The Martial Unity

Chapter 2699: Gathering

Rui didnʼt even care about the fact that the Terrampager attacked him out of nowhere shortly after he discovered the Scriptures of Terra.

As far as he was concerned, that was irrelevant and ancient history.

He had already understood what was happening.

He just didnʼt care.

”Rui…!” Amareʼs eyes lit up with delight as she surged to envelop him in her warmth.

”Thank you for saving me, Amare.” His tone was gentle and grateful.

”Hehehe, you knew it was me?”

”Of course,” he replied, pulling her in for a deep embrace. ”I could sense your concern for me in the attack. Iʼd be dead if not for you. I owe you one. But also…”

He raised an eyebrow as he pulled away to direct a curious gaze at her. ”Where have you been for the past two months? Also, when the heck did you learn earth-bending?”

Rui had not missed the fact that he had absolutely no idea where Amare was. He hadnʼt even been able to find it when mapping the entirety of the Nest of Terra, gathering the Scriptures of Terra.

”I learned it from the Shield of Gaia after falling underneath the Nest of Terra.” She readily supplied him with an eager answer. ”It turns out he used to be my student. And then I became his student. Isnʼt that funny? He just sits on a rock all day with the entire Nest sitting on his head, so he had plenty of time to help me. He taught me how to dance and also told me many stories from his childhood—”

”Wait.” Rui felt a headache at the series of bombshells she just dropped on him. ”You found the Shield of Gaia? As in, the actual Martial Transcendent himself?”

”Mhm.”

”…and you fell ʼunderneath the Nestʼ?”

”Mhm.”

”What does that even mean?” He scratched his head. ”And he taught you how to dance? You mean the Dance of Terra?”

”Mhm, I mastered it! Itʼs very fun!” she cheerily explained everything she had learned.

Rui found her story to be truly fascinating.

”To think that a Martial Transcendent was a student of the Martial…” Rui muttered. ”What a small world this can be sometimes. She truly changed the course of history, didnʼt she? Ah, speaking of which, I have some clues about your condition. I know where to go to find the person that did this to you. We should be able to learn more about what happened to you.”

”I see…” a hint of curiosity appeared on her face. ”That will be very illuminating. I look forward to meeting this person, indeed!”

Rui frowned at her enthusiasm. ”You donʼt sound at all displeased at the prospects of meeting someone who sealed someone elseʼs memories inside you.”

”I told you before,” she smiled knowingly at him. ”I donʼt think they did the right thing. But I am grateful to have been dropped off at the Gen Temple.”

Rui found it remarkable, as always, that she didnʼt seem to harbor a strong resentment against those who were responsible for her condition.

”Anyway, itʼs time to finish what we came for and get out of this subterranean nation.”

News of his awakening spread across the Nest of Terra shortly after he woke up. Unbeknownst to Rui, civil tensions were boiling to the very brim by his return. For now, the Martial Faction could very rapidly receive his gifts, including the almighty Scriptures of Terra, which bridged the gap between Realms.

Of course, the reason for Rui being able to fight the Terrampager head-on was not exclusively because of the Scriptures alone, but thanks to the combined power of many, many powerful technique systems and systems of thought, but that was completely dismissed, and the credit for all of it was given to their legendary artifact.

The Martial Faction began drooling at the prospect of being able to bridge the gap between Realms while the non-Martial Faction gritted their teeth and clenched their fists with fear. The moment the Martial Supremacists gained power, they would declare a revolution and take over the Nest of Terra and turn it into a Martialocratic Martial Supremacy.

And thus, with the awakening of the Dawnbringer, both sides prepared for war. The non-Martial folks were not willing to lose their polity without a fight, and the Martial Faction looked forward to fighting after falling to the treachery of their enemies with their poisonous offer for peace.

Even if Consul Sergenilius bid for peace negotiations at this point, Consul Notera would not heed his words. She had already lost any and all trust in him due to his actions. She was actually deeply furious at having been tricked and looked forward to simply destroying his faction with the power that they got from the Dawnbringer.

And thus, shortly after the Dawnbringer woke up, he was hounded by the Martial Faction for the Scriptures of Terra. Their sheer desperation to find the Scriptures after spending an entire century hunting for them was beyond what words could describe.

It was their dream come true. And they would use its power to destroy those who almost prevented them from discovering the Scriptures of Terra.

And yet, much to everyoneʼs surprise, Rui insisted on one and only one thing after he woke up.

”Gather all Martial Artists of the Upper Realms before me.”

He refused to engage with anything else or on any other matter until that happened, much to the dismay of the Martial Faction and the fear of the non-Martial Faction.

And yet, they adhered to his insistence.

Consul Sergenilius and Consul Notera reluctantly gathered as many Martial Artists as they could in one go, notwithstanding the Martial Artists who fought against the Beast Incursion.

And thus, when the day drew where, twelve Martial Sages and one hundred Martial Masters gathered in a large field in the City of Martial, dedicated to Martial Art. If one looked closely enough, one could see the sparks that flew between the Martial Artists of the two factions and between Consul Sergenilius and Consul Notera.

WHOOSH

The arrival of the Dawnbringer and the Omni-Martial drew the attention of everybody around them.

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