Lightning Is the Only Way

The group told Gravis what they went through in their first trial. They had to defend themselves from an army of beasts that grew more and more numerous as time went by, without any pause. Gravis immediately saw the similarity between that trial and his mad dash for power back in his homeworld. Back then, he had willingly put himself in a similar situation.

That mad dash for power had helped him in condensing his initial Will-Aura. After all, it was good tempering, and it gave a lot of combat experience. The group had to adapt to waves of beasts that continually got stronger to survive.

This confirmed Gravis' thought that Heaven was putting the group through the perfect trials for them. After all, they had three people that went through the tenth level of Energy Gathering. They were probably more valuable to Heaven than all the other groups combined. In total, their trial had been going on for one month.

Then, it was Gravis' turn to tell of his first trial. He told them of the priest that he had met and how outclassed he was. When he told them how prepared the priest was for him, their disbelief only increased. How could he have possibly gotten out of that situation alive? In their minds, it had been impossible for him to win.

When he came to the point where he told them about his guesses on how the Jade Tokens worked, they realized that there really was a chance. It actually sounded really logical! Yet, even if that solution appeared logical to them now, they doubted that they would have been able to see it in such a situation.

Emotions could be a liability in a fight. If one feared the enemy too much, they would think less about a way to survive and more about the horror they were experiencing themselves. Only by keeping a cool head in a stressful situation would one be able to make the best decisions.

When Gravis came to the point where the fight ended, the reactions of the group were mixed. Joyce looked with disgust at Gravis. Claude, the lightning disciple, looked a little uncomfortable. Manuel just laughed. After all, he had done similar things in the past. The darkness disciple looked with motivation and admiration at Gravis. Gravis had used all his weapons, no matter how despicable, to win the fight. That perfectly fit the temperament of darkness cultivators.

"And that's where I got that spear," Gravis said as he pointed at the spear that Manuel was holding. He wanted to familiarize himself with his weapon, so he carried it around.

Yet, admiration was the last thing on the group's mind right now. Of course, Gravis' performance was more than praiseworthy, but the fact that Gravis went through such an insane first trial made them nervous and afraid of their future trials. This obviously didn't conform to the rules of the inheritance. Also, how was it possible that a priest was inside this trial? Hadn't a previous ascendent created this trial?

"Will we be able to survive?" Joyce asked the group with worry, but they also weren't sure. This showed a precedence of something way too powerful appearing. If something like this happened to them, they could only die. Should they stop and wait until they reached the Self Stage? After all, there was no time limit.

unsure glances from the group. They knew that Gravis knew a lot, but

first trial was closed again, but not the door to the corridor that led to the first trial.

ceiling. "You three are probably having a grand ol' time watching this. Two are probably watching in interest, while the last one

you've seen how unsure they are after they heard what happened to me in the first trial. They might decide to completely follow me from now on or

no

I tell them about the Heaven's Trial and how it works so that they can continue tempering

said ok," the voice of

Gravis nodded. "Alrighty then."

though he hadn't shown any outward emotional reaction to his father's voice, Gravis was still happy and relieved that his father was watching him. This showed that his father was interested in and supportive of Gravis' progress. This also reminded him that he still had a family waiting for him. He hadn't talked to his mother in years, and he was also missing

"Alright, I just got the OK to tell you the truth about this inheritance,"

of a cultivator and the different standings in the middle world. That was to tell them their importance to Heaven. Then, he told them about

more things made sense. The appearance of a priest in the first trial, the splitting off from the other groups, the incomprehensible amount of wealth in this "inheritance", the continually changing trials, it all made

have to be worried. Your group is more valuable than every other group combined. Heaven will send trials at you that will push you to your limit, but it won't send something so strong that only

next trial extra hard just to prove that you can't

shock to the group. Heaven had always been an elusive concept, something beyond time and comprehension. Yet, the way Gravis explained Heaven, it seemed almost human. On one point, they felt they understood Heaven better, but on another point, this kind of took some of the exciting mysticism and magic out of the world. After all, the force that governed the entire world was

why did it send a priest at you?"

is to kill this garbage lower Heaven, and I am pretty fucking close to having that strength. It is

logical and mundane explanation. Again, Heaven appeared like just some dude in his eyes. This really overturned all his previous feelings for Heaven and the rules

do you have, Manuel?" Claude