Lightning Is the Only Way

After a while, the two of them separated again.

The time with his family had helped Gravis to get in tune with his emotions again. He had had them suppressed for 700 years, and unlocking them was difficult. Thankfully, him comprehending the level four Law of Freedom helped a lot. He could do what he wanted, and he could feel what he wanted. He no longer needed a massive crying session to feel good again.

"What's your plan now, Gravis?" his father asked.

Gravis smiled. The fact that his daughter remained gave him an additional reason to go through with his plan.

With a smirk, he turned to his father.

"I will open a forge and earn lots of money!" he shouted.

Yersi was surprised. She had not expected that. Orthar was also a bit surprised, but he very quickly discerned the reason for Gravis' decision.

"Why?" the Opposer asked with a smirk. He already knew why Gravis wanted to earn money, but he was still interested in what Gravis would say.

"First of all, I am now powerful enough to live in the actual city," Gravis said. "I can't always live with you two. Otherwise, I will always feel like a kid. I need my own place, and for that, I need money."

Gravis' mother smiled when she heard that. Sure enough, her son was becoming an adult. This was also the reason why she loved Gravis so much.

Most of their children decided to not cultivate. Due to that, their father elevated them to become Immortal Emperors. Yet, when someone young was granted so much power with no effort, the person had a very high chance to become arrogant and conceited.

Gravis' mother wanted them to be happy, which was why she supported that, but she also disliked what her children often became. Because of these reasons, a feeling of alienation often appeared. They were still her children, but she simply didn't like their personalities.

Gravis' mother was much more in tune with her emotions than Gravis' father. Yet, this also allowed her to easily shut out people from her life.

This might seem contradictory at first glance, but it actually made sense. The Opposer was still unsure about his feelings and wanted to learn how to love again. This made him decide against disliking his family, even if his personality clashed with them.

Meanwhile, Gravis' mother had no problems with that. She knew whom she liked and whom she disliked. If one of her children became arrogant and conceited, they had basically already died in her eyes. She would still remember the innocent kids they had been, but the new person was no longer the old person.

She had seen so many of her children dying that she had no problems with cutting contact with some of them. Of course, this only counted for those who actually grew up to be arrogant and conceited without peers. She still loved the good ones with all her heart.

So, surprisingly, even though Gravis' mother was much nicer and accommodating than Gravis' father, the arrogant children would hit a brick wall when wanting something from her. They had much higher chances to get something out of their father.

Gravis was one of her few children that actually earned nearly everything himself. He might feel a lot of pride in his power, but that was okay. After all, he had earned most of it himself. If one put a lot of work into something and then felt pride in it, they deserved to feel prideful of their creation or what they had become.

"And?" the Opposer asked with a smirk. There were more reasons why Gravis wanted to earn money.

"And I need to check up on some Laws!" Gravis said with a smirk. "If a middle world has Law Comprehension Areas, the highest world must have something even better. I bet there is no better place to comprehend Laws than this very city."

"Yet, nothing comes for free in this world. So, to learn more about Laws, I need money. I already rejected following Heaven's path, and that means that I have to work even harder. Heaven said comprehending the Situational Laws requires luck and chance."

"Yet," Gravis shouted as he lifted his index finger, "others must surely also need these Laws, and there must be people that know these Laws. This means that there is a need for these kinds of Laws, and when there is a need, there is business to be made. I'm certain that, if I have enough money, I can gain insights into these Laws. So, I need money."

Yersi was intrigued. Business? What was that? She had heard stories about her father's life, but she hadn't heard about something like business. Was this something that humans created?

In comparison, Orthar had siphoned as much knowledge out of Gravis as he could. This meant that he also saw the appeal of business and how it worked. It was a genius idea, which he hadn't been able to implement since there was no such thing as currency in his old middle world. Everyone only needed corpses and fights.

Yet, humans needed more.

They needed Energy to cultivate.

They needed resources for weapons.

They needed resources for armor.

They needed resources for Formation Arrays.

They needed resources for their homes.

They needed resources for their families.

This was another integral difference between humans and beasts. Beasts gained access to Law Comprehension Areas by offering their services, but humans had money.

Money was great!

If someone had a problem, they could just throw money at it until it weakened the problem to a minuscule degree.

Don't have power? Go buy a super powerful weapon or one-time-use talisman.

Is your home threatened by an attacker? Go buy a super powerful Formation Array.

Do you need to raise your Realm? Go buy a ton of Immortal Stones.

Do you need Laws? Go buy exclusive access to books, tomes, teachers, and Law Comprehension Areas.

Do you need tempering? Go buy access to exclusive arenas for your Realm! The administrators will find just the right opponent for you.

Money couldn't completely solve everything, but it allowed someone to vastly weaken the difficulties of overcoming a problem.

The Opposer smirked. "And?" he asked. There was one more reason.

Gravis smiled and pulled Yersi closer to him. "And I want my daughter to have a great Avatar when she becomes an Immortal."

Yersi was shocked. She couldn't accept that!

Some guilt appeared inside her. "Father, I have lied previously. I would rather stay with my family than chase supreme power."

Gravis dismissively waved his hand. "I know," he said, "but that is how you feel right now. If you ever feel the need to increase your power again, I want you to have a great start. I want you to have the freedom in your decision. If you ever want to cultivate again, and you don't have a good Avatar, you will feel regret, and I don't want that!"

Yersi was still uncomfortable with the idea. "But father, I wouldn't have worked for that power myself."

Gravis snorted. "What? You think you will just get that?" he asked with a smirk.

Now, Yersi was confused again.

"You will help me!" Gravis said as he pointed at her. "You will be employed by me. You will be the store clerk and will be responsible for customer relations and making them buy as much as possible."

Yersi was shocked. She? She was supposed to sell stuff? She hadn't even heard about business until today! Additionally, she had never spoken to any other human! How was she supposed to sell stuff!?

"Don't worry," Gravis said with a smirk. "You will get the hang of it. Take it as a learning opportunity and a way to get familiar with humans and your new home."

Yersi still felt unsure, but these feelings quickly transformed into thankfulness. She was old enough that she could see all the facets of this decision.

"Okay," she said quietly with a smile.

"Orthar!" Gravis shouted as he pointed at Orthar.

"Business opportunity, intelligence, haggling, resource acquirement, market study," Orthar answered immediately. He also liked this idea.

Gravis' outstretched finger faltered. "Yeah, that," he said, all his momentum gone.

Gravis' mother chuckled when she saw that. Her son was creating his own business.

She just waited for the inevitable question.

Gravis turned to his father with an embarrassed smile.

His father knew what was coming, but he still wanted his son to say it. "Yes?" he asked.

"Ehm," Gravis said with some embarrassment, "Could you show me the best direction on how to create a business?"

"Also," Gravis said as he became red in the face. "I kind of need some starting capital. So, can I loan some money, please? I'll pay you back, I swear!"

And there it was.