The Martial Unity

Alongside recovering from the ramifications of having used a forbidden technique, Rui also took the time to research the Beast Domain thoroughly. Regardless of the responses from the four avenues of inquiry, he would be entering the Beast Domain to find the Divine Doctor, but that didn't change.

While he wasn't training, he took it upon himself to familiarize himself with the Beast Domain.

It was only then that he realized that although the borders of the Beast Domain encompassed much were defined on map, the exact location where the Human Domain ended and where the Beast Domain began were not entirely clear.

It was more like a gradient.

When one reached the core of the domain, the Human Domain became increasingly scarce, while the Beast Domain became increasingly abundant. On paper, the Beast Domain was defined as the perimeter formed by the points where human settlement ended.

Even then, the maps continuously needed to be adjusted every year because humans kept encroaching on the territory of the Beast Domain every year, pushing the wildlife deeper and deeper every year.

The Beast Domain, as a whole, was extremely powerful. However, it was weakest at its edges and borders while strongest at its center. It grew stronger and stronger the deeper one went.

That was why humanity had been able to continuously conquer and colonize the territory of the Beast Domain throughout the Age of Martial Art. The edges of the Beast Domain were mostly filled Apprentice/Squire-level danger zones and regions that humanity could easily overpower with its Martial Artists.

This caused mass displacement of the fauna of the Beast Domain, causing them to migrate deeper into the Beast Domain to avoid the overpowering humans.

Over five hundred years, this had caused the population density of the Beast Domain to skyrocket, causing it to massively strain its ecosystems and disrupt the harmony of nature.

Rui furrowed his eyebrows as a thought immediately flashed to his mind.

"What happens when the Beast Domain revolts?"

In fact, Rui was surprised it hadn't happened already.

As prince and the de facto next emperor, Rui had access to a lot of information that he was otherwise not privy to.

The public was unaware of the mysteries of the Beast Domain, but that no longer applied to Rui.

"The Beast Convergence Theory?" Rui frowned.

"That's right, Your Highness," A woman standing before Rui smiled.

"Explain, Professor Clavenel," Rui furrowed his eyebrows.

The two of them were in an empty classroom. Rui had taken it upon himself to request the Minister of Education and the Minister of Research and Development to gain lessons from the most learned specialist and expert in the field of the Beast Domain.

"It is the answer to your earlier question," she replied, smiling. "The Beast Singularity Hypothesis was posited three hundred years ago by the Ecologer, a human sage who specializes in the Beast Domain, the very pinnacle of the field that I, myself, specialize in."

Rui narrowed his eyes.

He recognized the name, of course, having received immense information about the various human sages of humanity.

"The Beast Convergence Theory, today, is a well-accepted scientific theory in the field of ecology that states that all fauna in the Beast Domain, in general, is in a natural state of constant migration, or attempted migration, towards the center of the Beast Domain due to a non-evolutionary psychogenetic trait triggered by some universal environmental stimulus throughout the entirety of the Beast Domain," Professor Clavenel explained.

Rui's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Interesting. If this is a scientific theory, then what empirical evidence is presented?"

The scientific method of scientific induction was largely the same as it was back on Earth. Of course, it was slightly more lax and less rigorous due to the mysteries of the esoteric reality of Gaia, but it undoubtedly abided by the rules.

A scientific theory was a hypothesis that was falsifiable, made predictions about reality, and was formulated through inductive reasoning applied to empirical evidence along with the law of causality, the principle of uniformity of nature, and Occam's Razor.

"Of course, there is a litany of evidence, largely centered around measuring the displacement and migration patterns of many specific regions over years and even decades, that points to a certain truth that the fauna of the Beast Domain does indeed appear to be in a constant of migration towards the center of the Beast Domain," Professor Clavenel. "You can visit the literature on your own if you're interested in the details."

"But can it not be attributed to the continuous encroachment and expansion into the Beast Domain that humanity is slowly but steadily doing over centuries?" Rui frowned.

"The rate of human expansion and encroachment only accounts for about fifty percent of mass attempted immigration towards the core of the Beast Domain," the Professor explained. "The remaining fifty percent absolutely cannot be justified by human expansion and colonialism. There are entire regions that are entirely unaffected by human expansion that appear to be constantly trying to migrate toward the center of the Beast Domain by what appears to be primal instinct."

"…Interesting," Rui furrowed his eyebrows, turning to the professor. "You said it was the answer to my earlier question. The question as to why the Beast Domain has not revolted yet?"

"Indeed," The professor nodded with an erudite demeanor. "In the five hundred years since the dawn of the Age of Martial Art, humanity has very slowly but steadily expanded, encroached, and colonized a substantial part of the Beast Domain. There was a time many centuries ago when most of the continent was the Beast Domain; now, only roughly twenty percent of it is. The general consensus amongst scholars is that the Beast Convergence Theory is the reason that the Beast Domain has not revolted against humanity. Due to the fact that the fauna of the beast domain is constantly migrating towards the center naturally, the proclivity to turn around and retaliate against humanity is minimal."

Rui narrowed his eyes. "Everything has a limit, professor. Humanity has already pushed the denizens of the Beast Domain extremely far. What happens if we cross the line? What happens if one day, the Beast Domain decides, 'Enough is enough,' and decides to turn around and revolt against humanity?"

The professor took a moment to consider his question, closing her eyes.

"Then the Age of Martial Art will experience an apocalypse."

She opened her eyes, meeting Rui's gaze.

"An apocalypse hitherto undreamt of."