The Martial Unity

Rui watched with a stunned expression as the bloodied survivors trudged past the blood, gore, and corpses that they left behind, heading deeper and deeper into the Gu once the air cleared.

There had never been a physical barrier stopping them from going deeper in the first place. After all, Rui and Amare did not run into any physical impediment stopping them. And yet, it became clear that the psychological barriers had become so deeply imprinted in them that they simply adhered to it.

And yet, that was not what drew Rui’s attention.

“Rui…?” Amare gazed at him with concern.

He was frozen.

His expression was stunned.

His eyes widened as a profound realization dawned on him.

“…The Gu does not need my breakthroughs,” a whisper escaped him.

Twenty Seniors out of a hundred Squires.

Out of the group that he had just borne witness to, Rui doubted that he could have broken through many more. At most, he sensed two or three that had died before they broke through.

“In exchange for an absurdly high mortality rate, they have gained an exceptionally high breakthrough rate,” Rui realized. “The impact and utility of my artificial triggered breakthroughs on this nation will be extremely limited.”

The air grew heavy under the weight of this revelation.

One of the reasons he had managed to ultimately convince even the most stubborn of nations up until this point to join the Solution of Harmony was because they were genuinely desperate for his breakthroughs. It was a priceless asset that had tremendously tipped the scale in his favor.

And now, the chilling realization that this priceless asset was useless in the Gu struck him hard.

“This mission has grown ten times harder,” he realized as his expression crumpled with grave severity. “I don’t know if I will be able to convince the Demon of Asmodeous to join the Solution of Harmony.”

He clenched his fists.

His ability was still valuable in that they would be able to grant all these breakthroughs without an astronomically high death toll, but alas. If the Demon of Asmodeous cared about such a thing, he wouldn’t have had this system in the first place.

The air tingled with a profound sense of tension as Rui understood the sheer gravity of the situation that he was in.

“Amare…” he turned towards her with solemn eyes. “You should probably leave this place without me.”

Her eyes widened as her expression grew hurt. “…Why?”

“…I overestimated my chances of success,” his face grew taut with tension as he gritted his teeth. “The dangers and risks of this mission have grown tremendously. I… I can’t guarantee your safety anymore.”

He gazed at her with care.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

His words hung in the air.

They were laced with soft affection.

Her safety was a higher priority to him than even his own.

And yet, her eyes lit up with a glint of defiance. “No.”

Her tone was firm and unyielding.

“I will come with you,” she gazed at him with clear amber eyes that somehow managed to sparkle even in the darkness of the Gu. “I will not abandon you. I won’t retreat. Not unless you come with me.”

“Amare…”

“No means no.” She huffed with an almost childish tone.

And yet, it brought a bittersweet smile to his face.

“Thank you.”

She tilted his head. “For refusing you?”

Rui’s smile grew sweeter.

“Yes.”

He turned forward as his eyes renewed with a stronger determination.

“Let’s go,” he took her hand. “Let’s go together.”

Her smile brightened even the black rot of the Gu. “Yes…!”

WHOOSH

The air shook as they launched into a dash with renewed vigor.

And thus, the two of them surged deeper and deeper into the Gu.

With each step they took, the peril lingering in the air grew.

Rui could feel chills crawling as they headed deeper and deeper into Gu.

Past the Squires.

Past even the Seniors.

And soon enough, they entered the Master-level ring.

The danger escalated to the point where Rui’s instincts warned him with loud alarm bells. He was an extremely powerful Martial Master, but he was at his weakest before he adaptively evolved in an environment of darkness he was unaccustomed to in the home turf of his enemies.

WHOOSH

The two of them emerged from the darkness into a battlefield.

A battlefield of Martial Masters.

Their presence was heavy and sharp.

Their Martial attires were pitch-black, laced with blood and gore of the deceased. And yet their bodies were at their very peak, primed for a battle to the very death for survival and power.

Their eyes were murderously dark and red with bloodshot.

They radiated a deathly hostility at each other, poised for a battle that would claim the lives of many.

Their murderous gazes shifted towards the anomaly that emerged from the darkness onto the Gu battlefield. A maddening glint of drive lit up in their eyes as their senses washed over the two new participants and their backpacks filled with resources.

That was all it took.

That was all it took to set them off.

“RARRGHHRAGHR!!!”

“DIE!!!”

“HAHAHAHA!!!”

RUMBLE!!!

The world shook as a hundred Martial Hearts and Martial Minds bloomed to life in all their ephemeral power, painting over the very canvas of heaven and earth. They leaped with murderous greed, converging upon Rui and Amare from all directions.

It was the last mistake that they made.

BADUMP

From the very depths of her being poured out her life.

An unfathomable flood of memories surged from the root of her existence, flooding each and every single person that leaped towards her. They froze, paralyzed by the brightness.

By the brightness of her life.

They, who had spent years, decades, and even centuries in this abyss of a hell, simply couldn’t move in the face of a being who embodied the light of Martial Art. They beheld a nigh-endless flood of memories across an entire lifetime that had molded her into who she was.

Memories that became the very foundation of her power.

BOOOOOOOM!!!!!

With a single blow, her devastating power overwhelmed ten Martial Masters at once, overcoming the onslaught of attacks that converged on her. The Martial Masters gritted their teeth, focusing all their efforts on her.

That was a mistake.

“Get out of our way.”

His voice was fierce.

As was his Embodiment.

RUMBLE

A tremendous ocean of Water swallowed all of heaven and earth, consuming the entirety of the battlefield and all those within it.

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