The Martial Unity

The revelation struck him hard. “…The Psycher?” Rui’s expression grew incredulous. “The Psycher asked you to keep baby Amare at the gates of the Gen Temple?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” the Beggar Sage nodded vigorously. “…But why?”

The Beggar Sage shrugged exasperatedly. “Beats me. I just did him a favor in exchange for information. And lo and behold, a whole century later, the lass turns out to have memories of the Martial sealed within her!”

Rui’s eyes narrowed. “…So what happened to her, all of it, was the Psycher’s doing?”

“That would stand to reason, indeed.” The Beggar Sage nodded with a hint of curiosity. “Considering that she underwent a mental hypnotic process of the embedding of the Martial’s memories in a non-sequential and non-experiential manner, sealed within her brain. This does not require my intervention or the intervention of the Divine Doctor. I believe that the Psycher has all the answers you seek.”

Rui fell into deep thought as his eyes narrowed.

The Psycher.

The final of three original immortal sages that discovered the secret to functional reincarnation, sought by the Divine Doctor himself due to his extraordinary knowledge and skill in the domain of psychology and neurology.

Without him, none of the sages would be immortal.

Without him, Martial Art would not exist in the form that it did and would not be as widespread as it was, for the Martial would not have lived long enough to spread Martial Art across the entirety of the continent.

The contributions of the other sages, including Rui, would not have existed without his priceless contributions. His mark on human civilization was extraordinary, which spoke to what kind of an extraordinary man he was. That was who was responsible for what had happened to Amare, from the looks of it. As hostile as it made Rui knowing what he did to Amare, it also made him wary. He couldn’t act carelessly and rashly when the person he was dealing with was a monster of the mind.

“…You once told me that the Martial disappeared.” Rui turned to him with a peering gaze. “Why didn’t you guys create a new Martial, then? From the looks of it, you don’t necessarily need her to be alive to create a vessel of her, right?”

“You are correct.” The Beggar Sage nodded. “However, shortly before the Age of Martial Art began, as she had already spread Martial Art far and wide, she told us to discontinue her soul transference ritual.”

Rui frowned. “…Because she had already completed her mission to spread Martial Art?”

“Maybe.” The man shrugged. “She also said she didn’t want to do it anymore because the soul transference ritual was, quote, a ‘dead-end’ for her Martial Path.”

Chills crawled across Rui’s skin.

“…Dead-end?”

“Indeed,” he thoughtfully replied, recalling a conversation that had happened nearly six hundred years ago. “She said that the soul transference ritual was a dead-end that prevented her from reaching a higher Realm.”

Rui frowned with deep confusion. “…Prevented her from reaching higher Realm? She was just an Apprentice, right? Why would the soul transference ritual prevent her from reaching the Squire Realm and obtaining a Martial Body?”

Rui knew for a fact that that was nonsense because he himself had gotten a Martial Body without any issue. So what had caused the Martial to develop such a deep misunderstanding of a higher Realm?

It didn’t even make intuitive sense.

The Squire Realm was man-made and had nothing to do with memories, so he didn’t understand why she had come to think that a higher Realm was beyond her. The Beggar Sage shrugged.

“She was just wrong.”

That was the obvious conclusion.

There was obviously no way that the Martial Path was hit with a dead-end to those who had undergone the soul transference ritual.

And yet, something felt off about all this.

Rui felt like he was missing something.

An important piece of the puzzle.

One that would explain everything surrounding the mysteries of the Martial and Amare. And yet, his next question was more simple.

“Where is the Psycher?”

His tone was chilling.

His eyes were cold.

“Oh dear, things might get messy if I tell you that,” the Beggar Sage mused with a hint of amusement. “Do you want to know more about Earth or not?”

“He’s in the Esocline Federation,” the Beggar Sage eagerly told Rui. Rui’s expression grew more severe. “…What is he doing there?”

“He’s working on a joint R&D project with the Esoterist, developing a direct connection between mind and machine,” the Beggar Sage explained enthusiastically. “They call it ‘neural interface.’ The Esoterist is confident that this invention will bridge the gap between Realms through MECHAs, you see.”

“Tsk, I have rotten luck,” Rui grumbled. Esocline Federation was last on his list of the Sage-level powerhouses to visit. Not just because it was geographically the furthest away on his clockwise journey around the Panama Continent but also because Esocline Federation was the least pressing visit.

After all, they had the least number of Martial Artists. Thus, the impact that Rui could make was minimal.

“Oh well, I hope he’s still there by the time I reach them in the next few years.” Rui’s eyes narrowed. “Inform me if he moves, got it?”

“Hehehe, as long as you are willing to pay the price in otherworldly memories, I will gladly extend that service to you.” The Beggar Sage grinned greedily. Rui heaved an exhausted sigh. “You immortal sages tire me with your meddlesome interference.”

“Hah, you wouldn’t be who you are without us, spoiled brat!” Rui scoffed. “Enough. Is there anything else you know about Amare?”

“Her favorite color is blue. Her favorite food is soup. Her favorite person is her grandmother. And her three sizes are—”

“I meant anything relevant to her sealed memories, you stalker of a beggar.” Rui glared at him fiercely. “Hehehe, I thought you would want to know that last one,” the beggar grinned slyly at Rui. “But, unfortunately, no. That is the extent of my knowledge. If you want to know more, you will need to confront the Psycher.”

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