The Martial Unity

"Is that so?" Kane's eyes lit up. "Well, putting that aside. Let's get started, since we've accomplished our goals of creating techniques that can allow us to perform better in the Thundering Valley."

He was right.

"Speaking of which," Rui remarked. "What is the name of your technique again?"

"I actually haven't thought of one," Kane scratched his head. "I can't think of anything good."

"Neither can I,"

"Then let's name each other's techniques," Kane suggested. "You gained the ability to sense lightning or something right? So your technique is Eye of Lightning."

"…"

"Ok, go, your turn," Kane insisted.

Rui rubbed his chin as he tried to come up with a good name. "Let me see…"

A technique that harnessed the power of lightning to boost his reflexes.

"Fulminata," Rui murmured.

It was a Roman name. Referring to the twelfth legion of Rome levied by Julius Caesar. The name literally translated to 'clad in lightning'. Rui felt that it was a suitable name for Kane's technique.

"What the heck is that?" Kane tilted his head.

"What the heck is Eye of Lightning?"

"That's a cool name!"

"Enough," Rui shook his head, sighing. "Let's get back to our peaks. We've already used Forestep and Godspeed, which means we won't be able to use them even if we do battle."

"True," Kane had to agree.

The two of them sat back down before beginning to consume dense nutrition pills. These pills were inedible to normal human beings, only the evolved digestion systems of the Martial Squires could handle the extremely dense nutritional composition.

It gave everything that any Martial Squire could probably require and more. The two of them also consumed some rejuvenating potions.

It wasn't too long before their bodies have reabsorbed the essential bits of mass that they had displaced. Their digestion systems could break down compounds, absorb what they needed and distribute it across the body in the necessary places. That was why they could bounce back to their peak without much hassle.

Rui was relatively certain that this was done on purpose during the Squire evolution breakthrough process. After all, Martial Squires had enormous energy requirements. Their every strike generated more power than humans would consume in an entire month!

That meant that the Martial body needed to break down food to a much greater degree than normal human beings. It absorbed every ounce of chemical energy that could be extracted from anything ingested, and it did it quickly.

Otherwise, Martial Squire would need to wait months between each fight.

Soon enough, however, the two of them were already ready.

"Just to be clear… You don't want to fight in the Thundering Valley, right?" Rui asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why not?" Kane smirked mischievously. "Afraid you'll get hit by lightning?"

"Uh, yes?" Rui tilted his head.

"Pussy," Kane shrugged.

"Fine," Rui sighed with an amused smile. "Have it your way. Don't think I'm going to go easy on you Kane."

"I wouldn't have it any other way,"

Thus, the two of them agreed to fight in the Thundering Valley. There was also the fact that Kane couldn't use his technique without the lightning, thus it was something Rui voluntarily agreed to.

Soon enough, the two of them stood facing each other from a distance within the Thundering Valley. The valley roared in the background as the two of them faced each other.

The air was tense. The atmosphere ground in the presence of two Martial Squires who had honed their mind. The sheer pressure that they exuded showcased their determination.

Especially Kane's.

He had long been dissatisfied with his power when he compared himself to Rui. He had always felt the exact opposite his entire life. Within the Martial community of the Kandrian Empire, he had always been known as a generational talent. He had been nearly peerless.

Things changed when he met Rui, though even then, he had been ahead of Rui for quite some time. His rate of growth after he became a Martial Artist was unlikely anything Kane had ever seen.

It was awe-inspiring, and it pushed Kane to work harder. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but Rui was, without a doubt, one of the reasons that he was where he was today, both literally and figuratively.

However, he wasn't content trailing behind anymore.

He wasn't content being inconsequentially weak anymore.

He wanted to stand beside his friend, though he didn't mind the prospect of exceeding him, if possible. Rui was not one to stay behind, himself, after all.

He narrowed his eyes as he rid his mind of all superfluous thoughts. A profoundly deep yet faint pressure radiated from him.

This was different from the dominant force of mind that Rui released.

When one looked at Rui, one felt boundless power. One felt as though Rui would be able to overcome any hurdle, defeat any opponent, and endure any tribulation. It was honed, and directed purposeful power, and given time, it was seemingly endless.

Kane, however, exuded an unknown peril. He was as fleeting as a cloud, yet as swift as a hurricane. No one could know what he was capable of, and no one did.

Except Rui.

But that didn't ease his mind.

No.

It was because he knew what Kane was capable of, that he didn't dare take it easy. All it took was one mistake, one imperfection, and Kane would lash out like a serpent, and it would be over in a moment.

That was why he could not afford to hold back. Not here and against Kane.

The two of them took their stances.

Kane adopted his standard stance, his legs were centered and under his body. This allowed him to shift his body weight in any direction he chose to accelerate in. His hands were loosely swaying before him as he lightly hopped and shifted between feet. A simple way of obscuring his advance.

On the other hand, Rui adopted a closed kickboxing stance with equal weight on offense and defense. He did not want to get into a maneuvering contest with Kane, he knew that Kane would win that.