"YEEAAAH!" the whole Lightning Sect exploded with cheers after Old Man Lightning declared his victory. Their Lightning Sect had managed to kill one of the priests from the Heaven Sect, the strongest people below the High Priest. It was supremely rare for any priest to die in combat, which increased their pride and confidence even more.
"Hahahaha!" Old Man Lightning was laughing with fervor. The fight had brought him back to his youth, and he felt the power and enthusiasm of a youngster again. After so long without a fight, he had managed to kill a priest. "I feel it! I can finally feel it!" he shouted excitedly.
WHOOM!
An intense pressure quietened the Lightning Sect. Old Man Lightning had released his Will-Aura, and he was concentrating it. Of course, he still had enough rationality to control his Will-Aura. Otherwise, nearly the whole Sect would fall unconscious. Slowly, the Will-Aura concentrated until it stopped.
"47%!" He shouted with laughter. "I finally have a level two Unity Will!"
The whole Lightning Sect exploded in cheers again. Someone in their Sect managed to ascend. Old Man Lightning only needed to will it for him to reach the Unity Realm. On top of that, he went through the tenth Stage of Energy Gathering and the Self Stage. While there was an ascender every couple of years, those that managed to ascend by going through the Self Stage were incredibly rare. Hundreds of years would pass between each one.
"Congratulations, grandpa," Lasar said with a smile and a small bow. "You have finally achieved your dream. You can finally reach the higher world."
Old Man Lightning nodded. "Yes!" Then he turned to Gravis. "And it's all thanks to this little guy. Without him, I would have never had the chance to fight a priest from the Heaven Sect."
Gravis smiled and shook his head. "It was your strength that created this opportunity," Gravis said. "If you were not powerful enough, I would have brought calamity to the Lightning Sect. Only with enough strength can someone transform a disadvantage into an advantage."
Old Man Lightning still laughed. "Well said, boy! Luck isn't bestowed by the Heavens but created by oneself. With enough strength, every calamity will become tempering, while every instance of good luck will become great luck. With enough strength, there is no such thing as bad luck!" Old Man Lightning shouted.
Gravis felt those words resonate with him, and he realized something about his Karmic Luck. Gravis became absentminded as he thought about his journey so far and his Karmic Luck. 'With enough strength, no Karmic Luck becomes an abundance of Karmic Luck? The more I think about it, the truer it seems. Without my absence of Karmic Luck, I wouldn't have been able to get such a powerful will. I would also not have condensed Destruction Lightning and would have also not adapted my Spirit to Lightning.'
Gravis narrowed his eyes as he looked to the ground, quite the contrast to the other, cheering disciples. 'Is this the reason why my father has reached his current position? Did he always have an absence of Karmic Luck? An absence of Karmic Luck would make it difficult to survive while cultivating. With no Karmic Luck, there are only three options.'
'One, I never cultivate or stop cultivating, and live a life like a mortal. Two, I die on my journey. Three, due to me constantly getting in conflicts, I'm getting tempered more than anyone else, and therefore, have a higher chance than anyone else to reach the peak if I survive. I guess not granting someone Karmic Luck is like going all-in for Heaven. Either the person dies, or they reach the peak. My brother Orpheus probably also has a supremely powerful Will-Aura for his Realm. Huh, it all falls back to my saying: Disadvantages can become advantages.'
Gravis had been silent for a while, and Old Man Lightning had noticed. He knew the expression on Gravis' face. He had seen that expression a lot of times. It always happened when someone realized something important. This made Old Man Lightning even happier. Not only could he now ascend whenever he wanted, but the interesting youngster was also gaining more strength. Just like every teacher before him that had met Gravis, Old Man Lightning wanted to see how far Gravis could go.
"When will you ascend, grandpa?" Lasar asked with a smirk. "Reserve a place for me wherever you go in the higher world. I will join you as soon as I can."
Old Man Lightning hummed for a bit. He had waited for this moment for over a hundred years, and now he could ascend whenever he wanted. He shot a look at the thinking Gravis and smirked.
Old Man Lightning turned to the others. "I will ascend a little bit over one and a half years from now. After all," Old Man Lightning shot Gravis another look, "I still have something to do."
Lasar had noticed the look that Old Man Lightning had shot at Gravis. "Are you sure about this? After all, you've waited for over-"
WACK!
Old Man Lightning's cane was back, and he smacked Lasar on the head with it. "I have waited for over a hundred years, so waiting for one more won't be an issue. I have promised to protect Gravis, and I won't go back on this promise!" Old Man Lightning shouted with annoyance.
Hearing his name, Gravis perked up. When he realized what Old Man Lightning said, he showed an uncomfortable expression. "Please don't interrupt your cultivation journey because of-"
WACK!
Old Man Lightning whacked Gravis on the head. "Shut up!" he shouted. "This is my cultivation and my life, and I will do whatever I want with it. You have no say in this matter."
Gravis rubbed his head, but he wasn't angry at Old Man Lightning. In actuality, he felt a feeling of warmth inside of him. Delaying one's cultivation journey for someone else was the ultimate sacrifice after literally sacrificing one's life. They hadn't known each other for long, but Old Man Lightning was already showing such kindness toward him. Yet, Gravis still felt terrible about interrupting Old Man Lightning's cultivation.
"Thank you, really, but-"
WACK!
Gravis was hit harder than before and flew into the wall of a building. "I said you have no say in this matter! So, just shut up and accept it!" Old Man Lightning shouted with a hint of anger.
Gravis stood up again and looked at the old man. He wanted to open his mouth again, but Old Man Lightning lifted his cane threateningly. After seeing that, Gravis released a sigh as he accepted his situation. "Thank you," he said sincerely.
"Nonsense!" Old Man Lightning shouted. "This is what an elder should do for his disciples! You have granted me this opportunity, and I won't stay indebted to you! You, of all people, should realize how a heavy debt feels."
Gravis nodded deeply. He knew exactly how that felt. Yet, to him, it didn't feel like Old Man Lightning was indebted to him. It felt more like Gravis was indebted to him, instead. 'I guess I can only accept.'
Clap!
"Oh, right!" Old Man Lightning shouted with a clap. "I should check the things that survived the explosion. After all, the priest should have a lot of money!"
Old Man Lightning used his Spirit to look at the crater. By now, the shockwaves had calmed down, allowing his Spirit to inspect the whole area. Yet, he saw nearly nothing. Basically everything, except the two broken sabers, was obliterated in the explosion. Old Man Lightning sneered in disgust as he saw this meager loot.
Yet, he still pocketed the parts of the sabers. After all, they were made of fine materials. There was no sense in wasting them. Of course, he also retrieved his humongous club. Since it wasn't at the core of the explosion, it was still in top condition.
"Alright! Stop dawdling! Back to work!" Old Man Lightning shouted at everyone.
Like scared chickens, everyone scattered. No one wanted to feel Old Man Lightning's cane, but they also scattered with a spring in their steps. Even though Old Man Lightning's cane was infamous in the Sect, everyone still looked at him like he was their grandpa.
Gravis shot one last look at Old Man Lightning and was happy at what he saw.
'He still has all his Karmic Luck. This lower Heaven has really pulled back,' he thought.
Then, Gravis stretched himself and then ran back to the Balzar mine.
'Time to punch more boulders!'