Lightning Is the Only Way

The Inferno Emperor directly shot at a Strider without any hesitation. As he closed in on the Strider, the surroundings of the Strider began to shake. The fire surrounding the Inferno Emperor scattered into nothingness as it was torn apart.

The Inferno Emperor was a level five Emperor, but the Strider still nearly destroyed all his fire, even though that was the equivalent to Punishment Lightning, the Inferno Fire. After a second, the Inferno Emperor was even visible as nearly all his fire had vanished. Yet, he had managed to reach the Strider's head.

BOOOOOOOM!

The Inferno Emperor unleashed all his fire in a massive explosion, which destroyed the Strider's head.

The Strider had died.

Of course, these Striders were not supposed to be tempering, but a test and food. As long as a level five Emperor managed to comprehend a level three Law and went all-in against a Strider, they would win. Yet, if they didn't have a level three Law, they would die, no matter how many level two Laws they had comprehended.

The headless body of the Strider fell over as the Inferno Emperor landed proudly on its back. Several seconds later, the Strider began to shine with a green light. Then, similar to when Gravis used his Composition Law, the Strider turned into dust.

Yet, this was not just any dust. This was compressed Energy, which quickly entered the Inferno Emperor's body. Of course, Heaven wouldn't overlook such an obvious problem that was consuming such a massive body. That would just unnecessarily waste time.

CRRRR!

In the middle of the Grand Lake, a new Strider suddenly rose. It was like they were rising from below the sea. The beasts had no idea why the Striders worked this strangely. How come they didn't attack anyone? How come they transformed into dust? How come a new one just appeared out of nowhere when one was killed?

Of course, Azure, Meadow, and Gravis knew why this happened. Heaven was simply replenishing the Striders.

The Inferno Emperor was fully regenerated by the Strider's Energy and immediately shot at the next one, killing it just as quickly.

After the Inferno Emperor killed the fifth Strider, something happened.

BANG!

The Metal Ultimate was blasted to pieces by a concentrated light beam from the white snake!

The Metal Ultimate had been disappointed when he had seen that his opponent only had the light element. The light element was known for having the weakest offense out of every element. This was why he had taken the white snake lightly.

Additionally, the several hours of having the upper hand had lulled the Metal Ultimate into a false sense of security. The white snake had acted like it was constantly losing Energy, but that had been an act. It was losing Energy, but that wasn't entirely due to the Metal Ultimate's attack.

She had gathered light over a long period of time and finally unleashed it in a concentrated laser. The speed and power of this attack had been absolutely terrifying!

The beasts were shocked as they witnessed this powerful attack. Who said light had a weak offense? Who said light was slow? This was neither weak nor slow!

As the beings got more powerful, the elements changed with them. Weak cultivators couldn't harness the hidden power of speed that light had. They also couldn't gather enough light to make it that destructive.

Yet, as the beings became more powerful, they could take advantage of their elements' hidden potential. Wind, for example, would slowly change its property in the higher worlds. From being the best at speed, it would fall to have only average speed.

But as the speed of wind fell, its destructive properties and domain would become more powerful. Wind had the hidden property of pressure, which allowed it to create powerful wind-blades and suppress others. From the freest element, it would transform into an element that suppressed others.

The same thing was true for light. From a purely healing and auxiliary element, it transformed into a fast and supremely destructive element. Light always had had the issue of using the Life Force of the patient instead of using the user's. Water was simply better at healing others.

Yet, with power came change, and as soon as light users became powerful enough to use the destructive properties of light, they would become terrifying giant-killers. It took a long time for light to gather Energy, and all of it would be unleashed in a single, devastating blast. A lot of small or similarly powered opponents would be an issue, but when fighting one opponent, light was supremely powerful.

The white snake looked exhausted, but she immediately grew bigger and consumed the corpse of the Metal Ultimate. She was one step closer to becoming an Ascender!

"Heal yourself," a gentle voice said to the white snake.

The white snake looked over at the new arrival but wasn't surprised. She had already anticipated that the last Ultimate of the land beasts would show herself.

A small, blue swallow flew towards the white snake. This was the Water Ultimate of the land beasts.

The white snake glanced at her comrades, who were still fighting Sary.

"Don't interfere," the Water Ultimate said gently. "I want you to fully regenerate. Then, we will fight each other."

The white snake remained silent, but she complied. If she involved herself in the fight right now, the Water Ultimate would attack her directly, which would spell her doom. Right now, her Energy storages were low. In this condition, she couldn't win against another Ultimate.

The Lightning Ultimate watched with envy and rage. He also wanted to fight, but he just couldn't since Meadow forced him to stay here. Angering Meadow would spell his doom.

Meanwhile, all the Emperors and Kings watched the fights intensely. A lot of Laws were displayed in these fights, and watching them would help them immensely in learning new Laws. Gravis was no exception.

'I might not be able to learn a Law by watching the fight, but my overall knowledge and comprehension will increase,' he thought as he also watched intently.

From far away, Azure was also watching. She had come here to think about her life and about her mindset, but the fight of the Ultimates had put a stop to that. The appearance of the Inferno Emperor, especially, had given her another wake-up call.

The Inferno Emperor had comprehended even fewer Laws than the Empress. Additionally, he was younger than her. Now, she truly realized that it had been her mindset that throttled her growth.

Meadow had a hell of a time as she watched the exciting show. She couldn't learn much by watching these battles, but it sure was entertaining!

five minutes later…

SHING!

Sary managed to bite the seabass. The seabass looked with shock at the horizon as he realized that he would die. With a lamenting sigh, he turned into a black puddle, which was quickly swallowed by Sary.

Sary had won, and everybody knew it. With only two Ultimates, her enemies couldn't resist her anymore. Her two remaining opponents had been under plenty of stress during that time, but they hadn't managed to comprehend a level three Law. Either these two weren't ready yet to understand one, or they simply weren't able to in general.

The two Ultimates knew that they would die today. Yet, they had tried their best, and they accepted that they were simply not powerful enough.

But instead of ending the battle, Sary glanced at Gravis. She remembered that it had been Gravis' words that had given her the push she needed to fulfill her dream. She turned back to her opponents.

"I won't kill you," Sary said, shocking her opponents.

The octopus and lobster only looked at Sary like they couldn't believe her words.

"But I want you to repay me," she said.

Some seconds of relative silence passed as, in the distance, the Water Ultimate and the white snake had already begun fighting.

"What do you require?" the octopus asked.

"I owe a debt of gratitude to a friend of mine. He is still a King, and I want him to learn as much about Laws as possible," Sary said. "In two years, we land Ultimates will meet and unleash our Law Comprehension for fifty years. In exchange for your life, I want you to be part of this meeting."

The two Ultimates looked at each other in uncertainty.

"As for your Empires, I will declare a ceasefire for any land Emperor during this event. Only the Kings or weaker will continue fighting," Sary explained.

After some seconds, the octopus turned to Sary again. "We agree," he said.

Sary smiled happily. "Then, for the next 52 years, we will be comrades."

The sudden change in demeanor surprised the two sea Ultimates. Yet, their lives were in Sary's grasp. Additionally, such powerful beasts kept to their words in comparison to humans.

This battle had also ended, and everyone watched the last battle, which was between the Water Ultimate and the white snake.

WHOOOOM!

Suddenly, a powerful shockwave went throughout the world as the Energy was shaken. Black tears appeared across space as the beasts turned to another spot in the Grand Lake.

The Inferno Emperor had consumed the eight Strider and had become the Inferno Immortal!

A gigantic pillar of fire appeared as the Inferno Immortal's body burned away. The fire's heat was so powerful that the beasts even felt it from such a vast distance.

Some seconds later, the Inferno Immortal reappeared again.

Yet, he had a different body.

Currently, he was in the form of a young adult human with floating, fiery red hair. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, which were the eyes of a hawk.

Then, the Inferno Immortal smirked arrogantly as he looked at Gravis.

"Try to catch up to me, Gravis," he said with superiority.

"Just wait," Gravis said evenly.

Then, the Inferno Immortal turned to the sky. Ascenders could remain in their world for a month, but the Inferno Immortal had no reason to stay here.

He flew up, and a gigantic portal appeared above him. Then, he entered the portal without throwing another glance at Gravis.

The portal closed, and the Inferno Immortal was gone.

Gravis' eyes shone coldly.

"Just wait," he repeated silently but coldly. "I'll repay my debt to you."