Ch. 1221..1230

Chapter 1221 - – Lina

Gravis realized that she had comprehended the True Law of Control, and he smiled.

It definitely wasn't easy to comprehend the True Law of Control, but the Sect Master's mind was already very susceptible towards the Law of Control.

Of course, the Law of Freedom would be a different story.

Manuel's mind was also very susceptible towards the Law of Control, but he still hadn't comprehended the Law of Freedom, even though he already knew all of the other Laws.

Comprehending either one of the Law of Control or Law of Freedom was relatively easy.

Comprehending both of them was nearly impossible.

After all, they were polar opposites.

One was about evaluating all the variables and possibilities and comprehending the entire complexity of the situation, which would give someone insight into what options everyone had and what they could do.

The Law of Control was the peak of complexity.

Meanwhile, the Law of Freedom was literally ignoring everything and doing whatever one wanted to do. Nothing else. That was it.

The Law of Freedom was the peak of simplicity.

Yet, comprehending the True Law of Control was still quite an achievement.

"Surprised?" Gravis asked the Sect Master with a smirk.

The Sect Master was surprised when she heard Gravis' words.

It took her some time to understand what Gravis meant.

"You already know this Law?" she asked.

Gravis nodded. "Yep. How else could I be in control of the situation?"

The Sect Master took a deep breath.

No wonder she had felt like she had had no control over her interaction with Gravis.

Her lack of control hadn't been an illusion but reality.

She realized this now even more than before.

She comprehended the entirety of control, which allowed her to truly see that she wasn't in control.

One would think that knowing more about control would allow one to be in control more, but that wasn't always true. Sometimes, knowing more about control only makes one realize that there was truly no way to be in control of a situation.

The Sect Master also finally realized that Gravis had given her an opportunity to comprehend the Law.

However, exactly that was throwing the Sect Master for a loop.

She knew that Gravis was Orpheus' brother, and she knew that she had quite a shaky relationship with Orpheus.

Additionally, she had wanted to punish Gravis.

Even more, she had nearly killed Gravis back then, and Gravis knew that.

Even just now, she had debated killing him.

In essence, Gravis should see her as his enemy.

So, why was Gravis suddenly helping her?

She didn't get it.

It made no sense in her mind.

It felt completely random.

All the different thoughts shot through her head, and even though she knew everything about control, she had no idea how to navigate the current situation.

There was seemingly nothing logical about it.

When Gravis saw her uncomfortable expression, he only chuckled.

He knew exactly what she was thinking.

"You want to ask why, but you are not asking. Why not?" Gravis asked.

These words threw the Sect Master for a loop again.

Gravis knew what she was thinking about?

How?

Did he know something she didn't know?

"I…" the Sect Master said as she hesitated.

She had no idea what she should do.

Her mind tried to combine all sorts of realities and possibilities with each other to comprehend the current situation, but she didn't come to any reasonable conclusion.

It was like Gravis didn't act like a human.

Gravis only suppressed a laugh as he looked at her.

He found it hilarious that he could throw someone that knew the True Law of Control for a loop with only some words.

However, Gravis also realized that she would probably never comprehend the Law of Freedom in her life.

The concepts of control completely enveloped her mind, and there wasn't even the smallest space left for freedom.

Manuel had a possibility to comprehend the Law of Freedom in the future, but she didn't even have that.

It was straight-up impossible for her.

"The reason why I gave you that opportunity was that I wanted to," Gravis said. "That's the entirety of my reason. I was impressed by your great change and wanted to see if you could comprehend the True Law of Control."

"That's it."

After some seconds of thinking, the Sect Master looked at Gravis.

"What did you get out of doing that?" she asked.

Gravis shrugged. "Nothing."

The Sect Master thought for another second. "Was it for an altruistic or empathetic reason?"

"No," Gravis answered. "I simply wanted to see if you could comprehend the Law. That's about it."

The Sect Master thought about Gravis' words some more.

"Did you do it so that I might feel indebted to you, which would give you a lot of options to further your own power?"

"I mean, that's just a natural consequence of doing someone else a favor," Gravis said with a shrug. "It wasn't really my target. If you want to, you can, but you honestly don't have to. If you simply did nothing, I wouldn't mind. I only wanted to see if you could do it. I didn't really do it for you, but to sate my own curiosity."

The Sect Master frowned. "Why did you say that? You could have achieved a lot more by simply saying nothing."

Gravis scratched the back of his head with an uncomfortable expression.

Was this so hard to comprehend?

He only wanted to do something, and she was trying to insert all kinds of meanings and goals into his actions.

"Why would I need to lie?" Gravis asked. "Don't take it personally, but your help would only have a minuscule effect on my growth. I have my ways to comprehend nearly all the Laws I want."

"In a way, you could say the potential stuff you can give me isn't worth the effort of lying to you."

"Also, I don't like lying."

In a way, Gravis' words felt a bit humiliating to the Sect Master.

However, she also realized that Gravis was speaking the truth.

It might be uncomfortable to hear, but it was the truth.

Additionally, she had asked Gravis again and again. Not being honest would be even more disrespectful after so many questions.

The Sect Master thought about Gravis' words some more, and she felt a headache approaching.

Eventually, she gave up.

She just couldn't comprehend Gravis' thoughts.

So, she decided to simply throw everything away.

"My name's Lina," she said suddenly.

Gravis cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Okay?"

"I didn't introduce myself previously," Lina said. "I think I can learn a lot from you, and I think it's only fitting for me to introduce myself first. How can I learn more from you if you don't even know my name?"

Gravis scratched the side of his head.

'I mean, it makes sense, but it's a bit sudden.'

'Oh well.'

"Is that your real name?" Gravis asked.

"It's my first name. However, my family comes from this world, and they know about the effects of true names. Because of that, all of the members in the family get extremely long and complex names, making it impossible for anyone to guess them."

"My true name consists of over 100 words. Giving out my first name isn't a danger to me," Lina explained.

'That's quite a long name,' Gravis thought with surprise.

"Alright. I'm Gravis," Gravis said. "Don't worry, the remainder of my name is impossible to guess since not even I know it."

This took Lina by surprise.

"You don't know your own name?" she asked in surprise.

"Nope. I guess that's my family's way of protecting my name."

"Does your family also come from this world?"

Gravis nodded. "Yep."

Gravis' plans of visiting Orpheus were delayed yet again.

Talking with Lina was quite interesting.

Chapter 1222 - – Reparations

Gravis talked with Lina for quite a long time.

She was often interrupted by something she had to do since the Eternal Fire Sect was currently undergoing a severe paradigm shift.

However, she still talked with Gravis whenever she had time.

Lina had realized that Gravis had gone through a lot of experiences, and she could benefit from them.

She had realized that someone with Gravis' Battle-Strength must have a very special mindset that allowed him to become that powerful in the first place.

By now, she had fully accepted Gravis as an equal, and she even looked at him like he was a bit superior to her.

There was so much she could learn from him.

Of course, Gravis kept all the sensitive things to himself. He hadn't known Lina for very long, and he didn't fully trust her yet.

Eventually, after a couple of years, Lina came to an important topic.

"What's the best way of mending my relationship with Orpheus?" she asked.

Gravis furrowed his brows as he scratched his chin.

"It's difficult and easy at the same time."

"Orpheus is similar to me. If he wants to kill you, he will kill you. If he doesn't want to kill you, he won't kill you."

"You've gone against him quite severely in the past, and I'm pretty sure that he is only waiting for a moment when staying at his current level isn't the optimal choice anymore. At that point, he would probably use you as tempering while somehow dealing with your Ancestor."

Lina took a deep breath.

She had expected something like this, but it was still difficult to hear that someone was out for her life, and she couldn't do anything about it.

"Is there something I can do?" she asked.

"Make reparations and show your sincerity," Gravis said. "Show that you want to make amends because you regret your actions, not because he is a danger to your life."

"And the best way to show that is to become powerful enough to kill him and then pay him back. In order to show that you don't fear him for his power, you have to become powerful enough to kill him."

"Of course, all of this is based on the fact that this is the actual reason why you want to mend your relationship," Gravis said. "If you simply fear him for his power, and you reach the power to kill him, you will probably kill him."

"Of course, that would come with other complications."

Lina thought about these things for a bit. "I honestly don't want to mend our relationship because of his power. I mean, sure, his power is one factor since I don't want to die, but another reason is that I realized how stupid I have been in the past. I have gone against him because of stupid reasons, and I realize that I have committed a severe mistake."

Gravis nodded. "I believe you. Surprisingly, your lack of threat is one of the main reasons that allow you to even attempt to mend the relationship. I don't think Orpheus has ever seen you as a true threat."

Lina didn't like that Gravis called her weak, but she knew that Gravis was only telling the truth.

"So, how should I go about doing it?" she asked.

"I would suggest for you to become a level eight Ancestral God. Then, you should fight a level nine Ancestral God. The True Law of Control should have pushed your Battle-Strength forward by quite a bit."

"After that fight, your Will-Aura should be at around the first level of the Divine God Realm. Then, you should become a level nine Ancestral God."

"At that time, you would be powerful enough to theoretically kill Orpheus, and when you make your reparations then, you will show that you don't just do them because of his power."

"You should offer him something that he truly wants. I would suggest for you to become the new Ancestor of the Sect. At that point, you can give Orpheus all the advantages a Sect Master has without the responsibility. You can either continue to directly lead the Sect or name a proxy."

"Orpheus wants the same thing every other Cultivator wants. He wants money, Laws, and tempering. You already paid back a lot by giving him the first two things, but I'm not sure if it is enough. You should also promise him tempering by allowing him to choose any targets for the Eternal Fire Sect to attack."

Lina took a deep breath.

"Don't worry," Gravis said before she could say something. "Orpheus is not a heartless guy. He won't push the Eternal Fire Sect down into an abyss just for his own tempering. In actuality, letting him choose the opponent is not that bad. Orpheus also knows a lot about leadership due to his old job in the Research Company. It's just that he doesn't want to deal with too much responsibility."

Lina remained silent as she thought about Gravis' words.

The thing Gravis was asking for Orpheus was a lot.

The entire Eternal Fire Sect would basically be subservient to him.

However, wouldn't Orpheus become the Sect Master anyway?

Then, wouldn't the Eternal Fire Sect already be on his beck and call?

The only thing she would do was to act as a backer and make Orpheus' life easier.

Eventually, Lina sighed.

"I think you're right. It's difficult to give up all these things, but genuine reparations have to hurt. I think I should do as you've said," she said after a while.

Gravis nodded with a smile. "You know, I'm glad that you can stay alive, assuming you survive your tempering. I've grown to like you quite a bit after our talks."

Lina was taken aback when Gravis said that.

Then, she grew a bit nervous.

"Do you mean that?" she asked.

When Gravis heard her nervous voice, he immediately realized what had happened, and he quickly shook his hands.

"I didn't mean this in a romantic way!" Gravis said. "I already have someone. I only meant in a friendship way. I'm sorry! I phrased it incorrectly!"

Lina was taken aback a bit, but she only smiled. "It's okay," she said. "It's only a misunderstanding."

Gravis nodded. "Anyway, do you know where Orpheus is? He's the reason why I'm basically here. I want to talk to him."

Lina was a bit surprised. "Wait, you came to the Eternal Fire Sect just to ask where Orpheus is?" she asked.

Gravis nodded.

Lina's mind went back to everything that had happened in the Eternal Fire Sect.

Gravis had killed over 40 Ancestral Gods, and the entire Eternal Fire Sect had been thrown on its head because of it.

Gravis had changed the entire Eternal Fire Sect.

Yet, he had only been here to ask for directions?

So, if he had simply gotten his directions, he wouldn't have killed anyone, and all of this wouldn't have happened?

He came to ask for directions, and that had resulted in a gigantic change for a gigantic Sect.

If Lina would describe it as such, everyone would immediately ask how.

How would a question for direction end in the philosophy of a huge Sect changing?

Lina gave Gravis directions to his brother absentmindedly, and Gravis left with a smile after saying goodbye.

And Gravis was gone.

He had gotten his directions.

Chapter 1223 - – Secret

After the awkward last seconds with Lina, Gravis went towards Orpheus.

He had finally gotten the directions he wanted.

Gravis flew for a couple of minutes until he arrived near an insanely hot area. Well, the Eternal Fire Sect was also pretty hot, but this place was even hotter.

Very hot mountains.

'Why do I always go to so many fire areas?' Gravis asked himself.

This was a Law Comprehension Area for the level eight True Law of Magma.

The land was littered with volcanoes, but they only looked like volcanoes if one didn't look at the land in more detail.

In fact, the volcanoes were just huge mountains that were at quite a high temperature.

The True Magma was solid.

It was basically just very hard fire.

Or very hot stone, depending on the viewpoint.

Gravis even recognized the materials the mountains were made out of. They were made of a hard complex materials, which were somewhere in the middle Ancestral God Realm. However, the material itself wasn't hot on its own. It needed an infusion of fire to become hot, and that was what this Law Comprehension Area provided.

The Law Comprehension Area for the Law of Heavenly Fire was under the headquarters of the Eternal Fire Sect. It was their lifeblood, and the Sect died and thrived based on its power.

Law Comprehension Areas for level nine Laws were the most powerful Law Comprehension Areas in the entire Cosmos. Their power was so great that their influence stretched for millions of kilometers.

The Law Comprehension Area for the Law of Heavenly Fire beneath the headquarters of the Eternal Fire Sect was responsible for the Law Comprehension Area Gravis was currently standing in front of.

Over the long history of the Cosmos, these stones had formed here, and they absorbed the Energy of the Law of Heavenly Fire millions of kilometers away.

If one likened the Law Comprehension Area for the Law of Heavenly Fire, the Eternal Fire Sect's headquarters would be just above its crater, while this Law Comprehension Area for the level eight True Law of Magma would be one of the side veins. One could also say it was a smaller crater.

If one wanted to be funny, one could also say that this was an outpost for the Law of Heavenly Fire.

Anyway, just the scattered power of the Law Comprehension Area for the Law of Heavenly Fire was already enough to create a gigantic Law Comprehension Area for a level eight Law.

Lina had said that Orpheus was here. Apparently, he was interested in comprehending the level eight True Law of Magma.

'Wonder if he's already directly going for the True Law of the Dead World,' Gravis thought. 'Not sure if he actually has a fire affinity.'

"Stop! Do you have an entry emblem!?" someone suddenly shouted from in front of Gravis.

SHING!

A young man appeared in front of Gravis.

He was a level three Ancestral God.

"I'm only here to visit," Gravis said.

The guard frowned. "Visiting is-"

WHOOOOM!

Gravis activated his Will-Aura and suppressed the guard, who only looked with absolute shock at Gravis.

"Listen, I've got enough of all these interruptions. I've had quite a lot of them over the last years, and it's getting old. Just go ask literally anyone in the headquarters of the Eternal Fire Sect. They will recognize me," Gravis said with annoyance.

The guard was taken aback, but Gravis simply ignored him as he pulled back his Will-Aura and passed the guard.

The guard quickly contacted his superior in the Eternal Fire Sect, and the superior very quickly posted some very specific questions.

"Ignore him. Just act like he doesn't exist," the superior ordered pretty quickly.

Then, the superior quickly explained to the guard what had happened, and the guard needed some time to understand everything he had just heard.

But eventually, he came to the conclusion that he wasn't getting paid enough to worry about this stuff.

So, he simply acted like Gravis didn't exist and continued doing his job.

Meanwhile, Gravis quickly found Orpheus buried deeply in the ground. If Gravis hadn't known the True Law of Hard Complex Materials, his Spirit Sense wouldn't have been able to dig through all this hard matter, and he wouldn't have found Orpheus.

Orpheus was currently concentrating on comprehending the True Law of Magma, and he wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings.

Gravis immediately began smirking.

Gravis slowly and carefully moved towards Orpheus from behind.

Then, Gravis slowly extended his head towards Orpheus' ear.

"GRAVIS!"

Orpheus' head suddenly turned 180° as he grinned right into Gravis' face.

Gravis' entire body seized as his heart stopped, but the pumping of his heart wasn't really relevant to his survival anymore, making it more of an inconvenience.

Fact was, Gravis was quite startled.

"Hahahaha!" Orpheus laughed loudly as he saw Gravis freeze.

After some seconds, Gravis calmed down and only looked with shock at Orpheus.

"How did you find me? I was using the Law of Perceived Reality to keep myself isolated and hidden. Additionally, you weren't even paying any attention," Gravis asked, genuinely surprised.

How did Orpheus find him?

Orpheus only continued laughing for a while longer before he finally calmed down.

"Gravity Displacement Array," he said with a smirk. "The more powerful the surrounding gravity, the greater the effect. You really shouldn't underestimate Formation Arrays, Gravis."

Gravis only looked around and inspected the surroundings with his Spirit Sense.

Sure enough, he saw some buried formations, which formed an array.

"Huh, how powerful is that Formation Array?" Gravis asked with skepticism.

"It's quite powerful," Orpheus said with a smirk, "and costly. It's basically on the level of a level two Divine God. The Major Law of Freedom can't protect you against something that powerful, even if it's part of your Avatar."

Gravis' brows furrowed. "That's quite a powerful Formation Array. Tell me, was it also the reason how you found out it was me?"

Orpheus nodded with a smile. "As soon as it feels someone displace gravity, it transmits an image of that person to me. That's how I saw it was you."

Gravis' expression suddenly turned very annoyed.

Orpheus looked at Gravis' expression with surprise and confusion.

This was not the funny kind of annoyed, but the genuine kind of annoyed.

At the moment, Gravis looked at Orpheus like he had done something Gravis found very displeasing.

"Gravis?" Orpheus asked.

Gravis remained silent for some seconds, making Orpheus more nervous.

This wasn't how Gravis usually acted.

Silence.

Suddenly, Orpheus' eyes quickly darted to his left, but they quickly went back to Gravis.

Gravis' eyes narrowed.

Then, Orpheus seemed to struggle with himself, and eventually, he simply sighed.

Orpheus looked away from Gravis and turned to his left.

Where another Gravis was.

However, this Gravis was the real one.

"Orpheus, since when?" Gravis asked.

Orpheus sighed with a guilty expression.

"Since before you were born," he said. "This was one of the reasons why father always says that I have the potential to become a Heaven's Magnate."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gravis asked.

Orpheus scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I didn't want to demotivate you, and I also wanted to surprise you. Yet, as more time passed, it became more and more awkward to reveal the truth, and I always postponed it," Orpheus said.

"Orpheus, you know that I hate it when people deceive me," Gravis said.

"I know, but it was just… awkward. I'm sorry. I honestly didn't have any bad intentions," Orpheus said with some urgency.

Gravis looked at Orpheus for a while longer.

Then, Gravis sighed.

"Fine, I'll believe you."

Orpheus sighed in relief when he heard these words. "Thanks, and sorry again."

Silence.

"So, how did you find out?" Orpheus asked.

"I comprehended the True Law of Freedom recently," Gravis said. "I can accept that your Formation Array can pinpoint my location, but I can't accept that it can show you an image of me while I am inside a perceived reality."

"Additionally, my Will-Aura is more powerful than yours."

"Effectively, as my Will-Aura is more powerful, it should be completely impossible for you to see my face, no matter how hard you try."

"Yet, you still did."

"But you know how the Law of Perceived Reality works, don't you?" Gravis asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Orpheus groaned. "So, that was it. You comprehended the True Law of Freedom. Yeah, that would explain things. The Formation Array works for the Major Law of Freedom, but not for the True Law of Freedom."

So, what had happened previously?

Gravis had quickly become suspicious when Orpheus had seen him, and he already had a pretty good guess as to why.

So, Gravis moved his real body to the side while keeping the fake body talking to Orpheus.

Gravis hadn't been able to change the perception of the Formation Array previously since he hadn't noticed it, but since he had seen it now, he simply made the Formation Array show Orpheus an incorrect image.

Then, when Gravis had finally arrived beside Orpheus, he had commenced his test.

Gravis had emulated the mindset of his father and made Brutality explode.

The change between the normal Gravis and the Gravis imitating his father's mindset was gigantic.

At that moment, Gravis only emanated a pure desire for destruction and death.

And sure enough, Orpheus had glanced over.

This meant that Orpheus could see through Gravis' Law of Perceived Reality while having a weaker Will-Aura, which could only mean one thing.

Orpheus also knew the Major Law of Perceived Reality.

Chapter 1224 - – Simple

So, Orpheus knew the Major Law of Perceived Reality, and he had always known it.

Gravis had believed that he had been one of the first people that had comprehended it very early on, but apparently, Orpheus had also been part of that club.

No wonder Orpheus had never shown his Avatar.

Additionally, Gravis' Will-Aura had never been powerful enough to see through it, and even more, Gravis had never questioned his own perception while looking at Orpheus.

Sure, the Law of Perceived Reality allowed one to see through realities, but the Will-Auras had to be on a similar level, at least.

How powerful had Gravis' Will-Aura when he had seen Orpheus the last time?

Level nine Star God.

Meanwhile, Orpheus' Will-Aura had already been at the level of a level eight Ancestral God.

The difference was too massive for Gravis to notice the difference between Orpheus' perceived reality and physical reality.

However, this also explained quite a bit. After all, jumping several levels in the Ancestral God Realm was already quite impressive.

Jumping two levels?

That probably wasn't even difficult for Orpheus.

He could probably jump three levels comfortably, and he could even attempt to jump four levels.

At the moment, Orpheus was a level six Ancestral God, and he could probably attempt to fight a level nine Ancestral God.

His Will-Aura wouldn't even be very relevant since he also had the Major Law of Freedom, which had been integrated into the Major Law of Perceived Reality and used as an Avatar. That pushed the power of the Major Law of Freedom to the power of a level eight Law, allowing him to ignore all suppression inside the Ancestral God Realm and lower.

"I thought I was the first one that went backward on Heaven's path to power," Gravis said with a sigh.

"Sorry," Orpheus said with an embarrassed expression. "I also had that idea. Surprisingly, I comprehended the Law of Freedom in a similar way to you. Everyone was telling me to focus on the subsidiary Laws of the Law of the Dead World, but I didn't want to do so. So, in an act of spite, I used the Law of Suppression as my Avatar."

"How are we so similar?" Gravis asked.

"I mean, we're brothers," Orpheus said with a slight smile, "but I know what you mean. We both have quite a lot of things in common."

For a while, Gravis and Orpheus only looked at each other awkwardly.

Why?

Why were they so related?

"You think there's a reason behind this?" Gravis asked after a while.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Orpheus said with an uncertain expression.

Silence.

"Is this another thing that has been planned by Heaven or something?" Gravis asked himself.

"Gravis."

Gravis was taken aback as he suddenly heard the sound of his father.

"Not everything in the entire world that seems strange is due to the old bastard," the Opposer told Gravis via voice transmission. "This similarity between you and your brother is mostly a coincidence."

Gravis only lifted an eyebrow in skepticism.

"Mostly?" Gravis asked.

"Yes, the other part is the way your mother and I brought you up," the Opposer said. "We allow you to build your own image of the world and think for yourself. We want you guys to be true to yourselves, and we want you guys to always know what you want."

"Additionally, you two come from your mother and me. The way the Laws have created you has a higher chance of having a higher affinity with the path of power. Your mother knows the Law of Perceived Reality, and I obviously know it. We both know it, and to comprehend both of these Laws early, you need a special kind of mindset."

"We know that, which is why we have brought you up the way we did. It's still rare for someone to comprehend the Law of Perceived Reality very early, but the chances that this happens to a member of our family is magnitudes higher."

"Don't always assume that everything weird that's happening is due to either the old bastard or me. We also weren't responsible for you meeting Stella," the Opposer finished.

Gravis was still a bit uncertain as he scratched the side of his head.

"I guess?" Gravis said with uncertainty.

Orpheus looked with confusion at Gravis.

Gravis noticed Orpheus' expression and told him what their father had told him.

When Gravis was done, Orpheus also scratched the back of his head in uncertainty.

"So, that's it?" he asked.

Gravis nodded. "I guess so. I mean, it makes sense. Upbringing has a huge effect on how the child develops."

Silence.

"But that's so… simple… and normal," Orpheus said.

Gravis nodded. "I know. It's weird. Everything involving me is weird, but this thing is just so very normal."

Eventually, the two accepted the truth.

There was no reason for the Opposer to lie to them, especially since the Opposer knew how much Gravis hated lies.

He wouldn't lie to Gravis for an arrogant reason as protecting him from something.

"I mean, the Obsidian Ring has also been very normal," Gravis said as he took out his Obsidian Ring. It was still the same Obsidian Ring, and he had owned it ever since he had been a child.

"For some time, I also believed that this ring had some special, hidden power, but that's actually foolish to think," Gravis said. "If father wanted to do something, he would do it himself. He wouldn't need some ring to do that for him."

"I guess, sometimes, simple things are just simple."

When Orpheus heard that, he frowned as he fell into thought.

Then, Orpheus scratched the back of his head.

Two seconds later, Gravis' eyes widened.

"Oh, come on. Fuck you!" Gravis shouted.

Orpheus only laughed loudly.

"That's unfair!" Gravis said with annoyance. "How am I supposed to catch up to you when you keep comprehending Laws!"

Then, Gravis' eyes widened.

"Is that how Stella feels?" he said.

"Hey, this is about me, not your partner," Orpheus said with a laugh.

"Yes, yes, you're great," Gravis said.

Then, Gravis sarcastically lifted his arms and waved them around. "Weeee, Orpheus comprehended the True Law of Freedom. He's sooo great!"

"You comprehend it before me, okay? Leave some of the comprehension for your dear brother!" Orpheus said with a smirk.

Gravis only snorted.

How had Orpheus comprehended the True Law of Freedom?

Well, first of all, Gravis had told Orpheus that he had comprehended the True Law of Freedom almost randomly. Of course, Gravis didn't go into detail since he didn't want to ruin Orpheus' Law Comprehension.

When Orpheus had heard that Gravis had already comprehended the True Law of Freedom, he had become confused.

Wasn't that Law supposed to be super hard to comprehend?

While they had been talking, Orpheus had thought of an insane number of ways to comprehend the True Law of Freedom.

Yet, none of them felt like the right way.

Then, Gravis said that, sometimes, simple stuff was just simple.

So, Orpheus just tried to force-comprehend the True Law of Freedom.

And it worked.

The mood between the two of them had improved, and the awkwardness vanished, and in no time at all, the two of them were back to talking like they had never been apart.

The two brothers were together again.

Chapter 1225 - – Research Institute

Gravis and Orpheus talked for several years after their awkward reunion.

Orpheus praised Gravis' Battle-Strength especially, telling him that when Gravis had pulled that one stunt, even Orpheus had felt a feeling of mortal danger.

"Haha, I still remember when I first met you," Orpheus said with a bright smile while sipping some coffee. "You were only a Body Tempering Cultivator. In fact, you couldn't even be truly called a Cultivator."

"Just that one teacher you had who had been in the Unity Realm had already been worlds above you. And now, look at you! You're powerful enough to even make me feel threatened. It's almost unbelievable that you achieved all of that in only a bit more than a million years."

Gravis only smiled. "I still remember when I saw you back then. I had only heard about the first four Realms, and the Unity Realm truly felt like something that I would never reach in my life."

"And then, I met you, and you were on a level of power I couldn't even comprehend. I had no idea how powerful you actually were. I knew that you were powerful, but I didn't know how powerful."

That's when Gravis started laughing. "I still remember when I couldn't control my Will-Aura, and I used it on that one teacher. What was his name? Forneus, I think? Of course, he also suppressed me, but I wonder how he must have felt when you suddenly showed up."

"I wonder how it feels like to be reprimanded by a Peak Star God while only being a Unity Realm Cultivator," Gravis said with a smile.

Orpheus only smiled bitterly. "I still remember Forneus, which is surprising since he was only a Unity Realm Cultivator. He was a subordinate of my subordinate of my subordinate. Yet, whenever he interacted with me, he never really showed any fear. He only showed boredom and annoyance. That's quite admirable for someone of his level."

Gravis nodded. He still remembered that his teacher back then had even given Orpheus some attitude, which was shocking beyond belief considering the difference in their power.

"By the way, what did you do all day in your job?" Gravis asked.

"Mainly just managing the overall development of the different departments," Orpheus explained. "My subordinates were the ones that trained all the Researchers. I only looked at the different Cultivators in training from time to time to evaluate their growth."

"After that, my subordinates give me all the reports, and I have to find an effective way to improve the results without going over budget. I also had to evaluate all the different techniques the Researchers brought back and decide if they were marketable or not," Orpheus explained.

"Speaking of," Gravis interjected. "How does the Research Institute even make their money? I know that they sell techniques, but I don't see how that's viable. After all, basically everything has to do with Laws at the Unity Realm or higher."

Orpheus only leaned back. "It's not only about the techniques. It's also about ways of smithing, alchemy, Sect management, disciple training, Law combinations, and Form Laws."

"For example," Orpheus said as he leaned forward again. "You have a very powerful Form Law. How did you create that? By comprehending 14 different level seven Laws and combining them with the Emotional Laws."

"However, how much from these 14 level seven Battle-Laws are you actually using? You're probably only using 10% per Law at most. So, what about the remaining 90%? It's basically a waste since you're only using the best 10%."

"Comprehending a Form Law via comprehending several Battle-Laws is the purest and oldest way to create them, but that's not what most powerful Sects are interested in."

"A Form Law is only one aspect of your power, and investing so much time into it is a huge waste of resources for them."

"That's where the Resource Institute comes into play. We go through a Cultivator's memories and check out all of their facets. Their personality, priorities, fighting style, and so on, basically everything."

"Then, we get some of our Researchers to create a Form Law for them. All of our Researchers have gone through their journey the hard way, making them the best people for the job. Researchers didn't have much help from anyone in the highest world, and they received nearly no resources from our world. That makes them pure."

"When someone needs a Form Law, a team of Researchers gathers that knows basically all the Elemental Battle-Laws for a given level of power. The details of the customer are put on display in front of all of them, and they start creating a Form Law perfectly suited for that Cultivator."

"When everything has been ironed out, the Researchers transform the newly created Form Law from an aggregate of Law principles into a technique and give it to the customer. With that method, the customer gets a perfectly suited Form Law nearly instantaneously, and the best part is that their Law Comprehension hasn't even been weakened. After all, they only learned a technique, not a Law."

"In a way, the really powerful Sects could do the same thing on their own, but it would still be a waste of resources. The true geniuses of the Sect would comprehend their Laws on their own, which meant that they didn't need that service, while the normal Cultivators are just that, normal Cultivators."

"Who would willingly force ten of their Ancestral God commanders to come up with a level seven Form Law for a Star God that isn't even sure to become truly powerful in the future?"

"No one," Orpheus added with a smile. "Additionally, these Ancestral Gods wouldn't be very used to this task, and they would feel quite some frustration towards their Sect for forcing them to do something so idiotic."

"Of course, the process I have just described to you is our most exclusive one, and it's very expensive. Only Sects that are comfortably in the Ancestral God Realm buy that service in bulk."

Gravis was intrigued by what Orpheus was telling him. Gravis hadn't even thought about tailor-making a Form Law for someone else. He had always assumed that everyone had to comprehend their Form Laws on their own.

"What about the Eternal Fire Sect?" Gravis asked.

"Always have been customers, always will be customers," Orpheus said with a chuckle. "The Eternal Fire Sect is full of politicians and strategists, and they know exactly how cost-efficient this process is. The Eternal Fire Sect is a gigantic client."

"In fact, after staying here for a while, I noticed that the Eternal Fire Sect spends nearly 10% of their wealth on exactly these kinds of services. That's a lot."

Gravis nodded. "That's really a lot."

No wonder the Research Institute was so big. They got 10% of the Eternal Fire Sect's wealth, and other powerful Sects probably also gave just as much to them.

Probably just a hundred Researchers from the Research Institute were gathering more God Stones than the entire Eternal Fire Sect.

"But that service is not even 20% of the Research Institute's revenue," Orpheus explained.

"Oh?" Gravis uttered with interest.

Orpheus nodded. "Techniques for people below the Immortal Realm are where it's at."

Gravis looked with confusion at Orpheus.

"You've created plenty of techniques, Gravis," Orpheus said. "Lightning Crescent, Mortality, Samsara, pre-dodging, lightning acceleration, all that stuff."

"Of course, the latter two are no longer relevant to you right now, but they have been relevant in the past, and Cultivators in the lower ranges of power would still benefit from them."

"That's where the Research Institute shines. The Research Institute has billions of shops all over the world, and they have even more in the other worlds."

"Other worlds?" Gravis asked in surprise. "You do business in other worlds?"

Orpheus nodded. "A lot of Cultivators abandon their path to power, but they are not nearly powerful enough to live in luxury in our world. The Research Institute has access to all the worlds, and it's relatively cheap for us to send people there."

"The Research Institute allows these Cultivators to live in a place where they are powerful while putting them under restrictions. They are not allowed to initiate conflict, and they are not allowed to ascend."

"Someone in the Self Stage of the Spirit Forming Realm, for example, will be sent to a lower world to open a shop. Their shop receives an incredible number of copies for millions of techniques, and they are allowed to sell them at standard prices."

"The owner of the shop is allowed to spend 20% of the money on whatever they wanted while 80% goes to the Research Institute."

"Then, when the Research institute notices that the shop owner has died, they send a collector, who will analyze everything that has happened and will take their share."

"Most of the time, the dead shop owner will have created a gigantic empire of shops that sell our techniques, and the new heads of these shops are smart enough not to anger the collector most of the time."

"You have no idea how much money is being made with that method, Gravis. It's actually crazy," Orpheus said with a chuckle. "For example, the Research Institute has over 100 billion collectors that are constantly doing nothing but collecting money and sending people to other worlds."

"Even more, the applications for being a shop owner vastly outnumber the open positions, which allows us to weed out the untrustworthy people. That's why everything is running so smoothly."

Gravis only nodded with a surprised expression.

Gravis had always asked himself how techniques of a lower or middle world could be sold in the highest world. After all, wasn't everyone in this world already way more advanced?

However, the techniques weren't sold to the highest world, but to other worlds of similar level.

In essence, the Research Institute was equalizing the potential and opportunity for all the Cultivators in all the worlds with their techniques.

They were shaping the surroundings and lives of an incredible number of Ascenders.

When the Ascenders reached the highest world and heard of the Research Institute, they wouldn't even know that they had been their customer ever since they had been born.

The Research Institute was in nearly all the worlds.

That really was a lot of money and power!

Chapter 1226 - – Stella's Return

Gravis talked with Orpheus some more, and he had also gotten the answer how it was so cheap for the Research Institute to open portals to other worlds. After all, something like that needed a lot of Energy.

The answer was as obvious as it was brilliant.

Prisoners from Opposer City's Guards.

The Research Institute and the guards had a deeply connected relationship, and one could even say that one of them nearly couldn't live without the other one.

The Research Institute gave the guards plenty of techniques and Form Laws in exchange for some of the prisoners. All the prisoners that only had to work for a finite amount of time would be sent to the mines to mine God Stones, from which a huge part would go to the Research Institute.

However, the prisoners that had committed severe crimes wouldn't be sent to the mines but to the tubes.

The prisoner's will would be put into stasis by a complex Formation Array. The will of the prisoner still existed, but as long as no one woke them up, they wouldn't wake up on their own.

In that state, the prisoner would still count as alive, and their body would still absorb Energy. Several tubes would be put into the bodies of the willless prisoners that sucked out all their Energy, and their body's subconscious absorption of Energy would always refill their Energy storage.

These prisoners would remain in this situation until their longevity ran out.

They were essentially refilling Energy batteries.

It was quite a dark image, but Gravis didn't find it weird.

The Cultivation world was rather dark, after all. This wasn't anything special.

Gravis had also worked as a torturer for a couple of years, and that job wasn't any prettier.

Eventually, Gravis and Orpheus ran out of things to talk about, and Gravis left.

Gravis had told Orpheus about the fact that Lina was trying to find a way to repay him and that Orpheus should give her some time.

Orpheus scratched his chin in thought and then shrugged. "Sure, I'll give her some time," he said.

Gravis nodded. This was everything he could do for Lina. Everything else was up to her. If she couldn't make appropriate amends, Orpheus would kill her.

Then, Gravis left and went towards Opposer City to spend some time with his father and mother.

Nothing of note happened during that time. Gravis only talked with his father, mother, and the Black Magnate.

After that, Gravis went back to Manuel's faction.

By now, Gravis had talked to Arc, Orpheus, and his family.

Now, he only wanted to meet Stella again.

And that happened way faster than he had thought.

One day, Gravis' eyes opened wide in surprise as he felt Stella enter his Spirit Sense.

"Stella? You're already back?" he asked as he teleported to her.

When Stella saw that Gravis was still alive, a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Yes, my tribulation came early. Heaven probably saw that there is no reason to wait with the tribulation since I was doing nothing but waiting anyway and sent it early," Stella said.

"But more importantly, what about you, Gravis?" Stella asked with interest. "How was the Heaven's Trial?"

However, Gravis didn't think about his Heaven's Trial right now.

He was only thinking about Stella as he looked at her.

Stella was still a level nine Star God, but her Will-Aura had already reached the level of a level three Ancestral God. It was definitely powerful enough for her to become an Ancestral God.

Stella definitely hadn't had it easy.

At the moment, Stella only smiled brightly at Gravis like nothing had happened, but Gravis knew that she had probably been close to dying just recently.

It was a terrifying thought to realize that there had been a high chance that Stella wouldn't return.

Every time Stella went to temper herself, Gravis was thrown into a swamp of worry.

He didn't want her to die, but he also couldn't help her in her tempering.

Literally the only thing Gravis could do was trust Orthar that he wasn't sending Stella an opponent that would kill her.

Gravis didn't see Orthar as his enemy, but it still frustrated him that the survival of all of his friends and loved ones basically hinged on Orthar.

If Orthar wanted, he could simply send an equally powerful person to fight with Stella as her previous opponent, but the new opponent would have Laws that could counter Stella or had a higher potential for growth during a fight.

One of the only reasons why Stella was still alive was because Orthar wasn't sending her against geniuses from a Peak Sect with similar powers. Those geniuses were geniuses because their minds were very susceptible to comprehending powerful Laws in moments of crisis.

In the beginning, Stella and her opponent would be about equally as powerful. Nearly all of the time, the winner of the fight would be the one that had grown more during the battle.

Gravis knew that Stella had a very high potential for comprehending Laws, but he also knew that there were people with an even higher potential.

If Stella were put against someone like that, she would most likely die.

Gravis saw Orthar as his friend, but Orthar's sheer control over Gravis' entire life still left a bad taste in his mouth.

Even more, Orthar also wasn't perfect. He knew a lot, but he couldn't know everything. For example, Orthar had been uncertain about Mortis' survival during Samsara, and he had also been uncertain when Gravis and Mortis had fought Arc and the younger version of the Opposer.

If Stella accidentally died to her tribulation, Orthar could say that he had chosen an optimal opponent and that something had simply not gone to plan.

Would Gravis believe that?

Yes.

Why not? Orthar had shown that he wanted Gravis to become powerful, and he didn't want to end up on Gravis' bad side. There was literally no reason to damage their relationship.

But in the end, it was still all up to Orthar.

He had control over Gravis' entire life.

What if Gravis said that he wanted Stella and his loved ones to have unlimited longevity?

That wouldn't even help!

They all wanted to become powerful, after all. It wasn't like they were forced to.

And sadly, a tribulation always gave one the optimal opponent for their level. These opponents were better than any opponent the Cultivator could search for on their own.

Gravis didn't want to be under Orthar's control, but he had to concede the fact that being under Orthar's control was the best and most optimal way to power.

He was literally helping them, but they were also forced to accept his helping hand.

It was a very complex situation mired with many conflicting emotions.

Suddenly, Stella hugged Gravis, taking him out of his thoughts.

Stella knew Gravis very well, and she knew what he was thinking about.

He had worried about her, and she didn't like it when he worried about her.

Why?

Because Stella also worried about Gravis, and she knew how horrible the uncertainty felt.

Gravis only released a sigh and embraced Stella. "I'm sorry. I've lost myself in thought."

"It's fine," Stella said quietly. "I'm only happy that you're still here."

"I'm also happy that you're here, Stella," Gravis said.

Then, the two of them went to Stella's home, and they only spent time with each other.

The outside world was forgotten.

Chapter 1227 - – Profound Happiness

After spending a couple of years together, Stella suddenly got an idea.

She told Gravis to wait for her and that she would have a surprise for him.

Gravis only lifted an eyebrow, but he complied.

Stella left for some hours, and when she returned, Gravis' eyes widened.

Stella had just become an Ancestral God!

"Surprise!" Stella said with a bright smile. "Our tribulations are now synchronized! We never have to worry alone. Now, we can worry about each other at the same time!"

Gravis wasn't sure what he should feel right now.

Stella had just gone through her tribulation, and she had thrown away a million years of her longevity for this.

Stella noticed Gravis' expression, and she immediately knew what he was thinking about. "Oh, come on. Longevity is irrelevant when your goal is supreme power. These one million years don't matter. Additionally, I can comprehend Laws faster by being an Ancestral God."

However, Gravis only silently went to her and pulled her close to him.

Yes, it wasn't very relevant to them, but Stella had still thrown a million years away just so that they didn't need to worry about each other separately.

Who would do that for their partner?

When Stella saw Gravis' emotional expression, she only giggled. "Silly, it really wasn't much."

"I don't know what I've done to deserve you," Gravis said quietly.

"Hey! I should be the one saying that!" Stella shouted with a pout.

The two of them continued joking around for some time, but eventually, all the jokes transformed into tenderness.

They were so happy with each other.

Even more, they had so much time now. Both of them had a full three million years of longevity now.

So what if they spent a hundred thousand years together?

That wasn't even so much time anymore.

Whenever the two of them were together, the days seemed to stretch into infinity, but at the same time, a lot of time would pass in an instant.

At this moment, everything was perfect.

Stella was here.

Mortis was here.

Aris and Yersi were here.

All his friends were here.

No tribulation would take place anytime soon.

Manuel's faction was powerful enough to resist basically everyone in the Eternal Fire Sect.

Everything was quiet and calm.

Gravis had absolutely no worries.

Gravis was happy.

In quiet moments, Gravis thought about what it would be like to just live like this forever.

That wouldn't be so bad.

However, Gravis also knew that this was only an unrealistic dream. Even if Orthar's dream of how it would be to stop cultivating hadn't had much effect on Gravis, he still remembered how he would feel.

Everything would be fine for three million years.

Then, it would be fine for another three million years.

But then, the two of them would need to become Divine Gods, and at that point, it would basically be impossible to ever return to cultivating.

At the moment, everything felt serene and great, but that was because Gravis still had options.

If he wanted, he could continue cultivating, and that was exactly how he could be so happy.

Yet, if he couldn't continue anymore, he would feel stifled.

The feeling of approaching death was horrible, and Gravis didn't want to feel like he was approaching death without a chance to fight against it.

Living for a finite number of years without a way to extend his life terrified Gravis.

Gravis wanted to feel like this for an eternity, and even if ten million years felt like an eternity at this moment, an eternity would eventually pass.

When Gravis had started his Cultivation journey, it had also felt like the Star God Realm was an eternity away from him.

And now?

Now, Gravis was an Ancestral God.

The "eternity" it took to become a Star God had only been a bit more than 200,000 years for Gravis.

What were 200,000 years to Gravis now?

That was one session of Law Comprehension.

It felt like nothing.

Because of that, Gravis knew that the eternity that was over ten million years would also start to feel like nothing eventually.

He couldn't stop.

He didn't want to stop.

However…

As Gravis looked at Stella, who was currently working on some armor, he realized that there was always a way out of Cultivation.

If Gravis wanted to stop cultivating, he could.

If Gravis wanted to continue cultivating, he could.

He wasn't restrained.

Because of that, it wasn't necessary to worry about the future.

With that realization, Gravis truly lost himself in his time with Stella.

He could lose himself because he knew that he could always return.

He could jump to and from these two worlds whenever he wanted.

His future was open, and his present was secure for the time being.

Gravis could do whatever he wanted, and he loved that.

Stella didn't notice Gravis' thoughts as she was fully focused on creating Formation Arrays.

She didn't even notice that Gravis was watching her with a peaceful smile.

Only the muffled sound of Energy being infused into armor could be heard in the room, and Gravis felt at peace.

For some reason, Gravis believed that this moment was special.

This was what he had worked so hard for.

This was the reason why he had always put himself in danger.

He had come home, and now, he could live his life however he wanted.

This was freedom.

However, freedom was also happiness to Gravis.

At that moment, Gravis felt like nothing could destroy his happiness.

Gravis' eyes didn't even widen when he suddenly comprehended a new Law.

He only found it natural to comprehend this Law.

After all, wasn't everything Gravis was feeling at this moment not built upon this very concept?

Living beings always feared for their life, and they wanted to fight against death until it no longer was a danger.

As long as one's life was still in danger, one couldn't be truly happy.

However, Gravis wasn't in danger at this moment, which was one of the primary reasons for how he could feel so happy at this moment.

So, when Gravis wasn't in danger, what remained?

Safety.

Gravis didn't need to fear anything at the moment.

Everything was open to him, and the world practically waited for his actions.

No one would come to threaten him, and he could do whatever he wanted.

This was safety.

And that was also how Gravis had comprehended the level nine True Law of Safety just now.

Gravis only smiled happily as he continued watching Stella.

He didn't even tell her since he found it to only be a natural consequence of his current life.

This was the seventh level nine Law Gravis had comprehended, but he wasn't very surprised.

Ancestral Gods already came into contact with level nine Laws. After all, they needed to comprehend one to become a Divine God.

So, in a sense, comprehending level nine Laws as an Ancestral God was normal.

Gravis checked his Spirit Space and looked at the five grey fruits.

These were the Law Comprehension Life Fruits for the True Law of Suppression.

Gravis only needed to comprehend a couple of level eight Laws, and then he could eat these fruits without any worry.

'Only the Law of Danger remains, and after I comprehend that, I can get the True Law of Suppression.'

'At that point, I can condense my first level ten Law, the True Law of Perceived Reality.'

Gravis only grinned widely.

'I'm nearly done with a quarter of what I need to become a Heaven's Magnate.'

'But for now, that doesn't matter.'

'I wonder what Formation Array Stella is making at the moment?'

Chapter 1228 - – Suppression

Gravis spent the next 60,000 years with Stella, and it was like his life was a dream.

There was nothing Gravis had to worry about.

However, eventually, Gravis wanted to go back to cultivating.

Gravis' Will-Aura was quite powerful at this moment, and he didn't need to temper himself.

However, Gravis also wasn't fully confident in being able to take on a level six Ancestral God. The higher the Realm of his enemies got, the more their Battle-Strength escalated.

Gravis could only suppress someone six levels above himself by about 20%, and that wasn't nearly enough. His opponent would still be three times faster than a level five Ancestral God.

In the higher world, Gravis could jump six levels without suppressing his opponents since they either didn't have powerful bodies or a lot of Energy, but everything had changed.

Now, everyone had a powerful body and a lot of Energy.

Because of that, Gravis needed to rely on his Will-Aura to suppress his opponent. Otherwise, they could explode forward with speed too fast for Gravis to react.

That was why Gravis wanted to comprehend the True Law of Suppression first.

It wouldn't make a huge difference since Gravis' Major Law of Suppression was already pushed to the power of a level eight Law, but it would still help.

The suppression of his opponents would probably jump from 20% to 50%.

That should be enough to avoid dying to an attack Gravis couldn't even react to.

Because of that, Gravis decided to focus on some level eight Laws.

Mortis also agreed that he wanted to comprehend some Laws, and the two of them left Manuel's faction together.

In the past 60,000 years, the effects of Gravis' actions in the headquarter of the Eternal Fire Sect had slowly shown their effects.

The rules regarding battles between fellow Sect members had been loosened, which resulted in a more hostile environment that condoned battles between individuals.

Now, it wasn't only the factions being at war but also individuals.

This took a lot of factions by surprise, completely ruining their plans, but Manuel's faction had always followed such a philosophy.

This gave Manuel an edge over his competition, and he had gained a lot of control over the Sect in just these 60,000 years.

The growth of Manuel's faction accelerated, making his faction a hegemon among all the factions.

By now, nearly all the factions had united against Manuel's faction, and Manuel felt a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

However, Manuel wanted that, and he fully entered war mode.

Luckily, Gravis didn't have to fear for Stella. After all, Stella was already an Ancestral God and an incredibly powerful one at that.

All of this didn't involve her. She only focused on her Formation Arrays.

When Gravis and Mortis left Manuel's faction, they split up to focus on different Laws.

At the moment, their goal was to comprehend as many level eight Laws as possible to consume the Law Comprehension Life Fruits for the True Law of Suppression.

So, they focused on the Mixed Elemental Laws involving Lightning.

Gravis directly walked into a Law Comprehension Area for the level eight Law of Divine Blaze in the Eternal Fire Sect.

The Sect couldn't stop him, even if they wanted to, but it was still surprising that not a single guard even looked at him.

It was like Gravis didn't exist.

While Gravis was focused on the Law of Divine Blaze, Mortis left the Sect and went to the Darkest Stygian Sect to check out the level eight Law of Divine Stygian. Mortis was intangible, which meant that nothing but the True Law of Perceived Reality could find him.

Because of that, Mortis was the one that went to comprehend the Law of Divine Stygian instead of Gravis.

The two of them fully focused on their Laws, and they also finished nearly at the same time.

How long did it take?

100,000 years.

It was a surprisingly long time considering their Laws involved lightning.

Gravis and Mortis talked to each other, and they believed that a normal level eight Law not involving lightning would probably take them around 300,000 to 400,000 years each.

That was long!

However, their longevity had also increased by quite a bit.

So, wasn't it kind of normal that the more powerful Laws would also take longer?

But for now, that wasn't relevant.

Mortis directly went to the next Law, which was the Law of Divine Wood, while Gravis used up nearly all his money to get a Virtualization Array for the Law of Divine Zero.

The Eternal Fire Sect was a Sect focused on fire, and Gravis couldn't just waltz into another Sect without having to potentially fight. Not everyone was as smart as Lina, and Gravis didn't want to deal with tempering right now.

A Virtualization Array for a level eight Laws was incredibly expensive, but Gravis didn't mind.

Gravis knew the Law of Heavenly Lightning, and he knew the True Law of Hard Complex Materials.

This meant that Gravis could create insanely expensive equipment, and he had the means to make an insane amount of money.

Because of that, Gravis didn't mind the steep price. He would get a lot of money soon anyways.

Another 100,000 years later, Gravis and Mortis finished their Laws.

In just 200,000 years total, they had comprehended four level eight Laws.

That speed was unprecedented.

After the two of them were done, Gravis ate the Law Comprehension Life Fruits for the True Law of Suppression.

As soon as he consumed the first fruit, Gravis felt a profound feeling of suppression coming out of his stomach, and he felt this feeling to be incredibly familiar.

Gravis' mind immediately went back into the familiar feeling of being suppressed, and it was like he had been transported back to the lower world.

BOOOOM!

Gravis comprehended the True Law of Suppression before even consuming his second fruit!

There were still four left!

Gravis was more than surprised that he had comprehended a level nine Law this quickly.

'Seems like my affinity for suppression is very high. It's probably thanks to all the horrible things I experienced when I was young,' Gravis thought with surprise.

'Now, only the True Law of Danger is left.'

'Additionally, I can temper myself now.'

Gravis looked at the sky.

'Soon,' he thought. 'Soon, I will become powerful enough to claim true freedom.'

'I have gone through so much, and my goal of freedom has always been an infinite distance away from me, but now, I am so close. I have nearly grasped the first piece of true power.'

'Additionally, I only need the True Law of Life and the True Law of Emotions on top of the True Law of Danger to grant Mortis his true freedom.'

'At that point, he wouldn't need to be my Star anymore.'

'Mortis deserves his freedom, and he has put up with far too much, thanks to me. I want to make his life easier, and soon, I will have that opportunity.'

'I think it would be best for Mortis to check out the other Mixed Elemental Laws, while I focus on the Life Laws for now. After all, Mortis can easily get to all kinds of Law Comprehension Areas, while I can't without spending a ridiculous sum of money.'

'I should check with Meadow and Narcissus.'

Gravis and Mortis went back to Manuel's faction, who had grown even more imposing by now.

There were even four Ancestral Gods, including Stella and Azure.

"Oh, Gravis, Mortis, you two came at just the right time," Manuel said when he noticed them.

"What's up?" Gravis asked.

"The Lightning Peak Sect has issued an announcement to everyone. Apparently, they are holding a grand tournament for all Ancestral Gods that have become Ancestral Gods after the fateful day about 1.5 million years ago. They're looking for the best of the best, and the winner can join any Peak Sect of their choosing," Manuel explained.

"A tournament?" Gravis asked, looking at Mortis.

"Not interested," both of them said at once, looking back at Manuel.

Manuel laughed.

"I know that you're not interested in these tournaments. However, you don't need to take part in it. How about you simply go with some of our friends there. Some of them need Law Comprehension Areas they can't get in the Eternal Fire Sect, and joining a Peak Sect would help them on their journey."

"Additionally, you can get to know a couple of important people. Connections can bring you quite far in life."

"So, are you two interested?"

Gravis and Mortis looked at each other again with uncertain expressions.

Then, Gravis shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

Chapter 1229 - – Exar And Aris

"So, what's this all about a tournament?" Gravis asked.

"Well, as you know, the Lightning Peak Sect has had a change in leadership some time ago," Manuel explained. "One million years is very long for us, but for Divine Gods, a million years only feel like 100,000 years, relatively speaking."

"The Lightning Peak Sect probably had to stabilize itself for a long time with the new leadership, and now, they are finally ready to interact with the outside world again."

"I think they are creating this tournament for a couple of reasons."

"First, they want to show their power. They want to show that they still belong to the Peak Sects."

"Second, they want to ease their relationships with the other Peak Sects. After all, the winner gets to choose to join any Peak Sect, not only the Lightning Peak Sect. This means that this is probably a collaboration between all the Peak Sects."

"Lastly, the first Cultivators have reached the Ancestral God Realm after that fateful day. All these Cultivators have become more powerful in weaker Sects, and now, they are finally powerful enough to enter the Peak Sects' eyes. Sure, a level one Ancestral God is still far too weak, but a powerful Ancestral God that managed to reach that Realm with a lot of speed must have incredible talent."

"As far as I know, most of the Peak Sects' recruits come from outside the Sect, and they have been starving for recruits for quite a while now."

Gravis nodded. "Makes sense. Are there also other rewards?"

"Yes," Manuel answered. "The top three get a set of Law Comprehension Life Fruits for any level nine Law that isn't part of the Emotional Laws or the Law of Perceived Reality."

Gravis' and Mortis' eyes brows rose in surprise. "That's quite a strong incentive."

Manuel nodded. "Yes. The Lightning Peak Sect has a powerful plant that knows a lot of level nine Laws. However, to create these Law Comprehension Life Fruits, the plant needs to absorb a ridiculous amount of Energy and Life Energy, making these fruits incredibly expensive."

"By my estimation, one set of these fruits is worth 1,000 God Crystals."

Gravis' eyes opened wide in shock.

1,000 God Crystals!?

Gravis had earned only ten during his job as a torturer!

1,000 God Crystals had as much Energy inside them as one trillion God Stones, but no one would trade one trillion God Stones for 1,000 God Crystals. A more realistic price would be two trillion God Stones.

Two trillion God Stones.

The most Gravis had ever owned was something like 16 billion God Stones.

That wasn't even 1%!

"They're really going all out," Mortis commented from the side.

Gravis looked at Mortis and nodded. "Even I nearly want to participate in the tournament."

Then, Gravis sighed. "Sadly, I can't. I can't unveil my power in front of so many people. At the moment, the Peak Sects don't even know that I exist, which is the very reason why my life is so relaxed at the moment."

"If they find me, they will try their everything to get me into their Sect. However, I don't want to join any Sect at the moment, and if I refuse such an offer, they might decide to covertly kill me off. After all, if I don't belong to them, I belong to the enemy."

"Hiding my power isn't very difficult as long as I don't have to fight. No one will assume that anyone present knows the Law of Perceived Reality, and they certainly won't question their own perception while looking at a random Ancestral God."

"Accompanying my friends is ok, but I can't fight myself," Gravis said. "That sucks."

"I know," Manuel added. "That's why I didn't ask you two to join. However, you would still be a great help. After all, our friends will be up against powerful enemies with a lot of experience and tons of hidden methods. If another powerful Sect sees that some of our friends could become a danger, they might decide to stage an accident and kill one of them."

"You have the Law of Perceived Reality, which allows you to hide our friends behind illusions, and you, Mortis, can move around without anyone noticing you, allowing you to spy on their plans," Manuel explained.

"Makes sense," Mortis said.

"Manuel," Gravis said, looking at Manuel. "I notice that you keep saying our friends. It sounds like you're not planning on participating."

Manuel only smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I know that I have a real shot at getting to first place, but I value hiding my identity and power higher than the rewards. The more people underestimate me, the more control I have over the situation."

Gravis nodded. Manuel always kept his power hidden from everyone for a good reason.

There had been more than one attempt at Manuel's life, but Manuel's power had always saved him since the opponents didn't dare to send too powerful Cultivators. After all, if the Cultivator were too powerful, they would immediately be noticed by everyone, and everyone would become wary of them.

However, if they were only a singular visiting level nine Star God, no one would bat an eye.

On top of that, Ancestral Gods were severely restricted from traveling to and from the outer faction locations.

"So, who's going to join?" Gravis asked.

"Aris and Exar," Manuel answered.

Gravis' eyebrows rose in surprise, and he checked Manuel's faction with his Spirit Sense.

Sure enough, Aris had become an Ancestral God in the last 200,000 years.

That was quite fast.

Gravis had already known that Exar had become an Ancestral God. He had advanced shortly after Stella had reached the Ancestral God Realm.

Gravis had already talked to Exar, and he knew which level eight Law Exar had comprehended.

It was an exceedingly rare Law, the level eight True Law of Time Dilation.

It was one of the rare Battle-Laws related to time.

The True Law of Time Dilation doubled the time dilation powers of the Law of Time. Just based on the fact that Exar's Major Law of Time had been integrated into his Star of the Dead World, its power had already reached the power of a level eight Law.

Yet, with the level eight True Law of Time Dilation, the power of the Law of Time had been pushed to nearly the power of a level nine Law.

Nearly? Why wasn't it fully in the ninth level?

Because reaching the ninth level was impossible for any Law that wasn't already a level nine Law, no matter how much it had been strengthened.

Level nine Laws represented perfection in their category, and something that wasn't a level nine Law wasn't perfect. One could only push a level eight Law infinitely close to a level nine Law, but it would never truly become a level nine Law, even if it was used as a Star.

This was also true for Form Laws. If Gravis wanted to condense a level nine Form Law, he would need to create it out of level nine Laws.

Even if Gravis combined all the level eight Laws in the world, he wouldn't be able to create a Form Law on the ninth level.

There was simply an uncrossable barrier.

Because of that, no Ancestral God could show the true power of a level nine Law, even if they had a level eight Law as their Star.

Exar was pretty close to that power level by now, and he certainly had a lot of power.

The Major Law of the Dead World became less and less rare as the Cultivators became more powerful, which meant that it wasn't uncommon for Ancestral Gods to know the Major Law of the Dead World.

This meant that, only based on Exar's Major Law of the Dead World, he could, at most, jump one level.

Yet, thanks to Exar's unique power over time, his Form Law, and his multitude of techniques, he could fight two levels above himself.

It wasn't as impressive as the peak geniuses of the Peak Sects, but it was definitely absolutely outstanding for anyone not part of a Peak Sect.

Exar had a good shot at reaching the top three.

And Aris?

Aris had a beast body very suited to battle, and his level eight Law was the Law of Lightning Manipulation. Additionally, Aris' Will-Aura had already reached the third level of the Ancestral God Realm, making him quite outstanding in his level.

At the moment, Gravis wasn't sure if Exar or Aris would win in a fight, but he guessed that Exar would have a slight edge.

However, Aris had also always shone an incredible instinct for battle and a terrifying ability to grow in danger.

Honestly, it could go either way.

"What about Stella and Azure?" Gravis asked.

Those two had also become level one Ancestral Gods.

Chapter 1230 - – Strength

"They won't join for the same reason you won't join," Manuel explained.

Gravis thought about this for a bit and nodded.

At the moment, Azure and Stella were unreasonably powerful for level one Ancestral Gods, all thanks to the True Law of Empathy.

Stella had comprehended the True Law of Empathy, which had then given itself to Gravis, resulting in Mortis also comprehending it, who then quickly gave it to Azure.

The True Law of Empathy could transmit every Law except for Laws in the category of Emotional Laws or the Laws of Perceived Reality.

This meant that Stella and Azure knew three level nine Laws at the moment, the True Law of Empathy, the Law of Heavenly Lightning, and the True Law of Time.

Just the ability to stop time with the True Law of Time was already unreasonably powerful. On top of that, the two of them could release attacks more powerful than every attack any other level one Ancestral God could unleash thanks to the Law of Heavenly Lightning.

The True Law of Time and the Law of Heavenly Lightning were a terrifying combination at their level.

They were essentially unstoppable as long as their opponent didn't also know the True Law of Time.

However, how could any level one Ancestral God know the True Law of Time?

Gravis and Mortis had spent nearly 20 million years collectively in Samsara before comprehending it. Sure, a Divine God wouldn't need so much time to comprehend it since their Spirit was far more powerful, but they would still need several million years.

A level one Ancestral God?

Impossible.

Stella and Azure could fight four levels above themselves while not having a ridiculously powerful Will-Aura, which would already be seen as impossible by Divine Gods.

The reason why these peak geniuses from the Peak Sect could fight four levels above themselves was mostly thanks to the incredible amount of resources that had been pumped into them.

They had insanely powerful equipment.

They had undergone severe tempering, increasing their Will-Auras to the middle or maybe even late levels of the Ancestral God Realm.

Some of them probably even knew the Major Law of the Living World.

They also had powerful level eight Form Laws.

They might even have the True Law of Physical Strength, a level eight Law comprised of the three level seven Laws of True Speed, True Power, and True Defense.

Stella and Azure had none of these things. Yet, they could still fight four levels above themselves.

That would be too abnormal and would draw a lot of unwanted attention.

"So, it's only Aris and Exar?" Gravis asked.

"For now, yes," Manuel said. "There are still 150,000 years left before the tournament starts. Maybe someone else will reach the Ancestral God Realm before the time is up."

Gravis nodded. "Alright. Then, simply tell us when it's time to leave. We'll accompany them and keep a lookout for sneaky actions."

"Thanks," Manuel said.

"Why thanks? They're my friends too, you know?" Gravis commented with a smile.

SHING!

Mortis left without a word after realizing that there was nothing important left to be said.

Gravis and Manuel went back to Manuel's faction together, and the two of them gathered the relevant people to talk about the details.

Then, Gravis went to Stella and spent a lot of time with her.

Stella hadn't changed at all in the last 200,000 years, except for the fact that her Formation Arrays had become really good.

At some point, she could maybe even give Gravis some Formation Arrays he could put on his equipment to increase his own power.

Gravis and Mortis took a break for about 30,000 years before venturing out to comprehend two last Laws before the tournament arrived.

However, they didn't leave Manuel's faction.

In fact, they went deep underground to Meadow and Narcissus.

Gravis and Mortis were interested in the level seven True Laws of Power and Defense. Stella had already comprehended the True Law of Speed for them, leaving only those two.

Meadow and Narcissus knew these Laws since plants had a great affinity for the Life Laws. It wasn't anything special for them to know them.

Meadow immediately spat to the side and called Gravis a beggar. He didn't even offer anything in return. In her own words, she wasn't a slut. She was a whore, at worst.

If he wanted to use her, he had to pay the fee.

"Sure, go ahead," Narcissus said as Gravis and Meadow bickered.

Gravis only smirked while Meadow looked with shock at Narcissus. "Hey, you can't do that! They have to- "

BANG!

And Meadow was immediately suppressed by Narcissus' roots.

"Don't forget who's the one in charge," Narcissus said calmly and evenly.

Meadow couldn't really show an expression since she was a huge conglomerate of flowers and roots, but if she could form an expression, she would look with dramatic shock at Narcissus.

However, Meadow didn't protest.

"You're lucky you're so powerful and attractive," Meadow muttered to herself.

Plant relationships were weird.

Obviously, there was no bad blood between them.

This was simply how plants were.

Gravis and Mortis quickly created weak copies of themselves and fought against Narcissus' roots without using any Laws. Narcissus' roots used the two Laws Gravis and Mortis wanted.

Back when Gravis had comprehended the Major Law of Physical Strength, he had also fought two other beasts with the same method. Sadly, these beasts hadn't been able to pose any danger to Gravis, even when their bodies were a level higher than Gravis' body.

However, everything was different with Narcissus.

Narcissus wasn't some rookie that didn't know how to fight.

Because of that, Gravis and Mortis went through quite a beating. Without using any Laws and while suppressing their Realm, the two of them couldn't fight against Narcissus.

However, that was a good thing. The fact that they could barely resist meant that Narcissus was a good teacher.

In the beginning, Meadow wasn't interested in that little clash, but eventually, she became entranced.

Narcissus' control over his roots was phenomenal!

Gravis and Mortis used their full arsenal of techniques without breaking the restrictions, but Narcissus always perfectly countered them.

So, in the end, Meadow watched the battles with interest.

In a way, this wasn't any different from Gravis watching Stella create Formation Arrays.

Watching one's partner work could be very entrancing.

Eventually, the two of them comprehended the relevant Laws.

And as soon as they did, the level eight Law of Physical Strength followed.

Two level seven Laws, and one level eight Law.

With all of that combined, Gravis' and Mortis' bodies became one level more powerful, increasing their speed, defense, and power by quite a bit.

Additionally, they gained quite some insights into the other Life Laws. By watching Narcissus, they gained insights into the True Laws of Plant Composition and Plant Growth, and by comprehending the Laws, they gained insights into the True Laws of Body Composition and Body Growth.

They didn't comprehend these Laws yet, but they've gotten a step closer.

Gravis and Mortis thanked Narcissus after they had comprehended their Laws, and they spent the remaining time with their partners.

And before they knew it, it was time to head out to the tournament.

150,000 years had already passed.