The Martial Unity
chapter-2406

Rui couldn't help himself.

He just couldn't.

He had had faint suspicions when his father had mentioned the Sekigahara Confederate.

But when Emperor Rael went on to describe the Martial Art of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Rui couldn't help but feel giddy.

He couldn't help but feel giddy with ecstasy and excitement.

He couldn't help but feel drunk with anticipation.

He couldn't help but feel high with battle lust.

"HAHAHAHAHAAA!!"

He laughed as the memory of the greatest fight of his life flooded his mind.

A battle that had stayed with him more than any other battle in his entire life. When he closed his eyes, he could remember every moment of it like he was fighting that very battle at the very moment.

He could relive it over and over.

The one and only battle he had ever experienced in his entire life that made him feel like an ordinary Martial Artist.

For he had fought an opponent who had been as extraordinary as him. The stakes had been everything.

Death.

Or the breakthrough to the Senior Realm.

One would obtain the former, while the other would obtain the latter.

In the end, they both managed to break through to a higher Realm.

The battle was a perfect draw as they both knocked each other out.

Never before and never again did Rui ever experience a battle that satisfied his very soul. It was a euphoria that nobody else was able to give him. "Ah."

His laughter froze as he broke out of his stupor of ecstasy.

"What did you say his Martial Embodiment was again?" He turned to his father with a calm expression. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Emperor Rael stared at him like he was demented.

His eyes were dubious.

Dubious of his son's remaining sanity and disturbed by the madness that seemed to have overtaken him.

"…A fractal mirror, according to the reports. One that absorbed other Martial Embodiments and assimilated them into its image symmetrically. Like a kaleidoscope. Most Masters reported it to be extremely disorienting and disturbing."

Rui grew engrossed in thought as a smile of amazement appeared on his face.

'He succeeded.'

Many years ago, shortly after breaking through to the Senior Realm, the inclusion of thought as an additional dimension had evolved his Martial Art from merely Imitative Evolution to Assimilative Evolution.

Based on everything Rui had heard from his father, it was clear that Tokugawa Ieyasu had succeeded in completing the evolution of his Martial Art. The last time that they had sparred, Rui had won because it had been a highly restricted sparring that only allowed them to use a portion of their full power. He looked forward to seeing how strong Ieyasu had become in the past fifteen years. Both of them had grown tremendously since they had first met in the Squire Realm.

'Come to think of it, we're both the same age now,' Rui realized. 'I spent six years in the manifold, which gave me an edge over him since I simply had more time than he did.'

He wondered how that would affect the dynamics of their battle.

However, even before he could think about that, there were several issues that came to his mind.

"Have you received any reports of the Britannian Empire gaining breakthroughs recently?"

His father frowned at the strange question. "Not at all."

"Any reports of them using it in negotiations?"

"Most certainly not."

"Hm…" Rui closed his eyes as he fell into thought.

This begged a single question.

Why was Ieyasu hiding his breakthrough ability?

The principle by which Rui's Apprentice breakthroughs worked was something he knew that Ieyasu could do to an even greater extent than even he could. Both of them had discovered that the other also possessed the revolutionary ability to trigger breakthroughs.

A silent agreement had been formed between them to not sell each other out when they were too weak to handle the consequences. After all these years, they had both protected each other's secrets.

Rui's ability had become public knowledge now. Thus, he technically didn't have anything stopping him from revealing Ieyasu's true abilities.

But he had no intention of revealing this to anyone.

Especially since it had become very clear that Ieyasu had not revealed his ability to Prime Minister Edward.

Rui found that to be strange.

It meant that Ieyasu was not fully aligned with the enemy alliance, if at all.

After all, there was also the strange fact that he had spared the Harbinger's life. All this suggested that he had some objectives that were not in line with the East Panamic Treaty Alliance.

"Rui…" His father's eyes grew sharp with suspicion. "You… know this man, don't you?"

Rui tutted with regret. He should have exercised more self-control.

He was surprised that his father didn't know who Ieyasu was, but he also knew that his father had been in a coma around the time. Most likely, Sage Sayfeel's energy had gone into finding the Divine Doctor rather than into keeping tabs on Rui. At most, the Sage had made sure to keep up with general developments.

"What do you know about him? Tell us everything," his father pressed him.

Yet, a mischievous smile cracked at the edge of his mouth. "I think not."

His father exhaled deeply as he closed his eyes. It took herculean self-control to not lash out with his frustration. On the outside, he maintained a calm expression.

"We have received word of a large offensive on the Shionel Confederation, undoubtedly centered around this copycat Martial Artist," his father warned him. "Most likely, they will neutralize any interference with the battle and ensure that he can fight you and then kill you as they surely are hoping him will."

Rui's eyes lit up. "When?"

"A few days, at most." His father heaved a tired sigh. "In a few days, the most important battle of this war will commence, and you not only refuse to sit out of it but also refuse to cooperate."

The darkness in Rui's eyes stirred with excitement. "Do not interfere."

His tone grew chilling. "This battle is mine and mine alone."

And so, the third Great East Panamic War converged into a battle that could decide its fate.