and his Battle-Strength had not reduced. It even had grown by a little bit.

Back then, Gravis had ignored his Realm and had focused on his Battle-Strength, while the others had done the opposite.

Now, everything was reversed.

The level nine Star Gods had increased their Realm, and now, they had to focus on their Battle-Strength.

They were all busy comprehending a level eight Law to become Ancestral Gods.

And then?

As soon as they comprehended their level eight Law and became Ancestral Gods, they would become average again.

The Eternal Fire Sect had always only taken in the elites that could fight a level above themselves, but when one became an Ancestral God, every other Ancestral God had also comprehended a level eight Law.

The powerful Battle-Strength of the members of the Eternal Fire Sect came from the quantity of their level six and level seven Laws, but those Laws became far less relevant when one already knew a level eight Law.

These Star Gods had been elites in their Realm, but as soon as they became Ancestral Gods, they would become average.

They wouldn't be able to jump a level without severely focusing on their Battle-Strength.

This meant that their Battle-Strength had essentially fallen when compared to their Realm.

Meanwhile, Gravis' Battle-Strength hadn't fallen.

After breaking through, Gravis' Battle-Strength would fall again since the opponents would be more powerful, but it had already increased by quite a bit in the Heaven's Trial.

Essentially, Gravis' Battle-Strength wouldn't fall after his breakthrough, thanks to the Heaven's Trial.

Chapter 1204 - 1204 Planning

After thinking about their current situation, Gravis and Mortis entered Manuel's faction.

Back when Gravis had just been a level four Star God, everyone had thrown him weird looks. The Battle-Strength of the average hadn't been powerful enough to feel Gravis' Battle-Strength, which was why they had looked at him with weird expressions. After all, he felt like an average level four Star God, which was far too weak for being around here.

Now, no one looked at Gravis.

Why?

Because they still couldn't feel Gravis' Battle-Strength, and he was a level nine Star God.

He was now the most normal person there could be.

As Gravis looked at all the people, he remembered how it had been when he had just come back to the highest world.

Back then, there had been nearly no Star Gods, and the strongest one's had been level two Star Gods.

Star Gods had been an incredible rarity.

Now, everything was full with them.

The population of Star Gods had fully recovered, and it had only taken around a million years.

If Gravis had entered the highest world at this point, he wouldn't have needed to worry about finding tempering.

But that didn't matter now. Gravis' Will-Aura was already equal to a Peak Ancestral Gods', and his Law Comprehension was already equivalent to the middle of the Divine God Realm.

Star Gods were no longer relevant to Gravis.

Mortis quickly left Gravis as he found Azure. To him, it had felt like he hadn't met her in forever, and he couldn't wait to see her again.

Meanwhile, Gravis frowned.

Stella was nowhere to be seen.

However, Gravis could see Manuel, Dorian, and Exar talking in a meeting room. According to what Gravis was hearing, they were talking about unimportant things.

SHING!

Gravis teleported and directly arrived in the room.

The three of them furrowed their brows as they felt someone teleport into the meeting and looked over.

Yet, when they saw Gravis, their eyes widened.

They hadn't expected it to be Gravis.

Why?

Because they had been able to feel Gravis' Battle-Strength before, but now, they could feel nothing.

They had gotten used to perceiving Gravis by his dominating aura of Battle-Strength. It had basically become one of his trademarks.

Now, that trademark was gone.

"Impressed?" Gravis asked with a smirk.

"Tch," Dorian spat to the side. "Why does this remind me of the lower world?" he asked with a sneer.

Gravis had to laugh when he heard that. Dorian had also acted like this when he had realized that Gravis had already had a level two Unity Will in the lower world.

Manuel's frown transformed into a bright smile as he saw Gravis. "You never fail to surprise us, Gravis."

Gravis nodded. "It's been difficult. Everything alright here?" he asked.

"Yeah, everything finally calmed down after a long time," Manuel answered. "We are finally powerful enough to no longer be under an immediate threat of extermination. Now, we can fight with the other huge factions."

"Well, that's at least as it appears on the surface. They don't know that we also have Meadow and Narcissus. Additionally, we kept Stella and Azure hidden. Recently, their powers have become ridiculous, which puts them above basically everyone."

Gravis nodded.

After Gravis, Mortis, and Stella had comprehended the True Law of Empathy, the Laws they could share were no longer restricted by level.

This meant that Azure and Stella had comprehended some of Gravis' and Mortis' strongest Laws.

First of all, the two of them had comprehended the Law of Heavenly Lightning, a level nine Law. Something like that vastly outclasses other Star Gods.

Then, they had also comprehended the three Pure Matter Laws.

Lastly, they had also comprehended the level eight Law of Lightning Manipulation, but that wasn't very relevant since they already knew the level nine Law of Heavenly Lightning.

Just the Law of Heavenly Lightning alone would allow someone to jump two levels.

With everything combined, Stella and Azure could probably jump three levels, which would allow them to fight an Ancestral God.

How many Cultivators from other factions could fight Ancestral Gods as Star Gods?

No one.

They would have long since become Ancestral Gods themselves.

Because of their power, Manuel's faction was invincible amongst the other factions.

"What's the next step?" Gravis asked.

"Factions officially transition as soon as they have created three Ancestral Gods," Manuel explained. "At that point, the leadership will join the Core Faction of the Eternal Fire Sect, which gives us many more options in how to integrate our factions into the core of the Eternal Fire Sect."

"So, the normal members also join the Core?" Gravis asked.

Manuel nodded. "The level nine Star Gods anyway," he said. "The weaker ones will have to search for another faction."

"What about after you join the Core Faction?" Gravis asked.

"The competition will still be there, but it will become more subtle. Open warfare between the factions is strictly prohibited, and if someone has been found out to have broken the rules, they would be severely punished."

Gravis nodded and smirked. "So, when do you plan to take over the Eternal Fire Sect?"

If anyone outside of this room had heard these words, they would have taken a deep breath in shock.

However, Manuel didn't strongly react to Gravis' words. "I need to get acquainted with the atmosphere in the Eternal Fire Sect's Core first. I can't plan anything big if I don't know how everyone thinks and what their ideologies are. After all, I don't want to lose 80% of all members to competing Sects just because I didn't know the members."

"So, no plan of taking over leadership for now," Gravis added.

"None," Manuel said calmly. "It's too early, and my strength has to reach a satisfactory level first. I can't truly lead a Sect when every single member of the Core is stronger than me. Even if they know of my capabilities, a hidden resentment would still be created just based on the fact that they feel like they could snap me out of existence without any effort."

"Makes sense," Gravis answered. "By the way, what were you guys talking about earlier?"

Manuel gestured for Gravis to come over and look at a map. "Right now, we're thinking about how to properly distribute our forces along our borders and resources. This is not for defense purposes but for appearance. We want to give off the image that we are not weak, but we also don't want to appear too powerful."

"You want to bait them into an attack, right?" Gravis asked with a smirk.

Manuel nodded with a smile.

After that, Gravis gave some suggestions, but they had basically all been laughed away since they wouldn't work.

The three of them had lived in this political climate for nearly a million years, while Gravis' experience only came from some looks he had gotten while going through Samsara.

One had to remember that all the people Gravis had used Samsara on had, at most, been equal to the people of the Eternal Fire Sect.

Because of that, Gravis couldn't be of any help.

He had been amazing at leading a power in the middle world, and he could probably also reach astounding results by doing the same in a higher world.

Sadly, this was now the highest world, and everyone had nearly reached the Ancestral God Realm.

It was actually ridiculous how smart everyone was regarding planning.

The phrases that left Manuel's mouth the most were "They know that we know that they know that we know" and so on.

After a couple hours of talking, Gravis could only look on with a confused expression.

It was like his brain didn't work anymore after being assaulted with so many meta-concepts shoved into each other.

"Yeah, I give up," Gravis said after a while.

The three others in the room only snickered.

"So, where's Stella?"

Chapter 1205 - 1205 Weird Comprehension

"She's awaiting her tribulation. Have you forgotten?" Manuel asked.

"Oh, right!" Gravis answered.

Gravis remembered that Stella had told him that she would undergo her tribulation soon and that he probably wouldn't be present to witness it since he had expected that the Heaven's Trial would take longer.

Gravis had felt like so much time had passed since then that Stella must have already overcome her tribulation, but surprisingly, not much time had passed.

"The Eternal Fire Sect doesn't want tribulations to take place inside their Sect due to the destruction. Additionally, someone has to enter to attack Stella, which would make the political climate very weird. Lastly, it's good manners to go through one's tribulation outside any Sect. That just makes things easier and fairer."

"Makes sense," Gravis answered with a calm voice.

However, Gravis had already started to feel nervous.

Tribulations and tempering were never easy, and they always came with the possibility of death.

Even if Stella had a theoretical 90% chance of survival, at some point, the 10% would hit.

It only needed a single bad fight to end it all.

Based on Gravis' calculations, he was 1.285 million years old at this point. Stella had reached the Star God Realm when Gravis had been about 295 thousand years old.

It had already been a million years since Stella had become a Star God.

At this moment, Gravis also remembered his own tribulation.

Gravis had become a Star God when he had been 345 thousand years old, which meant that his tribulation would arrive when he reached the age of 1.345 million years of age, which would be in 60,000 years.

Who would Gravis' opponent be?

The gap between the Star God Realm and Ancestral God Realm equaled three levels of power. As far as Gravis knew, he could kill someone five levels above himself with confidence, but he wasn't sure about a six-level difference.

Gravis wasn't sure how powerful Ancestral Gods were, but he knew that they were incredibly powerful. Sure, Gravis already knew five level nine Laws and four level eight Laws, but the opponent would have a level eight Law with the power of a level nine Law.

Gravis had the advantage in Laws but jumping six levels was already beyond ridiculous. If Gravis didn't know so many Laws, he couldn't even attempt such a fight. This advantage in terms of Laws was the basis for the possibility of jumping so many levels in the first place.

Seven Levels?

Gravis doubted it.

Sure, Gravis' Battle-Strength had risen by ridiculous degrees, but he had also grown by five levels.

He had gone from the fourth level of the Star God Realm to the ninth.

Because of that, Gravis was pretty sure that he couldn't fight someone seven levels above himself.

So, who would his opponent be?

Three levels above him would be a level one Ancestral God.

Four levels would be a level two Ancestral God.

Five levels would be a level three Ancestral God.

However, a level four Ancestral God would be two levels stronger than a level three Ancestral God.

This meant that a level four Ancestral God would be seven levels above Gravis.

This meant that Gravis' opponent could only be someone five levels above himself or seven levels.

Someone five levels above Gravis couldn't possibly fight him just based on Gravis' Will-Aura and his True Laws of Apathy and Control. Even if that opponent had an incredible Battle-Strength, as long as their Will-Aura wasn't far more powerful than their level, they wouldn't be able to move very fast under Gravis' suppression.

Because of that, it had to be a level four Ancestral God.

And Gravis was pretty sure that he couldn't win that fight.

He was in a very awkward spot.

Usually, tempering would never be an issue for normal Cultivators. After all, there were plenty of extremely talented Cultivators on one's level.

If one were an average level nine Star God, they would fight another average level nine Star God.

If one could jump one level as a level nine Star God, they would fight another level nine Star God that could jump one level.

The same thing was true for someone that could jump two levels.

Three levels? That would be the first time things got awkward. One would need to fight an Ancestral God in that case, but an Ancestral God was already more powerful than every other Star God in terms of Battle-Strength since they already knew a level eight Law.

In a way, even though an Ancestral God was three levels above a level nine Star God, they were in essence four levels above a level nine Star God just based on that extra Law.

However, that was still not overly ridiculous.

One could even say that this bit of awkwardness was good since it would push the absolute geniuses of the world even more and would give them the opportunity to become even more outstanding.

But as soon as one could jump four or five levels, things would become super awkward due to the escalating power of the opponents.

After thinking about all these things, Gravis decided to consult with Mortis, but Mortis had put up the equivalent of a "do not disturb" sign onto his Spirit.

This meant that he was probably with Azure right now.

'I should just become an Ancestral God,' Gravis thought. 'Level one Ancestral God sounds rather fitting. At that point, level six Ancestral Gods would be six levels above myself, and level five Ancestral Gods would be five levels above myself.'

'Even more, my Will-Aura wouldn't be overwhelmingly powerful. I would be able to suppress my opponent by a little bit, but they would also not become completely helpless in front of it.'

'On top of that, my Will-Aura is already at the Peak of the Ancestral God Realm. Since I can push my Law of Freedom only to the power of a level eight Law, I can't rely on it to boost my Will-Aura to the Divine God Realm without becoming an Ancestral God first.'

Gravis scratched his chin. 'However, as a level one Ancestral God, I can only push my Will-Aura to the first level of the Divine God Realm. That isn't that much growth.'

'Should I directly become a level two or level three Ancestral God?'

Gravis looked to the side as he evaluated his options.

'I don't know. Every single increase in levels makes the Battle-Strength of my opponents more powerful. I'm not sure if I could jump six levels as a level three Ancestral God right now.'

'Inability to increase my Will-Aura by much or uncertainty in if I even have a chance of fighting my opponent.'

'Both options suck.'

'The True Law of Freedom would solve the issue, but I can't just comprehend it just because I want to.'

Suddenly, Gravis stopped moving.

'Wait, why not?'

'Why can't I just comprehend it whenever I want?'

'Father managed to do it too, and he didn't even have any sort of will or personality back then.'

The other three had already gone back to strategizing while Gravis glared at the sky.

'You will get comprehended right now!'

'You don't tell me what to do!'

'Fuck you, I do what I want, and I want to comprehend you right now!'

Gravis' conviction gathered, and with all of his being, he believed that he could comprehend the True Law of Freedom.

It was like his Spirit entered the Laws and took ahold of one of them.

Then, it tore that Law out and consumed it.

BOOOOM!

And Gravis comprehended the True Law of Freedom.

Surprisingly, it worked!

Yet, if one knew the Law of Freedom, one would realize that it wasn't actually that strange.

Comprehending the Law of Freedom had always been incredibly weird.

Tearing a Law out of the sea of Laws?

That would never work.

If one wanted to do that, one would need to become a Heaven Breaker first.

Something like this required the power to influence physical reality.

Why would anyone try to tear a Law out of the surroundings to comprehend it?

That was like a mortal trying to kick down a gigantic castle.

It didn't work.

It was an act in futility.

However, wasn't acquiring freedom just like this?

If one was suppressed beyond help, wouldn't they also believe trying to gain freedom to be an act in futility?

Their masters were so powerful, while they were so weak.

It was hopeless.

This was true freedom.

Even if it was hopeless, one couldn't know the outcome if one tried.

Freedom only came to those who fought for freedom.

If one never fought, one could never gain freedom.

Comprehending the True Law of Freedom appeared very simple, but it was the opposite.

It was literally trying to do something one thought to be impossible, and one had to wholeheartedly believe that they would succeed.

It was different from comprehending all other Laws in existence.

Luckily, Gravis' mindset had a great affinity towards freedom.

After Gravis comprehended the True Law of Freedom, he nodded with a satisfied expression.

'Problem solved!'

Chapter 1206 - 1206 Break

Gravis felt quite amazing at this moment.

He had comprehended a level nine Law just like that.

However, he also knew that it would only work on the Law of Freedom since it was very weird to begin with.

But hey, he did something that very many people believed to be impossible.

Even more, Gravis' problem had been solved.

Now, his Will-Aura could theoretically grow to the Peak of the Divine God Realm, but only theoretically.

'Level one Ancestral God it is,' Gravis thought. 'My longevity will increase by three million years, postponing my tribulation, but that isn't important. There are enough Ancestral Gods in the world that finding a fitting opponent shouldn't be an issue. I can essentially temper myself whenever I want.'

After a bit of thinking, Gravis looked at the other three with a smirk. "Hey, guys," Gravis said.

"What?" Dorian asked without looking away from the map.

"I just comprehended a level nine Law."

Silence.

These words took a while to register, but they quickly realized what Gravis meant.

"Oh, you mean in the Heaven's Trial? Congratulations!" Dorian said with a smile.

"No, as in, right now," Gravis answered with a smirk.

Silence.

"What do you mean with right now?" Exar asked.

"Like just some seconds ago," Gravis said.

More silence.

The events of what had just happened shot through everyone's minds.

They had talked about tactics. Then, Gravis had asked about Stella, and they had told him that she was currently awaiting her tribulation.

That was it.

What…

What did this have to do with comprehending a level nine Law?

What could this possibly have to do with comprehending a level nine Law!?

They did nothing!

They only talked about random things.

It was like they had just met someone, said, "hi, how are you?" and the other person said, "fine, thank you," and then they comprehended the Law of Heavenly Fire or something.

It was so random!

How!?

Why!?

What led to this sudden comprehension!?

There were no Law Comprehension Areas around here.

Gravis didn't ingest any Law Comprehension Life Fruits.

He just talked, stood there, and then comprehended a level nine Law.

"What Law?" Dorian asked.

"Sorry, can't tell you," Gravis said with a smile. "It's that one Law that you shouldn't know about. Knowing about it makes it harder to comprehend it."

Dorian gritted his teeth in frustration. "What? So you just throw out this bomb and then refuse to elaborate? Why didn't you just keep it secret!? Now I want to know even more!"

Gravis only smirked. "Because I wanted to tell you."

"Tch," Dorian spat to the side. "Asshole."

"You're around Meadow too much," Gravis said with a reprimanding tone. "You are already talking like her."

"Fuck you! This little shit can't insult his way out of a little girl's tea party!" Meadow interjected. "Don't compare me to amateurs like him!"

"You're not really better," Gravis said with a chuckle. "You always just say fuck you, nothing else."

"I say fuck you because, in comparison to you, I can't just fuck myself and create clones upon clones of myself. Every time you use this ability called Lightning Fork, you are cloning yourself like some microorganism. You are literally reproducing asexually, which means that you fuck yourself."

"And that's why fuck you!"

Gravis looked at Meadow dumbstruck for some seconds.

"Is that the transformation of impossible complexity to all-encompassing simplicity in terms of insults?" Gravis asked.

"Wow, little scaly boy with six arms to masturbate actually managed to understand my intentions. Too bad that he only understood it after I explained such a simple concept to him," Meadow added.

"You can't keep up with my slick tongue, so I had to dumb it down for you. Poor Gravis can't even understand such a basic insult as fuck you."

"Your slick tongue?" Gravis asked with a smirk. "You wish you had a tongue. You just use it as an insult because Narcissus wishes you had a tongue to make your time together more fun."

"Keep me out of this," Narcissus commented, but his comment was buried immediately.

"Tch," Meadow snorted. "I'm not interested in having some flexible muscle in the middle of my mouth. You eat meat, and you literally have meat moving around between your teeth. Sounds like a dumb idea to have a tongue. I think you're just mad cause you don't have fun tentacle-like roots like me. Imagine being restricted to only having a single-digit number of limbs."

Gravis and Meadow continued to banter with each other while the other three were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Gravis had just randomly comprehended a level nine Law.

The reason why Meadow had suddenly gotten involved was because she felt happy for Gravis. Gravis had become more powerful, and she shared her joy with him the only way she knew how to.

By insulting him.

It was a fun little activity between them.

Narcissus only looked on with a bored expression, but he was also surprised that Gravis had just randomly comprehended a level nine Law.

The others hadn't even comprehended level eight Laws, and Gravis had just comprehended a level nine Law by randomly standing around?

If it hadn't been Gravis that told them, they would never believe it.

Gravis spent the next 5,000 years talking with everyone in Manuel's faction. Stella wasn't here right now, so he spent his time with everyone in the faction.

Gravis met a lot of new people. After such a long time, everyone had already forgotten Gravis.

First of all, a lot of people of the old Myriad Sect had already died.

Second, Gravis had essentially vanished from their perception for a million years.

Third, there were so many new people in Manuel's faction.

Fourth, no one was able to feel Gravis' Battle-Strength.

In essence, Gravis didn't look any different to a normal, average member of Manuel's faction.

However, this gave Gravis a lot of opportunities to talk with others. Gravis was a very extroverted person, and he enjoyed sharing his ideas, experiences, and philosophies with others.

Even more, he was very approachable since he never boasted about his power.

Everyone was proud of their own power, and they often compared the situations others had been in to how they would have handled it.

Yet, Gravis never did such a thing.

He only listened to others and gave them some hints on what they should do in terms of Law Comprehension.

Some of them accepted the hints since they sounded rather logical, while others dismissed them.

Gravis only felt like an average level nine Star God. He didn't know them better than themselves, and he didn't have any outstanding power to show that his path was correct.

However, even though Gravis appeared like a normal level nine Star God, most people still realized that he was not a pushover.

Why?

Because they couldn't feel his Will-Aura.

That meant that his Will-Aura was more powerful than their Will-Aura.

So, everyone that met Gravis believed that his Will-Aura was just one level above their own.

This, in turn, made them think that Gravis' Law Comprehension was relatively weak. After all, he felt average, and if he had the edge in Will-Aura, it meant that something else had to be weaker.

After Gravis had gotten to know many people of Manuel's faction, he decided to visit someone.

He wondered how they would react to his newfound power.

hapter 1207 - 1207 Ancestral God

Gravis checked where the person he wanted to visit was and realized that they were inside a Sect that was about as powerful as the Eternal Fire Sect.

'That's troublesome,' Gravis thought. 'If the Sect Master decides to directly attack me, I would be done for. It's not really safe. Additionally, the level suppression would make it hard for my Law of Perceived Reality to keep me perfectly hidden.'

'Know what. I need to reach the level one Ancestral God Realm anyway. Might as well do it now.'

Gravis told his friends that he would be going somewhere else and that he had to do something.

Then, Gravis went to a quiet place and called for Mortis.

A couple minutes later, Mortis arrived.

"Let's make it quick," he said.

Gravis only nodded with a smirk.

Whoop!

A ton of God Stones appeared around them, and the two of them immediately went on to consume them.

An hour later, the two of them had consumed two billion God Stones.

Then, finally, the signs of a breakthrough appeared.

Mortis' body became transparent, and Gravis could see his Star.

It was like his Star was sentient and alive. It was green, and it moved around in curiosity, apparently confused that it could see the outside world.

This was the Star of Sentient Life.

Energy flowed from Gravis into the Star of Sentient Life, and it began to grow.

It grew and grew until it started to shine with an incredibly bright light, blanketing everything with multicolored light.

BANG!

Then, its fires exploded as they became far more violent than before.

Gravis looked with interest at his Star, and he felt like it was about to explode.

It was like the Star had reached some kind of critical mass and could explode at any second.

However, Gravis knew that it wouldn't explode.

Yet, the Star only grew more and more unstable, and Gravis became less certain.

'It won't explode just like that, would it?' he thought.

The Star started to shake, and Gravis became nervous.

Then, Gravis saw the Law fragments of the Law of Sentient Life wrap around the Star.

It was like the Law of Sentient Life was trying to suppress the explosion.

CRK!

Yet, the Law fragments broke apart as they wrapped around the Star.

It was like the Star was simply too powerful.

The Major Law of Sentient Life wasn't powerful enough to stop the explosion!

Suddenly, something dark red left Gravis' body, and it started to wrap around the Star.

At that point, Gravis realized what was going on.

'I need a level eight Law to become an Ancestral God, and usually, Cultivators comprehend a Law relevant to their Star, which would make the Star stable. A level seven Law can't support this gigantic Star. That's why it felt so unstable.'

The dark red Energy that had left Gravis was the True Law of Suffering.

Gravis needed a level eight or level nine Law to suppress the explosion of his Star, and the True Law of Suffering directly assumed that position.

The Law of Sentient Life included the three Major Laws of Life, Emotions, and Perceived Reality, and it needed something compatible with it.

At the moment, Gravis knew four level eight Laws, but only the Law of Suffering was compatible with his Star.

The True Law of Hard Complex Materials was part of the Law of the Dead World, which wasn't part of the Law of Sentient Life.

The True Law of Lightning Manipulation was a Battle-Law related to the Law of the Dead World.

Gravis' Form Law was a self-created Law, which couldn't be used as a Star or integrated into one.

The True Law of Suffering was a Battle-Law for the Emotional Laws, which was in the scope of the Law of Sentient Life.

Because of that, the True Law of Suffering stepped forward to suppress the Star.

Of course, Gravis could have also used the True Laws of Empathy, Apathy, Control, and Freedom, but it would be a bit awkward if only a single part of his Star suppressed itself.

It was easier to take something external.

The True Law of Suffering wrapped itself around the Star of Sentient Life, and the Star was immediately suppressed.

Even the light of the Star changed since there was now a thin film of dark red around it.

Eventually, the Law of Suffering completely coated the Star like skin.

Then, the Star finally calmed down.

However, it still didn't shrink.

Before this event, Gravis' Star had been about a meter in diameter, but now, his Star was around five meters in diameter.

It had essentially transformed from a ball into a big boulder.

Eventually, the Star vanished, and Mortis reappeared.

However, Mortis was now 15 meters tall.

Gravis and Mortis only awkwardly looked at each other.

At the moment, Mortis shone with a bloody, dark red light. In a way, he looked like an imposing and bloodthirsty giant.

"You look ominous," Gravis said.

Mortis didn't answer.

Instead, Mortis only looked into the distance with a forlorn expression.

It was like he was asking himself what he had done to deserve this.

"So, can you become smaller?" Gravis asked.

Mortis remained silent for a while longer.

Then, his body slowly shrank.

Sadly, the only thing that didn't shrink was his abdomen, which had transformed into the roundest belly in existence.

Only a tiny head and tiny legs poked out of the gigantic ball.

"Pfft!" Gravis sputtered as he couldn't hold back his laughter.

The relatively tiny head of Mortis looked emotionlessly at Gravis.

Then, Mortis' body seemed to warp. The round part of Mortis moved upwards, into his head.

Now, Mortis had a normal body, but a gigantic head.

Gravis broke out into laughter again as he saw this.

Mortis only looked into the distance with a lost expression.

Eventually, Gravis calmed down, and he took the situation more seriously.

However, when Mortis noticed that Gravis had calmed down, he finally spoke for the first time after becoming an Ancestral God.

"You mortals can't comprehend my intellect," he said, his gigantic forehead pulsing.

Gravis immediately exploded into laughter again.

Mortis tried to suppress a smile, but he couldn't.

After some seconds, Mortis' head shrank, and eventually, a normal Mortis appeared in front of Gravis.

Mortis might appear incredibly serious, but he had also changed quite a bit. He didn't make many jokes, but occasionally, he did make one.

"It's a bit uncomfortable," Mortis explained. "I need to use quite some concentration to keep the Star suppressed in this state, but it's possible."

When Gravis heard that, he felt a bit bad again.

"Is it very hard to suppress it?" Gravis asked.

"Remember the time when we shoved Energy into our Spirit to prepare ourselves for the Spirit Forming Realm?" Mortis asked.

Gravis nodded.

"It's about that hard. I have a small headache, but it's nothing I can't deal with," Mortis explained.

Gravis nodded again. "Then, that's good," he said. "That should be manageable."

"It is," Mortis said. "Anyway, since we're done here, I'll go back to Azure."

"You know, that dark red light actually suits you way more than the previous orange light. You seem more imposing and dangerous."

WHOOOM!

Mortis violently expanded again, and his round belly returned.

Then, Mortis looked with cold hatred at Gravis as the ominous dark red light shone behind him.

"You will never disrespect my divinity again, mortal!" he boomed.

SHING!

Mortis' saber appeared in his relatively tiny right arm, and he swung it around.

Fire and lightning appeared on his saber as he swung it around like a tiny stick.

The ominous dark red light only added to his opposing aura.

Yet, the huge, round belly was just too contrasting, and Gravis exploded again.

SHING!

After a bit of joking around, Mortis left to get back to Azure.

At the same time, Gravis looked at the distance.

He was now an Ancestral God.

He was no longer at the beginning of the highest world.

Now, he was among the powerful elite.

Ancestral Gods owned a ton of buildings in Opposer City, and they were also nearly all part of Sects at a similar level to the Eternal Fire Sect.

'I can probably fight level six Ancestral Gods, which puts my true power at the upper middle of the Realm.'

'Just a bit more.'

Gravis took in the moment for some minutes.

Then, he got bored.

'Anyway, let's go.'

SHING!

And Gravis teleported away.

Chapter 1208 - 1208 Guard

Gravis went to the nearest city, but someone appeared in front of him before he could arrive there.

"Who are you!? You are not part of the Eternal Fire Sect!"

A level three Ancestral God arrived in front of Gravis with his weapon drawn.

Gravis was a bit perplexed. "I come here from time to time. What's with the sudden hold up?" Gravis asked.

The Ancestral God only glared at Gravis. "Impossible! Ancestral Gods all need to register with the border guard before entering our territory! Speak the truth!"

Gravis' eyes widened with understanding. "Oh! I just reached the Ancestral God Realm inside the Eternal Fire Sect. I was a level nine Star God before that," Gravis said while activating his Law of Honesty.

The guard realized that Gravis spoke the truth, but he still furrowed his brows. "I believe you, but I still need to investigate this. Please remain here and don't do anything before I'm done."

Obviously, such a powerful Sect as the Eternal Fire Sect had policies regarding the Laws of Honesty, Deceit, and Lies. So, even if the guard believed Gravis, he was still required to check everything. This was for protection against someone with the Law of Deceit or Lies.

Gravis simply stopped and waited.

The guard took out an emblem and spoke with someone on the other end.

After some seconds, the guard looked at Gravis again.

"Show me the token you normally use to enter," he said.

SHING!

Gravis took out the visitor's token for Manuel's faction and showed it to the guard.

The guard accepted the token and spoke to his emblem again.

Gravis couldn't hear what the other side said, but he could see what the guard did after getting his answer.

CRACK!

The token was destroyed.

Gravis blinked a couple of times.

"Do I get a new one?" he asked.

"No," the guard answered.

Gravis immediately furrowed his brows in displeasure.

"Ancestral Gods are not allowed to easily enter the Eternal Fire Sect," the guard said. "You are no longer allowed to just enter and visit. Since this is your first time and since you didn't know about this, we will overlook this infraction this time, but you have to leave immediately."

Gravis certainly didn't like what he was hearing.

"And how am I supposed to visit my friends and my partner from now on?" he asked.

"You must become a member of the Eternal Fire Sect if you want to freely visit," the guard said. "Your Will-Aura is quite powerful, even more powerful than mine. However, you feel quite weak, which means that you probably know nearly no Laws, but I think your Will-Aura should be enough to enter the Sect as a Core Disciple."

The position of Core Disciple was the lowest position an Ancestral God could assume in the Eternal Fire Sect. However, even those Core Disciples were already quite powerful when compared to the average Ancestral God.

Gravis blinked a couple of times without amusement.

"So, you are forcing me to join the Eternal Fire Sect?" Gravis asked. "You are essentially restricting me from visiting my friends just so that you have something in your hand that forces me to join you. Is that correct?"

"Insolent!" the guard shouted as he used his Will-Aura to suppress Gravis. He knew that Gravis' Will-Aura was more powerful than his, but there were two levels between them. The suppression should still work. On top of that, Gravis felt very mediocre to the guard.

"The Eternal Fire Sect doesn't use such underhanded tactics! All of these policies are for protection! We can't just allow any Ancestral God to enter the Sect! An Ancestral God could kill one of our factions with one attack!"

"Don't assume that the rules are just there to suppress you! The Eternal Fire Sect doesn't care about a singular Ancestral God. The Eternal Fire Sect didn't create a rule to go specifically only against you!"

Gravis only looked calmly at the guard.

"Yet, that changes nothing. The intentions of your rules are irrelevant to me. I only care about your actions, and right now, you are keeping me from visiting my friends," Gravis said.

"So? Rules are rules, and everyone has to follow them," the guard said with an annoyed tone.

In the guard's mind, Gravis could already thank all his lucky stars that the guard didn't directly attack him because of his disrespect towards the Eternal Fire Sect.

Gravis only evenly looked at the guard.

He wasn't angry or mad.

He was only annoyed.

Someone was trying to restrict his freedom, and Gravis wasn't a big fan of that.

"I want to speak with your superior," Gravis said.

"Hah," the guard laughed with disdain. "You? Not just anyone can speak with our Elders. Just peacefully leave, and I can ignore your words."

Gravis only looked at the guard.

"That wasn't a question," he said.

WHOOOOOM!

The guard wanted to answer, but his entire being was suppressed with an impossibly powerful pressure.

The guard's eyes widened in terror.

How!?

How was his Will-Aura that powerful!?

The guard could still move, but barely, and that was also only because Gravis allowed him to move.

A mere level three Ancestral God couldn't even attempt to fight a Will-Aura equal to a Peak Ancestral God.

"Come on, call your Elder," Gravis said slowly. "I'll wait."

The guard very slowly took out his emblem again, and he informed the person on the other end.

Some seconds of silence passed.

SHING! WHOOOOM!

A level four Ancestral God appeared, and she immediately activated her Will-Aura to suppress Gravis.

However, her eyes widened when she felt her Will-Aura hit something massive.

And the massive thing immediately pushed back.

The Elder had a Will-Aura on the fifth level of the Ancestral God Realm, but she was still suppressed.

Yet, she could still move, at least.

WHOOOM!

Gravis activated the True Law of Apathy, which began to eat away at her Will-Aura.

And now, she was also suppressed.

The shock the Elder felt couldn't be put into words.

Who was that!?

"I only want to visit my friends. Nothing else," Gravis said with the Law of Honesty. "I don't plan to go against the Eternal Fire Sect. I don't want to injure any of you. However, I want to visit my friends, and that's non-negotiable."

"So, what's your answer?" Gravis asked as he slightly reduced the pressure of his Will-Aura.

The Elder gritted her teeth and took out another emblem.

SHING!

A level six Ancestral God appeared some seconds later, and he also released his Will-Aura.

Gravis activated his True Law of Control, but it only managed to barely defend against the Will-Aura of the level six Ancestral God.

Gravis could still unleash some pressure, but the level six Ancestral God was only suppressed by about 5%.

BANG!

Then, Gravis used the Major Law of Suppression, which pushed the suppression to 40%.

However, this person was still six levels above Gravis. 40% was a lot of suppression, but that person was still far faster than Gravis.

A shocked light appeared in the eyes of the newest person, but he quickly looked at Gravis with a serious expression.

Gravis only looked back.

"I'm not your enemy. I only want to visit my friends whenever I want," Gravis said slowly.

"That's all I want."

The eyes of the newest person narrowed.

He was a Vice-Sect Master of the Eternal Fire Sect.

"Impossible," the Vice-Sect Master said.

Gravis' eyes narrowed.

Chapter 1209 - 1209 Proof Of Power "Impossible, huh?" Gravis said. "And how is it impossible?"

The Vice-Sect Master looked at Gravis with a solemn expression. He couldn't feel Gravis' Battle-Strength, but he obviously didn't believe that Gravis was only an average level one Ancestral God. After all, Gravis even managed to partially suppress him, the Vice-Sect Master.

The Vice-Sect Master wasn't stupid, and he knew that the only reason why he couldn't feel Gravis' Battle-Strength was that Gravis' Battle-Strength was already in a different world to his.

Could Gravis fight the Vice-Sect Master?

Logically, something like this should be impossible. It simply wasn't reasonable to assume that mere Battle-Strength could overcome a 4,096-fold increase in physical power and Energy.

It was ridiculous.

No matter how experienced in combat a newborn baby was, it couldn't kill a grown adult.

Yet, the Vice-Sect Master knew that Gravis wasn't stupid. Reaching such ridiculous heights in Battle-Strength couldn't be possible with a stupid mind.

So then, if Gravis were smart, why was he doing this?

The answer could only be confidence.

Because of that, the Vice-Sect Master could only accept that Gravis might actually prove to be a danger.

However, he had to uphold the prestige of the Eternal Fire Sect.

"Rules are rules, and we can't make any exceptions," the Vice-Sect Master said with a deep voice. "We can't allow a mere level one Ancestral God to walk all over the dignity of the Eternal Fire Sect. In your case, the rules are even more important since you are an even greater danger than a normal Ancestral God."

"Additionally, you should realize that the only reason why I haven't directly executed you for your obvious disrespect towards the Eternal Fire Sect is that you could deliberately target the Sect before your death."

"If we were outside, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," the Vice-Sect Master said with narrowed eyes.

Gravis only looked into the narrowed eyes of the Vice-Sect Master.

"Do you realize that the feeling is mutual to some degree?" Gravis slowly asked.

The aura of the Vice-Sect Master became colder.

"My friends are part of the Eternal Fire Sect, and they call it their home. I obviously do not want to kill their colleagues and friends."

"But if you were someone that wasn't from the Eternal Fire Sect…"

"I could use some tempering right now."

The atmosphere between Gravis and the Vice-Sect Master became increasingly tense, and the other two people only looked on nervously.

They believed that their Vice-Sect Master could kill this arrogant man, but what if that arrogant man attacked them out of anger? Wouldn't they die?

The Vice-Sect Master became increasingly angry, and his aura became even colder.

By now, he was honestly debating attacking Gravis.

"You don't believe me?" Gravis asked slowly. "Let me show you some proof."

BANG!

Suddenly, the Vice-Sect Master took out his spear and stabbed towards his left. A relatively small but very concentrated explosion of Blaze and Hurricane appeared. Obviously, the Vice-Sect Master knew the level eight Law of Blazing Hurricane, a Mixed Element.

The eyes of the Vice-Sect Master looked at the spot he had just struck, but nothing appeared. Then, he turned to Gravis with hate-filled eyes.

However, deep inside his eyes was also shock.

Why had the Vice-Sect Master suddenly struck empty air?

Because his Major Law of Danger had warned him.

It had told him that he was about to be attacked by a very powerful attack.

What had happened?

It was Mortis.

As soon as Gravis had noticed that a fight might break out, he had called Mortis. Just now, Mortis had intended to attack the Vice-Sect Master with a Lightning Crescent after becoming tangible again.

In order to trigger the Law of Danger, one had to unleash an attack with the intention to kill.

So, if the Vice-Sect Master hadn't reacted appropriately, a Lightning Crescent would have consumed him.

One could say that it was a risk. After all, if the Vice-Sect Master didn't notice the attack, Gravis and the Eternal Fire Sect would truly throw away all pretenses.

However, Gravis had trusted in the Vice-Sect Master's power.

Gravis refused to believe that someone like him would just fall over and die with one attack.

However, the attack had been genuine, and that couldn't be changed anymore.

Gravis had essentially attacked the Vice-Sect Master with the intention to kill.

"That was an easy one," Gravis said with the Law of Honesty. "I didn't even do much with that attack. As you can feel, I'm not as weak as you imagine."

"Now, can we have a proper discussion about this issue?"

The Vice-Sect Master gnashed his teeth.

Gravis had just made an attempt on his life, and he was supposed to just talk with him!?

The anger in the Vice-Sect Master's eyes heightened.

Someone had just tried to kill him, and he was supposed to just do nothing!?

However, as more time passed, the Vice-Sect Master's anger transformed into frustration.

He couldn't fight here.

Sure, a Judge of The Heaven Company would appear, but they would only block attacks that would damage the living beings except for the two combatants. If Gravis decided to actively target the Eternal Fire Sect, the Judge wouldn't block the attack.

The entire fight would just change from a fight between two individuals into a fight between one individual and a Sect. The Sect would join the combatants, and the Judges couldn't protect the combatants against each other.

However, everyone else of the Eternal Fire Sect would also be allowed to interfere at that point, which would essentially mean Gravis' death.

But that was irrelevant.

Why?

Because, in the Vice-Sect Master's mind, Gravis would only attack the Sect after realizing that he couldn't win. He would only do that when death was already unavoidable.

Yet, the possibility that Gravis might not attack the Eternal Fire Sect was even worse.

Because if Gravis didn't attack the Eternal Fire Sect, it meant that he wouldn't believe that he would die, which would mean that he would win the fight, which would mean that the Vice-Sect Master would die.

Both outcomes were horrible to the Vice-Sect Master, which was why he suppressed all his anger.

He couldn't allow a fight between him and Gravis to break out.

So, the Vice-Sect Master did the only thing he could.

SHING!

An emblem appeared in the Vice-Sect Master's hand.

SHING!

A couple seconds later, someone new appeared.

Gravis' Will-Aura was slapped away like a little kid. Obviously, the new person who had appeared was far beyond him in power.

The new person that had appeared was a young woman with long, orange hair. She was a level seven Ancestral God, and she looked at everything around her with furrowed brows.

It was the Sect Master of the Eternal Fire Sect.

The three other people of the Eternal Fire Sect quickly informed her about what had happened in the last minutes.

This level one Ancestral God had demanded that they would allow him to enter and exit the Eternal Fire Sect whenever he wanted.

Then, he had launched an attack on the Vice-Sect Master.

After hearing all of this, the Vice-Sect Master looked at Gravis with narrowed eyes.

Gravis remembered that she and Orpheus had a very unfriendly relationship, and she obviously knew that Gravis was related to Orpheus.

Gravis only looked at the Sect Master with narrowed eyes.

Chapter 1210 - 1210 Teachings

The Sect Master looked at Gravis with a solemn look.

"Did you expect for me to appear?" she asked calmly.

"Yes," Gravis answered with the Law of Honesty. "I expected for you to arrive."

"And you don't fear me?" she asked.

"No," Gravis answered with the Law of Honesty. "I am not nearly as powerful as you, but I am confident in my ability to escape."

The Sect Master felt Gravis' Law of Honesty. Obviously, he wasn't lying.

Even more, the Sect Master's Will-Aura suppressed Gravis' Will-Aura by a ridiculous degree, which meant that she knew for a fact that he had used the Law of Honesty, and not the Law of Deceit or Lies.

After looking at Gravis for a bit more, she suddenly turned around.

BANG!

The Sect Master slapped the Vice-Sect Master with incredible power, and the Vice-Sect Master shot into the distance, heavily injured.

The other two looked with shock at what had transpired.

BANG!

Then, the Elder was slapped into the distance, also severely injured.

The guard immediately felt a feeling of terror as he looked at what had happened to the other two.

He would be next!

The Sect Master couldn't afford to kill an Elder or a Vice-Sect Master over something like this, but he was only a guard.

The Sect Master looked at the guard. "If you are uncertain about a decision, call your superior before you decide to act for yourself. You will not be awarded any Contribution Points for the next 10,000 years."

The guard became shocked.

She wouldn't attack him?

He would survive?

The guard immediately bowed politely. "I thank the Sect Master for her teachings."

The Sect Master nodded, and she pulled the Vice-Sect Master and the Elder back with her Spirit.

They had just regenerated from their injuries, but their expressions were still filled with terror and shock.

Why had they been attacked!?

This level one Ancestral God had been the one that had demanded something ridiculous!

"You!" the Sect Master said with a strict voice as she focused on the Elder.

"Y-Yes, Sect Master," the Elder answered with fear.

"Why did you deny his request?" she asked.

"Because it is against the rules," the Elder announced.

"What's the purpose behind that specific rule?" the Sect Master asked.

"It is to protect the Sect from sudden attacks by enemy Ancestral Gods," the Elder said.

"Would he have attacked the Eternal Fire Sect?" she asked.

The Elder's thoughts went back to her exchange with Gravis.

Gravis had used the Law of Honesty to explain that he didn't view the Eternal Fire Sect as his enemies and that even his friends were there.

Obviously, Gravis wouldn't attack the Sect.

Yet, it was still against the rules.

"I couldn't be sure if he used the Law of Honesty since his Will-Aura suppressed mine," the Elder said.

"Then, if you can't be sure, why didn't you immediately call for a Vice-Sect Master? Why did it have to come to this?" the Sect Master asked.

"I didn't want to disturb the Vice-Sect Master for such an insignificant reason," she said.

"Is it insignificant?" the Sect Master asked. "Even I am here. How can this be insignificant? You saw a level one Ancestral God that could even suppress you, a level four Ancestral God. That's a jump of four levels. Nothing involving such a person can be insignificant."

"If you are uncertain on what you should do, you need to contact your superiors. Don't jump to conclusions immediately. Even more, you could have given him a Guest Elder's token. As far as I have seen, he was about to leave anyway. In the meantime, you could have reported everything to your superior, and they would have had the time to make a decision."

"Just because someone has a Guest Elder's token doesn't mean that the Sect will immediately be attacked by them. Something like that needs time. He would have left, your superior would have had time to make a decision, and when he returned, the decision could be put into action."

"The danger would have been avoided, the situation wouldn't have escalated, and we would have had more time to plan. Do you know your mistakes?" the Sect Master asked.

The Elder felt humiliated.

After listening to the Sect Master's teachings, she thoroughly had realized her mistake. This entire situation wasn't about right and wrong, as she had believed, but about handling the situation as efficiently as possible.

The Elder realized that she had put too much emphasis on pride and what was right instead of solving the issue.

It was her fault that the situation had escalated to the degree that she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Yes, I know my mistakes," the Elder said with a polite and sincere bow. "I thank the Sect Master for her teachings."

The Elder had meant what she had said.

She knew that she had screwed up, and she would remember this lesson.

The Sect Master nodded.

Then, the Sect Master focused on the Vice-Sect Master.

"You know that his power is incredible. At that point, it didn't even matter if you could fight him or not. Someone with such powerful Battle-Strength obviously wasn't someone that would just throw their life away."

"He remained here, even when you showed up. This means that he has a certain level of confidence in dealing with the situation. At that point, you wouldn't even need proof of his power. Just knowing that he couldn't be stupid and that he was still here shows that he has a way out."

"This is not about him being a danger to you, but about him being able to escape," the Sect Master emphasized.

"He doesn't need to fight and kill you right now. If he can jump so many levels, it means that he has various ways of circumventing the unreal differences in speed between the levels. He obviously can't make himself as fast as you, but he can use various tricks, illusions, stealth tactics, and other means to escape your perception. Jumping so many levels isn't about directly clashing with your opponent, but about avoiding a direct clash."

"That ability is intrinsically connected to the ability to escape from a fight."

"You just had a standoff, which could result in a conflict. Tell me, what are the benefits you receive by winning?" the Sect Master asked.

The Vice-Sect Master felt uncomfortable, but he answered. "I would have upheld the honor of the Eternal Fire Sect."

"So, no God Stones, no power, no resources, no land, and no gain in new disciples?" the Sect Master asked.

The Vice-Sect Master grimaced. "No," he answered.

"Only honor?" the Sect Master asked.

The Vice-Sect Master hesitated. "Yes, only honor."

The Sect Master nodded.

"What about the potential losses?" she asked.

The Vice-Sect Master's mind went through everything that could have gone wrong, and he gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Potential death of a Vice-Sect Master. Potential death of several Elders. Potential destruction of the Sect. Potential angering of his friends and associates. Potential creation of a Sect enemy. Potential destruction of the Eternal Fire Sect," the Vice-Sect Master answered.

The Sect Master nodded.

"Does that sound like a good risk-reward ratio to you?" she asked.

"No," the Vice-Sect Master said.

"Then, why did you not solve the conflict?" the Sect Master asked.

The Vice-Sect Master hesitated.

"I don't know," he answered.

"Leave and don't come back until you know," the Sect Master said. "Take this as an opportunity to grow. I also believed honor to be far more important than many other things before the Ancestor taught me otherwise."

The Vice-Sect Master bowed politely. "I thank the Sect Master for her teachings."

The Sect Master nodded, and the Vice-Sect Master teleported away.

Then, the Sect Master focused on Gravis.

"Now, onto you," she said.

By now, Gravis had calmed down.

The Sect Master handled the situation very objectively and fairly. She even highlighted the mistakes of everyone and why they had been wrong. Her teachings had even destroyed the subconscious feeling of enmity between the Vice-Sect Master, the Elder, and Gravis.

"I understand that you want to visit your friends, and that's fine. You are a friend of the Eternal Fire Sect, and we should treat our allies and friends with the respect they deserve. Otherwise, they will stop being our friends," the Sect Master said.

"But you went too far this time. I can defend your usage of your Will-Aura, but I can't defend your attack on the Vice-Sect Master."

"You have also acted incorrectly, and I can't let this slide just like that."