The Martial Unity

"And why's that?" Kane asked with a curious tone.

"The floating island generally remains within a certain region, following a circular path of orbit," Rui explained. "There are many regions that are overshadowed and directly below the floating Ajanta island. The states and nations in that region have many misgivings with the floating island."

He turned towards Kane. "They wish to take it down."

Kane frowned. "But why?"

"Because it's an existential threat, of course," Rui replied. "The nations of the region cannot tolerate a giant rock floating that could fall. If it does, destruction is almost inevitable. Not just for any one nation, but all nations in the region will be wiped, out or extremely crippled."

"I mean, if the island has been floating for a long time, then is that a realistic possibility?"

"Pieces of the island fall all the time," Rui replied. "Not big fragments, but enough to kill people if they land anywhere near them. The island isn't exactly the most stable structure there is. There is a very real possibility that the activity of the powerful Martial Squires atop the island may cause it to become destabilized and then swiftly crumble into many fragments that will rain down upon some place in the Kaddar region, causing mass devastation."

"Makes sense, but I'm guessing the Floating Ajanta Island has other ideas?" Kane asked.

"It does," Rui nodded. "The people inhabiting the island are exclusively Martial Artists. And the Martial Artists of the floating Ajanta Island do not want the island to be pulled down and destroyed. Therein lies the conflict."

"Huh," Kane frowned. "So another war."

Rui nodded. "The floating Ajanta Island is ruled by the Floating Sect led by a powerful Martial Senior. It welcomes in any foreign Martial Artists but at the cost of being willing to defend the island from the attacks of the nations of the Kaddar Region."

"That reminds me of the circumstances of Crexeet Town," Kane murmured.

"There are similarities," Rui nodded. "However, in this case, the nations of the Kaddar Region have a much stronger justification and reason for attacking the Ajanta island."

"You said entering it alone would be a challenge," Kane reminded him.

"Yes," Rui nodded. "There is a limited number of Martial Artists permitted on the island. Tens of thousands of Martial Squires could easily destabilize the island with their power, after all. Thus in order to earn a spot on the island, you need to challenge a Martial Squire and…"

"Defeat them?"

Rui shook his head. "Kill them. If the person you challenge is still alive, then you will have failed the challenge."

Kane was speechless for a second. "For a haven of Martial Artists, they sure are cutthroat."

"True," Rui nodded. "However, their circumstances are very different from that of the Uminana Trench and all the coastal nations. The Umiana Trench is something that desperately needs quantity of Martial Artists to man the perimeters of the trench, and it's maintained to also earn an immense sum of money from the Martial Artists to justify the continued sustained existence of the Martial Squires. They need Martial Squires to join, Ajanta Island does not need that, in fact, it needs the opposite."

Kane narrowed his eyes as thought about it. "I'm guessing it also means that the Martial Squires that do retain their spots on the island are the bravest and the strongest. Which is what they need in their conflict with the nations of the Kaddar Region?"

"Correct," Rui nodded appreciatively. "They've created a system that filters out cowards and weaklings, leaving them with true warriors."

"That's quite smart actually," Kane nodded. "It sounds like a fun challenge. But you said that the Floating Sect was led by a Martial Senior, right?"

Rui nodded.

"The fact that the Floating Sect has managed to resist the attacks of the Kaddar nations to take over the island, I'm guessing that there isn't a single Martial Master in the entirety of the Kaddar region?"

"Not a single one," Rui confirmed. "The Kaddar Region as a whole is capped at the Senior Realm."

"It's interesting to see how incredibly rare Martial Artists of the higher Realms are in the rest of the continent," Kane murmured. "It really puts into perspective the sheer power of the Kandrian Empire and the Martial Union."

Rui nodded. It was difficult to appreciate how powerful the Kandrian Empire was as a whole until Rui traveled across the entirety of the continent. The sheer number of Martial Seniors and Martial Masters that the Martial Union had made it an abysmally powerful force even by the standards of the entire continent. It was an absolute powerhouse, and even if every nation or state that Rui had come across after leaving the Shionel confederation came together, they would most likely be unable to match the might of the Martial Union due to the multiple Martial Sages that led the Union.

However, Rui was also glad to have left the Kandrian Empire, and the far east side of the continent because Martial Squires were limited in a place where Martial Squires were not nearly as relevant as they were in other places. It gave Rui far more breathing space than he had ever expected. There were few too shackles compared to the Kandrian Empire.

"The Ajanta Island will be breaking that pattern a bit since it is led by a Martial Senior," Rui murmured. "But oh well, it's just one Martial Artist, it isn't all that bad."

He didn't mind if there were a handful of Martial Artists of higher Realms. It could even help him learn things about the Senior Realm that he perhaps should have learned some time ago.

The breakthrough to the Senior Realm became more and more relevant to Rui as time passed, as he grew stronger. It became increasingly prudent for him to learn the secret, and the path to the Senior Realm, for he came closer and closer to taking that step to a higher Realm.