The Martial Unity

When they arrived at Longmin City, Sage Sehen understood why this place had been chosen as a base. The city was quite well developed and filled with establishments catering to high-value tourists and guests. Food shops, liquor pubs, gambling casinos, and brothels checkered the streets along with a myriad of other kinds of entertainment, ranging from crude to more sophisticated, depending on which district one found oneself in. As the two of them walked through the streets, Sage Sehen could sense the sheer number of important individuals, judging by the Martial Senior or Master bodyguards that accompanied them. “I’d like to order another drink!”

“One here as well!”

“Sir, please don’t gamble that much money!”

“Hehehe… It’s fine, our family is loaded.”

“One more drink here!”

Heirs and members of powerful families, organizations, and nations were sprawled across the entire city-state. They made merry despite the fact that the sun was nowhere near setting, still illuminating the early evening sky brightly. “This is the perfect city to hold hostage.” Sage Sehen understood.

“Correct,” Sage Kereso replied with an approving tone. “If the Dawnbringer dares to try picking a fight. He will have to do so knowing that he will have angered many powerful elements in our civilization. Even if none of them are a match for him individually…”

Her smile grew sinister. “Together, they are more capable than he might have ever expected. Our greatest advantage is that he’s arrogant in thinking one man can subjugate the entire civilization while still being a Martial Sage. No matter how strong he is, he cannot truly subjugate everybody without devastating collateral damage that will earn him many enemies. Only a Martial Transcendent could do what he is arrogantly attempting.”

She paused as they arrived at a great structure at the very center of the city. It resembled a giant fortress with massive walls that rose hundreds of feet in the air, with its giant gates towering before them. “We have arrived.”

The giant gates slowly opened for them, making way for them as they headed inside. Sage Sehen’s eyes widened as he suddenly stepped into an entirely different kind of establishment.

One that was fiercely Martial and militaristic. Squadrons of Martial Apprentices and Squires trained in groups, practicing different kinds of formations while Martial Masters stood guard at various outposts. As they headed inside, he found himself sensing an even more powerful gathering of forces.

Martial Sages.

Not just a handful or even many.

Hundreds.

They arrived at a giant set of doors behind which Sage Sehen sensed nearly three hundred powerful beings. He gritted his teeth, feeling an extraordinary amount of pressure weighing down on him from Martial Sages, more powerful and developed than he was.

He had literally broken through to the Sage Realm less than a day ago, making him the undisputed weakest Sage among those who gathered.

CLACK The doors opened as Sage Sehen tried to maintain his composure at what he saw.

An ocean of Martial Sages.

They gathered around in a large, but unsophisticated, cave-like room. One armed with special technological measures outside it to absorb any seismic or kinetic energy. Most of the gathered Martial Sages looked a little flushed with slightly ragged breaths.

They had just gone through a sparring session.

It was a room where Sages could go a little wild without having to worry about destroying everything. Conflict Containment technology had evolved by leaps and bounds in the past nineteen years since the inception of the Beast Incursion.

Sages Sehen’s senses swept across the many Martial Sages, gaining an impression of each of them. They each had different Martial attire from different regions, nations, and cultures. Each of them was unique and strong, with plenty of powerhouses in their own right, standing at the peak of the Sage Realm. But none were stronger than him.

At the center of the room, the gargantuan man sat upon a simple rock; his swollen, muscular upper body was bare, featuring countless battle scars. Half the man’s face was covered in a scruffy, unkempt beard.

His eyes contained an intense ferocity, one that sent chills across his skin. If Sage Sehen had harbored any delusions of power upon breaking through to the Sage Realm, then they had been shattered just by gazing at the terrifying man.

He recognized him in an instant, of course. Martial Sages like Sage Marhan, the Gallant Fist, from before the Era of Dawn were much higher in the hierarchy than other Martial Sages, and were regarded as much more special. “You’ve come, Kereso,” the powerful peak Martial Sage boomed before shifting his gaze to Sage Sehen. “And with fresh blood.”

“Yes, sir,” she bowed in a deferential manner. “The other one rejected, unfortunately. Perhaps we could attempt once more to—”

“Rah!” Sage Marhan snarled, waving his hands dismissively. “If simply resisting dominion and subjugation from an arrogant Martial Artist of the same Realm as them is not enough, then we don’t need them.”

The man’s ferocious eyes sharpened. “We don’t need castrated cowards. What we are attempting to do isn’t for the faint of heart.”

His smile widened viciously. “Everybody here is willing to risk their lives to teach that arrogant brat of an emperor a lesson in humility. Someone who isn’t even a Transcendent shouldn’t try to go about subjugating the Martial World.”

RUMBLE…

The world quivered as his words resonated with the other Martial Sages, causing them to bare their fierce determination. It caused a wide grin of confidence to emerge on Sage Sehen’s face.

Indeed, if he was hesitant before, now he was confident.

They were strong enough.

They were strong enough to resist the Dawnbringer.

“You’ve got balls.” Sage Marhan nodded with approval at the defiance in Sehen’s eyes. “Good, you’re gonna need them soon.”

Sage Sehen’s eyes sharpened. “Soon?”

The man wordlessly drew a remote from his pockets, pressing several buttons. VMMM…

From the ceiling descended a projector that projected a news channel’s stream.

“And the announcement has finally come!” the news reporter emphatically declared. “The Emperor has declared the commencement of his regime, the Void Order!”