The Martial Unity

Chapter 3683: The Source of Transcendence

The revelation weighed on him heavily.

Phenomena of information on a higher plane of existence that was beyond even his fathoming.

If this were truly the case, then it would explain much. It explained why consciousness was preserved in the Body Evolution Process, and it explained what the Martial Path, and perhaps all paths, were.

It had taken countless insights to build on top of each other, one after another, for him to finally develop the understanding of Martial Paths that he did develop. And while his understanding was still limited, it didn’t change the fact that a phenomenon that was previously drowned in mystery was now something he could parse and define.

”...These revelations have a great impact on the implications of the fundamental nature of reality.”

The information dimension was not an unheard one, of course, in either Gaia or Earth. Many philosophers had speculated that information was an abstract immaterial entity that existed in its own place.

There were even some that suggested that information was the fifth fundamental force of nature, along with a myriad of other fantastical cosmological and ontological architectures where information played a grand role.

Rui had never taken any of them seriously in the past; he was not a man to ponder about the wonders of the universe or inquire into the nature of reality itself. His interests had always been more grounded in things like martial arts and combat sports.

But now, even if he didn’t have absolute proof, he had pieces of evidence that seemed to inescapably point to the existence of a layer of reality where only information existed. A layer where even consciousness existed.

”...A whole other dimension of reality that is untapped.” Rui’s eyes widened. ”What if the Transcendent Realm has something to do with this information dimension?”

The possibility was truly shocking, but it was one that Rui found himself resonating with. Rui had always wondered how it was possible that Martial Transcendents could violate the laws of Physics. How could they violate the laws of causality itself?

The Martial Path was a path of potential for efficient violence. Martial Artists harnessed their bodies, minds, and souls to execute techniques based on principles that adhered to the laws of reality to produce desired outcomes in combat.

How in the world could such a thing violate those very laws of reality that it relied upon? It didn’t make any sense.

”...It doesn’t make sense unless there is some extra-causal means by which they can overcome the shackles of reality,” Rui realized. ”Information... the information dimension might be just that. It might be the secret to the Transcendent Realm.”

For instance, if there was a law of reality that mandated that information must always reflect the material reality it corresponds to, then changing that information could lead to an acausal change in material reality to reflect that law of reality.

”It would violate the law of causality, but that would only mean that this law of information is a higher law of reality,” Rui speculated. ”That could serve as a means to violate the laws of reality; to impose one’s information on the information dimension!”

Still, how could one possibly impose one’s information on something as ephemeral and unfathomable as the information dimension?

”...I’m not entirely sure, but... it must have something to do with the relationship between the mind and the universe,” Rui realized. ”It might be that only someone who has fully harnessed all potential within their mind in the form of the Martial Mind and Soul for Martial Artists, can possibly impose information on the information dimension.”

Rui thought back to Damian when he broke through to the Transcendent Realm. His Martial Embodiment went from illusory information to actual and real material phenomena of Destruction.

Rui’s eyes lit up as he realized that that phenomenon could reflect the imposition of information of the Martial Embodiment upon the information dimension. ”If so, then that would explain it!”

For the first time since becoming a Martial Sage, he began to gain greater clarity of what the higher Realm probably was. None of the information he had before had ever even hinted at how Martial Transcendents were able to perform the extraordinary feats that they had performed in the past.

With this, however, he had gained at least a surface-level understanding of the mechanism by which Martial Transcendents could bypass the laws of reality and even the law of causality itself.

”Expanding your understanding of your Martial Path must be necessary in some way...” Rui muttered. ”It must be necessary to impose information on the information dimension. Still...”

The exact mechanism by which information was imposed was still beyond him. If there truly was an information dimension that existed, then it would surely be immaterial and abstract, a metaphysical dimension that was categorically separate from the material realm.

It should have been impossible for the material realm to intervene in the information realm. It should have been impossible for anything to reverse the impact on material reality through the information dimension.

What principle of reality allowed consciousness to impact the information describing the universe?

He didn’t know.

”...There is also some counter-evidence,” Rui muttered inwardly. ”The Materealtor is one, for instance.”

He recalled the only words the Martial Transcendent had spoken to him in the epicenter of the Beast Domain during and after the battle with the eldritch chimera.

He had insisted that everything was reducible to material reality. It was made clear that his worldview did not permit the existence of some kind of information dimension. Rui did not think that a Martial Transcendent could be wrong about that and still be a Martial Transcendent, but who knew?

He also knew that there were Martial Transcendents who had worldviews that contradicted each other. The Martial Primordial and the Astral Sovereign, for instance, possessed worldviews that clearly contradicted a materialist worldview.

”Maybe it isn’t about truth at all. Maybe it’s about perspective.”

After all, the Reverend of Reckoning mastered the concept of order; would that mean he could not become a Martial Transcendent because of the Conqueror of Chaos, who insisted that everything was rooted in chaos?