The Martial Unity

Had it not been for the micro-expression control that he had been trained in, as well as the Mind Mask that he had put on, Rui didn't think he would have been able to remain as composed as he appeared to be.

He remained silent as he tried his best to maintain his calm and exposure, simply staring at Guildmaster Bradt from behind his esoteric ore-stuffed suit.

"Not so much as a twitch, hm?" Guildmaster Bradt mused. "Remarkable, you're not like the other Martial Artists, but I suppose that's just preaching to the choir at this point, given the series of impossible feats you've pulled off."

Rui stared at him, refusing to utter a word. There had to be a point to bringing this up.

"More importantly, believe it or not, I didn't discover your identity by myself. I actually stole it from a good old friend of mine, a few hours ago,"

Rui's eyes narrowed.

"Someone you're familiar with, Chairman Deacon," Guildmaster Bradt informed him. "He has launched his entire intelligence department into a highly secretive investigation against you, and your little friend."

Rui struggled to maintain his composure as he reeled from the impact of what Guildmaster Bradt had just told him. Chairman Deacon had already discovered his identity?!

Rui furiously thought about the means by which his identity was revealed, realizing that being exposed at the Root floor had probably been the tipping point, allowing the investigation to reach him.

An immense amount of anxiety was born in his heart.

worst fears had

He desperately needed protection, not just for himself, but also for his family, especially for his

that he couldn't think of any way to protect his family, he just was deeply unwilling to pay the price that

family hanging. He loved them far too much to be able to not take great measures

another solution!') He realized,

said a word to him, his silence

knew that he had no reason to lie, and every reason to tell the truth. Chairman Deacon knew that Rui had a connection to the Kandrian Empire, the Martial Union specifically,

map that he had given him. That map was most valuable to him when he was the only one who had received it from Rui. The more people got their hands on it, the less it was an advantage. He did not want

himself, but in the course of their interactions, Rui had proven to be far too careful to allow for any

at this point. He couldn't touch Rui even if

staff had managed to come across the intelligence. He had immediately conducted furtive surveillance for him and had been unable to find him anywhere, including the inn in which

to come to a decision immediately. He had been thrust into a crisis that was unlike any that he had ever dealt with before in either of

Almost.

as he

Guildmaster Bradt abruptly broke