The Martial Unity

They did not want to destroy their relationship with a golden goose like Rui and had far too much goodwill for him from a brilliant relationship prior. And while they were certainly pissed about his deceit, he had never acted maliciously against them and had merely sought to do what was necessary to fix everything and pursue his Martial Path as a Martial Artist.

That was something that, as Martial Artists, they could respect and even begrudgingly admire.

Additionally, there were extreme consequences to destroying their relationship with him. He was no longer the lone Martial Artist without backing. He was a prince of the Royal Family and had developed his own faction that was extremely powerful.

Pushing him away was pushing him to their enemies.

It also meant pushing away the many contributions that Rui would have otherwise made to the Martial Union in the future.

There were countless pros to not destroying their relationship with him and countless cons to doing so.

That was why the Martial Union had previously unanimously decided to go for the peacemaking-salvaging route. They would ensure that he committed to reparations for the losses that he had caused to the Martial Union while also ensuring their relationship with the Void Prince did not deteriorate.

It was the objectively best option.

They had previously arrived at the decision that they would have him reveal all his juicy Martial secrets while also having him instated into their internal corps as they had long dreamed of doing.

"Unfortunately, the previous resolutions we had arrived at on the matter have all been voided."

The Harbinger's chilling voice declared.

"The breakthrough of the Void Prince to the Master Realm is...unexpected, to say the least," Master Sera continued with a composed tone. "It throws all our plans out the window, I'm afraid. Our previous plans were based on the power differential between the Martial Union and the Void Prince, but now that he has become a Martial Master, we will be unable to demand nearly as much."

In addition to being a prince and the successor of the throne, he was now a Martial Master. He had essentially come very close to the peak of powers in both the Martial and political worlds within Kandria. The amount of power and influence he would have accrued was so high that it beggared the imagination.

The Martial Union was set up for, by, and of Martial Artists. That meant that the stronger one was, the more immune they were to action within the framework of rules of the Martial Union.

A Martial Master simply couldn't be persecuted very easily.

It meant that they had lost their fundamental leverage, which served as the compelling force to make Rui compensate for his deceit and the losses he caused the Martial Union.

That wasn't the only matter to be considered.

"Now that he has reached the Master Realm." The Harbinger closed her eyes. "…His ability to contribute to the Martial Union had undoubtedly skyrocketed. As a Martial Master who has mastered Adaptive Evolution, one of the fundamental principles that Martial Minds embody, the value that he is able to offer to us is extremely high. Thus, a simple question presents itself to us…"

Her eyes opened. "Do we want to pursue reparations?"

It was a serious question, even if it sounded like the answer was obvious.

In some ways, the skyrocketing value of the Void Prince after he broke through to the Master Realm was enough compensation for the losses he had caused them. After all, he would undoubtedly empower Martial Art in his domain of specialty just as the Gatekeeper had done over the years.

"I believe that we should strongly chastise him but not take action against him." Master Ceeran firmly voiced his opinion. "While it is true that he has lied to all of us, deceived all of us, and caused the union many losses for a false investment, he has the power to make up for all of it and more. Ultimately, gold is merely gold. The Martial Union is not an investment firm or a finance guild. We are an organization of Martial Art. Contributions to Martial Art should outweigh the losses in gold. And nobody can contribute to Martial Art like Rui can."

Many Martial Masters frowned at this suggestion. Not taking action after the Void Prince lied through his teeth and deceived them all while they invested in the false dream of a Martial Artist Emperor seemed far too easygoing. The many pro-Rui Martial Masters of the Martial Union were a bit more in line with Master Ceeran's considerations, it seemed.

"While I think Master Ceeran is a bit too light on His Highness, I am more or less in agreement with the sentiment of his words," Master Zentra calmly voiced his opinion. "I would propose a penalty system where we have his highness remunerate all our losses in the form of contributions. Having him make powerful contributions for free until all our losses are covered."

Many Martial Masters stirred at this suggestion, considering the Surgeon's suggestions. It seemed quite sensible and was a good balance between not deteriorating their relationship with the prince while also not letting him off the hook easily.

"That's too little!" One elderly Martial Master strongly insisted. "We cannot allow for there to be such a light punishment for deceiving us! This will send a message to all Martial Masters. If we do not punish him for his deceit, then we will essentially be announcing to all Martial Masters that betraying the Martial Union and causing us many losses is perfectly tolerable as long as one is of value. You will start a rat race of Martial Masters pushing the line and testing the limits of how far they can go with deceiving the union!"

Many of the firmly pro-Rui members of the council frowned at his words.

Unfortunately, it was not easy for them to deny them.

It was true that the way the Master Council handled this major event would set precedence for the future. That was why they needed to handle it with the utmost care.

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