Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis looked at Stella and noticed that she had a melancholic expression on her face.

Her teacher had already died, obviously.

Losing someone dear was always difficult. Gravis knew this very well. However, they were all Immortals by now, and no one would sink into an inescapable whirlpool of despair. The death of a loved one was normal for every Immortal.

"For what it's worth," Gravis said. "The short moment I have talked with your teacher gave me the impression that she was a good person, far better than most humans."

Stella took a deep breath. Her emotions still hadn't calmed down, and they wanted to lash out at anything that came close to her. A mortal human might lose their control and shout at Gravis that he had no idea what he was talking about, but she had enough control over herself to realize Gravis' sentiment.

"Yes, she was," Stella said slowly with a distant look. "She was like a mother to my brother and me."

Gravis nodded. "You know, before you appeared, I was already losing faith in humanity. Seeing you reminded me of your teacher, which reminded me of the fact that not all powerful humans are hypocritical assholes."

Stella wanted to distract herself for now, which is why she looked at Gravis with furrowed brows. "That's a harsh judgment," she said.

"It is, but does that mean that it isn't true?" Gravis asked.

Stella remained silent for some seconds.

"Tell me what happened," Stella said.

Gravis nodded and told her about his last fight with Samantha, the Unrestrained Sect, and how the other Sect Masters acted.

After Gravis was finished recounting his tale, Stella snorted in disgust. "Yeah, I agree that their conduct is false and disgusting, but just because you see this conduct running rampant here doesn't mean that other places are the same."

Gravis waited for Stella to explain.

as High-Tier Sects, but only barely," Stella explained. "They have their Immortal Kings, which gives them a grand illusion of being very powerful when they can't even enter the core

be part of the world's leadership but feel unjustly treated by not being allowed to enter the core territories. This gives them a need

to others and themselves that they are powerful. However, all this hypocrisy makes it difficult for disciples to like the leadership. When a

you sure you're only four millennia old?" she

answering Stella's question, Gravis gave her a question of his own. "Have you been born into this world,

have obviously

your mindset and your surprise at my knowledge of human conduct,"

said, a bit

worlds already. On this journey, you get to see all facets of human and beast conduct. Any Ascender can see the Sect Masters for what they are, which silently builds disgust in the

There might be one or two odd ones, but everyone else must have been

brows as she thought about Gravis' words.

who have never been in this position might not realize that they are in a dead-end,

were susceptible to taking up such a position, they wouldn't be Ascenders. They would have already taken up such a position in the middle or lower worlds. Therefore, most Ascenders know these kinds of positions and know to avoid

combed her hair with her fingers as she fell into thought. Gravis' words actually made a

an answer

different positions of power. She had joined the Nine Elements Sect, and her talent had been quickly noticed by the upper echelon. While being a Core Disciple, she

they couldn't create a powerful expert with safety, which is why the competition

assassinations, they wouldn't have any experience in these matters. Pumping resources without end into a Core Disciple just for them to die to a preventable assassination attempt was a waste of money

in place to spur the creativity of the subtle and plotting kind of Cultivators.

that Gravis had seen was because she had only been in the Core Disciple position. She hadn't been a Sect Master. She hadn't been an elder. She hadn't been an unaffiliated Cultivator. She hadn't been inside

Being able to analyze oneself this objectively and finding reasons and origins of why one lacked in a certain

with such a mindset could

one of the essential reasons why Stella had climbed to

Stella's expression and wondered what she was thinking about. Gravis needed to know Stella's mindset better so that

you thinking about?" Gravis

people in

you are thinking about?" Gravis asked. "Knowing you better makes it easier for