The Martial Unity

They spoke for a bit more, and Rui was cheerful and relieved that the Martial Contest would go on.

Inwardly, however, he had already begun sweating.

He wasn't stupid. Perhaps other Martial Artists would have continued on about their day, but he had already realized something was wrong.

The first thing off was Master Deivon's tension. He did not look like someone whose heritor had yielded him good things. If anything, it felt like the opposite. Rui felt like he had gotten him in trouble, almost.

It was a pity that he didn't have any evidence to work with aside from the way Master Deivon presented himself.

Rui had also noted that the man had yet to congratulate him for winning the first and the second round.

These were small things, but Rui's sharp and keen eyes hadn't missed them. This was particularly odd for someone like Master Deivon who absolutely would have gone to at least uttered a few words of encouragement and congratulations.

He also didn't mention Rui's feat of surviving an attack from a Martial Senior. Almost as if it wasn't worth mentioning or was something that had already escaped his mind.

One reason that would be the case was if something even more important had happened. Given the timing, the probability wasn't low that it was related to Rui. If it was related to Rui, then the probability that it had something to do with the Martial Contest was actually quite high, since Master Deivon was doing just fine before the contest had begun.

Another elementary deduction one could make was that if it had something to do with Rui and the Martial Contest, then it had to do with Rui's matches. That would imply that something related to Rui's match had caused the tension that Master Deivon was experiencing.

He felt a wave of dread as he immediately realized what the only three possibilities were.

Of course, he realized that he couldn't actually dismiss his surviving a Martial Senior's attack as a possibility, however, that was not something that would cause Master Deivon to display the behavioural traits that he was displaying at the moment. He had seen how exceptionally powerful Martial Squires like Meera were treated. When Rui had outperformed Meera in two rounds of the Martial Contest yesterday and indicated that he was potentially above her, Master Deivon had not batted an eye. He had welcomed such a development.

Rui found it particularly odd that he seemed pensive now.

'No, it's most likely not me surviving a Martial Senior's attack.' Rui's intuition told him that that line of thought was most likely inaccurate.

That left two options.

Somehow, he had managed to gain an understanding of what happened during the first and the second rounds.

But that was impossible, the only way he could do that was if Martial Masters were much more impressive than he had indicated to Rui in the past.

"Is everything okay, Master Deivon?" Rui asked straightforwardly. "You seem preoccupied and tensed."

Master Deivon stared at him for a moment wordlessly, before sighing. "Yes... you're correct. I have been dealing with a headache."

Rui stared at him impassively. He went so far as to effectively create a quasi-predictive model on the man's behavioural patterns. He wanted to know more, and it would help to know how far he could go.

"Is that headache related to me perhaps?" Rui asked straightforwardly with a light tone.

Master Deivon nodded, resigned. "I suppose that can't be denied."

The air grew a bit more tense. "Is it related to what happened in the first and the second rounds?"

All it took was a moment.

A single look into Master Deivon's eyes was all Rui needed to know that he was right. If someone didn't know what he was talking about, then the first match was the most mundane match. He fought a balance-oriented Martial Artist, was losing at first, but then won.

However, just a single glance into Master Deivon's knowing eyes told him that he was on the money.

Rui exhaled as his eyes swum around, considering the confirmation that he had just received and its implications.

"How many people know?" Rui asked him.

"..."

"Master Deivon, please answer my question." Rui narrowed his eyes.

The tired man sighed. "About four people. Myself, and the three Martial Masters overseeing the contest, responsible for the three rounds."

Rui raised an eyebrow. That statement alone told him a lot about the political landscape of the Virodhabhasa Faith. It appeared that the political cohesiveness within the Virodhabhasa Faith was low, otherwise, the information would not be restricted to four people no matter what happened.

"...And what exactly have the four of you come to think about the first two matches that occurred?" Rui asked with a raised eyebrow.

Master Deivon simply stared at him. If it was any other Martial Squire, he wouldn't have even bothered gracing that question with a response. But somehow he couldn't shake himself off of Rui's piercing gaze.

"At least one of us believes that..." He paused, sighing.

"...that I am the Virodhabhasa?" Rui asked with a grave tone.

Master Deivon didn't respond.

Yet his silence was deafening.

"What are the consequences?" Rui asked, narrowing his eyes.

Master Deivon shook his head. "I have managed to quell the situation. No one will be coming after you."

Rui narrowed his eyes, staring at him. "Quelled the situation, you say?"

Master Deivon nodded. "For now. But..."

"But...?"

He sighed once more. "I don't know for how long I can keep them at bay. If not for the other two, Master Uma would have overwhelmed me. If the other two change their mind then..."

Rui realized the gravity of the situation.

"Listen to me," Master Deivon instructed. "Once you're done with the Martial Contest, you need to go away from here. Go away. Far away and... don't return until you're strong enough."

Rui sighed deeply.

A deep sense of weariness set into him. All he wanted to do was pursue his Martial Art, yet it seemed the forces of the world were unwilling to let him peacefully go about his life.