Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis simply lay in the sky, enjoying the feeling after winning a hard fight. The excitement, fear, anticipation, and everything else that came with a fight had left him, only leaving behind a feeling of contentment.

Gravis spent a couple of hours like this, just looking into the sky without much thought. 

He wasn't as pressured as Mortis, but that wasn't hard, to begin with. Mortis always put himself under pressure, even if everything went perfectly. He simply believed that the more pressure someone was under, the more powerful one became.

Yet, was that genuinely true?

If it had been in the past, Gravis would have believed so. However, some things had happened in the past couple of years that made Gravis doubt this truth. 

How many level five Laws had Mortis comprehended, and how many level five Laws had Gravis comprehended?

Mortis had comprehended three level five Laws, the Law of Lightning's Manipulation, Lightning's Supreme Speed, and Lightning's Supreme Power..

Gravis had also comprehended three. The Law of Body Growth, the Law of Body Composition, and the Law of Hard Complex Materials.

Of course, Gravis couldn't count that last Law since it had been comprehended with the help of Life Fruits.

However, that still meant that Gravis had comprehended two level five Laws while Mortis comprehended three. 

At first glance, it seemed like Gravis wasn't as good at comprehending Laws as Mortis.

Yet, when one looked closer, one would realize that there was a terrifying gap in terms of Law Comprehension between the two.

First of all, Mortis comprehended three lightning Laws, which meant that they would be comprehended in a terrifyingly short amount of time. 

Meanwhile, Gravis had comprehended two Life Laws, something Gravis didn't have much affinity for.

Even more, Gravis had comprehended the level three Law of Empathy, the level four Law of Heat, the level four Law of Cold, all the level four Body Composition Laws, the three level three Laws of physical power, and the three level four Laws of physical power. Then, there was even the Law of Life Energy, the Law of Life, and the Law of the Living World.

While Mortis was focusing on comprehending Laws, Gravis even "wasted" over a thousand years to just gather materials, money, and access to Law Comprehension Areas. 

The difference was just too striking.

However, Mortis and Gravis were both made out of the same blueprint, which was Gravis himself.

So, theoretically, their Law Comprehension speed should basically be identical. 

Yet, Gravis had comprehended so many more Laws. Sure, some of them were thanks to Stella, but there were still a lot of them Gravis comprehended on his own. 

Mortis was under constant pressure, while Gravis felt relaxed and free. 

So, was it truly correct when one said that pressure would increase one's power? 

Well, pressure increased one's Will-Aura in a fight. However, was it actually conducive to comprehending more Laws?

Gravis scratched his chin as he only looked at the sky, which had become dark by now. 'I think pressure is more of a motivator than a comprehension accelerator,' he thought. 'Pressure makes you completely focus on becoming more powerful when, otherwise, you would have simply relaxed.'

Gravis looked at the crater on the ground.

'But what if pressure actually makes someone focus too hard on Laws?' Gravis thought. 'When you are under pressure, you are under stress, and it's harder to concentrate under stress. Additionally, comprehending Laws can't be accelerated just because someone wants to.'

'Whenever I comprehend Laws, I have to expand my mind and accept that some things that seemed illogical in the past now are seemingly connected. An open mind, ready to accept change, might help one more in comprehending Laws.'

'I wonder, was my Sudden Enlightenment in the Life Laws a lucky chance, or was it only natural due to my relaxed and curious mind?' Gravis thought. 

Gravis looked at the sky again for a couple of seconds, just thinking.

"Hahaha!" Gravis suddenly laughed loudly. "What am I even thinking about?" he said to himself.

'Who the fuck cares?' Gravis thought with a smile. 'I'm comprehending Laws at a fast rate, and that's enough for me. I can't find out the truth why I'm comprehending Laws so fast with only these clues right now, so why even think about it?'

'I'm simply doing whatever I want, and it's working out fine. I'll just continue doing whatever I want, and I'll see where that leads me to,' Gravis thought.

SHING!

A ring appeared on Gravis' claw.

'And right now, I want to talk with Stella,' Gravis thought with a smile.

'So what if I waste time? This is my life, and I do with it whatever I want,' Gravis thought.

BOOOOM!

Gravis' eyebrows rose as he blinked a couple of times in surprise.

"HAHAHAHA!" Gravis laughed loudly. 

Gravis continued laughing for nearly a full minute in happiness. 

"Hey, Mortis," Gravis transmitted to Mortis.

"I'm busy!" Mortis answered.

"I comprehended a Law," Gravis said, nevertheless.

Currently, Mortis was carrying two sabers in his claws as he experimented with them. When he heard that Gravis had comprehended yet another Law, he frowned.

"It's natural," Mortis answered. "You just went through tempering. Understanding Laws is normal."

"Oh, this has nothing to do with tempering," Gravis answered. 

"Just say it," Mortis answered, unamused.

"It's the level six Law of Freedom!"

Mortis' eyes widened in shock.

What!?

A level six Law!?

How was Mortis supposed to keep up with Gravis' terrifying speed of comprehending Laws!?

Even more, Mortis always put his absolute best into comprehending Laws, while Gravis always lounged around lazily. It was like Gravis wasn't even taking Cultivation seriously! He was simply doing whatever he wanted without any urgency or feeling of pressure.

'Why do I have to go through a mountain of pressure while Gravis, who lazes around all day, comprehends Laws so much faster than me!?' Mortis thought with gritted teeth.

He was forcing himself and constantly put himself under pressure and stress, but Gravis was comprehending Laws far faster than him! 

How was this fair!?

Mortis didn't answer for a long while.

'Am I wrong?' Mortis thought. 'Am I cultivating with a wrong mindset? This is the only difference between Gravis and me.'

Mortis thought of when he and Gravis had met for the first time.

Back then, Mortis had looked down on Gravis. 

Gravis had a weak mindset in Mortis' eyes. If one valued love and friendship, the enemy could use these connections to hurt one. Even more, if something happened to one's close companions, one would get hurt emotionally.

Mortis didn't have these weaknesses.

Mortis put his everything into chasing supreme power.

Because of that, Mortis was superior to Gravis.

That was how Mortis had viewed Gravis back then. Gravis was a weaker version of Mortis.

However, Gravis had accomplished one amazing thing after the other, leaving Mortis in the dust.

Mortis had even said in the past that he hated carrying dead weight.

Yet, wasn't he the dead weight currently!?

Mortis' expression turned into a furious grimace as he gnashed his teeth violently. Hatred, anger, and self-loathing rampaged in his mind.

'Why am I so weak!?' Mortis thought, filled with negative emotions.

Gravis felt Mortis' emotions and smiled bitterly. 

'I probably should stop talking to him for now. I should also postpone my call with Stella for a bit. Gotta wait for Mortis to calm down,' Gravis thought.

Gravis simply sat down on the ground, looking forward with a frown.

He didn't want to suppress Mortis' emotions since he was also letting Gravis have full reign when he was being emotional. 

So, Gravis could only wait for Mortis to calm down.

'This is troublesome,' Gravis thought. 'We really need the Law of Emotions.'