Lightning Is the Only Way

The elder smirked at Gravis. "Isn't it obvious how I know all these things?" he asked with a smug voice. "My Heaven told me."

Gravis narrowed his eyes. "Your Heaven?"

The elder laughed a little. "Yes, my Heaven. As in, the Heaven from my world. It is not allowed to help me in any direct way, but it can, at least, send me information about potential recruits. So, are you interested?"

Gravis stayed silent for some seconds and then turned to Fear City on the horizon. "You obviously know my strength, so why do you say that I will die if I enter Fear City?" Gravis asked. He had already decided against going into Fear City at this point. This person knew his power, and he told Gravis that he would die. Was him choosing this city bad luck?

Karmic Luck is a complex concept. For example, if someone runs right into an ambush of several powerful cultivators and dies, that could be considered bad luck, right? Yet, if that person managed to kill those people with his own strength, his will would have been tempered, and he would have acquired several useful resources. Wouldn't that be considered good luck then?

In the end, bad luck only meant encounters with mortal danger. Yet, if someone managed to survive these mortal dangers, one would become more powerful. In the end, Karmic Luck meant lots of enemies. If one dies, it's considered bad luck, and if one survives, it's considered good luck, but in the end, only strength mattered.

So, what about Fear City? Gravis wanted to know what would have waited for him there.

The elder chuckled again. "Fear City is the main outpost for the Darkness Sect," explained the elder. "They always have two people at the Sapling Stage stationed there. A fight against two Sapling Stage cultivators will be supremely dangerous for you, but not impossible. Though that is not the real danger."

Gravis thought for a bit. "If Fear City is the main outpost for the Darkness Sect, it probably means that the Darkness Sect itself is pretty close. So, if I fight those people, they will quickly contact the Darkness Sect, which will send more Sapling Stage cultivators to me. Like this, I would be overwhelmed. Though, I probably still have some time to win and flee. On top of that, why would they attack me?"

The elder laughed again. "You underestimate the Sects and their methods. Spirit Forming people leave part of their Spirits in sealed glass bottles in the sect. When they get killed, the Spirit inside the glass bottle will also get destroyed by the same thing that has killed the cultivator."

The elder pointed at Gravis. "You have killed someone of the Darkness Sect. They know it was a lightning cultivator who killed the person. Of course, they don't know that it's you, but that's not important. I think you forgot a major fact."

looked unamused at the elder. "Which

the lightning element, and are, therefore, in their eyes, a member of the Lightning Sect, and as you know, the Darkness Sect and Lightning Sect are at war. They will attack you simply because they think you are from the

Gravis was a little frustrated that he hadn't thought about that point. He should have seen something obvious like this. Yet, as he thought

has a bigger range than my Spirit, so all of us should be inside their Spirit. What are

hand. On his ring finger, a ring sparkled a little bit, drawing the attention of Gravis. "This artifact is making us invisible to the Spirits of others. Every one of our members gets one of these." Like he had issued a

Gravis asked with

uncovered the methods to forge this object yet. The only person that knows how to create these artifacts is me. Don't

have that your Heaven chose

am at the Self-Stage," said the elder, surprising Gravis. "Of course, it would be unfair if I went and destroyed all the Sects by myself. Therefore, my strength is greatly reduced in this world. If we were to fight, I would have no chance against you. After all, I am a teacher in this world, not a

looked deeply into Gravis' eyes. "So, let me ask again. Will you join or not?" he asked, some impatience

join you, but only until those so-called Greens are defeated. As soon

elder laughed louder now. "That's not a problem. As soon as the Greens are defeated, I'll get more ways to advertise my organization. Killing the Greens is already plenty. Anyway, let's go somewhere else. We'll talk more when we're not outside Fear City. If someone at

running towards a nearby forest. Gravis had already said that he would

Whoosh!

Gravis was quite surprised since the other four people were all youngsters. They were probably not much older than him. Yet, what truly surprised Gravis was

long, grey hair, and the deep wrinkles on his face showed his experience. Yet, that was not what surprised Gravis. What surprised him was the aura and feeling that the elder emanated. When he had worn the hood, he appeared sinister, yet without the hood, he appeared like a kind old grandpa.

the elder sighed gently. "I'm not a fan

brow.

amused elder and not like a sinister snake. "The most important thing while wearing a disguise is changing your personality," the elder slowly explained with a kind voice. "If some intelligence has leaked and the Sects know what's going

"You might not care, but it's important for me. I need to recruit more people, and if I appear as the sinister, grey-cloaked

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