The Martial Unity

"Synergy matters a lot, or so I've been told." Kane shrugged. "Also more individuality is needed apparently, more so than when we were Martial Apprentices. Yay, that's fun. Just what I was hoping when I reached the Squire Realm."

Rui chuckled at the oozing sarcasm from his tone. "Trust me, you want to have both of those. I recently got a successful taste of both, it's actually startling how important both of them are, and how much value they can impart to you."

Kane raised an eyebrow. "You've already developed your techniques from scratch? I guess that shouldn't be surprising considering that you've already done that even before you became a Martial Squire."

"That was a modification." Rui reminded him. Of course, Rui had definitely created techniques from scratch when he created the VOID algorithm, but that took a ridiculous amount of time to fully accomplish.

Besides, he wasn't even sure if the VOID algorithm would count as a Martial Art technique. It felt more accurate to say that it was his Martial Path.

"So?" Kane asked expectantly. "What did you come up with?"

"A long-range technique and defensive technique," Rui replied simply.

"Knowing you, I bet neither of them is anywhere near normal techniques, are they? Go on, spit it out. I bet that long-range technique can kill people across the country while that defensive technique can allow you to withstand attacks from Martial Seniors, correct?" Kane smirked, amused.

"Stop." Rui's glare was half mirthful and half real. "You just make what they actually are sound unimpressive when you make such exaggerated guesses. Not the two techniques don't feel like much in comparison to your guesses. Do you have any idea how difficult creating them was? Stop taking away my sense of accomplishment."

"That's hilarious." Kane laughed. "I'm sure they were mind-breakingly difficult to create, knowing you."

"You have no idea." Rui sighed. "No wonder only a small proportion of Martial Squires break through to the Senior Realm. If it's this difficult to take a single step towards that higher Realm, most Martial Squires simply won't be able to reach that distant Realm within their lifetimes."

"Stop." Kane sighed exasperated. "I haven't even started yet and you've already made me dread it. Can't I just enjoy being in the Squire Realm without having to worry about yet another climb from one Realm to another? Does it ever even end?"

Rui could sense a hint of real frustration behind the flippant tone. He found it hard to sympathize, on a personal level, with it. This was one avenue where Kane and Rui differed significantly, more than any other area. The long Martial Path that each Martial Artist had to walk, climbing Realm after Realm was a delight to Rui.

Back on Earth, there was a very hard limit to both power and skill that every human had. There was no seemingly endless path that one could walk as far as individual and personal power went. As the biggest fan of martial arts and unarmed combat, this was always a shame to Rui, but he could not change reality.

That was why he was exhilarated and excited when he arrived in this world and discovered that only the sky was the limit for individual power. To Rui, this was something to celebrate and be grateful for. He loved the idea that he could pursue his Martial Art to brand-new and greater heights for a lifetime.

As for Kane's last question, he didn't know whether the journey ever ended. The information regarding Martial Artists of higher Realms grew increasingly scarce and vague. For example, when he was a Martial Apprentice, he found it very difficult to obtain any specific information on Martial Squires. He had to literally memorize foreign research data on the breakthrough to the Squire Realm of a different language, then master said language, then translate the research data before getting Julian to study them, and finally tell him the secret.

Those were the lengths he had to go to in order to obtain what he was looking for. And now, he hadn't the faintest idea what the actual breakthrough to Senior Realm was. No clue whatsoever. Colonel Geringan had always been very careful to make sure that he wasn't revealing something inadvertently in their conversations.

As for the higher Realms, they were even more inscrutable. Rui had no doubt that any information on Martial Masters and Martial Sages was highly strategic confidential information.

And then, of course, came the highly illusive Martial Transcendent Realm.

This Realm was so far removed from Rui that he didn't even dare to make guesses about what these legendary beings were capable of. He had no reliable way to find out. The Panama Continent was not like Earth where vast amounts of information that beggared the imagination flowed throughout the planet that could be accessed instantly. There was no internet on the Panama Continent where Rui could Google what all these Martial Art ranks were and could do.

He didn't even know of the existence of even a single Martial Transcendent. He had never heard anyone credible utter anything meaningful or insightful about them. Rui could only assume that these Martial Artists had reached such titanic heights that they were no different from gods that were far removed from mortal squabbles and civilization that there were very few channels to obtain reliable information on them.

Rui's glazed over as he wondered what all the Martial Artists of higher Realms were capable of. If the difference in power of Martial Artists between successive Realms was the same as that of the difference of those between the Apprentice Realm and the Squire Realm, then the Martial Master and Sages, as combat assets, were no different from tactical nuclear missiles and bombs.

Rui could scarcely imagine what these exalted beings could do. Master Aronian strongly withheld his mental pressure when interacting with lesser Martial Artists, yet even the tiny portion of his mental pressure that leaked out was tremendous, he could probably easily annihilate every single Martial Apprentice in the Martial Academy simultaneously with minimal effort.