Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis wanted to know, but he accepted that it was better if the results were shared with him when his daughter also got to hear them. Because of that, he didn't inquire further and left the shop again.

The next couple of years, Gravis relaxed again, waiting for Yersi to finish her comprehension.

Around seven years later, Yersi came out with excitement. Finally, she would get to know which Laws she had certain affinities for.

Because of that, Gravis and Yersi immediately went back to the Smart Cultivator to get her results.

As soon as Yersi gave back her current Virtualization Array, one of the clerks pulled Gravis and Yersi over to a side room.

The clerk ordered some high-quality tea, and they all only had some small talk until the tea arrived. 

The tea tasted absolutely incredible. Gravis was a fan of coffee, but he could also imagine drinking this tea from now on. Of course, this was only natural. After all, the business of Virtualization Arrays was one of the most profitable businesses in existence. Buying expensive tea didn't hurt them at all.

The clerk left, and someone else entered the room. This was a man dressed in a very professional black suit. His demeanor basically screamed successful businessman. 

"Hello, my name is Jake, and I'm responsible for evaluating the tests and advising our customers," he said as he gave Yersi his hand. Yersi was the one that ordered the test, which meant that she was the customer. Because of that, she should receive her greeting first, even if there was someone more powerful standing beside her.

"Thank you, Jake," Yersi said with a smile. "I'm Yersi, and this is my father, Gravis," she said as she gestured to Gravis.

"Hi," Gravis said nonchalantly.

Jake also gave Gravis his hand with a smile. "Don't worry. We only have the best interest for your daughter in mind," he said.

"I know," Gravis said.

Jake gestured for them to sit again and sat opposite the two. After that, he quickly retrieved a jade token and checked over it again. After some seconds, he nodded. "We can definitely work with that," he said.

"Now," Jake said after putting the jade token away again. "Let me first introduce you to our evaluation rating. We generally rate someone's affinity towards a specific category of Laws from one to five."

"One means you have basically no talent and that you need to work a really long time to make any progress in that category of Laws. There is even a high chance that you will make no progress."

"Two means you are not suitable for this category, but you can still achieve something by working harder than others."

"Three means average."

"Four means you are talented in this Law and that you will be able to comprehend these Laws very quickly. Tempering might even not be necessary to understand the harder Laws of this category. Therefore, we generally aim to recommend to you categories with an affinity score of four."

"Five is rare, but it happens occasionally. Five basically means you were born for this Law. These Laws come very naturally to you, and you feel an intrinsic connection with them. It's less understanding Laws and more the Laws telling their secrets to you," Jake said.

Gravis and Yersi nodded. Everything seemed straightforward. The fact that Jake also said that he could work with this data meant that Yersi had at least one category of Laws with a high aptitude.

Jake waited for questions, but none came. 

"Alright then," he said. "Now, let me just address the elephant in the room."

After that, he turned to Yersi. "You obviously have an affinity rating of five for lightning-related Laws, and I'm certain that you know that. So, why would you want to find a different category?"

Yersi had comprehended Punishment Lightning in less than a century in the middle world. This was insanely fast, and it was evident that her biggest affinity lay in that group of Laws.

Yersi looked at Gravis, but Gravis kept silent. This was her conversation.

Yersi sighed. "My father is the being with the greatest affinity towards lightning that has ever existed. Some of his traits have carried over to me and my siblings, which also gave us a great affinity towards lightning."

The clerk looked at Gravis with shock but also with a bit of skepticism. This was quite a bold claim.

"My father agrees," Gravis said as he flashed his Obsidian Ring. 

Jake took a deep breath of shock. It was one thing to claim that, but it was something entirely different when it was the Opposer that claimed that. After some seconds, Jake looked back at Yersi. "Okay, but that didn't answer my question," he said.

"Well, the reason why I want to look at other Laws is Law Comprehension practice," Yersi said. "Father thinks that comprehending these lightning Laws so quickly doesn't give me enough experience."

Jake glanced over to Gravis and then back at Yersi. "That makes sense," he said. "Being reliant on a single group of Laws might allow you to become an Immortal King and maybe even an Immortal Emperor, but everything after that becomes difficult. So that's a good decision."

Gravis trusted the words of Jake since Jake felt even more powerful than all the clerks he had seen in the shop. This meant that Jake was probably an Immortal Emperor, which meant that he knew what he was talking about as long as he talked about things related to beings below the Star God Realm.

"Good," Jake said when he noticed that the two of them didn't have any questions. "Then, let me give you your test results. Let's start with the bad."

"The element of earth is a one. Sorry for that. I would suggest dropping any comprehension attempts for the Laws of Earth until you are an Immortal Emperor with a lot of time and money," he said.

Yersi released a bitter sigh. She had already expected something like this, but it still felt terrible hearing about something that she had no talent in. She had been born with an insane affinity towards lightning, which meant that she didn't have a great affinity towards earth. Earth and lightning did not like each other one bit.

"At least that is your only category with a score of one. Everything else is a two, at least. That's already above average," Jake said.

Yersi nodded.

"You have two categories with an affinity score of two. These are the Soul Laws and gravity. That you have a low affinity towards the Laws of Soul is only natural since you do not have a Spirit. This automatically makes it harder for you to comprehend Soul Laws. Around 50% of beasts have a one in that category," Jake said.

Yersi was not thrilled by this evaluation, but it made sense. It kind of sucked to hear that she didn't have something that nearly everyone around her had, but she had to live with it. "What about gravity?" she asked.

Jake looked at Gravis.

"Earth is strongly related to gravity," Gravis said. "Because of that, your affinity towards gravity suffers."

Jake nodded with a smile.

"Correct," he said.

Yersi nodded again. "Please continue," she said.

"Now we come to the biggest part," Jake said. "The threes are always the most numerous by far since most beings are average in them. Hold your horses because there are eleven of them. Let me just rapid-fire them."

"Darkness, light, fire, metal, wood, wind, the elements in general, time, plants, life in general, and matter," Jake said.

Yersi took all of that in. These were a lot of Laws that she had an average aptitude in. So that was something, at least. 

Gravis checked all the categories he had heard about and realized that there were some still missing. This meant that Yersi had several aptitudes with a four, at least. That sounded rather good.

"Now, don't get overexcited," Jake said with a smile. "The rest are fours. Sadly, your only five is lightning. Want to hear the rest of them?"

Yersi nodded.

"You have three categories with an aptitude of four. That's far above average. These three are water, the body, and temperature," he said.

Yersi was taken aback. The body part made sense since she was a beast. Beasts didn't have Spirits, but they had powerful bodies. Yet, where did that water and temperature aptitude come from?

"What about emotional and situational Laws?" Gravis asked. He was a bit surprised that they were missing entirely.

"We can't evaluate emotional Laws since we can't completely inspect your entire Spirit or soul. We can only make some guesses about your personality, but nothing concrete. Situational Laws are, as the name implies, situational. There are no affinities for them. It's all experience," Jake said.

"I see that you have questions, but let me explain first," Jake said with a smile as he saw the confused Yersi. "This should answer most of your questions."

"Your body affinity comes from you being a beast. So having a high affinity with the body is natural. The aptitude for water comes from three different sources. First of all, you have a powerful lightning affinity, and lightning loves water. This is one source."

  "The second reason is the fact, and don't take this the wrong way, that you are a woman. We've long thrown away these concepts of Ying and Yang, but there is still a bit of truth to them. Water is gentle but can become turbulent. This could be associated with a peace-loving mindset that is willing to be brutal when necessary. Women are more likely to fit into that mindset than men."

"The third reason is your personality. Judging by what you have told us about yourself, you can become content with what you have instead of always chasing higher peaks. The fact that you want to stop cultivating in the future already shows this mindset, and because of these three reasons, you are very talented with water."

Yersi thought about it and realized that a lot of what Jake said made sense. Her demeanor truly resembled a calm lake. 

"Now," Jake said. "Can you find the reason for your great affinity towards the Temperature Laws? You should be able to find the reason."

Yersi thought about this.