The Martial Unity

Rui appreciated the time that Senior Sarak took to explain all these matters to him. It was definitely quite insightful and did not leave him stumbling in the dark.

"If the strength of Martial Heart is a variable, then does it grow stronger over time?" Rui asked.

"Of course, this happens with or without the activation of the Martial Heart." Senior Sarak explained. "The Martial Heart is an accumulation of hidden power slowly created by the body trickling energy into across the lifetime. That does not suddenly stop once you activate it."

"I see..." Rui murmured. 'That probably explains why my Martial Heart was weaker than Ieyasu's.'

In which case, older Martial Artists were probably significantly stronger than he was. Although he understood the reason behind this rule, it was still an unpleasant realization. He did not want to wait decades to reach that level of power purely because his body's natural growth could not keep up with him.

He wasn't too concerned, however. He suspected that there almost certainly were ways to shorten or even bypass these long wait times just like he had with the esoteric drug treatment that he had gone through in the Seonmun Church Town.

"Alright, I have shared everything I need to share." Senior Sarak eventually said. "I'm sure you have many things to do, so get going."

He did.

"Thank you." Rui bowed to him with respect and gratitude, before leaving.

He immediately activated his Martial Heart.

BADUMP!

His awareness widened and deepened as he scanned the entire island looking for Kane.

"Tsk tsk, you're like a child who got his hands on a new toy." Senior Sarak tutted. "Don't use the Martial Heart so frivolously. It's a precious limited resource that you need to preserve."

Rui smirked at the comparison. He would be lying if he said it wasn't true when it came to things related to Martial Art. He was just looking for excuses to use the Martial Heart. "I'll keep that in mind."

He deactivated it, immediately heading towards Kane's chamber. Kane had already moved into the first chamber of the Floating Sect since Ieyasu was now a Martial Senior and automatically forfeited his claim to it.

It wasn't long before Kane opened the door to his bell, widening his eyes. "You're back!"

"Back, I am," Rui smirked.

"How did it feel to wake up knowing you're a Martial Senior?" Kane smirked as the two of them began wandering aimlessly.

"It was surreal." Rui heaved a sigh. "Almost too much to believe."

"I can imagine. I bet you're itching to activate your Martial Heart and abuse it to the limit, huh?"

"You know me too well," Rui smirked. "But there are more important and urgent things."

He glanced at Kane who had a knowing melancholic smile.

"...I get it. You don't have to worry." Kane shook his head. "I am not a kid who cannot accept reality."

"I haven't even told you what it is."

"Like I said... I'm not a kid."

He may as well have been a kid from Rui's perspective, but he was actually an adult in his mid-twenties. In some ways, he was even more mature than Rui was, especially when it came to Martial Art.

"You probably worried about actually breaking the news to me, so I'll cut you some slack and state I don't have a problem with it." Kane stated clearly. "I understand it's highly impractical for a Martial Squire to accompany a Martial Senior, especially one like yourself who is bound to get wrapped in places and matters that simply are far beyond my power to impact. It's probably the best for both of us."

Rui heaved a sigh. He had come to appreciate Kane even more, he truly was worth someone to be around. "I hate it even more than you do... But it is best for both of us. You're not too far from fulfilling the conditions to the Senior realm. If you spend a few years solely to developing your Martial Heart, I strongly suspect that you will have reached the cusp of it, however..."

"I know," Kane sighed. "Nobody breaks through to the Senior Realm in the Floating Sect, aside from you two monsters. This place is too detached from people's Martial drives."

Rui nodded. "If you want to break through, you most certainly will need to leave and expose yourself to the world."

Kane nodded. "I... think I will return to the Kandrian Empire."

Rui's eyes widened at those words.

"In the first place, we both know Chairman Deacon was truly after you, not me as much," Kane spoke. "I'm sure he hates my guts as well to a lesser degree, but he probably does not want to do anything to me."

They both knew why.

"My father is an aggressive violent offensive Martial Artist who is looking for an excuse to pick fights." Kane sighed. "Nobody will dare to put so much as a scratch on me in the Kandrian Empire. Sage Arrancar, the Raging Devil, is one of the nine Martial Sages of the Kandrian Empire. It is both physical and political suicide to kill his prodigious genius son outside of a fair fight."

Rui nodded. This was the good side of being born in the Arrancar Family. Chairman Deacon was an insect before the might of the Arrancar Family. The Martial Sage of the Shionel Confederation answered to the interest of the national security, he did not answer to Chairman Deacon.

If Chairman Deacon did something stupid like provoking a war with the Martial Union by antagonizing one of its very highest leaders, then the Shionel Confederation would rather watch him get gobbled up than fight a losing war.

Chairman Deacon was known as the hellhound, but he was not stupid. Once Kane entered the Kandrian Empire, his biggest threat was the Arrancar Family, not Chairman Deacon.

"But your family is going to shackle you the moment you get back. Probably by force..." Rui's voice faltered as he realized that that was what Kane was looking for.

One of his greatest driving forces was breaking free from the Arrancar Family, by subjecting himself to them, he was giving himself a chance to break through to the Senior Realm by trying to forcefully overcome any Squire-level apprehended they sent him.

"That is extremely risky. If it doesn't work out, you'll be captured on the spot." Rui narrowed his eyes.