The Martial Unity

The Gatekeeper was thought to be a simple man.

A man who simply cultivated his Body without a care for the world.

A man who had once been the hero of Kandria but had faded into irrelevance upon the advent of the Reign of the Master Realm.

A man who sacrificed thought at the altar of physicality.

A man who forsook mind at the altar of Body.

A man who could never break through to the Master Realm.

They were wrong.

They were all wrong.

While it was true that the Gatekeeper did not think in battle, relying on his muscle memory and instinct instead, it was not true that he did not engage in the pursuit of thought.

The reason he had gained the reputation of being thoughtless even amongst those who knew him the best was because when he did think deeply, it was when he was in complete solitude.

The truth was that when it came to cultivating his Body and pursuing Physical Evolution, he thought more than almost any other Martial Artist.

He would often spend hours, days, and sometimes even weeks and months immersed in thought in isolation.

What was the most efficient training path for him?

What was the most effective training methodology for him?

What was the most effective avenue of training for him?

What was the best way to pursue his Martial Path of Physicality Evolution?

These were questions that he dedicated his everything to answer.

He was not unwilling to harness the power of thought as everybody thought he was.

He was unwilling only to pursue thought for the sake of thought or for the sake of combat, or power.

However, what if he pursued thought for the sake of physicality?

What if he pursued mind for the sake of Body?

He was not unwilling to do that.

His ultimate goal, ambition, and purpose in life was Physical Evolution.

In order to fulfill it, he was willing to do whatever he needed to do.

Including harness thought.

Including creating a system of thought.

However, it wasn’t so easy.

In order to create a system of thought to further Physicality Evolution, it would undoubtedly be a training system of thought. It would require him to master his understanding of the Martial Body, his Martial Body, in order to create a system of thought that would allow him to accelerate Physical Evolution.

It meant that he needed to gain an understanding of the human body on an extremely deep level.

He needed to understand the Martial Body at the smallest unit that constituted it.

And that was where he was stuck.

The understanding of the human body had not reached a level for him to create a powerful system of thought that could elevate his pursuit of Physical Evolution. Understanding of the human body below the tissue level was highly limited and nobody understood how cells functioned beyond incomplete hypotheses

After all, even the Martial Union was shocked by Rui’s autophagy presentation.

Until the Martial Union gained a thorough understanding of the Martial Body at a subcellular level, Sir Armstrong would be resigned to relying on his instincts and experience, which were far more reliable that half-baked understanding of the human body.

That was until he met a man who possessed what he needed.

“Oh? You wish to learn about the human body from me to create a system of thought to help your Body evolve faster and stronger?” Clinical curiosity lit up in the cold eyes of the Divine Doctor. “I must say, this is a first for me. I have never had a Martial Artist seek knowledge from me. But…”

He gazed at Sir Armstrong with a frozen smile. “Why should I help you? Just because you asked me? Do you have any idea how many people have begged me to impart even a sliver of my knowledge? I refused all of them, so tell me…”

His cold smile widened. “Why shouldn’t I reject you where you stand? Don’t even think of trying to threaten me. Only a Martial Transcendent possesses the power to overcome my immortality.”

Sir Armstrong narrowed his eyes.

He understood that he was being given a chance.

A first and last chance to make a case for gaining his aid.

“…I am not making a request,” he began with a solemn voice. “I am offering you a trade. I heard you like experimenting on specimens that pique your curiosity.”

BADUMP!!

The Divine Doctor’s eyes lit up with even greater interest as the supernova that was the Gatekeeper’s Martial Heart erupted in all its physical glory, demonstrating the astronomical power that he had cultivated over the span of half a millennium.

“My Martial Body is the greatest that humanity has ever produced, that I’m certain of. While there are others who also have dedicated themselves to their Bodies, most of them have compromised for technique, Mind, and other things. And even those who haven’t have not cultivated their physicality for as long as I have.” Sir Armstrong’s voice left no room for doubt. “If you heed my request, I do not mind serving as your test subject.”

“…Fascinating.” The Divine Doctor’s clinical curiosity grew even deeper.

That had happened ten years ago.

Seven of which happened in the manifold.

The Gatekeeper learned everything that the Divine Doctor deemed necessary or relevant for him to know in order for him to accomplish the goal he espoused to the latter.

He employed the principles of data science that were present in the voidlet techniques that Rui had developed in the creation of a training system of thought dedicated to Physical Evolution.

Even he was shocked at how absurdly powerful and effective his new system of thought was in its earliest iterations.

The quality of his training skyrocketed.

Within a year of his training of the completed system of thought in the seventh year in the manifold, his Body became twice as strong as before.

The Bodily Objective Development Yield System, or BODY System was highly effective.

The fact that the acronym was significant and relevant was, of course, just a coincidence.

Regardless, it was his nascent and now active Martial Mind.

There was just one issue.

“My Martial Mind is exclusively dedicated to training,” the Gatekeeper told Rui with a calm voice. “It cannot aid me in combat. I do not possess the power of a Martial Master despite having broken through to the Master Realm for now. However, I can help you buy time.”

The Gatekeeper returned to the offensive upon those words.

BOOOM!!!

The tables had yet to turn.