Gravis stepped forward under total silence. His group was not paralyzed, but they didn't need to say anything. They only smirked. The two elders from the Wind Sect were shocked that Gravis had already reached the Self Stage, but they were more relieved than shocked. They wouldn't die today.
The six attacking elders looked with terror at Gravis, while the fire elders looked with pity at the group. They could only shake their heads.
"Six people at the Sapling Stage attacking three in the initial Stage," Gravis said as he shook his head. "Pathetic. No wonder you won't ever ascend. You only care about resources but have lost all self-respect. Nearly every cultivator with the talent to ascend would feel ashamed if they were in your shoes. Why do you need the resources of weaker people if you are powerful enough to ascend by yourself?"
"We didn't-"one of them tried to transmit.
"Wait!" Gravis said suddenly, lifting one hand. The elders looked with anxiousness and fear at Gravis' lifted hand. What did he want to say? Gravis slowly lowered his hand. "I seemed to have stopped caring," he said evenly.
The elders couldn't comprehend the current situation, but Joyce chuckled a bit. When Gravis saw that, he was proud of himself. Finally, someone laughed at one of his jokes!
"Anyway," Gravis said as he looked at the water elders and the light elders. "Your Sect has not come into conflict with me before, so I won't look into it too much. I won't search for revenge on your Sects."
The four elders sighed in relief. They would survive this day.
When Gravis saw that, he raised one of his eyebrows in confusion. "Wow. You're really selfless. You're about to die, but the only thing you feel is relief that your Sect will survive. Good on you!"
"What?" the elders said in shock.
BANG!
Four Lightning Spears appeared around Gravis, which quickly shot at the four elders. In less than a second, those four elders had been reduced to ash. Gravis clapped his hands like he had just finished some work and was dusting them off.
"Now, to your Earth Sect," Gravis said as he looked at the two elders. Surprisingly, the two elders showed no fear. They knew they were about to die, but they wouldn't betray their beliefs. They were elders not only because of their cultivation level but also because of their strong beliefs. After all, elders also functioned as role models.
"So what if we die? We won't break our beliefs!" one of the elders transmitted with power.
Gravis rolled his eyes. "Sure, but honestly? I've had with up to here with your constant interfering!" Gravis said, gesturing to his neck with his hand. "First, your branch-Guild doesn't want to accept repayment. Then you send a team after me and release a kill order. Then, your fucking Heaven's Trial group attacks me, and now you attack my friends. I guess your useless Earth Sect will become the next Darkness Sect!"
The elders were a bit nervous, but they kept up their steely gaze. "You can't break our will, even if you kill every single one of us."
Gravis smirked. "Well, let's see about that. Anyway, you have to go now. I'll send you off."
BANG!
Another two Lightning Spears finished the elders off.
Whooop!
Gravis gathered all the stuff from the six dead elders and turned to his group. Then, he pointed with his thumb at the two fire elders. "What about them?" he asked, eliciting a look of fear from the two elders.
"They only watched," Manuel said casually.
Gravis nodded. "Alright."
Whoom!
His Will-Aura disappeared, and everyone could move again. The fire elders released a sigh of relief but also felt a bit smug about the other dead elders. Serves them right!
"Anyway, I'm off. Heaven is calling," Gravis said.
Joyce's eyes shone. "Will you fight it right now?" she asked.
Gravis grinned. "Nope! I have two other things to do first. After that, our battle will commence. Give it like one or two days. See ya later!" Gravis said as he summoned a Lighting Board.
With a release of his lightning, Gravis shot off into the distance.
The group also sent their goodbyes with their Spirits and then turned to the elders from the Wind Sect. They would escort them to their homes. Though, they didn't really need an escort. The group was powerful enough already.
Meanwhile, Gravis traveled as fast as never before. The last time when he had been able to use the Lightning Board to its full effect had been when he had been at the Seed Stage. Therefore, the old speed and the new speed couldn't even be compared.
Gravis reached his target in nearly no time. When he saw his target, he smirked.
"Oh, you're back?" came a voice transmission from Lasar.
Gravis smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I'm nearly ready to fight Heaven. I only need to do two things, and then I will break through."
"Already at the Self Stage, huh?" Lasar sent with a defeated voice. "I managed to fight one high-grade Spirit Beast, but I am still some fights away from achieving a level two Unity Will. I really wonder how your will can become so powerful, so fast."
"Eh, mostly Heaven's doing. It wants to kill me, so it sends stuff at me. I survive, and there you have it, a strong Will-Aura," Gravis commented.
Lasar felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, he was happy that Heaven wasn't targeting him, but on the other hand, he really wanted Gravis' access to constant tempering.
"I guess the old man is already gone?" Gravis asked.
Lasar nodded. "Yes. He has ascended about a month after you entered the resource war. Meanwhile, I am stuck here. I just hope that something doesn't happen to grandpa while I'm not there."
Gravis scratched his neck. By now, he had entered the Lightning Sect. All the while, Lasar and Gravis were talking via their Spirits. "Well, the time dilation between the next world and this one is ten-to-one. So, ten years in here is one year there. If you manage to temper your will in about ten or twenty years, the old man only has to wait one or two years."
Lasar's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked. He had feared his grandfather's death nearly more than his own death. After all, Lasar had no family except for his grandfather. He didn't want to lose his only family member.
Gravis nodded. "Yep, so you shouldn't be worried."
Lasar sighed. "Thank you, Gravis. This really helps," Lasar said.
"Don't mention it," Gravis said dismissively. "Anyway, I am here for something specific."
"I was wondering about that," Lasar said. "With your attitude, I thought you would immediately fight Heaven as soon as you get the chance."
Gravis scratched his chin. "Normally, that would be true, but not in this case. First, I want to increase my Lightning to a point where it is equal to my Spirit. I don't want to take any risks with my cultivation. Who knows, maybe it is way harder to increase my lightning in the Unity Realm?"
Lasar nodded. "That makes sense. You intend to use the disciples?" he asked.
Gravis also nodded. "Yep, but of course, I won't do that without any pay."
Plomp!
A small mountain of pills appeared beside Lasar in the central hall. Meanwhile, Gravis was walking to the center of the Sect, right where the Freya's Birch was.
When the tree saw Gravis, it swayed happily and shot its branches at him. Gravis didn't resist and let the tree kidnap him. Instead of pulling Gravis closer, it immediately placed him on top of it, onto the same branch where Gravis stood all the other times when he fed the tree.
Gravis shook his head and smirked. "You only want food, huh?" he asked.
Meanwhile, Lasar slowly regained his composure. He had been too stunned about the pills appearing right in front of him. Were his eyes playing a trick on him? Weren't these the exclusive pills that only the Heaven Sect had?
"Are you sure you want to give all of these pills to the Lightning Sect?" Lasar asked, stunned.
Gravis nodded from on top of the tree. "Sure. Convert them to Contribution Points and inform the Sect about the new mission. I want lightning, and the disciples should get paid for their work. Sounds good?" Gravis asked.
Lasar nodded and immediately shuffled to get some stuff in order. These pills would be like a blessing for the Lightning Sect! What was some rechargeable lightning in comparison to a permanent increase in cultivation?
After a couple of minutes, the Sect started trembling. Lasar had publicized the news, and everyone was madly dashing to the central plaza. The heavy bodies of the cultivators shook the earth as they rushed with everything they got.
"Wait! I said, wait!" a few elders shouted at the charging horde of disciples. "Everyone can take part in this mission, but we first have to organize some things!" the elders shouted.
After several minutes, the disciples finally calmed down. Slowly, they climbed on top of multiple buildings to get closer to Gravis. The tree was incredibly tall, and it was challenging to hit Gravis from there. They could only use their Spirits to summon their lightning and shoot at him.
"Alright, everyone's at their-"
WHOOOOOOOOM!
The whole world fell into silence as everything was frozen. It was like time itself had been stopped.
Meanwhile, Gravis could also barely move. It felt like his whole body was encased in lead. He felt an enormous pressure acting on him, and his eyes narrowed. Only one person could release such intense pressure.
Slowly, from the thundering clouds, a single person floated down. The fact that he was flying already proved who he was. Only people at the Unity Realm could fly as freely as him.
Gravis looked into the High Priest's eyes, and the High Priest looked back.
