The Martial Unity

He strongly desired to partake in the contest after all, that was how he felt. It compromised his ability to consider whether it was a good decision or not objectively and rationally. That was why he needed to put extra effort into his considerations.

The first thing he looked at was his long-term priorities of reaching the Senior Realm well before the ten-year period ended.

When that goal was considered, the Virodhabhasa Martial Contest was an absolute plus. The only thing he needed to be very careful of was the fact that he was dealing with religion that he unfortunately could be interpreted to have ties related to.

However, even that was fine as long as he did not give the Virodhabhasa Faith any reason to act against his interests. That meant that at the very least he should prevent them from getting to the core of his Martial Path, and prevent them from learning that he was a reincarnated being.

These two were manageable, Rui's Martial Path and Art were highly nuanced, especially now that he was adding another layer of complexity to it with Project Metabody. One could not simply decipher its depths just by observing it for a brief period of time. Especially if he was doing everything in his power to make sure that he didn't divulge his secrets.

As long as he made sure that the core nature of his Martial Path was inscrutable, then the Virodhabhasa Contest was filled with positives when his goal of reaching the Senior Realm

For one, it was the best way to stimulate his potential, more so than any other option he took to get his hands on the medical treatment necessary for Senior Xanarn, this was the one that would him the closest to the Senior Realm.

Another benefit was that it was the absolute best way for him to refine Project Metabody. Even if he completed the initial iteration of Project Metabody, he would not use it as smoothly and as well as he would if he subjected himself to testing against many martial Squires.

That was what was necessary for him to gain mastery over it. Experience.

However, just quantity of experience was not enough. Simply fighting a large number of Martial Squires would not help if they were low-grade and not diverse enough.

What he needed was quality of experience and diversity of experience in addition to quantity.

The best way to get the highest quantity, quality, and diversity of experience using Project Metabody was by subjecting himself to a powerful group of Martial Squires.

He could not think of a more fitting avenue for it than the Virodhabhasa Martial Contest. Literally, even if he turned back and returned to the Floating Sect, it would not serve him as well as this contest did.

('Another condition I need to be very careful of is my appearance,') Rui narrowed his eyes.

He had not forgotten that he was on the run from a man who knew what he looked like. He had changed the color of his eyes and hair, yes, but that was obviously not going to make him unrecognizable.

He needed to make sure that his appearance was masked at all costs.

However, an ordinary mask was not going to suffice. He hadn't forgotten what had happened when he relied on an ordinary mask to protect his identity back when he was a Martial Apprentice in the Kandrian Empire, and it had backfired badly, leading to the destruction of his own mask and disclosure of his identity.

That absolutely could not be allowed to occur again. Rui would kill himself if he was incompetent enough to not take the strictest of measures to ensure that this never occurred again.

('A Senior-level mask grafted onto my skin with an adhesive so tough that it will need to be surgically extracted from my face after the contest,') Rui declared.

That was the standard to which he would hold himself. Only with such a mask could he be confident that it would not break or fall off. Only with such an extreme measure would he be willing to participate in such a high-profile event that was bound to draw a lot of attention from across the entirety of the continent.

Many considerations like that continued to fly around in his head as he thoroughly considered the pros and cons of his options in regard to the long-term and short-term goals that he had set for himself.

The ones that flashed through his head the most were his long-term goals of becoming strong enough to eliminate the threat of Chairman Deacon and protect his family. Frankly everything else, including Senior Xanarn, simply paled in comparison.

That did not mean he was forsaking her, the primary reason he was entering the contest was for her sake. As long as he performed well enough the Virodhabhasa Faith would generously waive the cost of the medical treatment. The better he performed, the more he would gain.

('It's set then,') Rui steeled his will as he made his decision. ('I shall partake in the Virodhabhasa Martial Contest.')

The decision was heavy. Just making him feel as though the air had grown heavy around him. Either that he was experiencing even more pressure.

('The contest is only one year away.') Rui narrowed his eyes. ('I need to finish Project Metabody before it arrives.')

That was a tall order. Finishing ordinary techniques within a year was quite easy for Rui, but Project Metabody was a different beast altogether. The techniques of these projects were so challenging that even normal grade-ten techniques like Transverse Resonance and Pathfinder were easier in comparison.

However, it also made him optimistic that it would give him what he needed to achieve his many goals, from procuring the treatment that Senior Xanarn needed, to gaining the power to eliminate his enemies and protect the people that he loved.

He quickly headed back to the Virodhabhasa main church to enlist for the contest.