Gravis fell into thought after he got the go-ahead to kill the Inferno Emperor. Of course, Gravis wasn't so stupid that he would search for him now. The Inferno Emperor had already had the ability to fight a level above himself as an Emperor even before he had understood his level three Law.
Gravis could also infer how powerful the Inferno Element was. Since it was the equivalent to his Punishment Lightning, it meant that the Inferno Element would be just as powerful. Even if Gravis managed to comprehend the Hard Complex Law and created a new armor, his armor would need to be around two or three levels higher than the Inferno Emperor to withstand such an attack.
Gravis' most powerful weapon was his Will-Aura and his Law of Suppression. With that, he would be able to slow the Inferno Emperor by over 80% if he were only one level higher than Gravis. This would allow Gravis to securely kill him if there were only a one-level difference.
Yet, that was considering if Gravis' Will-Aura continued to grow at the same rate as it had been up to this point. If his Will-Aura didn't increase, the Inferno Emperor would only be slowed by about 50%. That might prove to be an issue since Gravis couldn't allow himself to get hit.
'Additionally, I don't intend to increase my Realm for the next 96 years,' Gravis thought. 'The Inferno Emperor has a straight path to the next world now, and it's even possible that he will ascend in the next 96 years.'
Gravis sighed as Ferris looked at him in confusion. 'If I immediately increase my Realm, I might be able to catch up to him and kill him, but that would sacrifice this opportunity to understand more Laws, which is more important for my future path.'
Gravis took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He didn't like this decision at all, but it was better this way. 'My path is more important than revenge,' Gravis thought.
"Understanding more Laws is more important than revenge," Gravis said.
The Empress nodded. "That's the correct choice. As long as you become more powerful, you can always take your revenge."
Gravis nodded back, but inside he was thinking something else. 'I already have an idea to get my revenge anyway, but I need to ascend first,' he thought.
Ferris looked at Gravis with interest as Gravis shook his head to push the thoughts of revenge out of his mind. It was time to ask the Empress something much more important.
"Are there any news regarding our Kids?" Gravis asked nervously.
The Empress felt that it was a bit weird that Gravis said "our", but she ignored it. "All of them are still alive and doing well. In actuality, their Battle-Strength has become rather impressive."
"Oh?" Gravis asked, excited now. His kids were impressive, even for the Empress' standards?
"They are all less than ten years old, but they have all managed to comprehend a Law already. That is quite impressive," the Empress said.
Gravis' eyes widened. All of them had already understood a Law at their age? That was truly impressive! When Gravis heard that, he felt incredibly proud of them.
"What Laws did they comprehend?" Gravis asked.
"I don't know," the Empress said evenly.
"Why not?" Gravis asked in surprise.
"Because I don't care and didn't ask," the Empress said with a cold voice.
Gravis sighed again. He knew that beasts didn't care about their offspring, but he also couldn't fully empathize with that mindset. Well, at least he had something to look forward to now.
The news that his children were doing well encouraged Gravis more. His children were outstanding, and as their father, he couldn't allow himself to fall behind!
"Empress, we came here for a reason," Gravis said.
"What is it?" the Empress asked.
"I am currently in the process of understanding a level two Law that will allow me to make even more powerful equipment," Gravis said. "For that Law, I need to learn about the Composition of wood and maybe even other plant materials."
The Empress narrowed her eyes. "You want to go to the bulwark," she said directly.
Gravis nodded.
The Empress remained silent for a little bit as she thought about that proposal. "As long as you don't fight anything, I don't have a problem with that, but you need to be careful. The bulwark is not under my control, and I won't spend any resources to convince the Empress of the Bulwark Empire. You need to negotiate with the Plant Ultimate by yourself."
Gravis nodded. "That's all I needed to hear."
The Empress turned to Ferris. "Ferris, your status has changed. Your new status is no longer fitting to keep watch over Gravis. I will call another Elder to keep watch over him."
Ferris looked like he had just heard that he would die. "What?" he asked in shock. "What have I done wrong?" he asked, almost fearful.
The Empress blinked a couple of times in confusion. This wasn't a punishment. A Pre-Ascender's time was valuable, and keeping watch over a King would be a waste of time for a Pre-Ascender.
"You didn't do anything wrong," the Empress said with furrowed brows. "Your status is different now, and you should think about increasing your Realm and ascending to the next world. Keeping watch over a King for nearly a century is a waste of time for you."
Ferris wasn't sure what he should do now. On the one hand, the Empress was right, but on the other hand, Gravis was the one that allowed him to reach his current power.
Not knowing what he should do, Ferris turned to Gravis. "What should I do?" he asked helplessly.
Gravis snickered a bit when he saw Ferris like this, while the Empress would have groaned if she hadn't had to uphold her royal demeanor. A Pre-Ascender was asking a King what he should do. This was not how a Pre-Ascender should act.
"Sharpening the axe doesn't take away time from cutting wood," Gravis said, eliciting confused looks from Ferris and the Empress.
Gravis groaned. 'They don't know what an axe is,' he thought helplessly as he realized that his smart words had fallen on deaf ears.
"What I mean is that learning more about the world now won't take away any cultivation time in the higher world," Gravis explained to the Empress. "Isn't he in my exact situation? He has just barely reached the qualifications for an Ascender, which would make him one of the weakest Ascenders from our world. So, learning more will only benefit his future."
"He might not share your goals, Gravis," the Empress said. "Nearly everyone is only interested in ascending. He may not be interested in becoming stronger than everyone."
Gravis scratched his chin in thought. Then, he turned to Ferris. "What's your goal in life, Ferris?" Gravis asked.
Ferris was a bit taken aback by that question. His previous goal had been to increase his Fire Manipulation, but he had achieved that goal now. What should he now pursue?
"What's your goal, Gravis?" Ferris asked.
"To become the most powerful," Gravis answered immediately.
Ferris nodded. "Then, my goal is also to become the most powerful!" he said with new-found motivation.
The Empress massaged her temple with her hands in frustration. One couldn't decide on their life-goal just like that! Yet, the Empress just couldn't bother anymore. Ferris was even older than her, so if he wanted to decide his goal just like that, it had nothing to do with her.
"Fine," the Empress said with annoyance, "I take it that you still want to follow Gravis?"
Ferris nodded excitedly. "Yes, can I?"
The Empress sighed in frustration, no longer bothering to keep up her royal demeanor. "Sure, but remember that Gravis isn't allowed to fight, kill, or consume another beast."
Ferris excitedly waved that comment off. "No problem, no problem!" he said with excitement. "If anyone threatens him, I will just kill them!" he said with an excited smile.
The Empress felt even more frustrated when she heard that. If he just killed anyone, this would become a political nightmare. Yet, she just couldn't be bothered to deal with Ferris anymore. With a wave of her hand, she showed the two that they could leave.
Gravis smiled and felt great when he saw the frustration on the Empress' face. He still remembered the frustration he had felt when Ferris came to him, proudly telling Gravis how he had understood another Law. It was nice to see someone else suffer under Ferris.
"I don't know where the bulwark is," Gravis said as he looked at Ferris, still smiling.
"Sure! Just follow me!" Ferris shouted with excitement as he rudely shot off the mountain with his full speed, creating a powerful sound of an explosion. A strong wind hit the Empress and her throne, but she just didn't react. She just didn't care anymore.
"Bye," Gravis said to the Empress and followed after Ferris but with less force.
Now, it was time to go to the bulwark and talk to the Plant Ultimate!