Lightning Is the Only Way

Not much time passed before Siral appeared in front of Gravis. "Master," Siral said deferentially with a bow. Siral's bow reminded Gravis of when he had still been addressed as prince by everyone in Opposer City. They had also all bowed to him like this. However, that was long ago. "What did you learn in the past 30,000 years?" Gravis asked. "Master, I comprehended some level three Laws, and several level four Laws are close to being complete. However, I require tempering for the level four Laws. I didn't dare to temper myself without your consent, Master," Siral said. Gravis nodded. "Understandable," he commented. "From now on, we will travel together for a while. You will have to do some errands for me due to several reasons I don't want to explain right now." "Your wish is my command, Master," Siral said. Gravis nodded again. "Have you gathered enough Energy for your breakthrough in the last 30,000 years?" Gravis asked. "Yes, Master. Immortal Kings require around 40,000 years to passively gather enough Energy from the environment to reach the next level. I have been on my current level for more than 40,000 years," Siral explained. Passively gather Energy to breakthrough? That was possible? Of course it was! Why else would humans want to also live in Energy-rich environments? There was Energy in the atmosphere, and the body and Spirit slowly absorbed the Energy in the air. One could theoretically become supremely powerful without even consuming a single plant or another living being. However, the time it took was insane. Immortals required around 20,000 years to gather enough Energy to reach the next level. Of course, this was according to the Energy density of the Sect Alliance's territory. The Core Regions would have more Energy, which would allow them to reach the next level faster, but not by overly much, maybe 10,000 years faster. 20,000 years for a passive breakthrough was a lot of time. One had to remember that there was a total of seven levels in the Immortal Realm. This meant that an Immortal would need to live for 140,000 years to become an Immortal King if they didn't consume anything else. This meant that they would nearly reach their third tribulation! The second tribulation already summoned an opponent two levels above oneself, which was insurmountable for nearly everyone. The best-case scenario would be to reach the early Major Circulation Realm after 60,000 years and wait for the second tribulation. The second tribulation would summon a Late Major Circulation Immortal, someone two levels above them. After winning, one had to breakthrough immediately to the Mid Major Circulation Immortal Realm. One would still need to achieve three breakthroughs from that point onward, but with enough saved up Energy, one might just be able to reach the last breakthrough before the third tribulation. In Gravis' case, it didn't matter. Gravis could easily complete his third tribulation with his current power and current Realm. This gave him a grand total of 200,000 years of Immortal time. After a total of 200,000 years, the fourth tribulation would come, and that would summon someone in the Early Major Circulation Immortal King Realm, someone six battle levels above Gravis. However, all of this was just theory. No one actually cultivated like that, and it didn't matter to Gravis. Gravis was already running low on effective Laws to comprehend, and he hadn't even had his first tribulation. "Breakthrough," Gravis ordered. "Yes, Master," Siral said with a bow. There was no reason for Siral to wait. Reaching the next level now or in about 300 years didn't make much of a difference. It took about an hour for Siral to reach the next level, but that was it. One only had to gather the stored-up Energy inside themselves and fuse it with their Spirit. After Siral was done, he bowed before Gravis again, awaiting further orders. Siral was now an Early Major Circulation Immortal King, someone that could destroy the entire Sect Alliance single-handedly. In actuality, Siral's power was now six levels above Gravis. If Siral weren't under the effect of Gravis' Life Ring, he could destroy Gravis in just a couple of seconds. Was this a risk? Was it dangerous to allow his servant to become so powerful? No. These high-quality items came from the highest world. The Life Ring hadn't been so expensive for Gravis, but its price was unaffordable for 90% of all Immortals in the highest world. This was the truly good stuff. If it were so easy to break free from the Life Ring's Formation Arrays, it wouldn't be sold for such an exorbitant price, and even if it were sold at that price, no one would buy it. Gravis nodded. "Alright. Keep watch over the surroundings while I become an Immortal King," Gravis said. "Yes, Master," Siral said deferentially. If Siral had had enough time to gather enough Energy for a breakthrough, Gravis obviously also had enough time. Gravis required about five times as much Energy for a breakthrough than the average Cultivator, but he also absorbed more. If the Energy density was enough for a Late Minor Circulation Immortal King, it would be enough for Gravis. Additionally, Gravis' breakthroughs didn't work like normal breakthroughs. By absorbing lightning, Gravis was often not at the beginning of a new level but somewhere in the middle. After all, he nearly always absorbed far more than he needed for a breakthrough. With all of this considered, 30,000 years was more than enough for Gravis to gather enough Energy. Gravis sat down in the sky and closed his eyes as he absorbed the Energy in the surroundings. Gravis didn't gather Energy like a normal Cultivator since his cultivation worked so differently. Instead, Gravis had simply stopped at around 99.999% of the requirement. It didn't sound like much, but it would still take Gravis a couple of months to absorb the remaining Energy for his breakthrough. However, about half an hour later, Gravis stopped. 'This is taking too long,' he thought. Then, he simply grabbed a couple of Immortal Stones and ate them. All the lightning gathered inside him, and Gravis charged towards the next level. The entire process took about two minutes. Two minutes didn't sound like much, but it might as well be an eternity during a fight. This was one of the reasons why breaking through into the next level during a fight was basically impossible. One needed some time of peace and calm. Fortunately, Gravis was not in a fight right now. BOOOOOOOOM! Gravis opened his eyes after he felt his Spirit reach the next level. He looked at the surroundings but frowned. 'The surroundings don't really seem any different,' Gravis thought. 'There was a major transformation when I reached the Law Comprehension Realm and the Immortal Realm. However, now I only feel that my Spirit Sense has become many times larger.' Gravis also thought about some Laws. 'Some of the connections appear a bit more obvious, but not by much. It just feels like I'm more focused.' Gravis sighed. 'A bit underwhelming, to be honest, but that was to be expected. The Immortal King Realm is not a gigantic milestone or anything. It simply increases my power.' However, Gravis still smiled. 'But it still feels kind of different. When I came to this world, I stood in awe in front of these Immortal Kings. As a Late Major Circulation Immortal, I have already managed to kill the weakest ones of them, and now, I'm an Immortal King myself.' 'My Battle Power is within the Major Circulation Immortal King Realm, and that's nothing to sneer at.' Gravis stood up and stretched. After that, he called Siral again. "Master," Siral said as he appeared out of seemingly nowhere. "It's time," Gravis said. "We go to the Core Regions!"