Lightning Is The Only Way

Gravis blinked a couple of times in surprise. "So, my original body is already gone?"

His father nodded.

"Huh," Gravis said, "this feels kind of weird. I don't really feel any different."

"Yes, because your body isn't you," his father said. "Same thing with a beast body. Didn't you say once that you are you, and that won't change, no matter how much you change?"

Gravis was a bit surprised about that. "I said that?" he asked.

"Yes, after you talked to some boy about the death of the other green bird," his father said.

Gravis scratched his chin in thought. That phrase actually sounded way too philosophical for his personality. Usually, he wasn't a fan of philosophical stuff since it didn't change reality. Apparently, his mind had been in a weird place at the time if he said something like that.

"I think you're right. It's weird having my own words thrown at me," Gravis said with a little bit of embarrassment.

"I thought it was a good phrase," his father said.

"Might be," Gravis answered. "By the way, what body will I enter?" Gravis asked.

"It depends on someone's path of cultivation," his father said. "You, obviously, have an affinity towards lightning, so you will enter a body that also has an affinity towards lightning. Lightning is a peculiar affinity in regards to beasts. It's rarer than the other elements."

"Additionally, most beasts with lightning affinity only get that later in their lives. Though, which body you enter depends on luck," his father said, "so, be prepared for a bad one."

Gravis sighed. "Luck again, huh?" he commented. "Then, wouldn't that be putting everything on one card? The body could be useless or unsuited for fighting."

"That only matters at the beginning," his father said, "you might not know, but the development of the body is not unchangeable."

Gravis raised an eyebrow. "Could you elaborate?" he asked.

"Most beasts follow their instincts when they reach a higher Realm. The instincts dictate which body they will choose. The important word is choose. They simply change the body into a form that is most comfortable and natural to them."

Gravis' eyes shone. "So, I can alter my body."

"Yes, but only when you reach a new Realm with it," his father said. "The alterations are also limited. Don't expect to immediately create a human body. If you want to return into a body similar to a human's, you would need several Realm increases."

"For example, you could get an additional pair of legs or arms after reaching a new Realm, but that is about as far as you can take it with only one breakthrough. Changing the outer layer of the body would also require a breakthrough."

Gravis thought about this for a while. "Why is the change so limited?"

"After you enter the body, it's your body. It's perfectly compatible with you. Your Spirit needs to acclimate to the body. Otherwise, it wouldn't be your body anymore. Only by slowly changing one part at a time can your body still be yours, even though it is completely different from your initial one."

"Hm, makes sense," Gravis commented. "I would also need to change my fighting style," he said.

"Depends on how you want to change your body," his father said. "If you aim for a humanoid body and enter the body of an ape, you could keep your current fighting style. Though, if you enter a body very different from a human's, it would take a long time to change it into one."

"With my luck, I will probably enter a snake or frog, something completely different to a human," Gravis said.

"The chances are high, yes," his father answered.

"By the way," Gravis said as he remembered something. "What happens if I enter a very weak body?" he asked.

"You would fall out of the Unity Realm. You would need to reestablish your Unity after your body has become powerful enough. Of course, reaching Unity will be easier than the first time," his father said.

Gravis furrowed his brows. "All my centers of power had been boosted quite significantly after I reached Unity. By falling out of Unity and regaining it, wouldn't my Spirit and Lightning become even more powerful?"

The Opposer shook his head. "Your Spirit and lightning don't need more of the waste that your body produces. They will stay the same while your body will rise to the same power as your other centers of power."

Gravis scratched his chin in thought. "This whole thing changes all my plans. Initially, I wanted to go to a middle world directly, but I'll probably need some preparation now."

The Opposer nodded. "Smart. You realized that you won't be able to fall back on human technology anymore."

"Yes. No pills, Formation Arrays, weapons, Cultivation Techniques, Battle Techniques, and similar things. This will need some getting used to," Gravis said with a sigh.

"Pills shouldn't be an issue," his father said. "You're past the part where pills are necessary. The lack of Formation Arrays is also more of an advantage than a disadvantage. After all, you never really used them. Like this, your enemies also won't have access to them."

Gravis nodded.

"Cultivation Techniques are useless to you anyway since your path is vastly different. Battle Techniques are nice, but as soon as you reach the Law Comprehension Realm, Battle Techniques are very specific anyway. Most cultivators just create their own at that point since everyone's comprehension is different."

Gravis raised an eyebrow. "Law Comprehension Realm?" he asked.

"That's the Realm after the Nascent Nourishing Realm," his father answered. "As its name suggests, that Realm is all about understanding the Laws and finding yourself with them. After that comes the Self Transformation Realm, also called the Immortal Realm."

"So, the Immortal Realm is the seventh one?" he asked.

His father nodded. "Yes. When you reach it, you will come back home. In order to become Immortal, you need to transform your body so that it can accommodate your Law."

Now, Gravis knew what he had to accomplish and what waited for him in the middle world. Yet, there was still one issue.

"The biggest issue is a weapon," Gravis said. "I might be able to use my new teeth and claws, but that's only an addition. A weapon allows me to have a further reach. On top of that, a weapon is generally harder than some teeth. With fitting Formation Arrays, it can also unleash incredible power."

His father nodded. "Yes. I would suggest learning how to smith. You should be able to get the basics down in about a year or so. At that time, you should be able to forge equipment for the Nascent Nourishing Realm."

Gravis raised an eyebrow. "That fast? I thought learning how to smith would take longer."

"Normally, it would, but you're different," his father said. "There are forging techniques that use lightning. With your high understanding and synchronicity with lightning, it won't be hard to control it finely enough. You only need to know the theory and do some basic practice."

Gravis nodded and fell back into thought. "But I don't think that I have enough resources to hire a teacher."

"Why would you need to hire a teacher?" his father asked evenly.

"Well, I can't just read books. It would be better if someone taught me," Gravis said.

"Gravis, you already know someone that can smith better than anyone else. You don't need to hire a teacher," his father said.

Gravis was a bit surprised. "You mean the best forger in the world, Linus? I've talked to him a couple of times, but I don't think that I'm that close to him."

"Gravis," his father said with a tiny bit of annoyance.

Gravis looked at his father.

The Opposer looked evenly at Gravis.