The Martial Unity

Rui didn't have any dreams.

It appeared that the state of sleep that let his brain rest after the Martial Mind was perhaps even deeper than normal sleep.

Regardless, it passed by in an instant.

Almost as if he had just blinked.

By the time he woke up, he felt quite refreshed, glancing at the Divine Doctor and Kane sitting around a fire.

"…How long was I out?"

"About an hour," the Divine Doctor replied impassively. "More or less the expected amount."

"Huff…" Rui shook his head, heaving a sigh. "…Annoying drawback."

"You can just stop using the Martial Mind if you don't like it." The Divine Doctor lightly remarked with a frozen smile. "The same goes for the Martial Heart. Martial Seniors who don't actively use their Martial Heart will live twice as long as those who regularly use it."

"…Meh, it's worth it," Rui muttered impassively. "Besides, it can overlap with regular sleep, too, I notice. However, it does disrupt your circadian cycle."

"Most Martial Masters rest as soon as possible after the application of the Martial Mind." The Divine Doctor informed Rui. "So long as they get it over with immediately, they can minimize the amount of time gone into resting."

"Hmmm…" Rui grew immersed in thought. "It puts the Martial Mind in a different light than before."

The Divine Doctor's smile widened. "Living beings are not able to maximize every ounce of potential without some price to pay. The Martial Heart and Martial Mind, at their full power, at least, are transient and are elevated states of life. They are not normal, and they demand a price to raise one's self to such a level. These prices take a toll on the body. It's partly why the Panamic Martial Federation prohibits the sale or mass propagation of forbidden techniques."

Rui's dark eyes lit up with faint interest. "That makes sense, I suppose. The Martial Heart is sort of like a forbidden technique. It's allowed because it's absolutely necessary to reach higher Realms and progress down one's Martial Path."

The mention of the Panamic Martial Federation reminded Rui of the fact that he was due for some meetings with them as a Martial Master. Martial Masters were qualified to become members of the Panamic Martial Federation, an organization collectively founded to introduce some bare minimum regulations deemed necessary in the Martial World and industry.

As a Martial Master, he had gained the qualifications to impact the norms, guidelines, and laws of the Martial World. Although he wasn't quite familiar with its bureaucratic structure, he knew that he most likely would be invited to its headquarters as soon as his breakthrough to the Master Realm became well-known.

It reminded him of the many other engagements and commitments he had in the Kandrian Empire. The past five years in the Beast Domain had made him almost forget the fact that he had a faction and administration of his own.

He had the support of many powerful national and even international patrons, donors, and benefactors who had become stakeholders in his campaign for the throne.

His eyes sharpened at the thought of his intentions becoming known to all of them.

It was a scary possibility.

Yes, he was a royal prince and a high member of the Martial Union.

Yes, he was now a Martial Master.

But earning the ire of so many powerful entities was not a light consequence. Even for a Martial Master, this was a tremendous amount of pressure as many of his stakeholders had the caliber to commission and deploy Martial Masters.

Some of them were so powerful that they could even have them on retainer as bodyguards, like Guildmaster Bradt.

Earning all of their ire for essentially having deceived them the entire time while taking their money and making false promises was something that Rui would rather avoid happening.

He could only hope that Master Reina and the Sloth Sage had kept their word and ensured that it was a secret.

"Let's go." Rui got up, feeling an urge to return to the Kandrian Empire as soon as possible. "I want to get out of the Beast Domain and return to the Human Domain as soon as possible."

He had had enough of the savagery of the Beast Domain.

He yearned for civilization.

They soon departed as Rui sped through the Beast Domain at extraordinary speeds.

If usage of the Martial Mind required corresponding rest, then it was best to make sure that he put this time to maximal good use, employing his Metabody System to accelerate.

Soon, they exited the Beast Domain.

After nearly five years in the Beast Domain, Rui and Kane had finally left.

As for the Divine Doctor, he had spent decades in the Beast Domain. This vessel of his had grown much older, which explained his desire to conduct a soul transference data save to ensure that the information of the memories of this particular vessel would not die along with it.

The journey through the Human Domain was much longer, naturally.

However, the dangers of the Human Domain were also far lower. While Rui and Kane had naturally grown eyes on the back of their heads, such levels of alertness weren't necessary within the Human Domain.

They passed through huts, settlements, villages, towns, and eventually nations as they went deeper and deeper into the Human Domain at extremely speeds.

"Ah," the Divine Doctor interjected. "Drop me here—"

"No."

Rui's voice was chilling.

"The very first thing you will do is heal my father. After that, you may conduct your soul transference ritual and do whatever you want. But you and your precious memories are going absolutely nowhere until my father is perfectly restored, glowing with health."

"…huff," the Divine Doctor heaved a tired sigh.

This was the original reason Rui had left for the Beast Domain in the first place.

After five years, he had gotten so close.

Nothing was allowed to stand in his way.

He was not willing to delay the healing of his father by even a second.

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