The Martial Unity

The masks that Martial Artists wore were not meant to protect their face or head, it was meant to protect their identity. Of course, Martial Apprentices got hit in the face and the head regularly thus the masks that Martial Apprentices wore were designed to survive the rigor of Apprentice-Realm combat. Of course, most masks needed heavy maintenance after rigorous extended combat.

Ordinary substances that couldn't withstand the rigors of Apprentice-Realm combat while the esoteric resources with the tensile strength to be able to completely endure Apprentice-Realm combat were strategic resources that also too scarce to be wasted on masks.

Thus, as well as masks were designed to survive and at the very least stay intact, when faced power and onslaught at effectively the pinnacle of the Apprentice Realm, they simply couldn't stay intact.

Rui hadn't even realized that his mask had fallen off until he felt the warm air make contact with his face.

Yet before he could even process his situation, his eyes fell on his opponent, who was in the same predicament.

Golden hair and golden eyes. Perfect, beautiful features.

The man looked like a prince.

Yet it wasn't his aesthetics that shocked Rui.

"You...!" He murmured in shock. Rui's mind flashed back nearly two years ago, back to his bodyguard mission in the Basara Mountains. He had fought a bandit group that was routinely ambushing and plundering supply convoys for high-grade esoteric resources.

The leader of the bandit group back then who had managed to escape was the very man before him.

own mask slip he was shocked about. He didn't want the golden

of not just one, but two

features had instantly given him away. The crowd immediately his identity to the

eyes. That's that Apprentice Rui Quarrier

to rope in the

at this point. He

was when he first accepted the representative fighter commission from Nartha. Since then, his goodwill with the

that basically nothing happened to the fighters commissioned for the Martial Games. Part of this was because no Martial Artist would ever participate in it if there was serious adverse risk

Everyone knew the man loved Martial Art, he went out of his way to ensure that there were no disincentives and incentives. Nobody wanted to make any enemy of a man with the wealth, power and

this man's representative fighter was a

was enjoying the fight prior, but not he just felt wary.

they immediately took their stances against

the way they

washed over the guests, but none of them dared raise

it didn't matter. Yet

the blond man, scrutinizing him in

he was stopping the match? He didn't want even the slightest chance of it being leaked that his representative was a prolific bandit that disrupted economy of the town of Hajin and no doubted affected several of the guests and members of the Martial

He turned back to the blond man, who was turning around

"Hey." Rui called out.