Lightning Is the Only Way

Two days after Gravis talked with the twins, something surprising happened. The twins had left the Greys. Elder Byron had informed Gravis that they had changed their mind and didn't want to be part of the Greys anymore. Gravis was a little confused but also felt like he understood the reason.

After they had talked, they had probably decided on their future path. Maybe they would return to the Water Sect? Maybe they decided to stop increasing their power? Gravis was not sure, though he thought the possibility that they were no longer interested in cultivation was more likely. There was basically no better group to temper their wills than the Greys. Leaving the Greys probably meant that they finalized their decision to no longer temper themselves.

Gravis was a little sad to see them go, but it was their decision. It was supremely rare that people could walk their paths to power together. Talent, luck, hard work, risk, death, and many other things could stop a cultivator from following their path. Gravis was never destined to stay in this lower world, and how many people actually ascended from this lower world? Probably not that many.

With this, only three people remained in the group of the Greys, from an initial amount of six. Drake had died, while the twins had left. Right now, it was only Elder Byron, Creed, and Gravis. On top of that, Creed was very rarely present. That was because he was busy scouting. He had never cultivated any element, so it was very easy for him to move around without suspicion. That made him the perfect scout.

Right now, Gravis and Elder Byron sat together, eating and drinking. The campsite felt lonely with only those two present. "I think I'm partially at fault that Lory and Lena left," Gravis said with a sigh.

Elder Byron smiled warmly and drank from a mug. "Don't worry about it," he said with dismissal. "You're new, so you're not used to this constant coming and going. It's actually normal that so many people leave. Speaking of, I think I should go search for some new blood. We can't just be three people, can we?" Elder Byron laughed.

Gravis smiled bitterly. He didn't regret talking to the siblings, but he still felt a little guilty about making Elder Byron lose two members. Though, he preferred this situation over the twins dying. Someone who didn't have an iron will to gamble with their life wasn't fit for the cultivation world. Such a doubt could make someone hesitate or flee from a winnable fight.

"Would you mind telling me about your homeworld?" Gravis asked Elder Byron.

Elder Byron continued smiling. "There is not that much to talk about," he said. "Cultivators in my homeworld don't use elements. We are basically all cultivating different battle-techniques, similar to the Rakshasa Saber I gave you. The combination of will and Spirit creates a force that can keep up with the destructive properties of the elements. Of course, you need a powerful will first."

Elder Byron then looked up at the sky, scratching his chin. "Though, I do envy the healing properties of water and light. In a large scale conflict, just a couple of those healers would multiply the fighting power of one side." Elder Byron then scoffed and took another mouthful of his wine. "It's actually sad that this world is fragmented based on elements. Imagine the power of a group of people with mixed elements."

Gravis nodded. "I've also thought about this. Such a group could use someone with the earth element to block powerful attacks or keep one or more enemies occupied. Someone with the water or light element could tend to anyone that got injured, and the remaining elements could attack under the protection of the earth cultivator."

and one fire cultivator could take on a Spirit Beast of equal ranking,"

be impossible for a group of three people at the initial stage of Spirit Forming to kill a low-rank Spirit Beast. That beast would just kill one person after the other. Yet, if the group could make the enemy focus on the person with the most

different elements, the more powerful the whole group becomes. I think a group of five people with different elements and

to be able to resist such attacks. That is not easy. On top of that, the group needs to combine their powers. I'm not sure if simply unloading all their Energy on the beast would topple it. They would probably also need

"Yes, but it is

think? Theoretically, it should be possible, but it's

probably make such an organization in

with skepticism at Elder Byron. "Isn't your goal to destroy the

"When did I ever

looked unamused at him. "You tried to convince me that 'the Elemental Sects' demise' would only

Elder Byron said with exasperation. "I need to keep my persona up when I am in disguise. Saying that we only want to

and had to agree. Elder Byron had seemed very sinister at that point and saying that they only wanted to prove themselves would have seemed

destroying all Elemental Sects?"

is unnecessary. Even though I believe the path of my homeworld is more powerful, it doesn't mean that we

Byron didn't seem genuine. He was not looking into Gravis' eyes, and

Byron looked with nervousness at Gravis, and sweat ran down his forehead. After some seconds, he groaned in exasperation. "Okay, okay! I

that. Elder Byron was really a lousy liar. Maybe that was the

is that I initially had planned to destroy

was more interested now. "Oh, why?"

Byron looked uncomfortably at Gravis. "Because

was back