The Martial Unity
chapter-2136

All hundred and seventy Martial Masters of the Kandrian Empire had received Rui's commissions for experience training. Not all of them were inclined to accept, of course.

Some were far weaker than he was, unable to provide any meaningful experience to him. Many didn't want to cross fists with the prodigious Void Prince, due to his immense political status.

Yet, there were plenty who did accept his commissions, choosing to humor him in a fight. A lot of them were Martial Masters who were deeply motivated. in trying out the manifold anyway.

After all, the manifold was such a precious resource that each Martial Master pounced at the opportunity to secure one slot or another. Each and every one of them had been stunned when the Sage Council briefed them on the miracle of the manifold. A place where they made fourteen times as much progress relative to their progress outside?

It was such an absurd proposition that hardly any of them could bring themselves to believe it at first. However, when they realized that the Sage Council was not in the habit of pulling impractical jokes and that the Void Prince had indeed brought back home such a magical treasure, most of them leaped at the opportunity.

If they could have it their way, most Martial Masters would have migrated into the manifold just to ensure that they didn't fall behind their peers. After all, for every day that they trained outside, their peers inside the manifold would have trained for fourteen days.

However, Emperor Rael and the Sage Council ensured that the distribution of resources that only half of all Masters of the Empire could train in the manifold at any time. This was to ensure that the Kandrian Empire did not lose all of its Martial Masters in one fell swoop.

The Empire could not afford to have all of its Masters merrily training away inside the manifold.

Martial Masters were important to not just the functioning and security of the Martial Union, but also the economy and national security of the entire state.

Having all of them disappear into a four-dimensional manifold for a few months at a time was disastrous for the nation.

Thus, only half of all Masters, the most meritorious ones, were able to gain access to the dungeon at first.

Thus, many of the Masters who jumped at Rui's commission for combat were actually those who weren't able to secure their own slots on the first try. Thus, they resorted to entering the manifold by accepting Rui's commissions.

His Martial Master friends were the first to jump at the opportunity.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH

Rui whizzed through the Master-level arena, avoiding the long-range attacks that Master Ceeran pelted in his direction.

Yet, that was not enough.

WHOOSH!

The attacks abruptly turned their direction of attack, accelerating towards Rui.

Master Ceeran's Martial Path was post-trajectory manipulation, allowing him to manipulate long-range attacks even after they had been fired at his opponents. Thus, there was no such thing as avoiding his attacks.

His eyes narrowed, focusing on Rui as he activated his systems of thought. 'Weaving Pathfinder: Phase One.' One of the strategies he had developed that helped him create his Martial Mind was created specifically to deal with opponents faster than his wind and sound projectiles. Speed and maneuvering Martial Artists with immense agility often frustrated him when he was a Senior.

Until Rui had taught him the Pathfinder technique more than fifteen years ago. He modified the ODA System to create a system of thought that allowed him to geometrically corner his opponent in a tapestry woven from sound and wind.

One that would envelop them and leave them with no room to escape.

This was the strategy he had developed to deal with people he couldn't tag due to speed.

'Now!' His eyes flashed as he curled his fingers and shifted his breathing, causing all the attacks around the maneuvering to curl onto him, leaving him no room to escape.

BOOOM!!

"Yes!" Master Ceeran grinned, celebrating.

BOOOM!!!

An even more powerful Yin-Yang Spear crashed into his arm, dealing him an immensely heavy impact.

It was over.

By the time, he even gathered his bearings, he found himself staring at Rui's fist, poised to strike him.

He heaved a sigh, raising his hands in resignation. "Alright, your win."

Rui smiled. "Good fight, you're even stronger than I expected."

"Hah," Master Ceeran grumbled. "That's hard to believe, considering that you didn't even use your hypnosis, domains, or that body manipulation technique of yours."

Rui smiled. "True. But the point of this exercise is to gain more experience, not stack more victories."

"How did you even escape unharmed?" Master Ceeran complained. "I thought I saw you nailed."

"No," Rui shook his head. "That is just what you wanted to see. And, I just showed it to you. All I had to was read your heaven-bending and your intentions to know when the right moment to trick you was. Your heaven bending grows more strained the closer you get."

Rui had managed to discern the timing that his friend was going for by relying on such tells and other patterns that allowed him to time the simplest of misdirection to use the man's expectations against him.

"Such finesse," Master Ceeran murmured. "Honestly, it would have hurt my pride if you just beat me up straightforwardly."

"Now, where's the fun in that?" A smirk cracked at the edge of the edge of his mouth. "It was a good fight. It would probably do you good to improve the lethality of your long-range offensive…"

As Rui spoke, Master Ceeran couldn't help but look back at the good old days when he was a whole Realm above Rui. He had always had an inkling that Rui would one day surpass him. However, he hadn't expected Rui to shoot past him to such an overwhelming degree. It hurt his pride, yet it also made him more excited to witness the heights that Rui would undoubtedly ascend to.