The entire atmosphere changed with Gravis' words. The kind and casual atmosphere transformed into one of annoyance and indignation.
If this had happened in any other Sect, at least one of the Elders or Vice Sect Masters would have jumped up and cried about disrespecting one's elders, but not this Sect. Individuality and freedom were important here, and when someone was disrespected, it was their job to handle the situation.
Everyone looked at Liran to see how he would react.
Liran closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Please elaborate," he said slowly. Obviously, that comment had also riled him up, but he wanted to hear Gravis' explanation first.
Gravis grabbed another fruit. "Suppression and freedom," Gravis said. "Two opposite things on the same spectrum, yes?"
Liran nodded.
"Suppression and freedom are opposites like light and darkness," Gravis explained. "Yet, as you all know by now, light and darkness are still the same thing. There is only a gradient of light. One end is what we call light, and the other end is what we call darkness."
"Freedom and suppression are the same thing, basically. Both are things that only exist in the perception of an intelligent being. A rock can't be suppressed. A rock might be put under physical pressure, but that's an entirely different thing. Only when you're alive and smart enough to perceive your current situation will you be able to feel suppression or freedom."
Blub!
Gravis summoned some water that floated above his finger. "Microorganisms, or the things that we call Life Energy, are living things. Yet, they are not smart enough to comprehend suppression or freedom. I could keep one of them isolated, and it wouldn't feel a difference."
"Get to the point," an Elder said from beside Gravis.
Gravis looked at the Elder and smirked.
"Eh, I don't want to anymore," Gravis said.
Then, he stood up, grabbed another fruit, and began walking out of the room.
The entire hall became shocked. Gravis was leaving just like that?
"Siegfried! Calm down!" Liran shouted.
"But-"
"No! Sit down, Siegfried!" Liran shouted again.
Suddenly, Siegfried's gaze changed. "I'm not following any orders. I'm free to do what I want!" he shouted as he teleported in front of Gravis.
Gravis only looked at Siegfried while chewing his fruit.
"You will tell me, now!" Siegfried ordered. "I have been chasing freedom for my entire life, and my goal is just within reach. I won't be stopped so close to my goal!"
Another fruit started to float over to Gravis from the table. Gravis only opened his mouth and took another bite.
Several seconds passed, the only sound being Gravis' chewing.
Siegfried glared at Gravis.
Then, after nearly 20 seconds of tense silence, another fruit levitated over to Gravis. Gravis opened his mouth to take a bite.
BANG!
The fruit was slapped to the ground by Siegfried as he looked at Gravis in fury.
Gravis only looked back at Siegfried in a bored manner.
"I don't wanna," Gravis said.
Siegfried's glare intensified. "You have no choice," he said.
"Or what?" Gravis asked.
"Or I will suppress you until you tell me," Siegfried said.
Gravis looked around the room to watch how the others would act. Most of them only held neutral expressions. Two others were uncertain. Liran, specifically, looked like he was hesitating. His philosophy and emotions were in conflict.
Liran believed that he should grant Siegfried his freedom to do what he wanted. This was the Sect's philosophy. Yet, he also felt like it would be unfair to push Gravis into suppression by only watching. Liran had no idea what he should do.
Gravis looked around and waited for some seconds. When he saw that no one stepped up, Gravis only shook his head in disappointment.
"You call yourself the Unrestrained Sect," Gravis said. "Yet, none of you have any idea about freedom."
All sympathy the people had for Gravis vanished with this comment. They had felt bad for him due to his weakness, but now, when Gravis faced someone much more powerful than himself, he was still disrespecting them.
Liran's mind was going wild. Why was Gravis acting this way?
Liran took another deep breath. "Gravis," he said quietly. "Why are you acting this way? Wouldn't it be easier to just tell us?"
"I know that you hate being suppressed. We all do," Liran said. "I try to follow the Sect philosophy, but everyone wants freedom so badly. For nearly a million years, we have searched for the secret of freedom, and now it's directly in front of us. I don't know if I can let such an opportunity go just because you don't want to."
"Is that what you want?" Gravis asked.
Liran shook his head. "No. If it were up to me, I wouldn't force you to do anything."
CLAP!
Suddenly, Gravis clapped loudly into his hands.
"And there we go!" he said. "This is why you don't know freedom."
The present people became confused again. Was Gravis saying that they had to help him to understand freedom? That sounded ridiculous!
"You asked me why I was acting this way," Gravis said, "but then you answered your own question without even realizing it."
"Because I don't want to," Gravis said.
"Do I need another reason?"
The hall fell into silence again.
"You know," Gravis said. "Ironically, the person seemed closest to the mindset of freedom is Siegfried."
Siegfried was taken aback. He had just stopped Gravis and threatened him, but Gravis was praising him?
"Look at all of you," Gravis said. "Freedom is doing whatever you want. Meanwhile, judging by your uncomfortable expressions, you are not doing whatever you want. 'For the good of the Sect,' you're doing things you don't want to."
"Liran," Gravis said. "You wanted to save me so badly, but you didn't do it. Was this what the Unrestrained Sect is all about? To constrict your own freedom so that others might be free?"
Gravis shook his head.
"Siegfried," Gravis said as Siegfried tensed up a bit. Gravis didn't feel like some mere Immortal to him. For some reason, Gravis felt superior to Siegfried. "You stopped me, knowing full well that I would most likely continue talking at a later date, even without you stopping me. Stopping me was literally counterproductive."
"Yet, you did it anyway. Why? Because you wanted to. Was it because of shame that I left because of your words? Was it because of your ego due to your superior power? Was it entitlement?" Gravis asked.
"It doesn't matter," Gravis said. "You did what you wanted. Isn't that what freedom is all about?" Gravis asked with a smirk.
Siegfried felt like his eyes had been opened. His perception of freedom changed utterly.
Yet, he had not comprehended the Law of Freedom.
Gravis' earlier seemingly irrelevant explanations would all have culminated in one argument.
Suppression was something that an intelligent being felt when another being had a suppressive effect on them. Freedom was the opposite, which meant that it was something an intelligent being felt when no other being had an effect on them. This meant one thing.
Suppression was something that required other beings to learn.
Freedom was something that could only be learned by oneself.
Freedom couldn't be taught. Freedom was something that someone had to grasp themselves. Freedom couldn't be granted but only obtained.
That was why Gravis had said that this was the reason why Liran didn't know the Law of Freedom. Liran had asked Gravis about teaching him freedom, something that fundamentally didn't work.
Gravis suddenly leaving was also a lesson in freedom. Gravis showed that he could do whatever he wanted without any other interference. So what if he felt like he was indebted to Liran for saving his life? If Gravis wanted, he could abandon the debt.
This was freedom.
However, one had to remember that Gravis didn't feel indebted or anything. This was simply an example.
Silence returned to the hall.
"I do whatever I want," Gravis said. "You don't."
"Now, move out of my way, or you will be dead within the hour. I promise you that," Gravis suddenly said to Siegfried in a cold tone.
What?
No one could believe what they had just heard. They knew that Gravis was incredibly powerful, but Siegfried was an Elder. He was a Peak Immortal!
Gravis' Law of Honesty filled the room, and everyone realized that he was speaking the truth. Yet, only Liran was able to see that it was the Law of Honest at work and not the Law of Lies or Deceit.
Gravis wasn't lying?
Did this mean that Gravis fully believed that he could kill a Peak Immortal in simply an hour? How was this possible!?
Yet, if it weren't possible, Gravis' Law of Honesty wouldn't have been triggered.
Was this true? Could Gravis kill a Peak Immortal?
Right now? No.
In an hour? Yes.
Why?
One had to remember that Gravis was a human, not a beast. In the middle world, Gravis had cultivated as a beast, which meant consuming other beasts. Yet, that didn't mean that Gravis couldn't cultivate like a human. The reason why Gravis didn't cultivate as a human was due to the absence of relevant resources in the middle world.
How did humans cultivate?
Most humans used natural treasures, but there was also a less efficient way to raise one's Realm.
What resource?
Immortal Stones.
Absorbing Immortal Stones took some time, but they would increase one's Realm if one absorbed enough of them. This was also why Immortal Stones were so highly valued amongst all humans.
Now, with all of that said…
How many Immortal Stones did Gravis have again?