The Martial Unity

And thus, Rui had formulated his broad strategic approach.

“Disarm him with honesty and transparency and then win his acknowledgment with sincerity.”

He didn’t think anything else was necessary.

He also didn’t think anything else would work.

Admittedly, he felt his nerves tingling at the prospect of meeting a Martial Transcendent. Ever since he entered the Master Realm, he had reached a stage where the maximum difference between him and another Martial Artist was one Realm. The vaunted Sages, who were at the peak of the Martial World for practical reasons, were now only a single Realm above him. He had even fought two Martial Sages and made it out alive.

His regard for them was still high, but their presence no longer moved him as it once did.

The same could not be said for Transcendents.

They were still nothing short of living gods in his eyes. This was especially true when he thought about what he knew of what they had accomplished one of the very few times they had exercised their power.

Effortlessly dispelling a singularity.

Balancing a tectonic plate on one’s head.

These were shocking feats that were performed without even the full exertion of their power, and they were nothing short of extraordinary and transcended mortal limitations.

Rui felt a pressure unlike anything he had in a long, long time. It was the pressure that came from the instinctive evolutionary fear brought about by a being who was astronomically stronger. The last time he felt something like this was when he was in the Senior Realm and interacted with a Martial Sage for the first time.

It was when he spoke with the Sloth Sage for the first time during the Kandrian Throne War.

BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT!

His comms device began ringing, drawing his attention.

His eyes lit up at the identity of the person calling him. “It’s been a while…” Rui remarked at the projection that lit up once he accepted the call, “…father.”

“Indeed, it has.” Emperor Rael smiled friendlily. “I have been following your exploits across human civilization closely. You have accomplished wonders in the span of two and a half years. Not only have you managed to bring our enemies, willing and unwilling, together into the Solution of Harmony with clever solutions, but you have also resolved other distant nations’ issues and got them into the fold. An almost perfect track record. You would have made a good Emperor had you chosen to accept the throne.”

Rui huffed lightly, shaking his head. “I just did what I could.”

“…And that’s more than good enough,” Emperor Rael replied. “More than what all of us deserve from you after everything you have done for these nations after everything they have done for you.”

Rui stirred at his words.

Admittedly, there was truth to those words. He was giving them treasures for a very low cost, yet these fellows still gave him so much trouble in each nation he visited.

“I called because I came to learn about your progress in the Virodhabhasa Theocracy…” Emperor Rael remarked. “Great job on securing almost all the Sages. As for the final and most important Sage…”

Rui heaved a sigh. “I could ignore imperfect results in the Republic of Gorteau because I knew that the Kandrian Empire was strong enough to make up for the difference. I was certain that we would get another peak Sage in the real world in the next five years because of the manifold and our other treasures.”

The Emperor of Harmony nodded knowingly. “You were correct. However, with the Virodhabhasa Theocracy, imperfect results will compromise the Solution of Harmony. I wish I could help you in regard to the Transcendent Prophet, but unfortunately, dealing with Transcendents has been my largest failure. They are entirely impervious and immune to any of the diplomatic and political strategies that I tried. So…”

“I know; I don’t intend to attempt to politick with the Martial Transcendent when I meet him today,” Rui heaved a sigh. “…You have done well, my son,” Emperor Rael’s tone grew gentler. “It is a difficult task to unite humanity. I speak from experience. While you have been going at it with the hard approach, I have been bolstering your gains with a softer approach. I think that together, we will succeed in bringing over most of human civilization. I think the biggest uncertain factors are the Gu and the Blood Cult. But for now, your biggest problem is the Transcendent Prophet.”

Rui nodded as his eyes narrowed with determination. “I don’t intend to fail.” His father smiled at his words. “I don’t think you will. You have an advantage, after all. You are a descendent of the Transcendent Prophet, after all.”

Rui jerked his head back with a startled expression as he did a double take.

“Oh yeah.”

He didn’t know why this simple and obvious fact had eluded him. His mother was a member of the Silas Clan, which was formed by Sage Silas, the son of the Transcendent Prophet. In other words, Rui was his great-great-great….-great-grandson.

“Maybe I should call him grandpa to be more friendly with him?”

Emperor Rael’s expression grew amused. “I wouldn’t recommend that, to say the least. He has never offered the Silas Clan a place for protection despite them being his own flesh and blood. I don’t think he will have any deep attachment to you just because you are his kin. In fact, it will likely not yield the results you seek.”

Rui stirred at his words, nodding thoughtfully. “Shame, I almost thought I had a good trump card.”

“I spoke to your grandmother about trying to foresee what the outcome of your visit to the Virodhabhasa Theocracy will be, and she said that she was unable to divine a thing. Most certainly due to your visit with a Martial Transcendent who is well beyond her capability to see the future. I’m afraid you are truly on your own this time.”

“Yeah, well…” Rui’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t intend to fail regardless.”

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