Lightning Is the Only Way

After several days of teaching, Gravis finally dismissed class after everyone started to become unruly. They were probably not used to staying in one place for so long.

Fortunately, Gravis' concentration was powerful enough to easily handle such a long teaching session. This was nothing in comparison to comprehending Laws or forging equipment.

Gravis activated his Spirit Sense and saw Arc sitting on a tree stump a couple of kilometers away.

SHING!

Gravis teleported over.

"Really? You teleport even for such a small distance?" Arc said with a smile without looking at him.

"Well, I don't have as much time as you," Gravis said.

"Yes, but when you move too fast, you miss the beauties of life," Arc said as he smiled at Gravis. "Isn't that the very reason why you are here?"

Gravis blinked a couple of times.

Arc was right.

Gravis had only chased power for the last 2,500 or so years, which had changed him subtly. Gravis thought about why he had teleported and realized that this minuscule time difference actually was negligible.

Gravis sighed. "How did you know?"

"Because you're a smart person, Gravis," Arc said. "You realize the dangers of only chasing power and know that chasing power will invalidate the very reason why you want to become powerful."

Gravis fell into thought.

Then, Arc started laughing. "I'm just messing with you. Everyone takes breaks," Arc said with mirth in his voice.

Gravis also had to laugh when he heard the genuine mirth in Arc's voice.

"No, but seriously, you need to connect to your human side between sessions," Arc said. "You don't want to end up becoming an emotionless power machine."

"Speaking of human side," Gravis said as he remembered one of his questions. "How come that the beasts in the class act more like humans?"

"That's because they are part human," Arc said like it wasn't a big deal.

Gravis became shocked when he heard that, but he quickly realized the answer. "So, they're children of beasts and humans, just like mine?" Gravis asked.

Arc nodded. "Yes. As soon as beasts can assume human form, romance between them and humans becomes more common. However, it still isn't prevalent."

Gravis furrowed his brows. "As you know, I have a beast body, which means that all my children became beasts with slight human features. What can happen when a true human and a beast have children?"

"There are four possibilities based on two criteria," Arc said. "The first one is whether they have a human body or a beast body, and the second one is whether they have a Will-Aura and Spirit or not."

"So, there can be true humans, true beasts, beasts with a Will-Aura and Spirit but with weak bodies, and humans with no Spirit or Will-Aura but with powerful bodies," Arc said. "Then, of course, we have the spectrum of how beast-like or human-like their personality is."

Arc sighed. "However, only two of the four can actually exist in this world."

"How come?" Gravis asked.

"Enmity," Arc said with a frown. "Humans and beasts are mortal enemies in this world, Gravis. A human with a powerful body but no Spirit will be killed by humans since they know that one of their parents is a beast. The same thing is true for beasts with a Spirit."

"Humans simply kill these mixed children because of their undying hatred for beasts while the beasts kill these mixed children for fear of them allying themselves with humans. Both sides have different reasons, but the actions are the same," Arc said.

Gravis furrowed his brows. "You're not saving these mixed children?"

"No," Arc said. "This is only a temporary home for them. As soon as they leave this home, which is when they comprehend their first Law, they will be killed regardless. Additionally, there isn't enough space to save all of them."

Gravis sighed. Arc was the most powerful being in this world, but he still wanted to be as fair as possible. There were not even 200 beings in Arc's sanctuary, which was basically nothing.

"So, I guess that these beasts are mixed children in a true beast body but with the personality of humans?" Gravis asked.

Arc nodded. "They can still have a future in the world, but the emotionless world of beasts is not a home for them. I want to give them a home where they can live like humans until they eventually die or ascend to the highest world, where the enmity between beasts and humans basically doesn't exist."

"What about humans with the personality of beasts?" Gravis asked.

"Aren't they just more humans?" Arc said with a smile. "Humans are so very diverse that a human that acts like a beast is simply another human. Additionally, their loyalty and mindset intent on power will give them a lot of comrades."

"Yeah, okay, that was a stupid question," Gravis said. "There was something else I wanted to ask you."

"Ask away."

"I met this one guy with nearly no Karmic Luck. Did you do that?" Gravis asked.

"It's an automatic system, which had been implemented by my creator," Arc said. "I may hate my creator, but he is very good at keeping a world healthy. I don't interfere with Karmic Luck. The system simply checks the actions and the intent behind the action. If it deems the Cultivator to be more damaging than beneficial for Energy gathering, it reduces the Cultivator's Karmic Luck."

"I think you could call it a Law," Arc said as he scratched his chin. "However, it's not a Law in the normal sense, but in the sense of a rule of nature. You know, like water flowing down and so on."

"And no, you can't comprehend it," Arc added with a smirk.

Gravis nodded. So, not everything was handled by the Heavens. Some of the stuff also happened automatically.

"By the way, what are you doing all the time?" Gravis asked.

"Well, right now, there are four different Cultivators undergoing their tribulation. I need to keep a check on those fights to see if their longevity should be increased or not. At the same time, I need to manipulate the circumstances of 4,781 other Cultivators to move them towards other people that will soon reach the end of their longevity," Arc transmitted in less than a second.

"That sounds like a lot of work," Gravis said with a sigh.

"Oh, you get used to it after a million years or two," Arc said with a dismissive wave. "By now, all of it just happens subconsciously."

No matter how hard Gravis tried, he just couldn't imagine getting used to something like this. It sounded way too complicated and stressful.

"Do you have Heaven's Trials?" Gravis asked.

"Several," Arc answered with a smirk. "After all, this is the most powerful higher world, isn't it? I need to continually refine all Cultivators. We only want the best of the best, don't we?"

Gravis nodded. Back then, the lower Heaven had also used a Heaven's Trial, but using it in a lower world did more damage than good.

The difference between the lower Heaven and Arc was unfathomably vast. One was one of the weakest and most arrogant Heavens, while the other was the second strongest and probably most humble.

"By the way, could you do me a solid?" Arc asked.

"Yes?" Gravis asked back. What could Arc ask of Gravis?

"Could you try not to destroy this world like the last two? I kinda like my world, you know?" Arc asked.

Gravis had to laugh bitterly. "I'll do my best," he said.

Arc nodded. "Your next class has arrived," Arc said.

"Already!?" Gravis shouted in surprise.

"Yes, you've vastly overdrawn your last session, and the next class won't be satisfied until they get just as much time with you," Arc said with a smirk.

Gravis sighed.

However, he knew that he needed to have more contact with others. Teaching some children would be the best way to return to his previous self.

Right now, Gravis wanted to do nothing more than to comprehend more Laws, but he knew that he had to wait.

Just like Arc said, if one moved too quickly, one would miss all the beauties of the world.

Gravis preferred a colorful life over a grey one.

"How long should I pause?" Gravis asked.

"Oh, the class doesn't need a pause. They are in the Spirit Forming Realm, after all," Arc said.

"No, that's not-"Gravis said but stopped when he saw Arc's smirk.

Arc laughed again.

"Anything in between 50 to 100 years. I would suggest 100 years just to be sure," Arc said with a smile.

Gravis also smiled. "Thank you."

"Nothing to thank for," Arc said. "You are giving the students different lessons, which is good. It's also good that they come more into contact with someone from outside this place."

Gravis nodded.

After that, he returned to his class, but this time, he didn't teleport.

Instead, he walked.

He walked with a lot of speed, but he walked.