The Martial Unity

Rui woke up, feeling a touch of peace that he hadn't experienced in what felt like forever.

Yet it wasn't enough.

His eyes hadn't lost their edge.

Senior Xanarn did not fail to notice that.

"Woken up yet?" She asked with a melancholic tone, her head resting on his chest. She had hoped to be able to soothe his mind, yet she had underestimated how deep his dissatisfaction was.

It was not something that could be resolved with the pleasures of the flesh.

"How long was I asleep?" Rui asked.

"About nine hours." She replied softly. "You must not have slept in days."

"A week." Rui heaved a sigh, getting up.

"Are you still not going to tell me what happened?" She asked.

"..." Rui paused for a moment before he shook his head. "It's not something I wish to recount just yet. I came to understand how insignificant I am. That's all that matters at the end of the day."

She pouted unhappily. "What do you intend to do?"

"Gain power." His words were sharp as his eyes narrowed.

An air of peril formed around him.

It was volatile. Yet Senior Xanarn could only watch unhappily as he refreshed himself before leaving.

His fist clenched as the intensity in his eyes only grew.

to rush over to Ieyasu and unleash an intensity of bloodlust unlike anything

STEP

of the Floating Sect. He almost couldn't believe it when he had been informed Xanarn, yet even he couldn't help but smile. Time and time again, Kane

to him

Suddenly, the door opened.

the two clasped hands,

Rui smiled. His words were kind, yet his tone

within the Squire Realm didn't matter to him anymore, and it was hard for him to

known him for more than

as

matter how tired I was, I should have come to see you. But I was with Senior Xanarn

with an expression of concern.

as a melancholic smile sprouted

too deep for such superficial issues to possibly put cracks into it. Kane needed only one look in his eyes to realize that his

"You were gone away only for a year, and I know for a fact that you

have the heart to brush Kane off. Once the two of them gained some privacy, Rui recounted the entire story from the very start, not

increasingly more incredulous as Rui

exert visible restraint to control his anger. "I ran for an entire week before finally

expression of shock. He was stunned speechless, his jaw had long dropped

blinking for a few

the story

little guilty for feeling a little bad that Rui hadn't come over to visit him immediately. Especially now that he learned about the tribulations that Rui had overcome just to get back to the Kaddar Region

It was no wonder.

of the story he had just told him was more than what

least, we can be certain that

needle in the largest haystack

"...Now what?"

grow stronger."

divulged everything to Kane, giving Kane a greater context

Kane sighed. "He only defeats me with greater ease each time we fight, even though I have only grown stronger.