The Martial Unity

"One thing I do know is that the Master Realm is probably very different from anything before." Senior Sarak added.

Rui nodded. Now that he had become a Martial Senior, his suspicions were confirmed. He was certain that the Master Realm did not tap into an even greater resource of physical power within the body.

There was none left, the Martial Heart truly was the absolute pinnacle and limit of physical power. Then it begged the question of exactly what potential the Master Realm tapped into.

He didn't know, but he wasn't too concerned with knowing about it for now. Of course, he was curious about what exactly it was that allowed Master Deivon and Master Uma to portray themselves in such strange forms to him. He wasn't even sure about what was going on. He would be extremely surprised if they actually physically warped their bodies into a blade of wind and a fortress.

Martial Art was capable of many things, but that sounded too nonsensical. Regardless, even if he didn't know the exact conditions, he knew what he had to do. He was going to stick with developing his Martial Art with individuality, there was no way that he could possibly go wrong with that.

He had already deduced that the nature of the Martial Path was one of a journey of self-maximization. Maximizing the potential of everything that he had to offer by attuning his Martial with him by imbuing it with his individuality.

There was no way he could go wrong in doing that, and it was most likely one of the conditions of breaking through to not just the Master Realm, but perhaps all Realms.

"One more thing." Senior Sarak told Rui. "Given that you're a new Martial Senior, it is best to get the basics out of the way. I would recommend you spend some time sparring with the Martial Heart and get comfortable with it. It is an extension of your power so you do not need to enter a long acclimatization period with it like you did with your Martial Body when you broke through, but it best to psychologically get used to it."

Rui nodded. It was an additional variable that made battle even more complex. he would not accustom himself to always considering it.

"Alright, that's about it," Senior Sarak remarked. "I don't think I missed anything... But you'll be fine even if I did."

Rui smiled wryly at those words. "Is Ieyasu still here?"

"Of course," Senior Sarak replied. "He was up an hour earlier than you. He doesn't have anybody to spar with, so he would be interested in sparring with you as well."

Rui raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't he have you guys?"

Senior Sarak laughed mirthlessly. "No, he doesn't. He has already copied our Martial Art very thoroughly years ago. Now that he has developed the Martial Heart, the difference is overwhelming. The same goes for you, though you haven't fought Leonil or myself, so you still have two shots."

Rui knitted his eyebrows. "...But we're newborn Martial Seniors, it doesn't really make sense for us to be able to beat experienced Martial Seniors."

"That logic only applies to the Apprentice and Squire Realms, things work a little differently in the Senior Realm." Senior Sarak replied as a realization dawned on him. "Ah, this was something I forgot to explain to both of you. Thank you for reminding me. But not everybody starts at the same starting line in the Senior Realm. This was true even in the Squire Realm, due to different standards of Martial Bodies, but it is especially true in the Senior Realm."

"...Is it because we retain our Martial Art as is?" Rui realized. "The Squire Realm required everybody to start from scratch, but I was able to use my Squire-level technique seamlessly as a Martial Senior."

"Correct," Senior Sarak replied. "The Martial Art does not need to be rebuilt from the ground-up. Thus, the power level one was at within the Squire Realm has a great impact on what level of power you start at within the Senior Realm. I've known a grade-eight Martial Squire who broke through to the Senior Realm and started out as one of the weakest Seniors that I have ever seen. Then again..."

He glanced at Rui. "I have also come to know Martial Squires were quasi-Seniors. I imagine that they will undoubtedly be well above a baseline entry-level Martial Senior."

Rui was pleased to learn about this. It meant he did not start off as dirt-weak within the Senior Realm, he was already above a proportion of Martial Seniors that had spent quite some time within the Senior Realm.

His mind flashed back across his memories as he revisited all the Martial Seniors he had ever met.

'Senior Geringan and Senior Ceeran are the only two Martial Seniors I know from the Kandrian Empire and...' Rui heaved a sigh. 'They would probably be able to beat me up thoroughly.'

He wasn't entirely sure he could beat the Martial Seniors of Vilun Island, but he was a lot more confident against them than the previous. He had superior techniques and body, but they had an overwhelming amount of experience against him. It would be an interesting contest.

It was a shame he couldn't go back and test himself against them, it would mean exposing himself to the Martial Union office stationed there, which most likely meant exposing himself to Chairman Deacon.

"Remember this, the strength of the Martial Heart is what determines the raw output of any Martial Senior regardless of their Martial Art. This applies even to more esoteric fields such as poison techniques and mental techniques." Senior Sarak stated. "Both Martial Body and Martial Heart are now the variables that determine raw output. This is why the Senior Realm is even wider than the Squire Realm, it simply has much greater variance due to the introduction of a new variable."

This was another insight that was very significant to Rui.