The Martial Unity

A few days later, his grandmother finally returned from wherever it was that she went. She heaved a tired sigh upon return, taking a good long rest.

Naturally, Rui couldn't contain his curiosity.

"How'd it go, grandmother?" He asked once she had recuperated for some time.

"Hmph, the Martial Sages of Kandria were stronger than I had expected. But I still managed to secure rank four."

Rui's eyes lit up at those words. "You mean you beat seven of them?!"

As far as Rui was concerned, that was incredible.

Martial Sages of the Kandrian Empire were stronger than their peers for the same reason that Kandrian Martial Artists of other Realms were also stronger than the average Martial Artist.

The Kandrian Empire had better everything as far as Martial Art went.

Thus, the fact that his grandmother was able to defeat seven of them and rank fourth was quite incredible. This was especially the case when she had recently broken through to the Sage Realm and did not possess as much experience with the Sage Realm as the Martial Sages of the Martial Union.

It was all thanks to the potency of her Martial Art.

"Most importantly, I managed to defeat that obnoxious woman and restore my pride and the pride of the Silas Clan," she snorted.

"The Hugging Hegemon? You actually beat her?" Rui stared at her incredulously.

"Indeed," Matriarch Nephi heaved a tired sigh. "She was the toughest of the seven to beat."

"So then, who did you lose to?"

"…The little one."

"The Flickering Elder?"

"Do not judge her by her size," Matriarch Nephi snorted. "She is far stronger than you could ever imagine."

"Woah…" Rui murmured.

Rui didn't know that she was the third-strongest Martial Sage in the Kandrian Empire. Truly, looks could be deceiving.

"Regardless, it was a good exercise," Matriarch Nephi huffed. "I have become stronger as a result of gaining some experience. Next time, I shall be able to perform even better."

He listened with curiosity and fascination as she regaled her tales of her battles against the Martial Sages of the Martial Union. Naturally, she didn't go into any particular depth about them, but she did speak about the Martial Sages in a general sense.

"The Drunk Dame was the easiest for me to fight," Matriarch Nephi remarked. "Largely because she had extremely poor compatibility against me and because she wasn't all that strong. No amount of drunkness can evade my prophecy."

Pride saturated her voice.

"The Sloth Sage was trickier, but ultimately, I was able to get him as well," she remarked. "I almost lost because of exhaustion; his stamina may as well be endless. Prolonged fights against that man are a blunder unlike any other."

Rui nodded, prodding her along as he learned more about seven of the ten Sages.

"The Flashing Flier also had poor compatibility against me," Matriarch Nephi remarked. "His speed was extraordinary, but his trajectories were much more predictable. My prophecies ate him alive."

The Flashing Flier was Sage Dagar Roschem, Fiona's father. In other words, his grandmother beat her father. It was juvenile, but Rui couldn't help but feel smug.

"So the Flickering Elder was the most difficult to fight?" Rui raised an eyebrow.

"No, actually," she narrowed her eyes. "Soon after, the man they call the Devil arrived, challenging me to a duel. Hmph, as if I would accept. I have pride in my prophecy, but I am aware that I am not the strongest. I had no intention of fighting him until…"

Her expression grew ugly. "…he said he would only use a single arm in battle and nothing else. He said if I win, he would personally secure longevity potions for all the members of the Silas Clan."

"What?!" Rui's eyes widened with shock. "And the result…?"

Her expression grew uglier. "He defeated me."

"…"

"Huff…" Matriarch Nephi shook her head lightly. "This is what happens when a genius Martial Artist trains non-stop for more than four centuries without his drive waning even a little. You get a monster of a Martial Sage with unparalleled power."

Rui stared at her in shock.

He knew that Kane's father was strong. But he didn't know the man was this strong!

It was difficult to imagine his grandmother with her prophecy, losing to a Martial Sage with such an impediment in his power holding him back.

Yet, clearly, it was more than possible.

"He is probably the strongest Martial Sage in the Kandrian Empire," Matriarch Nephi shook her head with a sigh. "Nevertheless, I have earned the respect that I am due by showing the world the power of the Silas Clan. And now that I am in the Kandrian Empire…"

Determination flickered in her eyes. "…I shall make good of its resources to focus on training and elevating myself to a higher degree. This was something that I was largely unable to do when we of the Silas Clan were still nomadic."

Now that she no longer had to worry about the safety of her clan nearly as much, she had more time to dedicate herself to her own power.

She turned to Rui. "Now then, I shall cater to your request. I have had time to consider the information you have provided and to let it sink in. I believe that I am now able to supply you with a prophecy that can help you find the Divine Doctor."

Rui's eyes lit up with enthusiasm. "Great. Let's get right to it."

Her eyes grew a tag more severe. "I must warn you, the Beast Domain is…difficult to scry. My visions of the future are not always entirely decipherable when it comes to it. The information is disjointed and can be incoherent."

Rui raised an eyebrow. "How bad can it get?"

His grandmother winced. "It is better than I show you, then tell you. Prepare yourself."

She waved her hand, conjuring a barrier of heaven to separate her little shed from the rest of the Silas Clan for the timebeing.