Ch. 791..800

Chapter 791 - 791 – Defeat

Gravis just lay inside his Life Ring, looking at the bright sky. The sky inside his Life Ring wasn’t real, but it also wasn’t really fake. After all, to make such a Life Ring, one had to know the Law of the Dead World. So, even though it was not the sky of an actual world, it was created out of the same things and with the same Laws.

’Weapon Cultivation doesn’t work for me, huh?’ Gravis thought. ’I don’t have Energy. I only have lightning, and lightning doesn’t want to combine with anything else.’

Gravis snorted. ’Actually, the signs have been there since the very beginning,’ he thought. ’Back in the lower world, when Byron gave me the Rakshasa’s Saber, I managed to combine it with my lightning. No one else managed to do that.’

’Why? Because my Will-Aura was part of me, and I am lightning. Therefore, combining my Will-Aura with my lightning wasn’t really hard.’

’I wonder,’ Gravis thought. ’My Laws of Perceived Reality work on my Will-Aura and make it more powerful. Then, my Will-Aura fuses with my lightning when I create a Lightning Crescent. So, I kind of already have integrated my Laws of Perceived Reality into my lightning.’

Gravis snorted again. ’How ironic. One of the reasons why I came to this world was to learn Weapon Cultivation. However, I actually have already used Weapon Cultivation. Back in the lower world, I have already managed to combine my lightning with my Laws of Perceived Reality by using my Will-Aura as a common denominator.’

’I actually don’t need a Focus. My Will-Aura directly combines with my lightning, and I don’t even have to transform anything.’

Gravis sighed. ’I thought that I could push my Battle-Strength even further, but I have already used everything. The fusion between my Will-Aura and my lightning already is a Focus.’

Gravis did some math in his head as he watched the fake clouds. ’Let’s see, if I don’t use any of my Laws of Perceived Reality to strengthen my Will-Aura and fight against someone at my same level...’

Gravis envisioned the attack of a Weapon Cultivator on his level with the same element and the same Will-Aura.

’Actually, my Lightning Crescent would be a bit more powerful than a Weapon Technique since it goes through no conversions whatsoever.’

Gravis had to sigh again. ’I think I should be proud that I managed to create such a powerful Weapon Technique while not even having come into contact with any Laws. Sure, if I could transform all of my Laws of Perceived Reality into physical reality and then fuse them with my lightning, my attack would be far more powerful, but it just doesn’t work like that.’

’All the Laws I know already have their true meaning, and one of these true meanings is that lightning and the Laws of Perceived Reality can’t mix. They both have something in there that makes it impossible to combine. Well, my lightning does, at least. My Laws of Perceived Reality would be fine with combining.’

’So, that leaves two options. One is to change the Law of Punishment Lightning, which not even my father can do, and the other is to delete the Law inside my Punishment Lightning.’

Gravis chuckled a bit. ’However, even if I could do that, which I can’t, my Punishment Lightning would stop being Punishment Lightning. It just wouldn’t exist anymore, basically. No Laws means no power. Then, it would simply be my other Laws in the form of lightning but without lightning’s power.’

’Even if I keep everything separate, I would just summon two attacks. However, my Will-Aura would still lose its support, which would make it more efficient to just use two Lightning Crescents instead of two different attacks.’

Gravis sighed yet again, something that he had been doing quite a lot since realizing that Weapon Cultivation just didn’t work for him. ’No matter what I do, Weapon Cultivation remains useless for me. All my other weapons are just better.’

Gravis wasn’t sure how he should feel right now. On the one hand, he felt defeated, but on the other hand, he had basically already mastered Weapon Cultivation. He had it mastered for thousands of years already.

’I mean, I can jump four levels, something that should be impossible. Even jumping three levels is already the stuff of legends. I guess without Weapon Cultivation, none of this would have been possible. To push my Battle-Strength to such degrees requires everything, a supremely powerful Spirit, a supremely powerful body, a supremely powerful well of Energy, lots of Laws, and an incredibly powerful Will-Aura.’

’However, that only allows someone to jump three levels. If someone else knew the same Laws as me and had an equally powerful Will-Aura, body, well of Energy, and Spirit, they would only be able to jump three levels.’

’The one thing that allows me to jump four levels is my affinity with lightning. With my affinity, I don’t need to convert my Energy into lightning. It takes about two points of Energy to create one point of Punishment Lightning, which effectively doubles my Energy storage past the physically possible maximum.’

’Back when I reached the Unity Realm, I did so with a maxed-out Spirit and Energy storage. This has given me a ton of advantages. However, I have already met people that had an equal amount of Spirit and Energy,’ Gravis thought as he remembered Samantha and Stella. Both of them had had far more Energy and Spirit than normal Cultivators. It just hadn’t been relevant in their fights.

’Wonder how that’s possible,’ Gravis thought. ’Maybe recultivation? I don’t think longevity gets subtracted if you fall down a Realm. Father told me that it would have taken me hundreds of years to train my body to become powerful enough to equal my other centers of power.’

’If someone could reach the Law Comprehension Realm, they would have a longevity of 10,000 years. Then, they just needed to break their foundation apart and recultivate. They would probably have already amassed a ton of resources before doing so.’

’They would probably go into seclusion, break their Cultivation, rebuild everything from scratch, train their body for a thousand years, and then consume all the Immortal Stones they prepared beforehand. Like this, it would be possible to create a perfect Unity foundation, similar to the one I have.’

Gravis sighed again. ’Is this also something that Heaven has prepared? The better the foundation, the more powerful the Battle-Strength of the Cultivator, and the more powerful the Battle-Strength, the higher the chance of reaching the peak. More power equals more Energy.’

’Is this Heaven’s way to even allow inexperienced people that never got any kind of Cultivation education to redo their past mistakes? Someone that just achieved Unity might not realize the mistakes they have committed, but when they reach the Law Comprehension Realm, they would certainly know. Additionally, if they reached such power with a weak foundation, it showed their Battle-Strength and mindset, making them more valuable.’

Gravis wasn’t even sure what he was thinking about anymore. He was simply thinking about random stuff as he watched the sky.

The inability to create a Focus had demotivated Gravis more than he wanted to admit. He had believed that he could finally find a way to jump five levels, but that dream had been crushed by reality. Even when he managed to learn the Major Law of the Elements, he would still only have about a 10% chance of victory.

The Major Law of the Elements would push his Punishment Lightning from the power of a level three Law to the power of a level four Law. That was an insane increase of power, but the difference between four and five levels was even more insane.

The biggest issue was the Will-Aura of the opponent. Their Will-Aura would be so much more powerful than Gravis’ due to the level suppression that even using the Laws of Perceived Reality would only show minor success. Additionally, Gravis couldn’t even attempt to break their Will-Aura.

Gravis would be weaker in literally everything. Additionally, all of his opponents would already be Immortal Kings, and one could only become an Immortal King if they already knew a level four Law. They would have a level four Law as their Avatar and would be able to unleash the power of a level five Law like this.

Gravis sighed another time. ’Well, time to become a Late Major Circulation Immortal,’ he thought with defeat as he looked at his mountain of Immortal Stones helplessly.

Chapter 792 - 792 – Close

After around half a day of just lying down and thinking, Gravis decided to leave his Life Ring. There was no sense in remaining here. He couldn’t comprehend any Laws in his Life Ring since the Laws could not be felt inside it.

’Father told me that this idea to get a Life Ring was a good one and that it would work, but he should have known that I can’t learn Weapon Techniques,’ Gravis thought. ’So, maybe there is a way for me to learn them in the future.’

’Maybe there is a way to cultivate Weapon Techniques after dealing with the issue with my lightning. However, I can’t be sure until the issue is resolved.’

’For now, I should just wait for the inevitable attack.’

Gravis’ body in the higher world opened its eyes as he stood up. This body was now in the Early Major Circulation Immortal Realm. Gravis had simply pushed some of his power into this body, increasing his Realm. He wanted to make any enemy believe that he might be a danger to a Peak Immortal so that they would commission an Immortal King to attack.

The future attackers wouldn’t come here because of tempering. They would be on a mission, not tempering. This meant that they would attack with an overwhelming force that would make defense impossible. Sending a Peak Immortal would be a bit too risky.

Then, when the enemy attacked, Gravis would get out his other body and enter the fight. Weak cultivation could also be used as a lure.

After standing up, Gravis searched for Stella and found her quickly. He teleported to her and told her that he was done for now.

Stella asked him about his success, but Gravis only said that Weapon Cultivation didn’t work for him. Stella was quite surprised when she heard that, but Gravis told her that he couldn’t give her the reason for it.

After a while, they fell into a conversation again and just talked without any goals.

Gravis was not interested in comprehending any Laws right now, which was why he went to Stella. The Major Law of the Elements was an incredibly difficult level four Law to comprehend since it was one of the most powerful ones. The High-Tier Hard Pure Law was a joke compared to it.

Gravis’ fight with Stella had probably pushed his comprehension of the Major Law of the Elements forward by several hundred years, but there were probably still several hundred years left.

When one wanted revenge, even a day already felt like a lifetime. Arthur wouldn’t wait for hundreds of years to take his revenge against Liran. At most, it would be ten years, and ten years was basically nothing in regards to Law Comprehension for Immortals.

Gravis would just be able to get used to learning Laws again before Liran would contact him that the enemy had arrived. There was no sense in trying to comprehend it for these few years.

Other Laws?

Even less relevant.

Gravis had no insight into any other level four Laws, and he couldn’t easily come into contact with level one, two, or three Laws anymore. Gravis was still missing a chunk of Low-Tier Life Laws, but Gravis had an Immortal Body. Comprehending them now was basically impossible unless he started hunting weaker humans and beasts to experiment on them.

Not only would this take up a lot of time, but Gravis also wasn’t the biggest fan of doing something like this.

The only remaining Low-Tier Laws would be the Emotional Laws, but due to Gravis’ issue with his lightning, this was also an impossibility.

So, in short, Gravis was stuck with comprehending High-Tier Laws for the foreseeable future, and these Laws needed a lot of time.

After Gravis dealt with the next attack, he would probably wait for the inevitable follow-up. After that, he would have his peace.

This would be the time when he would spend thousands of years on comprehending new Laws.

Gravis had already had several good fights since arriving in this world, and two more were around the corner. After those, there wouldn’t be any relevant enemies remaining in this area, which created a perfect opportunity for him to concentrate on his Laws.

So, Gravis spent his time just talking to Stella and getting to know her.

As soon as they started a conversation, it was like there was no stopping. They both had thousands of years of experiences that they shared with each other and a wide variety of knowledge.

For days and weeks on end, they simply talked and talked, not doing anything else. There was no need for food, water, or air. There were no obligations for both of them. They had thousands of years of longevity remaining.

There was no hurry and no deadlines they had to meet.

Just calm and peace.

The days passed as they sat before each other, entranced in conversation.

Flowers and trees lost their leaves as winter came, but the two of them only sat in front of each other, talking.

Flowers and trees regained new life as spring came, but the two of them only talked.

New flowers were born, and old flowers died.

New animals were born, and old animals died.

The two of them just continued talking.

Sometimes, the sun shone from one direction, and other times it shone from a different one.

Gravis’ mindset and personality influenced Stella, and Stella’s personality and mindset influenced Gravis. Their actions and mannerisms became similar as their minds connected.

After a while, Gravis no longer looked away from Stella when she chuckled or became embarrassed because of something Gravis had said. He only continued looking into her eyes with a smile as his heart fell into a strange sensation of calm.

As time passed, Stella became the one that started to look away more and more. She also became more and more embarrassed by different things as her cheeks reddened.

Gravis was entranced as he continued looking into her eyes with a peaceful smile.

As the years passed, the distance between their positions decreased. They hadn’t moved on their own accord, but subconsciously, their Laws were transforming their surroundings in such a way that the gap of land seemingly closed on its own.

After seven years, they sat directly opposite of each other, their legs just inches apart.

The several meters of distance had seemingly vanished into nothingness, leaving behind only closeness.

Gravis had never been so entranced in a conversation. He was unsure how he felt right now since he had never felt anything like it.

Back in the lower world, Gravis hadn’t been in tune with his emotions, which created a violent storm inside of him. He had loved Joyce back then, but the constant conflict inside of him made it nearly impossible to fully let himself go.

Now, Gravis was in tune with his emotions. The only issue was still with his lightning, but right now, his freedom was more powerful, banishing his lightning from his thoughts.

Gravis was himself, and he enjoyed every moment he spent with Stella.

Both of them wanted this moment to never end.

Meanwhile, somewhere else.

"When was the last time I felt love?" the Black Magnate said with melancholy in front of the Opposer. They had been watching Gravis this entire time.

"Does it matter?" the Opposer asked.

The Black Magnate sighed but smiled a little bit. "I guess not. I just need to change my outlook on life."

"Just look to the future," Gravis’ mother said from beside her husband. Currently, the Opposer showed what was happening to his wife. He wasn’t a big fan of showing his wife the times when Gravis was in mortal danger, but he wanted to share these moments.

Right now, Gravis’ mother laid her head on the Opposer’s shoulder in peace as she watched Gravis with a kind smile.

The Opposer didn’t say it but seeing Gravis like this made him yearn for his wife, and like something had summoned her, his wife had arrived and also joined in watching Gravis some days ago.

The Opposer put his hand around the shoulders of his wife and continued watching Gravis and Stella.

After a while, the Opposer looked at his wife. "I think I don’t say often enough that I love you," he said.

The smile of his wife brightened as he looked into the Opposer’s eyes. "It’s been over two billion years," she said.

The Opposer sighed. "I know, sorry," he said weakly.

The Black Magnate saw this, rolled his eyes, and left. Staying here was a bit too frustrating right now.

The two didn’t mind and simply continued watching their son find love.

They were so incredibly happy for Gravis.

Chapter 793 - 793 – Farewell

"The Sect Master has left the Sect for a meeting and will return in a couple of days."

This sentence appeared in Gravis’ mind suddenly as he was talking with Stella. It came from a Peak Immortal that contacted Gravis with his Spirit.

The atmosphere seemingly broke apart as Gravis got the message. The feeling of harmony and peace left the air as Gravis’ Spirit returned to normal.

Stella noticed that everything had changed around her and appeared normal now. At the start, she didn’t know what was going on, but then she realized it. Without noticing it, she had been captivated in a whirlpool of peace for the last couple of years.

She hadn’t really thought about how she had been feeling during this time, which was why she hadn’t noticed it when peace occurred. Only when it stopped did she notice how great her time with Gravis had been.

She wished she could go back to this time.

"You were contacted?" Stella asked.

Gravis sighed and nodded.

"Has Liran informed the Sect about the imminent attack?" Gravis asked the voice back.

"What attack?" the voice asked in shock.

Gravis’ eyes narrowed in disdain. "So, he hasn’t informed the Sect," he answered.

"What are you talking about?" the voice asked nervously.

"Arthur is still out there, and my recent display has also caught the eye of several other Sect Masters," Gravis answered. "They share a goal and will strike at the Sect. Liran is the biggest issue since he is a Sect Master and can inform the Sect Alliance, which is why he will be called away when the attack will happen."

"Nonsense!" the voice answered with indignance. "We are part of the Sect Alliance! No one will dare to attack us!"

"Liran knows that the attack will happen," Gravis said. "That’s why you are here, informing me. Why don’t you go ask Liran if you should also inform other people? His answer will tell you a lot about his personality."

"I don’t need to," the voice said with quiet anger. "I am only supposed to inform you, no one else. However, I will not doubt my Sect Master because of the words of someone that hasn’t even truly been in the Sect yet."

Gravis remained silent as he shook his head in disappointment. Some people were simply blind to the truth.

"When the Sect Master returns, I will inform him about your slander! Someone like you doesn’t belong in the Unrestrained Sect," the voice said.

Gravis didn’t answer the person anymore. What slander? Additionally, the Sect was already on the brink of destruction.

Why did Liran inform Gravis?

Because Liran knew that Gravis would see the attack coming. Gravis was someone that protected his friends, and Liran thought that it was essential to inform Gravis.

Why?

Because of Surem, Liran’s son.

Gravis would surely protect Surem from the attackers, and Liran was right. Surem had nearly given his life for Gravis back then, and Gravis couldn’t possibly let Surem die because of the errors of his father. The sins of the father should not be the sins of the son.

"It’s time," Gravis said as he stood up.

Stella also stood up and looked at Gravis with worry. "Will you be alright?" she asked.

Gravis nodded. "I have increased my Realm to an appropriate level for the incoming enemies," Gravis said.

Stella furrowed her brows as she looked at Gravis. "But you’re only an Early Major Circulation Immortal. Are you sure that’s enough?" she asked.

Gravis only smiled at Stella. "I know what I’m doing," he said.

Stella was still unsure. No matter how she looked at Gravis, he was still an Early Major Circulation Immortal. However, the enemy force would include at least one Immortal King. That would be a jump of six levels for Gravis, and that was impossible, even for him.

However, after talking with Gravis for so long, she had learned to appreciate and value his insight. If she was able to see all these connections, Gravis should have also noticed them. This was definitely easily inside Gravis’ ability to comprehend.

"What should I do in the meantime?" Stella asked.

"Go someplace else," Gravis said. "You can’t contend with these enemies right now. If the enemy realizes how close we are, they might use you against me, and I don’t want that to happen."

Stella’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment when Gravis said that they were close. Were they truly so close that the enemy could influence Gravis’ actions because of her?

Deep inside the depths of Stella’s mind, she wanted to see how Gravis would react if she were taken hostage, but she would never make him go through something like this. If Gravis died because of her, she wouldn’t know what to do with the guilt.

Stella nodded. "Then I will go visit Liam. A round-trip might take a couple of years, but I will return as soon as I can."

Gravis smiled and also nodded. "Sounds good. I’m looking forward to your return."

Then, Gravis looked in the direction of the Unrestrained Sect, and his smile was replaced with a severe expression. "Time for me to get ready," he quietly said.

SHING!

And with that, Gravis teleported away.

Stella felt like their farewell was a bit abrupt, and that Gravis left too quickly. She had wanted to talk a bit more with him and wish him good luck, but he had left before she could say anything.

So, in the end, Stella sighed. Then, she looked around the clearing where they had been sitting for the past couple of years.

All the magic was gone.

The peaceful and magical atmosphere in the surroundings was replaced by calculations of Laws that she already knew. She knew how nearly everything she saw worked, and that held no excitement for her.

How had this area been so magical before?

Stella sighed again.

’Does he not realize my feelings for him?’ she thought. ’He probably does, but he doesn’t act on them. As far as I can tell, he would be a person that confronts such things. If he also felt these feelings for me, he would have long voiced them. However, he didn’t. Does that mean...?’

Stella shook her head. ’No. If he didn’t have them, he would have directly told me about it. So, why did he neither confirm nor deny them? This doesn’t seem like him.’

Stella sighed again. ’Probably more of his secrets. The only reason I can come up with for his actions is that there is a high likelihood that something will happen to him in the near future. He probably wants to deal with that first before he confesses to me. I can’t think of any other reason.’

’Yet, why hesitate so much? The only dangerous things are fights and tempering, and these are constant. If you wait for those to end, you will wait forever. What worries you so much that you are willing to sacrifice happiness?’

Stella was very conflicted, but she had managed to come to the correct conclusion. She knew that Gravis wanted to wait for something, but she didn’t know what he was waiting for.

’There’s nothing I can do,’ Stella thought. ’I hate that, but I need to accept it. The only thing I can do is wait.’

’Till we meet again, Gravis,’ she thought as she looked into the direction Gravis had left towards.

SHING!

Then, Stella also teleported away.

Chapter 794 - 794 – Calm Before The Storm

Gravis arrived inside the Sect.

Liran had already left, leaving the Sects in the hands of his two Vice Sect Masters. Gravis didn’t know if the Vice Sect Masters had been informed or if they had already gleaned some details from the situation, but that wasn’t important.

The survival of the Unrestrained Sect was no longer of Gravis’ concern.

A couple of years ago, he would have given his all for the Unrestrained Sect. After all, he had joined them, and he had thought that they all wanted freedom more than anything.

However, all of these illusions had been broken down by reality. Instead of chasing freedom, everyone was acting like they already knew freedom. Usually, knowing suppression made it easier to comprehend freedom, but in this case, it made it even harder. When someone thought they knew something, they often were blind to signs of something else being true.

Liran had disappointed Gravis more than once, and he had not done anything when another Sect Master broke the rules and wanted to kill Gravis. Liran had all the power to break down the Formation Array and protect Gravis. What was stopping him?

Indecisiveness.

So what if he broke the Formation Array? In the worst case, Liran could have simply paid for a new one. Sure, such Formation Arrays weren’t cheap, but creating one was definitely within the budget of a Sect.

As the most powerful person of the Sect and its Sect Master, it had been Liran’s responsibility to protect his disciples against enemies that were too powerful for them. No one would join a Sect that couldn’t or wasn’t willing to protect them.

Gravis looked one last time at the Sect from above. When he had arrived, he believed this place to be his new home for a long time, but that was no longer the case.

This was the house of a stranger, and Gravis didn’t like this stranger one bit.

If the Sect Master wasn’t willing to protect Gravis, Gravis wasn’t willing to protect the Sect.

Their death had absolutely nothing to do with him anymore.

He wouldn’t fight for the Unrestrained Sect’s survival but for his own tempering. Fighting an Immortal King as a Late Major Circulation Immortal was just perfect for Gravis. His Will-Aura was not powerful enough to suppress the Immortal King, making the fight risky but winnable. The incoming fight would probably be about as hard as his fight against Samantha.

Gravis had already prepared some appropriate sabers and spears for his fight.

Where did he get these resources from?

From Samantha and that one spying Peak Immortal.

Samantha had been the most powerful Major Circulation Immortal of the Sect Alliance, and when Gravis killed her, he had gotten a lot of wealth from her. The Peak Immortal also had some wealth, but not as much as Samantha.

Stella had no use for the wealth of the spy. She was one of the Core Disciples of the Nine Elements Sect, and her wealth easily eclipsed the wealth of a Sect Master from the Sect Alliance. This little bit of wealth from the spy was nothing to her.

On the outside, Gravis only appeared to be in the Early Major Circulation Immortal Realm. He only showed this body so that the enemy might not suspect anything. If the enemy knew that Gravis could be a real danger to them, they might abort the attack or get reinforcements. After all, the attackers didn’t come here for tempering but to complete a mission.

Gravis looked around the Sect and found Surem sitting in the training ground, happily talking with others. His strength hadn’t increased, but that wasn’t anything unusual. After all, only around seven years had passed since they had met. Seven years to an Immortal was nothing.

In actuality, it was insane that Gravis became a Late Major Circulation Immortal in just seven years. With enough wealth, everyone could do that, but no one would. After all, completing five breakthroughs in just seven years would massively impact one’s Battle-Strength. Even someone that was above average would become weak.

’It seems like the middle Heaven’s tales of father’s cultivation journey have infected me,’ Gravis thought with a smirk. ’Father violently fought and then took humongous breaks for his Laws. Seems like I am now cultivating similarly to him.’

SHING!

Gravis teleported away and appeared in front of Surem.

"Hey, Gravis!" Surem said with a smile as he drank some wine. "Haven’t seen you in a while. Everything alright?"

The other members didn’t recognize Gravis. They had heard about some supreme Ascender, but they had never seen him. This was Gravis? They thought him to be bigger. Based on the tales of his power, they had imagined a humongous beast with six arms or something. Instead, he appeared like a normal guy.

Sadly, they didn’t know that they were right on the money. Gravis’ true form actually was quite humongous, and he truly had six arms.

"Surem, we need to talk," Gravis said with even eyes, "alone."

The couple of people were surprised, but then their eyes narrowed. Who did that guy think he was? They were having a nice get-together, and this person they didn’t even truly know talked to the son of the Sect Master like he was some servant.

"What’s going on?" Surem asked.

Instead of answering with words, Gravis transmitted something to Surem. "Follow me, or you might not see the next day. This is not a threat."

Surem’s eyes widened in shock. What was Gravis talking about!?

The others noticed Surem’s reaction and glared at Gravis. Gravis had obviously said something disrespectful to Surem.

"I don’t know who you think you are," a guy said as he stood up. He was in the Late Major Circulation Realm as he glared at Gravis, "but you act like-"

WHOOOOOM!

And the guy fell over, unconscious.

Gravis didn’t even look at him. These were strangers, and he didn’t give a shit about them. The only reason why that guy didn’t get a kick in the gut was that Gravis was still technically part of the Unrestrained Sect. That guy had unleashed his Will-Aura threateningly, which was provocation enough for Gravis to, at least, kick the guy.

The others jumped back in shock. Gravis had just made someone two levels above him unconscious!

"It’s okay!" Surem shouted as he released a sigh. "He’s not here to do something to me, but it seems to be something important. Just wait here while I talk to him."

The others only nodded meekly as Gravis and Surem teleported away.

They reappeared outside the Sect.

"So, what was that about me not seeing tomorrow?" Surem asked.

Gravis told Surem about what would most likely happen soon.

"What!?" Surem shouted in shock. "How is this possible!? We are in the Sect Alliance! The Sect Alliance specifically exists to stop something like this from happening!"

"No, it exists to create a seemingly fair battlefield to get resources from others," Gravis said. "It’s simply a community of old people that vie for status and resources. As soon as you pay them enough resources, they are willing to band together against any other Sect."

Then, a discussion between Surem and Gravis ensued, but Surem found all his arguments countered.

After some minutes, Surem only gritted his teeth and fists. "So, that’s why you are here? To protect me from danger!?" he asked with anger.

"Exactly," Gravis said with crossed arms. "You have nearly sacrificed your life for me before. That’s something I value deeply. This is not a fight you can fight in. This will be a swift assault with multiple Immortal Kings. One stray thought, and you will die."

Surem’s teeth gnashed with incredible force as his frustration reached a never-before-seen peak. He felt like he was abandoning his home! An enemy was about to attack, and he was just supposed to look away!? No!

"I won’t flee!" Surem said with steely conviction in his eyes. "I can’t look away as my home is under attack! If I die, so be it!"

Gravis noticed the difference between Surem and Liran. In comparison to Liran, Surem actually had conviction.

However, conviction didn’t magically grant one an instantaneous burst of strength.

"Then don’t do it for yourself but for your father," Gravis said.

Surem wasn’t deterred. "Father will understand my will to protect the Sect!"

"He understands it, yes," Gravis said, "but he informed me so that I may protect your life. Even if you want to die, your father will want to find someone to blame, and that blame falls on me. Your father will think that I have failed and will go against me."

"And when he does that, I will kill him," Gravis said.

Surem was taken aback as he heard Gravis’ brutal words.

"As long as your father doesn’t go against me, he still has a chance to survive, but as soon as he does, his death is certain," Gravis said coldly. "So, even if you are fine with your own life ending, are you fine with your actions pulling your father down with you?"

"Don’t get me wrong," Gravis said. "If your father doesn’t go against me, I don’t care. We might as well be strangers, but if he does, his life will end. Think of your father’s conduct and how he has acted. Then, ask yourself how your father will act."

Surem knew his father very well, and even if he didn’t want to admit it, his father would probably really act this way.

For the first time, Surem became frustrated with his father.

Why did his father leave!?

If his father simply stayed here and fought with them, none of this would happen!

After some minutes, Surem grunted. "Fine! I won’t fight!" he shouted.

Gravis nodded while Surem became frustrated at his father.

His father’s weakness was stopping Surem from doing what he wanted. Surem wanted to fight for his home! However, because of his father’s mental weakness, Surem couldn’t even do that! Surem was forced to betray his Sect and flee so that his father might not die to his own indecisiveness.

’I never want to become like you, father!’

Chapter 795 - 795 – Illusion

Surem was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do but accept his circumstance. However, he had friends inside the Unrestrained Sect, and he wouldn’t let them die just like that! He wanted to give them a chance to choose between fighting and not fighting.

Surem quickly went to everyone he knew, but most of them only blew him off. Why would anyone attack their Sect? They were part of the Sect Alliance! If someone could just attack them, the Sect Alliance obviously would have long since collapsed. After all, why would any Sect want to be part of such a useless alliance?

Additionally, they criticized Surem for his words. This was his father and Sect Master he was talking about! They had believed that Surem was a great Cultivator, but apparently, he was a spoiled brat that immediately lost his head when daddy wasn’t here for a day.

The biggest reason why so few Cultivators believed Surem was that Surem hadn’t talked bad about his father before. He had always said that his father was powerful and that he strived to be like this father, and now, suddenly, his father left the Sect to die? It sounded more likely that Surem simply had some beef with his father and wanted to take revenge by slandering him in front of the Sect.

Surem tried his best and told them with panic in his voice that they had to believe him, but this made others only angrier. In their minds, Surem’s image fell many levels until he was nothing but a child to them.

Gravis looked on, and Surem even begged him to help him.

"If they don’t even believe you, what makes you think they believe me?" Gravis answered simply.

This increased Surem’s frustration even more, but there was simply nothing else he could do. With a broken heart and spirit, Surem decided to give up. He had convinced about three of his friends to leave immediately, but that was all. There were so many more friends that Surem couldn’t convince.

Gravis and Surem waited alone near the edge of the Unrestrained Sect, inside a forest. Gravis leaned on a tree with closed eyes as he waited for the inevitable assault while Surem paced around in nervousness.

Surem continually mumbled questions about why no one believed him. So what if Surem was wrong? It was better to err on the side of caution!

"Human emotions are not that simple, Surem," Gravis said. "You wanted to give your life in a hopeless fight while they are willing to risk their lives in a fight that seems winnable to them. In their minds, you would be the crazy one."

Gravis’ words heightened Surem’s nervousness. On one hand, Gravis was absolutely right, but on the other hand, didn’t these people realize that they would die!?

In such a stressed situation, it was difficult to formulate rational thoughts. Emotions broke into confusing whirlwinds, making thinking very difficult. Gravis also wasn’t immune to such situations. Sometimes, one was simply overwhelmed by emotions, and one made mistakes.

The hours dragged on, and night arrived. The Sect Disciples had a great barbecue in the training grounds and laughed together. They were talking, dancing, making music, and just generally having fun.

No panic.

No fear.

No nervousness.

Surem looked at the party with pain, rage, and frustration.

"Burn this scene into your mind," Gravis said. "You will relive it many times in the future."

Surem only half-listened to Gravis’ words as he looked at the bright and happy get-together. Everything seemed so calm like it was any other day. Nothing seemed different. Would everything truly break down soon?

"This is why you need strong leadership," Gravis said as he arrived beside Surem. "The disciples don’t have the relevant information. They can’t find out what will happen since they are missing even context clues to come to the correct decisions."

"None of them have seen Arthur and Liran’s fight. No one has seen how Liran acts under stressful situations. No one has come into contact with any other Sect Master. They don’t know any better since they never had the chance to see the Sect Alliance for what it actually is."

"They entrust their lives to the Sect Elders and Sect Masters. The upper echelon is more powerful than them and has been in these positions for thousands of years. Surely enough, they would know better what to do than them, right?"

"That’s a good mindset if you are in an actually powerful Sect. With this mindset, you won’t mistrust your leaders. When they are truly good leaders, there is no problem with that mindset."

"However, this mindset is also what allows Sects to die. Every Sect Disciple entrusts the responsibility for their and their Sect’s lives to the Sect Master. However, if that Sect Master doesn’t take up any responsibility, consequences will happen."

"If no one checks on the baby, sooner or later, it will crawl out of the house and get eaten by a stray dog. Was it the baby’s fault?" Gravis slowly said.

Surem didn’t answer.

Gravis looked to the gathering and narrowed his eyes.

"Did you notice it?" Gravis asked.

Surem looked to the gathering with narrowed eyes, but he wasn’t sure what Gravis was talking about. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Over the last two minutes, four different Major Circulation Immortals left the party. Additionally, not even a single Peak Immortal or Vice Sect Master is here."

Surem took a deep breath. "You mean they know?" he asked.

Gravis nodded. "I’m pretty sure that they all know. However, I’m also sure that at least two of them not only know but have also helped the attacker. The attackers can’t easily spy on the Sect, which means that they need insider intelligence. Some people have given them this intelligence, and they have probably all retreated by now."

Surem gnashed his teeth. "Traitors!? In my Sect!?" he asked with rage.

"Especially in this Sect," Gravis said. "The Unrestrained Sect is more prone to having traitors than any other Sect. You tell every disciple that they are free to do what they want. Additionally, many disciples probably still harbor grudges about their time in the Suppression part of your Sect. Some people are willing to wait years upon years for revenge."

Surem didn’t answer as his face became red with rage and frustration.

Gravis took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"I feel it," he said.

"Safety is slowly vanishing. The feeling of danger has not arrived yet, but the feeling of safety is slowly disappearing. The Sect is slowly transforming from a safe haven with no danger to wilderness, where everything could happen."

Surem became more anxious as he heard Gravis’ words, but he couldn’t feel any danger approaching, no matter how hard he tried. Was Gravis misinterpreting his own feelings?

"Perceived reality has not changed for the Sect," Gravis said. "They all believe that they are safe, but physical reality is slowly changing. Sadly, to make perceived reality affect physical reality requires both sides of a conflict to perceive it as true."

"When both sides have different perceived realities, physical reality will be the deciding factor. Perceived reality that doesn’t conform to physical reality is known with a different word," Gravis said as the feeling of safety had completely disappeared.

Surem waited with bated breath for the inevitable destruction of his Sect.

As soon as all the feeling of safety had vanished, Gravis felt the feeling of danger approaching with blinding speed. In just a second, a neutral environment had transformed into a valley of certain death.

"It’s called an illusion," Gravis said with narrowed eyes.

WHOOOOM!

Gravis pulled Surem into his Life Ring and jumped into the sky.

Chapter 796 - 796 – Calamity Of The Unrestrained Sect

Three Cultivators appeared on top of the Unrestrained Sect without notice, and when they arrived, they unleashed mighty attacks that created gigantic explosions.

One of the explosions hit the central part of the Unrestrained Sect, destroying all the buildings.

One of them hit the Restrained Lands.

And the last one...

The last one hit the training grounds, where everyone had been gathered for the barbecue.

In just a single moment, the entire Unrestrained Sect had nearly been completely destroyed.

One of the Cultivators took out their spear and stabbed at the residential area of the Unrestrained Sect, which was also consumed in a gigantic explosion.

In just a single moment, over 90% of all disciples had met their end.

This was not tempering.

This was not a fight.

This was a one-sided slaughter. The enemy was not here to temper themselves but to complete a mission. Their target was not to fight equally powerful Cultivators but to decimate the Unrestrained Sect.

Gravis stood in the sky as he watched the attackers.

All of them were Immortal Kings.

Three Immortal Kings, and Gravis was sure that there were more. These three were probably the vanguard that would draw out the two Vice Sect Masters. As soon as the Vice Sect Masters initiated combat, the three attackers would band together and kill the two Vice Sect Masters.

Some stray disciples immediately fled into the distance, but Gravis was sure that they wouldn’t survive. Two other Immortal Kings would probably keep the sides locked down and kill every straggler. This was not a fight for resources but to kill as many disciples as possible.

"Enjoying the view?" a voice said to Gravis as another Immortal King appeared before him.

All the attackers were clad in dark robes that hid their features and auras. No one knew who the attackers were.

"It’s nothing new to me," Gravis said calmly as he looked down. "I have seen scenes like these more than once, most of them having been created by my own hands."

The new arrival was surprised that Gravis didn’t show any fear. Did he not know that he couldn’t even attempt to resist? Gravis was only an Early Major Circulation Immortal, someone that was six entire levels lower than him!

"So, you have seen this day arrive, have you?" the Immortal King asked.

Gravis nodded. "I have."

"Then why are you still here?" the Immortal King asked with a smirk. "Did you expect that we would send some Peak Immortals? I’m sorry to tell you, but we don’t take chances."

"You want to take me alive, is that right?" Gravis asked, not answering the attacker’s question.

"Quite a smart boy, are you?" the Immortal King said with a smirk. "Yes, our client is very interested in your secrets."

Gravis nodded as he continued watching the destruction. "Underworld, right?"

"Ho?" the man exclaimed with a bit of surprise. "You even know about us? Were you the one that killed our scout?"

"No," Gravis said, "but I have seen his corpse."

Gravis was only engaging in this conversation because he was waiting for something. He had to wait for the right moment to start his fight.

Fleeing Disciples that just reached the edges of Gravis’ Spirit Sense were snuffed out one after the other by some attacks. Sure enough, there were more Immortal Kings.

By now, Gravis was sure how many attackers there were. There were six attackers, and all of them were Immortal Kings.

The Unrestrained Sect had absolutely no chance of resisting without their Sect Master. It was two Immortal Kings against six.

Gravis looked at the center of the Sect and furrowed his brows. Were even the Vice Sect Masters this cowardly?

Gravis was waiting for the Vice Sect Masters to start their fight. If Gravis attacked right now, the three other Immortal Kings might realize that he was a danger and would attack him. Because of that, Gravis first needed the other three Immortal Kings to engage in a fight of their own.

After some seconds, Gravis saw the three Immortal Kings in the sky look at each other.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Then, all three of them shot forward to the center of the Sect.

BANG!

A Formation Array appeared in front of them, but they only laughed. The three of them retrieved their weapons and laid them together. After that, they put some jewels onto the weapons and pointed them at the Formation Array.

SHING!

A black beam shot out of their weapons and hit the Formation Array. The Formation Array wasn’t destroyed, but it vanished. It was like it had stopped working. After that, the three of them shot into the ground at the center of the Sect.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

And then, fighting broke out.

The two Vice Sect Masters were vulnerable now. The Formation Array that they had used to protect themselves had been deactivated, and now they were fighting the invaders.

However, this could barely be called a fight. It was more like the two Vice Sect Masters fleeing while barely defending themselves against attacks. The three attackers laughed loudly and flew after them, taking potshots at the fleeing prey.

"Are you done watching?" the attacker asked. "Then follow me without any resistance, or I might inject you with some Spirit Poison."

Gravis looked away from the chase and looked into the eyes of the Immortal King in front of him for the first time.

WHOOOM!

Gravis activated all his Laws that targeted the Will-Aura, and his body vanished as it got absorbed by his more powerful body. There was no reason to keep the weaker body alive.

The Immortal King felt a hit to his Will-Aura that nearly took him out. The Will-Aura of his prey was vastly more powerful than he had ever imagined!

Then, he noticed that Gravis was now a Late Major Circulation Immortal, and he immediately retrieved his spear. He immediately readied himself for a bloody fight. He had heard how powerful Gravis’ Battle-Strength was, and he knew that this fight wouldn’t be easy.

So that was what his prey was waiting for!

He didn’t flee because he had underestimated them, but because they served as perfect tempering for him!

"Have you recovered?" Gravis asked. "I could have killed you right now, but I want a good fight. You better not disappoint me."

"Might as well," the attacker said with a smirk. "Seems like I won’t only get paid but will also receive some nice tempering."

The attacker summoned a jade token and broke it.

WHOOOOM!

A Formation Array appeared around them, and Gravis raised an eyebrow.

"Tempering is forbidden in missions," the attacker said with a smile, "but forbidden is a word with a meaning open for interpretation. However, just to be sure, I summoned this Formation Array to keep the others from looking on. Don’t you want to thank me?"

Gravis looked at the Formation Array and nodded. "It’s better this way. You have actually really helped me. Thanks."

"No problem," the guy said with a smirk. "Now, I hope you are ready to die, Gravis. I’m eager to see how powerful this supreme Ascender truly is."

"Try not to die in a single attack, okay?" he said with a smirk.

"Funny," Gravis commented.

SHING!

Then, he took out his saber.

"That’s just what I wanted to say to you."

And then, they clashed.

Chapter 797 - 797 – Spirit Poison

Gravis charged forward with a saber that has been loaded with a Lightning Crescent. The power of his saber seemingly broke the world around it, but that was only an illusion. A mere Immortal couldn’t hope to break the space of this world.

The enemy also charged forward with his spear, and Gravis narrowed his eyes. Gravis had no idea what kind of Laws his enemy knew. His opponent had to know at least one level four Law, or he wouldn’t have been able to become an Immortal King. However, there were no reverberations of any elements present.

Gravis activated and deactivated his Will-Aura with different magnitudes of power. Even if he used his full power, he wouldn’t be able to slow down his opponent at all. Because of that, it was more effective to change Gravis’ resistance. With his Law of Freedom, he was not suppressed by the enemy’s Will-Aura, no matter how powerful it was.

BANG!

The opponent unleashed a spear strike, and Gravis blocked it with his saber.

And the saber immediately broke apart, making Gravis panic. He had seen the materials his opponent’s weapon was made of, and his saber should have been able to block the attack of such a weapon, even if they had a powerful Avatar inside their weapon.

Yet, his saber still broke!?

SHING!

The spear of Gravis’ opponent buried itself in Gravis’ gut, its power destroying the lower half of his body.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

However, at the same time Gravis’ saber was destroyed, the Lightning Crescent had activated. The explosion decimated the surroundings and engulfed both of them.

Gravis absorbed back a part of his power and quickly regenerated his body.

WHOOOOOM!

However, something suddenly entered Gravis’ Spirit. He hadn’t noticed it, but something had entered Gravis’ body from the earlier attack and had directly entered his Spirit. A kind of dark green aura that gave off a similar feeling to a toxic swamp engulfed his Spirit.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Gravis shouted loudly, his voice shaking the air around him.

"Haven’t I told you that I will infuse you with a Spirit Poison?" Gravis’ enemy said with a smirk as he came out of the explosion, unharmed. "Do you think everyone only fights with Laws? Wouldn’t that be a waste of our potential as humans?"

By now, Gravis had stopped shouting, but he violently gritted his teeth as his eyes became bloodshot. "What... did you... do!?" he grunted through gritted teeth.

"As I’ve said, Spirit Poison," Gravis’ enemy said with a smile. "I only needed to hit you once to unleash it, and your decision to test out my abilities was just the perfect opportunity."

Whoop!

A bottle appeared in the hands of Gravis’ opponent. It was filled with dark green liquid and was half empty. "It’s quite expensive, actually," he said with a smirk. "This is a poison made for people that have Will-Auras in the Immortal King Realm. I’ve heard that you have a powerful Will-Aura, which is why I bought this one, just in case."

"The pain will severely inhibit your concentration and your Will-Aura. Even better, it uses the Will-Aura itself as a medium to cause pain, meaning that even if you manage to deal with it, your Will-Aura won’t increase even a little bit," the opponent laughed. "Basically, the more powerful your Will-Aura, the more pain you will receive."

The opponent bowed a little. "And as for why I am uninjured..."

SHING!

The opponent summoned a jade token. "One time use defensive Formation Array. Works against any attack inside the Minor Circulation Immortal King Realm."

Gravis gritted his teeth violently, blood coming out of his mouth. His eyes glared with hate at his opponent as they became bloodshot.

"Now, will you come peacefully, or do you need me to increase the dosage?" he said with a smile.

"Where’s the antidote?" Gravis asked with a raspy voice.

"Pfft," the enemy laughed with disdain. "Do you honestly think I would take the antidote with me? Boy, we are here on a mission, not for tempering. You don’t know the name of the poison, and I don’t have any labels on the bottle. Even if you knew the name, you would need to travel to the Core Regions to find an antidote, and oh boy, the antidotes are so much more expensive than the poisons."

By now, Gravis had an inkling of what his enemy had used to destroy his saber.

The enemy didn’t use any kind of Elemental Law. He also didn’t use a temperature Law. Emotional and Situational Laws also hadn’t been used. His weapon had been created with the High-Tier Hard Pure Law, but basically all weapons have been created with that Law.

His opponent had used an attack-specific Law. When their weapons had clashed, Gravis saw the image of a spear appear in front of him, but it didn’t look like a human-made spear. It looked more like a natural spear.

Gravis had fought a beast in the middle world that had used a similar Law, the Inquisitor. He had unleashed powerful earth spires. However, there were more kinds of spires and spears. There were also lightning spears, fire spears, ice spears, wind spears, metal spears, and other spears.

All of these spears represented a Law each, which was about manipulating the shape and attacking power of something. Gravis’ opponent obviously had studied spears thoroughly and had created a Law that combined all the different kinds of spears into one.

Just like the Law of the Dead World, this combined Law of the Spear was a level four Law comprised of all Spear Laws in the middle world. This was basically a Law from the middle world that managed to reach the power of Laws from the higher world.

As soon as this person managed to learn Spear Laws from the higher world, he would be able to incorporate them into his overarching Spear Law, making it even more powerful. This person was not following the main cultivation path but a secondary path. His Avatar had incredible attacking power, but it wouldn’t reach the peak.

However, that was something for the future. Right now, this Spear Law was a danger to Gravis.

’I can’t even block or parry a single attack from his,’ Gravis thought. ’This will be like fighting a beast again. I can’t directly confront him.’

"Are you done thinking?" the opponent shouted, his smirk barely visible through his black cowl. "So, will you come peacefully, or do I first need to cut off all your limbs, drain your Life Energy, and increase the dosage of the poison?"

Gravis didn’t answer and shot at his opponent again.

The man laughed. "The hard way it is, then," he shouted as he readied his spear again.

Gravis summoned another saber and attacked the opponent again, who answered with a strike of his spear.

This saber was also destroyed, and Gravis was penetrated again as the dosage of the poison increased.

The man only smirked. Did this guy think that he would be able to trade attacks? By doubling the dosage of the poison, this guy wouldn’t even be able to move anymore as his entire Spirit and body would seize and cramp with pain.

Sure enough, a spear had appeared in another one of Gravis’ hands. For a moment, it shot forward, but it stopped as his entire body cramped.

The man only laughed at Gravis. "I’ve expected more of you. How disappointing," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, same," Gravis said, his voice filled with disappointment.

Suddenly, everything seemingly broke apart in the enemy’s eyes.

It was like reality had been replaced with a different reality.

The violent convulsions and reverberations of Gravis’ body, Spirit, and Will-Aura had vanished. Something like that couldn’t be faked, which was why the enemy had been sure that the poison had invaded Gravis’ Spirit.

No convulsions were there anymore.

Gravis’ pained expression and reddened eyes had also vanished like they had never existed.

By all intents and purposes, Gravis appeared healthy and normal, except for the fact that his lower body was missing again.

Gravis’ spear, which had been halted previously, began moving quickly as some lightning exploded behind it. The time of the spear was also accelerated, making it strike forward with incredible speed.

The enemy couldn’t possibly block this attack.

What had happened?

A Will-Aura resided in the Spirit, which meant that it was attuned to Energy. The poison changed the Energy in the Spirit to infect the Will-Aura to create pain. This was how the poison worked.

However, there was no Energy inside Gravis’ Spirit.

There was only lightning.

So, as soon as the poison entered Gravis’ Spirit, it was smashed into pieces like it had been an annoying fly. Gravis hadn’t even felt a little bit of pain.

However, he had still noticed the poison and was able to guess its usage based on its composition. His enemy had thought that they had won, and Gravis played along. His enemy believed that Gravis was afflicted with the poison, so Gravis created a perceived reality that fit their beliefs.

Gravis only had to play along a little bit and act like he was growing desperate. He summoned some weak, spare saber made out of unimportant materials and had let it get destroyed to fool the enemy.

However, as soon as Gravis unleashed his spear strike, actual physical reality returned. It wasn’t that Gravis was playing with his enemy by revealing the truth, but the truth couldn’t be hidden anymore.

Why?

Well...

Gravis’ spear shot forward, and the enemy activated another Formation Array. Just like the last one, this would protect him against a powerful attack. However...

SHING!

Gravis’ spear ignored the Formation Array like it didn’t exist and punched a hole through the enemy.

"Wh-What?"

BANG!

And the opponent exploded.

Sure, the Formation Array would stop a powerful attack, but Gravis had a nice counter to that.

His Law of Freedom.

His Law of Freedom only worked on his body and his self, not on his weapons, however. Yet, hadn’t Gravis learned a "useless" attack previously in the Life Ring?

Well, turns out it wasn’t that useless. It had some uses.

One of these uses was to infuse his weapon with the Laws of Perceived Reality at the cost of sacrificing their subtle effects.

However, by infusing his weapons with these Laws, his weapons would also be infused with the Law of Freedom, making them ignore any kind of suppression, including Formation Arrays.

Because of that, his spear simply moved through the Formation Array of the enemy like it didn’t even exist.

This was why the perceived reality had been broken. It was because Gravis had pulled his Laws of Perceived Reality to physical reality to counter any kind of Formation Array that would block his attack.

"Well, that’s that," Gravis said as he gathered all the wealth that had exploded out of the enemy’s corpse.

"What a disappointment."

Chapter 798 - 798 – Chaotic Battle

This battle had tempered Gravis’ Will-Aura only marginally. He had been in real danger when his opponent attacked first, which had increased his Will-Aura by a little bit, but everything after that had been inside Gravis’ control.

Right now, Gravis’ Will-Aura was still at the level of a Late Minor Circulation Immortal King’s, but it was about halfway to the next level.

’Not even an increase of one level. Truly disappointing,’ Gravis thought.

Gravis would have wished to get more tempering out of his opponent by telling him that Formation Arrays and poisons didn’t work on him, but he didn’t have the luxury right now. He had been able to do that with Samantha only because it had been guaranteed that no third party would intervene.

This was not true this time. There were five other Immortal Kings outside, and Gravis couldn’t trust that the Formation Array that hid them from their eyes would work. His enemy had said so, but Gravis obviously didn’t trust his enemy’s words.

Whoooom!

When the enemy died, the Formation Array surrounding Gravis vanished, and he appeared back in the sky above the Unrestrained Sect.

Destruction.

The Unrestrained Sect had been replaced with several gigantic craters, and the only signs of life were the attackers flying in the sky. Due to the two of them talking a lot, Gravis’ fight with his opponent had taken about three minutes. In these three minutes, the entire Unrestrained Sect had been wiped out.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Well, nearly the entire Sect. The two Vice Sect Masters were still resisting the three attacking Immortal Kings, but they were incredibly injured. They wouldn’t be able to hold out for much longer.

SHING! SHING!

Two Immortal Kings appeared in front of Gravis and glared at him. These two Immortal Kings had been responsible for killing all the Disciples that fled the battle. With their mission complete, they only waited for the other four to complete their missions. Three of them were responsible for the two Vice Sect Masters, while the last one was responsible for Gravis.

"Seems like Virgus failed," one of them said as she spat to the side with disdain. "That idiot always acts recklessly. Seems like he got what was coming to him," she said as she looked at Gravis. "I assume you killed him."

"Sure did," Gravis said with a smirk.

The other one nodded. "Playtime’s over, Gravis," he said, obviously knowing Gravis’ name. "You might have been able to kill Virgus, but we are not as reckless as him. Come peacefully or go through hellish torture."

Gravis had created a new saber out of Virgus’ wealth and summoned it. Then, he readied himself for battle.

"Don’t joke around," the woman said. "We are two, and you are one. You might be able to fight one of us, but not both. Additionally, it’s only a matter of time until the other three arrive."

"You’re wrong," Gravis said with a smirk.

The man hmphed. "Are you saying that you can resist us just by yourself?" he asked with disdain.

"No, I’m not saying that," Gravis said with a smirk. "If I were alone, I truly would have no chance against you. However, who said I’m alone?"

Suddenly, the two Immortal Kings looked at the ball of lightning, which was still flying in the sky. This had been Virgus’ corpse.

WHOOOM!

The ball split in two, and the two halves transformed into bodies.

In just an instant, three Gravises stood in front of the two attackers, all of them at the Late Major Circulation Immortal Realm.

SHING! SHING!

The two of them also took out sabers and stepped beside the first Gravis. Then, all three of them gestured with their open hands to the two Immortal Kings and beckoned them to come closer with their index fingers. "Try not to disappoint me like your colleague, okay?"

The Gravis Force had returned!

Gravis might not be willing to absorb a human’s corpse, but he could create some temporary bodies. As long as he didn’t absorb them into his true self, he wouldn’t have eaten a human, right? These two bodies might also just be attacks.

The two Immortal Kings couldn’t comprehend what was happening. How could there be three Gravises!? Was this a Law? What kind of Law was this!? How overpowered would a Law have to be to triple one’s Battle-Strength!?

"This has to be a trick," the woman said to the man with narrowed eyes as she retrieved a bow. "Just deal with them."

"Oh, time’s up!" the three Gravises said. "Here we go!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Immortal Kings felt a Will-Aura attack them, but they had been prepared. However, the fact that only one Will-Aura had appeared meant that there was only one real Gravis, convincing them of the fact that this was some sort of trick.

The woman flew away as she took out her bow to attack the Gravises. Two of them charged after her while the last one charged at the man.

SHING! SHING!

The man took out two daggers that seemed to drip with darkness. This was the Shadow Element, the level three Law equivalent to the darkness element.

Gravis shot at him and slashed with his saber.

BANG!

One dagger blocked the saber, and Gravis noticed that the daggers didn’t even crack his saber. This was all that he needed to know!

BANG!

The enemy attacked with his second dagger, and Gravis summoned a second saber to block the attack.

The enemy narrowed his eyes as needles suddenly appeared between them. Gravis noticed the needles and saw them dripping with the Shadow Element.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

A jade token was activated, and all needles shot forward with incredible speed, directly at Gravis’ torso.

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

Gravis summoned a shield to block them. Virgus had had a lot of materials on him, allowing Gravis to create a shield for such situations.

The enemy only smiled. ’Fool! So what if you summon a shield? There’s nothing backing the shield. My needles will throw it to the side!’

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

However, the shield held strong and blocked all the needles, shocking the enemy. H-How!?

The enemy’s question got answered as he saw two additional arms coming out of Gravis’ torso, which held the shield.

WHOOOOM! BANG!

Suddenly, the shield shot forward and hit the torso of Gravis’ opponent, breaking several bones.

This was the strength of having a beast body. Gravis’ human body had just as much defense, power, and speed as his beast body, but his beast body had something much more important. Gravis had forged his beast body to counter humans. What can someone with two arms do against someone with six?

The enemy flew several kilometers away, and Gravis shot after him. Gravis replaced his weapons with four spears and stabbed forward with all four of them at once. At best, his opponent would be able to block two.

The opponent recovered and cracked a jade token.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

All four spears hit a Formation Array but weren’t able to break it.

’Tch, another one?’ Gravis thought with frustration.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Gravis continued attacking the Formation Array and broke it in a couple of seconds, but the opponent fully recovered by then.

Several needles appeared again, and the opponent suddenly unleashed a wave of darkness with his two daggers.

Gravis felt his Law of Danger shouting at him. This wave of darkness was incredibly dangerous!

Gravis summoned his shield, but as soon as the wave of darkness hit it, it started to age and rot rapidly.

SSSHHH!

His shield turned into nothingness, and the needles behind the wave shot at Gravis.

Gravis gritted his teeth, and his lightning exploded behind him, throwing him directly towards his enemy.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

All the needles hit Gravis’ body, and his Life Energy was gone in an instant as his entire body aged.

Gravis arrived at his opponent’s side and exploded into lightning.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Gravis had transformed his entire body into a Lightning Crescent and had made it explode before he died.

The explosion ravaged the surroundings as the destruction drew the attention of the other three Immortal Kings.

All three of them noticed that something was not going according to plan. "Enough playing around," one of them said, and the other two nodded.

Then, all three of them activated their level four Laws and attacked the Vice Sect Masters with their full power.

Meanwhile, Gravis’ opponent came out of the explosion, uninjured. The Formation Array around him vanished with a sputter as the fully loaded Lightning Crescent took it out.

"That was close," he said with a sigh.

BANG!

"I knew shooting a bow was easy!" the man heard someone shout from a distance as an arrow made out of lightning punched through his chest.

BOOOOOOM!

And the guy exploded into lightning.

One Gravis was chasing and fighting the other Immortal King as the second one had crafted a bow. After that, he had created a physical arrow made out of lightning with his new knowledge and shot it at the guy.

The arrow made out of lightning penetrated the guy’s chest and exploded just moments later, killing him.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Meanwhile, the two Vice Sect Masters were destroyed by the combined might of the three attackers. The three attackers noticed what was going on and shot to their last remaining colleague.

The corpse of the dead Immortal King transformed into two Gravises again.

Currently, one of them was attacking the woman with the bow, one of them was holding a bow, and two of them had just appeared.

There were four Gravises and four Immortal Kings remaining.

’Man, this will require a ton of multitasking,’ Gravis thought.

SHING! SHING!

All Gravises readied their sabers and searched for an opponent.

Chapter 799 - 799 – Finally!

The other three Immortal Kings quickly arrived at their colleague, and the four Gravises also arrived.

Now, it was four versus four.

"What is going on!?" one of the Immortal Kings asked.

"I don’t know!" the woman with the bow shouted back. "As soon as he kills someone, he creates two additional bodies! I have no idea what’s going on, but all bodies are incredibly powerful!"

"No time for talking!" one of the Gravises shouted as he shot at the woman with the bow. The other three shot at the other Immortal Kings.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Explosions ravaged the sky as the ground was destroyed. By all intents and purposes, eight Immortal Kings were fighting right now, creating a sea of destruction.

Several jade tokens were broken as a gigantic Formation Array appeared, which engulfed the entire battlefield. The inside of the Formation Array became clouded with the Shadow Element, making it impossible to see anything.

Meanwhile, the four Immortal Kings stepped close to each other and formed a battle formation. One guy with a gigantic two-handed sword and a guy with a spear and shield stood at the front. A person with several throwing knives flying around him stood behind them, and the woman with the bow stood behind that person.

All four of them were at the edge of the Formation Array, their backs to it.

"One in front, two on the left, one on the right," the guy in the middle said. He had the Shadow Element, and he could see through everything. He was their eyes and ears in this environment.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The two in the front fought defensively and blocked all the different attacks. The guy in the middle was sharing his Spirit Sense with them, allowing them to see clearly.

Meanwhile, Gravis’ mind was burning up like a meteor. He also knew the Shadow Element, but he couldn’t use it. This meant that he couldn’t see through it without destroying its composition. The problem with that, however, was that destroying composition required concentration.

Sadly, Gravis had absolutely no concentration to spare.

He was controlling four bodies, 24 arms, eight legs, and had to keep track of four Immortal Kings. Gravis’ mind had never been this stressed before.

Gravis’ concentration was burning like a violent welding flame as he had to keep track of everything. One moment of carelessness and one of his bodies would be destroyed. At that point, the enemy would gain a numerical advantage. Then, everything would be over.

Even worse, Gravis couldn’t move his bodies out of the Formation Array to attack them from behind. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the ability, but that this action would result in him dying.

This Formation Array was not designed to keep him inside. This meant that his opponents also kept track of the outside. As soon as Gravis moved one body to the outside, they would notice and unleash all their attacks on the remaining three bodies. Four Attacks would kill at least one body of Gravis if he hadn’t all four available. It was even a great possibility that they wanted him to go outside for precisely that reason.

This meant that Gravis could only remain inside the Formation Array, making it very difficult for him to keep track of everything.

Another jade token was broken as a temporary barrier appeared that blocked a powerful attack. The four of them were fighting defensively. By activating the Formation Arrays in opportune moments, they wouldn’t spend any Energy while Gravis would.

One good thing, though, was the fact that Gravis could spare enough concentration to, at least, break the composition of the Shadow Element immediately surrounding his bodies, increasing the Energy density around him. This allowed him to fight for longer.

However, time was not on his side. His concentration wouldn’t be able to keep being perfect for long. Sooner or later, he would make a mistake.

Gravis’ bodies all unleashed a powerful Lightning Crescent each, but the opponents activated several jade tokens at once, reducing Gravis’ Energy by a ton.

’How many of those do they have!?’ Gravis thought with frustration as he felt danger closing in. He had to win, now!

"We already spent more money than we will get as a reward," one of the Immortal Kings transmitted to his colleagues in frustration. "This entire mission has been a bust!"

"Shut up! At least we got some tempering!" another one shouted with a voice transmission.

"Well, better than nothing, I guess," the woman with the bow said.

"But seriously, this guy is a freak! He’s fighting four Immortal Kings as a Late Major Circulation Immortal. No one would believe me if I told them!" another one said as he blocked another attack.

The others remained silent as they concentrated on defending.

Suddenly, the woman’s eyes shone.

BANG!

A powerful arrow made out of ice was shot out of her bow as it struck one Gravis.

’Fuck!’ Gravis thought with panic. ’I got careless!’

It had only been a matter of time until Gravis made a mistake. His concentration was stretched too thin, and he already started to feel strained. Controlling four bodies that simultaneously fought against four opponents four levels above him was just far too much. Just fighting one of them nearly needed his entire concentration.

One of Gravis’ bodies froze and fell down. He couldn’t even detonate that body since it had been frozen.

’Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!’ Gravis thought with gritted teeth.

Now, his mind was under real pressure, and he felt his death coming. The Law of Danger was telling him that he would die very soon.

’Come on! Come on!’ Gravis thought as he concentrated on the Formation Array. ’Come on! I’m so close!’

WHOOOOSH!

Gravis transformed all the Shadow Element in the surroundings into Energy, and all his bodies appeared again.

BANG!

Gravis had redirected too much concentration on the Shadow Element, which allowed the woman to destroy another body with her bow. Only two Gravises were left now.

WHOOOOM!

The entire Formation Array immediately filled with Shadow Element again, but Gravis had regenerated the entire Energy of his last two bodies.

However, that was not the reason why he had destroyed the composition of the Shadow Element.

’Finally!’ Gravis thought with elation.

One Gravis stood in the middle of the Formation Array and extended his hand downward.

’You shouldn’t have chosen the Shadow Element!’

BOOOOOOOOOM!

In an instant, the entire Formation Array changed as Gravis tweaked it. He understood the composition of the Shadow Element, and he tweaked it.

Gravis had finally comprehended the Major Law of the Elements!

The Shadow Element vanished as the Formation Array refilled its insides.

However, it didn’t refill it with the Shadow Element.

Everything suddenly turned a blinding white.

Light and Darkness were the same thing but on different extremes. The same thing was true with Shadow and Brilliance.

This Formation Array had been tweaked to the Shadow Element, but it could also be used with the Brilliance Element. Gravis simply changed the composition of the Shadow Element inside the Formation Array into the Brilliance Element.

After all, he could use both elements now with his new Law.

And Gravis sure as hell didn’t choose the nice kind of Brilliance Element.

Gravis still remembered the time when he had comprehended the Brilliance Element inside the Virtualization Array. This dick of an element had completely penetrated his entire body and had burned his very being.

In an instant, all four Immortal Kings felt their beings burn violently.

However, the person that had it the worst by far was the one in the middle. He had had his Spirit wholly synchronized with the Shadow Element to keep track of Gravis. So, when the Shadow Element had suddenly been replaced with a searing light, the person’s Spirit received serious injuries, and he lost all his senses.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" the person shouted in pain as he felt his being turn into nothingness. Out of reflexes, he blocked out his senses, but the damage had already been done.

WHOOOOOM!

A powerful sound was heard, but the four Immortal Kings couldn’t see what was happening. They were utterly blind.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

The woman grabbed the injured guy, and everyone immediately left the Formation Array. They couldn’t remain inside anymore.

BOOOOOM!

An ear-shattering sound came out of the Formation Array, and a streak of lightning shot at them.

Inside the streak was a mighty spear made out of lightning.

 

Three jade tokens were destroyed as the group activated their last defensive Formation Arrays. This attack was way too powerful for just one jade token to resist.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

The lightning spear shot through all three Formation Arrays like they didn’t exist.

Time seemingly stopped.

The four of them looked with shock at the Lightning Spear, which would hit the woman with the bow and the blind guy.

Meanwhile, inside the Formation Array, one Gravis stood with a smirk, the lightning runes from Mortality just vanishing from beside him.

However, Gravis hadn’t used Mortality.

He couldn’t load his weapon with lightning and the Laws of Perceived Reality at the same time. When he killed the first guy, Gravis had only used the Laws of Perceived Reality and had only used lightning when his spear had already hit the opponent. With a ranged attack, Gravis couldn’t do that. This meant that Mortality would hit the Formation Arrays and explode.

So, Gravis didn’t shoot a spear but transformed one of his bodies into a Lightning Spear and used the Lightning Runes from Mortality to shoot that body forward. Like this, Gravis’ body would shoot through all Formation Arrays since his body could always use the Law of Freedom to escape suppression.

SHING!

Gravis’ body, in the form of a spear, shot through the woman and the blind man.

Meanwhile, the Gravis inside the Formation Array grinned, lifted his hand, and snapped his fingers.

Chapter 800 - 800 – After The Battle

The two Immortal Kings exploded into lightning, but only for a moment.

The gigantic ball of lightning split apart, and four more Gravises were created.

Now, there were five Gravises and two Immortal Kings.

The two remaining Immortal Kings felt fear take hold of their being. They had to flee, now!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

However, all five Gravises immediately attacked the two remaining Immortal Kings. Gravis didn’t even leave them a chance to flee. They knew far too much about his powers.

The four Gravises immediately went close and exploded, one after the other. With pure power, one didn’t need tactics. Gravis would simply overwhelm them with explosions.

BOOOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOOM!

One of them immediately died after two Gravises exploded, replacing the two destroyed Gravises.

The other one was held down by the three other Gravises, and as soon as those three were joined by the other two, all of them unleashed a fully loaded Lightning Crescent each.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

No manner of defense could protect the last Immortal King from five fully loaded Lightning Crescents. The guy died and was replaced by another pair of Gravises.

Now, there were seven Gravises, all in the Late Major Circulation Immortal Realm.

Gravis took a deep breath as he calmed down. ’Finally, it’s done,’ he thought.

All enemies were dead.

The Gravises looked at each other after a couple of seconds.

’Well, the original body died, only leaving behind bodies made out of human corpses,’ Gravis thought with a frown.

Then, he sighed.

’I didn’t want to absorb human corpses, but it seems like I can’t always get what I want. I’m not about to die just because I don’t want to consume humans.’

One of the Gravises scratched the back of his head. ’Well, I already consumed one, so I might as well consume all of them. Seems like I’m becoming more and more like a beast.’

’Fine, I’ll just consume human corpses in the future. Who cares anyway?’ Gravis thought in exasperation.

So, instead of throwing the other six bodies away, Gravis simply summoned them into his Life Ring.

If he wanted to, he could absorb them right now and become a Peak Immortal, but that was not Gravis’ plan.

No, he would remain a Late Major Circulation Immortal for a little bit longer. He wanted to know how Liran and the Sect Alliance would act if they thought that Gravis was no danger to them. After all, all of them would be five levels above him, right?

Depending on how they acted, Gravis would decide on his next course of action.

’I will put you to the test one last time, Liran and Sect Alliance,’ Gravis thought. ’I don’t have much hope, but maybe you’ll surprise me.’

’Let’s see how you all will react.’

’You better not infuriate me, or you might just drop dead.’

If Gravis combined just four bodies, he would become a Peak Immortal. Then, only three levels would be between him and a Sect Master. Three levels were not difficult for Gravis to overcome.

Gravis’ Will-Aura had received some nice tempering. The fight hadn’t appeared that dangerous, but one had to remember, if Gravis didn’t manage to comprehend the Major Law of the Elements, he would not have survived. It had all hinged on that.

Right now, Gravis’ Will-Aura was equal to the Mid Major Circulation Immortal King Realm. It wasn’t at the peak but close to it. There was basically no difference between jumping three or no levels to Gravis right now. His Will-Aura and Laws of Perceived Reality would be so powerful that every Mid Minor Circulation Immortal King would be suppressed by over 30%.

Additionally, since the potential enemies lacked an entire level compared to someone four levels above Gravis, their entire being was about four times weaker. With the suppression of Gravis’ Will-Aura and Gravis’ powerful body, he would be faster and physically more powerful than any Sect Master. This wouldn’t even be a fight anymore.

There was no difference between one and one-hundred Sect Masters to Gravis.

Gravis relaxed for a couple of minutes to calm down his mind. The battle was over, and he would reflect on it for the next couple of minutes.

’Formation Arrays, eh?’ Gravis thought. ’I guess I will have to deal with more Formation Arrays in the future. I’m not fighting beasts anymore, but humans and humans have all sorts of ingenious tools.’

Gravis looked at the incredible amount of wealth he had gotten, which included a ton of pills, bottles, materials, Immortal Stones, and Formation Arrays. Sadly, Gravis wasn’t able to tell what the pills and liquids did. Sure, he could destroy their composition and analyze them, but that would waste a lot of materials.

Sadly, Gravis had no knowledge of Alchemy.

He wasn’t even sure what any of these Formation Arrays did. Without activating them, he couldn’t tell their use since he couldn’t decipher the symbols on them. However, if he activated them, he would probably waste them.

’Well, after my long Law Comprehension Session, I will go to the Core Regions anyway. I can probably just sell all of this shit.’

Suddenly, Gravis chuckled. ’Actually, I could probably even sell that to Underworld. All this stuff comes from them, so they would probably want to buy it back. It’s all business anyway. Such organizations probably don’t care that I killed their agents as long as I have been their target.’

Whooop!

Suddenly, another person appeared beside Gravis.

It was Surem.

Gravis had released Surem since there were no more enemies remaining.

Surem looked around in panic, searching for the enemy, but he only saw Gravis calmly sitting in the sky. After a moment, Surem calmed down and looked at Gravis.

"Where are we?" he asked. "Where is the Unrestrained Sect?"

"We are above the Unrestrained Sect," Gravis said with a relaxed voice.

No danger was present anymore.

Not even the Sect Masters would be a danger to him anymore.

Right now, there were no enemies left inside the Sect Alliance’s territories.

There was no more hidden pressure or hidden danger.

Gravis was the most powerful being in the area.

Because of that, Gravis relaxed quite a bit.

On one hand, Gravis felt a little bit nervous that no more feeling of danger was around him, but on the other hand, it felt liberating. Just seven years ago, Gravis had been one of the weaker beings in this area. Any powerful Major Circulation Immortal could have killed him.

Now, just seven years later, he was the most powerful person in this area.

When Surem heard that they were above the Unrestrained Sect, his mind stopped working. Surem looked down at the pure destruction.

The Immortal Kings had destroyed every building when they had arrived. After that, a humongous fight between the two Vice Sect Masters and three Immortal Kings broke out, which stretched across a vast distance. Lastly, there had been a violent fight between the Gravis Force and the attackers.

Nothing remained.

There were no trees, no plants, no animals, no rivers, no oceans, no mountains.

There was only uneven, stony land made up of craters of different sizes.

The surrounding mortal cities, farms, and villages didn’t exist anymore.

The Unrestrained Sect didn’t exist anymore.

Nothing was left.

Not even the well-protected warehouse, which had held the majority of the Sect’s wealth, existed anymore. It had survived for a long time, but the fight between the Gravis force and the attackers had destroyed it along with all the wealth it held.

Everything was gone.

Surem’s home was gone.

"Who survived?" Surem asked.

"Me and you," Gravis answered.

Surem released a shaky breath. "No one else? Not even the Vice Sect Masters?"

"No," Gravis said.

Then, Gravis gave Surem an abridged form of the battle. When Surem heard that two Immortal Kings had hunted down all the stragglers, he realized that there was no way that they had survived.

"What of the attackers?"

"I killed all of them," Gravis said.

"All of them?" Surem asked in shock. If he hadn’t felt Gravis’ Spirit when Gravis was trying to keep Surem’s severed head alive, he would have been certain that Gravis was lying. However, Surem had felt Gravis’ true being, and he knew that Gravis wouldn’t lie about something like that.

No matter how hard it was to believe, Surem had to accept it.

Everyone was dead.

What about the few friends that Surem had convinced to leave?

After knowing that several Immortal Kings waited at the edges, that hope was also gone. The Immortal Kings had probably killed everyone that left the Sect even before they attacked.

From the very beginning, there was no hope.

Tears appeared in Surem’s eyes.

He had lost everything.

Everything he had ever known and loved was gone.

He was alone.

Gravis only looked at the sky in relaxation.

This had absolutely nothing to do with him.