The Martial Unity

Chapter 2855: Day of Dawn

”All hail Prince Rui!”

”Long live the Dawnbringer!”

”All hail the Kandrian Empire!”

A wave of celebrations erupted with the Kandrian Empire as its citizens cheered for the beloved prince breaking through to the Sage Realm. For the first time since the inception of the Beast Incursion, a festival had been held. The Beast Incursion had ravaged supply chains so thoroughly that no nation in the world dared to hold something as consumptive as a festival.

All food has long been rationed by governments in the world that had long entered a state of martial law. Except for in the Kandrian Empire.

The Kandrian Empire had been one of the few places in the entire world that was still able to continue on without needing for the government to sieze full control of the entire nation.

That didnʼt mean its people didnʼt experience misery and despair, certainly not. But it was precisely because of how low morale had been recently with recent events that the people leaped at the opportunity to celebrate an extraordinarily good event.

The entire nation threw a grand celebration unlike any other in recent times.

Streets were decorated with all manners of decorations and ornaments while many pictures, images, and portraits of Rui were put up across the entire nation. The Kandrian Crest and coat of arms were also hoisted in many places in a nationalistic display of pride in their nation and its rulers.

Food stalls, fairs, and even merchandise celebrating Ruiʼs breakthrough to the Sage Realm began sprouting across the entire nation as local and domestic consumption in the economy gained a boost just by how much people were willing to spend to celebrate this fortunate event.

The Emperor of Harmony even went as far as to announce financial benefits for all citizens in light of this auspicious event, further delighting the citizens of the Kandrian who celebrated hard for the first time in several years.

It wasnʼt just the rise in morale and the economic stimulation. The Beggarʼs Sect hadnʼt even needed to spread the Faith of Dawn in the Kandrian Empire due to how smitten the citizens were with Prince Rui.

They all understood the significance of the Dawnbringer breaking through to the Sage Realm.

He was an extremely powerful force for humanity even before.

With his breakthrough to the Sage Realm, their safety was even more guaranteed then ever before.

He had genuinely become a symbol of hope and salvation.

What was even more stunning was that the sheer sociological and cultural impact of the Dawnbringer was so great that it not only reversed any and all stigma around black eyes and hair, it also turned those features into an auspicious symbol.

Children across the entire nation died their hair black as they donned Martial Attire similar to his own, play-fighting as the Dawnbringer. Their eyes brimmed with admiration and love for their hero, Prince Rui.

The day the announcement had been made had even turned into a public holiday known as the Day of Dawn, in the Kandrian Empire that would be celebrated by dying oneʼs hair black and even wearing black eye lenses.

A once feared physical feature became an embraced trend and a manner of celebration to acknowledge and honor everything that Prince Rui had done not just for the nation but also for the entire world. Ieyasu watched from atop the border wall as he studied the Kandrian Empire. Even as he watched it happen right before him, he found it difficult to believe what he was seeing. All his life, he had experienced isolation because of these very cursed features that had become an auspicious symbol in the Kandrian Empire. They had changed the course of his life depriving him a normal childhood.

Even are his talents were discovered the maniacs of the Sekigahara Confederate had almost turned him into a weapon that they would wield. Instead, they had thankfully decided to let him go and to absorb as much power from the world a he could.

And yet, the outside world was no different.

They too feared and hated his features for the omens attached to them. Watching the Kandrian Empire embrace these features as a symbol of hope, fortune, and good omens was surreal.

It was too much.

His expression hardened with severity as he juxtaposed the celebrations in the Kandrian Empire with the contempt and fear he had gotten his entire life. A hint of resentment and frustration flickered in the depths of his eyes.

A curse that had afflicted both of them had been dispelled by him singlehandedly.

On top of that, Rui had even beaten him to the Sage Realm.

Last he had sized Rui up in the Heaven Sect, he didnʼt particularly strike Ieyasu as being on the verge of Sage Realm. Ieyasu was under the impression that he would likely have reached the Sage Realm sooner.

Several months later, not only did Rui break through to the Sage Realm with a Martial Embodiment so powerful it swallowed the entire world, he also ended up destroying the Gu and helped killing the Demon of Asmodeous.

He had broken through the very moment he needed it.

Ieyasuʼs eyes sharpened with suspicion, standing out amid the celebratory mood of the Kandrian Empire.

But he couldnʼt help but grow suspicious.

Had Rui figured out how to trigger breakthroughs to the Sage Realm?

The very notion sounded absurdly ridiculous to him.

The breakthrough to the Sage Realm, the Enlightenment of Self was a much harder condition as a trigger than just a challenge to oneʼs Martial drive as it had been for the Senior and Master Realms.

It was a different beast entirely.

Was it really possible that Rui had figured out a way to trigger his own breakthrough actively and voluntarily?

”If so…” A whisper escaped Ieyasu as his eyes lit up. They lit up with greed.

He wanted this power.

He wanted this power more than anything else.

He had been considering leaving the Kandrian Empire, but now, he had obtained another reason to stay.

-