The Martial Unity

Although this wasn’t the first time that the news of Rui having fought with a Martial Sage had spread through the world like wildfire, it was certainly the first time that so many Martial Sages of different Sage-level powerhouses swore by it.

That was what set it apart from the Sekigahara and especially the Terra incident. Those incidents had more wiggle room in so far as the people who heard of them. There was room to believe that the Sages were holding back, or at the very least, trying not to kill him. It served as cope for the Martial World to slightly rationalize these events as extraordinarily impressive, but slightly exaggerated.

This time, such a thing was impossible.

The reports highlight and emphasize how the Martial Sage was trying to kill Rui from the very first attack. The testimony came from multiple peak Sages from different polities, the highest authorities on Martial Art after the Martial Transcendents. It sent waves across human civilization as nations began wondering whether the Dawnbringer belonged in human civilization or in the Beast Domain with the other Sages.

“That’s absurd! he’s just a Martial Master; he has no business being anywhere near the quasi-transcendent beasts and monsters!”

“You should judge people by their results, not by their rank. In the past, the overlap between those two was absolute, but the Dawnbringer has since shattered that when he battled a Martial Sage to a draw.”

“Even if he is that strong, it doesn’t mean that he can achieve that level of power without any drawbacks. It’s possible that he’s using forbidden techniques to bridge the gap between Realms.”

“Forbidden techniques are techniques that are too dangerous to the user due to permanent damage or high probability of death. He has fought a Martial Sage three times now!”

“He might just have gotten lucky to avoid any permanent damage!”

The Martial World grew divisive over the matter as the issue of Master Rui’s power level was something that could no longer be swept under the bed. With a detailed account of the battle from none other than peak Sages, each and every one of them has extremely precise descriptions as to how Rui kept up with a Martial Sage and knocked out a Martial Sage with one attack.

It was beyond shocking, almost fictional.

And yet, it was the truth.

With such absolutely irrefutable proof before their eyes, the Martial World had no choice but to face reality with a grim expression. “Just where… do we rank the Dawnbringer?”

They could no longer pretend he was still within the bounds of grade thirty.

He had far crossed that limit.

“Then, does that mean the time for the Master-level grade upgrade has occurred?”

The headquarters of the Administrative Executive of the Panamic Martial Federation grew silent.

This was a branch of the massive organization that took upon itself the duty of implementing the legislation passed by the Martial Sages of human civilization. They handled more mundane matters, such as registering Martial Artists and handling Martial Artists who violated the rules and regulations passed by the legislature.

And also, setting the international Martial grading system.

They decided what the limits were. Normally, for the Upper Realms, this was done by having Martial Artists fight each other and grading based on percentiles and track records. Grade thirty was reserved for the very strongest of the strongest.

“…Don’t be ridiculous!” one official bellowed. “If we redefine the grades to match the Dawnbringer as grade thirty, then all other Martial Artists will be reduced to less than grade one!”

“But according to the protocol that we have set, we cannot simply ignore his current power! The protocol is clear! He had moved far beyond the bounds of the Master Realm, and our grading needs to reflect that!”

A wave of irritation flooded the other side. “That protocol was meant to ensure that the grades kept up with the progress of Martial Art as a whole! It was not meant to glorify the accomplishments of one individual. The Dawnbringer’s power is a result of his own individual extraordinariness! Not because Martial Art as a whole has progressed to the point where all peak Masters can fight Sages!”

“The Dawnbringer’s prowess is due to his individual circumstances, yes, but it contributes to the growth of Martial Artists across the entire world. Martial Artists in nations that he has visited have grown many times more effective against beasts and monsters! On top of that, he has caused a flood of Seniors to enter the Master Realm. This has increased the competition, which will naturally cause the growth of Masters to be higher! Thus, we should readjust Master-level grades!”

“That is an absurd suggestion!” the other official roared. “You will reduce the other Martial Master to decimal points if you make the Dawnbringer grade thirty! You will have to start grading other Martial Masters with grade 0.1 or grade 0.2!”

“Nonsense! We will just be acknowledging reality!”

“You are stupid!”

“No, you!”

The heated discussions across the entire Martial World on how to quantify the Dawnbringer’s Martial prowess continued as they struggled to see eye to eye. It wasn’t until a rather simple suggestion was made by one of the junior officials that the matter was finally put to rest.

“…Why don’t we just grade him as grade sixty?”

The entire office froze at that suggestion.

“It is believed that the gap between the strongest and weakest of Masters should be similar to the gap between the strongest of Masters and weakest of Sages; in that case, we can just give him an honorary grade sixty just for him for having fought a Martial Sage to a draw.”

“…That is indeed the most sensible suggestion.”

“…An elegant solution that gives him the respect he is due.”

“…And is the least disruptive too.”

And thus, the solution was approved rapidly as the Dawnbringer was granted a special grade of grade-sixty officially to acknowledge his extraordinary Martial Power, and order was returned to the grading system of Martial Artists.

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