The Martial Unity

Thus, the three of them moved across the Heaven Sect, heading straight towards the citadel at the very center of the nation. If he was barricaded, Rui had already decided to break through with force.

He didn’t have time to deal with any more nonsense.

Ordinarily, he would have appreciated the sect and its structure. He would have appreciated the extensive investment in Martial Art and a level of heaven-bending that far surpassed what he himself possessed.

He would have appreciated how smooth their Martial Artists’ skywalking was, achieving the nimbleness of a cat while stepping on air. He would have appreciated it a lot if he wasn’t in an irritated mood, although he didn’t let it appear on his face.

STEP

They arrived before the enormous citadel.

It was a massive structure, about as large as a small mountain, spanning a city in its area. From what he knew of the structure, it functioned as the central governing body of the Heaven Sect.

There were two Martial Masters in front, guarding the gates. Their heads remained raised while their gazes inclined down on him as he approached the massive gates.

They waited, clearly expecting a request to open the gate, which they were ordered to oblige.

But Rui had no intention of offering them a modicum of respect.

BANG!!!

A thundering and blindingly fast blow blasted the gate open before the two Masters could even react.

“You bastard!” “How dare you?”

They took one step towards him with the intention of apprehending him. That was a mistake.

POW POW!

All it took was two blows to the jaws.

THUD

The two Masters fell unconscious on the ground as the blunt force trauma crossed a critical threshold, simply knocking them out then and there. At least they had the sense not to activate their Martial Minds in such a place where it would harm normal folks. But they simply stood no chance whatsoever against him, especially with his newfound physical power from the blood evolution treatment.

“Hey! You there! Assaulting the guards is illegal in the Blood Sect!”

His actions naturally did not go unnoticed as several more Martial Masters surged towards him, seeking to apprehend him. They, too, never stood a chance.

WHOOSH

Rui breezed past them so quickly that he was already beyond them even before their unconscious bodies struck the ground.

“This bastard!”

“Just who do you think you are?!”

“Do you know where the hell you are?!”

Rui almost laughed at how stereotypical their words to him were. He didn’t encounter this kind of arrogance on the regular, so in a sense, it was kind of refreshing. And yet, he dropped them nonetheless.

Just like that, he took down eight Martial Masters.

None of them had activated their Martial Hearts yet, for it would be an escalation of force on civilian property. Many of the officers and other employees had already fled at the sight of a fight breaking out, as shocked as they were.

It took a madman to start a fight in this highly guarded location.

BADUMP!

A smile emerged on Rui’s face as the next set of Masters activated their Martial Hearts, at least. His Martial Heart blazed to life, shining brighter than it ever had before as his evolved blood roared with power, spreading across his entire body in shining red streaks.

Neo Godspeed, Phantom Step, and Lightning Breathing was all it took.

WHOOSH

He turned into a blinding blur, stepping into their blindspots with the help of a preliminary predictive model created with the Angel of Laplace.

POW POW POW POW POW POW!

He flashed past the six Martial Masters as they joined their unconscious peers in kissing the ground.

Rui’s unstoppable ascent only halted when a heavy presence bore down on the world as heaven and earth warped under the weight of their presence.

“Enough.”

A Martial Sage descended before Rui with a displeased expression.

The man had a greatsword resting in a scabbard on his back, attached to the loose Martial attire woven from golden, white, and silver silk that draped around his body lightly. His long, flowing blue hair was uncommon, giving his presence an eye-drawing luster to it. He simply looked down on Rui with quiet condescension, shifting his gaze to the ten Martial Masters that Rui had effortlessly knocked out and the gate that he has blasted open.

“You have committed numerous crimes,” the Sage began with a displeased tone. “With the authority vested in me as the standing Sage guarding the citadel, I hereby exercise my right to inflict immediate punishment and hereby sentence you to…”

His eyes flared with bloodlust. “…Execution.”

Chills crawled across the Blood Goddess’ skin as she gritted her teeth at the grave severity of the situation while Amare looked worried and exasperated.

And yet, Rui was unfazed. A chilling smile emerged on his face.

“Execute me if you’re strong enough.”

His tone reflected his absolute confidence.

He took his stance.

“Execute me if you can survive the consequences.”

His smile grew mischievous.

The consequences for the Heaven Sect would be devastating. What had happened to the Nest of Terra had already become common knowledge in the political sphere, as well as the message that the Emperor of Harmony sent to all his fellow powerhouse leaders.

Laying a hand on his son would have consequences, even if the outcome didn’t go for the worst.

The Martial Sage was clearly aware of this.

He gritted his teeth as he saw Rui openly accept the challenge without even the slightest hesitation. He had expected that the Dawnbringer would grovel and beg for his life, and then they could use that as leverage to squeeze his priceless gifts out of him free of cost without needing to make any commitments on their side.

Unfortunately, the Dawnbringer appeared to feigning confidence from the perspective of the Martial Sage due to the awareness of his political protection.

The Martial Sage’s rationality and arrogance collided with each other as he struggled to decide whether he ought to execute Rui then and there. –