Ch. 601..610

Chapter 601 - 601 – Soft Complex Is Complex

Gravis didn’t think for long about the fact that he managed to comprehend a useless Law. He had more important things to worry about.

’Alright, with the Composition Law of the Body, my offense has gotten quite the boost. As long as my opponent doesn’t also know this Law, I have a way to actually injure and maybe kill a beast four levels higher. That leaves defense, speed, and a little bit of additional offense for beasts that actually know that Law,’ he thought.

Gravis looked at the Water Ultimates. ’My next stop will be the Soft Complex and Medium Complex Composition Laws. I need wood, water, earth, and air for that. Let’s start with water.’

Gravis walked over to the two Water Ultimates. With his Spirit, he could keep track of both displays and see them as one, making things easier. Most of the displays were about the different offensive, defensive, and healing elements of water, but some also showed variety.

The level three Law of the land beasts’ Water Ultimate wasn’t truly the equivalent of the higher form of water, but a related offensive Law. Water had an intrinsic connection with temperature, and beasts with a water affinity had it easier to comprehend these Laws.

One could say that the Temperature Laws were not truly part of water but related. After all, fire also had quite a connection with the Temperature Laws. One could call them a neutral set of Laws. It was just easier for beasts with these affinities to gain insights into them.

Yet, the Temperature Laws were not something Gravis was interested in right now. He was more interested in the different kinds of materials that he could use. There were also liquid kinds of metal that would remain liquid until they were exposed to truly cold temperatures. Since these materials would remain liquid under normal circumstances, they would count as a mix of Medium and Soft Complex Materials.

The two Water Ultimates ignored Gravis and let him do whatever he wanted. Even when Gravis took some parts of their special kinds of liquids for himself, they didn’t care. As long as it didn’t affect their displays, it wouldn’t matter.

At the same time, Gravis also grabbed some different kinds of earth he could find with his Spirit. He was in the core of the world, and he could find most of the special kinds of materials he needed. After that, he started experimenting with them.

One year later. Seven years until the time was up.

By now, Gravis had found quite a lot of materials, and he could also already discern what the use of the Soft Complex Law would be.

’If these materials were put under a lot of pressure, they will heat up and change their compositions and maybe even their state. With enough pressure, these Soft Complex Materials would become Medium Complex Materials.’

’At least, that’s how it works right now,’ Gravis thought. ’As it is right now, these materials would be useless for my plan. If I were hit by a powerful attack, my outer and inner armor would put the materials under a lot of pressure, which would change them. When that happens, the force of my enemy will find a pathway to injure a single part of my body.’

’The materials must remain gaseous or liquid in order to distribute my enemy’s force over a large area. As soon as they turn solid, they won’t be able to do that anymore. So, I’m pretty sure that the Soft Complex Law can help me in that department. After all, my Soft Pure Law already has these effects on the Soft Pure gasses and liquids.’

’The issue is that the Soft Pure Law only helps up to a certain point. The Law helps me to keep the gasses as gasses and the liquids as liquids, but not completely. Obviously, there are not as many special kinds of liquids and gasses that I can find in the world. I have basically already seen nearly all kinds of gasses and liquids, but none of them have the properties I desire.’

’That’s where the Soft Complex Law would come into play,’ Gravis thought. ’If there are not fitting natural materials, I just need to create them. Together with the increased effectiveness that my Soft Complex Law would have over the Soft Pure Law, I would probably be able to force the materials to stay as they are if I were hit.’

After one year of experimenting with the materials, Gravis had already found out how he could use a Law he hadn’t even comprehended yet. This was quite a step forward.

Four more years passed. Three years until the time was up.

Gravis put all the materials away.

Why?

Because he could no longer comprehend anything new. The liquid component of the Soft Complex Law had been dealt with. Now, he needed the gaseous component, which would be air.

He had already learned a lot about air when he had visited the Law Comprehension Area for fire. In that Area, Gravis had seen a lot of different kinds of gasses. Yet, as Gravis thought about it, would the air element actually be the correct element to comprehend gasses?

Air was just that, air. A beast with an affinity for wind wouldn’t be able to control smoke or these other kinds of gasses. Yet, fire also wouldn’t be able to control them.

’Are these gasses actually element-neutral materials?’ Gravis thought. ’Is that even possible?’

Every material Gravis had come into contact with in the past had an element associated with it. The different kinds of Hard Pure Materials all fell under the Metal Laws. The liquid metals also fell under the Metal Laws. Wood, or more accurately bark, was a mixture of water, earth, and the wood element.

Air was obviously the wind element. Water was the water element. Earth was the earth element. Yet, these kinds of special gasses had no direct element associated with them.

’Maybe it’s like bark, and it needs several elements to be controlled?’ Gravis thought. ’Bark can be dead or alive, and that makes a major difference in terms of element association and control. Living bark is part of a living body, and therefore, doesn’t count as a dead material. It would be like blood and muscles.’

Gravis looked over at Meadow. ’Yet, dead bark would have no element associated with it. Meadow can’t just make some random piece of bark fly in the air. After all, the wood element doesn’t refer to the material wood, but to this weird connection between living beings.’

Gravis scratched his chin. ’So, these kinds of weird gasses are similar to dead wood. Additionally, without any living interference, I haven’t seen any kinds of gaseous complex material yet. They only appear if fire or living beings get involved.

’This means I need to also look more at fire if I want to understand the Soft Complex Law,’ he thought. ’Obviously, I can’t finish this Law in the remaining time. So, let’s make the best of the remaining time.’

Gravis looked over at the Lightning Ultimate with a curious gaze.

’My last stop should be the Lightning Laws.’

Chapter 602 - 602 – Creating A New Attack

Gravis walked over to the Lightning Ultimate for the first time. Gravis already knew that the Lightning Ultimate was jealous of him since he had comprehended a Law that the Lightning Ultimate had wanted to comprehend for thousands of years. Yet, that wasn’t important right now. The Lightning Ultimate wouldn’t attack Gravis with Meadow present.

Gravis looked at the different displays of lightning and how they worked. For the first time, he was actually trying to comprehend lightning. Every time he had some time to comprehend Laws, he chose to comprehend other Laws since he didn’t have access to them whenever he wanted.

Gravis was lightning, and since he was lightning, he had an unprecedented affinity towards it. The Lightning Laws wouldn’t be difficult for him to comprehend.

The first thing Gravis was interested in was the Law of Lightning’s Explosiveness. This was a level one Law that would simply make Gravis’ lightning-based attacks more powerful. This was a very straightforward Law and shouldn’t be difficult for him to comprehend.

Gravis looked at the display of the Law, and with his unprecedented affinity towards lightning, Gravis immediately noticed a lot of interesting things. The first thing was that the lightning exhibited more power than the amount of Energy it had. This was quite peculiar.

Gravis looked at the display for five days.

’Interesting,’ Gravis thought as he scratched his chin. ’A lot of the power comes from expansion. A normal explosion of lightning would make the lightning expand into all directions, but with this Law, it expands more like a wave.’

’The difference between these two kinds of explosions is that the normal explosion has a lot of lightning still in its core, but the Law of Lightning’s Explosiveness pulls that Lightning towards the outside, making the explosion itself more powerful since it leaves no lightning behind.’

’In terms of normal explosions, this would be like the fire of the explosion vanishing from the place of impact and traveling along with the shockwave. Quite an interesting concept.’

BOOOOM!

Gravis smirked. ’Sure enough, learning about lightning doesn’t take much time at all. With this Law of Lightning’s Explosiveness, I managed to upgrade my offense.’

’With my Lightning Crescent, I am only using a normal kind of explosion, but if I add this concept, my Lightning Crescent will become more powerful. Great stuff,’ Gravis thought.

Then, Gravis turned to the next display, which displayed the Law of Lightning Gathering. Inside the display, Gravis saw a lot of lightning bolts concentrating into a single lightning bolt and then dispersing again. The display was a cycle of that process.

Gravis scratched his chin. ’Interesting. In the lower world, the Lightning Cultivators, including myself, used our Spirit to concentrate our lightning into a smaller form, making it more destructive. This is basically the same process but without needing any Spirit.’

’This means that concentrating lightning wouldn’t cost any Spirit at all. For beasts, this Law would increase their offense as well as their stamina. For humans, it would only increase our stamina since we already have this form of usage. Yet, it’s still worth looking at,’ Gravis thought.

Three days later.

BOOOOM!

’And that Law is done too,’ Gravis thought with a smirk. ’Since I have already compressed a lot of lightning in my life, this Law was even easier to comprehend than the Law of Lightning’s Explosiveness.’

’This doesn’t increase my offense since I can already concentrate my lightning, but it helps in cutting down the Energy consumption of my Lightning Crescent. If I actually had the ability to increase any center of my power beyond 300% of their normal capacity, this would also increase my offense. Yet, that is not possible since my centers of power can’t withstand such a strain.’

Gravis was scratching his chin again as he went through some simulations in his head. ’Yet, if I use my Pulse together with my concentrated lightning, I would be able to unleash a Lightning Crescent with 300% power while only using around 70% of my actual power. Before I had comprehended this Law, I would have been left with 0% Energy. Now, I would have 30% Energy left.’

’This means that I can actually use all my power now since I won’t be left completely helpless. Very useful,’ Gravis thought as he nodded.

Then, he turned to the next display, which looked incredibly interesting to him.

Gravis saw how a lightning bolt hit the ground but didn’t explode. Instead, it simply lay there on the ground like some form of crystal. Typically, if lightning hit anything, it would explode with all its power onto the target. Yet, this form of lightning was acting like some kind of stone.

When Gravis saw that, his eyes shone. ’This Law is the key!’ Gravis thought with excitement.

’My Lightning Crescent will only help me against enemies that don’t have a supremely powerful defense. As soon as my enemy has an element-neutral Law that increases their defense, my Lightning Crescent will become nearly useless. Sure, I can still injure them, but I wouldn’t be able to kill them.’

’With this Law, I can make my lightning bury itself into the target and explode from inside. With some additional alterations, I can create a variant of my Lightning Crescent that uses penetration instead of sheer power. Let’s get to work!’

This Law proved to be a bit more difficult than the other two, but not excessively so.

One month later.

BOOOOM!

Gravis comprehended the Law of Lightning’s Suppression. Even though the Law had the word Suppression in it, it wasn’t related to the actual Law of Suppression. One thing was a form of physical suppression, while the other was a feeling or situation.

’Great!’ Gravis thought with a smile. ’This takes care of the penetrative part of my attack. As soon as my attack pierces the body of my enemy, the lightning will be suppressed until it reaches the deepest part and then explode from there with all its power.’

’So, the actual damaging component of my attack has been taken care of. Next thing I need to do is to create something that manages to penetrate the armor of my enemy. If my attack doesn’t manage to penetrate the armor of my enemy, it wouldn’t be any different from my Lightning Crescent.’

Suddenly, Gravis chuckled. ’Luckily, I already have a good idea. I used a kind of weapon or technique once in the lower world that I should be able to recreate with more effectiveness as long as I comprehend two more Laws regarding lightning.’

Gravis immediately walked over to the next display, which was a showcase of the Law of Lightning’s Magnetism. Yet, this was not the kind of magnetism a mortal would think of when hearing the word magnetism.

In front of Gravis, a lot of scattered materials were floating in the air, surrounded by lightning. Metals, earth, plants, water, all kinds of different things were floating around without being damaged.

Usually, lightning would only be magnetic towards magnetic materials, as the name implied, but this Law referred to the movement of matter without having to explode it into a direction.

In the lower world, all the Lightning Cultivators used the technique of Lightning Movement to get around. Their body would float and move forward slightly above the ground. This was an exhibition of the Law. Sadly, that technique only worked with the body of the user. If they wanted to move something else like this, this something else would have to be made out of magnetic materials.

’This Law gives the user the ability to move anything they want without damaging it or using a lot of Energy,’ Gravis thought. ’This is one of the components I need.’

Two days later.

BOOOOM!

’And done,’ Gravis thought. ’I’ve already used this technique many times, which is why it wasn’t hard for me to learn this Law. With this Law, I can create something that moves with more power than my body.’

Gravis looked over at another display but then turned away. ’I should know all the components by now, and I don’t need to look at this Law to comprehend it. Additionally, I won’t always have this opportunity to see such vivid demonstrations of the Laws. I should try to learn this Law myself.’

Gravis went to the middle of all the Ultimates, sat down, and concentrated. He wanted to combine the Laws he had understood into the appropriate level two Law.

One year later.

Gravis opened his eyes with a smirk.

’Level two Law of Lightning Manipulation done. With this, I can create my new attack.’

Chapter 603 - 603 – The End Of The Meet

In just 50 years, Gravis had managed to comprehend four level two Laws. As time had progressed, Gravis had gone from being inexperienced in Laws compared to his Realm to being the most experienced one out of all Kings.

Back then, Gravis had only known a few level one Laws and one level two Law. Yet, now, he knew more level one and level two Laws than any King. He probably also already knew more level two Laws than any level three Emperor.

’With the level two Law of Lightning Manipulation, I can create an attack that will even kill a beast four levels above me. The matter of offense has been taken care of fully,’ Gravis thought with a shine in his eyes.

’As long as I have enough power to kill my opponent, I have an opportunity of victory. Yet, without enough speed, I won’t be able to secure a hit. Speed is the next thing that I have to look at,’ Gravis thought.

Then, he looked at the Light Ultimate. ’The level three Law of Light’s Speed is incredible, but I’m not sure if lightning can become that fast. Yet, lightning is still very fast for an element. So, shouldn’t there be a level two Law of lightning related to speed?’

Gravis scratched his chin as he fell into thought again. ’The level one Law of Lightning’s Speed is probably one of the components. Another component is probably the level one Law of Lightning’s Magnetism. With magnetism, I can add speed onto something else.’

’Another component is probably the level one Law of Lightning’s Explosiveness. The Law of Lightning’s Speed uses my own force to increase my speed, while the other two Laws use outside force to increase my speed.’

Gravis glanced at the Lightning Ultimate again for a short moment but looked away again. ’In regards to lightning, I don’t need much outside help. The displays of the level one Laws has helped me, but I should concentrate on learning this Law myself.’

Gravis looked around the Ultimate’s Meet and smiled. ’I think this is as far as I can go with this Ultimate’s Meet. Any other Law would probably take more time to comprehend than I have left. For the remainder, I should think about what I have learned and what I should focus on in the future.’

With that thought, Gravis sat down in the middle again and started thinking about everything he had learned. He had learned a ton of Laws in the last 50 years, and he was more than happy with what he had achieved during that time.

Like this, the remaining time of the Ultimate’s Meet passed without anything happening.

"Alright, bitches!" Meadow shouted. "Time’s up!"

CRRRR!

All the plants and fighting wooden beasts went into the earth as they returned to Meadow’s body. Her roots also retreated from Sary’s body as Sary took a deep breath. Even though pain was only a minor inconvenience to her, it still wasn’t pleasant to feel pain for 50 years.

The other Ultimates also dispersed their displays as they relaxed for the first time in 50 years. They had to keep their shows running while concentrating on the other Ultimates. This Ultimate’s Meet was mainly there for the Ultimates to learn from each other, after all.

All Ultimates had gained a lot during that time, especially the Water Ultimate from the sea beasts. The Water Ultimate of the land beasts knew a level three Law, and the Water Ultimate from the sea beasts had concentrated on her performance for the entire duration.

The gigantic octopus had learned a lot during that time, and he had also realized that he had truly not even been close to understanding a level three Law when he had fought Sary. It would have been impossible for him to comprehend this Law, no matter how hard Sary would have pushed him.

Gravis opened his eyes, stood up, and stretched. This session of comprehension had ended, but a new one would soon follow. Gravis still needed to deal with the speed and defensive aspect of his fighting style.

"Hey, Sary," Gravis said.

"Yes?" Sary asked with a smile.

"There’s something I want to try out. It’s my new attack, and I want you to judge its offensive power," he said.

Sary grew intrigued when she heard that. Testing out a new attack? That sounded interesting.

"Sure," she said with interest in her eyes.

Gravis gestured to the side. "Let’s leave for now. I don’t want my attack to be public knowledge. I have no idea how the world will change with so many Ultimates dead and ascending."

Sary agreed quickly, and the two of them left. Meadow simply let them go as she looked at the other Ultimates.

"So, who wants to ascend first?" she asked.

Whooom!

Without waiting for another second, the Light Ultimate shot at one of the Striders. Apparently, her interest in becoming an Ascender was the most powerful. Meadow didn’t mind the Light Ultimate’s actions since it was only natural to feel like this after so many years of stagnation.

Sadly, even though the Light Ultimate was the first to attack, she wasn’t very fast in killing the Striders. With her level three Law, she had the ability to close in on the Strider before receiving any injury, but she still needed to load up enough Energy to kill it.

Because of that, quite an awkward scene appeared. The Light Ultimate immediately charged at the Strider but stopped before it, not doing anything. Yet, the Ultimates didn’t really care. They had already waited for many years. A couple of hours more wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Several minutes passed in which the Light Ultimate was only loading her attack. The other Ultimates that had comprehended a level three Law readied themselves for their fights.

Suddenly, Meadow turned around and looked in a different direction. She continued looking in that direction for over two minutes until she turned back. Then, she glanced at the Lightning Ultimate for a second and huffed.

Surprisingly, the Lightning Ultimate had also looked in the same direction as Meadow. Since Meadow was a flower, one couldn’t read her expression, but one could very well read the Lightning Ultimate’s expression.

It was shock.

The Lightning Ultimate was shocked.

His normal senses didn’t extend that far into the distance, but his sensitivity towards lightning was impressive. Just now, he had felt an incredibly powerful explosion of lightning. He didn’t feel nor hear it, but he felt the subtle movement of Energy and lightning in the air.

The explosion he had sensed felt like a level three Emperor had just unloaded their entire storage of Punishment Lightning. This was the power of an all-out attack of a level three Emperor with the help of a level three Law! Something like this would turn any level three Emperor into dust!

Had that one ape from the Icy Pride Empire just attacked someone? The Lightning Ultimate couldn’t think of another beast that knew Punishment Lightning that could unleash such a powerful attack.

Some minutes later, Gravis and Sary returned. Gravis was beaming with excitement as Sary smiled at him.

"I felt it," Meadow transmitted to Sary, "but I haven’t seen it. How strong was the attack?" she asked.

Sary chuckled a bit. "He managed to penetrate a few of my scales and left some minor burns on my muscles."

Chapter 604 - 604 – The Immortals

Meadow was shocked when she heard that.

"Stop shitting me. Are you for real?" Meadow asked. "He did that as a level five King?"

Sary nodded with a smile. "The power of his attack also shocked me. I think this is probably the single most powerful attack anyone has ever created in this world. It isn’t easy for him to hit with the attack, but if he manages to do it, he will kill anyone that’s four levels higher than him."

Sary looked at the Grand Lake. "I have seen the Inferno Immortal, and I’m certain that if Gravis were a level four Emperor, that attack would kill him instantly. Of course, he has to hit first. The attack takes quite a lot of wind-up time."

The small flower turned to Gravis. "Fuck, dude. That’s really impressive," she said.

Gravis only continued smiling. "I’m quite happy with it. This attack is the pinnacle of what I can achieve in terms of offense since it combines all of my offensive Laws into one. Sadly, I’m still not fast enough to hit a beast four levels above me."

"Are you actually intending to jump four levels above yourself?" Meadow asked. "That’s something not even I can do. I can barely achieve three levels, and four are simply impossible."

Gravis scratched his chin. "If I can push my offense to such a limit, I may also be able to push my speed to the same level. Of course, I can’t do that yet, but I intend to stay a level five King until I can do that."

"Shit, son, do you have any idea how long that will take?" Meadow asked.

"A couple hundred years probably," Gravis said. Then, he smirked at Meadow. "Actually, it was you who gave me that idea."

"Shut the fuck up! Now you’re blaming your shit decision on me?" Meadow said with some mock-offense.

"Yeah, I will do just that, and there’s nothing you can do about it," Gravis said with a chuckle. "But seriously, I saw your idea of remaining in this world to hone your Battle-Strength, and I felt like it was a brilliant idea. The more powerful I become now, the better my chances of becoming more powerful will be in the higher world."

WHACK!

Gravis slightly got thrown to the side by a root. "I have become immune to your pathetic attacks, boy!" Meadow said. "Your level three Law of being a Little Bitch doesn’t work on me anymore. Your offense lacks variety!"

Gravis only chuckled. He enjoyed talking to Meadow. Meadow had deflected his compliment, but she couldn’t hide her embarrassment in front of Gravis. He knew that his comment had touched her.

"Just wait," Gravis said as he dusted himself off. "At some point, your slaps won’t work against me anymore."

Meadow huffed. "Don’t act like you don’t enjoy it when I slap your shit," she said.

Gravis only smirked. "Just wait some hundred years," Gravis said with a smirk.

BANG!

And just then, the Light Ultimate killed her first Strider. The Strider fell over as the earth trembled under its mighty weight.

The Ultimates didn’t really care since the Light Ultimate basically already lived in a different world. She would soon leave this world and never return.

Yet, one of them felt something different. "Sorry, but I can’t wait anymore," the blue swallow said as she stood up.

Whoosh!

Then, she shot at another Strider. In comparison to the Light Ultimate, the Water Ultimate killed the Strider far faster. Her Law of Supreme Cold didn’t need any charging time, and she took it down in a matter of seconds.

After some minutes, the Water Ultimate had already killed her third Strider while the Light Ultimate was still busy charging her next attack.

"All this excitement brings me back to my youth," Sary said from the side. "I think I will partake in the festivities for once."

BANG!

Sary also shot at another Strider. Since Heaven always kept the number of Striders topped up, there was no competition between the different Ultimates. There were enough Striders for everyone.

Sary closed in on her first Strider, and her body started to turn into dust. Yet, her level three Law of Energy Healing allowed her to heal herself faster than her body was breaking down. Sadly, since she still needed to physically beat down her Strider, the Water Ultimate was still faster.

This was the difference between having an elemental affinity and not having one. The instantaneous power output with an element was higher than without one, but the Energy and stamina consumption was also far higher.

The Water Ultimate from the sea beasts, the Lightning Ultimate, and the Metal Ultimate looked on in envy as the three other Ultimates killed one Strider after the other. Half of the Ultimates, excluding Meadow, were about to achieve their lifelong dream. They would reach the next world. When would it be their time?

As far as the Ultimates knew, something as significant as this had never happened before. There had always been an equilibrium between the Ultimates.

There had always been more land beast Ultimates than sea beasts Ultimates, which was the biggest reason why the sea only made up a quarter of the central territories of the world. Yet, these past few years, everything had changed.

In the beginning, there had been ten Ultimates in total.

One of them had become the ruler of all beasts, no matter if they were land beasts or sea beasts, which left nine Ultimates.

The Metal Ultimate of the land beasts had died to the Light Ultimate, which left eight Ultimates.

The Strength Ultimate had died to Sary, which left seven Ultimates.

The Darkness Ultimate had died to the Inferno Emperor, which left six Ultimates.

Now, three of these six Ultimates would leave the world soon.

Then, for the first time in forever, there would be more Ultimates on the sea beasts’ side than on the land beasts’ side.

In just 50 years, a supreme ruler had been crowned, and nearly all other Ultimates vanished. Right now, the Ultimates were not sure what would happen to this world. Yet, one thing was for sure. Things would not return to how they were in the past.

BOOOOOOM!

The Water Ultimate ate her eight Strider and became the Water Immortal. The blue swallow transformed into a young, adult, blue-haired woman.

Whooop!

Yet, she quickly returned to the form of a swallow. Apparently, she was not the biggest fan of having a human body.

The Water Ultimate looked at all the gathered beasts with a smile. "Take care, everyone. We don’t know if we will again be on opposing sides in the next world, but if we aren’t, I would ask for you to search for me. After all, we all came from the same world," she announced.

Then, she looked upwards and accepted the pull to the higher world. She could have remained here for another month, but there was nothing that kept her here. After some seconds, a portal appeared above her, and she flew through it, leaving this world forever.

The three remaining Ultimates watched with envy as she vanished into the next world. They had no idea if they would ever manage to reach this place. Taking the last step towards Ascension was just far too difficult.

Some minutes later, Sary also became an Immortal.

She transformed into a middle-aged, beautiful lady with luscious, long, green hair. Due to her cultivation technique, her body had also been shaped appropriately. Her assets could make her a man-eater.

Sary smiled a heartfelt smile as she felt her new power. Then, she turned to Meadow. "See you in 50,000 years or so," she said.

"For you, it will only be 5,000 years," Gravis suddenly interjected.

"What do you mean?" Sary asked.

"The time-dilation between this world and the higher world is ten to one. 50,000 years here are only 5,000 years in your world. Keep that in mind when you search for Meadow," Gravis said with a happy smile. He wanted to inform her so that the two of them wouldn’t miss each other.

Sary was surprised that Gravis knew such things, but she felt like she could trust him. She had no idea how he could know that, but she decided to believe him anyway. "Then, it will be 5,000 years."

"Who knows," Meadow commented. "Maybe you will be more powerful than me in 5,000 years."

For once, Meadow didn’t use her crude humor. She was probably reluctant to let her best friend leave this world without her. Yet, she wouldn’t sacrifice her advantage over that.

"Maybe," Sary said. "I will look for you when it’s time. Until then, take care, okay?" she said.

"You too, Sary," Meadow answered.

Then, Sary turned to Gravis and winked. "Call me," she said with a giggle.

Gravis’ body shivered when he saw a beautiful, naked lady winking at him, and when Sary saw that, she giggled again and left through the portal.

"Hah, I knew you were a little bitch," Meadow said to Gravis.

"Fuck you," Gravis groaned. He was not interested in having a relationship yet, but that didn’t mean that his primal urges hadn’t surfaced for a short time. Of course, that had only been very brief.

Two hours later, the Light Ultimate also became an Immortal.

She transformed into a bright, blonde-haired teenager. If one looked at her, one would think that she was some kind of holy daughter as she exhibited an aura of righteousness and peace.

In comparison to the others, the Light Immortal didn’t immediately leave.

Instead, she looked at Meadow.

Instantly, her holy aura of peace turned into a holy aura of retribution. It was like a holy God had become angry and was about to rain judgment upon the sinner.

Meadow noticed that.

"Oh, you wanna have a go?"

Chapter 605 - 605 – Bargain

The Light Immortal didn’t want to go just like that, apparently. Gravis guessed that she was probably angry because she had to wait for more than 50 years for her Ascension. Now that she had the power of an Immortal, maybe she felt like she had a chance against Meadow.

Gravis was pretty sure that the Light Immortal actually didn’t have a chance. Gravis had felt Meadow’s Battle-Strength, and he knew that it was more than enough to triumph over an Immortal that had only comprehended a single level three Law.

The Light Immortal heard Meadow’s words and narrowed her eyes. "It depends on your next words, Emperor," she said with righteousness.

"My words, eh?" Meadow commented. "How about these words: You’re a cunt! That doing anything for ya?"

The body of the Light Immortal shook when she heard these words. A mere Emperor had just insulted her, and she couldn’t accept something like that.

Yet, how old was the Light Immortal, and how much experience did she have? The Light Immortal wasn’t some newborn beast that never went through any tempering. She was very good at judging the power of an enemy. She had to be. Otherwise, she would have already died.

When she thought about the power that Meadow had shown, she only felt a pit in her stomach. She knew that she had a chance of winning, but it was only that, a chance. Additionally, fighting an Emperor wouldn’t even feel any good. Knowing that one was several times more powerful than their enemy and still not being able to win was frustrating and humiliating beyond belief.

So, even though the Light Immortal thought that she had a shot at victory, she decided against attacking Meadow. It wasn’t worth the risk.

"How do you intend to distribute the lands and seas in this world?" the Light Immortal asked with power. "There is only one land Ultimate left, and there are two sea Ultimates."

Gravis lifted an eyebrow when he heard her. That’s what she wanted?

"In comparison to most other beasts," the Light Immortal said, "I care for my side. Thus, I want to know how you intend to redistribute the lands with the new power dynamic."

Meadow looked around at the present Ultimates and thought for a bit. After some seconds, she groaned. "Oh, fuck this," she said with frustration. "I can’t be bothered with some stupid shit like this. How about this? The Ultimates simply don’t interfere in anything anymore, and only the other beasts get involved in the war. Does that sound good?"

Obviously, the Light Immortal wasn’t happy when she heard that. "When you land beasts had the upper hand, you Ultimates constantly involved yourself in the scuffles. Now that you are weaker, you want that no Ultimates get involved?"

"Really? That’s your problem?" Meadow groaned. "Fine, then I abandon my title as ruler and become an Ultimate of the land beasts. Then we have a two versus two situation. You fine with that?"

The two sea Ultimates took deep breaths while the Light Immortal gritted her teeth. This would be even worse! What could the sea Ultimates even do if Meadow got involved?

"You are obviously not on the level of an Ultimate," the Light Immortal said. "You can’t involve yourself in these scuffles."

"Sure I can," Meadow simply shot back. "Imma just do it. Whatcha gonna do about it? You want to give me some high-quality light? Shit, son, I haven’t had some good photosynthesis in a while now."

The Light Immortal grew frustrated beyond belief. To her, this whole situation felt unfair. Meadow had all the power, and she didn’t want to follow proper etiquette. Of course, the Light Immortal forgot that she was currently two levels higher than Meadow. The irony of her thinking that this was unfair was, sadly, lost on her.

"Fine," the Light Immortal said after some seconds. "The Ultimates will no longer involve themselves."

"Cool, less work for me," Meadow said. Then, she turned to the three remaining Ultimates. "Alright bitches! You heard us. No more meddling in the playground of the kids. If you wanna crack some heads, you better go visit another Ultimate."

The Ultimates weren’t happy with this situation. The two sea Ultimates felt like they should have all the power now, but due to Meadow, they couldn’t show their power. Meanwhile, the Lightning Ultimate felt like shit since there were two sea Ultimates left. If he wanted to temper himself, he would need to fight both of them at once. In his eyes, this would be suicide.

Sadly, precisely this mindset was the reason why the Lightning Ultimate was in the position he was currently in. Sary had been ready to fight three Ultimates at once to understand a level three Law, while the lightning Ultimate didn’t even dare to fight two. Chances were high that the Lightning Ultimate would never become an Immortal with this mindset.

Gravis shook his head when he saw the Lightning Ultimate’s expression. He was very good at judging other people and beasts, and he could take a good guess at what the Lightning Ultimate was currently thinking. Gravis found it sad that someone with the lightning element had such a mindset.

Lightning was aggressive and would attack anything. Lightning wouldn’t fear any retaliation and destroy its opponent. Yet, the Lightning Ultimate had not only grown complacent, but he had also grown envious of others and feared danger.

Yet, this was something that could happen if one wasn’t influenced by the elements.

Back in the lower world, due to the peculiar cultivation technique of the Cultivators, their mindsets had been severely influenced by their elements. When Gravis had returned to the highest world, he had heard that such a situation wasn’t common.

Back then, he had been told that there was a cavalcade of elemental cultivation techniques that didn’t influence the mindset of the Cultivator with the element’s temperament. Thus, there were deceiving lighting Cultivators, pure-hearted darkness Cultivators, oppressive wind Cultivators, and a lot more seemingly contradictory people.

The more powerful beasts became, the less their mindset would be influenced by their element. They became smarter as they grew in power, which allowed them to ignore instincts and value their logic above their emotions.

One could say that one had more freedom of choice this way, but more freedom also came with more risk. If one didn’t properly use this freedom, their path to power could become crippled due to their unfitting mindset.

"Keep to your word, Emperor," the Light Immortal said to Meadow. "If I hear that you broke your word, I will find a way to return to this world and kill you."

"Yes, yes, shut up and leave," Meadow said nonchalantly as one of her petals waved in dismissal.

The Light Immortal grew even more furious since Meadow didn’t take her seriously whatsoever. Yet, instead of attacking, she simply flew upwards into the sky and vanished. She had to leave before she would make a mistake she would regret.

The other three Ultimates were unhappy due to their own reasons, but there was nothing they could do. Meadow was, by far, the most powerful being in this world, and they couldn’t contest against her. If they liked it or not, they had to follow her.

Some seconds later, Meadow looked at the three remaining Ultimates and sighed.

"Man, the ranks of the Ultimates has become a sausage-fest."

The three Ultimates weren’t sure what she meant, but Gravis had to laugh loudly when he heard her.

It was true. All three remaining Ultimates were male, and all Ultimates that had managed to ascend had been female.

Now, there were only guys left.

Chapter 606 - 606 – Monumental Changes

The Ultimates looked at each other for some more seconds, thinking about what they should do. Yet, in the end, nothing happened. After a while, the sea Ultimates started to go back to their territories.

"Wait," Gravis suddenly said, stopping them.

The two Sea Ultimates had seen Gravis a couple of times, but they didn’t know him. It was already a surprise that Gravis had been present during all of this. Obviously, as a King, Gravis had no right to be present when the Ultimates talked to each other.

Yet, even though he had been present for something he had no right to be part of, he even dared to stop them in their actions.

"I have something that you might like," Gravis said with a smirk.

The two Ultimates sneered. What could a King possibly possess that they desired?

Whoop!

Yet, their eyes quickly widened in shock.

"Water Ultimate, Metal Ultimate," Orthar said in greeting.

"Oracle, you’re still alive?" the Water Ultimate asked in surprise. "I’ve thought that you would have already died."

"Logical," Orthar said. "The Light Ultimate disagreed with my philosophy and wanted to kill me. Yet, her thought process was too obvious, and I managed to find refuge somewhere she couldn’t find me."

The two Ultimates looked at Gravis with wonder. How had Gravis been able to summon a beast out of thin air? Had their Oracle found refuge with this mere King? How had this King been able to hide the Oracle from the Light Ultimate?

Gravis only grinned. "Surprised? Like I said, I have something that you will be interested in. I didn’t disappoint, did I?" he asked.

The Metal Ultimate fell into thought while the Water Ultimate had relaxed. His rage of being stopped by a King had transformed into gratitude. "Your surprise has not disappointed us," he said. "We will not forget your deeds. If there is something you need, you may visit me."

"Will do," Gravis said with a smirk.

Orthar had been kept up to date with the ongoings of the outside world. Gravis constantly informed him about things that were talked about and what had happened. Therefore, Orthar knew about the new power dynamic of this world and saw his chance.

The Water Ultimate turned to Orthar. "We are glad to have you back in our ranks, Oracle. As things currently stand, you are our best shot at gaining more territory. Of course, your contributions will be rewarded accordingly."

"I will retake my position as Oracle now and lead the sea beasts," Orthar said, surprising Meadow and the Lightning Ultimate. This mere King was about to claim leadership over the entire sea beast faction?

"We await your success," the Water Ultimate said, surprising the two of them even more. An Ultimate had just said that they would follow a King? What was going on!?

"Oracle," the Metal Ultimate said after staying silent for a while. "In the past, I have been against your strategies regarding warfare, but with this new situation, my mind has changed. This is the best opportunity we will ever have to reign supreme over this world. Therefore, I am in support of you now."

Orthar nodded. "There is a saying I have heard from a wise beast once," Orthar said, obviously referring to Gravis without showing it. "Enemies and friends are temporary. Only benefits are permanent. I won’t hold a grudge for your past actions."

Gravis had said that saying once to Orthar, but not in a positive way. In actuality, Gravis was not the biggest fan of this saying. He had told it to Orthar in the context of how the Sects in the lower world had operated and how he hadn’t been a fan of that mindset.

Of course, that was from a cultivation standpoint. In terms of economics or politics, that saying probably displayed the most optimal mindset. Maybe this saying actually had its place in the world.

"Wise words, indeed," the Metal Ultimate said. "I will follow this mindset and act accordingly. I, also, await your success."

With that said, Orthar and the two sea Ultimates returned to the Grand Lake. Gravis and Orthar didn’t say goodbye since there was no point in saying it. Their paths had already become connected, and Orthar would return to the highest world with Gravis. This was only temporary.

Orthar would become more powerful with the sea beasts, while Gravis would become more powerful as a neutral party.

Yes, that was right. Gravis had already decided to leave the land beast camp.

Gravis still held his loyalties to his children, Azure, and Styr, but that was it. Their companionship wouldn’t change just because Gravis left their faction.

Right now, Gravis was powerful enough to kill a level two Emperor with ease. Only level three Emperors could kill him. Such power was more than enough to roam around as a neutral party.

As Orthar and the sea Ultimates left, Gravis looked over at the silent Azure. She hadn’t said anything in a while as she simply watched the Ultimates decide the fate of the world.

Gravis was used to seeing a world change drastically, but this was something new to Azure.

For Azure, she had just witnessed how the fate of the world had been drastically changed. The status quo would violently shift, and war would break out with more ferocity than ever before.

The level four Emperors had rarely fought, fearing that an Ultimate would arrive and attack them. With the Ultimates no longer being allowed to interfere in the fights, these level four Emperors had nothing holding them back anymore.

The level four Emperors would soon attack the most valuable territories of the enemy, and a sea of blood would flow. Azure’s insides shook as she felt like she was dreaming. All of this felt surreal to her.

There was no grand discussion or arguing. There was no fanfare. Everything had only been said quietly with some beasts present. With but a mere few words, millions and billions of beasts would die in rapid succession.

Everything had been casual and straightforward. Just because Meadow hadn’t wanted to deal with the political situation, the whole world would be thrown into turmoil. Just a mere decision, made out of laziness, had changed the entire world.

Was this power? Was this what it meant to be powerful? Any action of someone powerful, be it deliberate or by accident, would change the fate of so many beings?

"Hey, Azure," Gravis said from the side.

Azure was taken out of her thoughts as she looked at Gravis. Right, wasn’t it Gravis who had started everything? The carelessly spoken words of a King had resulted in the number of Ultimates going down from ten to just three. How could something like this have happened?

"Yes?" Azure asked, still lost in thought as she tried to come to terms with the profound changes.

"Do you think the Grand Elder has become a level three Emperor already?" Gravis asked.

Azure was surprised that Gravis had asked such a question. Something this grand had just taken place, but Gravis was only interested in the Grand Elder’s power? Didn’t he see the profound changes that would result from this talk today?

Nevertheless, Azure answered. "That was our plan. Becoming a level three Emperor is necessary to hold enough sway over the land beasts. He should have become a level three Emperor by now."

Gravis smiled. "Great! Then, I will return with you to the Icy Pride Empire and ask him for another session of will-tempering. After that, I will come back here and comprehend as many Laws as I can."

Azure was still shocked by Gravis’ nonchalant reaction to this situation. The whole world had changed, but Gravis seemingly hadn’t even noticed.

"Do you not know what results would come out of this year’s Ultimate’s Meet?" Azure asked.

"So?" Gravis asked back. "That has nothing to do with me. I’m here to become powerful, not to change the world into something I want. I guess you haven’t seen something like this before?" Gravis asked.

Azure sighed. "No."

"Were you born in this world, or have you ascended from a lower world?" Gravis asked.

Azure wasn’t sure what Gravis was trying to get out of this question. "I have never been in another world."

Gravis nodded. "That’s what I have thought. When you see more powerful beings, you see what devastating consequences even casual decisions can have on the world. This gives you a feeling of reverence towards power."

Then, Gravis looked at the sky with a smile. "Yet, as soon as you reach this power yourself, you see how unimportant such decisions actually are. I have learned that, when you are truly powerful, every action of yours will influence the entire world."

"Every action comes with positive and negative consequences for a huge number of beings. Yet, if you want to shape the world into something you desire, you need to keep overlooking it. Otherwise, the world will return to its old situation."

"And as soon as you do that, your path to power will end," Gravis said. "You are older than I and have more experience, but I have been in this situation before while you have not. Don’t try to think about what will happen to the world, but think about what you want to accomplish."

Gravis smiled. "You’ll see! Sooner or later, you will also be as powerful as Meadow. Don’t get hung up on the current situation and look forward. What’s the point in the world changing? Your own goal, reaching supreme power, has not changed. Therefore, your world didn’t change."

Azure remained silent as she listened to Gravis’ words. "My world didn’t change, huh?" she repeated quietly.

"Dude, you sound like an old beast," Meadow suddenly said from the side. "You becoming a hermit? You do know that you can’t have sex then, right?"

Gravis only laughed.

Chapter 607 - 607 – Styr, The Emperor

Gravis and Azure talked some more, and after a while of talking, they decided to return to the Icy Pride Empire. While they had been talking, Gravis had also told her about his decision to leave the camp of the land beasts.

Azure thought it was a good idea since he was powerful enough to protect himself and wouldn’t be bound by any obligations. Additionally, being a neutral party also gave him more freedom to choose his way of tempering.

Of course, the bad aspect of that decision was that one needed to be powerful enough. If one were too weak, any beast could just kill them without any repercussions. There were a ton of beasts just waiting for a tempering opportunity. If a solitary King went into an Empire, they would be attacked by several other Kings that would all want to fight them.

Even if one was powerful for their Realm, choosing neutrality would still be dangerous. If one of the most powerful Kings decided to go solo, they might not be attacked by Kings but by an Emperor first. Of course, these Emperors wouldn’t be interested in the corpse of the King, but they would be interested in using this King to temper their soldiers.

Maybe the Emperor would send five other Kings at him. Maybe the Emperor would halt the fight if one of their beasts would die. In the end, it didn’t matter what this King would do. Eventually, they would be ground into nothingness.

Because of these reasons, one first needed to be a powerful Emperor to consider going solo. Yet, one also had to remember that it wasn’t mandatory to attack a neutral beast. They could also just trade or talk. The only difference was that one party wouldn’t have any backing. They could only rely on their own power.

Of course, Gravis was already powerful enough to go solo. If he had still been a level four King, it would have been risky since he would have had the power of a level one Emperor, which wasn’t that safe. After all, there were plenty of level two Emperors.

Yet, with the power to immediately decimate a level two Emperor and with a slight chance of winning against a level three Emperor, Gravis should be safe. Therefore, with all things considered, it was a good idea for him to leave the camp of the land beasts.

After some time, the two of them returned to the Mountain of Pride in the Icy Pride Empire. Right now, instead of Azure, the Grand Elder was sitting on the throne. However, he couldn’t be called the Grand Elder anymore since he had taken up the position of the actual Emperor.

Styr, the Emperor, saw Azure and Gravis return and greeted them with a polite smile. "Welcome back. How were your gains?" he asked.

Gravis noticed that Styr acted differently than usual. It wasn’t that he had changed but that he was exhibiting an aura of royalty. The way he sat and talked gave others the feeling of justice, friendliness, and fairness.

The contrast between when Azure had been the Empress and the current Styr was stark. Azure had always appeared taciturn, cold, prideful, and reserved. It was like she had been an ice queen.

Yet, in human terms, Styr appeared like a king that would often visit the farmers to check if they had any issues. He appeared like someone that valued the prosperity of his kingdom above his own.

Of course, that was only a feeling and didn’t reflect the truth. Styr simply acted like a proper ruler should act, but as soon as he would see his chance to become more powerful, he would return to his old self.

Obviously, Styr was more suited to be a ruler than Azure.

Additionally, Gravis noticed something else that made him feel exhilarated. Sure enough, Styr had become a level three Emperor. This meant that Gravis could push his Will-Aura to the maximum once again. With that, he would be able to suppress a level three Emperor by 30% instead of 10%. That was a huge difference!

"A lot has changed," Azure said to Styr.

"Oh?" Styr uttered with a smile as he put his fingers together and leaned back on the throne. "Tell me about it."

Thus, Azure started telling Styr about everything that had happened. Styr couldn’t have been prepared for the violent changes the world would soon feel, and the more Styr heard, the more solemn he grew.

After Azure was finished telling Styr everything, Styr stood up and paced around the top of the Mountain of Pride as he stroked his long beard.

"This is troublesome indeed," Styr said. "Our first four defensive lines are very valuable territory, and our soldiers might need to be redistributed. Yet, these four defensive lines are under the leadership of the level four Empires, which disallows me to make any changes to them."

Styr paced around some more. "We might actually need to station level four Emperors there, but the level four Emperors are all leaders of their own Empire. I’m uncertain if they would be willing to stay at the front lines with their status."

Styr continued pacing. "But if they aren’t ready to station themselves at the frontlines, a random level four Emperor could take out all four of the core defensive lines. If that happens, we will lose half of our Elders, which would result in the weakening of our Empire."

"What’s the problem?" Gravis asked with a raised eyebrow. "As long as you and Azure are still here, the Empire won’t fall. Do the lives of the Elders even matter?"

Styr smiled bitterly. "Gravis, managing an Empire is different from managing a Tribe," he said with a teaching tone. "An Empire is not only there to serve as a springboard for the Emperor. We are all in this together, and if the Empire grows more powerful, the Emperor will grow more powerful with it."

"Putting my own goals above the good of the Empire would result in a short-term power gain, but it would cut off the long-term power gain. We require powerful beasts to keep the Kingdoms in check and to resolve problems that they can’t resolve themselves."

"In exchange, we receive the rights for their Law Comprehension Areas. With fewer Elders, the Empire would be less powerful, and for safety reasons, some Kingdoms might defect to another Empire. As soon as the Kingdoms see that the Empire has taken a large hit, they might suspect that the Empire would soon fall."

"The Empire, obviously, won’t fall since Azure and I are still here, but that doesn’t matter. The Kingdoms believe what they want to believe and will act upon that belief."

"If the Kingdoms defect to other Empires, we will lose access to valuable Law Comprehension Areas. Among these Law Comprehension Areas will be areas that several Elders are very interested in. When they see that they no longer have access to such a fitting area, they might also defect to other Empires. In the end, we will only have a handful of Elders left with nearly no Law Comprehension Areas."

"Remember, Gravis," Styr said. "When you cultivate, the image others have towards you is unimportant, but if you want to create and maintain a large force, your image becomes very important."

"Cultivation relies on yourself, while an Empire relies on others. If you build a force with the philosophy of cultivation, it will break apart very quickly," Styr explained.

Gravis listened intently. Most of the time, he knew a lot of the concepts that others talked about, but this time, he had learned something new. Styr’s teachings resonated with him as he thought back to the River Tribe.

Styr was right.

If a Cultivator had a lower Realm than an opponent, the opponent often wouldn’t be interested in them. Yet, land and resources would always be valuable, even for more powerful forces. If Gravis had been alone and had killed so many Tribes back then by himself, no level four Lord would have ever paid him a visit. After all, Gravis had nothing of value.

Yet, since his Tribe had been the aggressor, multiple level four Lords had arrived back then, dooming the entire Tribe.

’I have led my Tribe incorrectly,’ Gravis thought. ’I have done exactly what Styr had said I shouldn’t do. I have pushed the Tribe to its absolute limit until it broke apart. In just a short while, the whole Tribe became incredibly powerful for our area, but it also broke apart very quickly.

Gravis bowed politely. "Thank you, Styr," Gravis said.

Styr only chuckled slightly. "Your exotic conduct is truly refreshing, Gravis. I presume that you intend to leave the camp of the land beasts since you referred to me with my name?" he asked.

Gravis nodded. "Yes, but before I leave, I would like to request something from you. Of course, if it’s too much to ask, I will repay you."

Styr only smiled as he looked at the horizon. "I presume you want to go through another session of will-tempering, right?" he asked.

Gravis nodded.

Styr turned back as he smiled at Gravis. "Your wisdom has allowed me to become more powerful. Making you more powerful in return comes naturally. You don’t need to worry about repaying the Empire. After all, it is us that should repay you."

"Remember this, Gravis," Styr said as he walked closer. "If Azure or I had killed you back then to get your secrets of how you were able to understand a level three Law as a Lord, both of us wouldn’t be as powerful as we are today."

"We might have been able to find something valuable in your head with some Laws regarding the mind, but that would have only given us the knowledge that you have had back then. Ever since then, you have learned a lot more and have grown wiser. The things you have told us voluntarily are already worth more than what we could have found back then in your head by force."

"This is what I mean. Don’t chase short-term gain by sacrificing long-term gain. If you ever decide to create another power, remember my words," Styr said as he put his hands on Gravis’ shoulder.

Gravis nodded. "I will remember your words."

Styr smiled. "Alright, then let’s start with your will-tempering. I will immediately start with 30%. Is that alright with you?"

"Go," Gravis said with icy eyes.

Then, Gravis fell into an abyss of pain again as his body started to get torn apart again.

Azure continued talking to Styr as they planned the future actions of the Empire while Morus simply continued standing behind Gravis in respect.

He had always been behind Gravis in silence. It was not the place of a servant to speak when their master was speaking.

Chapter 608 - 608 – Going Into Seclusion

Twenty years passed.

Gravis spent all of his time in incredible pain as he pushed his Will-Aura as far as it could go. Styr sat on his throne while Gravis stood beside him with Styr’s hand on his shoulder.

As the days passed by, more and more reports from the defensive lines reached Styr. Just as expected, the sea beasts were going wild. After all, it was far easier for them to take more territories than for the land beasts.

But weren’t there more land beasts? Why was it easier for the sea beasts to claim more territory?

The reason for that was their smaller territory. The most powerful beasts in the sea beast camp lived much closer to each other than the land beasts. If a level four Emperor of the land beasts arrived to claim a territory, another level four Emperor from the sea beasts would also quickly arrive, and with them, probably several others as well.

Emperors were wise and experienced, and the land beast Emperors knew that such a situation would occur, which was why they followed a different tactic. Instead of taking the initiative to attack the sea beasts, they kept a lot of their powerful forces hidden behind the defensive lines to catch a valuable opponent off-guard.

Sadly, there was a problem.

The sea beasts had Orthar.

Under Orthar’s command, the sea beasts seemingly only attacked the defensive lines that had no powerful backing, and if they attacked such a defensive line, the sea beast would have an even more powerful backing following them.

More than one level four Emperor had already died from the land beasts’ camp while only a single one died for the sea beasts. The sea beasts were definitely winning the war.

Gravis was mostly busy trying not to die, but he could still pay some attention to the reports of others. When Gravis heard the devastating news of the war, he asked Styr where his children currently were.

Styr told him that his children were currently inside some Law Comprehension Areas since they had earned enough contribution points. For the next 70 years, they wouldn’t join the frontlines.

After Gravis heard that, he released a sigh of relief. His cultivation was important, but his children were just as important to him. As Kings, fighting in such a chaotic war would be incredibly dangerous.

Tempering was one thing, but the biggest battles were between powerful Emperors. Any of his three kids could die without having a chance to even fight back. This would not be a good death for a Cultivator or beast.

Yet, Gravis was actually worrying over nothing because there was something he didn’t know about.

This thing was also Orthar.

Orthar had already ordered every sea beast that if they saw any of Gravis’ three children, they were not allowed to attack them as long as the sea beast was three or more levels above them. If one of Gravis’ children died in tempering, there would be no problem, but if they died without being able to fight back, there would be issues.

The first reason was that Gravis was Orthar’s friend. Orthar didn’t care much for others, but he cared for Gravis, and he also knew Gravis’ personality. Just because Orthar didn’t care about his offspring didn’t mean that Gravis also didn’t. If Orthar was responsible for the death of one of Gravis’ children, their relationship would sour. There was even a possibility that Gravis might kill Orthar.

The second reason was Gravis himself. Orthar was sure that Gravis could accept it if one of his children died in tempering, but if he judged a death to be unfair, the sea beasts would have a massive problem on their hands.

Gravis had continually informed Orthar about everything that was happening, including his plans of fighting a beast four levels above himself. Right now, Gravis had a slight chance against a level three Emperor.

That, by itself, wouldn’t be so bad. Yet, Orthar knew that Gravis could simply hunt down a random level two Emperor and become an Emperor himself. At that point, Gravis could annihilate any level four Emperor with but a mere thought.

At that point, Gravis would become the most powerful beast allowed to participate in the war. Gravis would probably kill the killer of his children and even the Commander above them that gave the order.

In the end, it would be like exchanging the life of an enemy King for one of their level four Emperors. Not even an idiot would accept such a trade. So, even if Orthar weren’t Gravis’ friend, he would still give the same order. Angering Gravis would cost them far too much.

Killing Gravis would also be stupid. The sea beasts would need to send, at least, a level four Emperor to ensure success, and if they succeeded, what then? Their level four Emperor would have gone so far into enemy territory that they likely wouldn’t return alive.

In the end, the sea beasts would have sacrificed the life of a level four Emperor for the life of someone that didn’t even involve himself in the war. They would gain literally nothing.

Gravis no longer counted as a King. Right now, Gravis counted as a level two Emperor Ascender. "Give him some food and wait for him to go." That was the policy that the beasts had towards Ascenders.

Lastly, Gravis was also good friends with Meadow. Meadow likely wouldn’t involve herself if Gravis died, but one never knew. Even a 1% chance was already far too high. Angering Meadow would be the worst thing the sea beasts could do.

Because of all these reasons, Gravis actually didn’t have to worry about his children. They were safer than any Emperor or King in the world.

Of course, they could still die to tempering, but that was normal.

Some years after Gravis started his will-tempering, he heard the news from some spies that one of their medium-tier defensive lines would be attacked soon. Such defensive lines were generally protected by level four and level five Kings.

Yet, when Gravis heard that, he got an idea. He knew Orthar, and he was sure that the land beasts had been fed this piece of intelligence on purpose. Either absolutely no one would attack, or an Emperor would attack.

So, Gravis ordered Morus to help the defensive line.

Gravis didn’t do that because of his allegiance to the land beasts but because of Morus. Morus was Gravis’ servant, and the more powerful Morus was, the better. In the best-case scenario, Morus would be an Immortal when Gravis returned to his homeworld.

Gravis already had several plans for his return, and a servant would do wonders.

Morus quickly left to help the defensive line, and after some months, he returned.

Morus was still a level one Emperor, but he had managed to comprehend an additional level two Law. Morus hadn’t been in the middle of the Ultimate’s Meet, but since he had been Gravis’ servant, he had been allowed to watch from a distance, together with the level four Emperors.

During that time, he had accumulated a lot of knowledge, which broke through after an intense fight against two level one Emperors.

Yes, the sea beasts had sent not one but two Emperors. If Morus hadn’t managed to comprehend his new level two Law, he wouldn’t have returned.

The same scenario repeated itself a couple more times in the years, and sooner than later, Morus had become a level two Emperor. Right now, with Morus having comprehended two level two Laws, he was above-average for a level two Emperor. He was still not as powerful as Gravis, but he was close behind him, as it should be.

The rewards for the victories went to the Icy Pride Empire. After all, it was the Icy Pride Empire that had sent an Emperor and managed to win the battles. This gave the Icy Pride Empire some advantages, and Styr was happy with the development.

"See? Even now, helping you has already helped our Empire," Styr said, giving Gravis another example of how Styr’s seemingly selfless help had ended up helping him as well.

As Gravis stayed at the Mountain of Pride, he learned a lot about leadership. Styr was a brilliant ruler and managed to keep the Icy Pride Empire afloat in such chaotic times where one Empire after the other fell to the sea beasts.

As other Empires fell, the Icy Pride Empire received more powerful refugees and territories. In just 20 years, the number of elders had shot up by 50%!

After twenty years, Gravis stopped his will-tempering.

’Right now, my Will-Aura should be as powerful as the one of an Immortal. Yet, I haven’t felt a barrier. This probably means that my current Will-Aura won’t have a significant change until it reaches the power of an Immortal King.’

Gravis sighed. ’Sadly, I have reached the end of my easy will-tempering. Styr won’t become a level four Emperor for a long while, and I have also reached the maximum I can achieve with my current Realm. Even my next tempering experience won’t increase my will as long as I don’t increase my Realm first.’

"Thank you for your help, Styr," Gravis said politely.

"Don’t worry about it, Gravis," Styr said with a chuckle, amused at Gravis’ weird conduct. "You should follow your path and comprehend as many Laws as you can. When you are done, visit us. Maybe, when you return, the world will have changed immensely."

Gravis also smiled. "I will," he said.

Then, Gravis floated upwards and looked one last time at Styr and Azure. "Take care, you two. I don’t know when I will return to the outside world, but I hope that both of you are still alive then."

Azure nodded. "I will also temper myself. Your mindset has infected me, and I’m willing to risk my life to become more powerful. Maybe, before you return to the outside world, Styr and I have already become Ascenders. If that happens, we will pay you a visit before we leave."

Gravis smiled and nodded too. "I wish you the best."

"Take care," Azure said.

After that, Gravis left towards the core of the world. He would remain at the very core, where only the Ultimates and Meadow lived. No other beast was worthy of staying there, but Gravis had proven his worth.

And if the Lightning Ultimate disagreed?

Well, then Gravis would just kill him.

Chapter 609 - 609 – Living World, Dead World

Gravis left the world behind as he flew into the center of the world, the area where the Grand Lake was located.

As he continued flying, he looked at everything around him. He passed over several Empires as he saw the beasts getting ready for war. The entire feeling of the world had changed.

Before the Ultimate’s Meet, the world emanated a feeling of opportunity. It felt like a lot of beasts tried to reach for supreme power as they all wanted to increase their power. Additionally, there had been no urgency in regards to the sea beasts before the Ultimate’s Meet.

Now, the feeling had changed to one of nervousness and uncertainty. The goal of most beasts had shifted from reaching supreme power to trying to survive. The land beasts had never been under a real threat from the sea beasts. Lords might not have known that, but most Kings knew about the truth.

But now, everyone knew that they could actually die. A lot of the land beasts, which hadn’t been willing to fight on the front lines, felt overwhelmed with fear and stress. They had intended to become powerful by doing odd jobs, like escorting weaker beasts, breeding powerful offspring, teaching battle tactics, or just wanting to stay alive.

They never had to fear the sea beasts since the sea beasts would never be able to extend their reach that far into the land beasts’ territory. Yet, everything had changed. Now, even these beasts needed to fear for their lives.

Gravis noticed all of these subtle things with his Spirit and shook his head.

Was it fair? Was it fair that someone that didn’t want to fight had to fight to survive?

No.

Yet, what could one do about it?

If it was fair or not didn’t matter. The truth was the truth. Sometimes, the truth was very unfair and cold. If these beasts from the lower worlds had remained in the lower worlds, most of them could have lived their lives out in peace. After all, the lower world didn’t have as many beasts willing to sacrifice nearly everything for their own power.

In comparison to the beasts from the lower worlds, the beasts that had been born into this middle world had it worse. They never even had a chance to choose. The Kings and the Emperors wanted to become more powerful, and to achieve their goal, they needed other, just as powerful beasts, and to get these beasts, there had to be war.

The only way to distance oneself from this uncertain conflict was to flee to the vast ocean. Yet, in the vast ocean, the Lords and Kings wouldn’t find any other beasts they could talk to or mate with. Sure, a powerful Lord could get all the mates they wanted there, but mating with Spirit Beasts felt beneath them. After all, most Spirit Beasts couldn’t even transmit concepts with clarity.

Even though, from a human standpoint, beasts would appear to be the same thing as animals, this actually couldn’t be further from the truth. Starting at the Unity Realm, all beasts were smart enough to plan, share concepts, share experiences, and learn from each other.

Because of the absence of this ability for weaker beasts, every Lord or more powerful looked at these beasts like they were animals. Just like a normal human had no intention to mate with a dog, a Lord or more powerful also had no intention to mate with a Spirit beast or weaker.

So, as everyone was confronted with their choice, nearly all of them had decided to remain. It was either a lonely life of solitude or an uncertain life in company. The feeling of company came together with intellect since a being learned by exchanging concepts with other intelligent beings. If one were not in contact with other intelligent beings, one wouldn’t be able to learn much. It was basically a survival instinct.

The fact that the whole world was filled to the brim with Tribes, Kingdoms, and Empires showed how much beasts valued company and a place they could call home.

Gravis noticed all of these changes and mindsets and felt bitter. It wasn’t that he felt for these beasts, but that he felt like he had to say goodbye to the world that he knew. Gravis had no idea how long he would stay in the core of the world. It could be a hundred years or several hundred years.

Right now, the world was on the cusp of changing. Territories would shift, Empires would fall, new Empires would rise, and the mindset of the land beasts would change.

If nothing of this happened, Gravis wouldn’t have felt so forlorn. The world would remain the same.

Yet, being absent for the most significant change and not being there to witness it, felt like this was the last time Gravis would see the world he had been part of for hundreds of years.

By now, Gravis was around 220 years old, and he had come to this world when he had been just 23. This meant that he had been in this world for nearly 90% of his entire life.

Gravis knew that the world he would return to would not be the same world he had left behind. Only the core of the world would remain the same.

The Ultimates would not fight, and the Grand Lake wouldn’t undergo any changes. After all, this was the territory of the Ultimates. Not being allowed to interfere in the war didn’t mean that they had to keel over and die if someone attacked their property.

Gravis arrived at the Grand Lake and looked around.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Every beast was used to the constant background noise of weaker beasts fighting. Every Tribe, Kingdom, and Empire had an insane amount of weaker beasts living in their territories. The Lords and more powerful simply didn’t interact with these beasts.

Just like a human didn’t consciously take note of ants along a walkway, the Lords, Kings, and Empires didn’t take note of the weaker beasts. They simply existed in their territories and did their thing. These weaker beasts lived in the same space as the more powerful beasts, but they didn’t live in the same world, metaphorically speaking.

The absence of the constant noise of weaker beasts scuttling around, fighting, mating, shouting, roaring, and all other stuff, elicited a weird feeling of alienation from Gravis. The last time he had been here, everything had been filled with Kings and Emperors that wanted to comprehend Laws.

Now, there was silence.

This was the first time Gravis had been truly alone in about 200 years. The last time this had happened was when he had disbanded the River Tribe. After that, he had stayed with the Red King, Azure, Styr, Ferris, Meadow, and his children. There had always been at least one being Gravis knew and could talk with, even if one of them couldn’t be considered a friend.

Gravis took a deep breath as he took in the feeling of the silent atmosphere.

"This is a living world. Yet, this feels like a dead world," Gravis said to himself.

Seconds in silence passed as Gravis lingered on his words.

There was no response.

Only silence.

Chapter 610 - 610 – I Don't Know

Gravis spent several hours in silence as he just took the atmosphere in. To him, it felt abnormal that he only heard the sound of the wind. Of course, there was still the sound of some small insects moving around, but that couldn’t be compared to huge beasts constantly clashing. The quiet sound of nature felt strange to him.

Many humans loved to go into nature and just stay there in silence, but it was a different thing if someone lived basically their entire life with a constant background noise of excitement and bloodshed. Even though the quiet sound of nature showed life in its most basic form, in comparison to the normal world, it felt dead.

The complexity of life had regressed and returned to its basic components here. Gravis couldn’t even see any Demonic Beasts. The only things he saw were some weak, mortal animals and mortal plants.

One would think that this didn’t sound logical. After all, weren’t beasts drawn to areas with more Energy? So, shouldn’t there be a ton of beasts here?

Yet, if one thought that, they hadn’t considered the broader picture and history of this world. In areas with more Energy, more powerful beasts would live. Living besides these powerful beasts would be a sure death sentence. Just the careless movement of the Lightning Ultimate going for a stroll would create shockwaves that would tear everything apart in a huge area.

So, then why were there mortal plants and mortal animals?

The reason for that was instinct that had been created over millions of years. The most powerful beasts had always lived here since this was the place with the most Energy. These powerful Ultimates wouldn’t allow other Emperors to stay in their territories. Kings and Lords also weren’t allowed to stay here.

Yet, after millions of years of beasts living here and dying out of carelessness, an instinct had been created unknowingly inside them. This instinct told them that an area was dangerous if they could see no powerful Lords, Kings, or Emperors.

To Demonic Beasts, Energy Beasts, and Spirit Beasts, beasts of the three higher Realms felt like Gods. These godlike existences were more powerful than these weak beasts by far. Yet, even these godlike existences didn’t dare to stay here.

Thus, the weaker beasts that were still strongly influenced by their instincts felt scared and nervous when they didn’t see any kind of powerful God occasionally. This meant that something even more powerful than a God resided here. Therefore, living here was dangerous.

The weaker beasts didn’t realize this fact consciously but subconsciously. It was their instinct that activated a fear response inside them and made them avoid this area.

The mortal animals didn’t have this instinct. The mortal animals were so fragile that it was incredibly dangerous and challenging for them to live in any area with beasts roaming around. Therefore, the death rate of these mortal animals wasn’t as high here as outside. Because of that, the reverse happened. The mortal animals here had developed an instinct that told them to avoid the outside.

Thus, a mortal paradise had formed in the core of the world, which was the best area for beasts to reside. It was quite contradictory in nature.

’Or maybe I’m just overthinking things,’ Gravis thought. ’Maybe there are no beasts because the Ultimates methodically eradicate every beast in their area. Honestly, I don’t know.’

’First, I should get used to this new area. As long as I forget the outside world, I can comprehend more about my Laws. Maybe being in tune with basic nature will help me in my comprehension.’

Yet, Gravis felt nervous when he had that thought.

’But if I forget the outside world, will I stay the same when I return? I know that I will always be me, no matter how much I change, but is this a change I am willing to make?’ Gravis thought.

’The outside world is stressful and full of bloodshed. Beasts die, and I am in constant danger. The times when I didn’t feel like I was in danger only felt like this in relation to the normal, elevated feeling of danger I feel constantly. There is always a possibility that some powerful Emperor kills me without being able to react.’

’Now, in this place, there’s truly nothing. No Emperor would dare to attack me due to my relationship with Meadow. In this place, the only thing that can kill me is myself.’

’If I forget the outside world and get used to this harmonious silence without any danger, I might lose my drive. This peaceful world doesn’t make me feel rage, helplessness, frustration, fear, suppression, or anything else, but aren’t these the exact feelings that drive me forward?’

’If I don’t feel these generally accepted negative feelings, will I still have something that drives me forward? After hundreds of years of quiet peace, will I still have the heart to risk my life for tempering?’

’I don’t fear that staying here will kill me, but that staying here is too good. If I become happy here, I won’t see a reason to continue cultivating. I have already stayed in this world for around 90% of my life. This world feels more like home than my actual home.’

Gravis looked towards the sky in silence.

’I don’t remember father’s voice.’

’It has been so incredibly long. I don’t remember my father’s voice. I don’t remember mom’s voice. I only have a weird inkling of how my father’s face looks like. Same thing for mom.’

’I don’t remember how Orpheus looks or sounds. I remember how humans act, but by now, their conduct also feels distant. I am so used to how beasts act that it would feel weird to be among humans again.’

’Is this what you meant, mom?’ Gravis thought. ’Back then, you have seen that I have grown distant to you because of only seven years apart. Back then, I felt like the person I have met was different from the person I have left behind, even though you have not changed at all. After all, for you, only a couple of days had passed.’

’My perception and growth have changed me, making me see people I have known previously differently to before.’

Gravis looked to the ground.

’In the lower world, I could still vividly remember all your faces and voices. I still felt a connection.’

’But now, I feel nothing. I feel like I should love and long for your company, father, mom, but it just isn’t there. I should be excited to return home, but I’m just not.’

’The highest world feels like an alien world. I have only seen parts of the city and the outside of the city, but I basically know nearly nothing else about my homeworld. Is the highest world truly my home?’

’I don’t know anymore,’ Gravis thought.

’In this world, I have my children, Azure, Ferris, Orthar, and Styr. In my homeworld, I have father, mother, and Orpheus.’

Several minutes in silence passed.

’I don’t know,’ Gravis thought in confusion, alienation, and pain.

Then, a long period of silence passed as the unchanging world continued existing.

Hours passed.

Nothing changed.

There was just silence.

Peace and quiet.

A world without worries, a world without danger.

Nothing.