The Martial Unity

Rui's mind was in a muck, trying to process all the information that the Beggar Sage had nonchalantly thrown at him.

Today, he learned that he had applied for a longevity program he didn't even know existed.

Hell, he was scouted for it.

Scouted by the Beggar Sage.

It made sense on a rational level, considering how much his talent had shined. The extraordinary capabilities of his mind were almost public knowledge at this point. Thus, if the Beggar Sage was looking for truly exceptional human beings that stood out from all of human civilization, then Rui was indeed among them in the modern era.

However, it still hadn't settled into his soul that he now potentially had a path after natural death.

The ramifications of this new revelation were rocking, which is why he struggled to process them.

It reminded him of the revelation of the meaning of his name.

His eyes narrowed at that thought.

Soul transferral.

Something clicked in his mind.

'Could it be…?'

For the first time in his life, he had found something that resembled a clue regarding the greatest mystery of his life.

Unfortunately, any critical analysis quickly revealed that it was not a viable explanation.

For one, he didn't just reincarnate; he moved to another world entirely with a reality that defied the one that he had known in his previous life.

On top of that, the Beggar Sage stated that he, the Divine Doctor, and the Psycher were the only ones who had this so-called soul-transferral technique. However, the Beggar Sage made it clear from his words that they had nothing to do with his reincarnation.

He was being considered a candidate for immortality, as in he had never been one.

Thus, it was questionable whether his reincarnation had anything to do with this so-called soul transferral.

A myriad of possibilities flashed through his mind as he considered the matter more deeply.

His mother almost certainly knew that he had been reincarnated. It appeared that now he may have found something that could potentially help elucidate the truth of his reincarnation.

These were just two pieces, potential pieces, of a much larger puzzle that had been a mystery his entire life.

Yet the stronger he got, the more he learned about the world, and the closer he came to an answer to what was the greatest mystery of his life.

Or lives, rather.

"Huff…" He heaved a deep sigh, shaking his head.

It was too open-ended to spend too much of his time on. There were essentially infinite possibilities, and he had no real way of narrowing them down any more than he had already tried to do.

As for being selected for immortality…

He was a Martial Senior with access to as many potions as he could possibly ever need. He could live on for many, many centuries. The matter of his lifespan was an extremely distant and hardly pressing matter.

It did not move Rui

In fact, as shocking as all of this information was, it was not the most important information that he had received. The most important and vital information that he had received was…

'The last known location of the Divine Doctor in the Human Domain,' Rui narrowed his eyes as he eyed the location.

[The Prism Valley]

It was a valley that served as a passageway into the Beast Domain from the Human Domain, located at the edge of the western side of the Beast Domain. It was the last time that the Divine Doctor had been seen in the Human Domain.

This was what he was looking for.

The earlier information that the Beggar Sage threw at him was sensational, , and shocking, but it did not help him in any way in any short-term sense.

He put the matter aside for now; he had more pertinent matters to deal with at the moment. He needed to show the information regarding the Divine Doctor to his grandmother; he also needed to prepare for the deliberations between the Matriarch and the Sage council of the Martial Union.

Only when those two matters were fully taken care of could he head out to the Adventurer's Guild to speak with the guildmaster.

When he returned to the Quarrier Orphanage, his eyes furrowed with surprise.

"I wondered how he managed to become such a splendid young man when raised in an orphanage, but…" Matriarch Nephi held the hands of Lashara. "I no longer have any doubts. Thank you, dear, for giving my grandson a life of love."

"N-Not at all, Your Sagehood!"

"You are the adoptive mother of my grandson; cease with such stiff formality. I was never fond of that honorific. Today, I am merely an elderly woman expressing gratitude to the mother of my grandson."

Matriarch Nephi did a splendid job of controlling her aura.

The aura of a Martial Sage could cause mental damage to ordinary humans regardless of intent. Rui actually marveled at how firmly and properly she was able to erase any pressure that she generated in the subconscious minds of those around her.

However, it made sense.

The Silas Clan was a tight-knit clan that was always together. This meant that Matriarch Nephi was always meters or feet away from her kin.

She could not afford to not control her power. It was undoubtedly a basic skill that was an absolute necessity for all Silas Martial Artists in order to ensure that they did not hurt their own kin.

That was why the children of the Quarrier Orphanage were able to swarm around her, receiving hugs and pets without ever once realizing that the gentle, affectionate elderly grandma who indulged them had the power to reduce nations to a hole in the ground.

Julian and Xanarn were equally unnerved under their superficial composure, for they understood exactly how powerful this being was.

It was a surreal scene.

Yet the peace and serenity left him longing.

"You've returned, my grandson?" Matriarch Nephi turned to him calmly.

"Yes, grandmother."

"Mmmm, it appears that we have much to talk about," she remarked. Her eyes softened as her gaze returned to Lashara. "Then, I shall no longer impose on you. Maintaining a family is difficult, after all. I look forward to speaking to you once more. I will have you regale me with the stories of my grandson from his entire life."