The Martial Unity
chapter-2375

Fighting other Masters that the other three Sage-level powerhouses had to offer was half the reason that Rui was interested in the war in the first place. He looked forward to testing his personal might against all of them or as many of them as he could.

His previous fight with the Convergence had ended up being inconclusive, much to his chagrin. This time, he was determined to see the battle through to the very end.

RUMBLE...

The tremors from Martial Artists afar had already reached the Shionel Confederation. Thankfully, the Shionel Confederation was better prepared than it had been last time.

The previous time had caught each and everybody off-guard due to Prime Minister Edward's well-prepared ambush.

This time, however, everybody had already anticipated an attack simply by virtue of having formally entered an alliance with the Kandrian Empire.

And the alliance didn't disappoint.

"Execute Emergency Initiative A-12," Guildmaster Bradt gravely ordered. "We must protect our reconstruction and restoration projects from the wrath of the enemies. Ensure the Sage- level dispatch intercepts them several thousands of kilometers further away this time. The same for the Master-level dispatch."

He turned to Rui who was all but ready to shoot towards the battlefield immediately. "Please ensure that not a single Master is able to get past you, Master Rui."

"Will do." He nodded with an electric smile cracking at the edge of his mouth. "I can promise that not a single Master will lay so much as a scratch to the Shionel Confederation. Inform the Shionel Masters to remain as a vanguard back-up to ensure that they intercept any that might get past me. I do not require their assistance in the battle."

Guildmaster Bradt frowned at his words.

"As far as I'm aware, not a single Kandrian Master has reached the Shionel Confederation. Which means that without the Shionel Masters, you will be fighting the incoming Master- level force all by yourself."

Rui's smirk widened. "Music to my ears."

The guildmaster stared at Rui like he was absolutely insane. "Have you lost your mind? You are the second-most sought-after target by the alliance after your father. The fact that you are participating in this battle is bad enough. The fact that they know that is even worse. But the fact that you want to do it alone is the worst plan I've ever heard."

Rui shook his head.

He had no intention of explaining himself, least of all to the guildmaster, of all people. The man was a businessman and could not even begin to fathom what Rui was feeling in the first place.

"Goodbye, I'm heading off to the battlefield."

WHOOSH

In the blink of an eye, he was gone before the guildmaster could call out the foolhardy intentions that the young Master harbored.

Rui didn't even bother learning about the numbers or the identities of the Masters who had been deployed to take him out. It was as though he had woken up that day and sought to make life as hard as possible for himself.

And, in fact, that was exactly what had happened.

He recalled his conversations with Master Ceeran two months ago before they had headed to Vilun Island to pick K'Mala up.

Dying to get to the Sage Realm.

The closer one tended to death, the more they learned about who they truly were.

Specifically, they learned the true weight of their convictions, determination, and drive when weighed against the force of self-preservation.

It was all but easy to say, 'I'm willing to die for X' or 'Y is more important to me than my own life.'

Yet, that didn't make it the truth.

Even if one truly believed those words with all their heart, they were simply wrong in most

cases.

They didn't understand themselves as well as they thought.

They overestimated how self-sacrificing they were.

They overestimated how driven and determined they were.

They underestimated how strong their desire for self-preservation was.

And oftentimes, it was only on the verge of death that they truly understood what kind of person they were.

Oftentimes, they came away realizing that they were far more cowardly, or unsightly, or life- loving than they would have ever thought of themselves.

In that vein, the sense of self-preservation was the ultimate counterweight. Similar to how objects were weighed against weights on a balance to determine their mass, dying and approaching the brink of death did the same thing with all of a person's convictions, drive, beliefs, and desires, weighing them against the fear of death and sense of self-preservation.

Rui had concluded that if he wanted to learn who he was without needing lifetimes to reach the Sage Realm, then he needed to end up dying to the Sage Realm.

Not actually become dead.

But reach its brink.

Master Ceeran had already shot down any hopes of making gains through a controlled procedure such as bringing him close to death with the Divine Doctor and ensuring that he never actually died.

It needed to be a genuine state where he was approaching the brink of death.

"I can't do that if I have plenty of powerful Masters supporting me," he snorted as he shot through the air, hoping to reach the enemy Master-level force. "Already, there aren't too many options at my disposal. Almost no enemy Master can truly push me to my limits. So, an overwhelming numeric advantage will have to do."

He was dissatisfied.

What he truly yearned for was an equal.

Someone who could push him to his very limit and beyond.

Someone who he didn't need to hold back against and someone who could help him reach the

Sage Realm.

"Oh well, I will just have to hope that they have sent enough powerful Masters to push me to

my limits."

He didn't even care if they sent a hundred Martial Masters. He would take them all on if he had

to.

All in the pursuit of learning who he was.

He also wasn't worried about the Shionel Confederation's safety.

He knew that between destroying the Shionel Confederation and killing Rui, the Masters

would undoubtedly focus all their energy on the latter.

Compared to killing Rui, the Shionel Confederation was irrelevant as a goal.