The Martial Unity

Many were in favor of a stricter penalty, much to the dismay of the pro-Rui faction.

"I am firmly in agreement with Master Herel." Another elderly Martial Master remarked. "I think that, in addition to Master Ceeran's suggestion, we should firmly secure joining the internal corpse of the Martial Union under our chain of command."

While some of the disgruntled Martial Masters of the Martial Union were more in favor of that, the pro-Rui faction vehemently opposed it.

"That's not different from demanding his servitude." Master Vericita's elderly voice stormed with power. "Forcing a Martial Master to join the internal corpse that we command is deeply humiliating."

"Has he not humiliated us when he lied through his teeth and played us like clowns?!" Master Herel's eyes blazed with rage. "Never before have I felt as humiliated as when I realized the prince I had spoken to for three years was the notorious and infamous Silent Shadow, who played me for a fool for four years straight!"

Unfortunately, this was not a singular or even fringe opinion. Many Martial Masters who were not personally friends with Rui but had still had a good opinion and high hopes for him to ascend the throne were deeply angered when they realized all their efforts never meant anything.

It wasn't easy to forgive such deep exploitative deceit.

Only those martial artists who had a personal relationship and rapport with him and had been endeared to him over the years were able to understand why he did what he did and forgive him.

Yet, some of the rest, in addition to their resentment of him, were also driven by a bit of jealousy. Not only did the Void Prince play them for fools, but then he magically breaks through to the Master Realm and returns an extraordinary Martial Artist who shattered the record for the youngest Martial Master?

It was too much.

It was far too much for them to tolerate.

While most of the Master Council was mixed and on the fence on the matter, the pro-Rui and the anti-Rui sections continued to fight against each other throughout the meeting, reaching a deadlock that did not yield in either direction.

"Enough."

The Harbinger's voice cut through the bickering in one fell swoop.

The weight of dozens of Martial Masters' voices simply did not compare to the gravitas of the sole grade-thirty Martial Master.

"It has become entirely clear to me that this Master Council is unable to come to a consensus."

The Master Council quieted down after a lengthy session of bickering finally came to an end.

"On one hand, we have a section that advocates for no more than a scolding, while on the other hand, we have a section that advocates for coerced servitude. These are rather far extremes that will never be able to see eye to eye on this matter. Discourse has proven useless in this regard."

Nobody disagreed with this statement, it was an empirical fact that they were getting nowhere through talk.

"In the first place, this discourse is something that would not normally happen," Master Sera continued. "Under normal circumstances, we would be able to rely on our powerful analytics department to provide us with robust probabilistic projections and extrapolations of the consequences of the various plans that we have discussed. They would have given us an objective and scientific understanding of what plan would lead to what outcome. But unfortunately, we are unable to rely on anybody outside of this council at the moment."

Rui deceiving the entire national and international political landscape for four years straight would go down as the largest political scandal ever in all of East Panama. It would harm Kandria, the Martial Union, and everybody involved in ineffable ways with dire consequences.

The Master Council was too paranoid about the Beggar's Sect or the Shadow Guild finding out, thus they could not trust even their own analytics department due to the magnitude of the importance of such a secret.

That was why they could only decide and act amongst themselves.

"And we are unable to decide and act amongst ourselves, as all of you have proven," the Harbinger coldly remarked. "But rest assured, I have a proposition. One that could solve all our problems."

A cold smile emerged on her face, giving chills to all the Martial Masters present.

The gesture chilled the air.

It grew icy.

"We are not diplomats, nor statesmen, nor lawyers."

Her voice grew even colder.

"We are Martial Artists."

Her smile grew more ferocious.

"We ought to dispute our disputes with Martial Art, not words."

The eyes of the many Martial Masters lit up with interest.

They understood what she was getting at.

And where she was going with this.

"I propose a duel and a wager." Her dark eyes twinkled with peril. "Should he win, he will have earned the gentle plan that Master Ceeran proposed."

Master Ceeran gulped. "…And should he lose?"

Master Sera's eerie smile grew wider. "Should he lose, he will have no choice but to adhere to Master Herel's harsh penalties."

A deep silence occupied the Master Council of the Martial Union.

Regardless of how one felt about Rui, each and every single one of them was attracted to this idea.

They were Martial Artists.

One didn't need to be a Martial Supremacist to be attracted to the idea of Martial merit deciding one's fate.

If he had cultivated enough Martial power to pry victory, he would be able to secure the best fate for himself.

If he had been remiss in pursuing his Martial Path, then he would be unable to prevent the worst fate.

It was brutally Martialocratic.

Seconds passed as neither the pro-Rui faction nor the anti-Rui faction raised any objections to the powerful suggestion of the Harbinger. Raising an objection to this was no different from admitting defeat as Martial Artists, in a sense.

"All in favor?" Master Sera commenced an informal vote on the spot.

Each and every single hand rose in the air.

An icy smile emerged on her face.

"So be it."

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