The Martial Unity

In the past two months, Amare had lived a different life. Under the guidance of the Shield of Gaia, she lived the Dance of Terra, gaining mastery over earth-bending that she simply didn’t have before. Admittedly, it was quite unlike anything she had ever been through. She had never formally trained in any kind of Martial Art, and everything she had ever mastered had been derivative of a task that she had spent an enormous amount of time completing in her free time. “You, whose Martial Art is a manifestation of Genism, are suited to learn the Dance of Terra,” the Shield of Gaia had told her. “Now, dance.”

And thus, she did.

She danced every day for two months straight, learning the fundamental forms of the Dance of Terra and the maneuvers that came with it. This was not the first time she learned Martial Art by dancing, given that every activity she had ever engaged in contributed to her Martial Art.

She had danced many times in her life, and yet, her experiences with the Dance of Terra were quite different from any of the other times that she had danced.

“The Dance of Terra was created as a gateway to Terran earth-bending,” her student-turned-teacher explained. “It was meant to serve as a way to familiarize our Martial Artists with earth-bending forms before they actually reached a stage where they could master it.”

Earth-bending had a higher barrier of entry than many other fields of Martial Art. This meant that many could not even begin to delve into the matter before they reached the Squire Realm.

Thus, to engrave the forms of Terran-style earth-bending into their muscle memories, they turned Martial Art into an art form. A decision that would forever change the ethos of the nation into one that regarded Martial Art itself as an art form and an expression of self.

“So that was how Terran philosophy came to be…” Amare muttered. “Wow… that’s incredible.”

“Isn’t it?” The Shield of Gaia smiled. “Now then, dance. Dance, Amare. You may very well be able to master the Dance of Terra more than anyone ever has.”

Instinctively, she felt she understood his words.

When it came to kinesthetic learning, she was perhaps the most gifted genius in the history of Martial Art.

Whatever she acted out, she mastered. It was a different kind of talent, very different from the visuospatial and neurosensitive hand-eye coordination talent that Ieyasu was blessed with, but it most certainly was not inferior in any way.

Learning the right forms and ensuring that her movements were accurate took some time, but once that was covered, she digested them and engraved them in her body effortlessly, squeezing every ounce of insights and muscle memory that she possibly could out of them. And thus, what took others many, many years, she mastered in the span of months.

Simply by living each moment and digesting the experience in her Martial Art with a level of retention unheard of in the Martial World.

And what was most important to her was that she had fun.

She had always loved dancing and was thrilled at being able to learn a new dance form at the tutelage of none other than a Martial Transcendent. It only increased her ecstasy and allowed her to master the entirety of the dance even quicker.

Simultaneously, she spent more time talking with the Shield of Gaia, who patiently indulged her.

He would tell her stories of his time with the Martial, giving her his deeper impressions of the person whose memories she had inherited.

“The word talent does not even begin to do justice to what she had,” the old Transcendent mused as he recalled memories of old. “It is not easy to intuitively understand how talented she was, for we live in a world that is saturated with Martial Art. A Martial Apprentice is hardly a unique sight in this era. An entire school of thought, field of research, paradigms of training, and a Martial culture centered around maximizing the breakthrough rate, not to mention mass triggered breakthroughs… It is much easier to break through to the Apprentice Realm in such an era.”

He turned to Amare as his voice magically reached her ears.

“She broke through to the Apprentice Realm in an era where Martial Art didn’t exist. And she did it an age that would be considered prodigious even today,” he remarked. “The record for the youngest Martial Apprentice is constantly broken as our training methodology and growth resources keep growing. It is easier to break through to the Apprentice Realm at the age of twelve today than it was when she was alive. If she had been born in this era…”

He regarded Amare with a friendly smile. “She would have broken through to the Apprentice Realm before she could take her first step.”

Amare’s eyes widened with shock. “Wha—”

RUMBLE!!!

She froze as the world above her began shaking violently.

The entirety of the Nest of Terra.

A knowing smile emerged on the Martial Transcendent as the entirety of the tectonic plate that rested above his head rattled violently. “What’s happening…?” she murmured faintly with concern as she studied the tremendous landmass that rested atop the Transcendent.

An aged smile appeared on the elder man’s face.

“He has grown stronger.”

Amare frowned.

“To think he would find the scriptures with the sheer force of his thought. How fascinating.” The Martial Transcendent chuckled with a hint of amusement. “He has yet to disappoint.”

He fell into thought. “Perhaps they were correct. Perhaps he will be the one to salvage this world upon the advent of the Unravelling.”

His tone was ominous.

Amare tilted her head with confusion.

“You might want to take a look yourself, my dear,” the Martial Transcendent remarked. “I suspect you might seek to intervene. Now, extend your awareness through the fabric of the land, as you have learned to.”

She frowned, placing her hand on the enormous landmass that extended across an enormous distance in all directions.

Her eyes widened with shock at what she sensed a moment later.

“Rui!”

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