The Martial Unity

Rui’s eyes widened.

He knew that his father, at some point, had essentially managed to gain control over all Martial Sages.

He wasn’t particularly fond of the fact that virtually all Martial Sages were being manipulated, knowingly or unknowingly, but he had no intention of intervening. However, it appeared that such an astronomical concentration of power was too much for the immortal sages, who sought to empower human civilization against Martial Art and against elites.

With that consideration in mind, he wasn’t surprised that the Esoterist had decided to shatter Emperor Rael’s monopoly on World Bridge technology and weaken his control over Martial Sages enough to allow half of them to return home.

This allowed the rest of human civilization at least some way of resisting the Emperor of Harmony if he ever became a full-on authoritarian nationalist who tried to impose the Kandrian Empire upon the world, even if that was highly unlikely given his track record.

They said power corrupted, and nobody wanted to find out if the Emperor of Harmony was immune to this with the absolute power he had briefly gotten his hands on.

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Rui remarked with a calm tone. “It’s probably better for the people of this continent if there are checks and balances, even on you. Besides, you still have half of them left with you; that’s more than plenty.”

The Emperor of Harmony heaved a sigh. “I am aware of that. It was just a good reminder that nobody can be trusted. We all have diverging interests and priorities, even if we share some mutual interests, like surviving against the true world.”

“Fair enough,” Rui replied. “So that brings us to the current situation. Your highest priorities must be allies, the economic corridor initiative, true world technology, and the space race, correct?”

The Emperor of Harmony nodded. “How well I fulfill these four conditions will decide the outcome of this war. If I fail to fulfill any of them, human civilization will be destroyed. If I fulfill all of them, we will emerge as the ultimate victor. We may even become the most powerful entity in the true world. After all…”

His golden eyes sharpened with power.

“We had only 1300 years because of the manifold. They had 187,000 years. Despite having 144 times the amount of time that we had, they are still not astronomically superior to us. It shows that in the long run, we are growing faster than they could even dream of. As long as we emerge victorious and thrive for another hundred years, we will be the undisputed victors and the powerhouse of this new war.”

Rui nodded. “This disparity largely arises out of esoteric matter, however. Esoteric matter allows for magic that drastically reduces the barrier of technological innovation. Allowing us to make much faster and greater strides. It’s no wonder that the Esoterist wants to stick with esoteric technology, even if I think he’s dismissing the value of non-esoteric technology.”

“Regardless, it is an advantage we have that will manifest only as long as we survive the short-term gains,” Emperor Rael remarked. “I have decided to hide the fact that we have developed this much in just 1300 years. If they believe that we have gone through the same amount of time since the dawn of the continent, then they will think they are growing faster and have an advantage in the long term. This will make them more patient, not knowing that we are the ones who benefit from their patience.”

“That’s a brilliant idea,” Rui remarked. “With the help of the Beggar Sect, you can accelerate this process considerably.”

The Emperor of Harmony nodded. “That is exactly what I need to do. We will need to bury it as much as we can and ensure that they find out about it too late.”

It was impossible to hide the truth forever. However, if they could obscure it long enough, then that was for the best.

“If they find out that we have been here for only thirteen hundred years and have reached a realm of power that is not too far from each of them individually, then…” The Emperor’s tone grew grave. “…then they will have no choice. They cannot afford to spare us. Because if they do, then they will not be able to maintain their advantage in the long term with our astronomical rate of growth compared to theirs.”

That was indeed true. Knowing that the Panama Continent would eventually surpass them with a vastly greater rate of growth, they would have no chance. This knowledge would make them determined to destroy human civilization as soon as possible, lest they be helpless when human civilization vastly surpassed them.

“In that vein, it will be good to keep the Martial Transcendents a secret as well,” Rui remarked. “If they find out about them, there’s no telling what will happen. Especially if they find out that their absence is merely temporary.”

Emperor Rael nodded. “Good point. I will be sure to keep that in mind.”

The next hundred years would determine the rest of time for Gaia.

If human civilization could emerge from it largely unscathed, then it would become the most powerful civilization on the entire planet.

The two of them continued to have a long and thorough conversation about a variety of other important topics, such as the blood humans, Rui’s agreement with Matriarch Nephi, the hunt of Ieyasu, the progress of MECHAs, as well as the dark elves, their greatest ally at the moment.

Rui quickly realized that he had several things to get to in the short term, both in terms of his Project Water priorities and his engagement with other people. He would need to spend a brief bit of time in the Panama Continent before he could depart into the true world. However, his conversation with his father gave him clarity on what the future would look like for him.

“And once I’m done with all my engagements in this continent…” His gaze shifted to the East towards the Great Nam Ocean and beyond. “I will depart for the true world immediately.”