Ch. 941..950

Chapter 941 - 941 – Gate Of Death

"Can you see it?" Arc asked.

Gravis only looked transfixed at something in the middle of the cave. It was like this thing was calling to him.

He felt the urge to enter.

He felt like he would receive immeasurable power by entering it.

"Gravis!" Arc shouted.

Gravis shook his head for a second. "Yes?"

"Can you see it?" Arc asked again. His usual joking tone had completely vanished..

Gravis looked back at the middle of the cave. "Yes, I can see it," Gravis said.

"Is it a gate?" Arc asked.

"Yes, it is," Gravis said.

Right now, in the middle of the cave, was a three-meter-high, circular gate. It was made of golden and black materials, but Gravis had no idea what kind of materials they were. He had never seen anything quite like it.

"What color is it?" Arc asked.

"The gate itself is golden-black, and its center is pure black," Gravis said.

In the middle of the gate was... nothing.

It was just like a black screen.

Arc furrowed his brows. "What’s the feeling that you get from looking into the gate?" Arc asked.

Gravis focused on the gate again, and his mind wandered.

"Gravis!"

Gravis shook his head again. This gate had bewitched him again!

"When I look into the gate, I feel like there’s just nothing. It’s like the world simply ends. It’s like the middle of the gate doesn’t exist at all," Gravis explained. "I also feel an urge to enter it. I feel like I would be able to learn something important."

When Arc heard that, he sighed.

"So, it’s just as I’ve thought," Arc said. For some reason, Arc sounded sad but also relieved.

When Gravis noticed Arc’s actions, his brows furrowed. ’What could this gate be that even Arc felt worried about it inside his own world?’

Gravis tried to recreate the image of the gate and sent it to Arc’s and Stella’s minds.

The two of them received the image and had different reactions.

Stella was confused.

It just looked like a normal gate. She didn’t see anything special about it.

In comparison, Arc nodded.

It was just like he thought.

"What is this gate?" Gravis asked.

"As I’ve said previously," Arc answered. "The Laws of my creator’s Cosmos penetrate my world, and the Laws of the Primordial Chaos penetrate my creator’s Cosmos, and, by extension, my world."

"This gate that you see right now is a manifestation of one of the Laws of Primordial Chaos."

"I can’t see it because I’m not powerful enough to compete with the Primordial Chaos. As far as I’m aware, only your father and my creator can compete with the Primordial Chaos. So, in essence, only four beings in the entire Cosmos can see this thing, you, Mortis, your father, and my creator. No one else can see, feel, or interact with it."

"Look," Arc said as he stepped forward.

Gravis’ eyes widened as Arc walked into the middle of the cave, and when Arc touched the gate, nothing happened.

Arc was simply passing through the nothingness in the middle of the gate like it wasn’t even there. Not even the columns of the gate interacted with his body.

"We exist in separate realities," Arc explained. "Only those that the Primordial Chaos deems worthy and those that can compete with it can interact with the gate."

Arc sighed again. "Luckily, you directly contacted me."

Gravis’ brows furrowed. "Why? Would something bad have happened if I hadn’t contacted you?"

Arc nodded. "Yes, two bad things, in fact."

"First, since I can’t feel or sense the gate, I wouldn’t know that one of these gates appeared in my world. You might think that there wouldn’t be an issue with having such a gate. After all, only a few chosen ones can interact with it, right?"

"Wrong," Arc said. "While only the chosen few can interact with such a gate, its impact on my world and even the entire Cosmos is not insignificant. In fact, if not managed correctly, this thing could swallow the entire Cosmos, leaving only you, Mortis, your father, and my creator behind."

Gravis took a deep breath as he looked at the gate.

’This insignificant gate can end the entire Cosmos? How!?’ Gravis thought.

"Has such a gate appeared before?" Gravis asked.

Arc nodded. "A couple of times," Arc answered. "It happens once every couple 100 million years or so."

’100 million years,’ Gravis thought. ’That’s twice as long as Heaven’s Magnates can live! These gates seem to appear very rarely.’

"What does it do?" Gravis asked.

Arc pointed at the floor at the center of the cave. "Do you see the ground below the gate?" Arc asked.

"I can see it!" Stella shouted. "The floor at the center is darker than the rest."

Arc nodded. "The Law of the gate slowly spreads as it continues to exist. Additionally, the bigger it gets, the faster it grows. It might take a thousand years for the stain to become twice as big, but in another thousand years, it might already have swallowed the world."

"Additionally, the gate itself leads to the Primordial Chaos. As you know, my creator’s Cosmos is like a small sphere filled with water inside a bucket of mixed liquids. The outer layer of the sphere is a one-way barrier and filter. The barrier keeps the mixed liquid outside while keeping the water of the sphere inside. Meanwhile, the filter filters out the water from the mixed liquids, and the water will be pushed into the sphere."

"The sphere is the Cosmos. The water is Energy. The mixed liquids are the Primordial Chaos."

"With this analogy, you can look at this gate as a small hole in the filter and barrier."

Gravis’ eyes widened.

Now, he knew why Arc was so serious.

"So, in essence, the water will escape, and the mixed liquids will enter, right?" Gravis asked.

Arc nodded. "Yes, the gate absorbs Energy and dumps out Primordial Chaos. As you know, only someone on the level of my creator can survive coming into contact with Primordial Chaos. Anything else that comes into contact with it will die."

"That’s why I said that I’m glad that you immediately contacted me," Arc said. "My world has a ton of Energy, and I wouldn’t notice the minuscule drop of Energy that the gate consumes. The Primordial Chaos would quickly form a wasteland of death above ground, which would then expand."

"Of course, wastelands appear and vanish all the time in such a big world. I wouldn’t even notice this anomaly until the wasteland becomes like 500 million kilometers wide. That would also be around the time I would notice the drop in Energy."

Gravis listened to Arc with interest and a bit of horror. "And how do you get rid of such a gate?" Gravis asked.

"First, I have to cut off this part of the world," Arc said. "I can’t banish the gate from my world, and I can’t destroy it. However, I can destroy the part of my world that the gate resides in. You can look at it as cutting out a stain from a carpet."

"After that, I need to contact my creator since the gate would still be inside his Cosmos. He then does the same thing as me. He cuts off the part of the Cosmos that the gate resides in."

Gravis nodded. Going against the Primordial Chaos was basically impossible, but it entered the highest Heaven’s home turf. The highest Heaven didn’t have to win against the Primordial Chaos. It just didn’t have to lose.

"What if I enter it?" Gravis asked.

"Remember when I said that two bad things would happen?" Arc answered. "The first thing was what I’ve described just now, while the second bad thing involves you."

"After listening to my descriptions of the effects of the gate, you should be able to extrapolate what kind of Law of the Primordial Chaos this gate represents," Arc said.

Gravis nodded.

"The Law of Death," Gravis said.

"Correct," Arc answered. "You know the Minor Law of Death, a Law even rarer and more mysterious than the Law of Perceived Reality. In order to comprehend this Law, you basically have to witness the end of the world while being the only surviving being. Obviously, not many beings have been in such a situation before."

Gravis’ brows lifted. "The Law of Minor Death is that rare?" he asked.

Gravis had found that the Law of Minor Death was useful when combining it with his Will-Aura, but its effect didn’t even come close to the effect of the Major Law of Suppression. It was simply a nice addition of power but not overly significant.

Arc nodded. "The Law of Minor Death is even rarer than the Law of the True World, and I’m referencing the highest version of the Law of the True World."

Gravis’ eyes widened even more. "It’s that rare? Then, doesn’t that mean that there are more Heaven’s Magnates than people that know the Law of Minor Death?"

Arc nodded. "Yes."

Gravis was genuinely surprised that this nice but not very useful Law was so incredibly rare.

"Anyway," Arc said as he continued. "Since you know what Law this is, what do you think will happen when you enter the gate?"

Gravis looked at the gate with nervousness.

"I would die."

"Exactly!"

Silence.

After a while, Gravis furrowed his brows. "But that doesn’t make complete sense," he said. "I feel like I can comprehend something important by going in there. Additionally, it sounds a bit too simple that this gate simply exists to consume me."

"That’s also true," Arc said. "By going into the gate, you can comprehend the Major Law of Death, which is a level seven Law, by the way. As soon as you comprehend the Major Law of Death, you will be immune to its effects. In that case, you would be able to survive."

Gravis scratched his chin as he looked at the gate.

"However!" Arc shouted loudly to gain Gravis’ attention. "How do you comprehend the Major Law of Death? What must happen for you to learn such a concept? The Minor Law of Death already required the death of a world. What would the Major Law of Death require?"

Gravis’ eyes widened as he realized from what angle Arc was coming from.

"My death," Gravis said.

Arc nodded. "I don’t know the Major Law of Death. I know the Minor Law of Death since I’ve seen my world die a couple of times. I also summoned this gate once before. However, I never entered it."

"My creator said that I would die if I entered it, and for once, I believed him. I don’t think that he lied to me in that case. I didn’t even know that the Major Law of Death existed and what level it was until my creator informed me back then."

"He also told me that over the long years, thousands of beings had entered these gates, but only two have emerged alive."

"You can guess who these two are."

Chapter 942 - 942 – Helping Hand

It was apparent who these two were.

Gravis’ father and the highest Heaven.

However, when Gravis heard that his father managed to come out of such a gate alive, Gravis felt some excitement.

It was inevitable that Gravis compared himself to his father. After all, Gravis had no one else he could compare himself with.

The normal Cultivators were not even close to his level anymore. So, he couldn’t compare himself to them.

This only leaves the Heaven’s Magnates, his father, and the Heavens.

Gravis had only met one Heaven’s Magnate before, which was the Black Magnate, but he hadn’t heard anything of his past.. The lives of the Heaven’s Magnates were still a mystery to Gravis, which basically made it impossible for him to compare himself to them. One can’t compare oneself to something that one knew nothing about.

That left his father and the Heavens.

However, the Heavens had received their incredible powers via a special inheritance area for new Heavens. Additionally, the Heavens didn’t have a finite lifespan. With an infinite amount of time, even a pig would eventually become a God.

This only left Gravis’ father.

His father was the only being Gravis knew that had managed to achieve his level without any of these advantages. The Heaven’s Magnates probably also achieved something like that without such advantages, but Gravis simply didn’t know them.

Because of that, Gravis always felt a slight feeling of rivalry with his father. They weren’t enemies or opponents, but Gravis wanted to at least keep up with his father. Achieving something like that was already more than difficult.

Gravis wanted to enter the gate.

Stella and Arc looked at Gravis, and they both knew what he was thinking.

"Gravis," Stella said as she pulled his arm. "Don’t do it. We’ve just reunited, and I don’t want to lose you again."

Gravis closed his eyes and sighed. "Sorry," he said as he looked at Stella.

Right now, Gravis felt a horrible feeling of guilt.

Tempering was one thing, but entering this gate would be suicide.

For a second there, Gravis had completely forgotten Stella while evaluating if he should enter the gate or not.

"I forgot that I’m not living only for myself anymore," Gravis said as he embraced Stella. "Don’t worry, I won’t enter the gate blindly. I will only enter when I am certain that I will survive, and right now, I can’t be certain of that."

Some tears appeared in Stella’s eyes, but at the same time, she also felt guilty.

Without her, Gravis would have entered this gate, and he might have comprehended something supremely powerful.

Yet, Gravis had been willing to throw this chance away so that he wouldn’t need to leave her.

"Power is not my goal," Gravis said to Stella and also to himself. "As far as I know, this Law is not necessary to reach the power of my father. Right, Arc?" Gravis asked as he looked at Arc.

Arc nodded. "The Major Law of Death is very powerful, but it’s not necessary to reach the level of your father. Additionally, it’s only a level seven Law. Such a Law might be powerful in this world, but there are a lot more powerful Laws in the highest world."

"How useful could a level seven Law be for someone on your father’s level?"

Gravis nodded. That sounded about right.

"Actually," Arc said as a smile returned to his lips. "I’m glad that you didn’t enter. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have anything to look forward to anymore. I still want to fight you, you know?"

Gravis chuckled a bit.

"Anyway," Arc continued. "Since you’re not entering, I’m going to cut off the gate from my world. Its effect on my world will already be tremendous in 2,000 years, and I doubt that you would grow so much in 2,000 years that you would be confident in comprehending the Major Law of Death before dying to its effect."

Gravis sighed and nodded.

200,000 years? Probably.

20,000 years? No.

2,000 years? Impossible.

Gravis would need to push his experience in Law Comprehension to an insane degree. Gravis would only feel somewhat confident if he already knew two or more level seven Laws.

Additionally, this gate probably wouldn’t be the only one.

Gravis knew that he had summoned that gate himself. Why else would it have appeared in this world?

So, couldn’t he just summon another one in the future?

"Come, let’s exit the cave," Arc said. "I’m going to cut off the entire cave, and if you’re still in it, you will be cut off too. Luckily, we managed to find the gate in less than an hour after it appeared. Seems like this time I don’t have to cut off a huge chunk of my world."

Gravis and Stella nodded. After that, they began exiting the cave.

Arc followed them, but he suddenly stopped as his brows furrowed.

Gravis and Stella noticed that Arc stopped and looked at him.

"What’s wrong?" Gravis asked.

Arc only continued frowning.

Gravis lifted an eyebrow.

Two seconds later, Arc looked at Gravis with a skeptical expression.

"My creator declined," Arc said.

Gravis blinked a couple of times. "What do you mean with that?"

"I mean that he said that he doesn’t want to get rid of the gate," Arc said.

This surprised Gravis.

"Wait, so does the highest Heaven want its Cosmos to be consumed by Primordial Chaos?" Gravis asked.

"Of course not," Arc answered as he shook his head slightly. "He said that he would suppress the gate personally and slow down its expansion considerably."

"He said that a couple million years shouldn’t be an issue for him."

Gravis’ brows also furrowed, mirroring Arc’s expression. "But why?"

Arc looked Gravis in the eyes. "For you."

When Gravis heard that, his eyes narrowed.

’What’s it scheming this time?’ Gravis thought. ’Obviously, comprehending the level seven Law of Major Death isn’t necessary to reach my father’s level. This Law would only increase my Battle-Strength even more. This would only make me an even greater danger to it. Additionally, suppressing something like this probably cost quite a bit of Energy.’

’If keeping this gate suppressed didn’t require more than a wave of the highest Heaven’s hand, I could accept it, but the highest Heaven is obviously making some sacrifices for me.’

’But why? Why would it sacrifice its precious Energy for me?’

Gravis could only think of two reasons.

’One reason would be to use me as a weapon against my father. However, becoming father’s enemy is basically impossible. Even if the highest Heaven takes everyone I know as hostages, I would probably still not attack my father. After all, I’m more of a neutral party, and suppressing me like this would push me to my father’s side. Then, the highest Heaven would have to deal with two Opposers.’

’The other reason would be to kill me. I assumed that the highest Heaven wants me to become powerful, but it could just be a very well hidden scheme. Maybe it treated me with kindness in the past to create a chance where I would die 100%. After all, if it isn’t 100% certain that I would die, the risk would be too high. After all, I might actually become its enemy then.’

’So, until that time arrives, it has to treat me perfectly so that I remain neutral.’

’Keeping this gate going just for me would also perfectly fall in line with that scheme. It would be treating me with kindness since it wouldn’t force me to enter the gate. Additionally, I already know of the dangers. Lastly, it’s making a sacrifice to keep the gate in this world.’

’Yet, if I decide to enter, there would be a 99.9% chance for my death.’

’So, no matter if I enter or not, just this gesture alone would not ruin its plans.’

’It would still treat me with kindness, no matter if I decide to enter the gate or not, and if I manage to comprehend the Law of Major Death, it would be in part thanks to the highest Heaven’s sacrifice.’

’However, by using genuine kindness, the highest Heaven is also basically throwing me into a situation where my death is basically certain.’

Gravis sighed.

’The highest Heaven’s schemes are terrifying.’

’It’s basically killing me with kindness.’

’However, I can also just not enter the gate. No one’s forcing me. I’m still free to make my own decisions.’

Gravis’ brows furrowed.

’Yet, is it truly my own decision if the highest Heaven can look so far into the future that it knows that I will eventually enter the gate?’

Gravis shook his head.

’That’s too abstract and philosophical. For now, I should just roll with it.’

’In the end, the decision is still in my hands.’

"Fine," Gravis said neutrally. "If the highest Heaven is willing to make such a sacrifice for me, okay. However, the chances that I will enter the gate are very low. I won’t see this sacrifice as a reason to enter the gate. You basically put food on my table, even though I’m not hungry, and I didn’t want any. I hope the highest Heaven won’t be disappointed when I’ll just ignore the food."

Arc sighed.

"I think I know what you’re thinking about, and I also think I know what my creator is planning."

Then, Arc laughed bitterly.

"This scheme is deeply hidden, but at the same time, it’s also open, obvious, and everyone can see it."

"Yet, in the end, it’s your decision, Gravis," Arc said.

Gravis nodded. "Thanks for understanding, Arc," Gravis said.

"No thanks necessary."

After that, the three of them left, leaving the Gate of Death behind.

What the three of them didn’t know was the fact that two other beings had been with them in the cave.

The highest Heaven stood at the gate’s right side, while the Opposer stood at its left.

The Opposer looked at Gravis’ back as he was leaving.

’I wonder what you will decide in the future.’

At the same time, the highest Heaven was looking at the gate.

Chapter 943 - 943 – Form Laws

Arc teleported everyone back to the underground cave in the eastern continent and then teleported back to his clearing.

The Gate of Death was not something that Gravis wanted to touch right now. He might be used to seeking dangerous tempering, but he wouldn’t straight up commit suicide.

"Thank you for not going," Stella said as she leaned her head on Gravis’ shoulder.

"Thank you for reminding me that I don’t only live for myself anymore," Gravis answered with a smile.

Stella only smiled.

"So, do you want to exchange basically all our Laws now, or do you want to wait?" Gravis asked.

Stella realized what Gravis meant and began thinking.

"I think the more diverse our Laws are, the more effective our time together," Stella said. "As you know, you don’t receive the Laws in an orderly fashion while we are together but receive snippets from all my Laws. You could say that we are comprehending all the Laws of the other one at the same time."

"So, I think it would be more efficient if we split up to comprehend Laws. However, obviously, we can meet up in between," Stella said as she looked at Gravis. "After all, even though we comprehend different Laws, we are still together, and if one of us feels like they want to see the other one, they can just visit, right?"

"Also, comprehending some Laws on our own might help our experience. After all, if we start comprehending all the Laws together, we might get used to comprehending them together."

Gravis could only smile when he heard Stella.

She was right.

Even if they comprehended Laws in different parts of the world, they could always visit.

"I’m glad I’m with such a smart girl," Gravis said with a smile.

Stella only giggled and lightly pushed Gravis away. "Girl, huh?" she asked.

"Sorry, woman," Gravis answered with a snicker.

"That’s more like it," Stella said, pleased.

"I think it would be best if you check out more Mixed Elemental Laws," Gravis said. "You have a lot of experience with the Elements, and I think we both want more Mixed Elemental Laws. After all, the Major Law of Mixed Elements should be one of the most powerful level six Laws that exists."

Stella nodded. "Sounds good," she said. "What will you comprehend? After all, there isn’t much left in terms of level five Laws."

"I’ll be focusing on Battle Laws," Gravis said. "The level five Elemental Battle Laws sound interesting, but there’s something I am even more interested in."

"Oh, what?" Stella asked.

"Body Battle Laws," Gravis answered. "The Law of Strength, the Law of Speed, the Law of Defense, and so on. My body is already more powerful than any human’s, which is why I should focus even more on it."

Stella scratched her chin as she fell into thought. "That sounds reasonable. What about the Form Laws?"

Gravis blinked a couple of times. "Form Laws? That’s the first time I heard that phrase," Gravis answered.

"Oh, right! You haven’t truly been in a Sect before," Stella answered. "Have you ever fought someone that knew a Law that combines the forms of different Elements? Something like wood spear, lightning spear, metal spear, and so on?"

Gravis remembered one of the assassins from the Unrestrained Sect. One of them knew such a Law.

"I think I have," Gravis said.

Stella nodded. "Obviously, these similar attacks can be combined to create an element-neutral version of that attack, which you can then use to augment your weapon. The most obvious name for these kinds of Laws would be Weapon Laws, but we already use that word to describe our Focus. So, since these Laws combine forms of attacks, we simply call them Form Laws."

"The Purist Sect mainly focused on Form Laws, for example. They rarely use the Elements. They sometimes use the Laws of Primordial Force. However, they always use the Form Laws."

"The Form Laws are not as explosive as Elemental Laws, but they require nearly no Energy to maintain. This allows the Cultivator to use this Law continuously. You could call it a form of relentless assault."

Gravis listened to Stella and began thinking about Form Laws.

’I could use something like a passive increase to my Battle-Strength. From what I understand, keeping a Form Law active is just like keeping the Law of Strength active. A Form Law should fit my style.’

Gravis nodded. "Sounds good," he said. "There should be a Saber Form Law, right?"

Stella’s brows furrowed. "Could be, but I’m not certain. Most saber users simply focus on the Sword Form Law since sabers and swords are very similar. I haven’t looked at Form Laws yet, so I don’t know much about them. I only know that most of my seniors that used sabers simply focused on the Sword Form Law, for whatever reason."

Gravis scratched his chin. "The Nine Elements Sect has existed for many millions of years. If there were a Saber Form Law, the Nine Elements Sect should know of its existence. I’m also pretty sure that there is a Law for basically anything. So, something as major as an entire weapon category couldn’t be missing a Law."

"In conclusion, the Nine Elements Sect must know of its existence. Yet, your seniors still chose the Sword Form Law. This means that there must be something that makes the Sword Form Law more attractive than the Saber Form Law," Gravis concluded.

"Probably," Stella answered. "I’m going to the Purist Sect’s territory anyway when I comprehend my Laws. I’m just going to ask around and inform you after I’m done with my Law."

Gravis smiled. "Thanks, Stella. You’re the best," Gravis said as he embraced Stella’s thin waist.

"I know," Stella said with a cute roll of her eyes.

When Gravis saw Stella’s expression, he couldn’t keep himself in check anymore and kissed her deeply.

Stella reciprocated Gravis’ advances, and before the two of them knew it, they were back to celebrating their relationship.

Chapter 944 - 944 – Gravis Gets Angry

This time, Gravis and Stella weren’t so lost in their love that they took years to calm down. This time, they had only been in the throes of passion for three days.

After they were done, Stella informed Gravis that she would be checking out the level five Law of Shadow Inferno, the Law that Siral had comprehended by consuming the Law Comprehension Life Fruits. Stella already had used her Law Comprehension Life Fruits, and she couldn’t use them anytime soon. Gravis had informed her that she should comprehend five level five Laws the normal way before using the Life Fruits again.

Stella and Gravis embraced each other one last time before they split up. However, this departure was not as bitter as all the previous ones. Gravis had used his Life Ring to build a connection with Stella.. She wasn’t under the effects of the Life Ring, but the Life Ring would allow Gravis to always contact Stella if he wanted.

After Stella left, Gravis looked towards the west. ’The Body Battle Laws should be one of the most sought-after groups of Laws in the beast territory. I’m pretty certain that they have several Law Comprehension Areas for these Laws.’

Gravis transformed into a beast and moved towards the west below the ground.

However, some minutes later, Gravis got interrupted.

"You going to tell me about that black sun anytime soon?" Mortis asked Gravis.

Gravis stopped as he became confused for a second, but then he remembered the Gate of Death and that he hadn’t informed Mortis about it yet.

"You also noticed it?" Gravis asked.

"Of course I noticed it," Mortis answered with a voice bereft of amusement. "After I noticed it, your emotions went haywire, and you moved across the entire world in just an hour. I didn’t bother to investigate it since you were obviously already doing so."

Gravis sighed.

Then, Gravis told Mortis about the Gate of Death and its effects.

"Alright," Mortis asked. "Give me 200 more years, and I’ll check it out."

"Don’t!" Gravis shouted.

This was exactly why he hadn’t informed Mortis immediately!

With Mortis’ personality, he would directly charge into the Gate of Death with no concern for his life!

"Why shouldn’t I?" Mortis asked evenly.

"I’ve told you exactly why you shouldn’t!"

"What, because nearly everyone else died? So? We’re constantly tempering ourselves with danger," Mortis answered.

"Yes, I know," Gravis answered with annoyance. On one hand, Mortis was smart, but on the other hand, Mortis could also be stupid beyond belief. "You have to keep in mind which people entered these Gates of Death in the past. I doubt that any of them had been weaker than us."

"Think about it!" Gravis urged. "We have always been at the forefront of our Realm in regards to Laws, which means that probably every single other person that called such a Gate of Death in the past must have been an Immortal Emperor or even a Star God! Their Spirits are far more powerful than ours, allowing them to comprehend Laws even faster. On top of that, they probably also knew several level six and maybe even level seven Laws!"

"If we enter now, our chance of death isn’t 99.9% but 100%! With 99.9%, we at least still have a tiny chance, but with 100%, we don’t have any chance. If you want to enter the Gate of Death now to comprehend the Major Law of Death, you might as well try to comprehend the Major Law of Death by cutting your own head off with your saber! That should be just as effective!"

Mortis’ expression didn’t change. Obviously, he wasn’t very impressed with Gravis’ words.

"That doesn’t change anything," he said slowly. "Danger is danger, and with danger comes power."

Gravis tried to ruffle his hair in frustration but only felt scales. He forgot that he was in his beast form.

"Dude!" Gravis shouted with frustration. "Have you ever considered that not all danger is equal!? There’s a thing called time and different power levels. Not sure if you’ve heard of that before!"

Mortis’ eyes narrowed as he heard Gravis’ patronizing tone.

However, Gravis only continued with his verbal assault.

"Imagine someone needs to kill someone in the Self Stage in the Spirit Forming Realm to reach the Unity Realm. Sure, that’s necessary, and they have to do it to progress. However, that doesn’t mean that they should directly challenge someone at the Self Stage while they are still in the Energy Gathering Realm!"

"First, get all the easier challenges out of the way before you take on the harder ones! Oftentimes, you need to have beaten the easier challenges to become powerful enough to even have a chance at the harder ones! You don’t enter an inheritance and start with the hardest level! No, you go from easy to hard to gain enough experience!"

"Immediately charging into such intense danger while not under any threat of urgency is idiotic! By your logic, it wouldn’t make a difference if I challenge someone in the Mid Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm next or Narcissus!"

"Why don’t you go challenge Arc directly!? I mean, what’s the difference, right? Danger is danger!"

Silence.

Several seconds of silence.

"You also wanted to enter, didn’t you?" Mortis asked.

Gravis exploded again. "Yes! Yes, I wanted to enter! However, Stella and Arc stopped me, and I’m glad they did! I was also close to making the same mistake as you, and that’s why I’m so furious! When I’m looking at how you are willing to charge into death, I get the feeling that this is how Stella must have felt! Just like you, I was willing to charge into death, and that’s stupid!"

"Someone else needed to stop me so that I didn’t do something that ridiculous, and I’m going to do the same thing for you now. Don’t go into the Gate of Death! We are not under a time crunch! The highest Heaven is keeping the gate open for millions of years."

"We can enter it when we’re nearly ready to fight Arc," Gravis said.

Silence.

"Is that a promise?" Mortis asked.

Gravis took a deep breath, which was filled with magma since he was underground.

"Yes, it’s a promise," Gravis said.

"Fine, I’ll keep you to it," Mortis answered. "If you break this promise, I will kill you."

Gravis groaned as he rolled his eyes. "Why do you always have to be so stuck-up?"

"It’s not stuck-up. It’s decisive," Mortis answered.

"Mhm."

Ten seconds of silence passed.

"How long until you’re done with the level five Law of Lightning’s Speed?" Gravis asked.

"About 200 years should be enough," Mortis answered.

"Good. I’m going to check out the different Battle Laws for the body. I probably have to check out the level three Laws of those first and then work my way upward. I’ll inform you when I comprehended one that’s at the fourth level or higher," Gravis answered.

"Fine," Mortis answered. "The Body Battle Laws should increase both of our Battle-Strengths by quite a bit. Stella’s not with you?"

"No, she’s looking at the Mixed Element Laws," Gravis answered. "We decided that it would be better that we both check out different Laws before we combine them."

"That means I get some years of peace and quiet. Good."

Gravis sighed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. You know that I can’t change anything about our connection currently."

"I know," Mortis answered.

Mortis saw that there was nothing relevant to talk about anymore. So, he cut off the connection and continued comprehending Laws.

After some seconds of silence, Gravis sighed again.

’Was I really so stubborn and death-seeking when I was younger?’

Chapter 945: Bull

After talking with Mortis, Gravis continued traveling to the beast territory.

A couple hours later, Gravis came out of the ground in the beast territory and started looking around.

'I should first check for the level three Law of Supreme Strength,' Gravis thought. 'Meadow knew that Law back in the middle world, and this Law should serve as a good basis for the more powerful Strength Laws.'

SHING!

Gravis teleported to the west a couple of times, and whenever he found a beast at the Law Comprehension Realm or higher, he asked them about a place where he could comprehend the level three Law of Supreme Strength.

Some of them didn't know where Gravis could find such a Law Comprehension Area, but the fourth beast Gravis asked was able to give him a clear direction.

Gravis traveled towards the northwest for about an hour and then arrived at his destination.

Gravis looked at the destination and rubbed the back of his long neck awkwardly. 'It doesn't look like a Law Comprehension Area. It's simply a desert about 5,000 kilometers wide.'

However, Gravis was sure that he was at the right place since he saw several beasts in the middle of the desert. Some of them were in the Late or Peak Law Comprehension Realm, and some were in the earlier Immortal Realms.

All of the beasts took turns as they fought a ten-meter-tall bull. After every exchange, the beasts were thrown into the distance while the ten-meter-tall bull triumphed.

'So, it's not really a Law Comprehension Area but more like a teaching session,' Gravis thought with a frown. 'I should watch a little longer to make sure that I'm not about to damage my future Law Comprehension.'

Gravis kept watching the exchanges for about a day to make sure.

'The bull isn't explaining anything. He's just directly clashing with them. In a sense, he's only showcasing the Law. This could count as a Law Comprehension Area, and learning from him shouldn't damage my future Law Comprehension,' Gravis thought with relief.

'Surprisingly, the bull is only in the Mid Minor Circulation Immortal Realm, but he's even pushing back Late Minor Circulation Immortals. That's quite a jump in terms of physical power.'

Gravis also checked out the surroundings of the desert.

'There are no guards. Usually, the beasts would have guards in Law Comprehension Areas to check if someone even has the credentials to comprehend the Laws. Either the bull itself acts as a guard, or this Law is free for everyone to comprehend. I'm leaning more towards the second possibility. I'm pretty sure the beast let everyone comprehend level one to three Laws.'

'Alright then, bull. You will be my teacher for the foreseeable future,' Gravis thought.

Then, Gravis scratched the back of his head awkwardly again.

'However, it's a bit embarrassing if a powerful Immortal King suddenly arrives to learn a mere level three Law.'

BZZZ!

A second Gravis appeared, and the first Gravis entered the Life Ring.

The new Gravis was in the Mid Minor Circulation Immortal Realm, the same Realm as the bull.

'This should be better!'

After everything was prepared, Gravis entered the desert and arrived in the middle.

The beasts shot a quick glance at Gravis and turned back to the bull. New beasts arrived all the time, after all.

However, most of them quickly looked at Gravis again with more concentration.

Yes, new beasts arrived all the time, but Black Demons were still rare.

The bull also noticed Gravis and furrowed his brows.

Black Demons were troublesome.

Yet, a small part of the bull's mind wanted to show his power to one of those illustrious Black Demons. The Black Demons were famous for having a Battle-Strength that went beyond their level, but the bull had never seen one fight before.

The bull wanted to know if he could beat a Black Demon.

BANG!

After throwing his current opponent away with a charge, the bull turned to Gravis.

"It's your turn," the bull said.

"What am I supposed to do?" Gravis asked.

"Just fight me," the bull said. "However, this is sparring for the purpose of education, not a fight to the death. Remember that! Also, only use your physical body. You are here to learn, after all. I will keep using the Law of Supreme Strength. Watch what I do, how my body moves, and try to understand how I'm able to unleash so much more physical power than you."

Gravis nodded. "Alright. You can begin."

The bull snorted once, creating a cloud of sand.

Then, he charged at Gravis.

Gravis looked at the bull with shining eyes. 'Interesting! He is a bit faster than he should be. He isn't using a speed-related Law, but the passive increase of his power also slightly increases his speed. His attack is probably an entire level more powerful than his Realm.'

The bull charged at Gravis. The bull was ten meters high, while Gravis was barely two meters high.

Gravis leaned to the right to evade. After all, the bull said that Gravis should simply fight, not clash with him.

The bull noticed Gravis' movement and slightly veered to the right.

And then, Gravis jumped towards the left.

The bull barely passed him with shock.

BANG!

Then, Gravis jumped and kicked the bull in the side.

CRRRRR!

The bull flew for around a hundred meters before he stopped, creating a ditch in the desert.

The beasts looked with surprise at Gravis and nodded. Sure enough, Black Demons were powerful. He even managed to kick a beast that had a vastly more powerful body.

The bull quickly stood up as his broken bones healed.

Then, he snorted again.

"You are here to comprehend the Law of Supreme Strength," he said. "Don't use your small size to counteract my bigger size. You won't be able to learn the Law like this."

Gravis nodded. "Alright."

CRR!

And then, Gravis grew until he was just as tall as the bull.

The bull snorted once more and charged at Gravis.

This time, he wouldn't be fooled by Gravis' feints!

When the bull reached him, Gravis stretched out his right arm, grabbed one of the horns, and then used that horn to push himself to the side.

BANG!

Another kick, another ditch.

Snort!

"Fight me directly!" the bull shouted. "Stop using your claws to evade my charge!"

Gravis blinked a couple of times.

'Hey, you were the one that asked me to just attack you,' Gravis thought bitterly. 'First, you say no Laws. Then, you say no small size. Then, you say no claws. What next? Should I just stop moving entirely!?'

"Alright," Gravis said again.

Snort!

The bull snorted again and charged at Gravis.

This time, Gravis didn't evade to the side.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Instead, Gravis began running away from the bull and punched him in the face a couple of times. Usually, the bull would have been a bit faster than Gravis due to the Law of Supreme Strength, but the punches slowed the bull down while throwing Gravis further into the distance.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Stop!" the bull suddenly shouted. However, his voice sounded less arrogant and angry and more dejected.

'Seems like I can't win,' the bull thought, dejected.

"Just try to directly clash with me in a show of force, alright?" the bull asked, not as commanding as before.

Gravis scratched the back of his neck. "Okay," he said.

The bull charged once more, and this time, Gravis directly tried to stop him.

Gravis grabbed the two horns of the bull and put his full power behind it.

CRRRRRRR!

Gravis' feet created a ditch in the ground as the bull pushed him into the distance.

'Interesting,' Gravis thought as he watched the bull before him intently. 'We are currently at the same level, but his body is so much more powerful than mine. How does that Law work exactly?'

The bull continued to push Gravis around for nearly half an hour, creating a ton of crevices in the sand.

The beasts were watching with interest.

Their teacher, the bull, had always thrown them to the ground miserably before going to the next beast to do the same thing again.

But this time, the bull didn't manage to throw the new beast to the ground.

Instead, it was the bull who had been thrown to the ground multiple times before putting one restriction after the other on the Black Demon.

The beasts found it quite amusing.

"Your turn is over!" the bull shouted as he stopped. "The others also need my teachings."

Gravis nodded as he jumped back a bit.

Meanwhile, the bull was dejected.

'Teaching this Black Demon isn't nearly as fun as teaching the others,' he thought with frustration.

However, his happiness returned as he threw the next beast to the ground again.

Gravis put a damper on things, but the bull still loved his job.

Chapter 946: The Simplest Law Comprehension Area

Years passed.

While it was not Gravis' turn, he simply watched the bull.

By now, Gravis had noticed that the bull's Energy was moving in peculiar ways. For some reason, his Energy managed to fuse with his body. Yet, the Energy wasn't being used up but simply resided in the bull's body, increasing his power.

In short, the bull's Energy was dropping at the same speed as his stamina. The Energy usage was negligible. After all, beasts could physically exert themselves for days on end before running out of stamina.

Fights in the Immortal King Realm rarely took longer than an hour. In fact, most of the fights already ended before even 20 minutes passed.

So, using the Law of Supreme Strength in a 20-minute fight didn't even consume 1% of one's Energy storage.

Sure enough, the Law of Supreme Strength was very useful. It basically made someone's body an entire level stronger without wasting anything.

There was literally no downside.

'I have severely neglected these Laws,' Gravis thought with a frown. 'These Laws can just passively boost my power, and I have to pay nothing. It's just like having a more powerful weapon.'

Gravis continued watching and participating with interest. He wanted to learn this Law!

And 30 years later…

BOOOOM!

Gravis comprehended the level three Law of Supreme Strength!

30 years sounded like a long time for a level three Law, but one should remember that it took Gravis around 300 years to comprehend the level four Law of Cold.

30 years was only a tenth of that.

Gravis comprehended the Law while clashing with the bull, and as soon as he did, the two of them reached a deadlock.

The bull's eyes widened while Gravis smirked.

Then, Gravis jumped back, nodded at the bull, and teleported away.

The beasts all looked with shock at the place where Gravis had previously stood.

30 years?

He comprehended the Law after only 30 years!?

That was insanely fast!

Sure enough, Black Demons were powerful!

When the bull saw Gravis leave, he sighed. It had taken him over 500 years to comprehend this Law.

Even more, the Black Demon didn't even need to temper himself to comprehend it!

Sadly, the bull didn't know that Gravis was, in reality, already a Late Major Circulation Immortal King. Because of that, his Spirit was also quite powerful. Even if his secondary body was weak, the Spirit of Gravis' main body still watched on as he comprehended the Law.

Learning a level three Law was only a matter of time for Gravis.

A couple million kilometers away from the clearing, Gravis switched bodies again.

Then, he used the Law of Supreme Strength on himself.

Whooosh!

Gravis performed a punch and evaluated how much stronger that punch was compared to normal.

'10%,' Gravis thought as he sighed. 'Sure enough, a level three Law isn't very useful to an Immortal King.'

'Anyway, that leaves the level three Law of Supreme Speed and the level three Law of Supreme Defense. After I got those two, I should check out the level four variants,' Gravis thought.

Gravis quickly teleported around and asked several beasts where he could find a Law Comprehension Area for the level three Law of Supreme Speed. It took him a bit of asking around, but eventually, he got some directions.

Two hours later, Gravis arrived in a stony wasteland. It was a bit bigger than the desert Gravis had been in for 30 years, but not by much.

Just like with the previous Law, Gravis saw a couple of beasts strewn across the wasteland. Currently, a one-meter-long rabbit was running from one end of the wasteland to the other. It explosively accelerated and then decelerated subsequently.

Obviously, the rabbit was activating the level three Law of Supreme Speed and then deactivating it again. Watching someone continually using the Law of Supreme Speed wouldn't help much, which was why the rabbit was activating and deactivating it constantly. This gave the watchers a clear before-and-after picture.

They only had to spot the difference.

Gravis watched for around a day, making sure that the rabbit wasn't directly explaining things. After all, his future Law Comprehension was much more important than learning this Law.

After a day, Gravis concluded that, just like the bull, the rabbit was teaching the Law in a healthy fashion.

Gravis switched bodies again and entered the wasteland. He looked for a good spot and stood there, watching the rabbit.

Some beasts threw Gravis complex glances, but they didn't interact with him. The rabbit also looked at Gravis for a bit but then ignored him.

The rabbit's job was simple.

Run from A to B.

Run from B to A.

Repeat.

As Gravis watched the rabbit, he felt a bit weird.

'This is about the cheapest and simplest Law Comprehension Area I have ever seen,' Gravis thought. 'In order to create artificial Law Comprehension Areas, humans and beasts have to spend a ton of Energy and effort to keep the Laws going. The entire Law Comprehension Area might collapse if the balance of the Elements isn't maintained perfectly.'

Gravis' head followed the rabbit with a complex look.

'Yet, this artificial Law Comprehension Area is only a rabbit running back and forth. It is so simple, easy to maintain, and easy to create that even a mortal could create something like this, assuming that the mortal has a pet that knows the Law.'

'Yet, it's efficient and effective,' Gravis thought as he scratched the back of his head. 'It demonstrates the Law nicely.'

'I still remember how I have looked up to level three Laws in the middle world. I always imagined how a Law Comprehension Area for one of those illustrious level three Laws looked like. It had to be epic and awe-inspiring, right?'

The rabbit passed Gravis again.

'Yet, it's just a rabbit running from A to B.'

And that's how Gravis spent his next few years, watching a rabbit run around.

It somehow felt surreal to Gravis.

Yet, the Law Comprehension Area was doing its job because just twenty years later…

BOOOOM!

Gravis comprehended the level three Law of Supreme Speed!

Gravis nodded as he finished the Law and teleported away again.

After that, Gravis tried out the Law and noticed that, just like the Law of Supreme Strength, his speed rose by about 10%.

'This Law only took me 20 years in comparison to the 30 years of the Law of Supreme Strength,' Gravis thought. 'I already learned how to infuse my body with my Energy by comprehending the Law of Supreme Strength first. I only needed to learn the exact way on how to do it, which made learning this Law far easier.'

'Anyway, last stop, the level three Law of Supreme Defense!'

Just like the previous two times, Gravis asked around and quickly found the Law Comprehension Area.

Surprisingly enough, this Law Comprehension Area wasn't a desert or a wasteland.

Instead, it was a violently burning volcano that demonstrated the Law of Inferno.

In the beginning, Gravis thought that he had maybe taken a wrong turn, but after looking into the volcano, he realized that he was at the right place.

The volcano was filled with several beasts, but two of them stood out in particular.

One of them was a black elephant, while the other one was a white sparrow.

The beasts looked on from the side as the black elephant swam inside the Inferno of the volcano, the white sparrow standing on his back.

Right now, the black elephant didn't get injured as he continuously swimming around.

However, that changed 30 seconds later.

CRK! CRK!

The skin of the black elephant was suddenly cracking as it could no longer resist the heat.

Whooom!

That's when the white sparrow started to shine brightly. At the same time, the black elephant's injuries started to heal.

30 seconds later, the black elephant stopped receiving injuries as he activated his level three Law of Supreme Defense again.

'Interesting,' Gravis thought as he scratched his chin. 'Just like the rabbit, the black elephant is simply showing the difference between using and not using the Law. However, to show the difference, the elephant actually has to receive an attack. So, he simply uses this volcano. The white sparrow is probably there to supplement his Life Energy. After all, the black elephant would probably run out of Life Energy in around half an hour at this rate.'

Just like the previous times, Gravis joined the beasts to watch, and 15 years later…

Gravis comprehended the level three Law of Supreme Defense.

'Alright, and that wraps up all the level three Law variants of the Body Battle Laws!'

After comprehending the Law, Gravis teleported away again.

Chapter 947: Token

Gravis had finished comprehending the level three Body Battle Laws. They weren't of much use, but they at least gave him a basis for the more powerful ones.

One had to remember that the level three Laws were tailored for Cultivators in a middle world. As soon as someone became an Immortal, the level three Laws became weaker in relation to the higher power, and this weakness only further solidified when one became an Immortal King.

Now, it was time for the level four variants of these Laws.

Gravis went further into the beast territory since the more valuable Laws were more likely to be there. After asking around for a bit, Gravis got some directions under the confused eyes of the beasts.

Why did that Black Demon ask for the way?

Shouldn't his Wave Leader have told him where to find one?

After teleporting around for a bit, Gravis arrived at the Law Comprehension Area for the Major Law of Strength, a level four Law.

Just like the previous Law Comprehension Areas, this one also wasn't very impressive or anything. It was simply a big clearing with two beasts in it.

"Do you have a token?" someone asked from below Gravis.

Gravis looked down and saw a lion resting near the edge of the clearing. This lion was in the Late Minor Circulation Immortal King Realm.

'Just as I've thought,' Gravis thought. 'The level four Laws are under strict supervision, and comprehending them isn't free.'

Gravis pulled one of his scales out and retrieved a small, black object.

This was Narcissus' token.

Gravis threw it over to the lion. "Here," he said.

The lion caught the token and looked at it for a bit. Slowly, his brows furrowed.

He couldn't understand this token.

Usually, a lot of information was stored in these tokens, which were created out of the body parts of the Wave Leaders. By feeling their aura and looking at them, a guard would be able to see which Wave Leader had granted access to this Law Comprehension Area.

The intensity of the aura told the guard how long the beast would be allowed to stay here.

If a Wave Leader wanted to give someone a lot of access to Law Comprehension Areas, they would have to cut off their Realm alongside their body part. This was the same method of cutting one's body parts off as Gravis had used when he had purchased his Law Comprehension Life Fruits for the level five Law of Magma.

In short, their Realm might even drop.

Because of that, granting beasts access to Law Comprehension Areas could even come at a cost to the Wave Leader.

A Peak Immortal King Wave Leader could grant indefinite access to a level four Law Comprehension Area without much problem. After all, with their power, it wasn't hard to create a token with the relevant power. They wouldn't even need to cut off part of their Realm.

However, when it came to level five Laws, everything was different.

Different levels of Law Comprehension Areas required different levels of power. A Peak Immortal King Wave Leader would have to reduce their Realm by a bit to grant access to a level five Law Comprehension Area to someone else.

Usually, it wasn't hard for a guard to check how much access a token could grant someone.

They only had to infuse their own aura into the token. This would result in the destruction of the previous owner's will, essentially making the token useless after that.

However, there were standards that the guards had to follow.

According to which Law Comprehension Area they were defending, the guards were required to attack the will of the token with corresponding intensity.

A level four Law, for example, wouldn't require a Late Minor Circulation Immortal King to attack the token with their full power.

No, they would only put a part of their will into the token. The two wills would cancel each other out to a certain degree, but depending on the power of the token, the will wouldn't completely vanish.

Explaining this concept would be easier with a comparison. Imagine there was a fire, and one bucket of water would extinguish the fire perfectly. The fire represented the token, while the water represented how much force it would take to destroy the token.

One could say that being given unlimited time in a level four Law Comprehension Area would require a token that was able to cancel out one bucket of water. If the infused will of the guard perfectly canceled out the will in the token, it would mean that one could stay here until one fully understood the Law in that case.

However, if the will of the token was destroyed before resisting the guard's will, the owner of the token would only get a limited amount of time, depending on how long the token resisted.

If the will of the token still existed after resisting the will of the guard, the owner of the token could use the remaining will on the token to exchange for more time in a different Law Comprehension Area.

The stronger the fire, the more buckets of water it could resist.

The lion looked at the black root before him, not knowing what kind of token it was.

This simply didn't look like any token the guard had ever seen before.

However, it obviously was a token since there were some carvings on the root that complied with the code of creating authentic tokens.

After some seconds, the guard put one claw on the token and infused his will.

Thunk!

The guard's eyes widened in shock.

The small part of his will, which he had infused into the token, had immediately been destroyed!

It was like a mortal person had rammed into a steel wall at ultrasonic speeds!

Immediate destruction!

The guard looked at the small black root in shock.

'How powerful does the owner have to be to create such a powerful object!?' he thought in shock. 'This can only come from an Immortal Emperor!'

'How much access could such a ridiculous token grant?' the guard thought.

Gravis looked at the guard. "Everything alright?" he asked.

The lion looked back at Gravis with furrowed brows.

Pack!

Then, he threw the token back to Gravis, who quickly caught it.

"You can stay here until you comprehend the Law," the lion said, "but you already knew that, didn't you?" he asked.

Gravis chuckled a bit. "Yes," he said.

After that, Gravis nodded and entered the Law Comprehension Area.

Meanwhile, the lion sighed again. He also wanted to have such a token.

This was the difference between humans and beasts.

A human might have tried a way to get the token, like saying that it's a fake and confiscating it or just directly killing the owner of it.

Yet, beasts were more united than humans.

It didn't even cross the beast's mind to steal that token from Gravis.

After all, a very powerful being had given Gravis that token.

More powerful beings were worthy of respect, and weaker beasts would follow their orders. So, even if the lion had never seen the powerful being that had granted Gravis this token, coveting the token would be going against his own leadership, which he acknowledged with his full heart.

They were one tribe, one organization, one territory.

One front.

Chapter 948: Life Enlightenment

After getting his token back, Gravis entered the clearing. In front of him were two beasts. One was a black civet, while the other one was a brown bear.

According to what they were doing, the brown bear was probably the one teaching the Major Law of Strength.

Just like the previous Law Comprehension Areas, this one was simply a beast teaching the others. After all, it was hard to find an application of the Major Law of Strength naturally. It was something that inherently lived inside a being's body.

The bear looked at Gravis after throwing the civet away and nodded. "Wait for your turn," he said.

Gravis only nodded back.

After half an hour, the bear was done with the civet and turned to Gravis. "We clash against each other with pure power, and I will activate and deactivate the Major Law of Strength," he said. "With your power, you should be able to resist me even when I activate the Law. Simply try to see the difference in the applications."

Gravis hadn't reduced his Realm this time, and the bear was only in the Mid Minor Circulation Immortal King Realm. Of course, the bear knew that he couldn't resist Gravis if he actually used his full power.

The bear walked forward and lifted his paw.

Gravis lifted his right claw, and their appendages locked together.

"Rah!" the bear shouted as he used his physical power. Of course, it wasn't difficult for Gravis to hold against that.

"I will now activate the Major Law of Strength," the bear said. "Watch closely."

Gravis nodded.

BRR!

The sound of a tremor could be heard as the power of the bear multiplied. His physical power had increased by a whole level.

Gravis felt the difference in power and watched how the Law revolved inside the bear's body. Of course, Gravis couldn't really look into the bear's body since there was a will inhabiting it, but he could extrapolate some clues based on what he felt.

This clash of power continued for a year until the bear stopped.

"Think about what you have seen," the bear said. "Also, you can still watch my display with the other candidate to further your understanding."

Gravis nodded, and the bear turned to the civet.

Then, he spent the next year pushing the civet around the clearing since it couldn't resist the bear's power, unlike Gravis.

Gravis watched with interest, but the more he watched, the more he realized that the level three Law of Supreme Strength was very different from the level four Law of Major Strength.

'I should have seen that coming,' Gravis thought. 'After all, the body changes severely as soon as it reaches the Immortal Realm. At that point, all the old concepts become redundant and inefficient. It's actually obvious that a Law that can influence the power of an Immortal body to such a degree would work very differently.'

'However, comprehending the Law of Supreme Strength still comes with some advantages. After all, not the entire application changes, only a major part of it.'

Gravis spent the next years practicing with the bear.

100 years later.

'It's actually interesting how different the Laws work,' Gravis thought. 'By now, I have quite a bit of insight into the Law, and I can see that it allows for an integration of Energy into the physical body in a far more fundamental manner.'

'The Law of Supreme Strength only puts the Energy into the body, but the Major Law of Strength directly adds the Energy to the Composition of the body, which is also Energy.'

Gravis scratched his chin as he watched the civet and the bear clash.

'Immortal bodies work very differently from weaker bodies. Normal bodies are not as freely manipulatable as the bodies of Immortals. Even if I knew this Major Law of Strength, I wouldn't even be able to use it without a body at the Immortal Realm. The concept simply wouldn't be applicable since a normal body can't be manipulated this freely.'

'I know the level three Law of Life Composition, which allows me to see what's possible to do with a body and what not. Something like this would definitely be impossible with what I know of the weaker Composition Laws.'

'I don't fully know the level four Body Composition Laws yet, but I also have some insights into them. I'm not entirely sure how this Law can be integrated into an Immortal body fully, but it obviously works.'

'Comprehending this Law should help me in comprehending the level four Body Composition Laws, which I need desperately. After all, I can't learn the Composition Laws of my own body since my body is simply composed of Void Lightning. I already know its Composition.'

'Luckily, my Void Lightning can accommodate just as many different concepts as Energy. Otherwise, I might not be able to use these physical Battle Laws. I would still have the ability to use the ones below level four, but not the ones at level four or above. They simply wouldn't work with normal lightning.'

'What's also interesting, actually, is that the soul is in no way involved in the weaker Body Battle Laws, but very involved in the stronger Body Battle Laws.'

'The inclusion of a soul and a will is apparently significant when someone uses an Immortal body.'

'The entire Composition is different,' Gravis thought.

As Gravis continued watching, he was thinking more about the difference between the powers of a body.

'What is the difference that requires an Immortal body to build a connection with a soul when a normal living body doesn't need it? Theoretically, a normal living body could survive without a soul. The organs would still produce Life Energy, after all.'

'Yet, theoretically, an Immortal body without a soul wouldn't produce any Life Energy anymore. This means that Life Energy at the Immortal Realm or higher must be connected to a soul.'

'Doesn't that mean that Life Energy would undergo a fundamental change too?' Gravis thought as he looked towards the sky. 'The body itself changes dramatically. So, the Life Energy might also change dramatically.'

'How exactly do my Body Growth Laws work? What am I creating to regrow my body?' Gravis thought.

Gravis closed his eyes and focused on his Body Growth Laws.

He knew how he could use his power to regrow his body, but he didn't know what exactly he was producing that created this effect.

Crack!

Gravis tore one of his fingers off and analyzed how his body healed the injury.

'I already know how all of this works, but exactly what is it that regrows my body?' Gravis thought as he analyzed the Life Energy rushing to the injury.

'It just looks like normal Life Energy, but it has to be different,' Gravis thought.

Gravis' finger regrew quickly, but Gravis hadn't learned anything new.

'It simply regrew, just like a normal body. However, my soul must be connected to my body. So, how did my soul also regain connection with that new part even though my Life Energy only added more physical body? There has to be a soul component to it.'

Gravis did the same thing again and watched his connection with his body more closely.

The connection regrew without any issues.

'It's weird,' Gravis thought as he rubbed his chin. 'It's like any part of my body is also part of my soul. It's almost like my body has its own soul.'

Gravis furrowed his brows.

'I mean, why not? A body could totally have its own soul. It would have a soul but no will. That would be exactly like a person that lost themselves in my Samsara, assuming I didn't include the Law of Deep Wood's Destruction. They would simply be a soul without a will and a body. Everything would still work, but they just wouldn't think anymore. It would be like a deactivated Formation Array.'

'Normal Life Energy are just tiny microorganisms. I learned that in the middle world. Yet, these microorganisms have no souls. That's also why it's so surprising that they can also repair the inherent soul of a body.'

'I mean, theoretically, if there were a way to grant the microorganisms souls without wills, it would give them the power to also repair souls to a certain degree.'

Gravis scratched the back of his long neck.

'Why not, actually?' Gravis thought. 'Since my body has a soul, why can't it also create things that have souls? Isn't procreation basically exactly that? We are creating completely new souls, after all.'

'Usually, there would need to be a certain accumulation of microorganisms to reach the threshold of soul creation, but if the microorganisms are powerful enough, why can't they have souls on their own? After all, one microorganism from an Immortal's body is even more powerful than an entire mortal life.'

'I guess that's the difference between normal bodies and Immortal bodies.'

'It's actually kinda logical.'

This realization came easily.

Gravis hadn't even set out to think more about Composition and Life Energy, but just a random thought could have terrifying effects.

There were mythical stories of Cultivators that just walked around, stared at a flower for a couple of minutes, and then comprehended terrifyingly powerful Laws.

Sometimes, one only needed a certain spark of inspiration to connect a ton of different concepts.

Sadly, finding this spark of inspiration was difficult, and searching for it was impossible. Something like this could only happen by chance.

Cultivators called such a spark of inspiration Sudden Enlightenment.

It was something very simple, but it could have terrifying effects.

And, just now, Gravis had had his first encounter with Sudden Enlightenment.

As soon as Gravis had finished that thought, a ton of concepts suddenly clicked into place.

BOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

The Laws just didn't stop coming!

Chapter 949: Life

The first Law Gravis comprehended was also the very key to all the other Laws that would follow.

It was the level four Law of Microorganisms, also called the Major Law of Life Energy.

Back in the middle world, Gravis had comprehended the level one Law of Microorganisms after comprehending all the level one Composition Laws of the Body and Plants.

This level one Law had been the key that bound all the different concepts together, allowing Gravis to comprehend the level two Laws of Body and Plant Composition back in the middle world.

Life Energy was very different when it came to Immortal Cultivation, and the biggest difference was the inclusion of a soul. The soul in the microorganisms allowed the inherent soul-energy inside the body to also regrow.

After Gravis comprehended the Major Law of Life Energy, all the concepts regarding the Composition of an Immortal body clicked into place.

Gravis had learned a lot about the Composition of Immortal bodies due to his time cultivating together with Stella and due to Mortis' experiments on a ton of Immortals. Gravis had also taken some time to comprehend the Body Composition Laws when he was waiting for something. For example, when Gravis was waiting for Siral's tribulation or in the years when he was waiting for the tournament in the Nine Elements Sect.

All of these insights clicked together to create the Major Composition Law of Organs.

Yet, that wasn't all.

Gravis had insights into all parts of the body, and the breakthrough in Life Energy and Organs had allowed him to connect the other concepts too.

So, in an instant, Gravis comprehended all five level four Laws of Body Composition!

In just a tiny moment, Gravis had comprehended six level four Laws.

However, this still wasn't the end!

Life Energy was what tied everything together.

The level five Composition Law of the Body was simply the five level four Composition Laws of the Body combined with the Major Law of Life Energy.

Therefore, Gravis didn't only comprehend the individual Body Composition Laws but also the overarching level five Law of Body Composition.

Gravis had comprehended six level four Laws and one level five Law.

Yet, that still wasn't the end!

Life Energy was also the key to regrowing a body.

The level five Law of Body Growth, just like the level five Law of Body Composition, required the subsidiary level four Laws and the Major Law of Life Energy.

Gravis already knew the five individual level four Laws of Body Growth, and he had just comprehended the level four Law of Life Energy.

So, all of his insights combined into the level five Law of Body Growth!

In one instant, Gravis comprehended six level four Laws and two level five Laws!

Gravis' eyes widened in shock as he realized how much he had learned due to only a single realization. So many concepts clicked into place all at once, all thanks to the Major Law of Life Energy.

Gravis closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he went through all the understanding he had just gained. So many things made sense now!

Now, Gravis also knew the fundamental difference between a normal body and an Immortal Body.

Everything had to do with the difference in Life Energy!

'So, that's the difference,' Gravis thought as he smiled warmly. 'I finally get it!'

BOOOOM!

Gravis' mind seemingly exploded as he comprehended one last Law, and this one was a big one.

The level three Law of Life Composition, the level three Law of Life Growth, the level three Law of the Soul, and the level three Law of Energy Healing all combined together.

In Gravis' mind, all these Laws became connected in a single, logical pattern that made perfect sense.

The Law of Energy Healing converted Energy into Life Energy.

This Life Energy then fused together according to the concepts behind the Law of Life Composition.

The new object then required a soul, and that soul would be created by using the Law of Energy Healing to convert Energy into Life Energy and then into a soul according to the concepts behind the level three Law of the Soul.

Lastly, the level three Law of Life Growth allowed everything to flourish and grow.

Gravis knew how to create life!

Gravis had comprehended the level four Law of Life!

'The Law of Life!' Gravis thought with shock. 'One of the four major Laws! The Law of Life is at the same level as the Law of the Dead World!'

Gravis' mind fell into chaos for several seconds as ideas sprung into his head.

'So, couldn't I just…'

Gravis thought about a dead world. He used all his knowledge from the Law of the Dead World to imagine this world.

Then, Gravis imagined Energy appearing in the world.

Lastly, Gravis imagined how he could convert all that Energy into life.

The dead world suddenly got filled with grass and trees.

There were even some insects and microorganisms flying around in the air and swimming in the water.

The dead world was suddenly filled with beautiful life.

It was no longer a dead world.

It was now a living world!

In Gravis' mind, a grey, lifeless ball fused with a green sphere of light, creating a beautiful green and blue planet.

The Law of the Dead World had combined with the Law of Life to create the Law of the Living World!

The Law of the Living World was still a level four Law, but it was far more powerful than either one of its components.

Gravis' mind was filled with ideas all of a sudden.

After that, Gravis looked at his right claw.

'I can create weaker life forms now, right?' Gravis thought unsurely.

In an instant, Gravis had unlocked something that everyone dreamed of.

Gravis had learned the ability to create new life.

Yet, Gravis only felt pressure on his shoulders.

Creating life wasn't something as simple as creating materials. By creating new life, Gravis would either need to kill this life afterward or send it out into the world.

This was a heavy responsibility.

Should he even attempt something like that?

'Yet, I don't feel like it's such a big deal,' Gravis thought. 'I can create something, which doesn't make it really special. I can create and destroy without a problem.'

Gravis got reminded of the words of the Black Magnate.

"I know how everything works! I know what everyone thinks at any given time and what they will do for the rest of their life! I can't lose anything since I can just recreate it in an instant!"

"Everything is worthless, and only emptiness remains!"

The Black Magnate had said something like this.

Now that Gravis had the power to create any weaker form of life, he realized that the Black Magnate had been right.

Gravis knew that life shouldn't be created easily, but at the same time, it didn't feel like such a big deal.

So what?

Gravis took a deep breath as he analyzed if thinking like this was good or bad.

In the end, he decided to postpone all of his thoughts and concentrated on comprehending the Major Law of Strength.

After he comprehended that Law, Gravis would talk with someone that should have gone through these same thoughts.

Gravis comprehended the Major Law of Strength after only a hundred more years, making it a total of 200 years.

This was very fast for a level four Law, and that speed was mainly due to the enlightenment Gravis had gotten from the other Laws of Life he had comprehended.

After comprehending the Major Law of Strength, Gravis left the clearing and broke Arc's token.

Arc should have gone through similar thoughts in the past.

Chapter 950: Planet

Gravis arrived in Arc's clearing and looked for him. He saw Arc sitting on a stump, drawing lines in the dirt.

He was probably guessing Laws from the highest world again.

"Hey, Gravis," Arc said with a grin without looking at him. Arc felt a feeling of kinship towards Gravis since they both desired freedom. Additionally, Gravis knew a lot about how the Cosmos worked, giving him the ability to have an actual conversation with Arc. "What brings you here?"

"You didn't notice?" Gravis asked.

Arc frowned. "Did you summon another gate from the Primordial Chaos?" Arc asked as he turned to Gravis.

Gravis chuckled a bit. "No, something else."

"Look!"

Gravis absorbed some Energy from the surroundings and let a small flower grow on his palm. This flower had no will but a tiny soul.

Arc's eyes sparkled for a bit.

"Did you make a detour?" Arc asked with a smile. "Weren't you supposed to concentrate on the Emotional Laws? Why are you suddenly interested in the Life Laws?"

"It just happened," Gravis told Arc as he sat down on a different stump. "It just came naturally after I comprehended the Major Law of Life Energy."

Arc nodded.

"You probably already combined your Law of the Dead World with your Law of Life, right?" Arc asked.

Gravis nodded.

"The Law of the Living World, huh?" Arc said as he looked at the sky with a nostalgic expression. "I still remember how I comprehended that one. Gaining the ability to create an entire world filled with life felt surreal."

Gravis nodded. "It sure does. I feel like I'm still on my way to the top, and I still feel like I have a huge distance left to traverse, but I can already create life now."

Arc only smiled. "Yet, is all life equal?"

Gravis' brows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"You're looking at the creation of life from the viewpoint of a mortal, Gravis," Arc explained. "Yes, you can create mortal life, but there is still a vast difference in complexity, and therefore also a vast difference of worth."

"The Life Composition Law, the Life Growth Law, and the Law of the Soul already allow you to create life. This shouldn't be something new to you. The inclusion of the Law of Energy Healing simply allows you to skip using your own Energy as an intermediary."

"Creating mortal life actually isn't that hard. After all, even mortals can do it, right?" Arc asked with a smile.

Gravis blinked a couple of times. "I mean, yeah, they can. They can have children."

Arc nodded. "Exactly. The Law of Life by itself is pretty impressive, but it's still missing something."

"However, the Law of the Living World is different."

"Look!"

CRRRRR!

A one-kilometer-wide sphere of dirt appeared in the air before Arc. In a short moment, oceans, rivers, mountains, crevices, deserts, and everything else that made up a dead world were created.

It was a miniature planet.

"You can do the same. Why don't you try?" Arc asked.

Gravis looked before him with an uncertain expression and tried it.

CRRRRR!

Another kilometer-wide sphere appeared in the air beside the other one.

Then, Gravis shaped the planet to look appealing, but it took far longer for him to reshape the planet, and it also didn't have the appeal of the tiny planet Arc had created.

Obviously, Arc was far better in this.

"A world is a domain," Arc explained. "Do you feel how your tiny planet is absorbing Energy on its own?"

Gravis hadn't realized that. So, he looked at his tiny planet.

After a while, Gravis felt it.

A tiny amount of Energy was flowing into the planet, but it was so little that Gravis wouldn't even have felt it if he hadn't specifically searched for it.

"I can feel it, but it's minuscule."

By Gravis' estimation, this planet would probably have to absorb Energy for millions of years to absorb even 1% of the Energy Gravis had used to create it.

One had to remember that Gravis was an Immortal King, and creating such a vast sphere of matter cost a ton of Energy.

When Gravis heard that his planet was absorbing Energy, he was thinking about using it to gather Energy for himself, similar to what Heaven was doing.

However, this was simply too slow.

"Now, look," Arc said.

Gravis closely looked at Arc's planet.

After several minutes, Gravis noticed that a tiny seed had appeared on the small planet's surface.

"I haven't added any Energy, and I haven't used up the stored Energy of the planet," Arc explained. "This tiny seed has been created by the passive absorption of the planet."

"Do you feel a difference in the amount of Energy absorbed?" Arc asked.

Gravis concentrated again, but it was difficult to tell.

The difference was just too small.

"I can't tell," Gravis said.

"Give it some hours," Arc said. "Just look at it and think about what you're seeing."

Gravis nodded as he looked at Arc's planet.

Over the next couple of hours, the seed became a plant, and more seeds appeared after more time.

"Do you feel a difference now?" Arc asked.

"I'm not sure," Gravis said.

"How long would it take to absorb 1% of the Energy I used to create this planet," Arc asked.

Gravis made some calculations, and his eyebrows rose.

"About 900,000 years, more or less," Gravis said.

Arc nodded. "Yes. Just these tiny seeds already absorb more Energy than the entire planet on its own. The more life grows on the planet, the greater its draw of Energy. Life automatically seeks Energy, and it absorbs it from the surroundings."

"Of course, Energy isn't endless," Arc explained. "Every tiny part of Energy the planet absorbs is taken from my higher world."

"So, tell me, Gravis," Arc said with a smile. "What's the difference between this planet and an island in my higher world?"

Gravis' brows furrowed again as he tried to think of a difference.

Yet, he didn't find an answer.

"I don't think there is a difference," Gravis said.

"Right," Arc said with a nod. "The only difference is the shape, which isn't relevant. In short, this Law of the Living World isn't anything different from any random island. It still requires Energy to exist, and if this small 'living world' weren't in an actual world, it wouldn't be a world."

"Look at your planet," Arc said.

Gravis looked over at his planet for the first time in several hours and was quite surprised.

His planet also had life on it.

However, this life was different from the life on Arc's planet.

Gravis saw that Arc's planet had created an entirely new kind of plant that didn't exist in this higher world. Additionally, over 99% of Arc's planet was still bereft of life.

Meanwhile, Gravis' planet was filled with life.

Nearly every free space already had plants growing on it.

"I isolated this planet from my actual world," Arc explained. "The life on my planet has been created naturally, which is why there is nearly no life on it yet."

"However, you haven't isolated your planet. The life of my higher world has infiltrated your planet."

"In short, my world doesn't treat your planet any different from another piece of random ground."

"In the end," Arc said with a warm smile. "Isn't the Law of the Living World just a garden? What can a garden do if it isn't in a world?"

Gravis took a deep breath.

Now, Gravis understood what Arc wanted to show him.

Gravis didn't have full control over life.

His Law of the Living World was working on the foundations of an actual world.

Without being in an actual world, Gravis' Law of the Living World wouldn't be able to create actual, new life.

After hearing this, Gravis felt much better.

Gravis had suddenly felt a ton of responsibility and pressure after he realized that he had control over life itself.

Yet, Gravis didn't have as much power as he had thought, which greatly reduced the feeling of pressure and responsibility.

"Thanks, Arc," Gravis said with a smile.

"No problem," Arc answered. "However, I have something else to show you."

"Oh? What?" Gravis asked, now being in a much better mood.

"The actual combat power of the Law of the Living World," Arc said.

"Look at this!"

BANG!

The planet before Arc exploded as its fragment floated in the sky.

Then, the tiny seedlings started to grow at insane speeds as they absorbed the Energy stored in the matter of the destroyed planet.

The fragments of the world started to dissipate as the plants became more powerful.

After some minutes, the plants grew legs, heads, and arms.

At one point, their absorption stopped, and the remaining fragments of the destroyed world that survived the absorption changed shape.

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

The fragments encased the plant-people and solidified.

Clank!

Gravis' eyes widened.

In front of him stood a hundred plant-people, all wearing a full set of equipment.

However, this wasn't the most shocking thing.

The most shocking thing was that they were all at the Peak Law Comprehension Realm!

Arc had created an entire army in an instant!