Ch. 981..990

Chapter 981 - 981 – Position Of Ancestor

"Yes, it's the Law of Humility," Samantha said with a smile. "I'm surprised you guessed it."

"There are not many Laws that can hide one's power in front of me," Gravis said. "The only one I know is the Law of Humility."

"Quite a big boast," Samantha said with a slight chuckle. "Why haven't you used such a subtle boast before you showed your Form Law? That would have been much better."

Gravis became a bit red in the face as he remembered his ridiculous boasts. "I'm not good at boasting."

"I noticed," Samantha said with a smirk.

"How come you know the Law of Humility?" Gravis asked, trying to change the topic. "Does the Purist Sect have control over the Law Comprehension Area for the Law of Humility?"

Samantha hummed a bit. "Half-true. We do have control over an area that can teach someone the Law of Humility, but it's not really a Law Comprehension Area."

Gravis was confused for a second, but he quickly got a suspicion.

"Heaven's Trial?" he asked.

Samantha looked with confusion at Gravis. "What's that?" she asked.

Gravis was a bit surprised that Samantha didn't know. Wasn't she now Arc's second-in-command together with Narcissus? Shouldn't she know Arc's background?

"Do you know your teacher's background?" Gravis asked.

Samantha became nervous when Gravis asked that question.

No, in fact, she didn't know about Arc's background.

She only knew that Arc was someone that couldn't be judged with normal means. Arc was ancient. He had been there before even Narcissus had been born, and that had been over a million years ago.

Her teacher had always been someone incredibly powerful and mysterious in her mind, someone she couldn't understand.

"No, I don't," she said.

Gravis nodded. "If he didn't tell you, it's not my place to tell you," Gravis said. "However, I suspect that the place where you can comprehend the Law of Humility is something that Arc has set up. By chance, is it possible that only a few Cultivators manage to survive while going in there? Also, is it an area that you can't control or investigate with normal means?"

Samantha was surprised when she heard that.

Gravis had been completely on point!

For a second, Samantha became a bit conflicted. She had anticipated that she would be the one that would blow Gravis' mind with knowledge, but instead, it had been Gravis.

Did this Immortal King know secrets about the world that not even she, the Ancestor of the Purist Sect, knew about?

"Yes, to both questions," Samantha answered slowly.

Gravis nodded again. "Makes sense," he answered. "Say, can I take a look at that area sometime soon? I'm still missing that Law."

"Of course," Samantha answered with a smile. "You are now an Ascender of the Purist Sect. All Law Comprehension Areas are free for you."

"Speaking of," Gravis said, remembering something. "What kind of duties do I have now?"

"Basically nothing," Samantha answered. "You only have two duties, but they basically don't count since it's exceedingly rare that you need to perform either of them."

"One is to protect the eastern continent if it ever happens that the beasts are about to break through our defenses."

"The other one is to fulfill some important tasks that only you can do. For example, if the Purist Sect will ever need a level six Form Law in order to achieve something of paramount importance, I would call on you."

"Of course, a level six Form Law isn't something that has miscellaneous uses. It is only there for Battle-Strength. Therefore, you can expect that you will never need to perform the second task," Samantha explained.

"Sounds easy enough," Gravis answered. "So, I can basically do whatever I want?"

"Correct," Samantha answered.

"Sounds good," Gravis answered with a smile.

Then, Gravis and Samantha talked for a couple of hours, just telling each other about what they had experienced since the last time they met.

After a nice conversation, Gravis left Samantha's hut, looking at an emblem in his hand.

The emblem was silver and had a solitary sword on its front.

This emblem represented Gravis' status in the Purist Sect. The sword was the symbol for the Purist Sect, and the color showed Gravis' authority. The silver color meant that Gravis was only below the Sect Master. All Ascenders, and even the Ancestor, had that authority. After all, one shouldn't forget that, although the Ancestor was more powerful than the Sect Master, it was the Sect Master's duty to lead the Sect. Therefore, even the Ancestor was below the Sect Master, although only officially.

Even more surprising was the fact that Vice-Sect Masters actually had a bronze token. One would think that Vice-Sect Masters would be the ones with the second-highest position in a Sect, but that wasn't actually true. Vice-Sect Masters were still under the Ascenders and Ancestors.

After looking around the Sect for a bit, Gravis teleported to Stella and Liam.

"Hey!" Gravis said with a wave of his hand.

"Oh? You're back!" Stella said with an excited grin. "So, how was the Ancestor? Were they a man or a woman?"

Gravis was a bit surprised. "You haven't met the Ancestor yourself?" he asked.

"No, we didn't," Stella said, and Liam nodded. "The Ancestor is very mysterious. In fact, the Ancestor hadn't even been the Sect Master previously."

"She hadn't?" Gravis asked in surprise.

Stella's eyes shone. "So, it's a woman!" she shouted with an excited expression as she grabbed Gravis' hands in excitement, shaking them up and down. "Tell me, how was she?"

"More on that later," Gravis said. "You said that she hadn't been the Sect Master previously? Then, how did she become the Ancestor?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Stella answered. Then, she looked at Liam. "Liam, you've been here longer than me. Do you know something?"

"I've heard some things," Liam answered. "Apparently, when the previous Ancestor left, the spot of the new Ancestor remained vacant for several ten thousand years. The Sect wasn't told the reason for that decision."

"Then, one day, the Sect announced that they had a new Ancestor. Yet, surprisingly, the Sect Master and Vice-Sect Masters hadn't changed. Some interested individuals with some connections to some Ascenders asked around, and, apparently, even the Ascenders hadn't changed."

"Of course, a lot of disciples doubted that they actually had an Ancestor. After all, an Ancestor needed to be a Peak Immortal Emperor. If no Late Major Circulation Immortal Emperors or Mid Major Circulation Immortal Emperors had vanished, where did that mysterious Ancestor come from?"

"However, the Ascenders had met the Ancestor, and they assured everyone that the Ancestor was truly a Peak Immortal Emperor."

"And that's everything I know about the Ancestor," Liam finished.

This was the first time that Liam had talked so much in front of Gravis, and Gravis felt like this was a big step forward. Maybe they didn't need to have such an awkward atmosphere between the two of them anymore?

However, Gravis quickly started thinking about the things he had just heard.

There had to be a reason for all of this, and since Gravis wasn't stupid, he quickly made the connections.

"I think I get it," Gravis transmitted, moving the conversation to voice transmission. "This entire situation had been so strangely handled back then not because of the Purist Sect, but because of Underworld. After all, the Ancestor of the Purist Sect is also the Keeper of Underworld."

Stella and Liam nodded. They knew that already.

"As you already know, Underworld's mission is to keep the war between humans and beasts going. Yet, only the Keeper knows about the true mission. Everyone else in Underworld believes that Underworld is simply an underground organization."

"Most of its members see the wealth of the Sects and want to grab a piece of that without the added responsibilities. So, in a sense, you could call Underworld an organization filled with selfish thieves."

Liam and Stella nodded.

"Yet, when only the Keeper knows about the mission, how would a new Keeper receive this information? Even more, would the new Keeper follow that directive? After all, the new Keeper would have been someone that had believed that Underworld was still part of humanity. Yet, they had to go against humanity now?"

Liam narrowed his eyes while Stella's eyes shone in realization.

"It has to be someone from Arc's clearing!" Stella transmitted to both of them with a shout.

Gravis smiled and nodded. "Correct. I think the position of Ancestor had been kept empty until the time Samantha became strong enough to assume that position."

"Samantha?" Liam and Stella both asked.

Then, they remembered the woman that had led Gravis to the Ancestor.

"Yes, Samantha is the Ancestor," Gravis answered. "She knows the Law of Humility."

Liam's and Stella's worlds seemingly broke apart.

Samantha?

They had spent quite some time with her!

They had even gone out drinking several times!

They even saw her as a good friend!

She was the Ancestor!?

Chapter 982 - 982 – Happiest Time

Stella quickly contacted Samantha and confronted her.

Samantha played it off with a laugh. "So what if I'm the Ancestor? I like being in the Sect and talking to people. If everyone knew that I was the Ancestor, they wouldn't open themselves up to me."

Stella couldn't really counter that argument. After all, who would dare to see the Ancestor of their Sect as their friend? The power difference was just too vast between the parties. There would always be an unspoken power dynamic between them.

Luckily, Stella and Liam's perception of a power dynamic had shifted severely after coming into contact with Gravis. They even considered Arc their friend, the undisputed, most powerful, most ancient being in this world.

Although, a lot of that had to do with Arc's personality. It was hard not to like him.

So, Stella and Liam still managed to remain friends with Samantha, even though she vastly outranked both of them.

After talking with Samantha, Stella and Liam led Gravis around the Sect, introducing everything to him.

Gravis nodded with appreciation whenever he heard something of the Purist Sect.

Surprisingly, the very Sect that Gravis had dismissed back then was actually perfectly to Gravis' liking.

Back when Gravis had first heard of the Purist Sect, he thought that they sounded like arrogant, self-righteous people. It sounded like they isolated themselves from the world because the world wasn't worthy of them.

Yet, the philosophy of the Purist Sect was actually, as the name implied, quite pure.

Power and Form Laws decided everything.

There were no people in positions that they didn't earn. There was no kind of favoritism among the elites of the Sect. After all, if someone wasn't powerful enough for their position, they wouldn't be able to keep that position for long.

Why?

Because every member of the Sect had the right to duel someone for their position with their Form Law. If someone of a lower ranking had a better Form Law than someone of a higher ranking, the two people would switch places.

As long as someone wasn't able to suppress the entirety of the Sect, they wouldn't be able to put someone into a position they didn't deserve.

This was as fair as a Sect could get.

Gravis remembered the Unrestrained Sect. Back then, Gravis had also believed that the Unrestrained Sect was perfect for him. However, the Unrestrained Sect was, ironically, the most restrained Sect. They built their Sect around a concept they didn't understand, making the entirety of the Sect seem incongruent.

The Nine Elements Sect had gone completely against Gravis' philosophy. The entire Sect was made of political games and hypocrisy.

Yet, the Purist Sect was simple and down-to-earth. The entirety of the Purist Sect was built on simple, fundamental truths. In short, the philosophy of the Purist Sect was really pure.

'Sadly, they put too much emphasis on Form Laws,' Gravis thought. 'There are so many more Laws out there that can make someone more powerful, but only Form Laws matter here.'

'Unfortunately, not everything's perfect. The Purist Sect is already as good as it can get. Expecting anything more would be unrealistic.'

After looking around the Sect for a while, Liam left, leaving Gravis and Stella alone.

"Excuse me, lady," Gravis said with a polite and distant voice to Stella.

Stella only smirked. "Yes?" she asked in a similarly polite voice.

"It has come to my attention that you are an enjoyer of sausages," Gravis said.

Stella only laughed with a smirk.

And thus, Gravis and Stella finally truly united again after 100,000 years apart.

It was like no time had passed for Gravis and Stella.

It was like they had never parted.

In the nights, Stella and Gravis cultivated together, while, in the day, Gravis met with other Immortal Emperors of the Purist Sect.

Gravis got to know a ton of them, and he also demonstrated his Form Law again. He even told them about the Emotional Laws that went into making it.

When the Immortal Emperors heard about the Emotional Laws, something that hadn't made sense up to now finally made sense!

These Immortal Emperors were very knowledgeable in the matter of Form Laws, and they had realized that Gravis' Form Law actually shouldn't work. There was one particular passage that was seemingly impossible to combine with another one.

Yet, Gravis had managed to fit these unfitting concepts together.

This had stumped the Immortal Emperors, and none of them knew how he had done so.

However, after hearing about the concepts of the Emotional Laws that went into the Form Law, everything finally made sense.

Fusing an Emotional Law into a Form Law wasn't a new concept. After all, there had been some Immortal Emperors that had managed to fuse the Law of Humility into their Form Laws.

Yet, they hadn't known about the other Emotional Laws. The other five Emotional Laws were not as easy to comprehend for the Purist Sect since they didn't have a fitting place to comprehend them. This meant that they had to comprehend these Laws naturally, which, in turn, made them very rare.

When they heard that three Emotional Laws went into Gravis' Form Law, they finally realized how Gravis' Form Law could be so powerful.

It was basically made up of 17 level five Laws.

That was insane!

Not even their Sect Master knew 17 level five Laws!

Hell, it would be surprising if she even knew ten!

The Immortal Emperors talked more with Gravis, and Gravis also helped them with their Form Laws.

And like this, time passed.

Gravis was enjoying every year to the fullest.

He no longer had to feel pressured.

He no longer had to fear that he would never see Stella again since the next world was already the last one.

He had no enemies.

For Gravis, this was the happiest time of his life, and if he hadn't already affirmed his life goals, he might have decided to forever live out his life like this.

Luckily, Gravis' goal was not only happiness but also freedom.

20,000 years of peace passed.

By now, Gravis was over 200,000 years old, 50 times as old as when he had come to this world.

It would be nearly impossible to find an Immortal King in this world that was older than Gravis.

During the time Gravis had comprehended his Form Law, and during the time Gravis had been in the Purist Sect, Mortis had made a lot of progress.

Mortis had comprehended the Laws of Corestorm, Brilliant Storm, Shadow Storm, Deep Brilliance, and Deep Shadow, five level five Laws in total.

There were only eight Mixed Elements left!

Meanwhile, Gravis was enjoying his time in the Purist Sect.

Sadly, Stella didn't know any Laws that Gravis didn't know already.

This made Mortis a bit incensed. He could deal with the assault of loving emotions since they were increasing Gravis' power.

However, now, he had to deal with an assault of loving emotions without an increase of power.

Mortis didn't like that one bit.

So, Mortis urged Gravis on to comprehend more Laws.

Mortis knew that Gravis was not dead weight. After all, he had comprehended a ton of important Laws, especially the three new level five Emotional Laws.

So, he had accepted 20,000 years of nothing.

However, it had to stop at some point.

Gravis could see where Mortis was coming from and agreed.

Gravis had basically forgotten that Mortis was also assaulted with all the emotions Gravis was feeling, making him feel a bit guilty.

"I'll check out the Law of Humility tomorrow," Gravis told Mortis.

"Good."

Chapter 983 - 983 – King

Gravis looked at a dark cave below him as he floated in the sky. The cave seemingly led into nothingness. Not even his Spirit Sense could truly enter it.

This cave led to the Law Comprehension Area for the Law of Humility. Although, it couldn't really be described as a Law Comprehension Area. It was a Heaven's Trial, after all.

However, the concept of a Heaven's Trial included more things than only a trial that killed the weakest Cultivators.

For example, Heaven's Trials could also be set up to teach Cultivators specific Laws by manipulating the world around them.

Physical Laws like the Elements, Life, Matter, and so on could easily be reflected upon physical reality. Creating Law Comprehension Areas for these Laws wasn't really hard.

Yet, how would one teach someone something as elusive as Humility?

How would one even create a Law Comprehension Area for that?

That's where the Heaven's Trials came in. Heaven had full control over the Heaven's Trials, which meant that Heaven could change the entire reality inside it, making the impossible possible.

"Well, I'm going in," Gravis said with a wave. "See you later!"

Stella waved back with a smile. "Don't be gone for too long."

"I won't," Gravis answered with a smile.

Then, Gravis flew directly into the cave.

Was there a chance of death?

Of course.

Heaven's Trials always had a chance of death.

The survival of the participant completely depended on if they were successful in accomplishing the goal of the Heaven's Trial.

The goal of this Heaven's Trial was to comprehend the Law of Humility.

As soon as someone comprehended the Law of Humility, they would be thrown out of the Heaven's Trial.

Yet, if someone failed, they would have to stay in the Heaven's Trial until they either understood the Law or died.

The death rate of this specific Heaven's Trial was at around 40%. It wasn't very high, but it also definitely wasn't low.

However, neither Stella nor Gravis were worried.

Gravis only had to comprehend an Emotional Law, and he already knew four other Laws of this category.

If he couldn't clear this Heaven's Trial, no one could.

As soon as Gravis entered, he felt the world warp around him. It was like he was being transported to a different place.

Gravis' Spirit Sense was also slowly being extinguished, and Gravis even felt his power falling, but he wasn't worried. This was all simply there to set up the Heaven's Trial.

SHING!

Then, Gravis felt like he had opened his eyes, even though they had been open the entire time.

Gravis was no longer in a cave but in a great hall.

On top of that, Gravis was sitting on the highest throne in the hall.

Gravis immediately used his Spirit Sense to check out the surroundings, but he was a bit surprised.

His Spirit Sense was so weak!

Gravis' Spirit Sense barely reached a distance of ten kilometers!

However, his Spirit Sense was at least big enough to allow him to see the surroundings of the hall, and more importantly, his new body.

Gravis was in the body of a middle-aged man with greying hair.

'Early Unity Realm, or in natural middle world terms, level two Lord,' Gravis thought as he noticed his own Cultivation.

'Quite weak,' Gravis thought.

Then, Gravis looked at the other people in the hall.

'But very powerful for these surroundings.'

Gravis had already made a lot of deductions just by looking at the hall and the people.

Gravis was on the highest throne in the hall, and several other people were seated at smaller thrones placed below him. The thrones looked into the middle of the hall, while Gravis' throne basically sat at the tail-end of the imaginable, square table the thrones surrounded.

Twenty older people sat in the thrones. They were all clothed in expensive robes filled with gold. These clothes and the regal aura that every person emitted would drive respect into anyone.

However, the other twenty people were all Spirit Forming Cultivators in the Tree-Stage, except for two.

The last two sat a bit lower than Gravis but higher than the other people.

They were at the Self Stage.

'Judging by the crown on my head and my power, I'm probably the king of this land,' Gravis thought.

'Learning Humility as a King? A bit ironic.'

Gravis covertly tested out his powers and noticed that all his Laws were inaccessible. He still knew all of the Laws, but he wasn't able to affect reality with them. Not even his level one Laws could be used.

"Your Majesty," one of the two Self-Stage Cultivators below Gravis said.

Gravis looked at him.

"You need to make a decision in this matter. How will we proceed from here?" the man asked.

That's when Gravis was assaulted by memories.

All the memories of this king immediately flooded into Gravis' mind at once.

However, Gravis was a Peak Immortal King that had lived for over 200,000 years.

A mere 300 years of memories was nothing to him.

It didn't even make him flinch.

'Interesting,' Gravis thought with a silent smirk.

Right now, Gravis was the ruler over a vast kingdom that spanned over 10,000 kilometers, just as he had thought.

"We won't do anything," Gravis ordered.

The advisors in the hall became nervous. "But your Majesty, the Red-White Kingdom will invade our lands if we don't counterattack now!"

"Then so be it," Gravis said with authority. "Our decisions of the past have brought this war upon us."

Gravis slowly stood up from his throne.

The advisors felt that it became increasingly hard for them to breathe.

It was like their king was somehow… different.

It was like their king had the entire world in the palm of his hands.

Well, in truth, Gravis basically had the world in his hands.

Why?

Because he was the most powerful Cultivator.

Only Unity Realm Cultivators had the prestige to crown themselves king.

Yet, the resources of this land were barely enough to create a single Unity Realm Cultivator. This meant that the Initial Unity Realm was already the most someone could reach.

However, Gravis' new body was the only king in the Early Unity Realm.

Even more, the Will-Aura of Gravis' body was beyond his Realm.

This meant that every single king in the surrounding kingdoms was many times weaker than him.

And the most important part…

Nobody knew that.

The only person in the world that knew of Gravis' true power was Gravis himself.

This king had told absolutely no one about his breakthrough and his Will-Aura.

So, what invasion?

Well, the Red-White Kingdom wanted to take revenge on Gravis' Kingdom.

For what?

About 50 years ago, an unprecedented genius had appeared in the Red-White Kingdom. If nothing unforeseen happened, this genius would reach the Unity Realm at the age of 50, which was insanely young. On top of that, this genius was able to battle nearly two levels above themselves.

The previous personality of Gravis' new body did the only logical thing.

Kill the genius before they could become powerful.

And they had succeeded.

The genius had died, but the Red-White Kingdom had found out who had ordered the assassination, and from then on, the Red-White Kingdom wanted to destroy Gravis' Kingdom.

However, the Red-White Kingdom was not powerful enough to fight a war with Gravis' Kingdom.

So, this enmity remained unavenged for 50 years.

Just a couple hours ago, a devastating piece of intelligence had reached the crown.

The Red-White Kingdom had taken out another Kingdom. On top of that, they had converted all the resources of the other Kingdom to increase the power of their most powerful Cultivators.

In just three days, the Red-White Kingdom would have three Unity Realm Cultivators instead of one.

Gravis' Kingdom had only one Unity Realm Cultivator, and that was himself.

So, a conference was called, and all the important people of the Kingdom had gathered.

They had to strike back before it was too late!

However, Gravis gave his orders and said that they wouldn't do anything, which shocked the advisors.

Was their king dooming them to die!?

"But your majesty-"

WHOOOOM!

Gravis activated his Will-Aura as he glared at the advisor.

"Are you questioning my judgment?"

The advisor could only gulp.

"If you believe that we will die, you are free to leave this land and join the Red-White Kingdom. I won't stop you," Gravis said with an air of authority around him.

The advisors became shocked again.

Did their king just allow everyone to leave the sinking ship without punishment!?

What was going on!?

Gravis gave his orders, sat back down again, and sent the advisors away.

Everyone had said that they would fight to the bitter end, but Gravis had seen through their falsehoods.

By the end of the day, over 50% of the advisors would have abandoned ship.

Gravis got reminded of the end of the River Tribe as he sat alone in his throne room.

Yet, this time, everything was different.

'You want to teach me Humility?' Gravis thought with a smirk.

'I'll show you Humility.'

'I won't strike the opponent until their united force enters this castle. If I attack now, I probably won't be able to get all the important people. Eventually, the survivors will become a threat to my Kingdom.'

'I can't allow that. So, I choose Humility. I will not flaunt my power and will simply continue sitting here like a normal King.'

Gravis chuckled a bit.

'However, when the gathered force of my enemy appears before me, I will strike them all down.'

'Like this, no future problems will rear their head.'

The advisors and other Kings were smart.

Sadly, Gravis had a slight bit more life experience and a bit of an age advantage over them.

How could they compare with the mind of a 200,000-year-old Immortal King?

Chapter 984 - 984 – Hopeless

A week passed, and most of Gravis' advisors had left.

Yet, that didn't matter to Gravis whatsoever.

The ones with shaky loyalty had left, and that was good. Oftentimes, internal dissent was a Kingdom's downfall, not external enemies.

Gravis' approach was similar to back when he had raised the River Tribe, but for different reasons.

Back then, Gravis had not suppressed anyone since beasts wanted to gain power more than anything. Suppressing their power would only make them leave.

This time, Gravis let the humans leave because of loyalty issues.

As long as someone was the most powerful, no beast in one's tribe would betray them.

However, when it came to humans, this wasn't the case.

Humans liked to use a lot of schemes to circumvent power and gain an advantage.

Because of that, unity in one's ranks was more important than with beasts.

When a week passed, the thing that Gravis had expected finally happened.

BOOOOM!

Gravis' castle was blown apart, leaving only Gravis on a throne.

The rest of the castle had turned into rubble.

"Would you have ever expected that this day would come?" a young man with a crown said with authority from above Gravis. Two other Unity Realm Cultivators flanked him.

"Yes, I did," Gravis said with a smirk.

WHOOOOM!

Then, Gravis activated his Will-Aura, making it impossible to move for anyone else.

Immediately, the invaders felt like they had committed a grave mistake.

And then?

There was no then.

The three invaders died quickly under Gravis' royal sword.

This hadn't even been a fight.

'Humility, huh?' Gravis thought with a smirk.

'I've used Humility to destroy my enemies.'

'That's what this is all about, right?' Gravis thought.

Over the next couple of days, Gravis' Kingdom annexed the other Kingdom, becoming more powerful in the process.

Sadly, the entire fortune of the other Kingdom was only enough to create one more Cultivator in the Unity Realm.

Well, at least Gravis' Kingdom had two Unity Realm Cultivators now instead of one.

Unfortunately, the trial still continued since Gravis hadn't comprehended the Law of Humility yet.

For the next couple of years, Gravis did his best to use Humility to get rid of his enemies.

Gravis deliberately made his Kingdom look weak, even fooling his own new advisors.

Eventually, another Kingdom had decided to attack them, and Gravis dealt with them just like he had dealt with the previous Kingdom.

Ten years later, Gravis had four Cultivators in the Unity Realm.

His Kingdom prospered.

And then, exactly 15 years after Gravis had arrived in this world, the end came.

A band of robbers from a more prosperous area went through the Kingdoms, annihilating all the powerful Cultivators and stealing the resources.

In the end, this band arrived in Gravis' Kingdom.

They were made up of five Early Unity Realm Cultivators and ten Initial Unity Realm Cultivators.

The five Early Unity Realm Cultivators united against Gravis, while the remaining ten dealt with the other Unity Realm Cultivators under Gravis.

Gravis quickly killed two of them, but the remaining three started to exhaust him.

Gravis didn't have his beast body, and he didn't have his affinity towards lightning.

This meant that killing an enemy didn't replenish his Energy.

Whenever he killed an enemy, the Energy he had used to accomplish that was wasted.

On top of that, these Cultivators had quite refined Battle Styles.

Gravis tried his best, but he was eventually exhausted to death in the face of overwhelming power.

For the first time in his life, Gravis died.

And then, Gravis reopened his eyes, which quickly narrowed.

'Just as I've thought,' Gravis thought. 'Death is not the end in this trial.'

'Seems like I made some mistakes along the way.'

"Your majesty, you need to make a decision on this matter."

Gravis looked at his advisor and frowned.

'I'm all the way back at the beginning. It seems like dealing with the Red-White Kingdom is not the true goal. The band of raiders that comes in 15 years is far more dangerous than the Red-White Kingdom.'

'I need more power!'

The advisor had just asked Gravis what they should do, but instead of getting an answer, something else happened.

BANG!

Gravis exploded forward as he flew out of the hall.

The advisors had no idea what had just happened.

In less than an hour, Gravis reached the Red-White Kingdom.

Then, he annihilated the three future Unity Realm Cultivators and gathered the remaining resources.

'Not enough,' Gravis thought with a frown. 'They have already used most of the resources. Sadly, I can't consume corpses to become more powerful since I'm not a beast.'

'I need more resources!'

Thus, apocalypse had come to the Kingdoms on this day.

Gravis went through every Kingdom, killing the most powerful Cultivators and grabbing their resources.

In just one week, Gravis had accomplished what had taken him 15 years previously.

'I still have nearly 15 years left,' Gravis thought as he checked the resources.

It was about half of what he needed to become a Mid Unity Realm Cultivator.

'I need more!'

Gravis went towards the east since he had already killed all the Kingdoms he knew.

And then, death arrived.

Just as Gravis went past a mountain, he ran into a Nascent Nourishing beast.

Gravis couldn't even defend himself.

BANG!

Gravis opened his eyes again, back in the hall.

Then, he immediately left the hall again.

Just like last time, Gravis annihilated all the Kingdoms and pocketed their resources.

Then, Gravis went north.

And found an even more powerful beast.

Gravis opened his eyes again, back in the hall.

The same thing repeated itself, but this time, he went west.

Another beast with too much power.

The process repeated again, and this time, Gravis went south.

This time, there was no beast.

Gravis was ecstatic when he noticed that there was no beast here.

Sadly, the further he traveled, the weaker everything became. The Energy density also fell severely, as did all the resources.

After a month of searching, Gravis found nothing that could help him.

'Is this for real!?' Gravis thought. 'There are not enough resources to make me become a Mid Unity Realm Cultivator!?'

'Seems like I have to find another way.'

Gravis went back to his Kingdom and killed the "new king" that had been crowned in his absence.

After that, Gravis pushed two of his most trusted advisors to the Early Unity Realm. There might not have been enough resources for Gravis to reach the Mid Unity Realm, but there were enough to create two Early Unity Realm Cultivators.

Like this, they would have enough power to resist the marauders.

In the next fifteen years, Gravis did his best to teach his two new helpers. They had to become as powerful as possible for the eventual invasion.

Sadly, three years later, they betrayed Gravis.

After a bloody battle, Gravis had killed the two of them.

Yet, he could only grit his teeth.

The resources had been wasted!

This meant that Gravis would die again when the marauders came.

Gravis did his best to plan for the battle, but this time, Gravis did even worse in the battle.

Why?

The last time, the Initial Unity Realm marauders had been distracted by the Initial Unity Realm Cultivators under Gravis.

Sadly, this time, Gravis was alone.

The concentrated attacks of all the Unity Realm Cultivators killed Gravis in minutes.

Gravis opened his eyes again and gritted his teeth.

The same thing repeated itself, but this time, Gravis gave his resources to other advisors.

Fortunately, no one betrayed him this time.

When the marauders arrived, Gravis had three Early Unity Realm Cultivators on his side, more than enough to distract the enemy. As long as his enemy was distracted, Gravis would be able to kill them!

The battle commenced…

And Gravis' two advisors fled!

Gravis died again and opened his eyes.

BANG! BANG!

And killed the past incarnations of his two advisors.

Then, a similar process happened this time.

And again.

And again.

And again.

In the end, over a thousand years had passed for Gravis, but he had never been able to get through the Marauders.

No matter what he did, something would go wrong!

BANG!

Gravis hit his throne, decimating it in the process.

'Fuck! I tried fucking everything! What do you want me to do!? How am I supposed to get through that!? There are not enough resources for me to become more powerful, and no matter whom I give the resources to, something always goes wrong!'

"Y-Your majesty?" one of the advisors asked in terror.

BANG!

Gravis killed all of them.

"Shut up! I need to think," Gravis shouted into the empty hall.

All of these beings were not real, which was why Gravis didn't mind killing them. All of this was only a Heaven's Trial.

Then, Gravis fell into thought.

'This entire setup exists to teach me the Law of Humility. This means that I can only survive by comprehending the Law of Humility.'

'There must be something that has to do with Humility that will allow me to triumph!'

Silence.

'But what?'

Chapter 985 - 985 – Pushover

Gravis remained sitting on his throne alone for several minutes as he just thought about his options.

'I have no idea what I can do better. I've already tried everything, but it just wouldn't work. Yet, there has to be a solution, and it should have something to do with Humility.'

'Humility, huh?' Gravis thought, unsure of what exactly it meant.

Gravis was pretty sure that he had used Humility as well as possible up to now. After all, he had allowed everyone to underestimate him, not showing his power at all.

'Yet, that has also not helped me much. The marauders still killed me. Even fleeing is impossible due to the powerful beasts that surround this area.'

Gravis continually scratched his chin in thought. 'What to do? What to do?'

BANG!

The roof of the castle was blown apart as three Unity Realm Cultivators looked at Gravis from high up.

"Would you have ever believed that this day would come?" the young man in the front asked with an arrogant voice.

Gravis didn't answer as he continued thinking.

Seeing that Gravis hadn't answered, the young man sneered. "Are you denying reality, oh great king?" he said with a sneer. "Do you believe us to be beneath your notice? You might have an impressive Battle-Strength, but you can't fight all three of us at once while still being at the Initial Unity Realm."

Suddenly, Gravis perked up. "What did you just say?" he asked in surprise.

"Are you deaf?" the young man shouted. "I said, as long as you are in the Initial Unity Realm, you can't fight the three of us. So, do the smart thing and capitulate. Don't force us to kill your entire Kingdom."

Then, Gravis' eyes widened in realization.

'I see!' he thought with excitement as he finally cracked another part of the puzzle.

'They think I am in the Initial Unity Realm. However, how is that even possible? My Will-Aura is far stronger, and I'm also at a higher Realm. So, either I should appear as someone without any Cultivation to them or as someone far more powerful.'

'Yet, these guys are not idiots. They wouldn't believe that I am a mortal. In fact, in both cases, they would become incredibly wary of me. After all, this would only show that I'm far more powerful than them.'

'However, even when seeing me, they are still arrogant and believe me to be in the Initial Unity Realm. How would that be possible?'

'The Law of Humility!'

Gravis silently smirked to himself.

'This body already knows the Law of Humility, and it's passively activating it to make it seem like I'm in the Initial Unity Realm.'

But then, Gravis sighed.

'Sadly, I still don't know how I'm supposed to use this to my advantage. After all, I can't control the usage of the Law of Humility. Theoretically, if I had the control, I could just appear like an Energy Gathering Cultivator in front of the Marauders, making them ignore me.'

'Yet, I can't control it. I always appear to others like I'm in the Initial Unity Realm.'

'So, what can I do?'

"Stop wasting my time!" the young man shouted with frustration. "Do you capitulate or not!?"

Gravis looked at the young man with absent eyes.

'Humility, huh?'

'Well, I don't fully understand Humility. Otherwise, I would have already comprehended the Law. Therefore, there have to be facets of it that I just don't know yet.'

'You want Humility? I'll give you the most extreme form of Humility!'

'I'm going to become a pushover!'

"I capitulate," Gravis said.

The three Unity Realm Cultivators were shocked when they heard that.

"Could you repeat that?" the young man asked in surprise.

"I capitulate," Gravis repeated. Then, he stood up from his throne and walked down.

In the end, Gravis sat in one of his own advisor's seats.

"You are the king. This Kingdom is yours, and I will follow whatever you say," Gravis said.

The young man looked at Gravis with a complex expression.

"I had already heard about the downfall of the South-Cold Kingdom a week ago," Gravis continued. "I knew that you would have three Unity Realm Cultivators in just a couple of days."

"Yet, instead of attacking you while you were still building up your strength, I killed everyone that knew about it and waited here for you. I have killed your genius in the past due to my own greed, and it has brought me now to my downfall. Karma has been sown, and I have to reap it now."

"There is no reason in resisting the power of Karma. I have committed a sin, and I must pay for it now."

"I realize this now, and instead of committing another sin by fighting you, I decide to sacrifice my own status and life to right this wrong."

"Go, sit on the throne. This Kingdom is yours," Gravis said as he bowed to the three Unity Realm Cultivators.

The Unity Realm Cultivators talked to each other with voice transmissions.

Some seconds later, the young man sat down on Gravis' old throne and looked down at Gravis.

"I don't know what brought on this change of heart, but I'm not a tyrant. You have seen the error of your ways, and I can appreciate that. However, you have still committed a grave mistake, and you must pay for it for the rest of your life," he said.

Then, the two other Unity Realm Cultivators appeared around Gravis.

"As a show of trust, open your Spirit Space to my two generals," the young man said.

Open one's Spirit Space.

This was handing one's life over to another.

However, Gravis didn't resist and let them enter his Spirit Space.

What did he have to fear? If this body died, he would just restart, and if they entered his actual Spirit Space, they would just be consumed by the Void Lightning.

The two generals entered Gravis' Spirit Space, and their eyes immediately opened wide in shock.

This Spirit Space was too big!

Did this mean that Gravis was an Early Unity Realm Cultivator!?

The two immediately jumped out of Gravis' Spirit Space and informed their king.

The king's face transformed into a grimace.

"What is the meaning of this!?" he shouted.

"Your majesty," Gravis said with a smile. "Nothing has changed. I am willing to pay for the Karma I have sown. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to put on such a play. I have the power to defend myself, but I'm not using it. Take it as proof that I'm willing to follow you."

The three of them talked some more, and in the end, the two generals entered Gravis' Spirit Space again.

If they wanted, they could kill Gravis right then and there.

Yet, they only looked around and pocketed all the wealth Gravis had in his Spirit Space.

Then, they left.

"Are you satisfied?" Gravis asked with a smile.

The king was still uncertain about Gravis' motives.

What Gravis did made no sense.

He obviously had the power to kill the three of them, but instead of killing them, he simply capitulated.

Why?

Did he not care about his status, his freedom, his wealth?

The three of them had already become frightened deep inside.

They knew that Gravis could kill them.

They shouldn't have underestimated him!

"Why are you giving up everything when you have the power to keep it?" the king asked.

"Life," Gravis answered with a smile. "My rule is iron, but it does not inspire loyalty. With my power, I can force this land into following my every word, but what is the point of that? If people are not willing to follow me, what is the point of my rule? If people are not willing to follow me, I'm not a king, but a slaver."

"In comparison, the Red-White Kingdom follows your majesty with all of its heart. You are a king, while I am a slaver. You are more fit to be king than I."

"And today, I have repaid a part of my debt. Today, I have shown you that you can't underestimate anyone, no matter how weak they appear. If I hadn't been willing to turn over a new leaf, none of you would have left alive."

"Take this as a lesson from an old slaver that is willing to help the king to grow."

The three Unity Realm Cultivators talked to each other some more.

Then, the king looked at Gravis with a relaxed smile.

"I thank you for your lesson," he said. "It is a valuable one indeed. For teaching us this lesson, I am willing to forgive your previous transgressions."

"That is too kind, your majesty," Gravis said with a bow.

"Are you willing to follow me as one of my generals?" the king asked.

"More than anything, your majesty," Gravis said with a deep bow.

The war had never happened.

Instead, Gravis' Kingdom embraced a new king, loved by all.

The people were happy.

Yet, Gravis felt uncomfortable.

'I'm so not used to acting like a pushover,' Gravis thought. 'Life? Karma? Lesson? Ugh!'

'But if I need to act like this to overcome this trial, sure. After all, it exists to teach me something.'

'Let's see how this goes.'

Chapter 986 - 986 – Humility

Gravis joined the Red-White Kingdom as a general, and he followed every order of the king.

After a while, the king even trusted Gravis enough that he wanted to learn combat from him, and Gravis complied, teaching the king as much about combat as he knew.

The king's power soared, and in the next couple of years, he unified all the other Kingdoms. He didn't do it via war but by inspiring them to follow him. His power was unequaled, except for Gravis, and all the Kingdoms knew of the personality of the Red-White King.

In the end, the land was unified, and the Red-White Kingdom transformed into the Red-White Empire.

After that, the Red-White Empire tried to search for a way to get past the deadly wilderness surrounding their Empire.

Sadly, before they could make any headway, the marauders invaded their land.

The Red-White Empire confronted the marauders.

The Red-White Empire had two Early Unity Realm Cultivators and eight Initial Unity Realm Cultivators.

With Gravis' Battle-Strength, he now had the power to destroy the marauders, thanks to all his companions.

He could finally overcome the group that had killed him time and time again!

'Well, in for a penny, in for a pound,' Gravis thought.

Yet, Gravis had decided to be a pushover, and he wouldn't stop now. It had helped him up to now, and even though it was beyond stupid in his opinion to not kill the enemy right now, Gravis simply continued acting like a pushover.

So, when the battle happened, Gravis only fought an Initial Unity Realm Cultivator without deadly force, merely putting on a show.

Gravis had already informed his opponent about his intentions, and his opponent played along.

The king and his two generals looked at Gravis with hate as they realized that he wasn't fighting with his full power.

Sadly, there was nothing they could do.

The five Early Unity Realm marauders killed the king, the only other Early Unity Realm Cultivator.

Then, they killed the Initial Unity Realm Cultivators as Gravis simply stood on the ground, watching with a kind smile.

In the end, the fifteen marauders surrounded Gravis.

"And why should we keep you alive?" the leader asked with a cold voice.

"Because I'm not a danger, and I'm willing to do whatever you want."

"Humph! A mere traitor," the leader said, but then a malicious smirk appeared on his face. "However, I'm willing to entertain your standpoint for a bit. Open your Spirit Space to me, and I might let you live."

"Certainly," Gravis said with a warm smile.

The leader was a bit surprised and entered Gravis' Spirit Space.

When he saw the size of it, his eyes narrowed.

Originally, he had wanted to just kill this useless Initial Unity Realm Cultivator.

Yet, this was not an Initial Unity Realm Cultivator but an Early Unity Realm Cultivator.

The leader also quickly realized that he hadn't been able to see through Gravis' power whatsoever, which shocked him beyond belief.

So, the leader left Gravis' Spirit Space without killing him and looked deeply at him.

"What allows you to keep your Realm hidden?" he asked coldly.

"The Law of Humility," Gravis answered.

"Law of Humility?" the leader said with a bit of disgust and confusion. "I've never heard of that. What's the use?"

"Keeping my Realm and being hidden from others," Gravis answered with a warm smile. "I can appear like a mortal if I want to. Potential enemies don't know of my power, giving me a free shot on anyone that underestimates me."

The leader had taken the Law of Humility lightly, but after Gravis explained its uses, he realized that this Law was actually terrifying.

It was a silent blade that could kill someone.

After a while, the leader looked at Gravis with severe eyes. However, the coldness that had been present previously had vanished.

"You have not fought us, even though you had the power. If you had unleashed your power, at least one of my companions would have died. For that, I am willing to allow you to follow us," he said.

Gravis bowed with a warm smile. "I will follow you."

"Good," the leader said.

On this day, Gravis joined the marauders, and as he followed the group, he had to think back on what his decisions had brought.

'In the beginning, I was the only Unity Realm Cultivator. Then, I joined a group with three other Unity Realm Cultivators. This group managed to increase its power until there were ten Unity Realm Cultivators, and now, I'm part of a group so powerful that I can't even fight them on my own.'

'Humility, huh?'

The group of marauders pocketed all the wealth in the Empire and left it afterward.

Apparently, there was a hidden cave that allowed humans to pass through the dangerous wilderness. This cave was also the way this group had managed to come to the Empire.

Gravis followed the group for the next couple of years, earning quite a lot of resources for himself.

In the end, Gravis reached the Mid Unity Realm without many problems.

Then, the group was attacked by the striking force from a Sect and annihilated.

Just like the last time, Gravis didn't put up a fight.

The Sect put Gravis into custody and brought him back. After that, they interrogated him thoroughly and checked with several witnesses.

Gravis had never killed anyone.

He had always only bought some time for the marauders.

In the end, the Sect decided that Gravis wasn't deserving of death.

Instead, he was put to work for 200 years to right his wrongs.

After 200 years, Gravis was allowed to join the Sect.

Whenever Gravis thought about what his decisions had brought, he felt like he lived in a fantasy world.

'By not killing anyone, by not fighting anyone, and by always keeping my power hidden, I have left the weak land of Kingdoms and became a disciple in a powerful Sect. My Realm has increased, and it will continue to increase,' Gravis thought with complex feelings.

'I would never act like this in reality, but in here, it has allowed me to become far more powerful.'

'Is this a facet of Humility?' Gravis thought as he looked at his own courtyard in the Sect.

'I thought Humility meant staying hidden and striking at the best opportunity.'

'Yet, by not striking at all and keeping my power hidden forever, I have achieved far more than by striking. Passiveness has become more useful than activeness.'

Gravis looked at the sky with a thoughtful expression.

'In one case, I was using Humility to kill my enemies. This could be seen as an apathetic usage of the Law.'

'Yet, by never striking, I allowed everyone to live, which also meant that I was able to survive. This could be called an empathetic usage of Humility.'

'One kills my opponents and might endanger my own life.'

'The other kills no one, and I can survive without problems.'

'Apathy and Empathy, huh?'

'That's just like the Laws of Calm and Rage. They can also be used with Apathy and Empathy.'

'So that's what I was missing.'

BOOOOM!

Gravis smiled warmly, but he became shocked a moment later.

Gravis had comprehended the Law of Humility.

However, the thing that shocked Gravis was that he had comprehended the level five Law of Humility!

Wasn't he supposed to comprehend a weaker one!?

Suddenly, the world turned into nothingness as Gravis was transported into a cave.

He was back in his old body, and he felt his true power return.

"1,254 years," a voice said from Gravis' front. "That's really fast!"

Gravis looked over and smirked. "Surprised?"

"A bit," Arc said with a bitter laugh. "I'm a bit envious, you know?"

"By the way, you can say thanks now," Arc said with a smirk.

Gravis was a bit confused. "What do you mean?"

Arc laughed a bit. "You actually comprehended the level three Law of Humility on your first try!"

Gravis' eyes widened. "What? No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did," Arc said with a laugh. "The level three Law of Humility only requires either the Apathy part of the Law of Humility or the Empathy part."

"You perfectly used the Apathy part of the Law of Humility on your very first try, always staying hidden and striking whenever you want."

"However, I thought I'd give you a helping hand. So, I modified the trial and included that band of marauders. I wanted you to comprehend both parts."

"Originally, the trial would end after someone took out all the other Kingdoms with the required method, but you did that on your first try. I put the marauders in there to force you into the Empathy part of the Law of Humility."

"And well, here you are, knowing the level five Law of Humility," Arc said with a wide smile.

"You're only missing the Law of Pride now, eh?"

Gravis was surprised, but he relaxed quickly and smiled warmly.

"Thanks, Arc."

Chapter 987 - 987 – Tempering?

Gravis felt great when he realized that he had comprehended the level five Law of Humility directly. Comprehending the apathetic part of the Law of Humility wasn't hard at all since acting like this was very similar to how Gravis had acted when he was younger.

Back then, Gravis wasn't all about comprehending Laws but was all about killing his enemies. He didn't really demonstrate his power to make his enemies go all out but took full advantage of the fact that they were underestimating him.

So, the apathetic part came naturally to him.

However, the empathetic part would be something completely different.

Gravis would never act like he had acted in the Heaven's Trial.

Gravis always took the initiative and dealt with problems directly.

Why?

Because he had the power to do so and because it was necessary to jump into danger to become powerful.

In the Heaven's Trial near the end, Gravis had acted like a pushover that never attacked anyone. Additionally, he had always changed sides as soon as a stronger party arrived.

In short, Gravis had acted like a traitorous, opportunistic turncoat.

Acting like this went completely against Gravis' philosophy, which put a lot of emphasis on fairness, honesty, and loyalty.

Comprehending the empathetic aspect of the Law of Humility might have either been impossible or would have taken an insanely long time under normal circumstances.

"I truly have to thank you, Arc," Gravis repeated again. "I don't know how long it would have taken me to comprehend the level five Law of Humility otherwise."

"I know," Arc answered with a smirk. "That's why I modified the Heaven's Trial. I don't want to wait for another eternity for our fight."

Gravis' heart stabbed a bit when he heard that.

Arc had worded it lightly, but Gravis still couldn't get comfortable with the fact that he would be Arc's death in the not-so-distant future.

Gravis really didn't want to kill Arc.

However, Arc and Gravis both knew that there was no way around it.

If Gravis didn't kill Arc, he would receive the Brand.

No matter how much Gravis liked Arc, he couldn't put Arc's survival above his own future.

Yes, they were close friends, but his freedom was more important to Gravis than his friends.

One might see this as selfish, but essentially all Cultivators thought like this. Additionally, Gravis never masked his true priorities.

Everyone knew about Gravis' priorities.

Nothing was allowed to stand between him and his freedom.

Yet… maybe one thing…

Gravis thought about Stella, and an intense emotional conflict appeared in his eyes.

If he had to choose between Stella and freedom, what would he choose?

As this thought appeared in Gravis' mind, intense emotions fought in his heart.

There was no clear answer.

He didn't know the answer.

What would he decide?

"Hey, don't space out on me," Arc said with a frown.

Gravis quickly shook his head as the conflict inside of him was pushed to the side. "Oh, sorry. I was distracted."

"I can guess what you were thinking about," Arc said with a warm smile. "The conflict of priorities is one of the most difficult things to resolve. However, you should know that already, right?"

Gravis got reminded of his conflict with his lightning.

Back then, Gravis' loyalty towards his lightning and his desire for freedom and autonomy had clashed inside him.

The problem had appeared unsolvable back then.

Yet, when Gravis remembered that issue, he calmed down.

Right, why was he worried?

Gravis had already found a satisfactory solution to an unsolvable problem. Why worry about something he couldn't solve now?

Additionally, it wasn't even certain if Stella and his path to power would ever come into conflict.

It wasn't a problem since the problem didn't even exist, to begin with.

"How can you always choose the correct words in every situation?" Gravis asked with a sigh.

"I got quite some experience," Arc said with a smile. "Don't worry, when you become as old as me, you'll be even more experienced than I am right now."

Gravis sighed again. "You said when, not if."

"Whoops," Arc said with a laugh. "Of course, I meant if. After all, who knows who will win between us?"

The more Gravis heard Arc's words, the guiltier he felt.

He really didn't want to kill Arc.

Even more, time was advancing at a rapid pace.

When Gravis had just arrived in this world, his fight against Arc had appeared so very distant, like it would never happen.

Yet, now, Gravis was over 200,000 years old, and he was close to comprehending the Laws of Emotions.

There were literally only four things standing between now and Gravis' future fight with Arc.

First, the Emotional Law.

Second, condensing the level seven Law of Perceived Reality.

Third, condensing the level seven Law of Sentience, which was a fusion of the Law of Emotions and Law of Perceived Reality.

Fourth, Gravis' excursion into the Gate of Death.

Right now, the first three things seemed to only be a matter of time. By now, Gravis was certain that he could comprehend the Law of Sentience before he died to the increasingly more powerful tribulations.

The only thing that could stop the fight between Gravis and Arc was the Gate of Death.

The Gate of Death was the only thing that was genuinely dangerous.

Well, that and tempering in general.

"Gravis," Arc said, waking Gravis from his thoughts again. "Stop thinking about all these things. That's all for the future. Why not focus on the now?"

Gravis noted that Arc worded that phrase peculiarly.

"Is there something I should pay attention to?" Gravis asked.

Arc only smiled as he looked out of the cave.

"Relax for the next 3,000 years," he said.

Gravis' eyes shone slightly. "Will something happen in 3,000 years?" he asked.

Arc nodded. "The chances are very high. It's not a certainty, but as things are going right now, I'm pretty sure it will happen."

"Can you just get to the point instead of describing everything in a roundabout way?" Gravis asked with a frown.

Arc laughed a bit. "But if I did that, it wouldn't be any fun for me," he said.

Gravis rolled his eyes. "Fine! Can you at least tell me what this presumed incident has to do with me?"

Arc's grin widened. "Tempering."

"Tempering?" Gravis asked with interest.

Gravis was always interested in tempering!

"Yes, and the very good kind," Arc said. "If you want, you can try jumping six levels. The eventual opponent will be in a unique disposition that will make their most powerful Laws useless against you."

"However, the opponent will still be incredibly powerful, even without their Laws."

"This might become one of your hardest fights yet."

"But you can win," Arc finished.

Gravis' eyes lighted up.

Jumping six levels?

He wanted to try that, but he had to choose a perfect opponent for that.

Any unforeseen powerful Law might end Gravis' life.

However, when Arc said that Gravis had a chance of victory, he believed him.

But Gravis was also certain that this opponent was a true danger to his life.

"And this incident in 3,000 years will grant me this opponent?" Gravis asked.

Arc smirked and nodded. "Don't worry, you will hear about it when it's time."

"In fact, the entire world will hear about it."

"The entire world?" Gravis asked with surprise.

Arc only smirked at Gravis.

SHING!

And teleported away.

Chapter 988 - 988 – The Incident That Shook The World

After Arc left, Gravis' mood had improved by a ton.

Tempering!

It was high time for some more tempering!

Even more, this would be his first opponent six levels above himself!

A feeling of overwhelming pressure appeared on Gravis' shoulders.

He knew that feeling.

This was the very familiar feeling of pressure Gravis got whenever he was about to truly put his life on the line.

However, the feeling of pressure had a much greater impact than usual.

Usually, Gravis enjoyed this feeling since it meant that Gravis was about to become even more powerful. This feeling had accompanied Gravis ever since he had started cultivating. It had been ever-present for a huge part of his life.

But things had changed.

Now, Gravis was not only living for himself but for others as well.

Especially Stella.

What if he died?

In the past, Gravis wouldn't have minded dying since it that would only have meant that he hadn't been powerful enough.

But now?

Now, Gravis had a lover.

What if he died?

What would Stella feel?

How much pain would Gravis' death inflict on her?

There was an old saying: "A man without shoes doesn't fear someone with shoes."

This saying refers to the concept of loss.

A man that was so poor that they couldn't afford shoes didn't have anything to lose. Because of that, such a man was willing to jump into danger again and again.

No one would miss them.

They didn't have any accumulated wealth.

Why not bet the little things he had for a brighter future?

In comparison, the man with shoes had a family, wealth, and a high status in society.

If he died, all of his past work would have been for nothing.

In the past, Gravis had had nothing to lose but his life.

His father and mother would get over Gravis' loss and continue on. Because of that, Gravis had never feared death much.

But now, Gravis had invested over 200,000 years into his Cultivation, and he had reached a terrifying amount of power. Even more, Gravis had Stella now, and Gravis had no idea how Stella would deal with Gravis' death.

Would she even get over it?

Would she commit suicide?

Gravis didn't want her to commit suicide, even if he died.

All of this magnified the pressure manifold, making it feel nearly overbearing.

'No wonder Orpheus stopped cultivating after becoming a Star God,' Gravis thought. 'He also found a partner.'

'When I just met Orpheus, I couldn't believe why he would stop cultivating after achieving so much.'

'But now, I understand.'

'Maybe Orpheus thought that it was enough. He didn't need more.'

'I can also do that.'

Gravis had to sigh.

'Huh,' he thought with a derisive tone in his mind. 'Look at me. I feel so pressured that I seek solace in the fact that I still have a way out.'

'These thoughts are not different from suicidal thoughts when someone goes through emotional turmoil.'

'Humans often think about suicide, but most of the time, these thoughts make withstanding the pain easier.'

'Why?'

'Because it shows the human that they still have a way to escape the pain.'

'They don't need to use it.'

'They only need to know that they have options left and that they still have control over their life.'

Gravis snorted.

'Surprising that I find myself in a similar situation now. I think about giving up to reduce the pressure on my shoulders, but I know exactly that I won't stop.'

'I'll always continue, no matter how difficult it will get!'

Gravis banished these thoughts from his mind and teleported to Stella with an excited smile on his face.

Stella was surprised when she saw Gravis.

Why?

Because she had expected him to comprehend the Law of Humility much faster.

She had expected that Gravis would, at most, take maybe 300 years.

Yet, he had been gone for over 1,200 years.

However, when Gravis told her that he had comprehended the level five Law variant of the Law of Humility, Stella's shock transformed. It went from one extreme into the other.

An Emotional level five Law in just a bit over 1,000 years?

That was crazy fast!

However, Stella's shock quickly transformed into pride.

This was her man, and her man was amazing!

Her man was the best!

This night, Stella and Gravis united again, and it was like no time had passed for both of them.

It was like this was the first time they were together.

Their love was as new and fiery as the first day.

The next day, Gravis informed Mortis about everything that had happened and about the incident that would happen in about 3,000 years.

Mortis was satisfied with Gravis' progress and said that Gravis could relax for 3,000 more years.

Gravis was happy when he heard that and immediately spent more time with Stella.

The 3,000 years passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, Mortis had comprehended another Law, the Law of Twilight. This was the Mixed Elemental Law of Shadow and Brilliance.

Only seven more to go!

Gravis and Mortis had comprehended a ton of level five Laws since the last time they had consumed another Law Comprehension Life Fruit.

Sadly, there was a problem.

Gravis only had fruits of Laws left he already knew.

However, Gravis didn't mind very much. The only usage of these fruits was to save time, and time was something that Gravis and Mortis didn't lack.

They weren't even Immortal Emperors yet.

As soon as they reached the Immortal Emperor Realm, they would immediately get another 200,000 years of longevity.

Therefore, Gravis didn't really mind that he was out of relevant Law Comprehension Life Fruits.

Then, just as Arc predicted, about 3,000 years after Gravis had returned from the Heaven's Trial, something major happened.

Actually, calling such an incident major was an understatement.

For humans, this incident could only be described as apocalyptical!

The Nine Elements Sect, All-Matter Sect, Primordial Force Sect, Life Sect, and even the frontline of humanity felt like a gigantic weight had been put on their shoulders.

Only the Purist Sect was able to deal with the incident in a relatively calm fashion, but they also became nervous.

Gravis also quickly got word of that piece of information.

How?

"So, you're a Chief Judge now, huh?" Gravis asked with a smile as he drank some tea.

"Yes, it was a difficult road, but I'm pretty secure in my position now. It also suits my skillset rather nicely."

In front of Gravis sat a tall man wearing black robes and a silver mask. All his features were hidden, and no one could feel him with their Cultivation.

It was like he didn't even exist.

Yet, Gravis was able to feel him.

Why?

Because Gravis knew the level five Law of Humility, just like the person in front of him.

Who was that?

It was Siral!

After they all split up, Siral had joined Underworld and worked his way upward. After some time, the upper echelon of Underworld noticed his exemplary performance in getting rid of internal troublemakers and traitors, which prompted a thorough background check.

The higher-ups of Underworld found out that Siral had been part of the Gravitas, their previous business partner. Additionally, they also found out that Siral already knew of the connection between the Purist Sect and Underworld.

Usually, such people would be exterminated quickly since they compromised Underworld's location.

However, the higher-ups weren't stupid.

Siral should have known their secret for tens of thousands of years.

If he had wanted to hurt them, he had had plenty of time to do so.

Instead, he worked for them and never leaked their secret.

So, Siral's knowledge of Underworld's secret transformed from a dangerous liability to an advantage.

Having someone that knew the truth about Underworld investigate their members was far better than having someone that didn't know it.

Siral was quickly put into the investigation department, and his exemplary performance made him shoot through the ranks.

In the end, Siral became one of the five Chief Judges responsible for the investigation department over the territory of an entire Peak Sect.

Due to his position, Siral was also forced to increase his strength by a lot.

Right now, Siral was in the Early Major Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm.

When the incident happened, Siral came personally to inform Gravis.

Why did he inform Gravis?

Because he believed that Gravis would be very interested in this piece of information.

After talking for a couple of hours about old times, Siral got to the point.

"Something happened," Siral said.

Gravis' eyes immediately narrowed.

Was it finally time?

Did Arc's prediction come true?

"What happened?" Gravis asked.

Siral finished the tea before him.

"The Highest Commander of humanity was killed by a human."

Chapter 989 - 989 – Nira

Gravis was quite surprised.

Yes, that was a pretty big incident!

"How powerful was the Highest Commander of Humanity?" Gravis asked.

"He was the publicly acknowledged strongest human," Siral answered. "He was a Peak Immortal Emperor that knew the level six Law of Blaze."

Gravis nodded. That truly was quite powerful.

The Law of Blaze was the level six Law equivalent to the Law of Inferno. If the Highest Commander also had that Law as his Avatar, he would have had control over an offensive level seven Law. Even more, with Weapon Techniques, the power of Blaze might have even been pushed to the power of a level 7.5 Law.

Was it even possible for a human to withstand such an attack?

Even beasts would be burned into nothingness as soon as they came into contact with such a force.

Who could kill someone like that?

"Who killed him?" Gravis asked with interest.

Usually, the demise of the Highest Commander of Humanity wouldn't interest him that much. After all, Gravis wasn't really part of either camp in the war. The death of such a powerful figure wouldn't be different to Gravis than the death of any normal Cultivator.

However, Arc had said that this incident could result in a nice tempering opportunity for Gravis.

This meant that the killer was most likely the intended target for Gravis' tempering.

"It was a woman by the name of Nira Frostglacier," Siral said.

'Frostglacier?' Gravis thought with furrowed brows. 'I've heard that last name before.'

"You might know her as the previous Sect Master of the Nine Elements Sect."

A woman with blue eyes and blue hair appeared in Gravis' memory. Her eyes exuded a kind of feeling that showed that she had everything in the world under her control.

"It's her?" Gravis asked with a cold gleam in his eyes.

This was the woman that had wanted to force Stella into a marriage with the All-Matter Sect that would have resulted in Stella's death.

Obviously, Gravis didn't have any good feelings for her.

Siral nodded. "Yes," he confirmed.

"How is that possible?" Gravis asked with furrowed brows. "Wasn't she under the effects of a Life Ring? Don't take this the wrong way, but you, of all people, should know how difficult it is to break out of the effects of a Life Ring. It's hard to believe something like that."

Siral chuckled a bit. "Don't worry, I know what you mean," Siral said as he remembered the time he had been Gravis' servant. "I also could scarcely believe it when I've heard of it. Breaking away from the effects of a Life Ring should be impossible. After all, you can't even think of such thoughts while under control. How can you escape from something when you don't even want to escape?"

"However," Siral continued, taking a sip from a new cup of tea. "There were witnesses, and they had seen what happened. Apparently, during a gathering of the Commanders, Nira suddenly slashed at the highest Commander from behind him, killing him instantly."

"The highest Commander hadn't been prepared for such an attack. After all, the elite of humanity had been gathered in this hall, and no one would dare to unleash an attack in there. Additionally, Nira had been under his control for over 100,000 years. Even you would drop your guard after such a long time."

Gravis nodded. After such a long time, he would have probably also dropped his guard.

"What happened afterward?" Gravis asked.

"The Commanders were shocked about what had happened, but all of them are experienced veterans. They immediately surrounded Nira and attacked her with the intention of killing her."

Gravis noticed the peculiar tone Siral had used.

"But?" Gravis asked.

Siral smiled bitterly. "But they couldn't kill her."

"Why?" Gravis asked.

The Commanders had to be some of the most powerful humans in the world. They were probably all Late Major Circulation Immortal Emperors. Withstanding such an avalanche of attacks sounded nearly impossible.

"Nira's Will-Aura suppressed all of the Commanders until they could only unleash 20% of their speed," Siral explained.

Gravis' brows furrowed. "Her Will-Aura was that much stronger?"

"That's the thing," Siral said with a sigh. "Her Will-Aura was only at the Late Major Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm, a bit below average for people with such power."

"Yet, her Will-Aura still suppressed them to such a degree?" Gravis asked, a cold light appearing in his eyes.

Siral nodded. "You probably already know, but that was the power of the level six Law of Suppression."

Gravis nodded.

The level six Law of Suppression, huh?

That also explained how Nira managed to break free from the Life Ring's influence.

After all, after Suppression came Freedom.

This was the only explanation Gravis could come up with.

After years of being suppressed, Nira had subconsciously comprehended the level six Law of Suppression. Then, for some reason, she had also managed to comprehend the level six Law of Freedom.

The Life Ring suppressed thoughts of revolution and disobedience, but it didn't stop servants from thinking about themselves and comprehending Laws.

Just an enlightening realization about oneself might already be enough to comprehend the level six Law of Freedom. At that point, the Cultivator would become immune to anything that wanted to suppress them as long as the force wasn't on an entirely different magnitude of power.

Siral noticed Gravis' eyes. "You seem to have realized something," he said. "Do you know what Law Nira has used to escape from her suppression?"

Gravis nodded. "I do," he answered. "Not many people in this world know about this Law, and even fewer have comprehended it. It's one of the rarest Laws that exist."

"What is it?" Siral asked.

Gravis had never talked about the Laws of Perceived Reality with Siral, which was why Siral didn't know much about that set of Laws.

"I can tell you, but knowing about this Law will make it harder for you to comprehend it in the future, and, at some point, you need this Law to become more powerful," Gravis said. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Siral became a bit nervous.

A Law he didn't even know existed.

Even more, knowing about it would make it even harder to comprehend it?

Such a statement felt counterintuitive and unbelievable. After all, someone had to know that something existed so that they could look at it and learn it. Not knowing about it meant that one couldn't learn it or look for it.

However, Siral didn't doubt Gravis' words.

When it came to Laws, Siral believed every word Gravis said.

"Then, no, thank you," Siral said with a bitter smile.

"Anyway, what happened after that? Did she kill all of them?" Gravis asked.

"She fled," Siral answered.

"She fled?" Gravis asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because the power of humanity isn't that simple," Siral answered. "Her victory wasn't certain, and if she pushed everyone too much, the Peak Sects might empty their storages to push their most powerful Ascenders to the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm. At that point, Nira would need to resist the might of several other Peak immortal Emperors that know level six Laws. Something like that is not a joke."

"Where is she currently?" Gravis asked.

"Nobody knows," Siral asked. "Why? Do you want to have a go?"

Gravis smirked. "I've been looking for some tempering."

Siral nodded.

He wasn't really surprised or shocked. Siral knew that Gravis had a ridiculous amount of money, and if he wanted, Gravis could probably become a Peak Immortal Emperor before the day was over.

This was also one of the reasons why Siral went to Gravis.

Siral was now fully integrated into Underworld, and he wanted to protect his organization.

Maybe Gravis would become interested enough to resolve this issue?

Of course, Siral never kept his intentions hidden. Both of them knew that Siral had come personally to Gravis to gauge his reaction to that incident.

Gravis had no obligation to help. He would only help if he truly wanted to.

Was Gravis interested?

Of course!

"She is probably already a Peak Immortal Emperor by now, right? After all, she should have absorbed enough Energy to passively make the breakthrough," Gravis asked.

Siral nodded. "Probably. We're not sure, though."

Gravis scratched his chin.

'Peak Immortal Emperor minus six Battle-Levels is Late Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm.'

Gravis nodded.

"I'll deal with her."

Chapter 990 - 990 – Take Care

Siral smirked when he heard that Gravis was interested in Nira.

"Good to hear," Siral said. "We'll search for her and inform you as soon as we get a lead."

"That shouldn't be necessary," Gravis answered as he stood up from his chair.

Right now, Gravis' eyes had a fierce glint of battle-intent inside of them.

His opponent had unveiled themselves, and Gravis was about to jump into mortal danger again.

Gravis had always been fine with wasting time, but now, he wanted to fight Nira as quickly as possible.

He wanted to get everything over and done with as quickly as possible.

When Siral heard that it wouldn't be necessary for them to search for Nira, Siral became confused. Gravis had only just heard about the incident. How could he already know Nira's whereabouts?

"Shouldn't take more than a day," Gravis said as he looked out of the window of his temporary residence. "At this time tomorrow, either Nira or I will be dead."

"That fast!?" Siral asked with shock.

Gravis nodded. "I'll reach the Late Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm in a couple of hours. After that, I will go to her."

Siral blinked a couple of times in confusion. "Gravis, she isn't a Late Major Circulation Immortal Emperor anymore. She's probably a Peak Immortal Emperor."

Gravis smirked. "I know."

Siral waited for further clarification, but no further answer came.

"Wait, you're telling me that you intend to jump six levels against someone that knows two level six Laws!?" Siral asked with shock.

He knew that Gravis' Battle-Strength was insane, but this was ridiculous, even for Gravis' standards!

"She's the perfect opponent," Gravis said. "Jumping six levels is still something that counts as nearly suicidal. Any level six Law would be my death."

"However, the two level six Laws that Nira comprehended are exactly two level six Laws that are useless against me. This means that I can be assured of her only knowing relevant level five laws."

"She's the weakest possible opponent in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm in this world. Every other Peak Immortal Emperor either knows a useful level six Law or knows far more level five Laws."

"I've already beaten one of the most powerful opponents five levels above myself, and now, it's time for one of the weakest opponents six levels above myself."

"The jump in power is perfect."

Siral couldn't keep up with Gravis' ridiculous words.

Jumping six levels?

That was impossible!

However, Siral had known Gravis for long enough that he immediately stopped that train of thought.

He couldn't comprehend Gravis' Battle-Strength.

"Then, I will wait here for your return," Siral said with a sigh.

Gravis nodded.

SHING!

Then, he teleported away.

In the underground, away from any prying eyes, Gravis took out a ton of Immortal Stones and started to consume them rapidly.

"Mortis, it is time," Gravis said.

"The tempering Arc promised has arrived?" Mortis asked.

"Yes," Gravis answered.

After that, he informed Mortis of everything that he and Siral had talked about.

"Finally! A truly powerful opponent!" Mortis answered with a cold, shaking voice.

Mortis had only had a single truly dangerous fight in his life, which had been against the Black Demon.

Now, it was time to take on the next, true challenge.

While Gravis felt the pressure of hurting Stella by dying on his shoulders, Mortis only felt the exciting pressure of a life-and-death battle.

Gravis wanted to get the fight over with as quickly as possible so that he could get clarity about his survival.

Mortis wanted to get to the fight as quickly as possible since he was excited.

Both of them had the same goal, but for different reasons.

Mortis dropped the Law he had just been comprehending and traveled to the eastern continent.

Two hours later, Mortis arrived beside Gravis, who was currently a Mid Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor.

The spiritual change between Immortal King and Immortal Emperor wasn't very pronounced. Gravis simply felt his mind become a bit clearer.

The real change would come when he became a Star God.

As soon as Mortis appeared, Gravis dropped down to the Early Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor Realm, while Mortis' Realm rose to match Gravis.

The two of them consumed more Immortal Stones, and in another two hours, they had both become Late Minor Circulation Immortal Emperors.

Right now, Gravis had the power to fight Ancestors.

Gravis was now one of the strongest beings in this world.

There were maybe only ten beings left in this world that could rival him, including Narcissus.

Gravis stood up, and Mortis entered Gravis' Life Ring.

After that, Gravis returned to the Purist Sect and searched for Stella.

By now, Gravis' Spirit Sense was millions of kilometers wide.

"Stella," Gravis transmitted with a serious tone.

Stella, who was currently comprehending a Law, noticed Gravis' tone, and she became nervous.

She had heard about Arc's words, and judging by Gravis' tone, it was time.

The news of Nira killing the Highest Commander was still incredibly new, and the Purist Sect hadn't been officially informed yet. Because of that, Stella didn't know whom Gravis was about to fight.

Yet, when she felt Gravis' new power, she knew how powerful his opponent had to be.

Stella knew that Gravis wanted to jump six levels, which seemed suicidal to her.

So, if Gravis was a Late Minor Circulation Immortal Emperor, his opponent had to be a Peak Immortal Emperor.

Peak Immortal Emperor.

This had been such a distant concept to Stella for her entire life.

Her dead teacher had been on that level.

Yet, now, Gravis was about to fight someone that was as powerful as her teacher had been.

It was terrifying.

Stella became nervous and fearful.

She didn't want to see Gravis die!

However, she also didn't want to stop Gravis' dream of gaining true freedom. She knew how important that dream was for Gravis.

Just like Gravis had his internal conflicts about freedom and Stella, Stella had internal conflicts about Gravis and his goal.

Yet, Stella couldn't stop Gravis.

She had also put her life on the line many times since they had become lovers, and Gravis had never stopped her.

Hadn't Stella been in just as much danger?

Gravis had supported Stella through her Cultivation, and Stella knew that she had to do the same.

"Who is it?" She asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"Your old Sect Master. She comprehended the level six Law of Suppression and the level six Law of Freedom. She broke free from the Life Ring and killed the Highest Commander."

Stella took a deep breath as all her emotions mixed together.

Gravis was about to fight her ex-aunt.

She didn't know how she should feel about it.

"Please come back safe," Stella transmitted with a soft tone, trying not to sound worried.

Gravis' body shook when he heard Stella's words.

He knew exactly how Stella felt, which made him feel guilty.

Yet, Gravis couldn't let something like this stop him.

He had to go!

"I'll be back by tomorrow," Gravis told her.

"Yes, take care," Stella said softly.

Gravis immediately teleported away.

Why hadn't he embraced Stella one last time?

Because, in his mind, this wouldn't be the last time.

Saying goodbye now meant that Gravis had a chance of dying.

However, Gravis wouldn't die!

He refused to die!

After Gravis left, tears appeared in Stella's eyes as she broke down with a shivering body.

"Please come back! Please come back!" she whispered to herself.

"I don't want to lose you!"