The Martial Unity

Rui and Ieyasu considered the terms of the battle. Both of them had come to learn much in the past four years or so. However, that did not mean the battle was symmetric.

For one, Rui spent a lot of time mastering assassination techniques. Those techniques were much harder to apply in combat. He didn't know what Ieyasu had accomplished in the past four years, but surely it was more directly relevant to combat than the things Rui had been focusing on.

"Does upgrading techniques count?" Rui asked.

"Hmm..." Master Zeamer considered the question. "Alright, techniques upgraded in the past four years will be allowed."

That made it much more palatable. It meant that Rui could use his upgraded Godspeed technique in addition to the Hypnomatrix. Perhaps the most rational decision would be to inform them that he had focused on assassinations for a good chunk of the past four years, but he decided against it.

He was truly confident in the progress that he had made with mental techniques.

"Can I use techniques that I've copied in the past four years?" Ieyasu asked.

"Of course," The Hypnomaster declared. "You copy technique principles and mechanisms before recreating your opponent's technique by understanding the principles by reading their mind and replicating those principles by virtue of already having mastered the principles of all orthodox Martial Art fields. It would not violate the terms of this battle."

This was quite a beneficial ruling for Ieyasu, it meant that he was quite suited for the terms of this battle.

Neither side had any more questions.

"Hohoho..." Master Zeamer put some distance between himself and the two with an eager and excited smile. "Take your stances."

Both sides took neutral non-commital stances. Their eyes narrowed as their focus sharpened.

The air grew taut, wrung by the force of their minds.

A maelstrom of pressure brewed in the atmosphere.

struck the hearts of the few sentient creatures in the bizarre ecosystem of

grew agitated, panicking in fear of the

cut through everything, commencing the

BADUMP!

surge of power flowed through their bodies as they leaped

BAM BAM BAM BAM!

exchanged a flurry of blows

even a millisecond had passed, yet the first bout had already been concluded. Yet, the same could certainly not be said about the fight, as

BAM

a flurry of blows on the surface, seemingly going

as a fierce battle to the untrained eye was merely them feeling each other

single technique had been

That soon changed.

breathing technique before a wave of strength washed over his entire body, increasing the speed and power of his strikes. His stance and balance shifted while his arms and

had deigned to employ a

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

to be a heavy and simple offense-oriented Martial Art. Given that the Hypnomaster did not object to Ieyasu's application of this technique, it must

taking such damage from Ieyasu, thankfully, he didn't

his Breathing Crucifix technique, the hypnotic technique that he had created to hamper offense-oriented Martial Artists. In his mind, a powerful hypnotic spiral identical to Hypnomaster's Martial Embodiment

could not

to the left. Yet even if he could control his body, he

wasn't by too much, but his consciousness had been

And that was enough.

BAM!!

The man grimaced, choking. Not just because Rui landed a powerful clean blow,