Lightning Is the Only Way

"Yes, that is quite a strong incentive," Gravis said. "However, draconian rules often birth resentment."

"It doesn't matter," the old man said with a smile. "There are some cases of revolution here and there, but it's all an exercise in futility when the other side has overwhelming power."

Gravis' eyes shone. "So, the Life Sect's territory is not as united as you wanted to make me believe."

The old man furrowed his brows. "I have been honest with you."

"Yes, you have," Gravis said, "but you can be honest without telling me all of the details. I've also been honest, but we both know that there is more to my situation."

"There is?" the old man asked with surprise.

Gravis scoffed. "Don't act innocent," Gravis said. "You're not stupid."

"Alright, alright," the old man said with a smile. "Yes, yes, nothing is as simple as it appears on the surface," the old man admitted. "However, it doesn't change reality. The Life Sect is the only place where you can live without worrying that some random Immortal Emperor will find out your secret."

"Hm," Gravis uttered. "That's also true."

"Anyway, thank you for the map. I'll be going now, and I will probably also visit the Life Sect in the future," Gravis said.

The old man nodded with a smile. "It has been nice talking to you, and I'm looking forward to what you can do. From what I've heard, your Battle Strength is incredible. You will see that the Life Sect can give you the best home you can get in this world."

"Best I can get, huh?" Gravis commented after he turned around. "That doesn't promise much in this world where humans and beasts are at each other's throats."

"But it's still the best," the old man said with a smile. "In the grand scheme of things, a smaller man might appear small, but when he is among dwarves, he's a giant."

"Hmph," Gravis harumphed one last time. After that, he motioned for Siral that they would leave.

When the old man saw Gravis gesturing to Siral, a gleam appeared in his eyes. Yes, he had taken note of this powerful Immortal King when he had entered the room, but as he was talking to Gravis, the Immortal King had seemingly stopped existing. It was like the old man was subconsciously ignoring Siral.

The old man noticed that Siral was not simple. To be able to hide one's presence to such an extent inside such a small room was no easy feat. There was something very peculiar about this Immortal King after the old man thought about this.

"Why are you following our little friend?" the old man asked Siral. This Immortal King was not simple at all, and he felt like it was a bit weird that Gravis was actually the one that talked with him. Shouldn't that have been the job of the more powerful one of the two?

"He has saved my life once, and he will do so again in the future. This is repayment," Siral said as he shot a short glance at the old man.

Siral was obviously referring to the time when Gravis had decided to spare him. Siral had attacked Gravis with a sneak attack with the intention to kill him. Sparing his life in such a scenario was definitely not expected. Because of that, Siral counted it as Gravis having saved his life once.

The second time would obviously be his tribulation.

The old man furrowed his brows. Gravis had saved his life before? When could that have happened? Shouldn't that Immortal King already have been quite powerful back then? After all, Gravis had only been in this world for around 40,000 years. 

Gravis and Siral left the house with their new map and teleported away. 

The old man in the house only stroked his beard with a grin.

After teleporting a couple of times, Gravis stopped and looked at Siral.

"So, you now know that I have a beast body," Gravis commented. "What do you think about that?"

"Master is Master. That is all," Siral said deferentially.

Gravis wasn't fine with that answer. "Alright," Gravis said. "Then, tell me, what would the old Siral have thought, the Siral shortly before I used my Life Ring."

Siral furrowed his brows as he tried to emulate his old mindset. It was rather difficult since the Life Ring had severely altered his personality. "I think he would have asked if you are a human or not first."

"I am a human," Gravis said. "I have been born a human, and I am still a human, even if I have a beast body."

Siral nodded. "Then, I think the old Siral wouldn't have minded. As long as you genuinely consider yourself to be a human, you are a human."

Gravis also nodded. He wasn't sure if he could trust Siral's answer or not since he was still under the influence of the Life Ring, but it was better than nothing.

Gravis had thought about telling Siral some of his secrets but decided against it. Sure, Siral couldn't betray him, but that was only temporary. Gravis planned to let Siral go in about 20.000 years. If Siral held some resentment towards Gravis, he could unveil all of Gravis' secrets.

Gravis had made that mistake once before with Morus, who had then threatened Gravis with his three children. Gravis wouldn't commit that mistake again. The less Siral knew about him, the better. If Siral decided to stay with Gravis after he had been freed from the Life Ring's influence, Gravis could still decide to unveil some of his secrets. 

Siral and Gravis continued along their journey as they followed the red arrow that the old man had showed them. 

Several days later, they were still teleporting. It was actually insane how huge the world was. Gravis didn't need more than a couple of minutes to go from one end of the Sect Alliance's territory to the other, but they had already been teleporting for days. Even worse, they hadn't even reached the Nine Elements Sect's perimeter.

Gravis and Siral had stopped using their Laws of Shadow's Subtlety. 

Why?

Because if they accidentally ran into some important Sect territory, they wouldn't be seen as invaders that way. 

If someone accidentally stopped before a private, fortified mansion while normally walking, the guards would tell them to scram and warn them. However, if these same people had been sneaking around in the night while trying to be as hidden as possible, they would appear like invaders.

That wouldn't end in just a warning. 

Gravis was not confident enough in his hiding ability that he could enter these critical areas. 

Also, there was no reason to, right now.

SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!

Suddenly, five people appeared before Gravis and Siral as space froze.

"Stop!" the leader shouted. All of them wore black cloaks that fully hid their features. These cloaks also had the ability to hide their bodies from Spirit Senses.

Gravis looked at them with narrowed eyes. 

He was absolutely certain that they had not come with good intentions.

Why?

Because two people in the back carried bloody torsos with heads. Each person carried five chains in their hands. These chains went over their shoulders and ended in meat hooks that had been stabbed into the torsos. 

The torsos had no Spirit fluctuations, but Gravis noticed that they were still breathing.

These ten torsos were living people that were carried around by these five individuals. 

Their Spirits had obviously been temporarily disabled with some pills, probably. On top of that, their eyes, ears, and mouths were burned shut. 

By all intents and purposes, these poor people didn't feel, see, or hear anything. They were only under severe pain as the meathooks tore at them whenever their captors moved.

Gravis hadn't seen something like this before, and it appeared unnecessarily cruel. 

Oftentimes, the worst beings were not beasts but humans. 

Gravis wondered why these five people did this. What did they gain out of this? Gravis was pretty sure that it wasn't just a desire for cruelty. Such things weren't really important to powerful Immortals anymore. After all, they were all experienced enough to know that something like this didn't help them.

There had to be a reason for their actions.

"What do you want?" Gravis asked with narrowed eyes.

The leading figure only smirked beneath his black hood.