Chapter 276: Declaration of Battle

Gravis left the Lightning Sect and traveled to the Darkness Sect. It was time for revenge! Byron surely wouldn't expect Gravis to take his revenge only one and a half years after their meeting. This was very little time for people in the Spirit Forming Realm. Of course, Gravis wasn't alone, but the people accompanying him were not only Old Man Lightning but also Lasar.

Lasar rode on his own Lightning Board. Old Man Lightning was pretty good at smithing and had already created some Lightning Boards. Making something completely new was difficult, but copying an already existing schematic wasn't really difficult. These new Lightning Boards were also more robust than the old ones. Old Man Lightning was friendly enough to replace the Lightning Board that he had destroyed with a newer, better one.

The question was, though, why did Lasar also accompany Gravis? The answer to that was pretty simple. It was because of tempering. Old Darkness would never fight Old Man Lightning since he knew very well that he couldn't win. Yet, what about a person that had just recently broken through into the Self Stage? That might interest Old Darkness.

A fight against Old Darkness would, for sure, be easier than a fight against a priest. Yet, it would still be dangerous enough to actually count as tempering. Because of these reasons, it was Lasar that accompanied Gravis. On top of that, Lasar was also interested in how Gravis fought. After all, he had never watched Gravis fight.

Of course, they still needed to be careful. If Lasar died to Old Darkness, Old Darkness might decide to kill Gravis next. Gravis wasn't powerful enough to win or survive against Old Darkness. Therefore, Old Man Lightning also followed them. Of course, he wouldn't interfere, even if Lasar died to Old Darkness. He would also promise that he wouldn't kill Old Darkness. Otherwise, Old Darkness wouldn't even show up.

Gravis was a little bit worried about the Lightning Sect, but Old Man Lightning assured him that nothing would happen to the Sect. After all, Old Man Lightning was still alive, and everyone knew that. If something happened to the Sect, he would just take his revenge.

The Darkness Sect was rather far away from the Lightning Sect. They traveled for one and a half days until they finally arrived at the Darkness Sect. Of course, they had timed their arrival so that it was early noon. Giving the Darkness Sect the advantage of night wasn't necessary. Fighting a whole Sect alone was already dangerous enough for Gravis.

One shouldn't forget that the defenses of a Sect weren't only the people, but also the Formation Arrays, and there were many of those in each Sect. Some of them could release attacks, while others created a powerful defense. On top of that, there were also Illusion Arrays, which could make someone lose themselves. Gravis would need to fight everything alone.

It was the perfect time for Gravis to take his revenge. A couple more days and he would be ready to reach the Sapling Stage. If he could reach the Sapling Stage whenever he wanted, he wouldn't be able to temper himself at all. Right now, his Will-Aura was powerful enough to stop basically every Seed Stage cultivator from moving, and that was considering that he didn't compress it.

If he compressed it, half of all Seed Stage cultivators would lose consciousness. Only the Sapling Stage cultivators could still move, albeit in a suppressed state. If Gravis reached the Sapling Stage, this whole thing would jump a whole level. At the Sapling Stage, Gravis could simply walk all over Byron and the whole Darkness Sect. He might even have a chance against Old Darkness at that point.

Right now, while being at the Seed Stage, fighting Byron alone would count as tempering, but not so much. After all, Gravis had heard from Lasar that Byron wouldn't be able to win against the Ogre in a one on one. With the addition of the elders, the fight would be a bit harder than against the Ogre. But if one also added the fortifications of the Sect, this would become real life and death tempering.

Gravis felt his insides shake in excitement. It felt like he had become addicted to betting with his life. The rush of being close to death and having to use all of one's weapons was incredible. Every time he survived such an experience, he felt himself become more powerful with speeds that couldn't be compared to training.

Lasar and Old Man Lightning noticed Gravis' feverish state of mind and grew a bit anxious. In their minds, Gravis was taking this way too far. If one walked too close to a river, their feet would get wet. This meant that, at some point, Gravis would join a fight that was beyond his ability. They were worried about Gravis.

They knew Gravis very well, but not as well as Gravis knew himself. He knew that this mindset was dangerous. He had realized this feeling long ago and actively planned around it. This feeling didn't come out of nowhere. He actively released this intense feeling.

Gravis always kept this feeling suppressed. He realized its danger and had already categorized it as some kind of addiction born out of necessity. He had known that he was addicted to tempering long ago and used everything in his power to suppress it. Yet, when a difficult fight appeared, he stopped restraining that feeling. The excitement made him concentrate more than he could when he was calm.

This feeling wasn't like blind rage. It was motivation! A strong motivation to survive and become more powerful! In a fight, this feeling made him more powerful, but that was only true for a fight. If he followed that feeling when he wasn't fighting, he might get blinded by it and actively seek fights that were too dangerous.

As was told many times before, a disadvantage could become an advantage if used correctly. Over 99% of people would probably describe such an addiction as bad, yet Gravis made use of it to empower himself. The only drawback was that he had to actively go against it while not fighting.

Yet, with his powerful will, that was no problem. In actuality, he could completely eradicate it with his will if he wanted to, but decided against it. As long as he handled the drawback well enough, it would only become another weapon. With this burning motivation, he would always be able to fight at his emotional peak, something that was very problematic for other cultivators. After all, everyone had good and bad days.

The three people stopped about 70 kilometers away from the Darkness Sect. Like this, they would be inside the range of the Spirits of Old Darkness and Byron.

"Byron! Old Darkness!" Gravis shouted to get their attention. Maybe they hadn't taken note of them. Gravis wanted to make sure that they paid attention. "You don't need to flee in fear. Today will be a fair fight!"

"Gravis!" came a transmitted shout from Byron. "Are you actually so small-minded that you will eradicate the whole Darkness Sect because of me outwitting you!?"

Gravis laughed slightly. "You don't need to worry about that," Gravis said. "I said it would be a fair fight. You have, at least, a 50% chance of winning. On top of that, as long as you comply with a small request, no one below the Sapling Stage will die today, well, maybe except me, of course."

"Explain!" came a voice that Gravis had never heard, but he was sure that it came from Old Darkness. His voice sounded hoarse and decrepit. It sounded similar to a whisper, even if it was a shout.

Gravis smirked. "Old Darkness, Lasar will fight you one on one! He won't attack anyone else in the Sect! After all, that is my job. I will tear through your whole Sect, but don't be worried! You have an hour to clear the Sect of everyone beneath the Sapling Stage. In one hour, I will charge into your Sect and kill all the elders and that bastard Byron. At the same time, Lasar will search for you, Old Darkness. It's up to you if you want to fight him or flee," Gravis shouted.

After some seconds, Old Darkness answered again. "Why is Dorian here?" he asked.

Old Man Lightning laughed slightly. "You don't need to worry about me," he said with a smirk. "I am only here for the eventuality that you kill my Little Lightning Bolt. After all, I can't have you kill Gravis too! Of course, you don't need to be worried by me. Even if you kill my Little Lightning Bolt today, I won't attack you as long as you don't attack Gravis or me. Today, my only job is to protect Gravis' life from you."

There was nearly a minute of silence. Byron and Old Darkness were probably discussing how to proceed. After the minute was up, Old Darkness answered. "Fine, but Lasar has to fight me, at least, 500 kilometers away from here. Our fight shouldn't involve the Darkness Sect. On top of that, Dorian must swear upon his cultivation that what he said is true."

Lasar narrowed his eyes, and battle intent raged inside of them. Finally, some good tempering! "I agree," Lasar shouted.

Old Man Lightning smiled warmly at Lasar. He was happy that he had the chance to temper himself further. Even if Lasar died, it would be a fair fight. Dying in a fair fight was the best death that cultivators could have.

"I swear upon my cultivation that I will not involve myself in Gravis' or Lasar's fight, as long as you, Old Darkness, don't involve yourself in Gravis' fight. You happy with that?" Old Man Lightning shouted.

"That is enough," Old Darkness answered. "Lasar, Dorian, follow me!" Old Darkness said.

Suddenly, a mighty Spirit appeared. Gravis hadn't felt this Spirit before, but he was sure that this was Old Darkness' Spirit. He showed himself so that the other two could follow him.

Lasar and Old Man Lightning turned to Gravis. "Good luck!" Lasar said.

Gravis only smirked. "I never had luck, and I won't need it today!"

Old Man Lightning and Lasar looked at each other. Lasar remained stoic, while Old Man Lightning smirked a little. Then, they charged after Old Darkness.

Gravis crossed his arms and waited.

In one hour, he would charge right into the Darkness Sect!