The manager seethed with rage.
And then, he released all that rage…
In a long sigh.
"I apologize," he said. "I shouldn't have done that."
Was Gravis surprised by that reaction?
No.
Why not?
Because this guy was an extremely powerful Cultivator. Everyone that managed to reach such a high Realm couldn't be unreasonable.
It was essentially impossible to find a narrow-minded person at such levels. All the narrow-minded people had died before reaching such a Realm.
Reaching such power required a mindset that allowed someone to reach supreme power. Being unreasonable and angering everyone around them would quickly end up in the death of the Cultivator. Luck would only carry someone so far.
Yet, there was one exception.
The Opposer.
"You think that apology makes everything okay?"
It wasn't Gravis that said that.
SHING!
Someone appeared behind the manager, and the new arrival was familiar to Gravis.
It was the Chief Inspector that had been present when Gravis had undergone his test.
The manager groaned. "Fine. How long?" he asked.
"10,000 years," the Chief Inspector said.
The manager blinked in surprise. "That's actually not that bad," he said with confused happiness.
"Yes, because you already gave him a lot of Energy," the Chief Inspector said. "If you hadn't, you would get 250,000 years. I watched him since I'm interested in him, which means that I would have noticed that transgression regardless. You can count yourself lucky that he has such a unique way of defending his Spirit Space. You barely lost 200 years of Energy, but that saved you from 240,000 years of punishment."
The manager took another deep breath and sighed. "Yes, I'm sorry. I'll watch my conduct in the future."
"You said that like five times by now. I hope, this time, you actually mean what you say," the Chief Inspector said. Then, he nodded at Gravis and vanished again.
"Hard time, eh?" Gravis commented as he leaned on the counter.
The manager sighed yet again. "Yeah, it isn't easy. As I've said, sorry about that. I lost control over myself. I forgot that The Heaven Company also values Cultivators below the Star God Realm, which is why I did what I did."
"I'm not mad," Gravis said with a smirk. "After all, you gave me a lot of Energy. I should actually thank you."
The manager snorted. "Sure," he commented. "You're a strange one, you know that? Even after tearing off a part of my Spirit, you still didn't become a Star God. Judging by the Battle-Strength you exhibit, you should know at least one level seven Law. I'm actually surprised that you didn't reach the Star God Realm."
The manager had calmed down by now. He knew that he had committed a mistake, and he was just happy that his punishment hadn't been extended by that long.
"I need more Energy," Gravis said. "I need the same amount of Energy another time to become a Star God."
"That's a lot of Energy," the manager commented.
Gravis nodded. "By the way, if it isn't too rude to ask, what is this punishment that the Chief Inspector referred to?"
"This," the manager lazily gestured to the surrounding hall. "You think us Divine Gods want to work in such a place? No Divine God wants to be some clerk that hands out rewards for Contribution Points. We have to be here the entire time and can't do anything else for the same pay."
"That's why the Inspector with the worst performance after 100,000 years is chosen to take up this job. The assignment changes every 100,000 years."
The manager sighed again.
"I've been here for 360,000 years, and I still have 120,000 years to go," the manager said with lament. "Honestly, if the punishment had been longer, I might have just quit on the spot."
"That sucks," Gravis said. "How long is the longevity for Divine Gods?"
"Ten million years," the manager answered absentmindedly.
Gravis nodded. Doing this job for over 3% of one's longevity had to be boring and frustrating. No wonder the manager became so annoyed and careless.
"Anyway, can I see your emblem? I need to check your Contribution Points."
SHING!
Gravis summoned his emblem and put it on the counter. The manager looked at it. "Huh, who would have thought. Star God Contribution Points in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm. Never seen that before."
Gravis nodded. One had to be able to beat a Star God to earn Star God Contribution Points, which was nearly impossible. After all, the difference in Laws was just insane. The most powerful Peak Immortal Emperors knew a level seven Law. Yet, Star Gods also all knew level seven Laws. So, in terms of Laws, this made these two people equal.
However, the Star God was four levels of Energy, Spirit, and physical power above the Peak Immortal Emperor.
As far as the Cultivators knew, there hadn't been a single Peak Immortal Emperor that managed to fight a Star God, even less win. Not even young Heaven's Magnates had accomplished that.
Yet, there was one person that had managed it.
The Opposer.
And now, there were three, excluding the Opposer.
Gravis, Mortis, Arc.
"So, what do you want?" the manager asked.
"What's the price for entering a Heaven's Trial?" Gravis asked.
"Depends on the rewards," the manager answered.
The concept of Heaven's Trials wasn't unknown to Ancestral Gods and stronger. For everyone below that power range, Heaven's Trials were referred to as Secret Areas.
"One entry for a Heaven's Trial costs just as much as the potential reward of the Heaven's Trial," the manager said.
"What?" Gravis asked. "Wait. Can I also just directly buy the rewards?"
"Yes," the manager answered. "You can also just directly buy them."
"Then why would anyone spend just as much for a potential reward as for a secure one?" Gravis asked.
"Tailor-made tempering," the manager answered. "You get the reward and tempering on top of that. However, you could also just die. That's the tradeoff."
Gravis nodded. Now, it made sense.
"Are there ranks to Heaven's Trials?"
"Yes. The ranks of Heaven's Trials are defined by the rewards you get and the opponents you will face. You can purchase entry for an Immortal Emperor rank Heaven's Trial, but you will also only face Immortal Emperors as your opponent."
"The rewards for Star God rank Secret Areas are mostly Law Comprehension Life Fruits, Higher World Cores, and access to exclusive Law Comprehension Areas you can't find anywhere else, like the Emotional Laws."
"We also distinguish between non-peak Heaven's Trials and peak Heaven's Trials in a Realm. After all, Peak Star Gods are not interested in more level seven Laws, but level eight Laws."
Gravis nodded again. "Are there Star God rank Heaven's Trials with level six Laws as rewards?" Gravis asked.
"No," the manager said. "These are all for non-peak Immortal Emperors."
"Okay. How much for three Law Comprehension Life Fruits for the level six Law of Matter?" Gravis asked.
"4,000," the manager answered.
Gravis blinked a couple of times in surprise.
4,000?
Didn't he have 5,000?
Then, didn't this mean that Gravis could buy a level six Law for just 80 years of work?
Wouldn't something like that cost like half a million God Stones?
Now, Gravis finally realized how much money he was actually making.
He was being paid as a Star God, and Star Gods only cared about level seven and level eight Laws. They would probably have to work a couple times to gain enough money to get a level seven Law.
But level six Laws?
That wasn't expensive.
Sure, Gravis couldn't continuously eat these fruits, but he could eat them after every fifth Law he and Mortis comprehended.
"How much for 100 years inside a Law Comprehension Area for an Elemental level six Law?" Gravis asked.
"100 Contribution Points," the manager answered. "One year of Elemental level six Law Comprehension costs exactly one Star God Contribution Point."
"Huh, so I could purchase 5,000 years inside a Law Comprehension Area with my current points?" Gravis asked.
"Yes, but you still need to work unless you ask for leave," the manager answered.
"Buy the three fruits for the Law of Matter and 1,000 years for the Law of Blaze. You can extend it after your next paycheck," Mortis transmitted to Gravis. Gravis always carried one Mortis with him as insurance, and Mortis was also interested in what Gravis could get for his Contribution Points.
"Can I buy access to a Law Comprehension Area for someone else?" Gravis asked.
"You will get an entry token, which you just have to give to the guard. It doesn't matter who hands the token over," the manager answered.
Gravis nodded. "Alright, then I want three Law Comprehension Life Fruits for the Major Law of Matter and 1,000 years Law Comprehension for the Law of Blaze," Gravis said.
SHING!
Three fruits and a token appeared before Gravis, and his Contribution Points all vanished.
Mortis looked at these things with burning eyes from Gravis' Life Ring.
This token was his ticket to freedom!