The Martial Unity

Chapter 3231: Intriguing Combat Prowess

Rui would be lying if he said that he wasn’t looking forward to fighting the dark elves. Adaptively evolving against nature was one of the things on his to-do list. He didn’t just want to integrate them into his Martial Art, he wanted to test how well he could do against the dark elves.

Of course, he was also mindful of his status as a guest delegate, so he couldn’t take it too far.

For one, he couldn’t use the Gu; that was too much. He also couldn’t use any of his more destructive attack powers, and he needed to make sure that he didn’t critically harm any of the dark elves; otherwise, he could destroy the relationship between the dark elves and human civilization.

What he sought to do was learn about the dark elves and show them what Martial Art was like, since he had no doubt that the dark elves were also curious about the Martial Path. If they were truly unwilling to have him fight some dark elves, they would intervene.

STEP

He emerged from the little crater with an excited smile, his silhouette growing more prominent in the cloud of dust he had created. The dark elves sharpened their eyes as they gazed at him heavily.

STEP

He emerged before them with a simple smile.

”Come at me.”

The dark elves stiffened, unsure of what to do.

”You are trespassing in an area you have no authority to be in, outsider,” one dark elf glared at him.

”I was told I could go anywhere,” Rui smirked. ”And this is where I have chosen to go. Now...”

STEP

He took his classic neutral stance, with his right foot behind and one arm before him defensively, while the other tucked at his waist, coiled with power and ready to fight at any given point.

”Are we doing this or not?”

Before the dark elves could even protest, the trees around them shivered as a whisper spoke through them.

”Accept his challenge.”

Rui tilted his head with confusion and intrigue.

He could feel a tremendously powerful presence behind the weight of that voice.

A Mother of Nature herself.

The dark elves widened their eyes with shock as they knelt to the ground.

”Yes, Mother!”

The presence soon disappeared, while Rui smiled.

He knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep their curiosity to themselves. Such a small infraction was relatively nothing compared to beholding the combat prowess of the greatest combat asset of human civilization.

The dark elves rose.

Their eyes sparkled with determination.

”Attack!”

RUMBLE...

Rui’s eyes lit as roots began emerging from the ground, wrapping around his feet. Tree roots that were virtually omnipresent beneath the surface of the soil immediately became mobile and aggressive, holding him tightly while sharp branches began converging upon Rui with the intention of impaling him.

WHOOSH

They arrived at him at high speeds, threatening to kill him right where he was.

WHOOSH

The dark elves widened their eyes as Rui disappeared where he stood, while the roots broke in an instant.

WHOOSH

Rui arrived before one dark elf with a quick pace, launching a powerful blow at her.

One that no ordinary elf could possibly survive.

WHOOSH!

Moments before his fist reached her, a barrier of roots and branches converged between them protectively.

And yet, it was hardly enough to stop Rui’s power, enhanced by Outer Convergence.

BAM!

His attack broke through the shield, blasting into her abdomen.

”Ahh!” the dark elf screamed as his fist launched her a few meters away in the blink of an eye.

Rui had limited himself to peak Apprentice-level strength, trying to match the equivalent of the stage that the warriors he was facing were at.

”Don’t get too carried away!” one dark elf man surged forth as bark covered his entire swinging fist.

Rui’s eyes lit up at the little ability with intrigue. ”Fascinating but...”

WHOOSH

Rui side-stepped the attack.

”...your form is terrible,” Rui muttered with confusion. ”Do you guys not go through basic martial arts training?”

The man gritted his teeth as he turned around, throwing a powerful punch at Rui over and over.

And yet, he didn’t even come close to striking Rui.

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

Rui didn’t even need to deploy his systems of thought. The man’s motions were so inefficient and transparent that his attacks were telegraphed from miles away, making his every motion entirely predictable.

Rui simply put aside his poor hand-to-hand skills for the moment, studying his bark-enhanced fist.

His eyes lit up with intrigue as his senses peered deep into the man’s body.

Time slowed down in his eyes.

’Fascinating...’ Rui grew curious. ’He has... some sort of plant tissue layer beneath his flesh connected to his nervous system. Somehow, they have managed to implant a new organ in him with relative ease.’

It reminded him of symbiotes, except this time, it wasn’t a separate entity that was in a symbiotic relationship, but was an organ he had complete control over.

It was a thin layer of cells that could rapidly generate cells from the nutrition it gained from the dark elf’s bloodstream, and was controlled through the nervous system, which had adapted to form connections with the new organ.

It wasn’t just the elves’ minds that had an affinity for nature, even their physiology seemed to be able to accept the intrusion of flora tissue without any issue, and could integrate into their system rather easily, for Rui could see no signs of extensive surgery when he gazed deep into the dark elf’s cells.

”Truly remarkable.”

POW

His fist struck the man’s jaw, knocking him out then and there.

THUD

The other dark elves froze at how easily he took down two of their warriors.

”What’s the matter?” Rui raised an eyebrow. ”You are all warriors. You are not supposed to freeze with fear in the face of an enemy.”

He gestured with his finger.

”Come at me.”

The dark elves surged forth towards Rui as branches, leaves, and roots emerged from the ground.