Ch. 531..540

Chapter 531 - 531 – The Empress' Explanation

Realm-Stop? Gravis hadn’t heard that word before, but he could guess what it meant.

Additionally, did the Empress just say 100 years? That was twice his age!

Gravis took a deep breath. "What is a Realm-Stop?" he asked.

The Empress leaned back in her throne. "That means you are not allowed to kill, fight, or consume another beast for the next 100 years."

Gravis’ body shuddered. He couldn’t fight anyone for 100 years? Just the thought of it felt harrowing to him. He always felt stressed out when he wasn’t constantly fighting, fearing that everyone else would overtake him. Yet, he had to stop for 100 years now?

"Why did you decide on such a harsh sentence?" Gravis asked. He first needed to know all the details before he jumped to conclusions. Right now, he felt shocked, angry, and suppressed again. He thought that this punishment was way too severe.

"Several reasons," the Empress said calmly, "but before we go into these reasons, we have something else to decide."

"Something else?" Gravis asked with furrowed brows.

The Empress nodded. "With that sentence, you are no longer considered a traitor. The sentence has been passed down with the committed crime in mind without considering anything else."

"Now, let’s get to your rewards," the Empress said.

Gravis’ head moved back in surprise. "Rewards?" he asked.

"You have managed to father three offspring that have already reached the power of a Lord. This is a major accomplishment, and such an accomplishment warrants a reward," the Empress said. "Additionally, your actions in the eastern defensive line have resulted in the defensive line moving without us having to send a Striking Squad."

"Then, you have killed several traitors in our ranks in the defensive line that had all been Kings. After that, you had uncovered more traitors when the enemy wanted to take you from the southern defensive line."

"In the Law Comprehension Area for Punishment Lightning, you managed to uncover a traitor with the power of an Emperor. This is, by far, the most outstanding of your accomplishments. Lastly, you have killed the traitorous squad leader of the Elite Striking Squad and another traitor from a defensive line," the Empress said.

"All of these accomplishments warrant rewards. Gravis," the Empress said, "I hereby grant you free access to every Law Comprehension Area available to my Empire for the next 100 years. Yet, your sentence of a Realm-Stop will still have to be completed. The reward and punishment will be given to you simultaneously."

"This means that for the next 100 years, you’re not allowed to fight, kill, or consume any beast, but you will have free access to any Law Comprehension Area. This is my decision on this matter," the Empress said.

Gravis was shocked, and his mind was going wild. The reward and punishment were given simultaneously?

"So, you are saying that I can increase my Law Comprehension and Battle-Strength in the next hundred years, but I’m not allowed to rise in Realm," Gravis commented.

"Exactly," the Empress said. "Now, let’s speak about the reasons for my decision."

After the Empress said that, she made herself more comfortable on her throne. Additionally, her oppressive aura receded until she only sat casually on the throne. The Grand Elder wasn’t the biggest fan of that, but he understood that official business was over.

"Gravis, you can’t go on as you are now," the Empress said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Gravis asked with furrowed brows.

"Think about it. Why are you the only King or lord able to fight three levels above yourself? What’s the main reason for that?" she asked.

Gravis thought about this but actually wasn’t really sure. "I would say everything," he said.

The Empress shook her head. "It’s your Punishment Lightning," the Empress said.

"My Punishment Lightning?" Gravis asked.

The Empress nodded. "Exactly. You have told me how you managed to comprehend the Punishment Lightning, and you obviously didn’t understand it yourself. This understanding has basically been forced upon you. This means that you have basically been granted a weapon that you shouldn’t have had any access to."

Gravis looked to the ground in thought. It was hard for him to accept, but the Empress was right. Gravis hadn’t understood the Law of Punishment Lightning himself.

"By now, you should have seen the different powers of Laws," the Empress said. "We generally categorize Laws by levels. We have three levels of Laws that are known in this world."

"The first level is the Laws that some Lords manage to comprehend. A rare few Lords manage to comprehend two of these, but most of the Lords never even understand a single Law until they become Kings. All of these Laws are Laws of the first level."

"The second level is the Laws that require a certain combination of level one Laws. Only very few Kings manage to comprehend these Laws. Special Laws like the Law of Pride and Law of Suppression also count as second-level Laws."

"The third level is the Laws that only very few Emperors manage to comprehend. If an Emperor manages to comprehend a third-level Law, they have a good shot at ascension. Without knowing a level three Law, the Emperor won’t be able to kill a Strider and therefore also won’t get enough food to ascend."

The Empress pointed at Gravis. "Your Punishment Lightning is a Law on the third level," she said.

Gravis thought about his Punishment Lightning, but the Empress continued before he could say anything.

"With just your Punishment Lightning, you have the ability to kill beasts two levels above you. You wouldn’t even need to use your Lightning Crescent. You can injure them, and if you’re able to injure them, you can kill them. Now, if you would actually win in this situation is another discussion, but, at least, you have a shot at victory. This means that just your Punishment Lightning increases your Battle-Strength by two entire levels."

"Without your Punishment Lightning, you wouldn’t even be able to really injure a beast two levels above yourself. By using your Lightning Crescent, you might be able to injure them a little bit, but you can’t use that attack many times."

Gravis simply listened to the Empress and reflected on his previous fights. He thought about his fights and imagined him not having access to Punishment Lightning.

"Fighting a beast three levels above oneself is impossible for every other beast," the Empress explained. "It’s not a matter about how much they have fought in their lives or how many Laws they understand. Fighting a beast three levels above themselves is straight-up absolutely impossible."

"As you might know, the main reason for that is that their attacks simply won’t be powerful enough to injure such an opponent. With enough Laws, they might be able to become faster, but they will never be able to injure such an opponent, and without being able to injure someone, you can’t win."

"Do you agree so far?" the Empress asked.

Gravis sighed. "You’re right. Without my Punishment Lightning, I wouldn’t be able to even injure a beast three levels above myself, let alone actually kill them. The gap is just too wide."

The Empress nodded. "Now, let me tell you something that you don’t know."

Gravis listened intently.

"In order to become a King, you need to understand a Law. Heaven grants this Law at the breakthrough, but some Kings that are not able to make use of that opportunity will die. So, to become a King, you need to have understood a level one Law."

"In order to become an Emperor, you need to understand a level two Law. Yet, in comparison to the breakthrough to become a King, you are not granted an opportunity. Without having understood a level two Law first, no matter how much you eat, the evolution will just never arrive."

"That is why we have a lot of level five Kings but so few Emperors. Lastly, to be able to ascend, you must have understood a level three Law. Otherwise, you won’t be able to find enough food to ascend since you can’t kill the Striders."

"Do you realize what I’m getting at, Gravis?" the Empress asked.

Gravis nodded. "You’re saying that the Inquisitor, a level five King that has understood a level two Law, would be only average as a level one Emperor."

The Empress nodded. "Yes. The dead Inquisitor only fulfilled the basic requirements for becoming an Emperor. If he had become an Emperor, his Battle-Strength would be very average."

The Empress leaned her head on one of her hands. "Now, let’s talk about the ramifications of your understanding of Punishment Lightning."

Gravis listened intently.

"If you continue going like this, you will become an Emperor without an issue. Even as a level five Emperor, you would still be outstanding and powerful enough to ascend. Every other Emperor in this world would see no problem with this situation."

"But," the Empress said loudly, "you have told us about the higher world and highest world. So, as you are now, you will be outstanding as an Emperor, but what about the Realm after that? At that point, every beast will have managed to comprehend a level three Law by themselves."

"Meanwhile, you, who have relied on only your Punishment Lightning, might not understand an additional level three Law in a long time. On the other hand, the beasts that have already managed to comprehend one level three Law will find it easier to understand more of them."

"So, to summarize," the Empress said.

"As a King, you are untouchable."

"As an Emperor, you are outstanding."

"As an Immortal, you are above-average."

"And on the Realm after that, you will be average, at best."

"And to stop that from happening, you need to spend more time comprehending Laws. That’s why I have decided not to counteract your punishment by taking away your rewards. You need to spend a lot of time comprehending Laws now so that your future path will be stable."

"This is not a punishment," the Empress said calmly, "this is me helping you in a healthy way."

 

Chapter 532 - 532 – Guidance

Gravis thought about the Empress’ words and realized several things. Yes, if his goal were only to ascend, there would be no problems for him, but the Empress knew that this wasn’t his goal. Gravis wanted to become the strongest, and with that, he had to approach cultivation from a different standpoint.

What was the most important aspect of power when one had the goal to become the strongest?

The foundation and Battle-Strength.

What decided Battle-Strength?

That depended on the Realm of the person or beast. As a Lord or lower, the being’s combat experience would be the most important, but starting at the King Realm, the Laws became more important. After all, at some point, everyone would have basically reached the peak of what they could do with their body or with the weapons they had at their disposal.

So, when one already had a 100% mastery of their abilities, the only way to become more powerful was to get more powerful abilities. That’s where the Laws came into play.

Gravis knew that as soon as he lost his advantage in Battle-Strength, it would be difficult for him to regain it. It would not only take a lot of time, but it would also be very dangerous. After all, suddenly, nearly every being crossing his path might be a danger to his life. Additionally, sometimes one needed to push themselves to understand a Law.

If someone only understood one more Initial Law, the understanding of another Initial Law would allow someone to close the gap and triumph. Yet, if every opponent understood an additional Low-Rank Law, understanding one more Initial Law wouldn’t make much of a difference.

This meant that if one didn’t have the ability to resist someone on the same level, even an additional breakthrough might not guarantee their survival. If one reached that point, becoming more powerful became nearly impossible.

That was why it was important to always be above average in comparison to others at one’s level. Because if you were above average, you would become average with an increase of Realm. Yet, if you were average, you would become weak with another increase of Realm. That’s when one’s path came to an end.

Right now, Gravis was the most powerful King. Just with his Law of Suppression, he would be able to slow a level five King by over 50%. Then, by using his Punishment Lightning, he would be able to kill them.

Yet, what if he was an Emperor and he met another Emperor that also understood a level three Law? Gravis had witnessed the power of a level two Law when he had fought the Inquisitor, and he had needed to evade every single attack. He had tried to block one spire once with his pillar of shields, but that had nearly killed him.

One had to remember that Gravis relied on speed and attacking power. His fighting style was very explosive and aimed to kill the opponent with a single attack.

Yet, what if an Emperor understood a level three Law regarding speed and a level two Law regarding attack? If Gravis were a level one Emperor, a level two Emperor that managed to comprehend these things would be able to kill Gravis without him being able to resist.

Gravis sighed. "I haven’t thought that far ahead. Ironically, even though I have the most knowledge about the more powerful worlds out of anyone in this world, I was the one that failed to see this truth."

"Half-true," the Empress said. "It’s not like we don’t have any examples or comparisons in this world. Have you heard of the Ultimates?"

Gravis nodded.

"Why are the Ultimates still in this world?" the Empress asked. "The answer to that is that none of them understand a level three Law. Understanding a level three Law is very difficult. I, for example, haven’t comprehended one yet."

"Put yourself in their situation. You have no one available that is a level above yourself, while the Striders are basically two levels above yourself. This means that you can only fight someone that’s at the same level as you. Yet, there are so incredibly few of these opponents that you can’t even find them."

"To understand a level three Law as an Emperor, you need a real life and death fight. Sadly, you can’t find a life and death fight if you were in their situation. Because of that, you are stuck."

"I knew this," the Empress said, "and you didn’t. That’s why I was able to see what you haven’t been able to see. The existence of the Ultimates is not something to look up to but something that you should fear and lament. Fear that you will never end up in their situation. Their existence is a clear example of what you shouldn’t do."

Gravis nodded. "Even if one of them manages to kill all others and ascend, they would still be the weakest possible beast that could ascend from this world. In the next world, where everyone has managed to comprehend a level three Law, they would be nothing more than fodder."

Suddenly, Gravis’ eyes widened. ’Wait, fodder?’ he thought.

Didn’t the higher world also require fodder and tempering for others? Then how was it possible that every beast in this world needed to understand a level three Law to ascend?

’Ah, I get it!’ Gravis thought. ’It’s not that there are more powerful middle worlds and weaker middle worlds. It’s not that there are better and worse ones. It’s simply a matter of fulfilling one’s assigned job!’

’In the lower worlds, quantity is more important than quality. Yet, in the middle world, Heaven can already discern the future potential of beings. After all, Laws will be the main focus for, at least, a very long time.’

’So, when Heaven can see the good and bad seedlings already, it can gather the good seedlings in one place to make them even better while the other places are responsible for fodder! Logically speaking, this means that this world is a world made to create as many outstanding seedlings as possible, while many other middle worlds are just there to create average fodder!’

’It’s a chain! There are places that create the weakest fodder, which will be used to feed the weak fodder. The weak fodder will be fed to the powerful fodder, and the powerful fodder will be fed to the cultivators.’

’This is a cycle of refinement. Put ten weak fodders together, and you might create one powerful fodder. That powerful fodder will then be fed to the powerful cultivators.’

Gravis’ eyes shone. ’So this middle world has been specifically created to produce beasts that can reach the highest world. The higher world will have many beasts that only understand level two Laws so that their lives may be used to create beasts strong enough to reach the highest world.’

The Empress looked at Gravis, who was lost in thought. Gravis had probably understood something important, but the Empress wouldn’t ask. Gravis had already shared more about the workings of the world than nearly anyone else would have done in his situation. A lot of beings in his situation probably would keep their origins a secret.

Gravis didn’t want to share this secret with the Empress. Telling her that the purpose of her entire existence was to become mere food for humans would do way more damage than good. Not everyone was ready to oppose Heaven, like he did.

"Gravis," the Grand Elder said as he took part in the conversation for the first time. Gravis perked up and looked at him.

"I should tell you something that will make it easier for you to accept your Realm-Stop. I know that you are only around 50 years old, and 100 years feels like an infinitely long time to you," the Grand Elder said.

Gravis sighed and nodded. "It feels so incredibly long. I have managed to become so powerful in fifty years, but in the next hundred years, I won’t be able to take a single step forward."

The Grand Elder also nodded. "If there wouldn’t be the mandatory procreation, the average age for beasts that became Kings would probably be around fifty years. Yet, due to the mandatory procreation, the average age is more along the lines of 150 years."

"Now, what do you think is the average age for becoming an Emperor?" the Grand Elder asked.

"Probably around 250?" Gravis asked uncertainly. One hundred years to go from being a King to being an Emperor was already more than he actually thought. It was a very generous estimation.

"It’s over 1,000 years," the Grand Elder said, shocking Gravis.

"A full millennium?" Gravis asked.

The Grand Elder nodded. "You need to understand the right Laws in order to comprehend a level two Law. Due to that, the average level five King has comprehended way more Laws than the average level four King."

"Level four Kings have understood about four Laws on average while the average level five King has understood about eight."

Gravis’ eyes widened when he heard that.

"Yet, due to the vast differences of level five Kings, you can find level five Kings with only four Laws, but you can also find level five Kings that have understood twelve Laws. The gulf in power between level five Kings is vast," the Grand Elder explained.

"That is also why the Inquisitor was only above-average for his Realm, even though he understood a level two Law. One level two Law might be worth about as much as five level one Laws, but against someone that has understood twelve, even that won’t be able to close the gap."

"Now, think of the average Emperor. If a level five King already managed to comprehend eight Laws on average, a level one Emperor would, on average, have at least eight Laws plus a level two Law. The gulf between a level five King and a level one Emperor is incredibly vast."

"Up to now, you have been fighting beasts that have lived for maybe up to 200 years. Yet, as soon as you’re fighting an Emperor, you are fighting against someone that has had over 1,000 years to hone their power."

"So," the Grand Elder said, "don’t think that a mere 100 years is too much. You need these next 100 years to reach the same average level of comprehension as the other level five Kings. After all, the opponents able to threaten you now are all already Emperors. Remember, the more Laws you understand, the easier it becomes to understand even more of them."

"Your Punishment Lightning has given you a shortcut to this level. The others had enough time to get a lot more practice in understanding Laws. While you are just about to understand another level two Law as a level three Emperor, the other level three Emperors might comprehend another three level two Laws since they have more experience in comprehending them."

"Take this time to learn as much about Laws as possible. You need it for your future," the Grand Elder said.

Gravis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he sighed.

Suddenly, Gravis bowed to the Empress and the Grand Elder.

"Thank you sincerely for your guidance."

Chapter 533 - 533 – Ferris

The Empress was a bit confused by Gravis’ bow. She wanted to say that he was acting weird again, but after remembering that Gravis technically didn’t count as a beast, she decided not to comment on his behavior. Instead, she acted like he had not said anything and simply continued with her agenda.

"Empress, Grand Elder," a new arrival said as he appeared before the Empress in a bow. Gravis had barely been able to see this new beast arriving, but at least, he managed to notice it this time.

This was an Elder, an Emperor. For the first time, Gravis was able to follow the movements of an Emperor. He was closing in on their power.

"This is the one," the Empress said as she gestured to Gravis, "proceed as ordered."

"Yes, Empress," the new arrival said.

This new beast was a red wolf. Obviously, he had an affinity towards the fire element. Right now, he was only two meters tall, but his true size was way bigger.

The red wolf turned to Gravis and smiled. "Hello, Gravis," he said with a friendly tone. "I’m Elder Ferris, and I will be your guard and guide for the next 100 years."

Gravis nodded with politeness. "Hello, Ferris. I’m Gravis. Thank you for your help," he said.

Ferris wasn’t the biggest fan of Gravis not calling him an Elder, but he had noticed that Gravis even talked to the Empress and the Grand Elder like this. Due to that, he just let it slide. Additionally, Gravis had an incredible Battle-Strength, and Ferris felt him worthy enough to call him by simply his first name.

"You can go now," the Empress said. "If there’s anything that proves to be an issue, simply inform Ferris or another Elder. They will report it to me."

"Will do, Empress," Gravis nodded. "See you later, Grand Elder, Empress," Gravis said.

"Good luck, Gravis," the Grand Elder said with a smile.

’Luck, huh?’ Gravis thought but decided just to accept the well-wishes. Then, Ferris and Gravis left the Mountain of Pride but stopped at its foot.

"What did the Empress offer you that you’re willing to follow me for an entire century?" Gravis directly asked Ferris with a voice transmission.

Emperors had a different status to Kings, and sending an Emperor to keep watch over a level three King would definitely be beneath them. If the Empress recklessly commanded these Elders, they might decide to join another Empire. This meant that he had to have been offered something for his services.

Ferris simply smirked. "To follow you around, I get the reward of following you around," Ferris said with a joking tone.

Gravis furrowed his brows and looked at Ferris with confusion. "Could you elaborate?"

Ferris chuckled a bit. "Simple. You have access to every Law Comprehension Area for the next century. This means that you will obviously spend the next century in these Law Comprehension Areas. After all, you wouldn’t let such an opportunity slide."

"So, since you have access to all Law Comprehension Areas and I need to follow you, I, by proxy, also have access to all Law Comprehension Areas for the next century. Of course, that only counts for those that you are interested in. Nevertheless, that’s still quite the privilege," Ferris said.

Gravis nodded. "That makes sense."

"Hey, Gravis," Ferris said as he came closer. "Let me just be direct and honest. You have the choice of all areas we go to, and I won’t object to any of them, but it would be nice of you if you visited one regarding fire. It doesn’t have to be for long. Of course, if you don’t want to, that’s also okay."

Gravis had expected that Ferris had had an ulterior motive when he decided to follow him, but surprisingly, Ferris simply told Gravis his motive directly.

"You’re in luck," Gravis said. "I wanted to stop by a Law Comprehension Area for fire anyway, but not right now. So, sure, we’ll go to one later."

Ferris nodded with a smile. "That’s all I can ask for," he said.

Then, Gravis told Ferris where he wanted to go first. Gravis’ decision confused Ferris a lot, but his job was only to stop beasts from angering Gravis and to stop Gravis from fighting any beasts. In the end, it was Gravis’ decision where he wanted to go.

Ferris had no idea why Gravis wanted to go there, but he led him there anyway. The two of them traveled for over a day, leaving the Empire far behind. One shouldn’t forget that the majority of Law Comprehension Areas were in the territories of affiliated Kingdoms.

Soon, Gravis and Ferris arrived in front of the Law Comprehension Area.

The area looked absolutely wild and chaotic. On one spot was a dry and deadly desert. Some bones of some dead, weaker beasts littered the grounds while humongous sand dunes nearly reached the cloud layer.

Yet, just around a hundred kilometers further away, was a grand and powerful river that somehow felt way more imposing than just a normal river. It was almost like the water inside the river was a more powerful kind of water.

A hundred kilometers in a different direction were some powerful and sturdy mountains with many kinds of metal and stone. In yet another direction was a hill with a lot of powerful Spirit Plants on them that created a kind of forest.

Gravis could see different kinds of crystals present in every biome. These crystals were also a kind of material, but it was different from normal metal.

What kind of Law Comprehension Area was this? Which Law could one observe here?

This was the Law Comprehension Area for the Composition of the earth element.

Why would Gravis want to visit a Law Comprehension Area associated with the earth element? Ferris had no idea.

’Silt, sand, and gravel in the rivers. Fertile and infertile earth in the forest. Different kinds of stone and metal in the mountains. Sharp and weathered sand in the desert. All kinds of relatively soft and medium-hard materials can be found here. That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for,’ Gravis thought.

"Do you want to know why I’ve chosen this area?" Gravis asked Ferris.

"I do," Ferris answered. "I just felt like it wasn’t my place to ask."

"It’s alright," Gravis said. "I’ll see you as one of my companions for the next hundred years. If you have questions, you can simply ask them. After all, I will also ask you if I want to know something."

Ferris furrowed his brows, but he nodded anyway. Accepting someone as a companion simply because they would spend some time together felt weird to him, but that would truly make this whole situation easier.

"Alright," Ferris said. "So, then tell me, Gravis, why are we here?" he asked.

Whoop!

Gravis summoned his armor and weapons, surprising Ferris. "What are my armor and weapons made of?" Gravis asked.

Ferris hadn’t seen a polished and tempered version of metal before. No beast had ever wanted to polish, forge, or temper different kinds of metal, so the shiny exterior confused him for a bit.

Yet, who was Ferris? He was an Elder and an Emperor. He had enough experience to discern the materials. "Some form of metal, right?" Ferris asked.

Gravis nodded, his armor creating a clanking sound. "Exactly. Now, which affinity do I have?" Gravis asked.

"Lightning," Ferris answered.

"Yes, so why do I have metal around myself?" Gravis asked.

For some reason, that question surprised Ferris. Yes, why did Gravis, a lightning beast, have metal around himself? He shouldn’t be able to manipulate metal since he didn’t have the metal element.

"Honestly, I don’t know," Ferris said.

Clank!

Gravis punched his armored chest with quite some power. "This metal is harder than my scales. So, it offers better defense than my body, right?"

Ferris nodded.

Shing!

Gravis slashed with his saber. "This saber is harder and sharper than my teeth and claws. So, it offers better offense than my body, right?"

Ferris nodded again.

"So, why wouldn’t I use metal?" Gravis asked.

Ferris thought about it and found no counterargument. Over ten seconds passed in silence.

"Huh," Ferris said. "Why didn’t I think of that?" he asked himself as he noticed all the advantages.

Gravis simply smiled. "Since I don’t have a metal affinity, I can’t just summon metal. I need to search for metal in the surroundings and use that. When I find some appropriate metal, I simply melt it down and change it into a usable form for me, like weapons and armor."

"So," Gravis said as he looked at Ferris, "while I can’t summon metal, I can still use parts of its power via naturally occurring metal."

"In order to manipulate metal to this degree, I’ve needed to comprehend a Composition Law regarding metal first. If there were no naturally occurring metal, that Law would be absolutely useless to me since I can’t transform my Energy into metal."

"Yet, since there is naturally occurring metal, I can still make use of a Law of a different element than my own," Gravis explained.

Ferris’ eyes shone in recognition. "That’s genius!" he exclaimed.

Of course, it wasn’t really genius. After all, basically every human used and refined different kinds of resources. It was not special in human worlds, but in this beast world, something like this was unprecedented.

"So, why are we here? Can you guess?" Gravis asked.

This was a new concept for Ferris, but he had plenty of experience with Laws. "If there is a Law regarding the Composition of metal, there should also be a Law regarding the Composition of earth, right?"

Gravis nodded. "And?" he asked with a smirk.

Ferris continued. "And since both Laws have something to do with Composition, you might be able to comprehend a level two Law about Composition by combining them," Ferris answered.

Gravis nodded with a smirk. Then, he turned to the Law Comprehension Area with fervor in his eyes.

"Exactly!"

 

Chapter 534 - 534 – Middle-Tier Material Composition Law

With that said, Gravis immediately got to work. Surprisingly, even Ferris seemed to have become inspired by Gravis’ words, and he also started looking at different stuff in the area.

Gravis’ first stop was the mountain range. He already had quite the knowledge about metal, but this mountain range had more than simple metal. Especially these crystals on the mountain range looked different from everything Gravis had seen.

Gravis went to one of the crystals and took one into his hands. After that, he simply stared at it.

Gravis had a lot of experience regarding pure metal, and he had also learned a lot about different kinds of alloys. Sadly, Gravis wasn’t able to manipulate alloys. He knew how he could create them, but his understanding regarding their Composition was lacking.

There were a lot of alloys that were harder than the pure kinds of metal, but without being able to compress them while forging, these alloys would be even weaker than his current equipment.

Out of interest, Gravis used some of his lightning on the crystal. He expected the crystal to melt, but, surprisingly, it simply broke apart and started smoking. After some minutes, instead of melting, nearly the whole crystal transformed into a kind of smoke.

’Interesting,’ Gravis thought as he scratched his chin. ’These crystals feel like metal, but when I use my lightning on them, instead of melting, they act more like living matter and burn away.’

’Yet,’ Gravis thought as he saw the black ash remaining in his arms, ’not all of the crystal burns away. Some parts of it remain in my hand. If the crystal were made of only one material, all of it would have vanished. This means that this crystal is not a pure material, but a complex material, like alloys.’

Gravis grabbed some more crystals and burned these too. After he was done with that, he took the ash he had created and tried to manipulate that with his lightning.

Gravis used more and more lightning until, finally, even the ash started to vanish into smoke.

Then, he grabbed more crystals and created another usable pile of ash. After that, he used some metal he found in the mountains and combined it with the ash.

It took several hours and a lot of crystals until Gravis managed to find the right temperature and correct manipulation to make the ash fuse with the metal.

Clank! Clank!

Gravis flicked the new sheet of alloy some times to test its hardness.

Crack!

A small crack appeared as Gravis used more strength. ’The hardness of the alloy is about the same as the pure metal I have used, but if I’m right, something else should be different.’

BZZZ!

Gravis used a lot of lightning until the alloy started to melt again. ’Sure enough, it can withstand more heat now. So, if I’m correct, this ash should be Pure Fire Ash. Then, if this is Pure Fire Ash, and I have just used Mountain’s Secret Metal, this alloy must be Mountain’s Fire Alloy.’

Gravis had learned everything about metals and alloys, but nearly all alloys needed some materials that were not metal. So, because of that, Gravis knew the names of the non-metal materials he needed but didn’t know their properties. Due to that, he couldn’t search for the non-metal materials. He had to discover them by himself.

’I know how the Energy creates Hard Pure materials, so I should be able to extrapolate the workings of this Medium Pure material by using the Energy make-up of the Hard Pure materials as reference,’ Gravis thought.

Gravis thought about the make-up of Hard Pure materials, but this Pure Fire Ash acted way differently from metals. Instead of melting and becoming liquid, this ash directly became a gas. ’I wonder how that works,’ Gravis thought.

Gravis grabbed another crystal, but this one just melted down, which surprised him quite a bit. ’Interesting,’ Gravis thought as he scratched his chin in thought. ’This crystal looked the same as the other one, but it is obviously very different.’

’Additionally, this crystal doesn’t fit any of the Hard-Pure materials I know about. This means that it is not a Hard-Pure material. Yet, the crystal is most definitely hard. This makes it impossible for this crystal to be a Medium Pure or Soft Pure material. So, it can only be a Hard Complex material.’

’Yet, if it’s a Hard Complex material, it shouldn’t act like one single material when put under a lot of stress or heat. The whole thing liquified evenly and at the same time, like it was only one material.’

As Gravis looked at the molten crystal, he also turned his head to look at the crystal-filled mountain range.

Then, he sighed. ’I might have bitten off more than I can chew,’ Gravis thought.

’Soft Pure, Medium Pure, Hard Pure, Soft Complex, Medium Complex, Hard Complex,’ Gravis thought. ’These are already six different Laws. Yet, I can’t know which materials correspond to which Law without experimenting on them first.’

’This means I can either try to find the corresponding materials for one of the Laws and only look at them, or try to comprehend five additional Laws at once since I’ve already understood the Hard Pure Law.’

’This is way harder than I had anticipated,’ Gravis thought with a sigh. ’Additionally, I don’t know how the Laws combine. It could be that Soft Pure, Medium Pure, and Hard Pure combine into Pure, but it could also be that Soft Pure and Soft Complex combine into Soft.’

’So, there could be two or three level two Laws in this Law Comprehension Area. Either we have the Pure and Complex Law, or we have the Soft, Medium, and Hard Law.’

Gravis furrowed his brows as he tried to think about a way to find out which Laws he should try to comprehend first. ’Father has told me the full name of one of the Laws, which is the Hard Pure Law. The full name of it was the Middle-Tier Hard Pure Material Composition Law.’

’Every word further specifies the Law I know. So, I should try to remove some words. I, obviously, can’t even attempt to remove the Middle-Tier part. Material refers to dead things, and to remove Material, I need to comprehend the Composition of living matter, which means that I need to make some headway in the Life Laws.’

’Composition is the last word and shows the major category of the Law. I don’t even need to think about attempting to remove that. So, this only leaves the Hard and Pure words.’

’If we ignore the Hard and Pure parts, we would be left with Middle-Tier Material Composition Law. This should be a level three Law. This encompasses the knowledge of every dead material in all the middle worlds. Now, in order to understand that, I first need to find out what counts as a material.’

Gravis looked into the surroundings. ’Metals count as Hard-Pure. Coal, sand, and different kinds of stone should be Medium, but I don’t know which ones are Pure and which ones are Complex. Earth is probably a Soft material, but that can’t be the only thing. So, what else is dead?’

’I should be able to find out what is dead by simply looking at everything and checking if it has a will,’ Gravis thought.

Whooom!

Gravis stretched out his Spirit Sense and only used a minuscule amount of his Will-Aura to check everything. Then, he started looking at everything.

Yet, the more he looked, the more nervous he got. ’Fuck,’ he thought.

What was dead?

Earth was kind of dead, if one ignored the small living beings. Mountains were dead. Sand was dead. Crystals were dead. Yet, what else was dead?

Water was dead.

Air was dead.

Fire was kind of dead but also kind of alive. Gravis wasn’t even sure if that counted as dead or alive.

Did light count? Did darkness count?

Did light and dark also have a Composition?

Lava was dead.

Clouds were dead.

Different kinds of gasses and liquids were dead.

Was Space dead? Was Time dead? Did Space and Time also have a Composition? Did Gravity have a Composition?

Scales and bones could be used as materials for weapons. Did that mean that some living matter also counted as a form of material?

What about dead wood? It counted as living matter when it was alive, but when it died, would it count as a dead material? Houses could be built with wood, and wood would most definitely be considered a material in that regard.

What about wind?

What about oil?

Salt?

Gravis no longer concentrated on anything and simply stared into space.

"Why is so much stuff dead!?"

Chapter 535 - 535 – One Law At A Time

Gravis had arrived here with grand plans in mind, but everything just kept crashing down as soon as he realized how hard it actually was to comprehend a more powerful Law. He had managed to comprehend a level two Law, the Law of Suppression, but that was a Law that didn’t require any level one Laws to understand.

Gravis hadn’t attempted to understand a proper level two Law yet, and just thinking about the level three Law made him nearly despair. There was so much from so many different aspects to understand. He was sure that not everything he had considered would be part of the Law, but some of that stuff surely would.

Gravis sighed and looked at the ground with a troubled expression. ’Where do I even begin?’ he thought.

Now, Gravis could understand why so many level five Kings never managed to become Emperors. He didn’t even know what he needed to understand in order to comprehend even some Initial Laws. It was like he was completely blind.

’I’m lucky that father gave me an initial direction with the Hard Pure Law,’ Gravis thought as he remembered his conversations with his father.

’Wait a second!’ Gravis thought as he remembered something specific. ’Hadn’t father said that he didn’t want to tell me the categorization of Laws so that I don’t try to only go in one direction? He also said that the Initial Laws are more important than the later ones.’

Suddenly, Gravis chuckled bitterly. ’I get it. So that’s why you have told me about the Composition Law but not the others.’

Gravis sighed again. "I’ve been truly stupid."

His father had said that the Composition Law was one of the most powerful Laws in existence. Such a powerful Law, obviously, wasn’t easy to comprehend.

What was Composition?

It was the Law that explained how Energy transformed into different matter and forces. All matter was made up of Energy, and by understanding the Composition Law, one understood how an entire world was created.

’I have tried to understand how to create an entire world,’ Gravis thought with a bitter smile. ’I am pretty sure that is way beyond my ability at the moment. Father told me about this Law because it’s absolutely impossible for me even to attempt to understand it.’

’He also said that I shouldn’t aim for any specific, more powerful Law, but just try to gain understanding with as many Initial Laws as possible. I shouldn’t set such a powerful Law as my goal but should just aim to understand one Law after the other.’

Gravis punched himself in the forehead to regain his bearings. ’If I understand ten Laws, I might not have the fitting Laws for a Low-Rank Law. Yet, if I understand 100 Laws, the chances are high that I have enough for several Low-Rank Laws. As long as I understand as many Initial Laws as possible, the Low-Rank Laws will come naturally!’

Gravis’ gaze turned back to the crystals on the mountain. ’I shouldn’t aim for a Law but aim for understanding. As long as I look at everything I see one at a time, I will comprehend a Law at some point!’

’Let’s start with these crystals!’ Gravis thought as he randomly grabbed another crystal. Right now, he wasn’t aiming for a specific kind of crystal but just grabbed one at random.

And with that, Gravis properly started his 100-year-long journey to understand as many things as possible.

It took Gravis three entire months to understand and categorize all the crystals on the mountain range. After he was done with that, he nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze to the mountain range itself.

Parts of the mountain range were so powerful that not even he was able to destroy them. Yet, there were also parts that were made up of weak stone that even a Lord could destroy. As soon as Gravis started experimenting on the mountain, he became fascinated.

He had never even seen such a wondrous mountain! Most mountains were made up of only one or two materials, but this one had many different kinds of stones all over. Additionally, the mountain also had a lot of different kinds of metal inside it.

’No wonder this is a Law Comprehension Area,’ Gravis thought. ’If this mountain range weren’t so special, it probably wouldn’t constitute as a Law Comprehension Area for the earth element.’

Two weeks into trying to understand the mountain range, Gravis got interrupted.

"Hey, I managed to comprehend a Law," Ferris said with a smile as he looked at the concentrating Gravis.

Gravis’ ears perked up when he heard that. "Already?" he asked in shock.

Ferris nodded. "I’m an Emperor, and I have already comprehended a lot of Laws. I can learn a lot of the hidden concepts by finding similarities from other Laws."

Gravis nodded. "That makes sense. What did you manage to comprehend?" he asked.

Ferris laughed loudly. "I learned the Law of Steam!" Ferris said with pride.

Gravis blinked a couple of times in confusion. "How?" he asked. "You have the fire element. Isn’t steam part of the water element?"

Ferris nodded a couple of times. "I also thought that learning this Law was a bit too easy, but when I thought about it more, it actually makes sense."

"You see, I’ve fought a lot of water beasts in my life, and naturally, a lot of them have the water element. So, it happened quite often that my fire clashed with their water, creating steam in the process. Without me knowing, I have learned a lot about steam during these fights," Ferris explained.

Gravis scratched his chin in thought. "Huh, that actually makes a lot of sense," he commented.

Ferris smiled. "It does, doesn’t it? It’s been a while since I’ve managed to comprehend a new Law, and this one came way easier than most of the others."

Ferris also scratched his chin as he looked with thought to the sky. "I think it’s because I’ve been too hellbent on learning more about fire. I’ve ignored a lot of the level one Laws and only looked at fire, which made it harder than necessary."

Funnily enough, Ferris was wagging his tail in excitement. "You know what’s even funnier? By comprehending the Law of Steam, I managed to understand something about fire that I hadn’t managed to comprehend in the past 50 years. It’s not a full Law yet, but it’s progress!"

Gravis thought about these words for a bit. "So even seemingly opposite Laws can allow someone to comprehend something about the other one." Then, Gravis looked at the mountain with furrowed brows. "That means it’s also possible that understanding more about this mountain won’t make me understand more about the crystals."

"So?" Ferris suddenly said. "You explained to me the usage of learning different kinds of Laws. The Law of Steam won’t help me at all in combat as long as my opponent doesn’t use steam. Yet, this Law gave me insights into a Law that is very useful to me."

Gravis blinked a couple of times in surprise. "Huh," he simply uttered, "if you put it like that, it sounds like there is no wrong Law to comprehend."

"There isn’t," Ferris said. "The more you understand, the more you learn about the world, and the more you learn about the world, the more powerful you become. There is no useless Law."

Gravis nodded. "Exactly," he said and then turned back to the mountain. "I will continue with my experiments."

Ferris realized that Gravis didn’t want to talk right now and simply waved him off. "No problem. I’ll also continue. Just tell me if you want to go somewhere else, but I honestly don’t mind. Staying here has proven quite fruitful to me already."

"Will do," Gravis said with a nod as he continued probing the mountain.

Then, Ferris flew away.

The mountain proved to be way more complex than the crystals. There were simply way more materials in it. There were even other kinds of crystals inside the mountain that Gravis hadn’t seen yet. It seemed like the crystals he had already understood were literally just the tip of the mountain.

Six months passed as Gravis looked more at the mountain with interest. The more he looked at it, the more interesting the mountain became.

"Hey, I managed to comprehend another Law!" Ferris suddenly said as he flew to Gravis.

"Another one!?" Gravis asked in shock.

Ferris nodded a couple of times in excitement, his tail wagging wildly. "Yes!" he shouted with excitement. "This time, I learned something about wind! I noticed how my fire made the wind move, and that allowed me to understand a lot about it!"

"That’s really great, Ferris," Gravis said. "I still haven’t understood even one Law. I’m trying to understand the materials in this mountain, and it is rather difficult."

Ferris turned to the mountain with interest and grabbed one of the crystals. Then, he looked at it, used some fire, and melted it. After that, he grabbed another one and did the same thing. But when he tried out the third crystal, the crystal suddenly split apart into two different kinds of materials.

One of Gravis’ eyebrows twitched with annoyance. ’That crystal has taken me 27 tries to understand!’ he thought with frustration.

"That’s also interesting, but I’m more interested in something else," Ferris said. "See you later!"

And with that, he was off.

Another six months passed in which Gravis understood more and more about the mountain. He guessed that he had already gone through about 80% of its materials, and he felt delighted with his progress.

"Gravis, I comprehended another Law!"

Gravis heard the shout and gritted his teeth.

’This fucking guy!’

 

Chapter 536 - 536 – Happy Ferris

Was Gravis angry at Ferris? No.

Was Gravis annoyed by Ferris? A little bit.

Was Gravis envious of Ferris? Hell yes!

This guy managed to comprehend three entire Laws in just a bit more than a year. Was this normal for an Emperor? Was this what the Empress and the Grand Elder meant with that Emperors had way more experience with understanding Laws? Was the gulf between Gravis and an Emperor truly that vast?

Gravis had been delighted with his progress, but when compared to Ferris, his progress was laughable. This guy picked up Laws like they were some coins lying on the road.

"How are you comprehending so many Laws, Ferris?" Gravis asked helplessly.

"I don’t know," Ferris said with a heartfelt smile of excitement, his tail wagging. "I just look at everything and realize that I have seen similar things in the past. Then, everything comes just naturally, and I know what I should pay attention to."

Gravis felt helpless when he heard that and sighed again. "It sounds like you have experienced a lot of things, Ferris," Gravis said.

Ferris fell into thought. "I guess I did," he said. "I’ve been a level one Emperor for over 3,000 years by now. I guess it’s normal for me to have seen a lot of things."

Gravis nearly dropped the stone he was holding. "You’ve been a level one Emperor for over 3,000 years?" he asked in shock.

Ferris nodded. "Yep," he said with a smile. "I’ve fully committed myself to fire for the past 3,000 years and have not comprehended many other Laws. Man, in just the last year, I managed to comprehend more Laws than in the past 500 years. My talk with you has helped me immensely!"

’500 years with only one or two Laws,’ Gravis thought with sympathy. ’This must’ve been hard for Ferris. No wonder he’s so excited. So, all the Laws he has understood in the past year were due to an accumulation for nearly 3,000 years.’

Gravis looked at the sky with a forlorn expression. ’I can’t even imagine not comprehending a single Law for over a hundred years. This must be horrible.’

Ferris noticed Gravis’ forlorn expression and cocked his head to the side. "Why are you looking at the sky so heartbroken?" he asked innocently.

Gravis sighed again when he heard Ferris. "To be honest with you, I imagined myself in your shoes. Not understanding a single Law for a hundred years sounds terrifying. It would be like my path forward was cut off."

"Psh," Ferris made a sound like thinking about something like that was idiotic. "How is that terrifying? It’s normal! Well, maybe not that long, but long times are normal. Emperors want to become more powerful, so they try to understand the relevant Laws to their Battle-Strength. Learning one thing deeply is harder than learning the basics of new things," Ferris commented.

"I’m not so sure about that, Ferris," Gravis answered.

"What do you mean?" Ferris asked with curiosity.

"Didn’t you say that you learned something about fire by understanding another Law?" Gravis asked. "Isn’t learning a deeper Law just more knowledge? Some of the knowledge is probably harder to decipher, but that may only be so because some of the knowledge is less prevalent in the category associated with it."

Ferris furrowed his brows in thought. "Could you explain?" he asked without thinking for long.

"Take this rock, for example," Gravis said as he showed one of the rocks in his hands. "It’s made up of over four different materials. I can try to understand the rock, but it’s harder for me to learn everything about this rock when I only look at it in its pure form. Wouldn’t it be easier to learn the workings of the materials that make it up and then try to understand the rock?"

"Oh, you meant that," Ferris said. "Yeah, I mean, that’s how Laws work. A level two Law needs level one Laws."

Gravis nodded. "Yes, but what if this rock represents a level one Law?"

Now, Ferris was confused again.

Gravis saw Ferris’ confused expression and continued his explanation. "Think about the Law of Steam. It’s a level one Law, right?" Gravis asked.

Ferris nodded with enthusiasm.

"It should be part of the Laws of Water, but it requires fire to create steam. Therefore, to understand the Law of Steam, you need to understand the fire and water components, just like this rock is made up of different components. If you only look at steam from the standpoint of water, you miss the parts that require fire."

BOOOOOOOM!

Ferris’ eyes widened as fire suddenly widely burst out of his body. Gravis was thrown into the distance as parts of his scales melted down, burning his flesh. If Ferris had directed that power directly towards Gravis, he would be dead right now.

"HAHAHA!" a powerful and exhilarated laughter came from the middle of the gigantic fire pillar. "I understand! I finally understand!" Ferris shouted into the horizons.

Gravis had been thrown away a couple of kilometers as he created a crater in the mountain. Yet, instead of dealing with his situation, he looked towards Ferris in the middle of the imposing fire pillar.

At first, Gravis had been confused, but then he understood that Ferris must have comprehended an important Law. Had his words made Ferris realize a new Law? He could do that?

After half a minute, the fire pillar vanished, and Ferris arrived in front of Gravis with an even more excited smirk.

"Wow!" Ferris shouted with excitement. "Man, you’re really a lifesaver, Gravis!"

Gravis smiled bitterly. "I guess you’ve understood another Law?"

Ferris nodded excitedly. "Yes, and not just any Law! I’ve been at this Law for the past 2,500 years! This was exactly the Law that has stumped me for such a long time," Ferris said.

"Is it a level two Law?" Gravis asked.

Ferris nodded again. "Exactly! I’ve wanted to understand another level two Law before I try to become a level two Emperor. After all, if I had advanced without understanding another one, I would have become a bit below average in terms of Battle-Strength. The Emperor of my old Empire says that’s a bad thing, so I followed his orders and didn’t advance."

"What Law is it?" Gravis asked with interest. Level two Laws were something special!

"I tried to upgrade my fire manipulation for a long time," Ferris said. "Having fire just shoot out in a straight line seems too predictable. Additionally, controlling fire takes a lot of Energy. In my harder fights, I’ve never had an issue with offense or with speed but with Energy. I run out of Energy way too fast, which always forces me to retreat."

"So, I thought that there might be a method to make fire manipulate itself without me needing to control it," Ferris said.

"Making your element control itself?" Gravis asked. "How would that even work?"

"That’s exactly the thing!" Ferris shouted. "How would that even work? I tried a lot of things, and I’ve understood some Laws that increased my control, but that was not what I was going for. I had no idea what I should do."

"Then," Ferris said, his excitement back as he smiled at Gravis, "you said your words, and boom, I immediately knew what I had to do! And it just so happened that the Law I’ve understood just before that was the key!"

"Oh right," Gravis said. "I haven’t asked about which Law you managed to comprehend."

"Oh," Ferris uttered. "Right, you don’t know. Some weeks ago, I just started looking at everything with interest, and one thing has interested me specifically. What makes things dead and alive?"

’Wasn’t that exactly what I was thinking about previously?’ Gravis thought.

"So, then I started looking at living stuff. These plants are a huge help. Additionally, I looked at some weaker beasts. Then, at some time, BAM, I found the answer."

Gravis blinked a couple of times in surprise. "You found the answer to why things are alive or dead?"

Ferris nodded. "Yep! It’s the soul!"

"The soul?" Gravis asked as he furrowed his brows. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Ferris scratched himself behind one ear with one of his legs. "Well, I’ve been pretty bored the last 3,000 years. So, I might have had some offspring. Nearly all my offspring are dead by now, but who cares? I can always just make more," he said casually.

Gravis was still a bit uncomfortable with how beasts viewed their children.

"I have often asked myself what makes life and what makes death. Today wasn’t the first time. Yet, with your words, I managed to look at it from a different perspective. So, I managed to comprehend a Law regarding the Soul. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this Law, but I would call it the Law of Soul Infusion or something," Ferris said in thought.

"Soul Infusion?" Gravis asked with furrowed brows.

’This doesn’t seem to be a simple Law. Such an ethereal concept like the soul shouldn’t be that easy to understand. It seems more similar to my Law of Suppression.’

Then, Gravis looked at the excited Ferris. ’But it has to be a level one Law. After all, he has obviously combined this Law with the Law of Fire Manipulation. So, I guess he managed to infuse his fire with a soul. Like that, his fire would become alive, would have its own will, and would, therefore, also control itself. That’s an ingenious idea.’

"So, you comprehended something along the lines of the Law of Living Fire?" Gravis asked.

Ferris grimaced when he heard that. "It’s no fun if you guess it," he grumbled.

Gravis laughed when he saw the grumbling Ferris. Ferris also quickly got back his positive spirit and laughed too.

"So, anyway, what is the other level two Law that you know?" Gravis asked.

"You mean the one I comprehended before I became an Emperor?" Ferris asked.

Gravis nodded.

"I already told you. It’s the Law of Fire Manipulation," he said.

Suddenly, Gravis stopped laughing at looked at Ferris with confusion. "But you said you tried to comprehend that for the past years."

"Yeah, but I already knew it," Ferris said. "I’ve already understood it, but I wanted to make it even better."

"Wow, wow, wow," Gravis said with raised arms as he took some steps back. "Wait a second here."

"What?" Ferris asked.

"Is it even possible to combine a level one Law with a level two Law?" Gravis asked.

Ferris furrowed his brows in thought. "I don’t think so. That wouldn’t really make much sense."

"And you combined your level two Law of Fire Manipulation with the Law of Soul Infusion?" Gravis asked with nervousness.

"Huh," Ferris said as he suddenly stopped moving. "Now that you mention it, this does sound weird."

"Doesn’t something as ethereal as Soul Infusion sound too powerful for a level one Law?" Gravis asked.

Ferris scratched himself again. "I guess so."

"So, it could be that the Law of Soul Infusion is a level two Law, right?" Gravis asked with urgency.

Now, Ferris also stopped moving as he realized something. "It does feel quite powerful, actually," Ferris said quietly.

"So, when you combined two level two Laws into one Law, what would that make?" Gravis asked, agitated.

Now, Ferris looked with widened eyes at the horizon. "This can’t be real, can it?" Ferris asked no one in particular.

"Ferris," Gravis said, making Ferris look at him.

"I think you managed to comprehend a level three Law."

 

 

Chapter 537 - 537 – Ferris' Trust

"Show me!" Gravis said with intensity.

Ferris was a bit taken aback. "What?"

"I want to see the living fire!" Gravis said.

"Okay," Ferris said, still feeling uncertain.

Whooom!

A small fireball appeared beside Ferris and hovered in the air. Additionally, the small fireball moved around a bit and circled Ferris in interest. It even flew over to Gravis to inspect him but quickly lost interest.

Gravis’ eyes were filled with intensity as he studied the floating fireball. ’This is beyond powerful!’ Gravis thought with seriousness. ’The fireball itself is only a bit weaker than my Punishment Lightning, which means that it is already stronger than the spires from the Inquisitor.’

’My Punishment Lightning and this living fire are both level three Laws, and my Punishment Lightning is a bit stronger, but this only means that this living fire has another advantage that should make it equal to my Punishment Lightning.’

As Gravis continued inspecting it, he found out something terrifying.

’I’ve never seen anything like this. With this, Ferris might even be able to win against me when he’s only one or two levels above me. He might be the only beast in this entire world that can honestly kill me with only a one or two-level advantage.’

What did Gravis find out?

It was rather shocking but also logical.

Gravis couldn’t delete the will on the living fire with his Will-Aura.

This meant that Ferris was the only beast in this world that could remotely control their attacks after they had been fired. Ferris could obviously summon many of these flames, and these flames would chase Gravis until they got destroyed. This meant that Gravis wouldn’t have the ability to dodge or parry these flames. He could only destroy them by blocking or attacking them.

This meant that Gravis would be forced into a head-on clash. Dodging and parrying had always been Gravis’ most reliable defensive methods. Yet, if he fought Ferris, he would be forced to block. With a two-level advantage, Gravis was sure that such an intense fire would kill him very quickly.

If Ferris had a one-level advantage, the fight would be up in the air. At that point, Gravis’ armor would be powerful enough to withstand the fire without problems. Then, it depended on how many of these flames Ferris could summon.

So, why was Gravis not able to delete the will upon the living fire?

It was actually rather obvious. Anything that a body touched would receive its will, but as soon as it left the body, no new will could be put upon the thing or attack without touching it again. At least not when it was a beast attacking.

A human’s Spirit was like an extension of the being, which meant that a new will could be imprinted on an attack as long as it was inside the Spirit Sense’s range.

The difference between normal attacks and this fire was that this fire was its own living thing with its own will. Trying to delete the will on the fire was the same as trying to delete Ferris’s will on his own body. It just didn’t work like that.

The Spirit and Will-Aura was the greatest advantage that humans had over beasts. With this living fire, if Ferris fought a human, he would take away his opponent’s biggest advantage while still keeping the advantages of a beast.

Ferris had become a human-killer!

Ferris looked with interest at his own fire and even played around with it, while Gravis looked with intensity at the fire.

’Ferris has no idea that he’s only alive because of me right now,’ Gravis thought.

What did Gravis mean?

Heaven’s goal in creating beasts was to serve as food for cultivators. Yet, Ferris, as this food, had basically become poisonous. He had an incredible advantage over every single human, and killing him while being in the same Realm as him as a human would prove to be nearly impossible.

Keeping poisonous food around in the house was something only irrational people did. Gravis was sure that, under normal circumstances, Heaven would have killed Ferris right then and there. Ferris’ existence was too dangerous to humans. Beasts were supposed to die to humans, not kill them!

Yet, Gravis and his father had already realized that the highest Heaven had a plan in mind for Gravis. Ever since that incident when Gravis had newly become a Spirit Forming Cultivator, Heaven never took away any Karmic Luck from any of his friends. In actuality, the opposite was true. Heaven even increased their Karmic Luck to unforeseen levels.

Was it an attempt to mend its relationship with Gravis? Was it a fail-safe plan to keep his friends alive and use them as hostages if Gravis ever became too dangerous?

Both his father and Gravis didn’t know which one it was. The only truth was that Heaven wanted all of Gravis’ friends to become as powerful as possible and to survive.

Gravis and Ferris hadn’t talked to each other for much and hadn’t gone through any fights together, but their personalities clicked. Gravis acted like Ferris annoyed him, but Ferris’ earnest, friendly, and exciting demeanor basically forced Gravis to like him. It was almost like Ferris was an excited dog instead of an Emperor wolf.

Ferris just radiated positivity without showing any kind of naïve ideology. Ferris had already shown that he liked Gravis very much, but Gravis was sure that Ferris would become terrifying if an enemy appeared. After all, he was an Emperor and managed to live for over 3,000 years. He was definitely not naïve.

This positivity played off rather well on Gravis’ cold and logical directness. Instead of thinking that Gravis was a cold dick, Ferris found Gravis’ words interesting.

Because of that, even though they hadn’t interacted so much with each other, there was already a bond forming between Gravis and Ferris.

Additionally, Gravis had a high standard for friends. Only after someone had proven themselves with their power would he consider them as companions.

Gravis hadn’t cared about Joyce until she proved that her ideology was not as naïve as he had believed.

Gravis hadn’t cared about Manuel until Manuel proved to be very mature and very powerful.

Gravis hadn’t cared about Nero until Nero proved to be powerful and caring.

Ferris was more powerful than Gravis, and he had comprehended a level three Law now, making him even more powerful. Additionally, Ferris was very positive and honest with Gravis, and Gravis just couldn’t be mad at him.

"Hey, Gravis," Ferris said after looking at Gravis’s troubled expression for a while. "Why are you looking so troubled?" he asked.

Gravis shook his head for a bit. "Sorry, I was just lost in thought."

"You sure?" Ferris asked with concern. "You looked like something horrible happened to you."

’That again!’ Gravis thought with annoyance.

Gravis sighed. "No, that’s just my thinking-face. I have been told that I look like someone killed my parents when I think," Gravis explained.

Ferris looked confused. "No, you don’t. You look like you are troubled, not like your parents died."

Gravis sighed again. ’Yeah, guess what. When the parents of humans die, they often than not feel rather troubled,’ Gravis thought.

"Forget it," Gravis said. "Anyway, your fire is very impressive. I’m certain that it is a level three Law now."

Ferris smiled widely when he heard that. "It is? Wow, I almost can’t believe it! This is great!" he shouted with glee as if he could only believe it now. "Does that mean that I no longer need to comprehend any new Laws?" Ferris asked Gravis.

"Do you think the next world is some paradise?" Gravis asked. "The next world isn’t any different than this one. It just has more powerful beasts. So, if you don’t comprehend new Laws, you will become average and then below average in that world. You can never comprehend enough Laws."

Ferris scratched his ear with his back-leg again. "Okay, if you say so."

Gravis blinked a couple of times in surprise. "Wait, you’re not asking how I know that or why I’m so sure?" Gravis asked in surprise.

"No, why should I?" Ferris asked honestly. "Your words have already allowed me to comprehend a level three Law! It has worked great up to now, so why change it?"

"Huh," Gravis uttered. "That makes sense, I think. But are you not afraid that I might betray you?"

"No," Ferris said directly. "You don’t feel like the sneaky kind. Additionally, why would you explain so many things about Laws to me if you wanted to harm me? That makes no sense."

This reasoning felt way too simple for Gravis, but it was also pretty solid. He wondered, was Ferris way too trusting, or did he have a very developed feeling about whom he could trust? Gravis wasn’t sure, but he tended to believe that the second one was more likely. After all, if Ferris’ trust were easily gained, he probably wouldn’t have become an Emperor.

"Hey, Ferris," Gravis said, eliciting a questioning look from Ferris. "I want to continue learning."

Ferris was a bit taken aback. "Oh, right. Forgot about that," Ferris said with a bit of embarrassment. "I’ll look around some more. I think I’ve grown addicted to learning new Laws! See you soon!"

And with that, Ferris was off.

Gravis sighed when Ferris left. ’An Emperor with a level three Law. This is incredibly terrifying. I wonder how the Empress and the Grand Elder will react when Ferris returns. Right now, Ferris should be more powerful than even the Grand Elder. The Empress should be able to win against Ferris, but it would probably be a real fight, not a one-sided slaughter.’

After thinking that and sighing again, Gravis went back to probe the last bits of his surroundings. He was nearly done with the mountain!

 

Chapter 538 - 538 – Categorization Of A Powerful Law

Gravis spent the next two months understanding the remainder of the mountain. After he was finished, he felt like he knew a lot more about the different kinds of materials on it. Additionally, he had developed a feeling that allowed him to assign different materials to different Laws. Just by looking at a new material, he could already see to which category it belonged.

The mountain had everything except soft materials. This meant that Gravis had already learned an incredible amount about Medium Pure, Medium Complex, and Hard Complex materials.

When Gravis was done, he looked at the mountain while thinking. ’This mountain has nearly all the Hard Pure materials. I can say that for certain since I already know the Hard Pure Composition Law. Yet, does it have all the Hard Complex ones? It definitely has a lot of them, but there are a lot more alloys left that I could create.’

Gravis’ eyes shone with motivation. ’I think I should aim for a specific Law now instead of just generally understanding. I think I should first aim for the Hard Complex Law. After all, my father has already shown me the information on all the alloys I could create in a middle world.’

After thinking that, Gravis went to work. He collected samples of all the Hard Pure materials he could find on the mountain. After that, he gathered a lot of Hard Complex materials and split them up into different materials. Sometimes, alloys needed components that were not Hard Pure, and Gravis could create a lot of these components by splitting the Hard Complex materials on the mountain.

After finishing his preparations, Gravis looked over all the materials and sighed. ’This will take forever,’ Gravis thought but quickly shook his head to distract himself from the negative thought. ’Time to start!’

Then, Gravis started to combine all the materials with each other. Sadly, the number of different materials was truly gigantic. At least, he already understood all the present materials, which made fusing them rather easy.

Over two years passed.

After over two years, Gravis was very good at fusing materials. By now, he managed to create a new Hard Complex material with only two tries. Gravis guessed that the progress on the Hard Complex Law was probably similar to how he had progressed on the Hard Pure Law in the past.

Back then, Gravis’ goal had been to forge a new material in only one try. When he had achieved that, he had understood the Hard Pure Law. After all, in order to perfectly forge the material in one try, Gravis had had to know the workings behind the material, which required him to understand the Law.

Gravis also tried to create hardened edges when he used the alloys to create weapons. That had proven impossible without understanding the Law. Compressing these edges always left imperfections that would prove fatal for the weapon. After all, a weapon was only as powerful as its weakest point. If a weapon were put under a lot of stress, the weakest part would break.

As time progressed, Gravis found it harder and harder to make progress, and after these two years, Gravis completely stopped. He had realized something.

’This is way harder than it should be,’ Gravis thought with narrowed eyes. ’Since I already have understood the Hard Pure Law, the Hard Complex Law should come to me even easier than the Hard Pure Law. After all, father has already given me all the information on alloys.’

’It feels like I’m really close, but after learning multiple Laws, I know that this is just an illusion. I’m pretty sure that I’m not close at all. I also don’t feel like I’m about to understand it.’

The Red King, the Empress, and the Grand Elder had developed the ability to see if a beast was about to understand a new Law. By now, Gravis also had developed this ability. Gravis was very sure that he wasn’t even close to the Hard Complex Law.

His progress gave the illusion that he was about to understand it, but thanks to his experience, Gravis was sure that understanding the Hard Complex Law was impossible for the time being. Something was missing!

Suddenly, Gravis’ eyes widened. ’Something is missing?’ he thought. ’It feels like I’m missing a lot of understanding, but the Hard Pure Law has already basically fully integrated into the Hard Complex Law.’

Then Gravis narrowed his eyes. ’Fully integrated?’ Gravis thought. ’How can one level one Law be fully integrated into another level one Law? Additionally, I have learned so incredibly much about Hard Complex materials. This is not the complexity of a level one Law.’

’Is the Hard Complex Law a level two Law?’ Gravis thought and then remained unmoving for a long time as he thought about many things.

’There are way more Hard Complex materials than Hard Pure materials. Additionally, the rules and complexity of Hard Complex materials are also way more diverse than the Hard Pure Law. I think the Hard Complex Law might actually be a level two Law.’

’This changes everything!’ Gravis thought.

If the Hard Complex Law were a level two Law, then the Medium Complex and Soft Complex Laws would probably also be level two Laws. As Gravis thought more about it, he realized that this made much more sense.

In order to properly control and create Hard Complex materials, Gravis had to know Hard Pure materials and Medium Pure materials. Some of the alloys even needed Soft Pure materials.

’I think that’s about it,’ Gravis thought. ’I first need to understand these three Laws until I can even attempt the Hard Complex Law. It also makes sense strength-wise. Some alloys are definitely more powerful than Pure materials. This would mean that the Hard Complex Law is superior to the Hard Pure Law since it can exhibit a way higher power.’

Then, Gravis turned his gaze to the river in the distance. ’What Laws do the Medium Complex and Soft Complex Laws need?’ Gravis thought.

’I have created some Medium-Complex materials by mixing some materials, and I see the same requirements for them. Hard Pure materials can also be made into Medium Complex materials.’

’How could all this work?’ Gravis thought.

Luckily, he came to an answer rather quickly as he realized a possibility. ’I think I may have been blinded by the classification of Laws in this middle world. Father hasn’t told me how Laws are classified or how higher-ranked Laws are composed. All my understanding regarding their workings comes from this world.’

’If I think outside the box, I can see a very reasonable explanation. There are not two ways to create a more powerful Law, but three ways.’

The first way was to combine three or more Laws into one Law.

The second way was to understand something very complex all at once, like the Law of Suppression or the Law of Pride.

The third way, which Gravis had just found out, was a combination of the two. It required the understanding of some Initial Laws and then learning something additional that exclusively belonged to the Low-Rank Law.

The knowledge one required to learn for these Laws could be described with land in an Empire.

There could be an association or organization of three Kingdoms that worked together closely. Together, they could be powerful enough to count as an Empire. Yet, the territories didn’t fuse into one. They were still three Kingdoms with three different leaders. This represented the first way, creating a level two Law by understanding three level one Laws.

If there were only a single Empire with only a single leader, one could liken it to the second way of understanding Laws. It was one cohesive thing.

Yet, there could also be a mixture of both. This was if an association or organization between three Kingdoms were created and one of the Kingdoms’ leaders became an Emperor. The area of the Emperor’s Empire would grow until it was bigger than the associated Kingdoms. Yet, the Kingdoms might still exist and still have their association with the Empire.

This meant that one could see all of this as two Empires or one Empire. One Empire would be the powerful Emperor and their territory while the other Empire could be that Empire plus the other two Kingdoms combined.

’I see,’ Gravis thought as motivation returned to him. ’The Soft Complex, Medium Complex, and Hard Complex Laws all need the full understanding of Soft Pure, Medium Pure, and Hard Pure Laws. Then, I need to learn some additional knowledge that these Laws don’t have.’

’But then, what about the classification of the full Law?’ Gravis thought. ’If I understand the Soft Complex, Medium Complex, and Hard Complex Laws, I could probably combine them into a level three Law, which would be the Complex Law. Its full name would probably be the Middle-Tier Complex Material Composition Law.’

Gravis took a deep breath. ’Then that means that the Middle-Tier Material Composition Law, without the Complex, is probably not a level three Law, but a level four Law.’

Gravis looked at his surroundings. ’If the Complex Law is one component of the level four Law, there must be other components as well, which are just as powerful.’

’I think I can categorize everything better now with my increased experience. Water, Metal, Wood, Earth, Air, Fire, and Lightning are probably part of this overarching Law. Maybe even Darkness and Light. I think fire and lightning don’t fit water, metal, wood, air, and earth. Fire and lightning are some form of matter, but a little different from the other five.’

Gravis’ eyes shone more as he finally saw a categorization that made sense. ’The Composition Laws of Water, Air, Wood, and Earth probably combine into a level two Law. Metal is probably already inside the Complex Materials. The Composition Laws of the other four probably create another level two Law. Then, by combining these two, I would probably get something like the Elemental Material Composition Law, another level three Law.’

’Then, I probably also need to learn the Composition Law of all living matter. Composition of Organs, Blood, Bones, Muscles, and Skin probably makes the Living Body, or Animal Composition Law, which would be level two. Then, I probably also need to learn about the composition of plants, which would make the Plant Composition Law, which would also be a level two Law.’

’Another thing would probably be the Composition Law of Micro-organism. I’m powerful enough to see these small things that make mortals sick, but I can’t assign them to animals or plants, which probably means that they are their own thing.’

’The Composition Law of Animals, Plants, and Microorganisms probably fuses into the Composition Law of Living Matter. Then, the Composition Laws of Living Matter, Complex Materials, and Elements probably fuse into the Middle-Tier Material Composition Law, which would be a level four Law.’

Gravis smirked.

"Finally, I know what I need to learn."

 

Chapter 539 - 539 – Elements Of Beasts

Finally, Gravis knew what he needed to learn in order to understand this level four Law. He still remembered how he had nearly despaired as he looked at all the scattered, dead things that could have been a prerequisite of understanding the Law. He had had no idea what he should comprehend.

Now, all these scattered forces had been categorized by him. He was pretty sure that he might have missed some prerequisite for the level four Law, but it was a start. Yet, the sheer number of Initial Laws Gravis had to understand was already astounding.

’I need to comprehend, at least, 22 level one Laws in order to even have a shot at understanding the level four Law. Then, I need to understand many level two Laws and, at least, three level three Laws. This is obviously way beyond my level at this point. I’m not so arrogant that I believe I would be able to understand a level four Law while still being in a middle world. I can only attempt that when I’m in the higher world,’ Gravis thought.

Gravis looked at the mountain and at the forest. ’The Metal Composition Law should be the Hard Pure Composition Law. Wood is partially already in the Medium Pure Law, but Wood probably has something else as well. Wood Composition is probably half Material and half Plant Composition.’

’I won’t aim to understand the full Material Composition Law, but I’ve already started with the Material Laws. I think I should first finish the Hard Complex Material Law since that would increase my Battle-Strength a lot.’

Suddenly, Gravis’ eyes shone in realization. ’Wait! That’s the answer I’ve been looking for!’ Gravis thought as he remembered the thoughts he had had after killing the Inquisitor. ’Back then, I wasn’t sure how it was possible to block the attacks of Emperors with weapons made out of pure materials.’

’Of course! The Hard Pure Law is a level one Law! How would a level one Law be able to block the attack of a level two Law? If the enemy Emperor only attacks with the force of a level one Law, my equipment should be able to withstand that, but not if they attack with the force of a level two Law.’

’And since every Emperor has understood, at least, one level two Law, equipment made with the Hard Pure Law won’t be able to withstand their attacks. So, in order to keep my equipment advantage, I need to understand the Hard Complex Law.’

Gravis looked at the mountain with fiery eyes. ’If I hadn’t been forced into this Realm-Stop by the Empress, I would have never realized this. Then, I would have continued fighting against Emperors without knowing that my equipment didn’t allow me to block an attack even two levels above myself. This means that my Battle-Strength would have fallen, at least, an entire level without me even noticing.’

Gravis sighed. ’The Empress might have actually saved my life. Sure enough, even though my horizon is wider than anyone else’s in this world, the wisdom accumulated with thousands of years of experience can’t be underestimated.’

’Different experiences give different insights. I thought I’ve already understood this lesson in the lower world, but I have forgotten it so quickly. This time, I need to remember!’ Gravis thought while feeling frustrated at himself.

Gravis had understood the Empress’ reasoning previously, but his feelings hadn’t truly accepted it. According to his feelings, his Battle-Strength had always increased without a need for a pause. But now, even Gravis’ feelings finally realized that he might have dodged a bullet there.

Gravis nodded with motivation. ’Alright! Hard Complex Material Law it is. First, I need to understand the Medium Pure and Soft Pure Material Laws. Luckily, I’m at the perfect place to comprehend them.’

’Let’s start!’

With that thought, Gravis left the mountain. He had already categorized and comprehended all the materials that he could find and create on the mountain. Now, he needed to change his area and go to a place with other materials.

’First, silt, earth, gravel, and all the other stuff that counts as Medium Pure materials. I have already made quite the headway in these Laws, so it shouldn’t take that long,’ Gravis thought as he reached the river.

Gravis looked at the river with interest. ’This water feels way more powerful than normal water. By now, I’m also pretty sure that I know what kind of water that is.’

With the realizations of how the level four Law worked, Gravis had realized several other things about the elements. His thought had been if he needed to understand the Composition of the elements, which elements did he have to understand the Composition of?

If we take lightning as an example, what kind of lightning would be the fitting one? Destruction Lightning? Life Lightning? Natural Lightning? Punishment Lightning? Which was it?

By knowing what level the Law of Lightning Composition should be, Gravis could deduce what he needed to know. Gravis also hadn’t thought about which kinds of elements the beasts used.

For example, the silver wolf, the traitorous squad leader of the Elite Striking Squad. Which kind of lightning had he used?

The answer was Destruction Lightning.

Gravis thought back to other lightning beasts he had met in the past and categorized their lightning. ’Every Lord and stronger uses Destruction Lightning. Spirit beasts and weaker use Natural Lightning. This means that the elements of beasts upgrade as soon as they become Lords.’

’I’m pretty sure that Natural Lightning is not a Law. It is simply an amalgamation of Destruction Lightning and Life Lightning. So, in order to understand the Middle-Tier Lightning Composition Law, I need to understand the Composition of Life Lightning and Destruction Lightning.’

Gravis looked back at the river. ’So, logically, this water should be the upgraded version of the base water. This should be the same kind of water that water Lords and stronger use. I’m pretty sure that this water isn’t the equivalent to Punishment Lightning since I don’t feel any danger from it.’

’The Grand Elder said that naturally occurring Punishment Lightning could kill even Emperors. This means that the water equivalent to Punishment Lightning should also be able to kill Emperors. If this were this kind of water, I would see many more Emperors around here and would also feel a lot of danger from it.’

Gravis put his hand into the water and felt its icy temperature. ’This water is colder than the freezing temperature of normal water. Yet, it is still liquid. This is probably the reason why it is more powerful than normal water. Additionally, it feels denser,’ he thought.

The water was icy, but Gravis’ body was powerful enough that the water didn’t prove to be an issue. Gravis simply jumped into the river and swam to the bottom of it. The river was several kilometers deep, but that also wasn’t an issue for a King.

Then, Gravis looked at the ground of the river and saw several materials. There were a lot of different kinds of silt, sand, and crystals. He grabbed one of the crystals and tested its hardness.

Crack!

’Quite fragile,’ Gravis thought. ’This is probably a Medium Complex material. Even though I don’t plan on learning the Medium Complex Material Law anytime soon, understanding the make-up of this Medium Complex material may increase my understanding of Medium Pure materials.’

Gravis nodded and used his Spirit to grab parts of all nearby materials. Then, he inspected them one by one and even used his lightning to experiment on them. The fact that he was underwater didn’t matter to his lightning.

 

Chapter 540 - 540 – Going Somewhere Else

It took Gravis about three months until he understood all the materials he could find inside the river. The river didn’t have even nearly as many materials as the mountain range. Another reason why Gravis only took three months to understand all the materials was that he had already seen a lot of them on the mountain range.

Yet, he spent an additional six months inside the river to look at the water. This was already the more powerful kind of water, which meant that this became relevant to the Soft Pure Law. He didn’t manage to comprehend the Water Composition Law, but he was sure that he knew enough about the water to fulfill the water-requirement for the Soft Pure Composition Law.

Splash!

Gravis came out of the river and hovered above it as he threw one last glance at it. ’Sure enough, there are a lot of Medium Pure materials at the bottom of the river, but basically no Soft Pure materials. By now, I’m also pretty sure that I know what constitutes a Soft Pure material.’

’It’s gas and liquids,’ Gravis thought. ’This means that the Soft Pure Law probably has parts of the Water Composition and Air Composition Laws. But there are still more liquids and gasses that I haven’t seen yet. I might need to go to a Law Comprehension Area for wind to understand that one since I’ve already taken care of the water-requirement.’

Then, Gravis looked at the desert and the forest. ’Let’s first finish the Medium Pure materials I can find here. The earth part of the Medium Pure Law should all be here while the wood part isn’t. The forest only has Spirit Plants, which means that to find the correct wood, I probably need to visit a place with Unity or Nascent Nourishing Plants.’

After planning his future stops, Gravis went to the desert and checked out the different kinds of sand he could find. The desert was way hotter than Gravis had expected. It was so hot that probably no Spirit Beast or weaker could survive there for more than some minutes. No wonder he found so many skeletons.

The Energy and Spirit Beasts had probably seen the river in the distance and tried to get there. Sadly, they didn’t manage to survive the journey through the desert.

Gravis immediately went to experimenting. He even inspected the different kinds of bones he found. Right now, it didn’t matter to him that these bones were not part of the Law that he was trying to understand. He only wanted to learn as much as possible. At some point, he had to learn the Laws regarding bone anyway. It made no difference to him if he learned about bones now or later.

Understanding all the materials in the desert only took Gravis around three weeks. A lot of the materials had already been on the mountain range and the river. Sure enough, the more he learned in other places, the faster his progress became.

After that, he went to the forest and checked the different kinds of earth and stone he could find. It only took Gravis one week to go through all materials he could find. Yet, Gravis spent another two months checking out the plants inside the forest. They weren’t Unity Plants, but understanding weaker plants might help in understanding stronger ones.

Gravis flew high above the Law Comprehension Area and looked at it. Right now, the Law Comprehension Area looked completely different to him. He saw the forces and workings of all the present materials just by glancing at them.

Gravis remembered the time he had reached the Unity Realm and how he had just looked at the world. As soon as he had reached the Unity Realm, his Spirit had become powerful enough to actually take a glance at Laws. Back then, everything had seemed new and interesting to him. Right now, Gravis felt very similar to back then.

Gravis looked at the area for a full hour until he had his fill. ’I’ve been here for over four years. The passing of time had felt so fast that I almost can’t believe it. It feels like I came here just yesterday. Well, about 96 more years to go!’

Gravis searched for Ferris with his Spirit and quickly found him looking at some butterflies with interest.

"Ferris, I’m done with this area," Gravis transmitted.

"Oh hey, Gravis!" Ferris said happily as he appeared in front of him. "I didn’t want to disturb you. You looked so engrossed."

Gravis smiled. "Yes, the more I learned, the more engrossed I became. Did you manage to understand more Laws?"

Ferris scratched his ear with one of his hind legs. "One more, but my understanding has slowed down significantly. I think I’ve also learned as much as this area can give me.’

’Another one, huh?’ Gravis thought. ’If this is a level one Law, Ferris has managed to comprehend three level one Laws, one level two Law, and one level three Law in just three years. Meanwhile, I’ve not comprehended even a single one. Comparing myself to him feels depressing.’

Yet, Gravis smiled. ’But I’ve made a lot of headway. Ferris is over 3,000 years old and has experienced more than I can even imagine. I guess this is the difference between all these old Emperors and me, experience. I need to consciously search for comprehension while they have seen a lot of that stuff on accident already.’

Ferris didn’t know why Gravis was smiling to himself without saying anything, but he also smiled. Gravis looked happy, and Ferris felt happy for him.

"So, where to next?" Ferris asked.

Gravis’ goal was the Hard Complex Law. The missing components were wood and air. Wood was relevant for the Medium Pure Law, and air was relevant to the Soft Pure Law. He decided to finish the Medium Pure Law first.

"Is there a Law Comprehension Area for wood or powerful plants?" Gravis asked.

Ferris was a bit taken aback. "Wow, no matter how much I try to anticipate your next goal, you still take me by surprise. Why do you want to understand plants so suddenly?" he asked with interest.

Gravis explained to Ferris his goal of comprehending the Composition Law of Hard Complex Materials and told him that he needed wood and air for the remaining two level one Laws.

Ferris was incredibly interested in what direction Gravis had chosen. Ferris, obviously, already understood the Composition Law of Fire, but he would have never thought that the understanding of different elements could be combined like that. It was incredibly weird to him that two entirely separate elements, like earth and wood, could be combined into one Law.

No beast had ever attempted to combine elements like this. Why? Because it made no sense. Fire was fire, and water was water. How could one combine water and fire? How would that even work?

Yet, after Gravis’ explanation, Ferris saw that it made a lot of sense. He even asked himself how he hadn’t noticed such, now seemingly, obvious connections before.

Well, to be fair, Gravis probably also wouldn’t have realized the connection between the elements if he hadn’t already known about the Composition Law. One could say that it was thanks to his father’s teachings that he was able to make the seemingly obvious connection.

"That sounds awesome!" Ferris said with excitement. "But I can see the advantage! If you make your armor and weapons even harder, it’s like your claws and scales become harder. This Hard Complex Material Law sounds like it’s part of the metal element, but you’re using that to make your body more powerful. So, you want to learn more about wood?"

Gravis nodded.

"Wood is a bit weird for beasts," Ferris said. "There are so incredibly few beasts with the wood element that I have maybe only seen fifteen of them in my entire life. The wood element can normally only be found in plants."

"So, logically, there is basically no Law Comprehension Area for wood."

Gravis furrowed his brows. "So, that’s a no?" Gravis asked.

"Hmm," Ferris muttered as he fell into thought. "Not entirely."

"Oh?" Gravis uttered as he perked up again.

"We don’t have a Law Comprehension Area, but we can use something else!" Ferris said with a smile.

"What is it?" Gravis asked.

"We can travel to the bulwark!"

Gravis blinked a couple of times in confusion. "What’s that?"