The Martial Unity

Rui truly felt the size of the town when he walked across from the outskirts from where his inn was towards the center.

('It's even bigger than the town of Hajin, what the heck?')

It was an extremely wide expanse that made use of the fact that the Seonmun Region was a rather empty region with a lot of space for grabs.

Rui found it curious that the Virodhabhasa Faith decided to open up such an extravagant town in such a remote location. Yet he could understand the rationales for doing so.

For one, building a town like this was easier in more remote regions as opposed to more populated regions.

For example, they would face far more difficulty in trying to accomplish such a thing in the Kaddar Region which was already jam-packed with nations, and also had to deal with a floating island that was in political conflict with the entire region.

Furthermore, there were two ways to interact with outsiders as a religion. Either go to them or get them to come to you.

The Seonmun Church town was probably an attempt at the latter. It was easier to attract Martial Artists with such large concentrations of the Faith's resources, allowing for facilities useful to Martial Artists that could only be found in places like that.

It made it easier to accumulate fame and reputation, which ultimately helped in dragging in nomadic or traveling Martial Artists.

After all, due to a lack of a powerful information network like the internet, word of mouth or more indirect manners information communication was the way in which they could spread information. It meant that the town needed to gather enough of a reputation before it could attract traveling Martial Artists.

That was why such a costly endeavor was needed.

('However, it's probably worth it,')

If the Virodhabhasa Faith wanted to indoctrinate Martial Artists, creating such centers that could attract traveling Martial Artists was the best option.

Nomadic or traveling Martial Artists were a group of Martial Artists that did not have any commitments to any particular organization and were the easiest to rope in.

These Martial Artists comprised warriors who chose to not commit to their native place. This was generally due to a lack of opportunities to exercise their Martial Artist and a lack of avenues for training and growth. Many Martial Artists came from humble backgrounds that were simply too shackling or limited for them.

Leaving their home in search of a greater destiny was not uncommon.

Technically, Rui too came from a humble backgrounds, however, he was born in the Kandrian Empire, a powerhouse Sage-level nation that had a highly meritocratic system that made sure that people with potential were able to realize their potential as long as they had merited it.

It was only after Rui traveled the Panama Continent did he realized how precious the Martial Academies were. He had been blessed with opportunities that many would have killed to have.

But they couldn't, that was why places he had visited thus far were popular.

The Umiana Trench, the Thundering Valley, the Floating Sect, and the Virodhabhasa Faith were all open avenues for growth.

They were effective ways to reel Martial Artists in.

It wasn't long before he reached the central district of the town, and he came across some interesting… things.

A gigantic billboard towered beside the giant main church.

[The Virodhabhasa Martial Festival!]

Rui's eyes widened at those words.

He felt as though those words had unlocked some long-forgotten memories that he hadn't thought about in many years.

('The Martial Festival…') Rui's eyes glazed over as his mind flashed back in time with nostalgia.

The last time he had partaken in the Martial Festival had been around nine years ago back when he was still a wee little Martial Apprentice in the Martial Academy.

He recalled the preliminary tournament held within the Martial Academy, and then the final Martial Contest that had later on been held across the entire nation. It had been one of the peak moments of his time at the Martial Academy.

The amount of stimulation he had gotten from the Martial Contest of the Kandrian Empire was not something that could be underestimated. He would not be the person he was today if not for the rigors that he had undergone back then.

He glanced back at the billboard-like sign that proudly announced the Martial Festival being held by the Virodhabhasa Faith.

He would be lying if he said he was not interested.

As a powerful widespread religion across the continent, any festival held by this particular religion was bound to be tremendously impactful.

He recalled how impactful the Martial Festival of the Kandrian Empire was, he couldn't even imagine the sheer magnitude of the Virodhabhasa Martial Festival.

He was immediately curious about the details of the festival.

Surely, a festival held by the Virodhabhasa Faith was bound to be special.

As for whether he wanted anything to do with it or not… He was torn.

On one hand, his rational side said it was best to stick with the plan and train and look for a solution for Senior Xanarn.

On the other hand, his irrational side, the same irrationality that drove him forward and down his Martial Path begged to differ.

Rui tried weighing the pros and cons of it, but he had too little information.

('I guess I'll have to take a peek if only to learn more,') He convinced himself as he headed down towards a large counter right underneath the billboard with a large number of staff employees.

"How may we help you, sir?" He received deep reverential bows from the two staff members who stood at the counter.

"I wished to learn more about the Martial Festival," Rui replied.

"Why, of course!" She smiled, before grabbing several booklets, and pamphlets, handing them to Rui. "These contain all the details of the Martial Festival. However, I shall be taking this opportunity to go through the broad matters surrounding the Martial Festival, if you are so inclined."