The elders were incredibly nervous. They hadn't faced such a danger to the Lightning Sect before in their lives. After all, Lasar was the strongest Sect Master out of all the Sect Masters. On top of that, they also had Old Man Lightning. In their minds, there hadn't been anything that could threaten the well-being of the Lightning Sect.
The elder responsible for internal affairs had already started planning. After all, planning these things was his responsibility. "I see four possible solutions to this," he said.
Old Man Lightning looked at him. "Then let's hear them."
The elder walked into the middle of the hall. He was too riled up, and his brain thought too quickly to stay put in his throne. "First solution. We won't make any more Destruction Lightning disciples. Like this, we can keep the old Sect and the quota. Of course, the bad thing is that we would give up our path forward."
"I disagree with that," said another elder. "Giving up our path forward isn't worth it."
Stor also nodded. "I also disagree."
Old Man Lightning lifted his hand to stop the discussion. "What's the second one?" he asked.
The elder continued. "Second solution. We keep a carefully maintained balance of disciples that cultivate natural lightning and Destruction Lightning. Like that, no side can become more powerful. Of course, that could still lead to civil war, and keeping the numbers equal isn't the same as keeping the strength equal. One side just needs one more top expert to dominate the other."
"Also disagree," one elder said. "This would still create a civil war. Like this, the Sect will split into two. This is no solution."
Old Man Lightning shook his head. "This is unacceptable. Third solution, please," he said.
"Third solution. We split the Sect into a Destruction Lightning Sect and Natural Lightning Sect. Like this, we don't have any conflicts between the side."
The elders didn't instantly disagree this time. This solution was worthwhile to consider, after all.
One of the elders sighed. "Like this, we would split apart directly without casualties. Our Sect might not become stronger in this instance, but become weaker. After all, we would give up a lot of disciples to the Destruction Lightning Sect. Though, we could also consider it as our Sect."
Old Man Lightning shook his head. "This is a bad solution. You guys don't look at the situation from the point of view of young, aspiring cultivators."
The elders looked at Old Man Lightning. "What do you mean?" one of them asked.
"Think of yourself as someone in the Body Tempering Realm," Old Man Lightning started explaining. "You have the choice between natural lightning and Destruction Lightning. Which one would you choose?" he asked.
The elders all realized what Old Man Lightning meant, and they grimaced. "Everyone would choose Destruction Lightning."
Old Man Lightning nodded. "Exactly! Why would anyone want to choose a weaker element? Destruction Lightning is objectively more powerful. If we split our Sects, the Destruction Lightning Sect will flourish while the old Lightning Sect would deteriorate until nearly nothing remained. Without new blood to replace the old, the old Lightning Sect will die out."
Old Man Lightning turned to the elder responsible for internal affairs again. "What's the last solution?"
The elder took a deep breath. "Fourth solution. Every single new member of the Lightning Sect will, from now on, learn Destruction Lightning. The new will completely replace the old. Until the natural lightning people die out, we will maintain the current rules. Like this, the internal conflict will still be there, but there won't be any civil war. After all, the cultivators only have to wait."
The room remained silent as the elders thought about this last possibility. All in all, logically, this was the best decision. The Lightning Sect would still remain the Lightning Sect, and no civil war would happen. Yet, emotionally, this was a difficult decision.
The elders empathize and cared for each other, specifically because they all cultivated the same element. It bound them together into one force. Yet, if they decided to go through with this, they would become the last members that would cultivate this, ever. To them, it felt like they were a species at the brink of extinction. The difference between the third and fourth solution was that the Lightning Sect remained as one with the fourth solution. Yet, the natural lightning cultivators would still die out.
Every cultivator already saw themselves as their own race or species. They all cultivated one thing, which made them very different from others. They felt like they were the last humans. They felt like they were about to be replaced by a new kind of humans. Wasn't their way the best way? Didn't they choose this element because they thought it was the best?
Before this discussion, they hadn't seen the Destruction Lightning cultivators as other people. They also cultivated lightning, after all. They weren't different from them. Yet, with the changed temperament and different power levels, they automatically distanced themselves from the Destruction Lightning cultivators.
They started looking out of the windows into the Sect. Fights of life and death were allowed if both sides agreed to it or if both parties were at the same level. If both parties were at the same level, it only needed one side to agree. Natural lightning cultivators would find that unfair since Destruction Lightning cultivators could be counted as a full level stronger. At least, that held true for the Energy Gathering Realm.
The difference in levels was different in the Spirit Forming Realm. With Gravis' relative power that he had now, he would have been able to fight four or five levels above his own in the Energy Gathering Realm, yet he could only barely fight two levels higher in the Spirit Forming Realm.
This meant that natural lightning cultivators could only be considered as half a level higher in the Spirit Forming Realm, while one level higher in the Energy Gathering Realm. Yet, this half level, or one level, could be likened to the difference between a Heavenborn and a normal cultivator. It wasn't impossible to win against someone like that, but very difficult.
As they thought about the differences, they also saw several things that they would consider unfair. Someone with Destruction Lightning could bully or anger anyone with natural lightning as long as they were at the same level. After all, if the person cultivating natural lightning refused to comply, the person with Destruction Lightning could simply kill that person.
Moving the levels up when between factions would anger the Destruction Lightning cultivators. After all, it had always been the Realm that decided the fairness in a fight. If Destruction Lightning cultivators were only allowed to fight one level above themselves against natural lightning cultivators, this would break the fairness in their minds. That was why this option hadn't even been considered.
The lives of the disciples who still held natural lightning could become horrible. The elders started discussing this issue. Deep inside, they had already decided that they would be the last of their kind. The cultivation of natural lightning was about to die out. The fourth solution was the best one, logically speaking, but the most painful for the elders to make. It felt like they brought the blade down on their own kind. Their kind was about to die out.
"I will be responsible for keeping the peace," Old Man Lightning said suddenly.
The elders turned to him with questioning looks.
"I can't watch as the old lightning disciples get taken advantage of. Of course, such an incident will be very rare, but it will happen. We have always trusted our disciples. We always trusted that their own fairness kept them in check. Yet, now, I will revoke that trust. I will keep watch over the Lightning Sect, and if an enmity occurs, I will judge accordingly," Old Man Lightning explained.
The elders were a little confused. "Isn't that exactly the trigger for the civil war? After all, the disciples will feel that they can't get their fairness."
Old Man Lightning shook his head. "I will act differently. As long as the disciples are of the same camp, I won't interfere. If this spreads across the camp, I will stay hidden behind the scenes and watch. If I think it is reasonable, I won't interfere. Yet, if I see someone take advantage of his inherent higher power…" Old Man Lightning took a deep breath, "I will stealthily make that person vanish."
The elders looked with discomfort at Old Man Lightning. "That would be harmful to your cultivation," one elder said quietly. "This isn't the way of lightning."
Old Man Lightning sighed. "I don't see a better option."
The elders remained silent. They also didn't see a better option. Having one person sacrifice themselves for the Sect was the best option they could come up with.
After some minutes of silence, Old Man Lightning sighed again. "I really wish I had the creativity of Gravis. No matter what I threw at him, he found a creative and smart solution out of his mess." Old Man Lightning took out his cane and looked at it, "I can't even hit him with my cane anymore."
"Wait!" Old Man Lightning suddenly said with a new shine in his eyes. Then, he turned to the elders. "Do you mind if I ask Gravis for his opinion? He might come up with a solution to this."
The elders were a little taken aback by Old Man Lightning's swift change of mood, but they all shook their heads. "Go ahead," they said.
Like this, Old Man Lightning contacted Gravis.
