The Martial Unity

"I'm afraid I do not understand what it means to become your patron," Rui frowned.

"It's simple, really," The man began explaining. "It just means that I will be acknowledged as one who is partially responsible for your successes and your failures to a certain extent, and it means that I will be contributing to your performance by lending you the wealth and resources you need in order to become stronger."

Rui narrowed his eyes as he considered the man's words. What he said sounded strange to Rui, like it made no sense. But he thankfully appeared to have been able to withhold his incredulity this time.

"So simply by accepting your patronage, you get to claim a portion of the credit for my success?" Rui frowned. "On top of that, you're going to lower the difficulty of me getting my hands on the treatment that I need?"

The man nodded. "You'll still need to win considerably, but don't worry too much about that part. As long as you do well enough, you'll be fine, most likely. At the very least you need to win in the Preliminary Contest of this church town to pick a representative for the town. If you cannot even do that much, then I'm afraid you simply were not cut out to be able to earn the rewards that you spoke about."

Rui was absolutely confident that he would be able to get past any kind of preliminary contest. Preliminary eliminations and filters were meant to scout players who were capable of doing much more and filter out players who were simply unworthy of going any further.

As strong as he currently was was enough to make sure that no preliminary event could possibly be able to hold the likes of Rui back.

They both knew that.

Rui because he obviously knew what he himself was capable of, and the Martial Master had also learned about Rui in a small amount of time, just enough to know that such a thing couldn't possibly stop Rui.

"What exactly do you gain out of all of this?" Rui asked with a suspicious question.

From what Rui could tell, there was very little to no benefit when it came to offering to be someone's patron.

Thus there had to be a good reason that someone like a Martial Master was going this far to try and get Rui as a patron.

He knew that Martial Artists who had patrons generally did better than Martial Artists who didn't have any patrons. He would gain rich access to many growth and training resources that he would otherwise be forced to either compromise and avoid, the tests directly, However, Rui did not have access to such goods and commodities.

One thing that Rui needed to make sure that he fully understood was why this man was choosing him.

"I am firmly of the opinion that you will make it remarkably farther than anyone would normally admit," The Master immediately clarified.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence," Rui grew more serious. "However, how does that help you in any material fashion? You're a Martial Master and someone with a pretty high position all things considered. Why in the world would seek to become my patron even if you think I will make it far?"

"Because the Virodhabhasa Martial Contest is special, young man," The Master continued. "Its purpose is not just an avenue for Martial Artists from across the world to join and show off their Martial Heart."

Rui frowned. "I'm afraid I don't get it."

Yet he understood what the martial Senior was going to say immediately after, and why he was going to say it immediately after uttering those words.

"This Martial Contest isn't just for the people have fun watching," The Martial Master clearly stated. "It is an endeavor that our Faith takes to further our Divine Mission."

Rui's eyes narrowed as the Martial Master essentially confirmed what Rui had sharply come to realize on his own.

The Divine Cause of the Virodhabhasa Faith was to find the Virodhabhasa before the catastrophe destroying humanity even has a chance to materialize. He could imagine how the entire Virodhabhasa Martial Contest was simply an attempt by the church to be able to keep an eye on promising Martial Squires and offer them to join the church early on. This way if they were the Virodhabhasa, they would most likely have already indoctrinated to not betray the faith no matter what.

"Religious leaders are allowed to become patrons of various contestants, aid them with preparations and growth and other variables, before then allowing them to apply them into the contest. If it turned out to be the case that one of the bishops patroned the actual Virodhabhasa, then your status within the Virodhabhasa Faith would become absolutely boosted. That is something that I strongly desire, thus I am asking for your aid."

Rui briefly considered the implications of his statement with widened eyes.

"Are you saying…?"

"No," The man smiled. "Of course, I'm not saying that I think you're Lord Virodhabhasa. However, there are some Martial Artists who possess Martial Paths and Martial Art that superficially resemble the Martial Art of Lord Virodhabhasa according to the Virodhaveda. They are considered to be seeds of the Virodhbhasa, this can work out as long as you demonstrate a dominant victory."

Rui narrowed his eyes. "Seeds of the Virodhabhasa?"

"That's right," The Martial Master nodded. "They believe that Martial Artists that possess Martial Paths that are effective against all kinds of Martial Art and Martial Paths, are blessed by the Virodhabhasa and are Virodhabhasa seeds that have the potential to be the object of the Divine Mission of the Virodhabhasa Faith."

Rui picked up something that stood out to him from the way he spoke about this.

"Master… Can I ask you something?"

"Why, go right ahead," The man smiled.

"Are you truly a devotee of the Virodhabhasa Faith?" Rui asked with a suspicious expression.

The man smiled. "Sharp, aren't you?"