Ch. 751..760

Chapter 751 - 751 – Isolated Family

No one noticed that Gravis had gone. Even if there had been an Immortal King watching over him, they wouldn’t even have realized that he had left. It was like reality had been changed as if Gravis had never been there, to begin with.

SHING!

Gravis reappeared at a different spot, and he immediately felt some vertigo as his body shook a little bit. ’Shit! The sensation of spatial displacement has never been this intense before. This probably means that I have teleported an insanely long distance.’

"Welcome, Senior Brother!" the excited voice of a kid appeared.

Gravis shook his head a bit to regain his bearings as he looked at the speaker.

It was a ten-year-old boy in the Spirit Forming Realm. He looked excited like a little kid as he looked at Gravis with widely opened eyes.

"Oh, sorry," Gravis said. "I’m not your Senior Brother."

"You’re not?" the young boy asked with shock. "But you are here. Everyone is part of my family here!"

Gravis looked around and noticed that the boy was not the only person here.

Around a hundred different people were all looking at Gravis with different expressions. Most of them looked at him with excitement and shock, but the more powerful ones had different expressions.

The young and weak beings looked at Gravis with wonder and excitement, while the older and more powerful ones looked at him with a bit of confusion, hesitation, and skepticism.

Beings?

Yes, there were not only humans here. Gravis could also see that there were a lot of young beasts. Normal humans might not be able to see the subtle differences of age among beasts, but Gravis had lived among beasts for over a thousand years. He could tell that a lot of them were very young.

"Why have you come here?" an Early Minor Circulation Immortal King asked Gravis with furrowed brows. Yes, even Immortal Kings were here. There were even several beings with powers so great that Gravis couldn’t even judge their power.

Immortal Kings and Immortal Emperors were experienced enough to feel the subtle differences between Gravis and the normal new members of their family.

The new members always radiated a subtle feeling of isolation.

Gravis radiated a feeling of mature harmony with the world, which meant that he was relatively secure in his life without any significant emotional problems.

The new members always had slightly more powerful Will-Auras than normal, but Gravis’ Will-Aura was just far too powerful. Someone with such an insanely powerful Will-Aura for their Realm would not join their family. Someone like that could easily take care of themselves and would count as a valuable genius among the outside world.

The new members always had average or slightly above average Battle-Strength.

However, the experienced eyes of the Immortal Kings could discern Gravis’ Battle-Strength.

His Battle-Strength was so unreal that it bordered on a parody or a lie. It easily broke through any kind of common convention.

In short, Gravis stuck out like a sore thumb to all of the Immortal Kings.

Gravis was the complete opposite of what their teacher looked for in new members.

Gravis looked at the Immortal King and scratched the back of his head. "I’m not really sure myself. Some blonde Immortal Emperor gave me an emblem. Apparently, someone he calls teacher wants to speak to me. However, the Immortal Emperor made it very clear that I would not join your... Sect? Family? Power? Organization? I don’t know, really."

The Immortal King’s eyes widened as she looked at Gravis with surprise. "You have met Eldest Brother?" she asked.

"I don’t know his name," Gravis said. "He didn’t really introduce himself."

The children were a bit confused. Someone had come here that wouldn’t be part of their family? Something like this was possible?

The Immortal King still looked with skepticism at Gravis, but suddenly, her eyes twinkled for a brief moment. Then, she started smiling and bowed in politeness. "Excuse me for my rudeness. Teacher has just contacted me and told me that I should bring you to him."

Gravis nodded. "No problem. Thank you," he said.

"Nothing to thank," she said with a smile. Then, she gestured in a certain direction. "Please follow me."

"Sure," Gravis said.

Gravis started following her, but not before he found out several details based on context clues.

First of all, the children were very confused when he said that he wasn’t part of their family. This meant that no one entered here that wasn’t part of the family. Something like this seemed normal and obvious, but when one thought about something else, one would find out something strange.

Did these people all not have any kind of family or friends outside this "family" here? If they had, wouldn’t these friends and families visit from time to time, making the appearance of someone not from the "family" normal?

This meant that these people were either shut off from the outside world or weren’t allowed to meet their close ones in this place.

Another thing that Gravis noticed was the beasts. Based on how the people Gravis had met before in this world had talked, Gravis was pretty certain that beasts and humans weren’t fond of each other. There might even be a war between them to promote tempering.

Yet, in here, beasts and humans talked to each other like they were not different. This might not be unusual in the highest world, but in this world where humans were not fond of beasts? Unusual.

Another thing Gravis found intriguing was the reaction of everyone when the Eldest Brother and the teacher were brought up.

Everyone had an expression of reverence and respect on their faces when they heard about their Eldest Brother.

Yet, when this Immortal King told Gravis that their teacher had contacted her, how had everyone reacted?

Nothing.

It was like their teacher was just the most normal person out there, like they met every single day. The teacher was obviously more powerful than this Eldest Brother, but the Eldest Brother commanded far more respect and worship than the teacher. This was also unusual.

’It’s like the difference between parents and an older sibling,’ Gravis thought. ’The parents are always present, but the older sibling only returns rarely. The parents might be more impressive than the older sibling, but due to them constantly being present, the children don’t realize the importance of their parents.’

Another interesting thing was the area Gravis was currently in.

Gravis was in the middle of a clearing in a forest. There were no buildings at all, not even benches or stools. It was like everyone lived in the wilds.

’Yet, the young kids and teenagers seem to take this as normal. I’m certain that they have seen houses and buildings before, but they don’t mind living here. If they frequented the outside world, they would want to create some benches for themselves or something similar. Yet, they don’t.’

’This probably means that they either aren’t allowed to build anything or aren’t in contact with the outside world at all. I’m pretty sure it’s a bit of both of them. The weaker ones probably remain here until they reach a certain power, getting used to the environment. Then, when they go to the outside world and return, they are probably not allowed to build any kind of building in order to not corrupt the other young ones.’

’Not living in buildings probably makes people more receptive to nature, making them feel closer to the weather and the elements. Having them live like this will probably make it far easier for them to comprehend Laws in the future.’

’On top of that, the younger ones didn’t doubt my words for a second. It was like they had never been confronted with deceit or lies. They also radiate a certain aura of purity. It’s like they haven’t been touched by the deceit of man.’

Gravis was an Immortal, and his thoughts were incredibly fast. He found out all of these things after not even taking his first step.

Gravis and the Immortal King walked for a couple of minutes at the speed of mortals. Gravis was unused to walking this slowly, and in his boredom, he looked around some more.

He saw a lot of animals and weaker beasts living near the clearing, but no beast could enter. There was probably some kind of Formation Array keeping them away.

Gravis also looked at the trees and animals some more but grew bored very quickly. After that, he simply continued following the Immortal King.

"Are you so used to the luxuries of humankind that you can’t see the beauty of nature?" the Immortal King asked. She didn’t sound arrogant but sad. It was like she pitied Gravis.

"No, that’s not it," Gravis said as he crossed his arms behind his head in boredom. "It’s just that I already know all the Laws I can see here. It’s gotten boring."

The eyes of the Immortal King opened wide in shock as she turned to Gravis, who only looked back at her with his usual, emotionless look.

After looking at Gravis for some seconds, she sighed and continued walking. "You really don’t fit our family at all."

With her experienced eyes, she was able to see that Gravis was telling the truth, even without Gravis needing to activate his Law of Honesty.

Knowing all the Laws surrounding them meant that Gravis knew a ton about the elements and life. A complex forest full of life, movement, water, earth, wind, trees, animals, and everything else that created this world held no new information for him.

Such an insane Law Comprehension as an Immortal was far from usual.

They walked for about 20 more minutes until the Immortal King stopped.

"Teacher is currently teaching some of my Unity Realm siblings about the general concepts of understanding Laws. I’m sure you can wait until they are done," she said.

Yet, Gravis didn’t look at her.

He didn’t even hear her.

Gravis’ Spirit had always been spread out, and he had already noticed that a lot of Unity Realm Cultivators and beasts sat at one spot, looking in the same direction. Yet, his Spirit had not been able to see the thing they were looking at.

But now, after Gravis came close enough to see the congregation with his own eyes, he saw the "teacher".

Gravis’ brain almost stopped working as he saw this teacher.

How?

Why?

A ton of questions went through Gravis’ mind as he tried to understand what he was seeing. How could this even be possible!?

In front of the students, Gravis saw a man.

He looked like he was in his early twenties and had long blonde hair.

And he had five eyes.

Chapter 752 - 752 – Arc

Gravis’ mind was going wild as he saw the "teacher".

What teacher?

This was definitely the higher Heaven!

He looked far too much like the middle Heaven, except for the two differences that he definitely looked like a he and not a "they", and that he had five eyes instead of seven.

However, the more Gravis thought about this, the less sure he became. Orthar had also looked like a Heaven, and he certainly was an octopus, not a Heaven. Additionally, if this were the higher Heaven, he would be breaking so many rules by being here.

First of all, he directly came into contact with the beings in this world and even taught them things personally. Second of all, he was directly communicating with them.

Would the highest Heaven allow something like this?

Gravis listened in on the lesson the teacher taught and realized that it was only about how to perceive Laws. He explained that there were many ways one could use to understand Laws. They could try to resonate with a Law, which was how the people in the Unrestrained Sect cultivated. However, he also explained that they could understand Laws by understanding and looking at them.

He didn’t teach them any specifics about Laws and only showed them how they could concentrate on comprehending Laws. Something like this wasn’t damaging to one’s path, and Gravis sure would have benefited from such a lecture back when he entered the middle world.

The teacher wrapped the session up in about ten more minutes, and the Cultivators left. The relatively younger Cultivators shot off like they were finally free from some boring lecture, while the older ones had fallen into thought.

The beasts and humans passed Gravis, throwing curious glances at him.

The teacher straightened his back like he felt stiff. Then, he looked at Gravis and smiled in a friendly manner.

"Hello, Gravis," he said.

All of Gravis’ doubts vanished as he heard the teacher directly address him. To normal Cultivators, he would sound just like a normal guy, but Gravis had talked with the middle Heaven for a long while.

This was definitely the higher Heaven!

Gravis hadn’t noticed before since he hadn’t directly addressed Gravis, but he had the same kind of resonance with the world that the middle Heaven had.

Gravis narrowed his eyes. "I’m pretty sure what you’re doing is against the rules," he said.

The higher Heaven’s smile widened in amusement as the Immortal King beside Gravis got confused. Rules? What kind of rules?

"Samantha, would you be so kind as to go back to the others?" the higher Heaven said. "I want to talk to him alone."

Samantha nodded. "Sure," she said with a slight bow. Then, she threw one last glance at Gravis and left.

Silence returned to the clearing as only Gravis and the higher Heaven remained.

"What do you want?" Gravis asked with an apparent distaste in his voice.

The higher Heaven only laughed in a friendly manner.

"Hasn’t Matthew told you?" he asked as he walked over to a big lake. The lake wasn’t really huge for Immortal standards, but it was a couple of kilometers long.

"He said you wanted to talk to me," Gravis said, obviously realizing that Matthew referred to that one Eldest Brother.

"And that’s exactly what I want. I just want to talk," the higher Heaven said. After arriving at the lake, he sat down and put his feet in the water in relaxation.

"And what do you want to talk about?" Gravis asked, not closing the distance.

"Anything," he said.

"Anything?" Gravis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, anything," the higher Heaven confirmed. "It’s rare that I get to talk to someone not from my world. Additionally, we have an entwined destiny."

"Our fight, yes?" Gravis asked.

The higher Heaven nodded. "Yes, sadly."

"Sadly?" Gravis asked in skepticism. "This would be a first for me. Every other Heaven I met almost couldn’t wait to smash my face in."

"Well, us Heavens are just as diverse as people," he said. "We all search for our purpose in life, and when we can’t find an external purpose in life, we desperately search for another one."

"I have seen your past, Gravis, and I have to say that you really met the most extreme examples of my so-called siblings," he said, the word siblings sounding very distasteful.

"That lower Heaven you met realized that they could never become more powerful again. Therefore, they decided to find a purpose in their life by feeling superior. Like a child that has been handed supreme power, they have suppressed everyone and wanted everyone to worship them."

"That middle Heaven realized the same thing. Yet, instead of searching for a purpose in superiority, they made my creator their purpose. In short, they were living for someone else," he explained.

Gravis was surprised by several things. First of all, the higher Heaven said the word siblings like he hated that word. However, his distaste for the word creator was manifold greater.

Every other Heaven had called the highest Heaven father or ancestor, but this one referred to the highest Heaven as creator, a term that was much more distant and sterile than ancestor.

"And what is your purpose?" Gravis asked, less distant now. He had automatically judged this Heaven based on his interactions with the other two, which might have been a mistake.

"Can’t you see?" he said, raising his right arm as his back was still turned to Gravis. "I like conserving talent and having beings around me."

"And I should believe that?" Gravis asked skeptically.

"Why not?" the higher Heaven said with a smile. "I dislike it when talented beings with a great mindset for cultivation get destroyed because of circumstances outside their control. So, I take them to me and give them a family and a teacher."

"And why would you do that?" Gravis asked again.

"Gravis," the higher Heaven said with a slight chuckle. "You and I both know freedom. You should know why I would do this."

"Because you want to," Gravis said.

"Exactly," the higher Heaven said as he leaned back, his feet still dangling in the water.

"And that’s also why you want to talk to me," Gravis added.

"Yes," the higher Heaven confirmed. "I just want to talk to you, talk to someone from the highest world and hear their thoughts."

"You know how the world works. You have met a lot of other Heavens. You know about my creator. You know about the Brand."

Suddenly, the higher Heaven looked at the sky with an arrogant smirk. "Oh, you didn’t like that, did you?" he asked. "Don’t like me talking about your cowardly control scheme, do you?"

Gravis was taken aback as he looked at this higher Heaven. Talking about the Brand was no joke! The higher Heaven was directly defying the highest Heaven right in front of him. In actuality, as Gravis watched the higher Heaven speak to the highest Heaven like this, he got reminded of himself.

Was this how Gravis looked to everyone else when he seemingly spoke into empty space, addressing some kind of supreme power?

Gravis actually got interested in this higher Heaven. This one definitely seemed way different than he had anticipated.

When Gravis heard about the insane power of the highest Heaven’s firstborn, he had imagined some aloof being that saw everything beneath it.

Yet, here he was, speaking to Gravis casually, teaching some homeless children, and even touching the highest Heaven’s greatest taboo, the Brand.

For the first time, Gravis knew how others felt when he addressed Heaven in a disrespectful manner. Ironically, doing it himself felt not as scary as seeing someone else do it.

"How are you still alive?" Gravis asked.

"Because I’m doing a great job," the higher Heaven said. "I’m not promoting tempering or anything, but a lucky set of circumstances and a lot of time has resulted in this world becoming very powerful. The Unrestrained Sect is in a relatively weaker area of my world. As soon as you exit this area, you will realize how powerful the average Cultivator is."

Gravis had already suspected something like this. This was probably one of or the most powerful higher world. Yet, the Cultivators Gravis had seen were only a bit above average, if even that.

"Why are you so openly antagonistic against your father," Gravis said.

WHOOOM!

For a short moment, Gravis felt the world freeze, but the world regained its normal state as the higher Heaven released a sigh. "Please refrain from calling him my father," the higher Heaven said.

Gravis nodded. "Sorry about that," he said.

"As for your question," the higher Heaven continued, "because I am stuck in a prison of my own design. I have been given a world of my own, but I can never leave this world. I want to see more worlds, become more powerful, be free. However, my creator doesn’t want that and forces me to stay here, imprisoned for all eternity."

"I guess he realized that I’m not following his grand plan, which is why he doesn’t want me to become even more powerful. It’s his irrational desire for total control over everything that makes him do all these things."

The higher Heaven turned around to Gravis with a smile. "And I don’t like being controlled, so I break as many rules as I want just to spite him."

"Why?" the higher Heaven asked with a smirk. "Because I want to."

"According to your vocabulary, I think it would be appropriate to say: Fuck him!" the higher Heaven said with a laugh.

Gravis also had to chuckle a bit. Gravis doubted that this was some kind of elaborate scheme to make him sympathize with this higher Heaven. Such a powerful being had confidence in his power.

So, this meant that this was probably the higher Heaven’s true personality.

Gravis walked closer and stopped beside the higher Heaven as he looked at the lake.

"How should I refer to you?" Gravis asked.

"A name is only relevant when you are in contact with other beings, which is why all other Heavens don’t have names," the higher Heaven said.

"But I’m not like the usual Heaven, so I also gave myself a name."

"My name is Arcerius, but you can call me Arc."

Chapter 753 - 753 – Background Revealed

"Nice to meet you, Arc," Gravis said with a slight smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Gravis," Arc answered with a slight laugh. "You know, you are the first being with whom I can talk openly."

Gravis nodded. "Understandable. Most beings, after they hear who you are, would automatically feel distant from you. Additionally, they don’t know how the intricacies of the worlds work and what Heavens actually are."

"Right," Arc said. "In the past, I told some people about my background, but they either didn’t believe me or distanced themselves from me. It didn’t matter how long I have known them previously. As soon as they realize that I have created the entire world, they become distant."

"By the way," Gravis said. "I never knew how you Heavens actually made worlds. How does that work?"

Arc smiled. This casual and relatively intrusive question showed that Gravis wasn’t talking to Arc like he was some supreme being.

"Depends on the level of the world," Arc said. "Lower and middle Heavens will never be able to learn enough to create a world. So, they get an already finished blueprint of a world that they can change however they want."

"As soon as life gets involved, the higher Heavens get involved and summon the kind of lifeforms that the Heaven wants. Everything else depends on them. By the way, to become a higher Heaven, you need to know the High-Tier Law of the Living World," he said.

"How do the Heavens learn the relevant Laws?" Gravis asked.

"Don’t you have a lot of questions?" Arc asked with a laugh. "But I don’t mind it. I might as well tell you how Heavens start existing and what happens between their creation and them taking over a world."

Gravis nodded. He wanted to know how all of this worked. The comprehension of Laws could probably be implanted in them, but what about their Will-Auras?

"When a higher ranked Heaven sees that they need something more of a specific resource, they often begin the creation process of a new Heaven. For example, if you were responsible for a world filled with humans, but the beast population and average power can’t oppose the humans anymore."

"You can’t just let the beasts die. That would make finding tempering far more difficult in the future. So, you create a new Heaven for a new lower-ranked natural world," Arc said.

"Wait," Gravis interrupted. "I thought the different categories of worlds don’t cross over."

"That’s true up until the higher world," Arc answered. "We still try to keep elemental and battle worlds separate, but most higher worlds require lower-ranked natural worlds to keep up with the consumption of the human population."

"The more powerful the humans become, the more powerful beasts you need, and the more powerful beasts you need, the more weaker beasts you need. So, we create a world that’s only there to create one powerful beast after the other."

"Of course, one natural world isn’t enough. We need a lot more beasts than only one natural world can provide. Additionally, the more powerful your average Cultivators are in your world, the more powerful the average beasts need to be, which needs even more beasts," Arc explained.

"What about your world?" Gravis asked.

"Well," Arc said, "I like to keep the powers of beasts and humans the same. I also allow my beasts to ascend. I don’t care which side produces more Energy. I only care about the individual and their talent. To me, a beast and a human are the same things."

Gravis nodded. "How do you accomplish that?"

"I don’t," Arc said with a smirk. "My children do this for me. I let them do whatever they want in their worlds. I’m responsible for my cluster, and I don’t force them to do anything. There are no rules they have to follow."

"No rules?" Gravis asked in surprise.

"None," Arc confirmed with a nod as he slightly tapped a fish below him with his toes. The fish quickly swam away.

"What about the highest Heaven in all of this?" Gravis asked.

"He doesn’t care about lower and middle worlds," Arc explained casually. "If I were to compare it to a company, you could say that he is the owner and us higher Heavens are the managers. He only looks at his managers and demands things. How we accomplish these things is left to our discretion."

Suddenly, Arc remembered something and laughed. "Man, you’re really good at sidetracking the conversation."

Gravis also chuckled a bit. "I’ve heard something similar before."

Gravis sat down beside Arc since he felt awkward just standing there.

"Anyway, about how Heavens come to be and such," Arc said. "Generally, when we need a new Heaven, we implant parts of ourselves in newborn beasts or humans. Then, we let them cultivate until they reach the power to ascend from a lower-ranked world than ours. They will subconsciously emulate the looks of us Heavens, and as soon as they become powerful enough, they will realize why they existed."

"They know of their purpose, and they know who they are. As soon as this happens, they know their destiny. As soon as they realize who they are, they will enter specific places to comprehend all the relevant Laws they need, except for the Lightning Law. The Lightning Law will be handed out by the higher-ranked Heaven since they wouldn’t be powerful enough to comprehend it."

"As soon as they know all the relevant Laws they need, they will be given their own blueprint of a world," Arc said as he gestured to the world. "And that’s how Heavens are born."

Gravis’ mind was going wild.

Subconsciously emulate Heaven’s looks?

Immediately know who they were and their destiny as soon as they became powerful enough to ascend?

Wasn’t this just like Orthar!?

Did this mean that Orthar was a new middle Heaven in the making? Was this why he had immediately changed and left as soon as he became an Immortal?

Arc looked at Gravis. "I see that you have made the connection," Arc said.

Gravis was a bit surprised and wanted to ask how Arc knew about Orthar, but then he remembered that the highest Heaven had shown Arc Gravis’ past.

Gravis nodded. "Was Orthar one of these Heavens?" he asked.

"Well," Arc said. "I’m not responsible for that cluster, so I can’t be sure, but from what I have seen, it looks very likely. Your friend, Orthar, was probably infused by the higher Heaven of his cluster to become another middle Heaven."

Arc scratched his chin in thought. "I think based on his personality, he will probably be responsible for a fodder world. That is a world that’s responsible for creating as many Ascenders as possible, regardless of individual quality."

Arc chuckled a bit. "Your friend’s personality is very similar to the personality of my creator, funnily enough. Your friend also has this incurable urge to control everything. Everything must go according to plan, and he hates taking many risks. Additionally, he is only interested in the result and doesn’t care about the means with which he will achieve his goal."

Gravis nodded. That really sounded like Orthar.

This revelation came as quite a shock to Gravis.

Orthar, his closest friend, was a middle Heaven now.

Gravis thought about how a world under Orthar would look like, and Gravis realized that he wouldn’t want to be born in Orthar’s world.

Everything would be controlled and micro-managed.

Individual talent would be suffocated to make way for conveyor belts filled with supremely average beasts.

Gravis had a close bond with Orthar, but in terms of ideology, Orthar was the polar opposite of Gravis.

Gravis was freedom.

Orthar was suppression.

It was sad to acknowledge, but Orthar was perfect for being a Heaven.

Chapter 754 - 754 – The Lake Is Beautiful

Gravis sighed.

It was quite a shock to him that Orthar would become a Heaven, but everything made sense now.

When Orthar said that he didn’t need his money anymore?

Of course he didn’t need his money anymore. He was about to enter this special place for Heavens where he could learn all the Laws he needed.

"What about the Will-Auras of Heavens when they are born as beasts?" Gravis asked.

"They will receive their Will-Aura as soon as they enter the special Law Comprehension Place," Arc answered. "Their soul will be turned into a Spirit, and according to their current willpower, a Will-Aura or appropriate strength will be created. Then, this Will-Aura will be strengthened by special methods."

"Special methods?" Gravis asked.

"You know, the methods that Cultivators don’t use since that would only artificially inflate the Will-Aura and would make it nearly impossible for it to become even more powerful in the future," Arc explained. "However, since Heavens don’t need to become more powerful, these methods can be used."

"And when they are humans, they will receive a beast body, right?" Gravis asked.

"Correct," Arc answered. "All Heavens have the advantages of both worlds without the disadvantages, like you."

"What about higher Heavens?" Gravis asked.

"Same thing, except that it’s my creator who implants himself in them. The only difference is that they create their own worlds instead of getting a blueprint. Obviously, not even I can create a world from scratch since my Realm isn’t high enough. That’s why the creator gives them an empty space isolated from the Chaos outside."

Gravis nodded. "I think I asked enough questions. Is there something you want to ask?"

"Not really," Arc answered with a smile. "I simply wanted to meet you and get to know you. I think you are very similar to me, but you have come from a better background."

"Better background?" Gravis asked.

"Yes," Arc answered. "Your father and my creator have about the same power, but my father doesn’t allow anyone to break free of his control, while your father inherently doesn’t control you as soon as you have decided on your future path."

"You love your father while I resent my creator," Arc added. "We are like the same being born under different circumstances."

Arc looked at Gravis deeply. "I wonder, if I had any hope of breaking free from my prison, would I feel the same drive as you? I think I would. Yet, here I am, forever stuck in this prison with no hope of escaping."

Gravis had seen what Arc had been doing before he started talking to him, and Gravis had to agree that he might have done the same thing in his shoes. Gravis was an outgoing person and liked talking to others. He also enjoyed teaching his children.

Gravis might have also decided to create this kind of family for people and beasts that went through a lot of pain in their life.

However, since Gravis had the chance of becoming far more powerful in the future, he saw no need in creating something like this. He was too preoccupied with growing more powerful.

Gravis felt pity for Arc. Arc knew freedom, which made it even more difficult for him to stay suppressed. He was free in all his actions, but he still couldn’t do everything he wanted. He could never leave, no matter what he did.

Gravis took off his shoes and also let his legs soak in the lake. If a being billions of years old could enjoy this, why couldn’t he? Might as well try.

Silence came upon the clearing as the two of them simply sat by each other’s side.

Gentle waves hit Gravis’ ankles as he felt the cool breeze of the wind. Many fish were seemingly dancing in the lake as Gravis watched them. The light of the sun reflected in the lake.

Gravis quickly got reminded of his time when he had decided to enter his first really long Law Comprehension session at the Grand Lake.

Back then, it had been just like this.

There was only silence and peace.

However, the entire feeling of this situation was different from back then due to Gravis’ growth.

Back then, Gravis felt isolated, uncertain, and the silence had felt oppressive.

Now, Gravis was stable and had no major emotional issues. He didn’t miss his home yet, and he still remembered the faces and voices of all his close ones.

This time, Gravis felt calm.

Relaxed.

At peace.

Several minutes passed in blissful silence.

"For just a little while, forget everything," Arc said with a calm voice.

"You have been running around all the time, interacting with so many beings, constantly searching for danger, or constantly trying to become more powerful."

"Right now, you don’t need money. You don’t need comprehension. You don’t need power."

"In this place, you are safe. In this place, no one will attack you."

"Just calm down, and don’t think. Take a moment of peace and just be yourself without any pressure."

Arc’s voice had a peculiar ability to touch someone’s being. He had lived for an incredible amount of time and comprehended all Emotional Laws. This gave him an impressive ability to show someone what he wants them to see with only his words.

Gravis still felt apprehensive. He hadn’t talked with Arc for long, and his mind told him that he shouldn’t trust him.

Yet, his mind also told him that Arc had no reason to do anything. His father and the highest Heaven were watching.

Gravis felt like there was a tightness in his chest. He hadn’t noticed it before since he had always distracted himself, but now he felt it.

It was like he was a string that was ready to snap.

The uncertainty of his future.

His inevitable fight with Arc.

The mountain of Laws he still had to comprehend.

His children’s future.

His friends’ safety.

Need for money.

Need for resources.

And most of all, his predicament with his lightning.

All of these things weighed upon Gravis’ mind. He always acted very casually, but bearing such an incredible weight was still difficult. Just because Gravis had gotten used to it didn’t mean that he didn’t feel it.

Gravis took a deep breath and released a long sigh.

In one moment, Gravis managed to forget all his worries. He knew that the worries were not gone and that they would return after this moment, but just for this moment...

He wanted to let go.

Gravis felt a feeling of relaxation, and he even felt a little tired and exhausted.

Was he always this exhausted?

...

...

...

’The lake is beautiful.’

...

...

...

Hours passed as day turned to night. The sun was replaced with the moon as most animals went to sleep.

Arc simply remained beside Gravis, and Gravis was thankful for it. The constant feeling of an enemy suddenly appearing was always in the back of his mind, but with Arc here, nothing in this world could touch him.

Gravis only felt this safe when he was in the room of his father.

’It makes sense,’ Gravis thought slowly and calmly. ’Arc is nearly as old as father, and his power is equally unmatched inside his world.’

’Arc reminds me of myself, but he is countless times older than me. Is this what I will become in the future?’

’Arc has this talent of making people safe, just by saying a few words.’

’Safety can be achieved with simply some words.’

’Then, doesn’t it mean that a mortal can grant safety to others even when they don’t have the power to create physical safety?’

...

’I think so.’

’So, this means that safety is just like freedom.’

’As long as you do what you want, you are free, no matter what happens on the outside.’

’And as long as you feel safe, you are safe, even when you are about to die.’

’It’s contradictory to physical reality, but that isn’t important.’

’Safety exists in the eyes of the beholder.’

’It’s not physical reality, but perceived reality.’

BOOOOOOM!

Arc smiled from beside Gravis.

Instead of feeling exhilarated, Gravis sighed and turned to Arc.

"Why have you done this?" Gravis asked.

"You should know that the Law of Safety would have been my greatest hurdle in becoming powerful."

"By helping me, you are increasing the likelihood of your death in the future."

Arc only smiled.

"Isn’t it obvious why?"

"Because I want to."

Chapter 755 - 755 – Future Issues

Gravis sighed. He knew that Arc wasn’t lying when he said that the reason why he helped Gravis was simply that he wanted to. Yet, it still felt a bit lackluster to him.

"You could have just let me go on without this Law," Gravis said. "I already had no animosity with you."

Arc only chuckled slightly. "Does it really matter?" he asked.

"Doesn’t it?" Gravis asked. "This concerns your life."

"It does, yes," Arc answered. "Yet, when you are standing before an opponent that you can beat but isn’t a danger to your life, do you not wish for that opponent to be a bit more powerful?"

"You mean tempering?" Gravis asked. "You don’t need tempering."

"No, I don’t," Arc said, "but I want to. I haven’t fought someone in billions of years. I almost forgot what it feels like. The thrill of feeling one’s death to be only a single mistake away. I haven’t had this feeling since I went through my specialized will tempering."

"We are destined to fight, Gravis," Arc said. "I don’t want to fight you since I have no reason to fight you. Actually, I like you, Gravis. You’re a person that’s very similar to me, and I respect your mindset."

"I can decide not to fight you, Gravis," Arc continued but then sighed. "However, you need to defeat me to gain freedom. No matter how much you don’t want to, you will still decide to fight me as long as you chase freedom. This is unavoidable."

"I know that you also don’t want to fight me, Gravis. However, you have no other choice. You might have the choice to not fight me, but that choice might as well not exist. The death of one being won’t deter you from grasping true freedom."

"So, when you inevitably fight me, I want this fight to be memorable, no matter who comes out victoriously."

"Gravis," Arc said heavily and with sadness as he looked into Gravis’ eyes. "Promise me that you won’t challenge me until you know the Law of Sentience. Otherwise, even in my weakened state, you will not be an opponent to me."

Gravis also took a deep breath as he listened to Arc. Gravis knew that Arc wasn’t lying. Arc was unfathomably powerful, and even in an incredibly weakened state, he was still so overwhelmingly powerful. If Arc were allowed to use all his power, Gravis couldn’t win, no matter what he did. Gravis’ longevity would have long passed over a million years, which meant that powerful Star Gods would already attack him.

"I presume the Law of Sentience is the fusion of the Law of Perceived Reality and the Law of Emotions?" Gravis asked.

Arc nodded. "Correct. I will be restricted to using the Law of the Living World, and you need an equally powerful Law to counteract that. Additionally, you need this Law as your Avatar, and since you chose freedom as your Avatar, you need to get the Law of Sentience."

Gravis sighed. "I don’t know if I can comprehend that Law," he said. "I now have all the components for the Law of Perceived Reality, but I only know a single emotional Law, the Law of Apathy. I haven’t comprehended any of the other Emotional Laws, and I don’t even know how to comprehend them."

Arc nodded. "Your issue with your lightning is at fault."

Gravis perked up. "It is?" he asked.

"Yes," Arc confirmed. "Comprehending the Emotional Laws means getting lost in the emotion. However, your two sides are similar in behavior and decision, but polar opposites in emotions."

Gravis furrowed his brows as he looked down. "I think I know what you mean. My lightning and I often do the same things, but for different reasons. I’m honest because I don’t want to flee from the truth, but my lightning is honest out of fairness."

"Close, but not entirely," Arc said. "It’s more about how you feel in a given situation. When someone many times weaker than you attacks you, you often find it amusing or feel pity while your lightning feels disrespect and rage."

"When someone gives you a present, you might feel delighted and happy, while your lightning feels suppressed."

"Suppressed?" Gravis asked in surprise.

Arc nodded. "Lightning is fair, and when someone helps it, it needs to help back. This puts a restriction on it. In short, you want to feel close to others, but your lightning wants to be distant from others."

"Lightning has a great affinity for the Laws of Rage, Apathy, and Pride. Meanwhile, you have a great affinity for the Laws of Calm, Empathy, and Humility. When someone attacks you, your lightning becomes angry, but you become calm so that you can deal with the issue as logically and efficiently as possible. In both cases, you kill the enemy, but you feel different emotions."

"The time you learned your one and only Emotional Law was when you summoned the mindset of your lightning without interfering. Sadly, this is no longer possible due to the animosity between the two of you now," Arc explained.

"Because of that, comprehending the Emotional Laws will become nearly impossible. Frankly, the only way you can understand Emotional Laws in this state is by sheer luck, and you obviously don’t have that."

Gravis sighed again. "So, as long as the problem with my lightning persists, I will have no chance of comprehending the Emotional Laws."

"Correct," Arc said with a nod. "There are some solutions to your issue, but all of them have different prices. Obviously, I can’t tell you since that is something that you need to find out and decide by yourself. Every solution has a major disadvantage for either one or both of you."

Gravis looked at the lake absentmindedly as the weight on his shoulders returned.

Gravis had comprehended the level two Law of Safety, but that didn’t change anything. If it were only Gravis involved, he would have no issues in feeling calm, safe, and free due to his different Laws of Perceived Reality. Yet, in this circumstance, Gravis felt like he would be running away from his responsibility.

His lightning was constantly being suppressed by Gravis, and if Gravis decided to feel great now, it would only draw even more animosity from his lightning. Gravis’ lightning was not his enemy but his friend. Sadly, as soon as Gravis decided to prioritize freedom, his friend felt betrayed by him.

’How am I supposed to split myself in two?’ Gravis thought. ’The obvious solution would be to create a completely new body for my lightning to free it. However, there are several problems with that.’

’First of all, I would lose access to all my lightning powers. Second of all, I would need to know the Law of True Life. Lastly, I would need to, at least, become an Ancestral or Divine God. I don’t have that long.’

’I can’t share the control over my being with it. After all, when critical decisions come, we will fight with each other until one suppresses the other again.’

’Completely changing myself is also bad since I would be the suppressed one after that. My lightning has the right to freedom, but so do I.’

’Lightning Fork also doesn’t work. That only creates a new body, but my Spirit is still only one thing. When something important happens, we would still clash heads with each other.’

’All paths have issues.’

Gravis suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to Arc.

"When you are close to death, you will find a solution," Arc said. "The question is what your price is going to be. Right now, you don’t know what you want. When you are close to death, you know what you truly want."

BANG!

Arc shoved Gravis until he fell over and grinned.

"Until then, forget all of this," he said. "Instead, let’s talk about something else."

Arc’s rough shove pulled Gravis out of his worried mindset. After sitting up again, Gravis sighed again.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Gravis asked, still a bit absentminded.

"Well, there are three reasons I wanted you here," Arc said. "The first one was simply talking to you. The second one was to teach you the Law of Safety."

"And the third one is to give you an actually useful explanation about Weapon Cultivation."

Arc laughed a bit. "You have absolutely no affinity with the Synchronization Comprehension method. That’s why I knew that you won’t be able to learn Weapon Cultivation in the Unrestrained Sect."

"Synchronization Comprehension method?" Gravis asked.

Chapter 756 - 756 – What Are Weapon Laws?

Arc laughed as he smirked smugly. "Actually, this entire thing was created by me."

"By you?" Gravis asked. "Does this mean that this comprehension method only exists in this world?"

"No, it exists in every world," Arc said.

Gravis blinked a couple of times. "Could you explain?"

"Well, it’s like this," Arc said as he leaned back with a smile. "I hate seeing talent getting wasted. Yet, what is talent? What is the definition of talent? That’s something debatable, but in my mind, talent represents the mindset of a Cultivator and their affinity towards the Laws."

"Someone that manages to comprehend Laws faster than others is obviously more talented. However, what allows someone to comprehend Laws faster?"

"It’s the mindset," Arc said, tapping his head. "Specifically, the enjoyment of comprehending Laws and the abilities of the mind. If comprehending Laws is a chore, it will be far harder for you to focus and force you to comprehend Laws. At some point, you will also become burned out."

"The next thing is how you go about comprehending Laws. You, for example, are a very logical person. You analyze all the individual details and combine them into one whole concept. Like this, you comprehended a Law."

"This was all it has been for a really, really long time. However, this meant that only the logical people that loved finding problems and solving them became really powerful."

"So, I started comparing the Laws to people. You can analyze a person and run innumerable tests on them until you know how they will react to any given situation."

"Yet, are there not also people that know how someone will react just based on how that person feels to them? Your friend, Ferris, is one of these beings. You have already seen that he has a great talent for finding trustworthy people. However, you also know that Ferris definitely isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed."

"So, how come that he is even better at judging others than you?"

"It’s his empathy and feeling," Gravis answered. "Ferris trusts his feelings and somehow knows if that person is trustworthy or not."

"Exactly," Arc said with a smirk. "So, why is it that the Laws can’t be comprehended like this?"

"The answer is actually rather simple," Arc said. "Because my creator designed it in such a way."

"Even though I dislike my creator immensely, I contacted him and told him about this change. Why not also allow a Law to be comprehended the other way around?"

"Could you elaborate?" Gravis asked.

"Simple. Every Law has its own minute and subtle feeling. If you are able to grasp the feeling of the Law, you will still know what it does in any given situation. The problem back then was that the people didn’t know the specifics of the Laws, which made it impossible to be used, even though they perfectly knew the Law based on feeling."

"Thus, my creator tweaked the comprehension of Laws a little bit. Now, as long as someone perfectly knows how a Law feels, the Law will tell them all the small details about it. Thus, they also manage to comprehend the Law."

"So, in short, you learn all the details and combine them by analyzing, thinking, and calculating. In comparison, the Synchronization Comprehension method creates the entire concept and then delivers all the small details."

"Both comprehension methods are equally difficult since you need to understand the entire Law regardless, but the affinity for different Cultivators changes. With this, people that have an incredible talent for empathy and feeling can also comprehend these Laws."

Gravis remained silent for some seconds. "That actually sounds impossible. Yet, the highest Heaven simply made the impossible possible."

Arc nodded. "Yes. It’s his Cosmos, and he can do with it whatever he wants."

"Anyway, that’s the reason why the Unrestrained Sect comprehends the Laws differently from you. They concentrate on them and synchronize their mindsets. This takes a lot of time and concentration, but it works."

"However, this method only works for Cultivators that would rather follow their gut than their mind. You, on the other hand, always follow your mind over your gut."

Gravis nodded. "Definitely. Nothing against you, but this Synchronization Comprehension method is absolutely useless to me."

Arc laughed loudly. "I know. Anyway, you already heard the explanation from Surem about how to comprehend Weapon Laws via the Synchronization Comprehension method. Can you find out the actual way of comprehending the Law by his words?"

Gravis frowned as he looked down. His finger went to his chin to scratch it as he began thinking.

The words Surem had said went through Gravis’ mind. He said that Gravis should concentrate on the feeling of his weapon and worship it. He also said that the weapon was Gravis and that Gravis was his weapon. Without his weapon, a Cultivator would lose everything.

This sounded similar to something else.

Hadn’t Gravis said that he was lightning and that lightning was him? This was basically the same thing.

However, this was no longer the case. Gravis was lightning, but lightning actually wasn’t Gravis anymore. Gravis’ mind, body, and Spirit were made of lightning. Yet, there was an obvious disconnect between his lightning and himself.

The more Gravis thought about this, the more paradoxical it seemed.

Gravis was Punishment Lightning.

Gravis’ Punishment Lightning was Punishment Lightning.

Yet, somehow, Gravis was no longer his own Punishment Lightning, even though Gravis was Punishment Lightning?

This seemingly made no sense.

In math, it would be like this:

a = c

b = c

a =/= b

It made no sense!

At the same time, Gravis likened his own situation to the words that Surem had said to him. Surem said that the weapon was the Cultivator, but was this true? Was this even possible?

Gravis wasn’t a saber, was he?

’I mean, it has to be possible. Otherwise, Weapon Cultivators wouldn’t be able to unleash these kinds of attacks,’ Gravis thought.

’Yet, what makes a weapon? What could I even comprehend about it? My saber has a handle and a blade. I know it perfectly since I created it myself. I also fought with it for thousands of years, and I know all the movements I can produce with it.’

’I know all physical ways that I can move my saber and attack or block with it. There are only so many movements I can do. A physical attack with a weapon is only that, a physical attack. It isn’t like other Laws that completely change their entire Composition and being. It’s still the same.’

’I’m also pretty sure that Weapon Laws have nothing to do with some kind of perceived reality. Perceived reality exists in the mind, but a weapon attack is physical. It’s firmly placed inside the physical reality.’

’So, what even are Weapon Laws? I haven’t thought about this before, but the entire concept of Weapon Laws seemingly doesn’t exist. It’s like it’s not real. Yet, it must be real since it can obviously exhibit powerful strength.’

’I think I’m even more confused than before,’ Gravis thought helplessly.

Gravis sighed.

"I give up. I have no idea what Surem meant," Gravis said.

Arc chuckled a bit. "Yes, because Surem’s explanation made it even harder for you to comprehend Weapon Laws."

"Even harder?" Gravis asked with surprise.

Arc nodded. "Yes, he explained it correctly, and if you were to follow the Synchronization Comprehension method, you would find success. Yet, you must remember that the Synchronization Comprehension method works backward from your perspective. With his explanation, he showed you the end result and wants you to find out the details."

Arc smirked widely. "Now, let me tell you a sentence that will blow you away. Yet, with this sentence, you should be able to find out what Weapon Laws are."

Gravis became very intrigued. "Go on," Gravis said as he leaned forward.

Arc chuckled a little. "Oh, this is going to be so great. You don’t know how much I’m anticipating your expression."

Arc looked deeply into Gravis’ eyes with a smirk.

"Weapon Laws..."

"Have nothing to do with weapons."

Chapter 757 - 757 – Focus

Gravis’ mind stopped. ’What? Weapon Laws have nothing to do with weapons?’

"Ahahaha!" Arc laughed as he saw Gravis’ face. "Your face, man," he shouted through hysterics.

Gravis wasn’t in the mood to laugh. Instead, he felt pretty frustrated.

Nothing to do with weapons?

Then why was it called a Weapon Law!?

Everyone would think that it has something to do with weapons. After all, it’s called a fucking Weapon Law!

"It’s the entire shit with Life Energy all over again," Gravis grumbled with furrowed brows.

Arc still snickered a little. "Kind of, but not entirely. The Life Energy thing is just because of your personal definition of it while the Weapon Law thing is different."

"You said I could find out what Weapon Laws are with that sentence, but you only confused me even more," Gravis said with annoyance.

"You don’t get it?" Arc asked with a smirk. "Alright, let me give you a comparison."

"Imagine you are in the wild, and a ton of wild and dangerous animals are around you. Yet, the only thing you have is a stick. This stick is the only thing you can use to defend yourself. Obviously, a stick is not enough to defend yourself. So, what do you do?" Arc asked as he raised a finger.

"Simple, you search for a stone and add it to the stick, creating a spear. So, do you still have your stick?"

Gravis furrowed his brows, but Arc continued talking. "You do, but you also don’t. Your stick is now part of the spear. Now, when everyone else is put in the same situation, all of them will convert their sticks into spears since they need a good weapon to defend themselves."

"So, in the end, everyone won’t see the stick as a stick, but as an incomplete spear. Therefore, when you meet someone else with a spear while you only have a stick, they will ask you why your spear is damaged, even though it’s only a stick."

"A stick inherently has nothing to do with a spear. It’s just a stick. However, since everyone else uses it for the same thing, it will only be seen as this one thing," Arc explained.

"Do you understand now?"

Gravis’ made several connections. "I think I do."

"The stick represents the Weapon Law while the spear represents the association with weapons. The stick has nothing to do with weapons, but everyone sees it as a weapon since everyone uses these as components of weapons."

"That’s why you said that Surem was showing me the end product first. My end goal is to create this Weapon Law and then fuse it with an actual weapon."

"According to your comparison, a stick can be used to create a weapon, but it can also be used to create a ton of different stuff. However, only a weapon is relevant since I can’t use any other kind of tool."

"In short, a Weapon Law is some kind of Law that I can add to a weapon, but it doesn’t have to be added to a weapon, right?" Gravis asked.

"Correct," Arc said with a nod. "To be precise, a Weapon Law is a kind of usage and refining of your being and Laws. When you use your Lightning Crescent, you fuse your Will-Aura, Spirit, and lightning into one attack. A Weapon Law is similar but more refined."

"With your Lightning Crescent, you are adding Laws. You use the normal Lightning Laws and add your Laws of Lightning’s Explosiveness, Lightning’s Power, and Lightning’s Speed. You have a base Law, and you add three other Laws to increase its power."

"However, you can’t use everything. You can only add the lightning-related Laws, but what about the others? Shouldn’t you also be able to add your Laws that increase the power of your Will-Aura since your Will-Aura is part of your Lightning Crescent’s power?"

"Remember the Sect Master of the Unrestrained Sect. Remember the arrows he used? He created these arrows with the Law of Suppression. Can you do that?" Arc asked.

Gravis frowned. "No, I can’t," he said. "I can only use my Law of Suppression with my Will-Aura. I can’t transform it into a physical attack."

Arc nodded. "Right! Liran took the ethereal power of something non-physical and made it physical, and as you know, as soon as something is physical, you can manipulate it with your body."

"So, like this, Liran’s physical power could also be added to the attack. Now, imagine your Lightning Crescent. What if you could add the power of your physical body and Perceived Reality Laws to the attack?"

Gravis imagined this scenario, and what he imagined was scary. Such an attack would be far stronger. Even Mortality would count as a joke in comparison.

"That would be terrifying," Gravis said.

Arc nodded. "Yes, and that’s what Weapon Laws are. They are simply a tool to fuse everything together, transforming the ethereal power into physical power. Right now, you can’t fuse ethereal power with physical power since they are on seemingly two different planes. Take them to the same plane so that they can interact."

Gravis nodded. "Makes sense, but how?"

"First, you need to create a Focus, at least that’s what your homeworld calls it," Arc said.

"Focus?" Gravis asked.

"The Focus is a Law, but not a traditional Law," Arc answered.

Gravis furrowed his brows. "How?"

"All Laws in the world have been created by my creator. He can tweak them, change them, delete them, or add new ones," Arc said. "Look at the world like it’s the mind of my creator. You are trying to understand all parts of his brain by comprehending Laws. You are never creating anything new. You are only copying."

"A Focus is a kind of Law that you create yourself," Arc said.

"A self-created Law!?" Gravis asked in shock. "I can do that!? I can create Laws!?"

"Yes," Arc answered with a nod, smirking. "Even Unity Realm Cultivators can do that. The difference is that these Laws only exist inside you. They exist only in your body, mind, and reality. They are not present on the outside since the normal Laws will just destroy them."

"You could liken it to perceived reality. In your world, you are able to use these powers. In your own mind, you are the most powerful. However, when you are able to create a Law powerful enough to gain the recognition of the other Laws, it will become reality."

"Of course, this is your Law, and only you can use it."

"This is what Weapon Laws are. You create your own Law and use it to fuse your other Laws. That’s why it’s also called a Focus. It serves to focus everything that you have on one point."

"So, what would be the best use for such a Focus? Obviously, it’s to create a powerful attack. Fusing all of your powers into a singular attack is by far the most useful application. Obviously, the best spot to place and use that Focus would be your weapon."

"Everyone uses their Focus with their weapon since this is their most offensive tool, and the Focus would be able to unleash its greatest potential with it."

"So, since everyone uses it with their weapon, and since the Focus counts as a Law, everyone simply calls it a Weapon Law."

"Even though it has nothing to do with weapons."

Chapter 758 - 758 – Returning To The Sect

Gravis finally understood what Weapon Laws were and how they worked. Based on the name and what Surem had told him, Gravis had always thought that he had to understand a Law related to his weapon. He had looked at this Law like it was a normal Law, trying to understand more about his weapon.

However, there was simply nothing more to understand about his weapon. It was a saber. It could stab, and it could slash. One could learn a ton about how to use a weapon, but Gravis was so old and so experienced that there was simply nothing more to learn.

"How can I create this Focus?" Gravis asked.

"I can’t help you with that," Arc said. "It’s your personal Law. If I were to tell you how to do it, it wouldn’t be your personal Law anymore. The only thing you need to do now is to experiment. You know the end product you want to achieve, and you need to find a way to create that product. Simply look at it like you want to create a very powerful weapon. After all, you are pretty good at forging weapons."

Gravis nodded. "Thanks, Arc. I don’t know how long it would have taken me to finally get what Weapon Laws are without you," Gravis said sincerely.

"No problem," Arc said with a smirk as he waved dismissively. "As I’ve said, I don’t like talent being wasted. That you found a Sect so perfectly fitting to your mindset seems like luck, but it was actually bad luck. The Unrestrained Sect only uses the Synchronization Comprehension method. Trying to learn Weapon Laws from them made it even harder for you."

"Luck, huh?" Gravis uttered with a sigh.

Arc nodded. "Yes, your lack of Karmic Luck is in full effect again since you are now among humans. You just have to deal with it."

Gravis nodded.

"By the way, I think now would be a good time for you to return to your Sect," Arc said. "You spent about 14 hours here, and your Sect is in danger due to the Punishment Cleaver Sect. You now know how to create your own Weapon Laws, but you don’t have the time right now."

Gravis nodded again. "Yes, Arthur probably won’t stop until the Unrestrained Sect is annihilated. He is probably still fearful of Liran’s unexpected power, but that wouldn’t stop him from using other means. It’s only a matter of time before he tries something. I might not have been part of the Sect for even a single day, but I joined them. Loyalty is important to me, and I will help them to the best of my ability."

"If you want," Arc said, "you can return, and we can speak to each other again. The Emblem you received gives you unlimited teleportations. However, you obviously can’t use it in a crisis to flee. I wouldn’t want you to use me to flee from danger. Though, I’m sure that you also wouldn’t want to do that, right?"

"Right," Gravis confirmed as he stood up. "Thank you again, Arc. I know that you only helped me because you want to, but it’s still something I appreciate."

"One more thing," Arc said. "This world holds Law Comprehension Areas and some inheritances for every existing Law that isn’t part of the Laws of Perceived Reality. This includes the Emotional Laws. When you’ve dealt with your lightning issue, you can search for them to learn about Emotional Laws."

Gravis nodded. "Thanks."

"Go," Arc said with a smile. "If you ever want to talk, just come back. I’m always here."

Gravis nodded. "Then, see you later, Arc."

"See you later, Gravis."

Gravis summoned the Emblem and broke it. As soon as it broke, Gravis was already gone.

Arc continued sitting in front of the lake, his feet still dangling in the water.

"I wonder how our fight will go in the future," he mused to himself with a smile.

"Finally, something exciting happens again."

SHING!

Gravis appeared near the Unrestrained Sect again, clutching his head. ’Fuck this spatial displacement!’ he thought as he felt nauseous.

After some seconds, Gravis recovered again and thought about the Weapon Laws. ’I have no idea how to even start. I also don’t know how long this will take. I mean, understanding a level one Law is already pretty easy for me, and the Low-Tier Saber Intent should be able to exhibit the power of a level one Law. However, I have no idea how long even the first level would take.’

’Additionally, what even makes a Weapon Intent stronger than another one? No idea.’

Gravis sighed.

’Anyway, I should return to the Unrestrained Sect again. Now that I am a Late Minor Circulation Immortal, I could use some tempering again. My Will-Aura is no longer at its peak.’

With that thought, Gravis teleported a couple of times until he returned to the Unrestrained Sect again. After looking around for a little bit, Gravis noticed that nothing had changed. The atmosphere of the Sect also hadn’t changed. This meant that there was no imminent danger or anything similar.

’Nothing unusual here,’ Gravis thought. ’I don’t know what Arthur is planning, but his plan hasn’t revealed itself yet. I doubt that he would directly attack the Unrestrained Sect since he is still wary of Liran. This means that he will probably use some other methods.’

’I’m in a world of humans now. An open war probably won’t appear just like this. Humans are more prone to use soft methods, slowly chipping away at the enemy until they get suppressed into such a weak state that they can kill them with just a single strike.’

Gravis looked around and tried to think what he would do.

’I think the inside of the Unrestrained Sect is off-limits. That leaves three possible attacking points.’

’First, resources. Resources are becoming relevant again in this world. I don’t know how the Unrestrained Sect acquires their resources, but they must acquire them in some way. Maybe Immortal Stone mines? Maybe renting Law Comprehension Areas?’

’Destroying access to these resources would stunt the growth of the Sect and would maybe even motivate the disciples to leave. The Unrestrained Sect is especially vulnerable to these kinds of attacks due to the free policies.’

’Second would be honor. Beasts don’t care about such stuff, but most human societies do. If the Unrestrained Sect gets suppressed by others and humiliated, the disciples might decide to leave since they wouldn’t want to be part of such a weak Sect.’

’Third, the disciples themselves. Assassination squads outside the Unrestrained Sect could be waiting to strike the disciples. However, that’s a double-edged sword. If the assassination squad fails, the disciple’s Battle-Strength will explode due to the tempering. Additionally, if any kind of information leaks out, the Sect that sent these squads will find the alliance of Sects as their enemy.’

Gravis narrowed his eyes.

’I think the first and second options are the most likely. Liran and the Sect Elders have lived for longer than me and have lived in human society their entire life. They definitely came to the same conclusions as me and are already looking out for these kinds of attacks.’

Then, Gravis smirked.

’But soft human warfare is actually more helpful to me than beast warfare. Beasts attack with overwhelming power, and something that can kill Liran can kill me easily. Instead, humans have to find "reasonable" reasons to go into conflict. This means that people of higher Realms won’t attack people of lower Realms openly.’

’This gives me the initiative. I am able to choose my opponent due to my low Realm. Additionally, no one knows that I am already a Late Minor Circulation Immortal since I keep my stronger body hidden in the Life Ring.’

’This means that an endless number of potential enemies will come knocking at my door, and I get to choose my opponent.’

’This is perfect!’

Chapter 759 - 759 – Resource Points

Gravis returned to the Sect to check up on things. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, which meant that the enemy hadn’t shown their hand yet.

After talking to Surem for a little bit, Gravis told him that he knew what Surem had meant previously and that Gravis would be concentrating on comprehending Weapon Laws in the meantime. Surem only smiled and wished Gravis luck.

However, Gravis also told Surem that he should inform Gravis if something happened. Gravis wanted some real tempering. Surem confirmed that he would inform Gravis later.

With that done, Gravis went into a forest and stopped beside a lake. Gravis enjoyed comprehending Laws beside lakes since this scenery reminded him of the middle world. Gravis was a social person, but he didn’t want to comprehend Weapon Laws with the other members of the Unrestrained Sect. If they saw how he comprehended his Laws, they might ask annoying questions.

About three days passed until something happened. Gravis still hadn’t made any headway in creating his own Focus, but he hadn’t expected that he would be able to make any kind of progress before the enemy arrived anyway.

"Junior brother," the voice of a woman appeared near Gravis. Her voice sounded very careful and probing, which was normal in the Unrestrained Sect. If they directly broke someone’s Weapon Cultivation, the person might get their connection with their weapon destroyed. By talking carefully and quietly, it would be more akin to a knock than an interruption.

"What is it?" Gravis asked as he opened his eyes. Gravis didn’t follow the Synchronization Comprehension method, which meant that he could get interrupted whenever. It would just be annoying to fall back into the rhythm of comprehension.

The woman was a bit surprised that Gravis immediately answered. Normally, Cultivators finished their comprehension first before answering to not anger their weapons.

However, Gravis didn’t appear annoyed or angered at all. It seemed like this was nothing but a minor inconvenience to him.

"Excuse me, junior brother," she said, "but our Sect Master has an offer for you. It is regarding a challenge to several of our mines."

Gravis narrowed his eyes. ’So, they have arrived.’

"Alright," Gravis said as he stood up. "I’ll go there right away."

"Thank you, junior brother," she said. "I wish you luck."

Gravis nodded and teleported away.

SHING!

Gravis directly arrived in the middle of the central hall where the upper echelon of the Unrestrained Sect usually gathered.

Gravis looked around and noticed that the atmosphere was very different from the last time he had been here.

Frustration and rage filled the atmosphere.

"Yes?" Gravis immediately asked Liran, who sat in one of the chairs with furrowed brows.

Liran looked at Gravis and sighed in relief. With Gravis’ Battle-Strength, they could get a ton of resource points.

"Gravis, as expected, Arthur has become active," Liran said.

"I know. What’s the plan?" Gravis asked.

Liran looked at Gravis. "Do you know how we decide which Sect gets which valuable resource point?" Liran asked.

Gravis shrugged. "Probably money or strength," Gravis answered.

Liran nodded. "That’s the general gist of it. I’ll give you a more detailed one," Liran said. "According to the potential wealth of an area, Realms are assigned. Resource points that are wealthy enough to serve as the basis for an entire Sect will be defended by Immortal Kings."

"Meanwhile, valuable but not as important places are assigned to the individual Circulations of the Immortal Realm. Therefore, we have four distinctions between resource spots, Minor Circulation, Major Circulation, Peak, and Immortal King. Do you know why that is?" Liran asked.

Gravis nodded. "To leave the other Sects some breathing room. If there were one vastly more powerful Cultivator, they would only be able to take over the resource points of one of the four categories. The others would still be untouchable."

Liran nodded. "Exactly. One incredibly powerful Early Circulation Immortal could theoretically take over all the Early Circulation resource points in our area. This would obviously still be an incredible amount of wealth, far more than one Sect can handle. Because of that, there is one additional restriction."

"One Immortal King can only be responsible for one resource point," Liran explained. "If one Sect Master would be vastly more powerful than the others, they could theoretically steal all the belonging of all the other Sects while keeping to the rules."

"We are allies, not enemies. Because of that, one Immortal King can only attack one resource point if they don’t have one yet, and if they get it, they can only defend this one and not attack another one."

"The same thing is true for the other Realms, but in a less restrictive form. Peak Immortals can get three resource points, Major Circulation Immortals get six, and Minor Circulation Immortals get twelve," Liran explained.

Gravis nodded. "And I’m guessing that Arthur paid someone to take out as many resource points as possible?" Gravis asked.

Liran nodded. "That’s exactly what they are doing," he said. "Several Sects just so happen to decide to challenge us on the same day. This is not a coincidence. However, it’s also not against the rules."

"Even worse, several petitions to lower the Realm of some of our resource points have been submitted. Our Peak Immortals are pretty powerful in comparison to other Sects, but our Major Circulation Immortals are only a slight bit above average. Right now, a lot of Sects are deciding if some of our Peak Immortal resource points should be lowered to Major Circulation points."

"With that, they would be able to get them easier. Additionally, getting a new resource point is also far more difficult than defending one. The most powerful Cultivators in each Realm defend the most important resource points. This means that only the B-Team can attack while the A-Team is on the defense."

"So, even though our Peak Immortals get a new open spot, it would be very difficult for them to claim a new one for their Realm. Lastly, claiming the resource point of another Sect might enrage them and draw further retaliation."

Gravis nodded. "Makes sense. So, what would you have me do?" he asked.

"Show of strength and deterrence," Liran said.

"Aggressive or defensive?" Gravis asked.

"Changing the spot of a defender is difficult if the previous defender is still alive," Liran said. "I can’t just kill one of our members to let you take their place. Therefore, I would like you to claim three very valuable resource points of the three main aggressors. After that, you would still have nine left. The enemy will realize your power and will know that the most aggressive party would get your next claim."

Gravis waited for more, but Liran was apparently done.

"Seriously? That’s it?" Gravis asked.

Liran nodded. "What else would you have me do?" he asked.

"How about I claim all twelve directly, and you threaten them with giving me enough Immortal Stones to make me a Major Circulation Immortal? At that point, I would be threatening six vastly more valuable spots," Gravis said.

Liran sighed. "I would, but we don’t have the liquid funds right now. In order to make you an Early Major Circulation Immortal, we would need to spend 600,000 Immortal Stones. Theoretically, we have the money, but it’s all been assigned already to the different defenders. I won’t break my word."

Gravis scratched his chin.

"Can I kill the defenders?" Gravis asked.

Liran nodded. "This also serves as tempering. Without the chance of death, it wouldn’t be tempering."

"Can I keep their stuff?" Gravis asked.

Liran nodded.

Gravis thought some more.

"Do you have 300,000 Immortal Stones of liquid funds?" Gravis asked.

Liran frowned. "The Sect only has so much, but I can make up for it with my private wealth."

"Alright, then give them to me. In a day, I will return as a Late Minor Circulation Immortal and will attack the Major Circulation Areas," Gravis said.

Liran’s eyes opened widely. "Wait, does that mean that you want to jump four levels against the most talented individuals? You should know that these Cultivators are far more powerful than normal Cultivators! All of them can jump an entire level."

Gravis looked evenly at Liran. "My Will-Aura is the main thing that allows me to jump so many levels, and the level suppression is my bane. A Mid Major Circulation Immortal that can jump two levels is weaker than a Late Major Circulation Immortal that has average Battle-Strength to me."

"A Late Major Circulation Immortal would be four power levels higher than me. If they can jump one level, it would be more like 4.2 levels instead of five for me since the level suppression is the biggest factor."

"4.2 levels is dangerous, but I’ve had far worse odds before."

Chapter 760 - 760 – Planning Finished

Liran furrowed his brows while everyone around them kept doing what they were doing. Gravis and Liran were talking with their Spirits to keep the plans a secret. Liran couldn’t be sure that there were no traitors in here or people that would sell information for Immortal Stones.

Liran grew nervous as he fell into thought. He had heard about Gravis’ power, but he hadn’t seen it. After all, ever since Liran had appeared, Gravis hadn’t unleashed a single attack. Gravis had only helped Liran while he fought against Arthur.

Someone that could jump four levels couldn’t exist, but Gravis had proven that he could. He had killed that one captain of the Burial Ground Sect, even if that captain was one of the weaker Cultivators at his level. Additionally, Surem had seen the fight between Gravis and the captain.

Yet, was Liran willing to bet such a huge sum of money on the words of his son and Gravis? If Liran had the money, he would have no qualms in giving Gravis 600,000 Immortal Stones to make him an Early Major Circulation Immortal. After all, Gravis was mighty. That much was sure.

But betting 300,000 Immortal Stones to make him a Late Minor Circulation Immortal? According to logic, Gravis would die 100% of the time, no matter whom he fought. However, could Gravis’ power be judged by logic?

Liran looked at Gravis, who only looked emotionlessly at Liran. Whenever things became serious, Gravis reverted to a direct and emotionless attitude. He wasn’t suppressing his emotions, but he didn’t let them cloud his judgment. Efficiency and effectiveness were Gravis’ main goals when it came to serious situations.

Liran sighed.

He wanted to bet on Gravis. His feelings also told him to bet on Gravis.

However, he couldn’t place the last bit of his Sect’s wealth on his emotions and what he wanted. That would be irresponsible.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t," Liran said to Gravis. "I can’t bet our last bit of wealth on a gamble."

"Can’t you, or do you not want to?" Gravis asked evenly.

"I can’t," Liran said. "I want to, but I can’t risk the Sect’s last bit of safe wealth." Liran’s voice sounded like he had given up, and it was filled with regret.

Gravis slowly shook his head in disappointment.

When Liran saw Gravis’ reaction, for some reason, he felt like he had made a huge mistake. He wasn’t sure why, but it felt like he had missed something extremely crucial, something that could have changed his entire life.

However, even when Liran felt these emotions, he couldn’t change his decision now. He had already committed to it.

Couldn’t he?

Who said that he couldn’t change his decision anymore?

Sadly, Liran’s own restrictions on himself made that impossible for him to see.

Why had Gravis shaken his head in disappointment? This was Liran’s decision, and he could do with the money whatever he wanted. Was he supposed to bet on Gravis?

No.

Liran could do whatever he wanted, but he didn’t. He had the ability to, but his own personality stopped him. After all, if he could do whatever he wanted, and if he wanted to bet on Gravis, he would have bet on Gravis.

But he didn’t.

So, this meant that he couldn’t do what he wanted.

And exactly that was why it was so hard to comprehend freedom.

Risking one’s own life and well-being was something entirely different from risking the well-being of others. Gravis had only been able to grasp freedom when he had handed over his three children. Gravis had voluntarily handed over control over something more important than his own life.

If Liran had done what he wanted, he would have maybe comprehended something regarding freedom. Maybe, he would have even comprehended the Minor Law of Freedom.

Responsibility was a blessing and a curse. Being responsible for something meant that one liked or loved something so much that they were willing to suppress themselves for its well-being. This was also an integral part of becoming an adult.

Sadly, comprehending freedom required one to be irresponsible and endanger their close ones for their own desire. Almost everyone would view such a person as disgusting and selfish, which was a very valid opinion. Betting the remaining funds of the Sect on a dream gamble would have been irresponsible.

However, to comprehend freedom, one needed to be irresponsible. Freedom was following one’s desires, even if it endangered one’s loved ones.

This made comprehending freedom so incredibly difficult.

Now, Gravis knew that Liran would never be able to comprehend freedom. This was already the least extreme opportunity to comprehend freedom. Even if Liran lost the gamble, the Sect wouldn’t break apart.

Since Liran wasn’t even able to grasp freedom in this circumstance, he wouldn’t grasp freedom in any other circumstance.

Liran would never learn freedom.

Liran was doomed to never become a Heaven’s Magnate.

"Give me information about the most important resource points," Gravis said. "Tell me which Major Circulation resource points you want to be attacked."

Liran was a bit surprised. "But I can’t give you the Immortal Stones."

"My Realm is my worry, not yours," Gravis said. "I obviously won’t betray the Sect without your Sect betraying me first, and I won’t go into a fight that would definitely end in my death. I promise you that," Gravis said with his Law of Honesty.

Liran felt the effects of the Law and knew that Gravis was speaking the truth. However, he still couldn’t imagine what plans Gravis had regarding these Major Circulation resource points. Gravis just arrived, and middle worlds didn’t have Immortal Stones. This meant that Gravis couldn’t have any Immortal Stones.

So, how would he raise his own Realm?

Liran had no idea.

However, in the end, Liran decided to give Gravis the information about the resource points. Even if this information leaked, it wouldn’t be bad. Changing the defenders of the resource points was incredibly difficult. Additionally, the information only showed the places and strengths of the resource points. Something like this wasn’t a secret. After all, the resource points were public knowledge.

Liran transmitted the information, and Gravis looked at an image of a map in his mind.

There were thousands of resource points strewn across the map, and those were only the ones for Major Circulation Immortals. However, one had to remember that these were the resource points for over a hundred Sects. On average, that would still only be something like 40 per Sect or so if everyone had the same number.

On top of that, the wealth distribution even among equal resource points was massive. One of the most valuable Major Circulation resource points would be over 50 times as valuable as an average Major Circulation resource point.

’Spirit Wood Forest, Immortal Stone Mine #147, Skin Ascension Plume Tree, Frost Law Comprehension Area, Dark Graphinite Mine, Crystal Essence Cave...’ Gravis thought as he looked at all the different names of the resource points.

All of these things helped in cultivation and could be sold for Immortal Stones.

"I see that we have a mine of Purple Quarzite," Gravis said. "If I want to win against someone at the Late Major Circulation Realm, I need a fitting weapon. If you already can’t pay me for my actions, giving me some ore to create a new weapon should be enough."

Gravis wanted to help the Unrestrained Sect, but he wouldn’t do it for free. They would be getting a ton of valuable resource points from him. They might as well pay him for that.

Liran sighed in relief. "That’s not a problem," he said. Liran had already felt guilty that he couldn’t reward Gravis with Immortal Stones. That Gravis asked for some ore alleviated a ton of Liran’s guilt.

"How much do you need?" Liran asked.

"That much," Gravis said as he summoned a cube of light before him.

"That’s... a lot," Liran said after a while.

"I need three sabers and two spears for all eventualities," Gravis said. "If one of my sabers breaks and I don’t have a spare one, I will die."

Liran furrowed his brows but sighed again.

"Alright."

WHOOOOP!

Liran summoned a cube of ore and gave it to Gravis.

Gravis nodded and pocketed it.

"I will leave now," Gravis said. "In three days, at the latest, I will either be dead, or the Unrestrained Sect will have a new resource point of the Major Circulation class."

Gravis activated his Law of Honesty to prove that he wasn’t lying.

Liran nodded. "I wish you luck, and thank you, Gravis."

Gravis nodded too and teleported away.