The Martial Unity

Rui wasn't stupid.

He knew there wasn't anything he could do against a Martial Master even if that Martial Master was implicitly threatening his family just by mentioning the effect of their disappearance on Rui.

Still, he couldn't help it. Perhaps it was because of the impact of the late Deacon on him, he was far more sensitive to that threat than he was before.

That's why he knew that accepting this little challenge was objectively not the best choice he could have made.

Still, he didn't care.

The battle began sooner than even he expected.

WHOOSH!

He inhaled powerfully, activating Gale Force Breathing, launching himself forward at incredible speeds.

POW POW POW!

An onslaught of blows crashed onto Master Krakule's guard.

BAM!!!

A powerful kick surged toward the Master's head with immense force.

WHOOSH!

Master Krakule evaded it, straightening his palms as several palm jabs curled forward towards Rui.

SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT!

Rui's eyes widened as many light gashes appeared across his entire body as Master Krakule's palms flew back, stained with Rui's blood at the finger tips.

Yet the elder Master wasn't done, his attacks curled in all kinds of trajectories at absurdly high speeds, rushing forward towards Rui.

Yet, something had changed.

SCRATCH

Master Krakule's eyes widened as Rui's flesh thickened, becoming seemingly impenetrable and darker, resisting his attacks. They couldn't even draw blood anymore!

Yet he didn't have any time to even consider the change.

BOOM!

A powerful attack crashed onto his guard, flinging him backward.

Yet the Master scoffed. "Is that all you can do, Rui Quarrier?!"

He activated a breathing technique, manipulating the air currents to drive his attacks forward at even greater speeds.

Attacks of much greater power surged forward.

Yet Rui didn't move.

He stared into Master Krakuke's eyes.

Yet he wasn't idle.

In his mind a hypnotic circle appeared some distance away, his body language reflected that, acting in a manner that convinced the subconscious of this illusion, causing Master Krakule's conscious awareness to be misdirected away from Rui, leaving his subconscious vulnerable to external influence.

'Temporal Disharmony. Breathing Crucifix.'

He activated two hypnotic techniques simultaneously, each at fifty-percent.

Master Krakule's eyes widened as the time itself seemed to speed up while his breathing grew strained.

Yet Rui didn't give him any room to breathe, literally.

WHOOSH!

He avoided his attacks, surging forward towards the momentarily stunned Martial Master.

BAM BAM BAM!!!

The Martial Master grimaced lightly as Rui's powerful blows crashed into his body one after the other.

Rui breathed in powerfully, relying on Wind Breathing to increase his agility and speed massively.

The difference was remarkable. The roaring blood dragon potion had truly enhanced Rui's breathing significantly, making his breathing techniques much superior than they ever had been before!

Yet the difference in their Martial Bodies was also immense, despite the Hungry Pain technique and the breathing potion, it was not enough to overwhelm a gap born from centuries' worth of honing, conditioning, training, and growth relative to Rui's fifteen years.

Master Krakule guarded against Rui's attack.

His defense never faltered.

He narrowed his eyes, waiting.

Rui pulled back his fist, winding up a powerful punch before launching it forward with great momentum.

SPLAT!

He coughed blood as his eyes widened with shock.

"You lack experience, boy." The Master coldly declared, his fingers buried into Rui's throat.

BAM!

Rui kicked at the man's jaw, forcing him to hastily defend and withdraw his jab.

He breathed through his lungs, closing the wound in his throat.

The battle mulled for a second as the two of them faced off against each other.

"You are intelligent and extremely sharp," The Master remarked. "While I am certainly nowhere near as intellectually endowed as you are, I have fought more than ten times as many battles as you have. There are things that only experience can give you, no amount of mindful thinking can compensate for the wisdom of experience. Now then, let us put an end to this spar before you bleed to dea-"

Yet his eyes widened Rui withdrew his hand to reveal a completely healed wound.

In fact, all of the cuts that he had inflicted on Rui prior also disappeared in moments.

Rui deactivated Weaving Blood, yet chose not to reactivate Nemean Blossom. "You talk too much."

Master Krakule's expression darkened as he felt his breathing clamping up once more, and his perception of time sped up, making it difficult for his consciousness to keep up.

Rui rushed forward, his eyes flashing with power. He pushed himself to the absolute limit, unloading an onslaught of Mighty Roar Flash Blasts against the Martial Master from a distance.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Each Mighty Roar Flash Blast was much faster and stronger than they were before, the roaring dragon blood potion had greatly empowered the breathing that went into the technique.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

The Martial Master gritted his teeth as he worked furiously to slice them with his flowing palm jabs. The attacks moved far faster than they normally did because his perception of time had been sped up, making it difficult for him to react to all of them in time.

Yet Rui was not done.

He activated the third Metabody technique of the fight. A surge of hypertrophic muscle expansion inflated his muscular system, increasing the raw output of power significantly.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

"Urgh!" The man grimaced as Rui pummeled him with attack after attack. He was a dynamic offensive Martial Artist with a focus on speed and power, which was why Breathing Crucifix and Temporal Disharmony were extremely effective against him.

Kane had managed to largely negate Temporal Disharmony with his Fuliminata because it relied purely on reflex and not conscious perception, allowing him to land an attack on Rui despite the technique, but Master Krakule had no such technique.

The elder Martial Master narrowed his eyes, growing more intense. "Don't underestimate me, boy! Eat my Reckoning of One Thousand Palms!"

The man's body moved with blinding speed and muscle memory as not even the tiniest shred of thought held him back, allowing an exponentially higher frequency of attack.

BOOM!!!