The Martial Unity

Over the next few days, Rui immersed himself in the newest idea for his Martial Art technique. A technique that could allow him to read his opponent's mind to some degree by hypnotizing them such that their non-verbal communication reflected their mind to a certain degree.

This was possible if one was in a trance, which was a state of semi-consciousness. In this state, the subconscious mind gained greater control over the body. What Rui was particularly interested in was the fact that he could read what the subconscious mind was conveying much more easily.

Thus, in regards to the catoblepas, Rui needed to develop a technique that put them in a trance where they would relive the memories of the Divine Doctor. He could trigger them into doing so by showing them the visual depiction of the Divine Doctor as he had before, except, this time, he would be doing it to them while they were in a trance.

The visual depiction of the Divine Doctor would trigger associated memories, causing them to relive them, which, in turn, would be reflected in their non-verbal communication. In this manner, he would be able to get detailed access to their memories, hopefully.

However, Rui was enthusiastic about the prospects of such a Martial Art technique beyond just the catoblepas.

"If I can put my opponents in a quasi-trance mid-battle and cause their subconscious minds to gain a stronger hold over their body such that it reflects their intent well ahead of time…" Rui could not contain the sheer excitement that he felt at the prospects of such a technique.

Reading the subconscious mind through non-verbal communication could do much more than allow him to read intent in the conscious mind.

It could allow him to read the very inception of intent that occurred in the subconscious mind!

he had read

activity in the brain's motor cortex could be detected three hundred milliseconds before a person felt that they

extended this work using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): Subjects were asked to press one of two buttons while watching a clock composed of a random sequence of letters appearing on a screen. They reported which letter was visible at the moment they decided to press one button or the other. The

of merely two hundred and fifty-six neurons was sufficient to predict with eighty percent accuracy a person's decision to move seven hundred milliseconds

by placing them in a quasi-trance such that their non-verbal

to temper his

recognized that this could not possibly be

doubted, the technique itself

communication was universal, that did not mean

a partially unique non-verbal

among its speakers. There was enough overlap for smooth general communication. But the moment Rui wanted

"Tsk," Rui tutted.

a low-hanging fruit that he had somehow missed before that would give massive upgrades to his Martial Art at

the path to fulfilling his

different language, then…" His eyes narrowed. "I'll just