The Martial Unity

Rui had predicted this outcome with about an eighty-percent chance of occurring. Groups that were Martialocratic and Martial Supremacist always tended to solve things with Martial Art.

He didn't expect the Silas Clan to deviate too much in that regard.

"I accept that arrangement, grandmother."

His voice was calm and composed, yet radiated unshakable confidence. He normally hid his aura because he disliked drawing attention. However, the Martial Artists of the Upper Realms had much greater insight into his power.

"Hm," The matriarch's eyes conveyed approval and interest. "Then so be it. We shall have you fight a chosen Awakened Bodyforger of our clan. Do you take issue with this?"

Rui stared at her dumbfounded. "…Awakened bodyforger?"

"Yes, boy. You are unqualified to fight a Mindforger and too strong to fight an ordinary Bodyforger. Only someone of the same rank of power is a worthy test of your power and claims."

Rui stared at her like she was speaking another language.

She wasn't.

"The Silas Clan has a different Martial philosophy from the mainstream system propagated by the Panamic Martial Federation, Your Highness," Sage Sayfeel interjected, explaining. "A Pathforger is a Martial Apprentice, a Bodyforger is a Martial Squire, and an Awakened Bodyforger is a Martial Senior. They view the Squire and the Senior Realm as a single rank of bodyforging. Mindforgers, what they call Martial Masters, are rank-three Martial Artists."

"…Fascinating," Rui's eyes lit up with interest.

Rui was too accustomed to thinking of the Squire and the Senior Realm as entirely separate, but in reality, they were deeply connected. Empowering the Martial Body necessarily empowered the Martial Heart. They were both the same power; it was just that the Martial Heart was shackled out of reach by subconscious mental blocks. But ultimately, all of it was the power of the body.

Thus, in a sense, formulating them within a single rank of bodyforging, and referring to the Martial Heart as the Awakening, was perhaps more accurate as far as categorizing the sources of power went.

However, he understood why the Panamic Martial Federation propagated the Squire and Senior Realm as entirely separate. There was simply far too much of a gap in power between the two Realms to treat them as one and the same when it came to commercializing Martial Arts.

Matriarch Nephi growled, drawing him

your proposal, grandmother," Rui

"Very well then."

up, leaving the little shed, prompting

her clan members, who quickly gathered around to hear what she had to

son of Miriam to the test," she

particular

her back, bowing to the matriarch. "Yes,

of the son of Miriam as

woman raised

up in her eyes.

to

he calmly replied,

had already begun applying the Angel of Laplace

to be a high-grade Martial

well-chiseled and balanced in its parametric configuration. However, it was clearly not her greatest strength, and she had not received a tremendous amount

as the Martial Artists of the Silas Clan had Martial Art centered around prophecy, thus physicality

time, he faced an opponent in the Senior whose body was not that much stronger

This was rare.

the only reason they could cope with the sheer potency

wondered how

the battle,

Laplace to beat her. Frankly, the Gatekeeper was probably the only Martial Senior, or one of a very handful of elite, in the entire world against whom Rui needed his predictive model ready from the get-go just

best to have

she clearly drew the line. "There are no rules aside from