Chapter 330: Battle of Words
Gravis and the High Priest locked eyes. The High Priest wore the most extravagant robes that Gravis had ever seen. They were so filled with ornaments, jewelry, and Energy Stones that it seemed incredibly difficult to walk in them. Yet, contrasting his pompous clothing, the priest only carried a single, long, wooden staff with him. That was probably his weapon.
"So, you're the High Priest, huh?" Gravis transmitted to him.
The High Priest narrowed his eyes. The ant before him didn't seem to fear him even a little bit. When had someone not kneeled out of reverence before him? Yet, what did an ant's opinion matter to an elephant?
"And you're the ant that wants to kill father," he sent back with disdain.
"Father? I thought Heaven was genderless," Gravis commented nonchalantly.
Gravis' lack of reaction to him was irking the High Priest. "It is. We assign Heaven a gender that we feel most comfortable with. To me, Heaven is my father," he said, his voice echoing throughout the Lightning Sect. He didn't need to use his Spirit to communicate with Gravis.
Meanwhile, everyone in the Lightning Sect looked with absolute shock and fear at the flying person. They had never seen the High Priest, but they felt like ants beneath him. This was the strongest person in this entire world! Even Lasar was fearful as he watched him.
Gravis' eyes glimmered. "Interesting," he said, his voice also echoing throughout the Lightning Sect. When the High Priest heard Gravis' voice, his eyes narrowed further. This proved that Gravis was still able to move under his Heavenly Pressure.
One had to know that the High Priest exhibited a Heavenly Pressure that was equal to a level three Unity Will. On top of that, there was a strong level suppression between them. This proved that Gravis' Will-Aura was way more powerful than his Heavenly Pressure.
"You can still move," the High Priest commented. "I see why you are father's enemy. Yet, what is so interesting about me calling Heaven my father?" he asked. The High Priest seemed to be in control of this whole situation. The way he talked also broadcasted this fact to everyone present.
Gravis only continued smirking as he slowly lifted his hand to scratch his chin. "A father is more overbearing than a mother. This lower Heaven's conduct is definitely more akin to an abusive father than a loving mother. Who would have expected that its strongest child would be afraid of its own parent?"
"Insolence!" the High Priest shouted, creating earthquakes that went through the entire Lightning Sect. "How dare you try to understand someone as powerful as me!? You don't know anything about my father."
The High Priest's voice also shook Gravis' body, but his smirk never vanished. "I heard your voice, and that is not the voice of an angry person. That's the voice of someone afraid of being punished."
The High Priest's insides shook, but he only appeared calm on the outside. "I really don't understand how you can be this fearless and foolish when confronted with your own death," he said.
Gravis snorted. "My death? Pfft! As if," he said.
The High Priest started getting angry. "Even if you break into the Unity Realm right now, you have no idea how to use your new powers. There is no way that you can survive. On top of that, your body, Spirit, and Magic need time to become stronger. What can you do in that timeframe?" The High Priest said in disdain.
Gravis smirked again. "The power increase of my centers of power might take a while, but the connection will be established instantly," Gravis said calmly. "As soon as I connect them, I will push everything I have into my body and Spirit. The level suppression will vanish at that point, and you will be the suppressed one. On top of that, you can't keep your Heavenly Pressure active all the time. At that time, I only need to waste some time to get acclimated."
The High Priest's emotions went haywire when he heard that. He didn't have a powerful will since he only borrowed Heaven's Will. That's why his emotions were so easily influenced. Yet, why did his emotions get riled up when he heard that?
It was because Gravis was right. His tactic would make him survive long enough to get acclimated. Even though the High Priest acted more akin to a spoiled child, he wasn't foolish. He knew that Gravis' Battle-Strength was unprecedented. The High Priest expected that Gravis could put up a fight even without his centers of power increasing.
The High Priest had the ability to push all his power into his Spirit and destroy the Spirit of others. That was how he had killed the priests. Yet, Gravis' will was just too powerful. The will strengthened the Spirit, and the High Priest feared that Gravis could survive that strike. At that point, everything would play out as Gravis had said.
Even Though the High Priest was definitely the more powerful one of the two, it was he who felt nervous. One wrong move would spell his doom, but on the other hand, if he didn't attack Gravis, and Gravis died to Heaven, Heaven would just destroy him. Both paths lead to death.
The High Priest released a shaky breath after a couple of seconds. "I see why father is fearful of you," he commented. For the first time, his voice didn't exhibit infinite confidence.
Gravis only continued smirking. "Speaking of, how and why did you arrive? As far as I know, Heaven shouldn't have been able to contact you for about five years or so."
For the first time, the High Priest's eyes widened in shock. This had been a secret, and only he knew about this fact! Heaven had truly been completely quiet for five years. No matter how much the High Priest prayed or asked for an answer, Heaven never answered him.
How could Gravis know that? Was it because he came from a higher world and knew more about Heaven? Were such things no secrets in the higher worlds?
"How did you know?" he asked with a shaking voice.
Gravis' smirk never left his face. Now, it seemed like he was the person in control of this entire situation. "Because up to five years ago, this lower Heaven had no one overseeing it. It was like a child alone at home. But five years ago, an actual adult appeared and forced it to follow the rules of the house. Under the adult's supervision, the child can't break the rules."
The High Priest felt his emotions go wild again. What rules? Heaven had to follow rules? "What rules?" he asked.
"It can't contact or interfere with the world directly," Gravis transmitted since he didn't want to implicate the whole Lightning Sect. If they knew Heaven's secrets, they would be in danger. "So, no more talking, no more new Heavenborn, and no more striking down of people."
The High Priest started hyperventilating. It was like a whole new world was being opened before his eyes.
Yet, Gravis didn't stop. "This means that it also won't kill you. The worst it can do is steal all your Karmic Luck so that you have no more luck in your life." Gravis and the High Priest weren't friends, so Gravis didn't care about the consequences of telling the High Priest Heaven's secrets.
The High Priest's mind was running as fast as never before. He was thinking about all the eventual things he could do without Heaven's constant supervision. Did that mean that nothing was stopping him anymore? He could finally do whatever he wanted?
Yet, the High Priest quickly shook his head to regain his bearings. Such a thought was too good to be true. Even though Gravis had proven that he knew a lot about Heaven, there was no guarantee that he wasn't lying right now. In the face of death, maybe even a lightning cultivator would resort to lies.
Though, the High Priest was still unsure about how to proceed. If he attacked Gravis, there was a high chance that he would die. Yet, if he didn't attack Gravis, he could also die to Heaven. The High Priest had feared Heaven for his whole life, and such fear wouldn't just magically vanish because someone had said some words.
'There is no other way,' the High Priest thought with frustration and nervousness. 'I have to take the risk, or I will definitely die!'
Gravis was still smirking, but suddenly, his smirk vanished. His eyes glazed over lifelessly, and his Will-Aura and Spirit vanished. Surprisingly, the same thing also happened to the High Priest. He landed on top of the Lightning Tower with lifeless eyes.
Everyone in the Lightning Sect could move again, but they didn't dare to. This was not a fight that they could interfere in. Even though everyone could move again, they still remained silent. Everything was up to Gravis now.
Meanwhile, inside Gravis' Spirit Space, two people appeared. One of them was Gravis, while the other was the High Priest.
After entering Gravis' Spirit Space, the High Priest sighed with relief. He had pulled it off without Gravis noticing anything. If Gravis had noticed the entry of the High Priest's Spirit, he could have reached the Unity Realm. Luckily, the High Priest had managed not to get noticed. Silently, he thanked Heaven.
Meanwhile, Gravis was surprised that he entered his own Spirit Space without him wanting to. But when he saw the High Priest, his eyes narrowed. To top it all off, Gravis also felt that his Spirit was isolated from everything else. He couldn't even feel his body or lightning, which made it impossible to reach the Unity Realm.
Gravis and the High Priest looked at each other again, one with narrowed eyes and one with a smug grin.