The Martial Unity

Rui gained a deeper understanding of the mechanism of the Gu and the engineering of the death and chaos that went on. An incentive structure.

A special environment to create and reinforce a psychological barrier.

And a high mortality rate.

These were the only three ‘institutions’ of the Gu.

And they were enough.

The deeper they went, the greater the violence.

Beyond the outer ring of Gu rituals for newcomers were even more Gu rituals comprised of survivors. These were people who had survived the first round of Gu rituals and were more physically able and powerful. Those that emerged from them were even stronger and would face off against their peers who had also survived two rounds of the gu rituals.

Rui had wanted to shoot to the very epicenter of the Gu in one go, but alas, Amare was starting to reach her stamina limits.

In the first place, they had not run into a single existing human polity which meant that they hadn’t gotten to a single safe place to rest. Amare had been traveling continuously for an extended period of time, relying occasionally on the portable cloud rest unit that Rui had gotten along with him. On top of that, she frequently winced as painful pangs of memories unfolded from deep within her.

“What do you remember?”

She laid on the most humble of cots within the housing offered by a gu ritual that they had cleared, even if painfully.

She grimaced with pain as she held her head. “I… I remember this darkness.”

Rui narrowed his eyes.

As far as he was aware, the Gu, as it existed now, didn’t exist when the Progenitor traveled the continent. Then how did Amare have memories of this darkness?

“I remember a person…” the faintest of whispers escaped her. “…A boy.”

She winced.

“It’s… painful.”

Rui fell into thought as he pondered about the significance of this memory.

“I have a feeling you will remember more at the very epicenter of the Gu.”

Her expression grew strained. “I… I don’t know if I want to.”

“It’s unlikely, but the Demon of the Gu is the only way we can harness the Martial Artists of the Gu to fight in the Beast Domain,” Rui’s eyes narrowed and fell into thought. “However…”

If the Demon of Asmodeous was responsible for the Gu’s current state, then Rui could totally understand why the peak Sage was perfectly willing to let the quasi-Transcendent beasts and monsters run amuck amid human civilization.

Rui wasn’t sure what he could do to appeal to this madman.

However, he had to do his best for the Solution of Harmony to work perfectly nonetheless. Not to mention that the Gu would be a powerful ally in the war against the Beasts Domain.

“Not to mention…” his expression grew severe.

He had personal reasons for seeking out the Demon of Asmodeous.

The man’s atrocities had been so horrific that he singlehandedly caused the stigmas and superstitions of black hair and black eyes to spread around the entire world.

“We don’t have to participate in the gu rituals,” Rui reminded her. “The Gu rituals are not bound by actual barriers, but rather the psychological fear that the opaque darkness embeds in them. But we are not subject to them. Once you have recuperated…”

His eyes flared with determination. “We will simply head straight for the epicenter of the Gu in one rush.”

Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy.

Rui had not forgotten the sheer number of Martial Artists that he saw across the horizon when they first set foot deeper into the Gu.

There were countless Martial Artists they would have to wade through in order to get to the epicenter..

There was a reason that people didn’t just simply head deeper for better resources. The battles grew exponentially dangerous, and there was no such thing as civilian safety.

“We will face an especially high amount of pressure when we enter the Master-level and Sage-level rings.”

Not even Martial Artists of the Upper Realms were free from the gu ritual.

Rui did not understand why such powerful Martial Artists didn’t just leave the Gu?

The tricks of a psychological barrier by relying on the fear of darkness could not possibly work on Martial Artists of such caliber.

And yet, even Martial Masters and Sage continued to partake in this deadly ritual.

It bred a level of power that other Martial Artists outside the Gu couldn’t even imagine. The Gu was even regarded as one of the most hardcore avenues to pursue power where only the bravest of the brave could possibly go. And yet, despite that, Rui was resolved to make it to the very end. If power of Martial Artists grew as they got deeper and deeper, then the strongest of Martial Artist of the Gu would be at the very epicenter.

And thus, the two of them recuperated and recovered all their stamina quickly, consuming their nutrious food pills and some potions. Amare was still not in the best position due to the unexpected anomaly of her memory recovery becoming painful, but she was still an extremely powerful combat asset, so Rui didn’t need to worry about her. In fact, there was a good chance that simply being in the Gu would allow her to grow stronger.

“I know you have many compunctions with the Gu,” Rui began as he stretched. “But you do not have the power to stop these horrors by yourself. If you want all of this to stop, then…”

He turned towards her with determined eyes. “Then you need to help me reach the epicenter without dying.”

It was an extraordinarily difficult task. And yet, she was willing.

An uncharacteristically steely expression appeared on her face as she nodded.

“As long as we can end this nightmare and help these people, I will do whatever it takes to survive until we get to the epicenter.”

“Good,” Rui turned back as he heaved a deep breath. “Then, let’s go.”

And thus, they charged into the depths of the Gu, rushing toward the epicenter amid madness, chaos, and death.

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