The Martial Unity

Chapter 2583: Inquisitive inquiry

He could tell by the fact that she used the word ʼsummonʼ instead of ʼinviteʼ that the clan leaders were truly pissed at him for his extreme disruptions to the nation of Sekigahara. And frankly, he couldnʼt blame them. He didnʼt look forward to having to deal with their wrath.

”I just woke up...” Rui heaved a sigh.

”The clan leaders insist, Your Highness,” she calmly informed him. ”We will help you prepare for the official meeting.”

A team of maids entered the room at her words, fully equipped to groom him until he was worthy of facing the leaders of the nation.

”How long has it been since I fell asleep?” Rui asked.

”Thirty-six days, Your Highness.”

”Wait, what?” Rui did a double-take at her words.

The consequences of the Gigabrain technique were even more severe than that of the Megamind technique. His brain had required even more rest to recuperate from the strain and expenditure of energy that it had gone through from using not just his Martial Mind but also a technique that magnified his already extraordinary mind to titanic proportions.

He winced at the thought of having to sleep for more than a month each time he used Gigabrain. That, along with the fact that it appeared to be uncontrollable, made it really uncompelling to use unless he had to.

Soon enough, he was entirely ready to deliberate with the clan leaders who were undoubtedly waiting for him quite urgently.

This time, however, he was not accompanied by merely some assistants.

”Sage Himari...” Rui murmured with a hint of shock.

”Prince Rui.” She gazed at him with deep eyes. ”I will be guarding you for the remainder of your time in the Sekigahara Confederate.”

”Guarding me...?” He raised an eyebrow. ”Or you mean guarding everybody from me?”

”Would you blame us?” She didnʼt even bother denying it. ”You have the power to genocide our entire nation and even the surrounding nations in the blink of an eye. It was pure good fortune that you were in a highly isolated chamber that reduced the brunt of your empowered Martial Embodiment, ensuring it didnʼt render our citizens brain dead.”

Rui winced at her words.

Unfortunately, she was right.

Under normal circumstances, his Martial Embodiment was extraordinarily lethal.

The only reason that it hadnʼt turned almost every sentient soul within ten thousand kilometers into a vegetable was because the information intensity had been drastically reduced by the extremely high-grade premium sensory isolation of the premium chamber that he borrowed for his training.

Otherwise, he would have had the blood of more than a billion people on his hands.

”You have my apologies, Sage Himari,” Rui straightforwardly apologized.

”Your words will not be enough, Dawnbringer.” Her eyes sharpened. ”One does not assault a nationʼs citizens and simply get let off the hook scot-free.”

Unfortunately, she was right.

The air between them was a little awkward, considering that their first meeting had been a real fight, one where she had tried to kill him and one where he, as a Master, had not only managed to resist, but had managed to gain the upper hand.

He knew for a fact that she was undoubtedly deeply displeased by this outcome. Having broken through to the Sage Realm and risen a whole Realm above Masters, only to be shamefully overcome by one.

”How did you obtain the power of materia prima?”

Her piercing eyes peered deep into his.

Her tone was stern.

He stared at her with a puzzled expression. ”I have no idea what youʼre talking about.”

”Donʼt play the fool.” She glared at him. ”Your heat domain was undoubtedly empowered with the power of materia prima, even if it was only a little bit of it.”

Ruiʼs eyes lit up. ”You mean... nuclear power?”

With the astronomical senses he had with the Gigabrain, he had gained insights into the mechanism that made the Sun so powerful and destructive. It crossed the threshold of temperature where he could convert mass into energy, triggering off a conflagration in the atmosphere that expanded like a growing sun.

”I donʼt know what those bizarre words mean.” She frowned at the words that he had uttered in English. ”Materia prima is the ocean of power within all materia in the universe. A celestial power that exists at the root of all matter. It is the infinitesimal building block that lurks within everything. A divine energy that can only be harnessed by Martial Sages. And you...”

Her gaze grew even more intense. ”You have somehow managed to tap into it without your Martial Soul.”

”Yeah, well, I canʼt control it.” Rui heaved a sigh. ”Honestly, if not for the fact that you were the perfect opponent, I would not have used it. Last time I used it before our fight, I almost died.”

He couldnʼt help but wonder if there was a way to control the Sun without letting it kill him when the time came. If he could find a way to control it, he would be able to utilize it without hoping that his opponent had some technique that he could use to counterbalance the Sun and protect him from being vaporized where he stood.

”You truly are an anomaly, the likes of which this world has never seen before.”

Ruiʼs attention returned to the Sage who sat before him in the carriage that took them to the Clan Convergence.

”Only time will tell how far you will truly go,” she remarked. ”It wonʼt be easy for you to discover your Martial Soul.”

Rui furrowed his eyebrows.

Had she somehow managed to detect the identity crisis that he had to grapple with?

”Why do you say that?” He frowned.

”Because you are still extremely young by the standards of Martial Masters,” she explained. ”You donʼt have experience. Which is one of the tools that allows us to eventually understand ourselves. Do you have a way to compensate for that, Dawnbringer?”

Rui fell into thought as he pondered her question.